ANNA MARIA – The city is suspending its hurricane debris removal efforts at midnight on Thursday, Oct. 24.
The debris removal deadline was discussed and approved during the Anna Maria City Commission’s emergency meeting on Oct. 17. After extending two local state of emergency declarations, Mayor Dan Murphy recommended ending the city’s debris removal efforts after one more week, in part because he’s now seeing non-hurricane-related household and landscaping debris being placed out for free removal.
“It’s got to end. Otherwise, we’ll be here forever. We’ll keep picking up debris, but this is the deadline,” he said.
On Friday, the following message was posted on the city of Anna Maria’s Facebook page: “Effective midnight Thursday, Oct. 24, the city will no longer provide removal of hurricane-related debris. In the meantime, all hurricane-related debris must be placed in the city right of way in separate piles; one for household debris and another for landscaping debris. Businesses from other island cities have been coming to Anna Maria and dumping debris. Any individual caught doing this illegal dumping will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Subsequent to Oct. 24, at their own expense, residents and businesses may utilize dumpsters for large debris collection or they may contact a licensed hauling or other agency for assistance.”
At the suggestion of Commissioner Mark Short, the mayor and commission will review the debris removal efforts and impending deadline during the commission’s regular meeting at 1 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 24. If needed, the commission can consider extending the collection deadline and/or addressing hardship cases on an individual basis.
During Thursday’s meeting, Murphy recapped the city’s debris removal efforts and costs incurred. He also addressed Facebook comments made by Holmes Beach Commissioner Pat Morton alleging the city of Anna Maria would not receive FEMA reimbursements for its expedited debris removal efforts.
Debris removal
“Debris removal is paramount to the purpose of government, which is safeguarding the safety, health and welfare of our residents. It’s not safe having mounds of debris sitting around the city. So, we took action,” Murphy said.
Anna Maria’s debris removal strategy includes using the Bayfront Park parking lot along North Bay Boulevard as a centralized debris collection and processing area. The debris initially deposited there is later transported to the county landfill.
“We put an average of 68 trucks on the road hauling debris out of the city of Anna Maria. We took over 400 loads to the landfill. We took a total of 1,432 tons of debris, and that’s mostly household debris. There’s still landscaping debris. We’ve started to make a dent on that. Now there’s more household debris coming in, but we’ve made significant progress,” Murphy said on Thursday.
“We get a load ticket when they leave here, we get a load ticket when they go to the dump and we track all that. It’s all very closely monitored so we don’t get short-changed,” he added.
Murphy said the city already spent approximately $750,000 on debris removal and he anticipates the final cost to be around $1.5 million. City Clerk LeAnne Addy said the city usually receives 50% reimbursement within three days of requesting it and Murphy said the remaining reimbursement comes later.
“I don’t think we deserve any gold stars. We still have a long way to go and we’ve only done what’s expected of us. We’re going to get reimbursed for it. We’ve done everything by the numbers,” Murphy said of the city’s efforts.
Regarding the city’s financial position, Murphy said the city currently has $1.5 million in its checking account and an additional $3.5 million in reserves.
Morton’s comments
On or around Oct. 15, Nikki Gibson posted the following message on the Island Ratz Unite Facebook page regarding the city of Holmes Beach’s debris removal efforts: “For heaven’s sake, how much more do we have to put up with on Holmes Beach? The emotional stress of having this constant reminder of what we have all had to endure is taking its toll. Where are the people upon whom we are supposed to rely?”
In response, Morton posted this comment: “The city of Anna Maria is not following the rules to get reimburse (sic). The city of Homes Beach is. That (sic) why it’s taking longer to get it picked up. Not unless you as a taxpayers (sic) wants to pay for it.”
Morton also posted this comment: “There is a process that you have to go through to get reimburse (sic). The city of Anna Maria is not doing that, so the people of Anna Maria will have to pay for it.”
Regarding those comments, Murphy said, “There’s people circulating malicious rumors about reimbursement. We have followed every guideline and every rule and I am sick and tired of hearing it. This is not a new allegation. After Hurricane Irma, I was told the same thing. We had our debris removed and we got reimbursed. We used the same methodology and the same players for Hurrian Irma, Hurricane Ian, Hurricane Idahlia, Hurricane Debby, Helene and now Milton. We know what we’re doing.”
During public comment, former city commissioner and current mayoral candidate Brian Seymour said he’s driven by the Bayfront Park processing area several times and witnessed those workers following FEMA’s debris separation guidelines.
Regarding Morton’s comments, Seymour said, “Worry about your own city. Worry about your problems down there.”
Commissioner Mark Short, also a mayoral candidate, said Morton’s comments were an act of “deflection.”
