Sometimes choosing something that you thought was totally out of your range becomes the obvious choice. In a tight real estate market with little inventory, for some buyers, new construction is the best choice.
I don’t need to tell anyone reading this that the sound of hammering has become the backdrop music on Anna Maria Island. New homes are going up all over the place, some built on spec and some custom. This is also happening all over the country to compensate for the national lack of inventory.
Newly-built homes accounted for nearly one-third of single-family homes for sale nationwide in May. Historically, new homes represent between 10% to 20% of the market. Even investors are getting into the new home market to use as rentals or to flip down the road and there are plenty of these buyers represented around the Island.
With no inventory to choose from, buyers across the country are improving new home builders’ bottom line. The big builders are offering incentives to buy one of their new homes, some even with temporary advantageous financing benefits. Based on rising demand, builders are adding more homes to their inventory and buyers are more than happy to find a home that doesn’t need renovation.
As always, what happens on Anna Maria stays on Anna Maria, and very little of what happens in the Midwest or western parts of the country transfers to Florida. But there are still some basic caveats to follow when buying a new home.
Builders always want you to add upgrades to their basis home price. If you can afford major upgrades, better to do it while the home is under construction, but chose your upgrades carefully. Upgrading plumbing and electrical is smarter than upgrading kitchen cabinets, tile and countertops.
Look for areas during construction to cut corners without sacrificing quality. Sounds impossible, but an honest conversation with the contractor may reveal ideas you never thought of.
Read the fine print on the contract. Are appliances included and what are they? Be specific. What paint colors are included in the contract? If everything is getting a couple of coats of builder’s white, what will it cost you to have the builder paint colors in specific areas? New construction contracts usually have construction timelines with deadlines. This frequently coincides with incremental payments either from a cash buyer or draws from a bank construction loan.
Finally, even though it’s new, it may not be perfect. Don’t think that because you have a warranty it covers everything. A warranty on new homes covers items like materials, workmanship, systems and structural defects. A bad paint job may not come under the workmanship umbrella and may require more specific wording in the contract.
It’s also recommended that buyers hire a structural inspector to check the property at specific times during the construction process. This might be before the foundation is poured, and before the drywall is installed to make sure anything behind the walls like electrical work is up to code. The last inspection is at the completion of the home.
Local contractors are pouncing on older Island cottages, calling in the bulldozers and erecting mega homes. With little coming on the market and even less in pristine condition, new construction may be the only viable game in town, a no-brainer for those who can afford it.
Election season is coming up and it’s a strange one this year on Anna Maria Island, mainly because there are no elections being held in any of the three cities. All the qualified candidates are incumbents, leaving no reason for voters to go to the polls in November.
Either residents are happy with their current elected officials or are there no more willing volunteers on the Island.
It may be the latter.
Holmes Beach commissioners are about to amend their city’s charter because only one person qualified to run for the five-person 2024 Charter Review Commission. In Anna Maria, the historic preservation board just dropped its numbers down to three people so that it only takes two volunteers showing up to have a quorum.
Are Island residents just not taking an interest in their city governments anymore or is the lack of volunteers due to residents leaving the Island?
While city leaders in Holmes Beach say their population grew over the past year, U.S. Census data from 2021, the most recent data publicly available, shows a drop in full-time residents across the Island.
Drops in population combined with a lack of willing candidates to run for office could signal a shift that some Manatee County and state leaders are looking for, one that would indicate the three Island cities are ripe for consolidation.
Our communities need some volunteers to step up to work on committees and run for office. Otherwise, it may just be the straw that breaks the Island’s back.
HOLMES BEACH – There will be no changes on the city commission dais this year. Commissioners Pat Morton, Terry Schaefer and Carol Soustek are all automatically re-elected for another two-year term.
All three incumbent commissioners were unopposed when election candidate qualifying ended at noon on Sept. 1, eliminating the need for a November city election in 2023.
This will be Soustek’s fifth full term as a city commissioner. She was first elected in 2015 after being appointed in 2014 to fill the unexpired term of former Commissioner David Zaccagnino.
Morton was first elected in 2003 as a city commissioner, serving 17 years on the dais before losing his seat in the 2019 election. He regained his seat in 2021.
This will be Schaefer’s third term as a city commissioner. He was first elected to his seat in 2019.
Not so cut and dry were the Charter Review Commission results. After only one candidate, Holmes Beach resident William Romberger, qualified for one of the five seats, city leaders had to look to the charter and City Attorney Erica Augello for advice.
Initially, City Clerk Stacey Johnston announced that Romberger would be working to appoint an additional four members to the Charter Review Commission. Then Augello weighed in with a different opinion by email.
In her email, Augello said that because there were not five members sitting on the commission, the seats could not be vacated and therefore an appointment couldn’t occur. Under the city’s charter, she said there must be five members, or the review board can’t convene.
“Right now, the city is in a position where it is violating its charter by following the provisions of its charter through no fault of its own,” Augello said. “There is no way to enforce it if not enough people volunteer to run and serve.”
What this means for city commissioners is that they are now tasked with amending the charter.
According to the Holmes Beach charter, a charter review commission must be convened every five years to see if any amendments need to be made to the document by which the city is run. Mayor Judy Titsworth often refers to the charter as the city’s “Bible” during city commission meetings. Without a charter review commission, the scheduled five-year examination of the document in 2024 cannot take place.
Augello said an ordinance needs to be drafted for commissioners to consider to amend the charter to put the operations of the city back in line with the document.
This year marks the first time since the city was incorporated in 1950 that not enough people qualified to run for the charter review commission.
CORTEZ – As residents and business owners cleaned up on Thursday morning following the storm surge from Hurricane Idalia that flooded local roads, the recurring consensus was: “We got lucky.”
“There was no boat damage (to the fleet of fishing boats). We lost a few boards on the dock,” A.P. Bell Fish Co. owner Karen Bell said. “We were very lucky.”
Cortez is one of Florida’s last commercial fishing villages. It hugs the north shore of Sarasota Bay. On Wednesday morning, its roads were underwater, but by that evening, the waters had receded and roads were passable.
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In advance of the storm, A.P. Bell workers had secured the fleet of fishing boats with extra dock lines.
Bell also owns the Star Fish Co. restaurant and co-owns the Tide Tables restaurant.
“Star Fish sits so high we had no water encroachment,” she said. “But Tide Tables got about 6 inches of water.”
Tide Tables co-owner Bobby Woodson said they prepared for the storm by moving out large equipment.
“Before the storm, we moved all the equipment out east,” he said. “This isn’t something we wanted to mess around with.”
On Thursday, the equipment – including freezers – was in the back of a moving truck in the Tide Tables parking lot and ready to be reinstalled.
Tide Tables’ interior had been cleaned and dried by Thursday morning, and workers were shoveling yard debris into the back of a truck for removal.
“We expect to be back open by Saturday,” Woodson said, adding, “This could have been a lot worse.”
Boats at Cortez Bait and Seafood fish house that had been pulled from the water before the storm were back in the water Thursday.
In that same complex, owned by John Banyas, are two restaurants – Cortez Kitchen, which is undergoing renovation, and the Swordfish Grill and Tiki Bar.
“The parking lot was flooded, but the restaurants were OK,” Swordfish manager Adam Sears said on Thursday. “Swordfish sits 10 feet above the water so that was fine, and the work at Cortez Kitchen is moving along. That will be open fairly soon.”
Sears said Sunny Shores trailer park on the north side of Cortez Road was hit hard with flooding during the storm. Sunny Shores fronts Palma Sola Bay.
At Annie’s Bait and Tackle, water never got into the building, but the docks there sustained damage.
“The water came up to the building, but it didn’t get in. I’d say we were lucky,” Annie’s manager said. “The docks need to be repaired though. The middle dock is still usable, but the gas dock is trashed. It’s going to take a little while to get this all fixed.”
Cortez residents Cindy Rodgers and Paul Dreyfoos live about a block from the water. The flooding from the roads in front of their house did not impact their home.
“All good here,” Rodgers wrote in an email to The Sun. “Lucky once again.”
CORTEZ - Boats were pulled out of the water Tuesday at Cortez Bait and Seafood Inc. in advance of storm. - Leslie Lake | Sun
Rising water from the Intracoastal Waterway made its way toward the Tide Tables restaurant in Cortez. - Joe Hendricks | Sun
MANATEE COUNTY – The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating the source of an oil spill at SeaPort Manatee on Aug. 31.
SeaPort Manatee is a Manatee County-owned port located on Tampa Bay in northern Manatee County.
“We are on scene now working with the port,” U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Mike Kale of Sector St. Petersburg’s Response Department said on Friday.
Kale said his department is actively working to determine the source of the oil spill, which he estimates at about 3,000 gallons.
“A commercial oil response company has been hired,” Kale said on Friday. “They’re applying a boom around the oil. It appears to be contained.”
Some of the Coast Guard Response Department’s missions are ports, waterways and coastal security, and marine environmental protection.
The spill was noticed on Aug. 31, according to a spokesperson for the Manatee County Port Authority. That was the day after Hurricane Idalia side-swept Manatee County as a Category 3 storm.
“Yesterday, we noticed a visible discoloration within the port’s basin and notified the National Response Center,” Manatee County Port Authority Communications Director Virginia Zimmerman wrote in a Sept. 1 email. “The U.S. Coast Guard inspected and didn’t set any restrictions on vessel operations.”
Kale said the investigation into the source of the oil remains active.
“We don’t know the source right now, we are continuing to investigate,” he said. “That could take some time to determine.”
On Aug. 17, mortgage interest rates spiked to 7.09%, the highest in years per Freddie Mac. A lot of this has to do with the 10-year treasury yield, which hit its highest level since 2008 on the same day. Since mortgage rates tend to move somewhat with the 10-year treasury, rates went up combined with the Fed’s ongoing attempt to tame inflation.
Last year when rates started going up, except with a brief decline at the end of 2022, the consensus was that the higher cost to borrow would be temporary. Now, however, eight months later, all players in the real estate market are adjusting to the idea that higher rates are either here to stay or at least will be around for a long time.
So, what does that mean to the average home buyer? Essentially it means it’s time to get off the bench and make a commitment since things aren’t changing any time soon. That, of course, is easy for me to say but the truth is buyers are finding it is the hardest thing to accomplish even after they adjust to higher rates.
The lack of inventory all across the country is pushing prices up to a level many buyers can’t afford. After all, if you had a 3% or 4% mortgage, would you sell your home and move on to something else unless you absolutely had to? Probably not, and that is the log jam in the real estate market. About 60% of the country has mortgages below 4% and even homeowners who missed the absolute bottom are still ahead of the curve by at least 2 percentage points.
Buyers need to understand there is no crystal ball and even the real estate gurus called it wrong with their temporary thinking. Now is the time buyers have to bite the bullet by downsizing their expectations and being flexible. Not all of your children need their own bathroom or even their own bedroom, and you can prepare dinner in a kitchen without a quartz island; millions of people do.
Look at the additional expense of a higher mortgage from a monthly payment perspective. When you break it down into financial pieces, it may not be as intimidating, kind of like upgrading your iPhone. Don’t ask what it costs, just what it will cost monthly.
Let’s look at Manatee County’s July sales statistics reported by the Realtor Association of Sarasota & Manatee:
Single-family homes closed 10.1% more properties this July compared to last July. However, the median sale price of $515,000 was down by 1.2% and the average sale price of $641,991 was also down by 6.9%. The median time to contract was 29 days this July compared to 9 days last year and the month’s supply of properties was 2.7 months, about the same as last year.
Condo sales were down 8.0%, the median sale price was $389,500, down 0.4% from last year and the average sale price was $523,922, down 2.5%. The median time to contract was 36 days this year compared to 10 days last year, and the month’s supply of properties was 3.4 months compared to 1.6 months last year.
The Association of Realtors states, “Despite higher interest rates, the housing market in Sarasota and Manatee counties stays strong due to low supply and continued demand with relatively stable prices.”
A lot of what’s going on in other parts of the country does not aways apply to Florida, which tends to march to its own drummer. All real estate markets are local, and all states have different economic challenges. Sales are taking longer to book, but overall, Manatee County is hanging in there.
Sarasota Bay Watch, a local nonprofit, is dedicated to educating and enlisting the Sarasota Bay community to act to preserve and protect our waters. Some community efforts include cleanups, above and below the water’s surface, to remove trash and entangling debris, and initiate vegetative and shellfish restoration. The organization also creates programs that promote youth education and leadership.
Sarasota Bay Watch has been conducting its annual Scallop Search for over 13 years. Unfortunately, in recent years, COVID-19 and red tides have canceled the searches.
Why are scallops important? Scallops serve as canaries in the coal mine, providing a good indicator of water quality since they are affected by storms, water salinity, red tide and predation. In addition, during the search, a great deal of information is collected on various shellfish like clams, seagrasses, and other marine organisms.
This citizen science approach (community information gathering) not only benefits the organization but also educates the community on life in our waters. Changes in populations, temperatures, and pollution are reflected in the marine environment. Educating the community with this hands-on activity is the goal of the search. To be a proponent of water quality protection, a basic understanding of the marine environment is essential. This is one of the event’s main objectives.
Last Saturday, Sarasota Bay Watch hosted this year’s Scallop Search at the Sarasota Sailing Squadron. Participants in the family-friendly boating event were tasked with collecting information on the state of Sarasota Bay from north to south. Boaters were essential to the success of the event, bringing their crews and additional volunteers out on the bay.
Students received community service hours for their involvement in the search. Participants were assigned to an area and provided equipment. They then snorkeled in their designated area and recorded what they saw.
Gathering for lunch after the event was a wonderful opportunity to meet and be inspired by like-minded individuals.
ANNA MARIA – Research Data Services’ (RDS) Ann Wittine presented an optimistic state of tourism update to the Manatee County Tourist Development Council (TDC) on Aug. 21 at The Center of Anna Maria Island.
She began by addressing her company’s research into public sentiment on the new water taxi service that is slated to begin operation soon.
The Tampa-based company is the tourism consultant for the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.
“We are doing a water taxi survey, and we have been doing that for a while,” Wittine said. “We were out for Memorial Day weekend, Fourth of July weekend and we’ll be out on Labor Day weekend. We are hearing more interest now than ever before. Not just a little bit more interest, but a significant interest in the water taxi.”
Wittine says RDS is not just talking to tourists, but also residents and business owners. She told the TDC the surveys are showing an increase in interest from all potential user groups. She said there will be more data available after the Labor Day weekend research is completed. That information will be presented at the TDC’s Monday, Oct. 16 meeting.
Wittine’s report featured the latest available statistics related to the tourism industry in Manatee County from June 2023. Total visitors were up by .8% and economic impact was up 2.9%. Room nights were down slightly from June 2022 by .5%. Wittine says this is due to larger party sizes this year.
Room occupancy for June was down slightly (2.6%) after being down 2.8% in the last report from RDS that quoted data from April 2023. The average daily room rate, however, is up 3.5%, at $216.41 per day in June 2023 compared to $209.19 in June 2022.
RDS also keeps track of where visitors are coming from when they visit the area. The largest increase in any visitor origin domestically is Florida, which is up 7.5% over the same time period in 2022. Globally, travel from Europe has risen 13%, after being down more than 13% in RDS’s April report. The largest domestic visitor origin was the Midwest, which is down 10% over the same time in 2022, but still remains strong.
“We are still double the number of Floridians that we had in 2019 that came this June,” Wittine said. “This is due to the marketing efforts we did during COVID. What this shows is, if we can bring first-time visitors, they fall in love and they come back again. That’s what the Florida number shows us.”
Wittine says the most growth potential for tourism is still Europe, which is down more than 67% since 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lastly, Wittine said the number of visitors to Manatee County was 821,900, up 2.4% from June 2022 and the economic impact was $1,382,734,200, up 7.6% from the same period.
ANNA MARIA ISLAND – Much of Anna Maria Island experienced storm surge and king tide-related flooding, but the barrier island survived Hurricane Idalia mostly unscathed.
During the evening hours of Tuesday, Aug. 29 and the overnight and the early hours of Wednesday morning, Hurricane Idalia passed by Anna Maria Island as a category 3 storm, far enough to the west to spare the Island from the worst of its wind damage and storm surge.
On the Island, the hurricane produced significant flooding but minimal structural damage, electrical outages or disruptions of the water and sewer services provided by Manatee County.
The storm produced no Island fatalities or reported injuries.
The plywood used to protect Hurricane Hanks in Holmes Beach was previously used during Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Ian. – Joe Hendricks | SunA hurricane party broke out at Slim’s Place in Anna Maria Tuesday afternoon. – Charlie Trygg | Submitted
A drive around the Island early Tuesday evening before the hurricane arrived indicated most residents and visitors had already evacuated or retreated to the safety of their homes and almost all Island businesses were closed. A hurricane party was unfolding at Slim’s Place in Anna Maria and folks were also still enjoying libations at the Sports Lounge in Bradenton Beach.
Storm unfolds
While the storm unfolded Tuesday night, many Island residents shared information at the Island Ratz Unite Facebook page and elsewhere on the social media platform. The Tuesday evening posts included notice of a structural fire in Holmes Beach, limited power outages and rising floodwaters.
The Bradenton Police Department posted a Facebook notice stating the Palma Sola Causeway was closed due to high water flooding one of the three roadways that lead to the Island.
Bradenton Beach police officer Tom Ferrara cautioned people not to drive on Gulf Drive during the unfolding hurricane. – Tom Ferrara | Submitted
Early Wednesday morning, well before daylight, Bradenton Beach Police Officer Tom Ferrara posted this information: “Please stay off Gulf Drive in Bradenton Beach. It’s impassable and very dangerous.”
Police officer Tom Ferrara witnessed the street flooding as it occurred in Bradenton Beach early Wednesday morning. – Tom Ferrara | Submitted
At 4:25 a.m., Lexi DeLeon posted the following information: “Thigh-high flooding through Bradenton Beach. Waves are crashing at beach entrances and flooding out to Gulf Drive. Both bridges are closed.”
The morning after
The Sun’s attempted trip to the Island at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday morning ended at the foot of the Cortez Bridge, where Manatee County Sheriff’s Office deputies blocked access to the Island while Bradenton Beach officials assessed the storm damage.
Manatee County Sheriff’s deputies restricted access to the Cortez Bridge Wednesday morning. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
Nearby in Cortez, Tide Tables restaurant co-owner Bobby Woodson and others watched the water rising over the docks and seawall and creeping up against the restaurant building. Woodson said the restaurant equipment was removed before the storm and even if some minimal interior flooding occurred, he expected to reopen on Friday.
Rising water from the Intracoastal Waterway made its way toward the Tide Tables restaurant in Cortez. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
The rising waters also spilled over into the adjacent Cortez Park mobile home park, and all the side streets south of Cortez Road in Cortez were flooded.
The Cortez Park mobile home park was partially flooded Wednesday morning. – Joe Hendricks | SunThe side streets along Cortez Road were flooded. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
A subsequent trip to Manatee Avenue ended east of the causeway, where officers from the Bradenton Police Department blocked access to the roadway leading to the center of the Island. An officer there said return access to the Island was not expected until 2 p.m. or later, after the mid-day king tide subsided.
Officers from the Bradenton Police Department restricted Island access via Manatee Avenue. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
After an afternoon conference call with the three Island mayors and others, the Holmes Beach Police Department posted on its Facebook page that return access to the city would begin at 4:30 p.m., with no re-entry tags or proof of residency or business interests required.
Before the bridge reopenings were announced, Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer said, “We still have some flooding. The water is receding and Gulf Drive receded much quicker than Marina Drive. We’re hoping that within the next couple hours, it recedes enough so you can discern the difference between the roadway and the ditches.
“The city did well but I think we’re going to see some water damage because the roadways were inundated with high water. I think we had a surge of at least 6 to 7 feet,” he added.
Regarding the fire, he said, “A power line went down on a shed. The shed caught fire, then the fence next to the house caught fire and the house next to the fence caught fire. After FPL shut off the power grid, they (the fire department) quickly knocked down the fire,” Tokajer said.
Tokajer said power outages and downed power lines were minimal and he wasn’t aware of any fallen trees.
When contacted before the Cortez Bridge reopened, Bradenton Beach Police Chief John Cosby said, “We had a lot of water and it just wasn’t safe for people to come back yet. The main road is open and the water’s gone down on the secondary roads that are passable now.
“Every street in Bradenton Beach was under a minimum of 2 feet of water, and closer to 3 or 4 feet in some places, including the avenues at the north end of the city. The Gulf flowed over to the bay and that has not happened since the ‘Storm of the Century’ in 1993. It pushed a lot of sand onto Gulf Drive and we needed extra time for Public Works to get the sand off the road to make it passable, which they accomplished in record time. Kudos to them,” Cosby said.
“Bridge Street itself flooded and we had some water intrusion, but I won’t know where until the owners get back. The pier has some damage and we’ve got some boats tied to the pier. Some of the new finger docks may have separated from their connections to the floating dock and we’ll do a full assessment tomorrow,” Cosby said.
Cosby said the Longboat Pass Bridge that leads to Longboat Key at the south end of the city would remain closed until further notice Wednesday evening.
When contacted Wednesday afternoon, before the bridges reopened, Sgt. Brett Getman said, “We’re still flooded down here. The water on North Bay is pretty deep. When the bridges open, we’ll be restricting access to residents and business owners. The city fared well. We didn’t lose electricity and there’s not a lot of wind damage. It’s mostly flood damage.”
Back on the Island
The Sun was part of the first wave of people returning to the Island on Wednesday afternoon via the Anna Maria Island Bridge on Manatee Avenue. Gulf Drive was dry but motorists encountered several inches of standing water on Marina Drive near Keyes Marina, the Island Branch Library and Holmes Beach City Hall. Gulf Drive was free of any significant standing water, but some of the residential streets between Marina Drive and Gulf Drive remained flooded.
Returning and departing motorists encountered remaining floodwater along Marina Drive in Holmes Beach. – Joe Hendricks | SunStanding water remained near the 61st Street/Holmes Boulevard intersection late Wednesday afternoon. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
At the entrance to Anna Maria, near CrossPointe Fellowship, sheriff’s deputies asked motorists to provide reentry tags, proof of residency or proof of business intentions and those unable to provide that information were turned away.
Sheriff’s deputies restricted vehicular access to Anna Maria after the Island bridges reopened. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
Nearby, a crew from Manatee County worked to unplug a plugged sewer line.
A portion of Magnolia Avenue, near Ginny’s and Jane E’s Café, was flooded and a safety barricade remained in place. A portion of North Shore Drive near Linda Lane was flooded and remained impassable for some motorists. Around the corner, Jacaranda Road was flooded and remained impassable for some motorists.
Magnolia Avenue, near Ginny’s and Jane E’s, was one of several Anna Maria streets that flooded. – Joe Hendricks | SunNorth Shore Drive in Anna Maria was flooded near Linda Lane. – Joe Hendricks | SunThe flooding on North Shore Drive extended to nearby residential structures. – Joe Hendricks | SunJacaranda Road in Anna Maria experienced significant flooding. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
Near the City Pier, a barricade blocked one lane of North Bay Boulevard atop the humpback bridge and the roadway north of the bridge was severely flooded, as were several adjacent side streets.
North Bay Boulevard remained submerged as of Wednesday evening. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
By early Wednesday evening, much of the flooding in Bradenton Beach had subsided. The most visible storm damage was seen at the T-end of the Bradenton Beach Pier. A cabin cruiser anchored south of the pier broke loose during the storm, crashed into the pier and shattered a portion of the wooden pier railing.
The railing at the T-end of the Bradenton Beach pier was damaged by a careening cabin cruiser that broke free during the storm. – Joe Hendricks | SunFive live-aboard boats were tied to the Bradenton Beach Pier and the floating dock Wednesday evening. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
Another cabin cruiser that broke free during the storm was tied up to the pier with its motor running, joined by another large sailboat. Two more sailboats that broke free were tied to the new finger docks connected to the floating public dock.
On Bridge Street, the Drift In bar was the first Island business to reopen that evening.
Final thoughts
When contacted Thursday afternoon, Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy said the storm surge and high tide reached a maximum height of approximately 4 feet in some locations.
South Bay Boulevard, near The Waterfront Restaurant in Anna Maria, was completely underwater on Wednesday. – MCSO | SubmittedSome Anna Maria beaches experienced significant hurricane-related erosion. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
“The biggest issue we’ve had to deal with in the city has been flooding; and secondly, debris on the streets, including sand. We lost nearly 50 yards of beach in some locations, maybe more in others. It’ll take us a while to get the city back to normal. We’ve had crews and contractors out pumping and clearing the streets. County Commissioners Kevin Van Ostenbridge and Jason Bearden toured our city this morning and promised us whatever help we need to bring our city back to a state of normalcy,” Murphy said.
ANNA MARIA ISLAND – The threat of consolidation of the three Island cities isn’t over. Members of the Manatee County Legislative Delegation have warned Island mayors that they’re getting ready to start up talks again at an October meeting.
In an Aug. 21 letter, delegation members Sen. Jim Boyd (R-Bradenton) and Rep. Will Robinson (R-Bradenton) sent a letter to all three Island mayors noting that they’re ready to initiate a Florida Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability study, known as OPPAGA, to “focus on the potential benefits of combining the three municipalities of Anna Maria Island, which encompasses the cities of Anna Maria, Holmes Beach and Bradenton Beach.”
The letter is in response to Jan. 30 talks with the mayors about the possibility of combining city services. In the Aug. 21 letter, Boyd and Robinson said they haven’t received a major update from the mayors and blamed Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth.
“We understand the mayor of Holmes Beach does not want to participate in the coordination talks, given it will be seen as a first step toward consolidation of the three Island cities,” the letter states, giving the mayors a deadline sometime prior to the delegation’s planned Oct. 5 meeting for a response.
In speaking to The Sun on Aug. 24, Titsworth said that she hasn’t stopped participating in any talks among the three Island mayors. In fact, she said she’s been hosting the ongoing talks at city hall in Holmes Beach.
“Staff is working on it,” she said of the process to combine or streamline some services. She noted that the building departments in all three cities are working to see how they can streamline their processes to make applying for permits in each municipality easier for homeowners and contractors. Though the mayors have all been participating in the talks, she said that at only about eight months in, they’re not at a point where any specific service has been identified for consolidation or streamlining.
“As mayors, we all have full plates,” she said, adding that the mayors are committed to all working together. She said that her city’s code compliance officers have helped to train code enforcement officers in the other cities.
“We’re not trying to be defiant,” Titsworth said. “This was just dropped on us in January. We’re trying to work on what the delegation has requested but they need to have some patience.”
One sticking point is that Titsworth said she and Bradenton Beach Mayor John Chappie are unwilling to give up their individual police departments, allowing those two cities to be patrolled only by Manatee County Sheriff’s Office deputies who now provide law enforcement services to the city of Anna Maria. Titsworth said she’s happy with the services provided by the Holmes Beach Police Department and doesn’t want to change the law enforcement situation in the city.
As for the study, she said that it’s important to note that the example given in the letter from Boyd and Robinson of Longboat Key having had a study to determine if it should remain in two separate counties has a major difference from the one proposed on Anna Maria Island – the people of Longboat Key asked for the study.
“They asked for that study; we didn’t,” she said.
If state leaders insist on conducting the study on Anna Maria Island, Titsworth’s response is, “Bring it. I’d love to find ways to help save taxpayer money.” The letter states that the purpose of studying the benefits of consolidation would include saving taxpayer money and potentially reducing taxes for property owners.
While Titsworth said she was unable to attend an Aug. 24 Anna Maria Commission meeting, she said Mayor Dan Murphy had her approval to speak on her behalf giving an official response to the letter on behalf of all three mayors. She said the mayors met earlier in the day to discuss their response and decided that they’re in favor of the study if it can help save taxpayer money. However, they’re not in favor of consolidation of the three Island governments.
The topic of consolidation came as a surprise to the three mayors when the members of the state legislative delegation started the conversation at their Jan. 11 meeting, voting unanimously to approve the OPPAGA study for the Island. That was the same meeting in which the idea of sponsoring a bill to allow Manatee County commissioners to approve and build a parking garage at Manatee Beach in Holmes Beach against the city’s land development code was initiated. That bill, HB 947, was passed earlier in the summer by the state Legislature after receiving unanimous votes in the House and Senate before gaining the approval of Gov. Ron DeSantis.
BRADENTON BEACH – The Woodruff & Sons construction company is now working along 12th Street South as Manatee County’s extensive sewer improvement project in Bradenton Beach continues.
On Aug. 23, Community Outreach Representative Tina Allen issued her latest email update.
“The contractor has completed installation and switching over of services to the new sewer system on 11th Street South. The road has been reconstructed and is now open to vehicular traffic. Final paving will be performed simultaneously with other completed side streets,” she stated.
“Installation of the new gravity sewer pipe across Gulf Drive South, and east on 12th Street South, is now complete. 12th Street South will remain closed to traffic through late September 2023 as the contractor works to perform service connections and reconstruction of the road. A reserved parking area has been provided along the west of Gulf Drive South for use by residents and renters impacted by the 12th Street construction,” Allen stated in her update.
In her July 28 update, Allen noted the lateral connection line had been installed down the center of 11th Street South and that work completed phase one of the two-phase project.
In her July 28 update, Allen wrote, “On Thursday, July 27, 2023, the contractor began installing a new gravity sewer pipe across Gulf Drive South to the east side of Gulf Drive South at 12th Street South. To accommodate pipe installation, traffic lane shifts will remain in place through late August 2023 for the northbound and southbound travel lanes of Gulf Drive South.
Allen’s updates are emailed to subscribers and they’re also posted at the project website, https://amiprojects.io/projects/bradenton-beach-sewer-improvements.
Manatee County Public Works Director Chad Butzow provided a project update during the Aug. 1 Council of Governments meeting.
“We’ve learned a lot. Our public outreach consultant has done a very good job. It is very timely and has been well-received,” Butzow said of the project updates that Allen provides.
Butzow said the main gravity sewer line has been installed parallel to and west of Gulf Drive South and that portion of the project is completed. Lateral connection lines are being installed down the center of each connecting side street, from 12th Street South to Sixth Street South, resulting in those side streets being temporarily closed to vehicular traffic one street at a time. Butzow said there will not be any instances when two side streets are closed at the same time.
The project-related street closures will impact residents, vacationers and property owners as that work progresses from street to street in the coming weeks and months. For those unable to access their side streets by automobile, the county is providing free shuttle service between the designated Gulf Drive South parking areas and the impacted side streets. For more information on the shuttle service, please call 941-269-6699.
The county project is expected to be completed in the fall of 2024.
ANNA MARIA – If an amended city ordinance is adopted in October, city businesses will be allowed one A-frame sandwich board sign per business address.
City Attorney Becky Vose presented the previously requested ordinance to the Anna Maria City Commission for a first reading on Aug. 24.
She said the ordinance, if adopted, will amend section 98.6 of the city code of ordinances pertaining to prohibited signs and will add a new section, 98-21, on A-framed sandwich board signs.
Vose noted city code currently prohibits sandwich board signs, but past city commissions enacted moratoriums on the enforcement of the sandwich board sign prohibition during the COVID-19 pandemic and when the City Pier was closed and later replaced due to damage sustained during Hurricane Irma in 2017.
Mayor Dan Murphy said the city has not been enforcing the existing sandwich board prohibition, but it will enforce the newly-amended sign ordinance when it takes effect. Murphy said he doesn’t want sandwich board signs prohibited because it would negatively impact many Anna Maria businesses.
“This is a very straightforward ordinance which removes A-frame sandwich boards as prohibited signs,” Vose told the commission.
She read aloud the proposed new language that said, “Each separate legal commercial use in the city shall be allowed one A-frame sandwich board. Such board shall not exceed 24 inches in width by 36 inches in height, including the A-frame. Such board shall not be located in the right of way, shall not impede pedestrian traffic or vehicular site distances and/or triangle, shall be allowed during business hours only, and shall be removed during inclement weather.”
Commissioner Jon Crane said he met with a constituent who is concerned about this issue and was concerned that the proposed ordinance language didn’t say signs have to be removed at the end of each business day.
Commission Chair Mark Short suggested revising that language to say sandwich board signs must be removed during non-business hours and/or inclement weather. Vose said she would add Short’s proposed language before presenting the ordinance on second reading for final adoption.
Sandwich board signs will soon have to be removed during non-business hours. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
Short asked if the proposed ordinance needed to first be reviewed by the Planning and Zoning Board. Vose said that would be up to the commission. Crane, a former Planning and Zoning Board member, said it should be. The planning board next meets on Wednesday, Sept. 27 and the city commission’s second reading and final adoption of the ordinance is expected in October.
Businesses will be allowed one sandwich board sign per business address. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
Short questioned the ordinance’s reference to “separate legal commercial use” and how that would apply to a single property that contains multiple businesses. He asked if only one sandwich board sign would be allowed per property or if each business could have a sign.
Short also noted the Pineapple Marketplace on Pine Avenue features one building that provides retail space for approximately 30 vendors. Commissioner Robert Kingan said there are at least five sandwich board signs currently being used on that property.
The Pineapple Marketplace utilizes multiple sandwich board signs. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
City Planner Ashley Austin suggested replacing the language that refers to “separate legal commercial use” with language that allows one sandwich board sign per business address.
Short suggested the ordinance language specify that sandwich board signs are only allowed on commercially zoned and retail/office/residential (ROR) zoned properties and are not allowed on residentially zoned properties. Vose will add that language to the ordinance as well.
ANNA MARIA – City commissioners have reduced a builder’s potential fine for beginning work without a permit from $29,331 to $2,500.
On Aug. 2, the city issued a stop work order to the Eason Builders Group for preliminary construction activities at the vacant residential property at 226 Periwinkle Plaza without a city-issued building permit.
In an Aug. 8 memo he sent to the city’s building official, Eason Builders Group (EBG) owner Scott Eason requested the building official rescind the $29,331 triple permit fee fine and lift the stop work order because a mistakenly installed temporary power pole (T-pole) was removed from the construction site and no electrical connections were completed.
Eason Builders Group owner Scott Eason appeared before the city commission on Aug. 24. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
When appearing before the city commission on Aug. 24 seeking a reduced or forgiven fine, Eason said his father-in-law mistakenly delivered the premanufactured T-pole to the property before a building permit was obtained.
City Planner Ashely Austin said the construction activities that began prior to the issuance of a building permit included the T-pole installation, the delivery of a portable toilet and the placement of silt fence stakes.
Austin said a contractor does not have the authority to engage in those activities before a permit is issued.
She also said, “The building department policy is to issue a stop work order and assess a double permit fee application penalty for such actions, hence the term ‘triple permit fee.’”
Austin said the proposed $29,331 triple permit fee would have been twice the amount of Eason’s original $14,665 permitting fee.
Eason said the silt fence was installed when the previous structure was demolished in late 2022.
The city issued a stop work order on Aug. 2. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
Commission Chair Mark Short asked if the commission could reduce the fine rather than assess the entire full triple permit fee or waive the fine completely. Austin said the commission had the authority to do as it wished and City Attorney Becky Vose agreed. Austin said the city has imposed triple permit fees several times in the past and she’s not aware of a triple permit fee being reduced.
Commissioner Jon Crane said he doesn’t want to see the city’s permitting processes and building ordinances ignored, but he also felt a $29,331 fine in addition to the original permitting fee was quite high. Craine said he doesn’t want to discourage development, but he also doesn’t want contractors and builders acting like “cowboys.”
Commissioner Deanie Sebring also felt the proposed fine was excessive in relation to the activities that occurred.
Commissioner Robert Kingan said he’d be inclined to forgive one simple mistake, but several violations occurred at the same site.
Participating in the discussion by phone, Eason’s attorney, Jason Miller, said he felt the proposed fine was excessive in relation to the mistake that occurred regarding the delivery of the T-pole. Miller said there was no cavalier or cowboy-like behavior involved, and he suggested a fine of a few hundred to a thousand dollars and a warning to strictly abide by the city’s building regulations. He noted Eason was also incurring attorney fees as a result of the transgressions and delays with starting the construction project.
Crane then made a motion to waive the triple permit fee and impose a $2,500 fine instead. The other commissioners unanimously supported Crane’s motion.
ANNA MARIA – The three Island mayors are united in their response to Sen. Jim Boyd and Rep. Will Robinson Jr.’s ongoing efforts to consolidate city services to reduce property taxes.
During the Aug. 24 Anna Maria City Commission meeting, Mayor Dan Murphy and Bradenton Beach Mayor John Chappie presented a statement on behalf of all three cities, noting that they have Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth’s permission to speak on her behalf. The mayors announced their support for a study on the consolidation of city services, but they do not support a study on the consolidation or elimination of the Island’s three city governments.
On Jan. 12, the Manatee County Legislative Delegation, consisting of Boyd, Robinson, Sen. Joe Gruters, Rep. Tommy Gregory and Rep. Mike Beltran, all Republicans, expressed a collective desire for a consolidation study conducted by the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA). On Jan. 19, Boyd sent a letter to Florida Senate President Kathleen Passidomo requesting her approval for the study.
During the Florida Legislature’s 2023 legislative session that began in March, Murphy traveled to Tallahassee to meet with Boyd and Robinson. According to Murphy, he helped convince them to delay the study and give the mayors time to discuss and propose potential consolidations of service. Those mayoral discussions have not yet produced any tangible results.
On Aug. 21, Boyd and Robinson sent a letter to the three mayors stating the legislative delegation was prepared to resume its pursuit of an OPPAGA study because the mayors had not yet presented “implementable concepts” regarding the potential consolidation of police, building department and public works department services as tax-cutting measures.
Mayors’ response
During Thursday’s Anna Maria commission meeting, Murphy referenced Boyd and Robinson’s letter.
“I must say it does not come as a surprise,” he said when acknowledging the three mayors’ lack of progress thus far.
Murphy said he met with Chappie and Titsworth earlier that morning to discuss their collective response to the letter and the study.
“Unanimously, we agreed that the right thing to do is to embrace this study. If this study can reduce our taxes, which it probably could, and if it could also enhance and improve the scope of services to the residents of this Island, we’re all in. All three of us,” Murphy said.
“On the other hand, I think it needs to be very clear that’s the scope of the study. The scope should not be the consolidation or the elimination or the de-annexation of the three municipalities on this Island,” Murphy said.
“The three of us agreed there are three very distinct cultures in the cities on the Island. To maintain that difference, we need to have a separate government addressing the needs and the wants of that community. If we can do it for less money, I’m all for it. And if this study can generate that, I’m all for that; and so is Judy Titsworth and so is John Chappie,” Murphy said.
Bradenton Beach Mayor John Chappie feels a consolidation of services study could be beneficial to Island residents. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
Murphy then asked Chappie to speak.
“I agree with everything Mayor Murphy said,” Chappie said. “I’m here as a sign of unity. We are one Island community and three distinctive individual cities. We work together. We live here together. We’re neighbors.”
Regarding the study, he said, “We embrace the opportunity to help us possibly lower our taxes, help improve our services, and improve the quality of life for our residents and visitors.”
Chappie shared some research he did on OPPAGA studies.
“It is a research arm for state legislators. They provide data, valuational research, and objective analysis. Objective analysis is required to be impartial, detached, neutral and unbiased. I look forward to, and I think the other mayors do too, to the state being able to help with some of the things we need to do that would help improve the quality of life for our residents and visitors. I think we need to take advantage of this tool,” he said.
Chappie said he and the Bradenton Beach Commission will discuss the OPPAGA study at their next meeting.
He added that Titsworth would have attended the commission meeting, but she was with her pregnant daughter who was overdue to give birth.
When contacted Friday and asked if she supported a study focused on consolidating services, Titsworth said, “Yes. If a study is being done, it would be nice if the city mayors could have input on the parameters as we all look for ways to reduce taxes for our property owners.”
During Thursday’s meeting, Commissioner Jon Crane said he’d prefer that the OPPAGA study focus on consolidating services rather than city governments.
Murphy briefly mentioned the potential consolidation of law enforcement services – an idea that has not garnered public support from Chappie or Titsworth.
Law enforcement is generally among the largest annual expenses a local government incurs. For the coming 2023-24 fiscal year, Anna Maria is budgeting $1.34 million for law enforcement services provided by the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office. Bradenton Beach is budgeting $1.77 million for law enforcement services provided by its police department. Holmes Beach is budgeting $4.53 million for law enforcement services provided by its police department. The three cities combined are budgeting $7.64 million for law enforcement.
Commissioner Charlie Salem said it might be useful to ask the legislative lobbyists from each city to interact with those requesting the study.
“These studies get done all the time and how they’re used with the Legislature is going to be an important part of whether or not this goes the way we’d like,” Salem said.
Murphy said he spoke with Anna Maria’s lobbyist Wednesday evening who agreed that the mayors should support a study on consolidating services.
During public input, Murphy was asked if he’d received any indication from Boyd and Robinson that they’re amenable to consolidating services without consolidating the city governments.
“It’s premature at this point. I think ultimately that discussion has to happen, and it has to happen soon,” Murphy said.
