The Anna Maria Island Sun Newspaper

Vol. 15 No. 36 - July 8, 2015

headlines

Investigation continues in ‘turtle terrorist’ case

BRADENTON BEACH – A videotape recorded at the Wicked Taco Cantina the night that two people drove over three black skimmer chicks and five sea turtle nests on the beach is indistinct, according to authorities.

“We saw something” that looked like two people on an ATV on the tape, recorded around 10:30 p.m. on June 27, the time of the incident, said Jake Baker, general manager of the restaurant, located across Gulf Drive from the beach at 101 Seventh St. N. But Bradenton Beach police Detective Sgt. Leonard Diaz said the tape was little help.

“We could barely tell if it was an ATV or a golf cart and could barely make out anybody on it,” he said.

Five other businesses surveyed by The Sun have beach cameras that stream live only and do not record. They were pointed away from the beach or were not working at the time.

Witnesses to the incident said they saw a white man and white woman in their late 20s laughing and aiming for the turtle nests on a two- or three-wheeled vehicle with a single headlight and knobby tires, according to the tracks.

Two chicks died on the beach and a third died later at Wildlife Education and Rehabilitation Inc. in Bradenton Beach. Black skimmer chicks seldom survive rehab due to stress, said Glenn Wiseman, education coordinator for Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring.

The fate of the 500 or so eggs in the five turtle nests will not be known until their hatch dates have passed and Turtle Watch excavates the nests.

Loggerhead sea turtles are a federally threatened species and black skimmers are a state species of special concern. Environmental crimes against them are violations of the U.S. Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Florida Marine Turtle Protection Act, ranging from a first-degree misdemeanor to a third-degree felony, carrying penalties of $500 to $1,500 in fines plus $100 per damaged turtle egg, with jail time of 60 days to five years, according to the FWC.

Local law prohibits vehicles on the beach, with exceptions including law enforcement, lifeguards, beach renourishment and maintenance crews and Turtle Watch.

Several rewards are being offered for information on the incident. FWC has pledged up to $5,000, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has pledged up to $2,500, the Key West-based Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has pledged up to $2,000 and Crime Stoppers has pledged up to $1,000. Turtle Watch has received reward funds that will be announced on Wednesday, July 8, Director Suzi Fox said.

“We need to stop people terrorizing diminishing populations of threatened and endangered wildlife,” Sea Shepherd founder, Capt. Paul Watson, wrote in a press release. “These people are criminals and should be dealt with as criminals to send a strong message that maiming and killing wildlife is a serious crime.”

To report information, or if you see someone disturbing a turtle nest or nesting birds, call the FWC Division of Law Enforcement at 888-404-FWCC (3922) or *FWC from your cell phone, or e-mail Tip@MyFWC.com.

Fourth of July quiet

This Fourth of July weekend was quieter than usual, possibly because people saw the publicity about the incident and tried to take it easy on wildlife, Wiseman said.

On Monday morning, the wrack line – where seaweed is deposited on the beach from the tide – did not have the usual trash from personal fireworks that washes up after the holiday weekend, he said.

“There was not as much garbage as usual, and people were behaving themselves around the bird sites,” he said.

More police were out patrolling the beach this year, he said, including two off-duty officers hired by Turtle Watch to guard the two shorebird nesting colonies on the Island.

One colony, in front of the BeachHouse restaurant in Bradenton Beach, had a quiet weekend because the restaurant cancelled its annual July 3 fireworks display to protect the birds.

Fireworks no problem on calm July 4 holiday

ANNA MARIA ISLAND - It appears residents and visitors took a laid back approach to the Fourth of July on the beaches.

Despite having only one fireworks show at the Sandbar restaurant, police agencies report very few incidents and no arrests for illegal fireworks, although Holmes Beach police confiscated some from would-be scofflaws.

In Bradenton Beach, a few beach-goers were found with fireworks, but cooperated with authorities when told the pyrotechnics were illegal.

“We asked them to stop, and they did,” said Detective Sgt. Lenard Diaz. “We made no arrests and wrote no citations.”

Holmes Beach Detective Sgt. Brian Hall said police wrote citations for alcohol on the beach and also confiscated some fireworks. But he added that it was a relatively calm holiday.
Holmes Beach Police Chief William Tokajer said police seized the fireworks to protect the people on the beach.

“We had some complaints about seizing the fireworks, but these were not professionals and they pose a danger in a crowd,” he said. “All the fireworks we seized were from complaints we received. All of the seizures were complaint driven.”

In Anna Maria, Sgt. Paul Davis of the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, was thankful.

“I want to thank our residents and the people who were visiting because this was the smoothest Fourth of July I’ve ever seen,” Davis said. “Everybody was told we were cracking down and as a result, there were no incidents, except for two people who were missing for a short time.”

Davis said problems during the entire evening were very minimal.

Values rise on Island

Anna Maria Island property values are consistently up from this time last year in all three cities.

Real estate market values are up an average 17 percent Islandwide, totaling nearly $3.7 billion, according to figures released last week by the Manatee County Property Appraiser’s Office.

Taxable values on existing construction are up an average 10 percent Islandwide, totaling $2.8 billion in Islandwide taxable value. In Manatee County as a whole, taxable values rose 8 percent from July 2014 to July 2015.

Taxable values on new construction and remodels are up an average 110 percent Islandwide, totaling 31.7 million.

Market values

2015 market values 2014 market values Approximate change
Anna Maria $1.07 billion $908 million up 18%
Bradenton Beach $604 million $535 million up 13%
Holmes Beach $2.01 billion $1.69 billion up 19%

Taxable values - existing construction

2015 taxable values 2014 taxable values Approximate change
Anna Maria $793 million $717 million up 11%
Bradenton Beach $468 million $427 million up 10%
Holmes Beach $1.56 billion $1.43 billion up 9%

Taxable values - new construction/remodels

2015 taxable values 2014 taxable values Approximate change
Anna Maria $12.8 million $8.8 million up 46%
Bradenton Beach $3.7 million $996,462 up 276%
Holmes Beach $15.2 million $14.1 million up 8%
Source: Manatee County Property Appraiser’s Office

A love story cut short

Joe Petriella | submitted

In 2013, Joe Petriella and Peggy Dallas were
married at the Swordfish Grill in Cortez.

CORTEZ – The Swordfish Grill & Tiki Bar will host a benefit for Joe Petriella on Sunday, July 12, from 2 to 6 p.m. Joe has been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and has been given less than a year to live.

Joe’s wife, Peggy Dallas, has been a waitress as the Swordfish Grill since it opened in 2011, and the fund-raiser will feature live music by TC and the Troublemakers, a silent auction, raffle prizes, a 50/50 drawing and more.

The proceeds will help offset the cost of Joe’s treatment and help ensure that he lives the best life he can for as long as possible. All ages are welcome and Joe and Peggy plan to attend.

“Peggy is our goodwill ambassador, and she’s been taking care of our guests since day one, and Joe has been involved in every fundraiser we’ve had since I met him. This is our opportunity to give back to them,” said General Manager Bob Slicker.

Love prevails

“Joe has fourth stage lung cancer that has passed into his brain. It’s inoperable and he’s terminal. It’s just a matter of time. The doctors gave him three months without any treatment and started treatment a month and half ago,” Peggy explained.

“I’m absolutely devastated, but I’m doing my best. We started dating about five years ago, and we’ve been married not even two years. We’re both from Cleveland, and I’ve known Joe for 30 years,” she added.

“What a wonderful person and husband he’s been to me. He brought me to paradise and we truly have a love story here. When he brought me here he said I could stay if I liked it and he’d drive me back to Ohio if I didn’t. A year later he proposed, and in 2013 we got married at the Swordfish Grill. Joe threw a surprise wedding, and I knew nothing about it. It was the best kept secret in Cortez,” Peggy said.

Knowing their time together is limited, Peggy and Joe have one thing left atop their wish list.

“We want to make another trip home to see all Joe’s friends and family in Ohio … a nice road trip, taking a week or two and stopping at a few other places too,” Peggy said.

“I want to go back to Ohio one more time. I haven’t visited my mother’s headstone so I have to go see that. I want to say goodbye to dad again, and I want to see all my friends and Peggy’s family one more time,” Joe said.

Before he retired, Joe owned a carpentry business. He also spent more than 20 years as a union truck driver.

“I’ve always had a premonition I’d die around 60. I don’t feel I have any unfinished business, and my bucket list is done other than one more trip home. I’m at peace with God, and I’m satisfied with my life. To get to this point at 58, that’s pretty good. The good Lord decided it’s time for me to come home, and the doctors are doing all they can,” Joe said.

“I’m working on making sure Peggy’s taken care of when I’m gone. She’s my biggest concern, but I know these people will take care of her,” he added.

Joe then thought of one more thing he would like to do.

“I’d like to get over to Kennedy Space Center to see the manned launch of the Orion go up. They have a test flight coming up next year, and maybe I can stick around to see that. I came down to watch the last few shuttles go up. I was staying with a friend in Cortez, and I that’s when I decided why go back to Ohio,” he said.

“Joe and I would personally like to thank John Banyas, Bob and Julie Slicker, Tara Myers, Katrina Cox, Nora Davis, Tori Ryan, Greg Koeper, Tom and Elaine, Sally and John and everyone at the Swordfish Grill. We appreciate their love and support and will never forget what they’ve done for us,” Peggy said.

Swordfish Grill is located at 4528 119th St. W. in Cortez. To donate raffle prizes or get additional information call 941-798-2035.

Pier bids to be opened Friday

CINDY LANE | SUN

Dr. Mary Fulford Green with a Cortez
Village Historical Society T-shirt.

BRADENTON BEACH – On Friday, city officials will get their first look at the bid proposals submitted by those interested in leasing the city-owned restaurant space on the Historic Bridge Street Pier.

During last week’s Pier Team meeting, Police Chief and Pier Team Chair Sam Speciale clarified how the request for proposal (RFP) process would unfold.

The deadline to submit proposals is 2 p.m. on Thursday, May 9, and the proposals will be opened by City Clerk Terri Sanclemente at 2 p.m. on Friday. The original plan called for the proposals to be opened on Thursday, and no explanation was given for the change.

Once the bids are opened, Speciale, Building Official Steve Gilbert and Public Works Director Tom Woodard will review the proposals and rank them using a one to 10 point system applied to six categories: the bidder’s background and experience, the rental terms and lease amount offered, the bidder’s business plan, their references including a credit history and any current litigation they are engaged in.

Each of the three Pier Team members will fill out his own evaluation sheet, and the ranking scores will then be combined and averaged together for a final cumulative ranking. This ranking will serve as the basis for the Pier Team recommendation Speciale will present to city commissioners at the RFP work session taking place at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, July 14.

According to the RFP, the city may elect to conduct oral interviews or presentations from one or more of the proposal respondents, which would be done in a public format.

The RFP also notes that the city reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, waive minor formalities, further negotiate and ultimately award the restaurant space lease to the individual or firm whose proposal best serves the interests of city.

Anna Maria Oyster Bar owner John Horne recently indicated that his group’s proposal would not include a revenue sharing percentage. Colorado-based Angelo’s pizzeria owners Richard Foresta and Joe Vega have indicated that their proposal will include a revenue sharing percentage in addition to the $2,500 per month base rent requested by the city.

“If somebody comes in and they don’t want to do the percentage and they want to do a flat rate, that’s the commission’s decision to make because we can’t make that decision,” Speciale said of the Pier Team’s recommendation.

Proposals also are expected from a Tampa group interested in opening an Asian fusion restaurant and Skyway Food Mart owner Gino Gambini.

Mayor Jack Clarke anticipates the commission will render its final decision at the Thursday, July 23, commission meeting.

Speciale also explained how the RFPs would be handled for the adjacent bait shop and small office/retail space. If none of the restaurant bidders include those spaces in their proposals, separate RFPs will be released immediately and interested parties can then submit proposals for one or both of the remaining pier structures.

Paradise Boat Tours owner Sherman Baldwin and Bradenton Beach Marina’s Walter Loos are among those who have expressed interested in the bait shop space that leases for $750 a month and the office/retail space that leases for $550.

Planner presents new data on bedrooms

HOLMES BEACH – City Planner Bill Brisson presented new data at the June 24 work session regarding the number of bedrooms on duplex lots in the R-2 zoning district prior to 2009.

Brisson previously reported that 28 percent of the duplex lots developed through 2008 had units with four or more bedrooms. However, new data from the property appraiser’s office shows that the number is considerably lower.

“Through 2008, there actually were only three developed duplex lots in the R-2 that contained units with more than three bedrooms,” he said. “This represents less than 1 percent of all 346 developed duplex lots.

“It is, therefore, apparent that up until at least 2009, duplex lots in the R-2 were overwhelmingly comprised of units with three bedrooms or less.”

He said that 46.6 percent of the duplex lots developed from 2009 to 2014 contained duplex units with four or more bedrooms, and 24 percent of the lots have individual units with six or more bedrooms.

In addition, he said, until 2009, three were only two single-family homes in the R-2 district that had more than four bedrooms or one half of 1 percent. From 2009 to 2014, homes with five or more bedrooms accounted for 57 percent of the new homes.

“These data clearly support the proposal to limit the number of bedrooms in duplex units to three and single-family homes to four,” he concluded.

Chair Judy Titsworth cited a concern of Commissioner Jean Peelen, who was absent, regarding limiting the number of bedrooms only for resort housing.

“I’m still concerned about it from the probability of someone in the R-2 district who builds a four-bedroom half duplex and five years from now wants to rent it and we cannot prohibit them,” Petruff explained.

She said they could create a special exception, and Brisson noted that most families wanting to build four or more bedrooms would go to the R-1 district.

The consensus among commissioners was to allow four bedrooms in single family homes and three bedrooms per side in duplex homes in the R-2 and R-4 districts.

Island chef remembered

Photo courtesy of Facebook.

James “Jim” French was regarded as an
excellent chef by those who worked with him.

CORTEZ – The Island’s culinary community lost a familiar figure recently when local chef James “Jim” French was killed in a bicycle accident on the Cortez Bridge shortly after 8 p.m. on Friday, June 26.

“The victim was heading east over the Cortez bridge on his bicycle when he lost control of the bike and flew off the bike and hit his head on the sidewalk. He sustained a head injury and was pronounced dead at the scene,” said the new release issued by the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) on Tuesday, June 30.

MCSO spokesperson Dave Bristow said the investigating officers believe French’s bicycle handlebars struck a sign and that trigged his fatal fall. Bristow said no other vehicles or persons were involved in what was ruled an accidental death.

“It was just a tragic accident,” Bristow said.

French was born on July 27, 1962, and would have turned 53 later this month.

Friend and father remembered

French had recently begun working at the Blue Marlin Grill in Bradenton Beach.

“I go back 32 years with Jim French. We were very good friends. He was a fun loving guy, and he’d give you the shirt off his back. He was just that type of guy. He was a real good person and a kind-hearted person,” said Blue Marlin Grill’s executive chef Bob Wheeler.

“He’d only been here a couple weeks. He came to see me right before I went on vacation, and I was on vacation when he started, so I only got to work with him for a week or so before he passed. I’m going to miss him a lot.”

In regard to French’s culinary skills, Wheeler said, “They were exceptional. He was very good at what he did.” French previously worked in the Island Time/Bridge Street Bistro kitchen, and he formerly served as executive chef at the Sun House restaurant, which preceded the Bridge Street Bistro in that location.

“I’ve known Jim since 1989, when I worked with him St Armand’s circle,” said Island Time and Bridge Bistro owner Bill Herlihy.

“When he worked for us recently he did a great job, and he was a great chef. He always talked about his kids and how proud he was because they were doing well in school. Jim was an all-around good guy, good-spirited, had a good sense of humor and was a happy-go-lucky guy. The Bridge Street community will miss him.”

French’s Facebook page notes that he also worked at the Beach Bistro in Holmes Beach and graduated from Riverview High School in 1980.

On July 1, Janet Sullivan posted the following message on French’s Facebook page: “I had planned on seeing my friend Jimmy this week while in Sarasota. As God would have it, Jimmy had a different appointment…

Please say a prayer tonight for his family and children … Going to miss you, Blue Eyes.”

On Friday, July 3, French’s son Alan and other family members gathered for a memorial service at Turtle Beach in Sarasota.

“My time with my father was complicated to say the least, but he was always one of the most optimistic people I've ever met. You could never doubt how much he loved you because you would never hear the end of it. Already I miss the way-too-late phone calls to talk about basketball, when you knew nothing about it. I miss the way you would tell me you liked the Seminoles even though we both know you bled orange and blue. And I miss reminiscing about fishing trips, Little League baseball and Marlins’ games. But most of all, I miss you Dad. RIP and have fun riding bikes with Grandpa,” Alan French wrote on his father’s Facebook page.

Budget plan presented to Community Center board

ANNA MARIA – Community Center treasurer Jim Froeschle and Director Kristin Lessig reported on the 2015-16 budget plan to the board of directors recently.

“We have completely overhauled the budget process,” Froeschle said. “This is not a top down budget. It is not just a set of numbers; there are action plans behind every bit of it.”

He said they have “empowered the program directors to develop innovative new ideas” and ‘they know they are responsible.”

Lessig said they have improved financial controls and Froeschle added that due to that there is an increase in program revenues of more than $20,000 to $30,000.

“The real work begins in executing the budget,” Lessig said.

Areas of operation

Lessig reported on six areas of operation in the budget plan – community programs, therapy, sports, out of school, special events and administration.

In community programs they plan to build the Dragon Boat program, offer Medicare’s Silver Sneakers program and add youth specialty camps and specialty classes.

Lessig said the therapy department has been cut back to one part time therapist, and they plan to rely more on programs that can service groups of people. She said “they still will offer individual intervention but it’s not the primary focus.”

Plans for sports include weekend tournaments, specialty camps and live streaming of games, and for out of school they include enhancing to the before and after school programs, expanding the child care center, reviving the teen program and improving collections and reporting.

For special events, Froeschle said they have developed a “challenging calendar of events and not all of them are revenue generating. Some are designed to get people to come into the Center.”

In administration, salaries will go down 10 percent, and a grant writer, PR/marketing/events coordinator and a marketing company will be added.

Current budget

Froeschle said in the current budget, the Center lost $23,000 in May, taking the cash reserves down to $40,000. However, the Center has received grants of $15,000 from Food and Wine on Pine, $8,000 from the AMI Chamber trolley fund and $91,000 from Manatee County for youth programs.

“Keep in mind the net loss by coincidence matches about what we would have received from Holmes Beach,” he pointed out at the June 23 meeting.

Holmes Beach city commissioners voted in May not to release the city’s $22,500 contribution for the Center until they got further information on finances, programing and the like. They got that information at the June 24 city commission meeting and voted to release the money.


AMISUN ~ The Island's Award-Winning Newspaper