The Anna Maria Island Sun Newspaper


Vol. 17 No. 3 - November 2, 2016

headlines

Stirring the pot: City may just say no way

HOLMES BEACH – Although commissioners disagreed on how to deal with the issue of medical marijuana if the Constitutional amendment is approved on Nov. 8, they did agree to consider an ordinance banning grow houses and dispensaries in the city.

Police Chief Bill Tokajer said Anna Maria approved an ordinance that is “very short and just says no. It says they’re not going to have any grow houses or dispensaries within their city. A lot of cities in the state have already approved ordinances against it or put provisions on it.

“I would recommend that we do not have any grow houses or dispensaries. It’s an all cash business that is ripe for robberies and burglaries. It’s just going to be a problem for us.”

City Attorney Patricia Petruff said their two options are to impose a prohibition or to approve a moratorium until they see what the state does.

“If we do an absolute prohibition, the legislature could preempt that,” she pointed out. “I think the state is going to pass more legislation to further regulate the business. There’s a lot of uncertainty.”

Tokajer said there would be dispensaries on Manatee Avenue and Cortez Road and “that’s close enough for people on the Island with a card to get their legal prescription. I think we’d be better off to just say no.”

Commission comment

Commissioner Marvin Grossman said they should wait to see if the amendment is approved, but he could agree with a moratorium.

“Just an outright ban without seeing what they’re saying doesn’t make sense to me,” he said. “In some areas they allow people with a medical marijuana card to grow two or three plants, which to me makes a lot of sense. Anna Maria bans everything.”

Commissioner Jean Peelen said it is premature to discuss it until they know whether the amendment is approved, but Commissioner Pat Morton agreed with Tokajer and said it is better to be proactive than reactive.

Commissioner Carol Soustek said, “I don’t see where we would need it out here,” but Peelen noted, “I know people in their 80s who use medical marijuana and they can’t get in their car and go to Manatee Avenue.

“I have no problem with banning grow houses, but someone with a medical card should be allowed to have three plants in their home. More people than you think use marijuana now when it’s illegal.”

Tokajer told the board, “I’m not against medical marijuana if it’s used for the right reasons, and I’m not against an ordinance that says if the state allows people to have three plants in their home, they can legally do that as long as its not a grow house that’s doing it as a business.”

Then Chair Judy Titsworth brought down the house when she said, “I would be quite happy if R-2 turned into a pot farm. I feel it’s premature but I do like to support the chief.”

Decriminalizing possession

Titsworth also said she wants the commission to discuss decriminalizing possession of marijuana if the person has a small amount, and Tokajer said he would put it on his list of ordinances to bring forward.

Peelen said they should not put any work or money into an ordinance at this point but Mayor Bob Johnson said, “I see no advantage to waiting, particularly with respect to grow houses. I think we’re trying to keep that extreme away.”

Commissioners instructed Petruff to draft an ordinance banning grow houses and dispensaries for discussion at the next work session, but allow people to grow a few plants at home for individual use.

On Oct. 25, Manatee County Commissioners directed the preparation of an ordinance to consider a moratorium for 180 days on the acceptance and processing of new applications for the establishment of medical marijuana processing dispensing facilities in the unincorporated area of the county.

Stone crab festival this weekend

CORTEZ – Get your stone crab claws, your stone crab dip and everything stone crab at the Fifth Annual Cortez Stone Crab Festival this weekend, Nov. 5 and 6, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the FISH Preserve, 4628 119th St. W., or Marker 49 by boat.

You can also dip into Cortezian clam chowder, Cortez hot dogs (fried mullet on a bun), Bradentucky Boil or mixed greens, hush puppies, fish spread, peel and eat Gulf shrimp, shrimp and grits, corn on the cob and bratwurst.

Drink features include Bale Runner Brown Ale by Darwin Brewing Co., with the label referencing square grouper (ask someone from Cortez for the explanation), exclusively available at the festival and Darwin’s, and pina coladas in coconut half-shells.

Enjoy the work of local artists like Rose Lipke, who designed the festival’s logo, with stone crabs encouraging you to “eat more mullet,” and take the children to the kids’ zone.

Live music by Terry Helm, Reid Frost, The Bottom Line Band, Koko Ray & The Keepers, Twinkle & Rock Soul Radio, The Jason Haram Group, Nobody’s Fool, Taylor & Taylor, TC & Randy, Tropix, Sarasota Slim and Kettle of Fish will entertain both days.

Parking is available at the FISH Preserve at 116th Street West, with shuttles to the event.

The festival is a fundraising effort for Fishing for Freedom, which supports efforts to mitigate the 1995 state constitutional amendment banning gill nets, which put commercial fishermen out of work in Cortez and statewide.

The festival is sponsored by Swordfish Grill, Darwin Brewing Co., Killer Bait, Island Beach Monkeys, Flippin’ Mullet Sports Bar, N.E. Taylor Boatworks, Cortez Bait and Seafood Retail Fish Market, Cortez Kitchen and The Sun.

Flag-raising in City Pier Park

Anna Maria Island Sun News Story

City of Bradenton Beach | Submitted

During last week’s commission meeting, Mayor Bill Shearon
distributed copies of this photograph of Officer Sam Speciale during
his early days with the police department.

 

ANNA MARIA – Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy invites the public to join city officials and others in honoring military veterans and Veterans Day on Friday, Nov. 11, with a flag-raising ceremony that will christen the nautical-themed flagpole installed in City Pier Park last week.

The flag-raising ceremony will take place at 1 p.m. It will feature members of the Anna Maria Island Concert Chorus and Orchestra playing patriotic music as well as a bagpiper and the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office Honor Guard marching from Roser Community Church to the flag pole’ s location at the corner of Pine Avenue and North Bay Boulevard, where the flag will be raised for the first time.

During last week’s City Commission meeting, Murphy said, “It’s really a fine looking pole. The contractor who did the work, John Fara, did a beautiful job. People look at the coral and shells embedded in the flagpole-mount and say ‘That just looks like Anna Maria.’

“It was going to cost us the material plus $500 for his work and Mr. Fara has donated the entire thing to the city, so we got that flag pole base free. I encourage you all to take a look at it; it’s a work of art. We’ll have a small ceremony recognizing veterans and we’ll dedicate our flagpole. It should be a nice occasion.”

Fara’s generosity brought the cost of the project from an estimated $8,500 down to approximately $2,600.

More park improvements?

Later in the meeting, commission chair Doug Copeland suggested the commission participated in a commission workshop to discuss additional park improvements to the property formerly known as six lots that the city bought in 2011.

“If we don’t have a plan we’re going to wind up with whatever we end up with. If you don’t have a plan, you don’t end up with what you want,” Copeland told the commission.

He mentioned a public dock, beach volleyball courts, a splash park and a shower as potential improvements the commission may want to discuss in the near future.

Veteran’s day beach cleanup set

 

Submitted

A group of Holmes Beach volunteers was successful in
helping keep the beach clean over the Labor Day holiday
and plan another event for Veteran’s Day on Nov. 11.

 

The city of Holmes Beach is holding a beach clean up day on Friday, Nov. 11, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. City staff will be at the 52nd Street beach access with information on keeping the beaches litter free.

Beachgoers can visit staff members under the tent and pick up plastic garbage bags and recycle cans and plastics in carts provided by Waste Pro. There will be giveaways for kids and adults.

Code Enforcement Officers and volunteers will patrol the beaches from the south and north ends of Holmes Beach to encourage folks to carry out their trash when they leave the beach. Volunteers are needed for this community event.

Sponsored by Waste Pro the event is the second of this kind for the city. The first was on Labor Day after the city received complaints about trash on the beach following holiday weekends.

During that clean up, volunteers distributed 330 pairs of sunglasses, 250 stadium cups and 160 bottles of cold water and collected 300 pounds of trash. The next day, they scoured the beach and found only four items of trash.

To volunteer for the Veteran’s Day event, contact
James Thomas, code enforcement officer, at 941-708-5800, ext. 247.

Fire board considers selling admin. building

BRADENTON – West Manatee Fire Rescue commissioners said last week they would consider selling their administration building at 6417 3rd Ave. W. in Bradenton and downsizing if the market is favorable.

Chair Randy Cooper made the suggestion, pointing out that the fire district has completed remodeling all three of its stations and since the district has downsized its staff, it might be prudent to consider a smaller administrative facility.

“We have a mortgage of over a million, and with the economy coming back, maybe someone can use this building,” he said. “The chief said he needs a minimum of 4,000 square feet and this is 11,000 square feet.”

Commissioner David Bishop said he would be willing to entertain options, and said “If we can get a fair return on the investment, I would support it.”

Commissioner Larry Jennis agreed with Bishop.

Commissioner George Harris also agreed and suggested looking at the day care facility adjacent to Station 1 that is for sale, but Chief Tom Sousa said it has a contract on it.

Commissioner Al Robinson said the building has “stolen $35,000 a year in taxes because that’s what the doctors who had this before were paying and that’s probably low now.”

He said they should sell it and rent something more suitable, and Cooper said he would get appraisals for the building and the day care center.

However, Bishop said that would be premature, and they should first talk to commercial real estate agents.

Harris agreed and said they need to learn what the building is worth and if there’s a market for it in the neighborhood. Another option he said is that they could sell it to an investment firm and lease back the space they need.

“I’ll set up interviews with commercial realtors and brokers, and we’d have to set a base price on what we want to get out of it,” Sousa said. “We have $1.8 million in it and owe $1 million.”

He said he would bring back a recommendation to the board, which can approve a listing agreement, and also check on the process for selling government property.

Three Island cities support fire district

HOLMES BEACH – After hearing a presentation by West Manatee Fire Rescue Chief Tom Sousa, commissioners said the plan to put firefighters trained in advanced life support (ALS) on fire engines is a “no brainer.”

However, the county has resisted the plan, which is why Sousa asked for help from the Island cities to approve resolutions asking the county to amend its ordinance to allow the fire district to provide non-transport ALS.

Sousa explained that the county must issue a certificate of pubic convenience and necessity (COPCN) to allow providers to apply for an ALS license from the state. However when the county recently updated its ordinance on how to grant the COCPN, it did not provide a way for the county to grant one to a fire district.

“Our plan is to use our personnel and train them and then use our equipment and staff all of our engines with paramedics,” he said.

“We did get a grant to hire three more positions to the Holmes Beach station, and we will be hiring firefighter/paramedics in those positions."

Response times

Sousa said advantages of the plan include improving patient care and increasing the availability of advanced care.

“We have a three-person crew, and they respond with the ambulance on critical type patients,” he explained. “Typically from time to time, there’s only one paramedic on the ambulance. By adding a paramedic on our truck, those two as a team can work together to improve patient care.”

He said when Squad Four (the Quick Response Vehicle used by a marine rescue paramedic to offer ALS services) goes out of service at the end of the day, and the ambulance goes in town on a transport, the closest ambulance is at Cortez Road or 67th Street, if they are available.

He said the fire district did a study of response times and how quickly units get to a scene 90 percent of the time. For fire trucks from the Holmes Beach station that time was 7 minutes and one second, and for the ambulance it was 11 minutes and 52 seconds. However he did say the numbers are better for the county in town because there are more units, and they are closer to their core.

“The availability of fire engines is high, so we can get there quicker” he pointed out. “We’re always stationary in our response zone, and the county has to move ambulances around to maintain coverage when they get a lot of business, especially in season,”

He said the cost of ALS fire engines would be borne by the fire district, and it is already built into the budget with the revenue that is currently generated. The cost for schooling is $5,500 per person, the start up cost is $220,000 and the annual operating cost is $133,000.

“We’ re trying to bring more value to the service that we provide to the district, and we believe this is a good way and inexpensive way to do it,” he concluded.

Commission questions

Chair Judy Titsworth asked why the county is resisting, and Sousa said he thinks their concerns are having common protocols, quality assurance and liability.

“We told them we would have common protocols,” he said. “My response to quality assurance is that we’re already going on medical calls, and if it were an issue it would have already have surfaced with out current system.”

Regarding liability, he said, “It’s already being done all over the state and there haven’t been any problems.”

Titsworth asked if the county is concerned that the fire districts would want to transport patients, and Sousa said the fire district does not have the revenue base to do that and couldn’t afford it.

“It seems like a no brainer,” Titsworth said.

Commissioner Carol Soustek said, “When the ambulance leaves the Island with the paramedics, they’re leaving all our residents and visitors with nothing. That’s a disservice, and if we have the opportunity to cover that and we don’t, then we’ve neglected the people out here.

“We have to have this. It would be unconscionable for us to say no and the county has to look at that.”

The others agree and approved the resolution.

Anna Maria

On Thursday, Sousa presented the resolution to the Anna Maria City Commission.

“It seems to me that the more people we have out there to save lives without increasing costs, it makes no sense to not have that, and I would urge this commission to support this resolution,” Commission Chair Doug Copeland said.

“I think one point is that during season and in summer the traffic backs up on all the bridges, and the ambulances can’t get back and forth," Commissioner Chuck Webb added

“Here, we’ll have a resident paramedic who can get people stabilized until we can get them out of here. Someone’s here instead of being stuck in town because of traffic,” .

The commission voted 5-0 in support of the resolution.

“I want to thank you. You’re doing a really good thing for all of us who live in the fire district,” Copeland told Sousa.

The resolution was included in the consent agenda for the Bradenton Beach Commission on Oct. 20 and was unanimously supported with no presentation or commission discussion because Sousa was not invited to address the commission.

Tree house appeal denied

HOLMES BEACH – City Attorney Patricia Petruff told commissioners last week that the tree house appeal regarding a code enforcement board fine has been dismissed.

“Judge Gilbert Smith has entered an order dismissing the tree house appeal of the order imposing fine,” she said. “I don’t think it will be able to be appealed because the appellants failed to file their initial brief within the time required and failed to request an extension and failed to show cause why such action should not be dismissed.”

A special magistrate ruled in a May hearing that Richard Hazen and Lynn Tran, owners of the tree house in front of Angelino’s Sea Lodge at 103 29th St., did not bring the property into compliance with a code enforcement board order by removing the violations or demolishing the structure. The magistrate ordered a fine of $50 per day starting from July 22, 2015.

In September, tree house attorney David Levin filed an appeal of Judge Don T. Hall’s final order that the proposed ordinance regarding an initiative petition was prohibited under Florida law and could not be submitted to voters. The initiative petition filed in 2013 sought to allow voters to decide if the tree house is legal.

Peelen presents legislative issues

HOLMES BEACH – Commissioner Jean Peelen recently presented to city commissioners a list of legislative issues that came before the Urban Administration Committee of the Florida League of Cities and also presented the list to Island elected officials last week.

She said the committee narrowed the issues to three and would further narrow them to two on which members would focus their efforts for the coming state legislative session.

Holmes Beach commissioners agree to focus on three of those issues for the coming legislative session.

The committee’s list of issues were:

• Public records – Individuals and groups have developed a cottage industry regarding technical violations of the public records law by making public records requests of cities and suing if the cities don’t produce the records in accordance with the law.

Peelen pointed out that since 2013, the town of Gulfstream, with a population of 800, has received more that 1,500 public records requests and spent $350,00 in litigation defense.

She said the issue is whether to let a judge decide whether attorney’s fees should be awarded in such cases.

• Municipal elections – A bill was submitted last year that would make all municipal elections occur in November, however, only one fourth of the cities in the state hold elections in November.

• Smoke free zones – Cities are not allowed to regulate smoke free zones. The proposal is for an exemption to the state law to allow cities to establish smoke free zones in school districts or parks.

• Unlicensed construction activity – The request is that state require licensing of handymen and limitations on what they can do.

• Gun control – The proposal is to ban military style assault weapons and their component parts, ban or restrict a person convicted of hate cries or domestic abuse from obtaining guns and require reporting of anyone on the terror watch list who attempts to buy a weapon.

• Drone technology for search and rescue – Current law says law enforcement agencies may not use a drone to gather evidence or other information. Law enforcement agencies want an amendment to allow the use of drones to search for missing children or seniors, providing the images would not be used in any civil, criminal, administrative or code enforcement action or as grounds for search warrants.

• Short term rentals – Support legislation to repeal the state preemption of the regulations of vacation rental properties to allow local governments to regulate such properties to protect the health and welfare of residents, visitors and businesses.

• Tourist development taxes – Ask the legislature to enable counties and cities to use some tourist development tax funds to counter the effects of the growth of tourism.

Holmes Beach commissioners selected public records, short-term rentals and tourist development taxes as their priority issues. The three issues selected by the FLOC committee were public records, short-term rentals and municipal elections.


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