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Year: 2023

Garage bill rolls through House, next stop Senate

Garage bill rolls through House, next stop Senate

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Community News, Featured, Holmes Beach.

TALLAHASSEE – With unanimous approval from 116 Florida state representatives, a local bill to build a parking garage at Manatee Beach in Holmes Beach has moved to the Florida Senate for consideration. The Senate is the final stop for the bill before going to Gov. Ron DeSantis’s desk for final approval or veto.

The bill, presented by Manatee County Rep. Will Robinson Jr., sped through three House committees before going to the floor for a vote on April 27, despite opposition from local elected officials and residents. After passing the House, it has now been referred to the Senate rules committee for consideration.

The bill, which received unanimous support from the Manatee County legislative delegation when it was first proposed in January, has been a controversial topic on Anna Maria Island. If it becomes law, it will allow Manatee County officials to construct a three-story parking garage at Manatee Beach without seeking approval or permits from Holmes Beach officials, where the beach is located. It also would supersede the city’s land development code and building ordinances, which do not allow parking garages without a special exception. Capping the structure at three stories does maintain the city’s current height limitations.

The parking garage is a pet project of Manatee County Commission Chair Kevin Van Ostenbridge and came as a result of tension between county and city elected officials stemming from streetside parking reductions in Holmes Beach.

To help protect the quality of life of city residents, Holmes Beach leaders enacted a long-planned residential permit parking-only zone on residential streets near beach accesses, with some streets closed to parking entirely due to the narrowness of the lanes. City leaders also recently adopted a four tires off the pavement parking rule to come in line with the parking regulations in Bradenton Beach and Anna Maria. These actions reduced available public parking by about 400 spaces with another 600 available until 5 p.m. daily for city residents only. Van Ostenbridge said the parking changes were a disservice to Manatee County residents and beachgoers.

The plan outlined by Van Ostenbridge would remove the 400-plus spaces currently available at the public beach along with the existing facilities including retail, restrooms and concessions, replacing them with a three-story garage with an estimated 1,500-1,700 parking spaces, new retail and concession areas and new restroom facilities.

The garage is estimated to cost around $45 million to build with construction taking at least two years to complete during which parking would not be available at the site.

To fund the ongoing maintenance of the garage, Van Ostenbridge said the parking spaces provided at the public beach would be paid parking. He estimated a fee of $2 per hour per vehicle. Titsworth said if that happens, the city will likely have to make street and public parking paid as well to avoid those areas being overrun by drivers looking for a free parking space.

In a final effort to get Robinson to pull the bill from consideration prior to the House floor vote, Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth said she tried contacting him and sent him statistics showing parking remained available during spring break, along with a proposal to designate 220 parking spaces for Manatee County residents only. She said Robinson declined to consider any additional arguments or proposals until after the current legislative session ends.

Letter to the Editor: Island Shopping Center needs sprucing

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Letter to the Editor, Opinion.

The appearance and condition of the Island Shopping Center in Holmes Beach does a disservice to the entire AMI community. The cement sidewalks in front of the stores and restaurants are a disgrace. The signage on the businesses is boring, providing minimal value to the attractiveness of the center. The parking areas, particularly adjacent to the cement sidewalks, are full of sand and dirt. I recently witnessed a worker blowing sand, attempting to clean the parking area with an electric blower. How ludicrous is that? It’s like trimming your large shrubs with a pair of scissors.

In contrast, the condition of the shopping plaza on East Bay Boulevard is a testament to cleanliness. The plaza also has landscaping that is meticulously maintained. The cement sidewalk is power washed frequently (I believe weekly) by a professional service. The signage adds a spark to the overall appearance.

Holmes Beach and Manatee County have spent millions upgrading our city center with sidewalks, pavers, palm trees, flowers and lighting. The people responsible for the appearance of the Island Shopping Center should step up to the plate and demonstrate they care about our city.

 

Pat Annese

Holmes Beach

Castles in the Sand

One country, two housing markets

Written by Louise Bolger on . Posted in Business, Castles in the Sand.

The trend has been obvious for a while, east coast versus west coast with COVID-19 accelerating the movement. In fact, the March sales statistics are still showing that home prices are declining the most in the western part of the country.

Since the 1990s, the western part of the country, particularly California and Washington, enjoyed a steady run up of growth because of the technology industry. Now the areas most closely associated with the tech industry have the fastest falling home prices.

The eastern part of the country is still attracting companies, adding jobs and keeping the real estate market thriving. Florida in general, including Orlando, Miami, Tampa and other southern markets, is in the lead. However, even northern east coast areas like Connecticut are attracting families who have decided cities may not be the place to raise a family.

According to Black Knight, a research strategy company, this geographical diversity is very unusual and possibly unprecedented. Housing analysts say they have never seen anything quite like this where the division between east and west is so stark.

The National Association of Realtors reports that home sales fell across the country in March. Existing home sales decreased 2.4% in March from the prior month and 22% from a year earlier. Manatee County’s single-family properties had a 4.4% increase in sales in March compared to the previous year, the first year-over-year increase in sales since February of last year.

The market’s slowdown is starting to affect prices, which have fallen on an annual basis for two consecutive months for the first time in 11 years nationally. The national median existing home price in March was down 0.9% to $375,700. Manatee County’s median single-family home prices were also down by 6.3% to $491,988.

There is no doubt that Manatee County as a whole may be more valuable than the national market, but we are also experiencing longer times to sell and a downturn in values. However, the number of pending properties has gone up in Manatee by 7.9% compared to our surrounding areas. And the month’s supply of inventory continues to increase for both condos and single-family homes by triple digits.

The national housing market is still battling the increase in rising mortgage rates, high home prices and low inventory. In addition, a cooling economy with high inflation and the prospect of recession in the next year is keeping some buyers on the sidelines. Home prices are rising or at least stabilizing in regions where jobs are being added and housing is relatively affordable with the more expensive areas of the country adjusting to lower prices.

I recently read a United States Census Bureau report on Manatee County that will make everyone understand all the traffic we’ve all been complaining about and all the irritating construction. Manatee County has increased its population by 29,420 during the past three years, not including 2023. Since 2010, the population has increased by 106,292 and, as of the end of 2022, is 429,125, over 100,000 people in 12 years. Why do I think this is just the beginning?

Is it possible that we’ve hit the bottom and the only way now is up? Maybe, we can certainly strive for that. It is certain that the market is not as competitive as it was last year and even though inventory is still historically low, it is steadily increasing.

Tourism numbers in for February

Tourism numbers in for February

Written by Jason Schaffer on . Posted in Business, Tourism.

BRADENTON – Research Data Services’ (RDS) Ann Wittine presented an optimistic state of tourism update to the Manatee County Tourist Development Council (TDC) on April 24.

According to the latest available tourism statistics from February, total visitors and economic impact were up over February 2022, with 88,900 visitors (up 1.6%). Room nights were slightly down, with 218,900 room nights (down 1.1%) and $214,439,600 in economic impact was up 5.4%.

“Some of these numbers don’t seem that impressive on the surface, but this is February, so we were pretty near capacity,” Wittine said. “There just isn’t room for those big growth numbers we’ve been seeing. This is also during a month when some property owners told us they were impacted by red tide.”

Room occupancy for February was down slightly (-3.5%) after being up less than 1% in the December 2022 report from RDS. The average daily room rate, however, is up more than 10%, at $265.02 per day in February 2023 compared to $240.51 in February 2022.

RDS also keeps track of where visitors are coming from. The biggest increase in visitor origin domestically is the Northeast, which is up 10% over the same time period in 2022. Wittine attributes this growth to additional non-stop flights being added from that region. Globally, travel from Europe is up 73.2% and Canada is up 153.7% over February 2022. The largest decrease was from the Midwest, which was down 9.5%, followed by the Southeast, down 3.5% and Florida, down 2.2%.

“We had a slight increase in number of visitors, which is why room nights are slightly down,” Wittine said. “At the same time, we have a slight increase in length of stay. We are at 7.7 nights average this year compared to 7.6 last year, but more importantly, we are up from 7.2 in 2019 pre-COVID, which is a huge increase.”

RDS’s fiscal year to date (October through February) numbers are up significantly, echoing the double digit increase in February economic impact. At 437,900, total visitors are up 6.4% and at $743,677,600, economic impact is up 11.8% from the same period a year ago. Wittine has said many times that a great deal of the large increases in visitors and economic impact since pre-COVID 2019 are directly related to Sarasota Bradenton International Airport (SRQ) adding dozens of new direct flights from all regions of the country. Keeping with the constant growth reported, SRQ is once again up 16.3% from March of 2022 with 1.29 million people traveling through the airport in just the first three months of 2023, which is more than the entire year of 2020 and only slightly less than the entire pre-COVID year of 2019.

Wittine says she forecasts a summer where the numbers go down slightly. RDS does extensive surveys with people who have shown interest in visiting Manatee County, many of whom will be coming to Anna Maria Island, and the consulting company is beginning to see a trend of people concerned about rising prices for travel to the area.

Wittine says there’s no way to exactly predict what the coming months will bring, but she shared some comments from the vendors surveyed, which point to good things to come: “Bookings are up;” “A lot more last-minute, shorter reservations than normal;” “Looking good for summer;” “March was beautiful, more than expected;” and “April reservations are strong.”

Island Players prepare final play of season

Island Players prepare final play of season

Written by Jason Schaffer on . Posted in Entertainment, Theater.

ANNA MARIA – The Island Players, Manatee County’s oldest community theater, plans to go out with a bang this season.

After directing “The Psychic,” the final play of the 2021-22 season, James Thaggard returns to close out another season with a show he says will bring plenty of laughs involving a unique stage design essential to the plot.

“Our set is two living rooms on one stage simultaneously, with dialogue happening in both, and not always at the same time during the play,” Thaggard said. “At one point we have the characters in both living rooms, but it’s Thursday in one room and Friday in another.”

The story of “How the Other Half Loves” is that of an upper-class couple in an upper-class house and a middle-class couple who live more modestly. Because of an affair, three couples wind up involved in a situation that Thaggard says will leave the audience in stitches. The play was written in 1970 by the prolific Alan Ayckbourn, and while Thaggard stuck to the script, he says sound was very important in this production. No spoilers, but he says audiences may catch some “audio Easter eggs” he personally added due to his fondness for that time in history.

“How the Other Half Loves” runs from Thursday, May 4 through Sunday, May 14, with daily performances at 7:30 p.m. and a Sunday matinee at 2 p.m. There are no performances on Mondays. Tickets are $25 at the box office and $27 online. The box office is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Call 941-778-5755 or visit theislandplayers.org.

Big changes could be coming to the Coquina Beach Trail.

TDC approves proposal to use Coquina Beach Trail for shuttles

Written by Jason Schaffer on . Posted in Business, Featured, Tourism.

BRADENTON BEACH – The Manatee County Tourist Development Council (TDC) is recommending a plan to Manatee County commissioners to widen the Coquina Beach Trail for shuttles.

The trail is a paved path about the width of a city sidewalk that begins at the south end of the Coquina Beach parking lot and runs 1.5 miles along the beach north to Fifth Street South. The plan, discussed at the April 24 TDC meeting, would resurface and widen the trail, potentially for the use of the Old Town Tram golf cart shuttle service owned by Josh LaRose’s Easy Parking Group and partially funded by the Bradenton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA). 

Big changes could be coming to Coquina Beach Trail
Easy Parking Group’s ‘Old Town Trams’ currently service Coquina Beach to Bridge Street, but are not allowed to drive on the current beach trail, making for a bumpy ride for passengers, or long waits in heavy beach traffic. This tram stopped for a break in the shade near 13th Street South. – Jason Schaffer | Sun

“They desperately need a way to get people back and forth from Bridge Street to here without sitting in traffic for an hour,” said Doris Snyder, who comes to the beach from Palmetto on a regular basis. “We like to hit one of the restaurants on Bridge Street for lunch or dinner when we come down here, but it’s impossible to park in that area unless you get incredibly lucky. We use the golf cart service a lot, but even if they drive off the road in the parking area instead of sitting in traffic, the ride beats you to death. A cart path would be amazing.”

Project Manager Mike Stern told TDC members that the trail improvements would cost $1.5 million – including the removal of 96 Australian pine trees whose roots are damaging the pavement – and take about eight months to complete. Stern said a large part of the cost will be building a root barrier, which will require the current trail to be removed so that the barrier can be placed underground to prevent future tree roots from growing under the trail and destroying it, causing more unnecessary cost in the future. With the barrier, the trail should last for many years with little serious maintenance, he said.

“While this sounds like a large investment, we hope this will last much longer than the original trail did because we are fairly confident that there was not as much root barrier, if any, used the first time around,” said Chad Butzow, director of Public Works for Manatee County. “Hopefully we’ll get a bit more longevity this time around.”

The county currently spends between $35,000 to $40,000 a year maintaining the trail, and Public Works says that the steps being taken with the new trail will save that money because the tree roots will no longer be an issue. If this holds true, a third of the cost of the project would be covered by the nearly half a million in repair dollars that wouldn’t need to be spent over the next decade. 

When asked by TDC members if the trail could be widened enough to make ample room for golf carts and pedestrians, Stern explained that as long as they were working from the existing footprint, no new permits would be needed, but because of environmental issues due to its proximity to the Gulf of Mexico, any size expansion proposals would require permits at the state level that could take months or even years, and be potentially costly.

Big changes could be coming to Coquina Beach Trail
Beachgoers enjoy the picnic area and shade provided along the Coquina Trail. – Jason Schaffer | Sun

While not addressing Easy Parking Group’s Old Town Tram by name, TDC member and Bradenton Beach restaurant owner Ed Chiles stated that six-passenger golf cart trams should be allowed to use the path so people could park at the beach and not have to endure the sometimes impossible task of finding a parking space near the Bridge Street shopping and dining area. 

“The biggest single issue in Bradenton Beach is lack of parking,” Chiles said. “Coquina Beach may be the most parking spaces anywhere in one place in the county. This trail offers connectivity. I don’t want to see all the golf carts on there, I want to see one set of trams. That connects 1,200 parking spaces that this county has worked so hard on to what the CRA has worked so hard on in downtown Bradenton Beach.”

Elliott Falcione, executive director of the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the trams using the trail would also be a big help for water taxi passengers to get to and from downtown Bradenton Beach when the service begins in July of this year. 

TDC Chairman James Satcher moved that the proposal be presented to the Board of County Commissioners, with the option to expand the scope of the proposal, such as a wider trail with a shell path adjacent, at a later date. The proposal was passed at the close of discussions. 

In other business, it was reported that phase one of the ongoing drainage project at Coquina Beach is now complete, which added 192 parking spaces. Phase two is estimated to be completed by early July, adding 862 additional parking spaces, according to Stern.

Stern said the paving of the parking lot should be completed by the end of May, but there will still be more work to be done. He was pleased to report that fewer of the Australian pine trees that offer shade to the picnic area along the beach and parking area would need to be removed than first thought. This will not only save time and money, but keep much-needed shade in the area.

Pines purchase efforts fall short

Pines purchase efforts fall short

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Bradenton Beach, Community News, Featured.

BRADENTON BEACH – The residents of the Pines Trailer Park have fallen short in their efforts to purchase the 86-unit waterfront mobile home park property.

In late January, Pines residents were informed that the Jackson family wanted to sell the park. In accordance with state law, the Pines residents were given the first right of refusal and the first chance to collectively purchase the 2.78-acre property for $16 million. Several residents’ meetings took place in the ensuing months and during that time, the Jacksons’ asking price increased by $250,000 to $16.25 million.

The most recent residents’ meeting took place on April 18. During that meeting, it was disclosed that the residents’ efforts to raise $10 million of the $16.25 million needed to purchase the property had fallen short.

Pines purchase efforts fall short
The waterfront Pines Trailer Park property has riparian rights that allow for boat docks. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

It is not yet known who will purchase the Pines property or what will happen to the seasonal and full-time residents of the 86 mobile homes located in the mobile home park.

The park residents and others involved in the potential purchase of the Pines property had been reluctant to address the media while the efforts to purchase the park remained ongoing.

Later in the week, The Sun obtained the written minutes of the April 18 residents’ meeting.

Meeting minutes

According to the minutes, an attorney informed the park residents that no lenders were interested in loaning the residents’ proposed co-op the money needed to purchase the property.

Also according to the minutes, potential lenders don’t believe the Pines property is worth $16 million, partly due to the property’s coastal location and exposure to potential storm damage. High interest rates were mentioned as another contributing factor.

“We have collected $2 million in cash. $4 million more has been promised, with some full shares and some shares to be financed for a total of $6 million. We are over $4 million short of the needed funding. We are not in a position to sign the contract on April 21 unless a miracle occurs in the next three days. The Jacksons will not (self) finance more than $6 million. We need $10 million in cash and/or a loan from outside. We did not get enough investors. Less than half of the residents committed to purchasing a share. All homeowners who made payments will be reimbursed,” according to the minutes.

“When the park is sold, each resident will get a letter. If the buyer pays less than $16.25 million for the park, we have 10 days to match that offer,” the minutes note.

“The broker selling our park property on the open market has indicated that two groups are interested in the purchase and would plan to keep it as a park. We have no proof of this. At this point, it is our best-case scenario,” according to the minutes, which note that rent increases would be expected.

According to the minutes, “The new purchaser of the park will have to get the property rezoned in order to change the land use from a resident park to something else. It is hard to guess how long that process would take. If the new owner would decide to sell the park after their purchase, we would get the first right of refusal.”

The minutes note that mobile homeowners can still sell their homes if they want. The minutes note residents must continue to pay rent and follow the current park rules.

Additional insight

Ellen Scott is a longtime resident of the Pines. During the resident meetings, her son, Bernie Slicker, provided the Zoom teleconferencing capabilities that allowed residents and mobile homeowners to participate in the meetings from afar.

Slicker said the park residents were not given any timetable as to when a sale might take place or what might happen to the existing residents after that.

An alternative use of the property would result in many of the park’s full-time and seasonal residents moving off Anna Maria Island.

“With a private investor, my mom would likely have to be gone within six months to a year. We’re already looking for a place for her,” Slicker said.

Slicker noted many of the existing mobile homes could not be relocated and would face likely demolition if the Pines property is used for something other than a mobile home park.

“They’re all on wheels, but you can’t move them. In six months, they could just bulldoze everything down,” Slicker said.

Slicker said some mobile homeowners are understandably sad because they stand to potentially lose a lot of the money they invested in their homes.

Slicker said no specific names were mentioned regarding any developers, individuals or investors who may be interested in purchasing the Pines property and redeveloping it.

WMFR planning annual vacation rental inspections

WMFR planning annual vacation rental inspections

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria Island, Community News, West Manatee Fire Rescue.

BRADENTON BEACH –The West Manatee Fire Rescue (WMFR) district has informed city officials about its plan to conduct annual safety inspections of short-term vacation rentals.

WMFR Fire Marshal Rodney Kwiatkowski presented the district’s inspection plans to the Bradenton Beach City Commission on April 20. WMFR Fire Chief Ben Rigney also attended the meeting.

When addressing the commission, Kwiatkowski noted the vacation rental industry is booming nationwide.

“It’s estimated that every 44 seconds there’s an accident at a vacation rental property,” he said.

He then referenced recent news stories pertaining to fires that occurred at vacation rentals, including the March 8 fire at the Bird’s Nest apartment building in Bradenton Beach, where three of the units serve as short-term rentals.

Kwiatkowski said one of the Bird’s Nest guests was showering when the fire occurred and

was able to safely escape because he heard the fire alarm.

“This is what we’re trying to accomplish,” Kwiatkowski said.

Kwiatkowski said eight of the 11 structure fires that occurred on Anna Maria Island during the past three years occurred at short-term vacation rentals.

He noted the state defines a short-term vacation rental as a dwelling or dwelling unit rented to guests more than three times in a calendar year for periods of less than 30 days, or advertised as such. Kwiatkowski said the district’s pending inspection program would only pertain to short-term vacation rentals and not to longer term, seasonal or annual rentals.

Kwiatkowski said the state of Florida’s Uniform Fire Safety Standards mandate that local fire jurisdictions protect health, safety and welfare in certain types of structures, including transient public lodging establishments (short-term vacation rentals).

“All such local authorities shall enforce, within their fire safety jurisdiction, the uniform fire safety standards for those buildings,” according to the state statute.

Kwiatkowski said transient public lodging establishment inspections are allowed according to Florida’s Uniform Fire Safety Standards and the Florida Fire Prevention Code. He also noted state law allows the state fire marshal to deny, refuse to renew, suspend or revoke the certificate of a fire safety inspector who fails to properly enforce the state’s applicable fire codes.

Kwiatkowski said there’s a long list of items inspectors will be looking at. The list includes properly functioning smoke alarms and fire extinguishers placed in proper locations, safe electrical components, primary and secondary means of getting in and out of the vacation rental unit, emergency lighting and more. He said WMFR will work with impacted property owners to help them get to where they need to be in terms of fire and life safety measures.

Commissioner Ralph Cole asked if vacation rental inspections are a new state mandate.

Kwiatkowski said the state statute has been in place for several years and was in place when he became the fire marshal in 2019. He said the COVID-19 pandemic and other events delayed the district’s implementation of a vacation rental inspection program. Kwiatkowski said other fire districts statewide are implementing similar programs.

Mayor John Chappie offered the use of the city commission chambers for a stakeholders’ meeting with potentially impacted vacation rental owners and others.

Additional info

Later in the week, Kwiatkowski was asked how many short-term vacation rentals operate on Anna Maria Island.

“We have identified approximately 2,700 legally operating vacation rentals throughout our district. Roughly 2,400 of those are on Anna Maria Island. I suspect there are a great number more operating that aren’t registered through the Department of Business and Professional Regulations as they are required to be. We are committed to identifying every vacation rental in our district and ensuring they are compliant. Safety is not an optional amenity. It is the foundation to a healthy business and community and profitable business and safety are not mutually exclusive,” Kwiatkowski said, noting the inspection program will begin Oct. 1.

“Regarding additional staffing, WMFR will hire two additional fire and life safety inspectors and an administrative assistant to help with the additional workload. After the two additional hires, our Fire and Life Safety Bureau will consist of four fire and life safety inspectors, an administrative assistant and myself,” he added.

Kwiatkowski is scheduled to make a similar presentation to the Anna Maria City Commission on Thursday, April 27. In late January, Kwiatkowski discussed the district’s vacation rental inspection plans during a Code Compliance town hall meeting held in Holmes Beach.

Fire assessment rates set to increase

Fire assessment rates set to increase

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Community News, West Manatee Fire Rescue.

MANATEE COUNTY – Fire assessment rates will be increasing for residents and business owners in the West Manatee Fire Rescue district.

Though rates in WMFR’s district could go up as high as 6.7%, the assessment rate for the 2023-24 fiscal year is expected to increase by 4%, or about $13.42 for the average homeowner.

Commissioners and staff met on April 18 for a mid-year budget workshop prior to the board’s regular monthly meeting. During the meeting, Chief Ben Rigney gave commissioners three rate proposals for the new fiscal year set to begin on Oct. 1 – a 0%, 4% or 6.7% increase. Rigney recommended the 4% increase to allow for additional funds to be collected through tax assessment revenue to help fund district needs, primarily the addition of nine new staff members.

The planned new hires include six firefighters – two additional people per shift with one of the new firefighters stationed on Anna Maria Island – two new fire inspectors and a financial clerk who was just hired as support staff for the district’s fire prevention bureau.

The two new fire inspectors would work to help with inspections of vacation rental properties in WMFR’s district, an initiative planned to begin in October. Inspectors will be operating under the Florida Fire Prevention Code and looking for any potential dangers to life or safety on the properties. Fire Marshal Rodney Kwiatkowski said that inspectors will operate independently of any vacation rental inspection or certificate programs already in place on the Island, though he added that they would try to work with all city code compliance/enforcement personnel to not overlap efforts and inconvenience property owners.

The increase in assessment also covers the cost of increases in insurance and planned raises, among other administrative items for the district. The district’s assessment rates are based on the size of a building on a property or a flat rate if the property is vacant, not the property’s value. With a 4% increase, income from assessment rates would increase an estimated $382,482 in the 2023-24 fiscal year from $9,562,071 to $9,944,554.

District property owners will see the increase on their TRIM notices this fall if it is approved by a vote of fire commissioners during the board’s May meeting.

Currently, district property owners with a 2,000-square-foot home pay $336.22 per year for fire and rescue services through the district when they pay their tax bill. With a 4% increase, that amount would rise to $349.63, an increase of $13.42.

The owner of a 2,000-square-foot commercial property paid $753.19 to the district in the 2022-23 fiscal year. That number would increase to $783.32 if the 4% increase is approved, a jump of $20.13.

Commissioners are expected to vote on the proposed assessment rate increase during a May 16 meeting at the district’s administration building.

Reel Time on the Road: The Chestatee

Reel Time on the Road: The Chestatee

Written by Rusty Chinnis on . Posted in Outdoors, Reel Time.

Over the years I’ve had the pleasure of fishing many of the finest trout streams in north Georgia, like the Soque and Chattahoochee as well Duke’s and Noontotla Creek. Always looking for a new adventure, I was intrigued when I overheard a conversation a couple of years ago at Unicoi Outfitters in Helen, Georgia. Two of the guides were talking about floating the Chattahoochee River for shoal bass.

Shoal bass are in the sunfish family and a member of the black bass family. It wasn’t until 1999 that they were reclassified as a unique species, having been considered a red eye bass. Shoal bass are similar in body shape to a largemouth bass but, unlike the largemouth, they have scales on the base portion of the second dorsal fin, their first and second dorsal fins are clearly connected, and their upper jaws do not extend past the eye. Shoal bass also lack the dark lateral band that largemouth have with vertical stripes which resemble tiger stripes.

Although historically found as far south as the Apalachicola and Chipola Rivers in Florida, habitat degradation has all but eliminated shoal bass from those rivers proper. Now their range is limited to tributaries including the Chattahoochee, Flint and Chestatee. They primarily eat crayfish but will also eat a variety of fish and insects. Shoal bass are primarily found among river shoals with fast-moving water and can also be found in the deeper pools containing limestone formations above and below the shoals.

In the spring of 2022, I booked McElroy to experience a Chattahoochee float and quickly fell in love with this type of fishing. This led to another trip with McElroy and Unicoi Outfitters owner Jimmy Harris, and I was hooked. On those two trips our primary target were shoal bass, although we also landed a nice striper.

On a recent trip to Georgia, I had the opportunity to float the Chestatee with McElroy and my friend Bob Seeger, a transplant from Longboat Key now living in Blue Ridge, Georgia. We started the day meeting McElroy at the takeout point where we moved all our gear into his truck and drove approximately 15 miles upstream to a launching point. After unloading the raft, McElroy guided the raft down a very steep embankment to the edge of the river. At this point in the river there was a very significant rapid that we decided to watch McElroy shoot and then joined him a short distance downstream. Unfortunately, there had been a fairly significant rain the night before our trip and the river was high and muddy. We had been warned in advance that these conditions all but shut down shoal bass from feeding. Despite the condition of the water, over the course of the next six hours we enjoyed a beautiful float past riverbanks festooned with flame azaleas, dogwoods and mountain laurel under a deep blue sky with puffy, white clouds floating overhead. And despite the odds, Seeger managed to land his first-ever shoal bass. This a trip I highly recommend. To experience it for yourself, contact Unicoi Outfitters at 1-706-878-3083 or visit their website.

Castles in the Sand

Baby boomers continue to influence

Written by Louise Bolger on . Posted in Business, Castles in the Sand.

Is the baby boomer generation ever going to disappear? Well, they surely will, but it could take another 40 years since the youngest of this influential generation is only 58. This large generation born after World War II has affected every aspect of life in America culturally, financially, morally and, of course, in the real estate market.

The latest study of baby boomer influence on the real estate market is from the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) 2023 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends. This extensive study examines the similarities and differences of recent home buyers and sellers across generations. The study found that the combined share of the real estate market for all baby boomers rose to 39% in 2022, up from 29% the prior year. The combined share of the baby boomer market is defined as the older boomer buyers who are 68-76 years old and the younger boomer buyers who are 58-67 years old.

Millennials ranging from 24-42 years of age have seen their total share of the market fall from 43% in 2021 to 28% last year. Millennials are the target buyer for the baby boomer homes and it’s not advantageous to see this generation’s buying power decreasing, likely because of employment instability and inflation.

Baby boomers have the upper hand in the homebuying market since the majority of them are repeat buyers who have housing equity to purchase dream homes or ease into retirement homes. But if their target buyers are having problems buying, it will eventually affect them. In addition, 26% of all buyers, according to the study, were first-time buyers, which is the lowest since the NAR began tracking the data and a decrease from 34% last year.

A few other interesting points in the study were that all generations agreed that the most common reason to move was to be closer to friends and family and that overall, buyers relocated a median of 50 miles. Also, 86% of all buyers purchased their homes through a real estate agent, proving that regardless of how great the internet is, buyers still want that personal touch.

Time to discuss the March real estate sales statistics for Manatee County reported by the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee:

Single-family homes closed 4.4% more properties from last March. The median sale price was down 6.3% to $491,988 and the average sale price was down 9.3% from last March at $638,055. The median time to contract was 46 days compared to five days last year, and new listings are up by 0.7% and new pending properties are up by 7.9%. The month’s availability of properties is three months, still a low number.

Condos closed 7.7% fewer properties from last March. The median sale price was up 10.1% at $353,000 and the average sale price was up 6.5% at $419,574. The median time to contract was 23 days compared to five last year, new listings were up 3.9% and new pending listings were down 5.8%. The month’s availability of properties is 3.7 months, again a low number.

We have kind of a mixed bag this month in Manatee County, almost as if the market is trying to adjust to the end of season and the influence of the economy. However, we in the state of Florida generally continue to buck the national trend, which we’ll talk about further next week.

Finally, NRA’s study also indicated that the youngest generation of home buyers, Gen Z, have a real desire for homeownership and are getting into the market with help from family to make their first real estate purchase. Some things never change; owning a home is more than just a financial investment, it’s a symbol of stability, independence and community.

First turtle nest of season found early on AMI

First turtle nest of season found early on AMI

Written by Leslie Lake on . Posted in Featured, Outdoors, Sea turtles.

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – Island sea turtles are getting off to an early start as the first nest of the season on the Gulf Coast of Florida has appeared on Anna Maria Island.

“AMITW got a big surprise early this morning, finding the first loggerhead nest of the season,” Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring Executive Director Kristen Mazzarella wrote in an April 18 statement.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) told Mazzarella that the AMI nest was the first found on the state’s west coast. She said it is likely the earliest nest in the history of Turtle Watch.

Turtle season officially begins on May 1 and runs through Oct. 31. Turtle Watch volunteers started to patrol on April 15 at the directive of the FWC. Days later, volunteers found the crawl.

“We are excited to start the nesting season on Anna Maria Island and look forward to a productive season protecting nests and educating the public,” said Mazzarella, who began her new job at Turtle Watch this month.

In 2022, two records were broken by local loggerhead sea turtles. The number of hatched nests in September reached 453, edging out the 2018 record of 447, and a record 35,850 hatchlings exceeded the prior record of 35,788 set in 2018.

Team Gulf Drive Café still undefeated

Team Gulf Drive Café still undefeated

Written by Monica Simpson on . Posted in Soccer, Sports.

ANNA MARIA – Coming into week three of youth recreational soccer play, the Gulf Drive Café team was on top with two wins. Their week three opponents, HSH Designs, earned a win and fought hard for a tie in the past weeks.

Keeping both teams’ goalkeepers busy, the offenses made shots past defenders for two halves of play.

The leadership of Cyrus Ryan in goal helped the Gulf Drive Café squad to their third victory. Listening to the chatter of Ryan, Gulf Drive players shifted and changed field position to keep the HSH team moving and guessing.

Ryan finished the game with six saves. His counterpart, Chase Castagna, fought hard in the net for his team, also closing out the match with six critical stops.

On offense for HSH, Cecelia Kroth made a beautiful goal, scoring her team’s only goal.

Gulf Drive Café selflessly passed the ball, getting the soccer ball to the feet of Theo Aupelle, Luke Dellenger, Josiah MacDonald and Jayden Sparks for goals. Kegan McGalde is credited with an assist in the game.

The scoring power of the 11- to 13-year-old league leader, Gulf Drive Café, was just too much for their week three opponent.

Going into the coming week, the teen league’s Shady Lady Horticultural Services looks for their first win. Last week, the squad came close with a 3-2 loss against the Moss Builders team.

Moss Builders finished the week with a 1-1-1 record.

As the season approaches the playoffs, the oldest youth recreation league championship game is still in reach for all four teams at The Center.

 

 

Sun Scoreboard

April 18

8- TO 10-YEAR-OLD LEAGUE
Week 3

 

 

Westfall’s Lawn Care & Pest Control (1-2-0) 3

Island Real Estate (1-2-0) 1

 

 

Cheesecake Cutie (3-0-0) 3

Sato Real Estate (2-1-0) 1

 

 

Solid Rock Construction (2-1-0) 5

AMI Coconuts (0-3-0) 1

 

 

11- TO 13-YEAR-OLD LEAGUE
Week 3

 

Gulf Drive Café (3-0-0) 4

HSH Designs (1-1-1) 1

 

 

Moss Builders (1-1-1) 3

Shady Lady Horticultural Services (0-3-0) 2

 

 

April 20

Adult Co-Ed Soccer
Week 5

 

Gulfview Windows & Doors (1-3-1) 6

Vintage Beach (1-3-1) 5

 

 

Pool America (2-3-0) 7

Solid Rock Construction (3-2-0) 3

 

 

Duncan Real Estate (3-1-1) 6

Sato Real Estate (2-2-1) 2

 

 

Sandbar Seafood & Spirits (4-1-0) 4

Moss Builders (2-3-0) 1

Library advisory board to expand

Library advisory board to expand

Written by Jason Schaffer on . Posted in Community News, Manatee County.

BRADENTON – Concerned citizens symbolically held up books, such as Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War,” in protest of a controversial proposal by Manatee County Commissioner Amanda Ballard at the April 18 commission work session.

The county currently has a library advisory board that consists of five citizens who advise commissioners on a variety of subjects regarding libraries and their policies, but for Ballard, this isn’t enough.

“There’s been some confusion, maybe some deliberate fearmongering. My colleagues and I have been referred to as mullahs, fascists, Hitler book-banners and other incendiary terms,” Ballard said. “Public libraries have the responsibility to present all points of view, even if I, as an elected official, any other elected official or an advisory board finds those points of view personally abhorrent.”

According to Ballard, the current five-person advisory board was designed in the 1970s and its only requirement for members is to reside within prescribed geographic boundaries within the county.

“I’d like to see a larger collection development board with members that serve certain roles in the county,” Ballard said.

The new board would not have the ability to remove existing material from any county library, but if it did not agree with the purchase of new library items due to content or any other reason, the hope would be that librarians would consider the board’s opinion. In the end, the decision would rest with librarians, not the board.

Ballard closed her proposal by asking for the requirement of a parental consent form in order for anyone under 16 to check out materials related to sex education, reproduction and other books involving human sexuality, including LGBTQ+ materials, even if they are strictly educational. She also asked for general labels on children’s books involving human sexuality, coming-of-age, LGBTQ+ and other similar materials.

Commissioner George Kruse challenged the need for a second board, asking Ballard why a 15-person board was needed in addition to the current board, which would be essentially doing the same thing. Adding in third-party consultants, he said, amounts to the government being much bigger and more intrusive than it needs to be.

“I like smaller government,” Kruse said, “I also think that government is terrible at overseeing my life. To be finding a way to expand government with an additional advisory board in order to tell me more about what to do with my life seems to be counterintuitive to everything I campaigned on.” 

The room had more citizens than seen at many meetings and, at one point, bailiffs were brought down to remove at least one person after multiple interruptions were made while commissioners discussed the issue. All were reminded that everyone who wished to speak would be allotted their three minutes.

“I’m a Manatee County resident and I was appalled watching the Feb. 21 meeting in which the board came off as inflammatory,” Anna Maria Island resident Cory Wright said while addressing the board as a concerned citizen. “It was clear in the last meeting that you think some of the libraries’ collections are too gay, too racially diverse and too liberal for your sensitivities.”

Wright’s comments were echoed by numerous citizens who said they think the proposal is taking things way too far and crossing First Amendment lines. Very few in attendance were on board with the expansion for the advisory board.

“We are unsure of the motivation leading to this. If the BCC would like to gain understanding of the library and provide more oversight, the mechanism is already in place,” Julie Perry, of Friends of the Island Library, said in an email to The Sun. “The appointment of a secondary citizen board is a provocative move. The county commissioners, citizens and library users would be better served if staff were allowed to continue their work and the BCC were to engage with the existing library advisory board. We need to remind the commissioners that our librarians are highly trained professionals, that includes book selection processes.”

After the public comments concluded, Ballard revised her initial motion to ask for the admission of additional members to the current advisory board rather than creating an additional board. The motion to expand the advisory board from five to nine citizens was unanimously approved by commissioners. Once the new board plan is drafted by the county attorney’s office, it will return to the board for formal adoption.

Noise violation lawsuits settled

Noise violation lawsuits settled

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News.

ANNA MARIA – The city of Anna Maria has reached settlement agreements with the owners of two short-term vacation rental properties that received three or more noise ordinance violation citations within a one-year period.

The City Commission approved the settlement agreements during a special commission meeting held on April 24. The commission, mayor and City Attorney Becky Vose previously and privately discussed the proposed settlement agreements during a closed-door shade meeting on April 13.

During Monday’s meeting, the commission first approved the settlement agreement with Beach to Bay Investments, the AMI Locals real estate company and Shawn Kaleta. Those three entities are named as appellants in a 2022 appeals case filed against the city in response to Special Magistrate Gerald Buhr declaring the vacation rental home at 205 South Bay Blvd. to be a public nuisance after three noise ordinance citations were issued to rental guests there within a 12-month period.

Noise violation lawsuits settled
Guests staying at this vacation rental home at 205 South Bay Blvd. were cited for three noise ordinance violations within a 12-month period. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

According to the city’s code of ordinances, three or more violations occurring at the same premises within any 12-month rolling period shall be deemed prima facia evidence that the premises is a public nuisance. A vacation rental property deemed to be a public nuisance could face penalties that include the potential suspension of the rental property’s city-issued vacation rental license.

According to the Beach to Bay settlement agreement, “Beach to Bay agrees that if any verified noise citation occurs on or before 90 days after April 25, the noise nuisance designation shall be reinstated to be effective for a 90-day period from the date of such verified noise citation.”

Mangos on Magnolia

The second commission-approved settlement agreement pertains to five cited noise ordinance violations that occurred during a 12-month period at a vacation rental home at 313 Magnolia Ave. The 2022 lawsuit filed by the city named the Orlando-based Mangoes on Magnolia LLC and the Vacasa vacation rental company as defendants.

The city initially sought a court order that would have prohibited any short-term vacation rental activities at the Magnolia Avenue home for one year. Under the settlement agreement, the city and Mangoes on Magnolia LLC agree that the LLC will instead be on a voluntary form of probation for one year.

During Monday’s meeting, Vose said, “If there are no further proven noise violations, then the case shall be dismissed. Basically, they’re going to be on the hook for a year. If they do have a noise violation, they are agreeing to shut down the rental for a consecutive six-week period. They won’t be required to cancel any existing rentals that are less than three months in the future, but the shutdown period must commence no later than four months after the proven noise violation.”

Commissioner Jon Crane opposed the Mangoes on Magnolia settlement agreement because the city didn’t confirm or require an advertising requirement previously proposed by the attorney representing the LLC. In response, Vose said the city’s only concern is that future noise violations are prevented.