HOLMES BEACH – By carefully scrutinizing the city’s budget, Mayor Bob Johnson and Treasurer Lori Hill have discovered an error, which if allowed to continue would bankrupt the city.

“In trying to provide better visibility of operational expenses and revenue streams, we exposed a serious issue,” he told city commissioners at last week’s work session. “Once we pulled it apart, we found a hole of $650,000. You can’t believe what a shock this was.”

He said if the city continues on the same path, the operating revenue would be down to $300,000 at the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30, 2016, and $1 million in the hole in two years.

“We do not have enough revenue coming into the general fund to pay for the expenses,” he continued. “We didn’t know why. It took some time, but we found it.

“This is what we saw – since 2009-10, the budgeted revenue has lagged the budget expenses by about $1 million. That’s pretty shocking. The operating reserve was being depleted slowly.”

Closing the gap

Johnson said if they make up the revenue gap this year, they would preserve their operating fund level. He said options include cutting the cost of operations or increasing revenue.

“Fixing this problem this year is one way in the time we have to get us in a stable position in the coming years, and hopefully provide us time to find other ways to bring in other streams of revenue” he explained.

He said the city has to declare its maximum ad valorem rate in two weeks, and the maximum it could declare is 2.3191. The current ad valorem rate is 1.75.

He said commissioners should set the rate high until he and the staff have time to work on the budget to see what the actual rate should be. He recommended 2.3191 because they can reduce it, but not increase it.

A millage rate of 2.3191 would increase revenue by $886,631; a millage rate of 2.25 would increase revenue by 778,976 and a millage rate of 2.0 would increase revenue by $389,488.

In addition, Johnson learned that the building department costs nearly twice as much as the revenue it generates, and the plan includes increasing building department fees.

“This is not the road I expected us to be on,” he said. “This is a significant issue for the city. It has to be done; there is no alternative. The good news is we found it in time.”

Commissioners approved the 2.3191 ad valorem rate, and Johnson said he would come back in August with a budget, a more realistic ad valorem rate and a new building department fee schedule.

HOLMES BEACH – After nearly 48 years on the Island, Carol Whitmore announced Friday that she and husband Andre Renard are moving off the Island.

“We have an enormous house, and we feel it’s time,” she said. “It’s not the visitors or the traffic. I don’t get upset with the

congestion or when Publix is crowded.

“This is such a big step for me. It was hard for me to put the sign out. It’s devastating, but I’ll always have the Island in my heart and represent the Island residents.”

She said the house is 5,000 square feet under roof and 3,300 square feet under air on a large irregular lot. The asking price is $1.499 million. It is listed with Wagner Realty.

Whitmore, who has served as a city commissioner as well as mayor, is currently a Manatee County commissioner. She said because she was elected at large, it wouldn’t affect her position. Whitmore was elected by a countywide vote of nearly 60 percent.

When asked how she feels about the city commission’s recent decisions to implement a resident permit parking plan in two areas and limit duplexes to one pool per lot, she said, “I agree with Mayor Johnson that we’re being reactive regarding parking and just kicking the can down the road.

“I also agree with Anna Maria’s philosophy to enforce the rules. People have a right to come to the beach, but they have to be respectful.”

Regarding pools she said, “What they’re doing is making it harder for residents to buy a duplex. Everybody is regulating so much it’s hard for our residents to be able to enjoy the Island and live here.”

Whitmore said she and Renard have not yet decided where they would relocate.

HOLMES BEACH – The famous cat that adopted two shopping centers and lived the life of a drifter was done in by the wildlife of which he was a part.

According to Patti LeCroy, of SunCoast Real Estate in the Island Shopping Center, It began with a cat’s scream a block from the shopping centers Saturday night around midnight.

“Brett Wigdon heard the scream behind his home and went to check,” LeCroy said. “He found Prince on his porch, bleeding profusely.”

Kayla Jennis, who works at the Sarasota Emergency Vet’s office, loaded Prince in her car and took him to the vet with Wigdon.

“Dr. Ryan Fincher treated him, and Kayla called me and asked if I wanted to come down,” LeCroy said. “We called Linda Clayton, who owns Mister Roberts and she went along.

“Dr. Fincher said it looked like an animal with talons or claws attacked prince because there were wounds on his back,” she said. “It appears the animal severed his spinal cord so he was paralyzed from the middle of his back down.”

At 2:30 Sunday morning, Clayton and LeCroy decided to have him euthanized.

LeCroy said she had heard all sorts of rumors about what happened to Prince, but it appears a wild animal was responsible.

“We paid to have him cremated, and his ashes will be at Mister Roberts,” she said.

At Mister Roberts, the owners put a flower and a picture of Prince napping on the couch that served as his nap area.

There is a sign in the window of The Feast restaurant saying, “The FeastRestaurant and True Value Hardqware celebrate the life of Prince, ?- 2015.” People left messages to Prince on the sign. One read, “The plaza will never be the same, John, the Feast,

Prince was a legend to the business owners and customers in that block, and he leaves a legacy.

“We started an account at Hancock Bank for him when he was sick,” LeCroy said. “We will be using that money for other animals who get injured or shots for animals whose owners can’t afford it.

Prince was his own Tomcat who lived the life he wanted, nuzzling tourists who bent down to pet him and eating breakfast at Minnie’s before finding a shady spot for a nap. When the weather got bad, doors opened for him to sleep dry and warm. He didn’t have a home, yet he had many homes, and while he did not have one owner, he won the hearts of business owners in the shopping malls who got together to make sure he lived life to the fullest.

“Prince would have wanted it that way,” said LeCroy.

BRADENTON BEACH – Repairs were scheduled to take place this week to the exterior of the Bradenton Beach cell tower that sustained exterior wind damage during a storm in late April.

New exterior panels were scheduled for installation last week, but Tarpon Towers President Brett Buggeln said rainy weather prevented those repairs from taking place. He said the repairs should commence this week instead.

Cell tower construction was completed last fall, and Verizon activated its tower-mounted equipment earlier this year, but AT&T has yet to install or activate the communications equipment that would provide better cellular services to their Island users, and this continues to be a source of concern for city officials.

Citing a conversation she had with Buggeln in June, City Commissioner Jan Vosburgh recently reported to the commission that it could be as late as 2018 before AT&T is providing cellular service on the city’s tower.

AT&T also is supposed to provide service on the cell tower being built in Anna Maria.

The lack of a second carrier on the Bradenton Beach tower has impacted the anticipated revenue stream that was supposed to come in the form of quarterly payments to the city form the tower lease holder, as stipulated in the city-issued lease that allowed the tower to be built and operated on city property next to the Public Works Department building.

“We will not get any money until we get another carrier installed on the tower,” Vosburgh said.

City Treasurer Sheila Dalton confirmed that the city has not received any additional cell tower funds beyond the original $320,000 down payment received last fall.

When contacted last week, Buggeln said, “I don’t know where that 2018 date is coming from, but AT&T’s funding has changed because they bought Direct TV, and they are working on developing a network in Mexico. Further development here in the U.S. has been delayed, but I don’t know what that delay is.”

According to Buggeln, AT&T is still responsible for the lease payments it agreed to make in exchange for the rights to use the new tower.

“They signed a lease with me, but when they install is out of my pervue or knowledge. We just provide the facility for them and then their deployment is something they handle internally. They pay rent whether they are using it or not.” Buggeln said, without explaining why the city has yet to receive the revenue sharing promised in the lease.

Earlier this year, Buggeln and Kevin Barile, now deceased, sought the commission’s permission to transfer their lease with the city to the much larger American Tower Corporation, but the commission agreed unanimously that no lease transfer would be approved until a second carrier is providing service on the tower.

“American Tower is no longer interested in proceeding, and it’s not out of the question that it might be tough to transfer it to somebody else,” Buggeln acknowledged.

As for how AT&T’s actions will impact the Anna Maria tower, he said, “We’re getting Verizon installed there, but I think any discussions about that are very premature because essentially the site isn’t complete yet.”

When asked about other carriers expressing interest in the Bradenton Beach tower, Buggeln said, “We’ve had some preliminary inquiries about Sprint going on the site.”

ANNA MARIA – There was construction action and some road blockage last week as a large equipment shed was lifted from a semi’s bed and placed on the platform of the cell phone tower.

The semi was parked along Pine Avenue at the employee parking lot of city hall last Thursday as workers hurried to clear the deck. A workman in a cage had strung cable through the tower to connect the antenna with the other equipment.

When the deck was cleared, workers moved the semi to Spring Avenue and the driver gingerly backed the building through a small space where the crane could pluck it from the bed and up onto the platform. A van parked along Spring complicated things for the driver, but he was able to get the job done.

The first antenna will be for Verizon, but the fate of AT&T, which signed the contract to use the tower, is uncertain, according to Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy. He said he had not heard from anybody at AT&T, but he said he is looking to change city hall’s phone service from AT&T to Verizon, saying he wanted to use a company that is on the tower.

tom vaught | sun

A worker places wire from an antenna through the cell phone tower and down to the platform.

 

 

 

HOLMES BEACH – After hearing from Island Congestion Committee Chair Jayne Christenson and other residents city commissioners agreed to implement the committee’s parking plan.

The two test areas where parking on the rights of way will be banned except for residents with permits are called Phase I and include White Avenue to 78th Street and 43rd to 52nd streets east of Gulf Drive.

Christenson gave several reasons for implementing the parking plan, including reducing congestion, being proactive and eliminating valet parking in neighborhoods.

She also gave four options – I: no parking except with resident permits; II: no parking on weekends or holidays except with resident permits; III: no parking on weekends or holidays and IV: no parking in posted areas – and the positives and negatives of each option.

Joanne Brown, of Aqua Lane in the Phase I area, said residents have been inundated with trash and threatened when they took photos of the trash. She implored the board, “Please act now on the congestion committee’s recommendation.”

Sue Wheeler, of 79th Street, had the opposite opinion and said their street does not have a parking problem and added, “You’re inhibiting our lifestyle and taking away our rights to park in the city.”

Commission comments

Commissioner Jean Peelen said she is comfortable with Option I of the committee’s Phase I plan as long as streets could opt out or in.

“I drove my golf cart around the neighborhood by the public beach area, and I don’t think it’s overly parked now except for main holidays, but that’s everywhere,” Chair Judy Titsworth said.

“My concern is by limiting it to a few streets, they’ll just move to a new street. You’re not going to stop congestion if you only do it in one neighborhood.”

She said she is still undecided.

“This is for the residents, unless we want them all to flee,” Peelen stressed. “Other towns control parking in residential areas to preserve residents’ rights.

“It’s not a Draconian step; it’s very minor. It’s a few streets; it’s not the end of the world. We can take one step to relieve the residents who are there.”

Commissioner Carol Soustek pointed out, “The residents of these affected areas came to us and asked for it. Put yourself in their place where every day there’s different cars parked. We’ve talked enough; get it going.”

Commissioners Pat Morton and Marvin Grossman said they should try it in the Phase I areas.

Resolution or ordinance

Peelen asked if it should be implemented by ordinance, and City Attorney Patricia Petruff said they could give direction to the chief and mayor, but there must be some written regulations on who can apply for a permit, the cost, the times of day and days of the week it is in effect and the like.

Police Chief Bill Tokajer said the parking ordinance must be amended to allow police to issue tickets every two hours if a car is parked in the same spot. Johnson said they also must establish criteria for streets that want to opt in or out.

“There is a lot of intensity in those areas,” Johnson said, “but the bulk of that occurs on weekends and holiday weekends. Do you want zero intensity? We need some guidance.”

Christenson said the consensus is for Option I in Phase I areas, and residents should get a permit for each vehicle, but Petruff disagreed and said, “There should be a reasonable limit per household.”

Commissioners agreed that staff would work on the details, and Petruff would have a draft ordinance for discussion at the first city commission meeting in September.

BRADENTON BEACH – A decision on who will occupy the city-owned Historic Bridge Street Pier restaurant space, bait shop and retail/office space could be reached Thursday.

The city commission conducted an initial review of four restaurant-inclusive proposals during its July 14 workshop and must now decide if they want to lease the pier-based restaurant space to a proven restaurant operator or allow all three city structures to serve as an extension of the nearby Bradenton Beach Marina.

The pier lease is scheduled for further discussion and a possible vote at the Thursday, July 23, commission meeting which will start at noon and allow for public comment.

If the commission opts for the restaurant tenant approach favored by past commissions, that choice has been narrowed down to the Anna Maria Oyster Bar operation overseen by President and CEO Joe Horne, or an Apeizza e Cucina pizza parlor operated by Colorado-based restauranteurs Richard Foresta and Joe Vega and their Clearwater-based partner, Michael Hartnett.

The Island Sushi and Grill proposal submitted by Kam Sourivongs failed to generate significant commission support.

The commission could also veer from tradition and award the contract for all three city properties to Bradenton Bridge Marina’s father and son team of Al and Michael Bazzy. Their proposal envisions water taxi service, bait sales, marina-like services and a restaurant collaborative that would serve both the waterfront dining space and a possible tour boat operation.

A proposal submitted by Sherman Baldwin and Paradise Boat Tours for the retail/office space was acknowledged, but not discussed in depth because the restaurant was not its primary focus.

Pier Team rankings

During the recent workshop, Pier Team Chair and Police Chief Sam Speciale presented commissioners with a Pier Team evaluation that ranked Apeizza highest with a cumulative final score of 51.31, followed by the Oyster Bar at 41.66, the Bazzy proposal at 28.31 and Island Sushi at 19.26. According to Speciale, Apeizza submitted the only proposal that met every requirement stipulated in the request for proposal issued by the city.

Island return

Eying a return to the Island, the Anna Maria Oyster Bar proposal calls for an express menu featuring the most popular dishes served at its three mainland locations. President and CEO John Horne told the commission the pier location would also include breakfast service if it could be provided in a profitable and sustainable manner.

Offering $1,666 per month for the first year of a lease that would gradually increase to $2,731 per month in year five, Horne envisions a 20-year business venture that would net the city an estimated $60,000 per year, including three percent of the annual gross revenue once a $1 million annual sales threshold has been met.

His proposal pertains to the restaurant space only.

Pier pizzeria

Representing the Apeizza group, Hartnett assured the commission that the pier location would not be franchised to another owner. He said live entertainment would be limited to solo acts or small combos and expressed confidence that the operation could successfully compete with two nearby pizzerias.

The Apeizza group is offering $2,500 a month and 4 percent of monthly gross sales for the restaurant space, in addition to $750 a month for the bait shop and $550 a month for the office/retail space, both of which would likely be sublet to Paradise Boat Tours, who has also discussed a similar partnership with the Oyster Bar.

The Apeizza proposal projects $924,000 in annual total income, including delivery service, with a final estimated net income of $176,000.

Bazzy alternative

The Bazzy proposal is for all three buildings and offers $3,500 per month for the restaurant space, $1,000 per month for the bait shop and $750 per month for the retail/office space, as well as 5 percent of the gross sales and 10 percent of the net operating profits for each of the three spaces.

It calls for a restaurant menu based on the Shrimp Louie’s menu developed in the 1990s that would also incorporate best of Bridge Street offerings from other dining establishments.

Echoing language contained in the marina groups’ written proposal, Bazzy made multiple references to “cooperation in place of competition” but did not provide specifics on how a multi-provider restaurant operation would work.

Bazzy told the commission his approach would help address issues that exist in the anchorage area south of the pier by providing free pump out service for those who need it, with his staff also monitoring boats that appear to be in jeopardy of sinking, which has been a common occurrence of late.

Bazzy said bait shop profitability would be directly linked to the fuel sales taking place at the nearby marina and on more than one occasion he referred to the pier operations as a public service rather than a profitable business endeavor.

The commission was intrigued by the Bazzy proposal, but some commissioners felt more details were needed before they could fully support it.