The Anna Maria Island Sun Newspaper


Vol. 16 No. 21 - March 23, 2016

headlines

Cortez property sells for $10 million

Carol Whitmore

SUBMITTED

The largely vacant 17.8-acre property in Cortez is planned as
vacation motor coach resort near the proposed Peninsula Bay
subdivision, the vacant property to the northeast.

CORTEZ – A businessman with Cortez roots has purchased one of the largest undeveloped parcels of waterfront property in Cortez for $10 million.

The canalfront 17.8-acre Hunter’s Hill, including the HH Marina at 12444 Cortez Road W., is planned as a vacation motor coach resort and marina, said Eric Tupin Grimes, 36, president of Florida Land Enterprises, a partnership with Marshall Gobuty, who is developing the Mirabella subdivision in Bradenton’s Village Green.

Visitors can store their boats at the marina, which is connected by canal to the Intracoastal Waterway accessible under a 14-foot-high bridge, he said, adding that he plans to expand dry dock storage.

“The marina will stay old school,” he said. “It reminds me of sitting on the docks with my grandfather, Frank Tupin.”

Grimes’ aunt, Kathe Tupin Fannon, a Cortez boat captain and commercial fisherman, suggested the purchase in January, he said, and last week he competed the deal.

“My initial thought was to protect it because I’m from here,” said Grimes, a fifth-generation Cortezian and former commercial fisherman whose grandfather taught him to play golf on the property as a child from the back of a kicker boat.

While he’s considering naming the development after his grandfather, something like Capt. Frank’s Motor Coach Resort and Marina, he’s also considering letting the village pick the name. He’s also thinking about naming the wet slips after Cortez boat captains, using their nicknames like “Blue” and “Tink.”

“It’s important we stay tightknit in this community,” he said. “We gotta keep it local.”

Water everywhere

The property’s canal, which borders it on three sides, touches Peninsula Bay to the northeast, a planned 1,800-home subdivision by Manatee Fruit Co. President Whiting Preston. Two RV parks lie to the east of the property, Buttonwood Inlet RV Resort and Holiday Cove RV Resort.

Located across Cortez Road from the historic Cortez commercial fishing village, the property is the former Cipriani family compound, sold in 2002 by Frank Cipriani, who operated C n’ C Marine, to Swedish businessman Peter Thurell.

Thurell called it Hunter’s Hill, using part of the original name of Cortez, Hunter’s Point, which he had already named his home at the southwestern tip of Cortez village.

The hill on the property is actually a bomb shelter built by Ed Cipriani underneath his carport in 1960, just in time for Hurricane Donna. His family used the shelter during the storm, emerging to find only the carport roof blown off.

New plans

Thurell’s development plans, approved by the Manatee County Commission, would have included 36 two-story, single-family homes in fishing cottage style, six townhouses atop 7,000 square feet of retail space, a caretaker’s house, 37 new boat slips (eliminating more than 100 slips), a boat ramp and a tidal pond.

Grimes’ plans are less dense, with 107 spacious motor coach lots and no tidal pond, he said, adding that he hopes county officials will take into consideration that, unlike homes, recreational vehicles can move when a storm is predicted.

The resort would cater to vacationers, who would stay for a month or so at a time and come back all their lives, he said, adding that he would not sell the lots.

All in the family

“The motivation behind this is family, to leave this to our kids,” Caylee, 12, and Landon, 10, Grimes said, adding that he’s married to a fourth-generation local, Caroline, his middle-school sweetheart.

If his family had not just completed their dream house in northwest Bradenton, they probably would have moved to the property, he said.

“This is an amazing opportunity that Peter and his family blessed our family with,” Grimes said, crediting the Thurells with believing in Cortez, their second home.

But building a development is a full-time job, he said.

“You need someone who’s tied deeply enough to this community to do a project this size. That is the secret here,” said Grimes, who also is director of sales at DSG, a dental appliance manufacturer with offices in the U.S. and Canada.

“This is the last significant piece of land in Cortez,” he said, pointing out that the property is just across the Cortez Bridge from Anna Maria Island’s beaches and just across Cortez Road from Cortez village, with its local seafood restaurants.

His company’s motto is “Where Vision Meets Tradition.” He elaborates at the end of each e-mail: "A dream is having the vision to change the world while protecting the only things that truly matter... God, Family and True Friends." But his favorite everyday slogan is, “Go big.”

“I went big,” Grimes said. “Now I’m coming home.”

 

FDOT report awakens SAM

The replacement project for the Anna Maria Island Bridge along Manatee Avenue has entered a new phase, and so has the fight to keep it a working drawbridge.

The much-contested project that will replace the 60-year-old drawbridge with a fixed-span bridge with a 65-foot vertical clearance is set for the design phase.

This project goes back 25 years to when the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) came to the Island cities and stated they were going to replace the drawbridge with a high, fixed-span bridge. The regional FDOT director said it was a “done deal.”

The Island residents protested the lack of information about the project, and they formed an activist group known as Save Anna Maria (SAM), which took FDOT to task and at an administrative hearing, a judge ruled FDOT had not sufficiently advised the citizens of the project’s plans and the state abandoned the project.

FDOT rehabilitated the bridge in 2008, and the next year, started making plans to either keep or replace it. Public hearings were held and FDOT officials determined the bridge should be replaced. There was still some opposition, but the final decision was to replace the low-level drawbridge with a fixed-span structure.

Reactivated

Members of SAM have remobilized and will meet to discuss the bridge issue at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church on Saturday, March 26, at 11 a.m. Justin Bloom, of Suncoast Waterkeeper, will speak on efforts to protect the local waterways through environmental education and advocacy. For more information, call 778-5352.

SAM member Ursula Stemm said members attended a meeting on March 11 at the Manatee Public Works building where FDOT laid out plans for the project.

“We were the minority,” she said. “The room was full of architects and engineers.”

As for SAM’s goals, Stemm said the public needs a voice in the future of the bay and waterfront.

“We need to align ourselves with other environmental groups like the Sierra Club and Manasota 88,” she said.

On Jan. 15 of this year, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) granted approval (Location and Design Concept Acceptance) of the Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) with the updated environmental assessment for the replacement of the bridge. The FONSI will be available for reading at the Island Branch Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, and at the Manatee County Central Library at 1301 Barcarrota Blvd, W. in Bradenton.

“We’ve set up an aesthetics committee composed of people chosen by the local governments to add input into what the bridge will look like,” said project manager Kati Sherrard. “We will have some public meetings so the people will be able to see the plans.”

Sherrard said they will set up a new website soon so people will have a chance to follow the progress.

“We’re hoping to have a section with frequently asked questions,” Sherrard said.

As it is now, the plan calls for the 65-foot clearance bridge to have two traffic lanes, each with 12-foot shoulders plus 10-foot sidewalks on both sides of the traffic lanes. In an emergency, the shoulders could be used for disabled or emergency vehicles to stop without impeding the flow of traffic. The shoulders and walkways would also be available for bicyclists. The sidewalks will be separated from the shoulders by concrete barrier walls.

The location of the new bridge will be south of the present structure, which will remain operational until the new bridge is opened to traffic. There is no prediction available from FDOT as to when construction would start.

Step right up and order

BRADENTON BEACH – The Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce introduces a festival that changes the way people think about those food trucks that show up on construction sites at lunch time.

The Beach ’N Food Truck and Music Festival runs from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, April 2, at Coquina Beach. It is a celebration of music, food trucks and arts and crafts.

There is something for everybody at this inaugural event. There will be live music all day, a huge car show, beer, wine, Margaritas, rum coolers and other beverages. The little ones will enjoy the Kids' Zone, and there will be an assortment of arts and crafts booths.

The food trucks and their offerings include:

• The Surf & Turf Truck featuring lobster rolls, salmon burgers, steak sandwiches and shrimp tacos;

• Traveling Kitchen/TK Grill featuring roast pork, grilled chicken, breakfast burritos and black beans and rice;

• Kona Ice – frozen shaved flavored ice treats;

• Tropi Coco – coconut water served from actual coconuts and coconut smoothies;

• Croz’s Surf Shack – rice bowls, specialty hot dogs, tacos and more;

• Pasta Bowl Food Truck featuring alfredo, pesto and bolognese pastas, caprese paninis, muffaletta sandwiches, meatball sliders, cannoli, cappuccino, espresso and more;

• Polpo Pizza Company – wood fired pizza served from a custom food truck;

• Skinny’s Place Curbside serving its famous burgers;

• South Philly cheesesteak;

• Traveling Kitchen- barbecue;

• Angry Mikes – seafood gumbo, gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches and wraps.

Mike Sales will emcee the music, which includes The JPs, Billy Rice Band, Whiskey Blind, soulRcoaster and Karen & Jimmy Band.

Admission is free, and there will be plenty of parking. If you can, take the free Island Trolley and let the trolley driver deal with the traffic.

Easter fun in Anna Maria

ANNA MARIA – The Sandbar restaurant, Pine Avenue Restoration and the Anna Maria Island Sun have a program of Easter fun for kids and adults on Saturday, March 26.

It begins with the 30th Annual Easter Egg Hunt on the beach next to the Sandbar restaurant. The hunt starts at 9 a.m. sharp. Plan on leaving home early because there could be lots of traffic. If you arrive early, there will be refreshments at the wedding and events pavilion next to the restaurant.

Children will be grouped into three age categories – 4 and under, 5 to 7 and 8 to 10 years old. The Easter bunny left a lot of eggs on the beach, and every one of them has a small surprise inside.

After the hunt, the Easter Bunny will lead a parade of kids and their parents up Pine Avenue for the Seventh Annual Easter Egg Roll and Easter Bonnet Contest.

Kids will enjoy the face painting, egg dyeing and egg rolling. Dara Caudill, of IslandPhotography.org, will be offering complimentary framed pictures with the Easter Bunny. Chuck Caudill will be playing music, and the Sandbar will provide food and refreshments. Everyone will get a number that can be redeemed at participating shops on “The Greenest Little Main Street in America,” Pine Avenue.

The Easter Bonnet Contest is a popular event. The first place adult prize is a two-night stay at Anna Maria Guest House. There will be prizes for second and third place. The first place kid’s bonnet will get a lunch at the Sandbar for the winner and three friends, complete with hot fudge sundaes. There will also be prizes for second and third place in the kid’s competition.

For more information, contact Tina Chiles at 778-8710 or tchiles@chilesgroup.com.

Churches will offer Easter worship

Easter is one of the holiest Christian holidays and those who are here on vacation will be welcome to a wide variety of services from the six churches on the Island.

The most interesting celebration should be the 52nd Easter Sunrise Service sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Anna Maria Island at Manatee Public Beach. Each of the churches is represented. The benediction this year will be delivered by Rev. Edward Moss, of Crosspointe Fellowship. A representative of St. Bernard Catholic Church will be delivering the offertory prayer. Father Matthew Grunfeld, of Episcopal Church of the Annunciation, will deliver the opening prayer. Rev. Dr. Bob O’Keef, of Roser Memorial Community Church, will deliver the sermon. Rev. Stephen King, of Harvey Memorial Church, and Rev. Rosemary Backer of Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, will deliver scriptures. Bring a chair or blanket and some money for the offertory. Money raise will be split between the churches.

Here’s a look at what each church is doing.

• CrossPointe Fellowship, 8605 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach, will have a Good Friday service on March 25 at 7 p.m. There will be a 9 a.m. service Easter morning. The number is 778-0719.

• The Episcopal Church of the Annunciation, 4408 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach, will have a Good Friday liturgy on March 25, at noon and 7 p.m., a Great Vigil of Easter on March 26 at 7:45 p.m. and an Easter Holy Eucharist at 7:30, 9 and 11 a.m. Call 778-1638.

• Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, 6608 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, will have Good Friday worship at noon and 7 p.m. and an Easter worship at 8 and 10:30 a.m. The phone number is 778-1813.

• Harvey Memorial Community Church, 300 Church St., Bradenton Beach, will have Easter morning worship at its regular times, 8 and 10:30 a.m. Call 779-1912.

• Roser Memorial Community Church, 512 Pine Ave., Anna Maria, offers a Good Friday service at noon and Easter services at 8:30 and 10 a.m. Call 778-0414.

• St. Bernard Catholic Church, 248 S. Harbor Drive, Holmes Beach, features a Mass of the Lord’s Supper at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 26, and Passion of Our Lord at 3 p.m. on Good Friday. There will be a Blessing of Easter Baskets at 10 a.m. and an Easter Vigil Mass at 8 p.m. on Saturday, March 26. There will be masses at 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. on Easter. The phone number is 778-4769.

Amended parking ordinance introduced

joe hendricks | sun

Rocks and other items placed in city right of ways may
soon have to be removed in order to provide for legal
right of way parking.

 

BRADENTON BEACH – City officials are considering amendments to the existing parking ordinance that could impact parking in residential areas.

Introduced last week as an amendment to Ordinance 98-311, Ordinance 16-311 looks to eliminate language that requires a specific amount of open roadway space and replace it with language that requires the entire roadway to remain unobstructed, with the exception of temporary use by service and delivery vehicles.

The current ordinance says no person shall park on a street or alley in a manner that leaves less than 10 feet of available roadway.

The new language says no person shall park in a manner that leaves less than the full width of the roadway available. This language addresses the fact that most streets on the north end of the city provide 10-foot travel lanes in each direction, while some on the south side of town provide only 8-foot travel lanes.

The goal is to ensure clear passage for safety vehicles when vehicles parked on both sides of the street.

The proposed ordinance would also alter parking restrictions that apply to street ends. The new language calls for parking to be prohibited within 100 feet of the street ends from First Street North to 27th Street North along the Gulf side, except where the city provides marked parking spaces.

Parking would be prohibited within 200 feet of the bayside street ends from Second Street North to 26th Street North and from Third Street South to 13th Street South along the Sarasota Bay shoreline.

The new ordinance would also increase from 10 to 20 feet the distance a parked vehicle must remain from an intersection.

Reclamation efforts

Building Official Steve Gilbert introduced the amended ordinance at the Thursday, March 17, City Commission meeting. The parking ordinance is a precursor to the city’s efforts to reclaim city-owned right of ways and rid them of the rocks, railroad ties, landscaping features and other elements that prevent legal right of way parking.

According to Police Chief Sam Speciale, parking with your tires on the pavement is, and always will be, a violation.

“If there’s rubber on the pavement you’re going to get a ticket,” he said when discussing the proposed amendments later in the week, while noting that officer discretion also comes into play.

Vice Mayor Ed Straight said requiring the roadway to be entirely free of parked vehicles might adversely impact north side residents.

“If you take the time to drive up and down Avenue A, B and C you will see lots of problems,” he said of the limited street-side parking available in some areas.

Gilbert said the city’s land development code allows only sod, grass and other approved ground cover in city rights of way.

He added that many property owners have planted and landscaped to the roadway edge of the right of way, which eliminates the potential to park legally in the right of way located in front of one’s home.

“On average, there’s 15 feet on either side of the pavement to park, but they’ve filled it up with other stuff,” Gilbert said.

“Regaining our property is going to be pretty hard,” Straight said.

Commissioner Jan Vosburgh suggested this might “open a can of worms.”

The amended ordinance proposes giving homeowners the exclusive use of the code-compliant right of way in front of their homes, as long as the space is not designated as public parking in order to fulfill beach renourishment parking requirements.

Speciale said this in response to complaints about vacation rental guests parking in front of owner-occupied homes.

Mayor Bill Shearon supports the proposed changes.

“The intent of this ordinance is to some extent take back our right of ways so that everybody is treated fair. You can’t have an exception for one area and not for the other. We also have to take into consideration that we have parking requirements for beach renourishment,” he said.

Speciale said, “What we’re trying to do is get this ordinance strict enough that it gives me the opportunity to enforce it, but gives us enough leeway that it doesn’t infringe on the property owners’ rights. The subject of taking over the right of ways is a totally different issue. This is the parking ordinance.”

The proposed parking ordinance amendments will be discussed again during a public hearing and adoption process that will allow for public input.

Automated ticket writers headed south?

submitted

A handheld ticket writer would save time for officers.

Bradenton Beach Police Chief Sam Speciale has proposed converting to an automated parking ticket system similar to what will be implemented in the city of Anna Maria in April.

Speciale made the suggestion during a recent department head meeting and said he would conduct additional research before making a formal request to the city commission.

As was the case when Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy proposed the system to his city commissioners, Speciale said the handheld ticket writers and affiliated fine collection software would increase the fine collection rate from 70 to 80 percent to more than 90 percent. Speciale said his research also indicated that approximately 10 percent of parking tickets are not paid because an officer’s handwriting can’t be read.

Speciale told the city commissioners who attended the March 10 department head meeting that his officers issue an average of 40 to 60 parking tickets each weekend, and the handheld ticket writers would reduce the amount of time his officers spend issuing tickets. He said it would also reduce the amount of time the city clerk’s office spends processing parking tickets and fines.

Elected officials prioritize traffic fixes

BRADENTON BEACH – Officials prioritized a list of transportation projects submitted by each of the four mayors at last week’s meeting of Island elected officials.

In January, officials agreed that each city would make a list of ways to immediately impact traffic congestion on the barrier islands to be presented to Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) officials.

Longboat Key Town Manager Dave Bullock compiled the list and facilitated the prioritizing session. Officials first went through the list combining some items and then deciding which ones qualified as short term.

Projects identified

The list of short-term projects is as follows:

• Determine the viability and effectiveness of express buses both on Manatee Avenue and Cortez Road, with only two to three central pick up stops in Bradenton/Palmetto and ending at the Manatee or Coquina beaches and offer a rider coupon for use at beach concessions.

In coordination with Manatee County, lease a portion of the parking lots at 75th Street and Manatee Avenue and 75th Street and Cortez Road and offer shuttle service to and from the Island.

Seek active support and involvement of the Chambers of Commerce and business leaders in identifying and implementing congestion improvement solutions.

Collect data on numbers of employees, work schedules, business hours, rental schedules from businesses and realtors in order to explore feasibility of staggered work schedules and rental agreement schedules to avoid peak times during season

• Reduce drawbridge lifts on Cortez, Anna Maria Island and New Pass bridges to one per hour and less during peak traffic periods.

• Monitor traffic flow remotely using the cameras already installed and adjust red light/green light time accordingly to facilitate the flow off and onto the Island.

• Review currently funded FDOT study of bridge openings and automated traffic signal timer (four lights) for monitoring changes.

• Consider manual override, law enforcement, for maximum traffic signal flow on or off the Island as needed on heavy beach days.

• Add an extra trolley when needed.

• Improve traffic light operations at Cortez Bridge to 119th Street to allow better traffic flow on Cortez Road.

Bullock said he would draft a letter for approval by the four mayors. Following approval, the letter would be sent to the FDOT district secretary.

Cortez Road suggestion

Tom Freewall, of Longboat Key, presented a suggestion to alleviate congestion at 119th Street in Cortez.

“The traffic light at 119th Street is an on demand light, and one vehicle turning the light on creates an effect all the way to Island Time (at the corner of Gulf Drive and Bridge Street),” he explained. “If we could fix that, it’s the beginning of our long term solution.”

He said Cortez Road has enough asphalt to create two lanes going east, and the right hand lane could be used only for traffic coming off the Cortez Bridge. He said the traffic light could be turned off, and an officer could direct the traffic that exits 119th Street onto the eastbound left lane on Cortez Road.

“We could test this on a busy Sunday with low cost and low risk and se how much impact it has on the traffic on SR 789,” he concluded.

Officials did not take any action on the suggestion.


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