BRADENTON – Following a strong showing of public support for the continued existence of Annie’s Bait and Tackle at a Jan. 28 Manatee County Commission meeting, coupled with the insistence of County Commissioner Jason Bearden, the commission voted unanimously to direct county staff to explore ways to bring the hurricane-damaged Annie’s up to code.
“I feel like we keep beating around the bush on this,” Bearden said. “We’ve had people come here in public comment today that have made the decision they want to keep Annie’s. Therefore, let me show you how to get it done. County Administrator (Charlie) Bishop, I need you to figure out how to get that building up to code so that Annie’s can continue, period. No ifs, ands or buts.”
Annie’s Bait and Tackle is part of the Seafood Shack parcel that was recently purchased by the county with the intent of creating a public boating facility.
“Do I have a consensus on the board to get that done right now or do I have to make a motion?” Bearden asked.
Commissioner George Kruse then asked Bishop to work with his staff to bring back a discussion about the feasibility of bringing Annie’s up to code.
“They have to speak with FEMA. They have to talk to general contractors, and they have to figure it out.” Kruse said. “It’ll be as soon as feasibly possible they will bring it back.”
“Let’s make a motion then to confirm it,” Bearden said. “I want to make a motion to have something back with regards to what we need to do to get Annie’s back up to code within 30 days.”
That motion passed unanimously at a vote of 7-0 and brought applause from meeting attendees who spoke in support of Annie’s.
Annie’s co-owner, Bruce Shearer, spoke to The Sun after the meeting.
“They’re giving us 30 days, so I’ll be getting a bid from my contractor and bringing it back to them,” Shearer said. “I’m hoping to put it back together and get back to business.”
Shearer said there were approximately 75 people who attended the meeting in support of Annie’s.
“That did wonders,” he said. “There’s no doubt about it.”
Prior to the public comment portion of the meeting, Deputy County Administrator Brian Parnell gave commissioners an update on what is now being called the Cortez Marina property.
“Before the acquisition was finalized, the hurricanes, as anyone can see, caused extensive damage destroying the boat slips, the restaurants and the bait and tackle,” Parnell said.
Parnell said that structural inspections revealed that all the repairs would be beyond 50% of the structures’ value, which triggered FEMA regulations ensuring that any build back would be to current code.
“The current status is they are red-tagged, they are condemned,” Parnell said.
“We went under contract to acquire this pre-storm with the intention of resigning the leases,” Kruse said. “Annie’s bait shack structure is condemned and doesn’t exist. I must adhere to higher powers telling us people cannot be in there and we cannot pull permits. We can’t in good conscience issue permits and ignore FEMA and hold other people that cross the 50% threshold to a different standard on their residences.”
Kruse said the property is going to be fenced off to demolish the Seafood Shack, eliminating parking.
“There’s no boat docking there so there’s no use for a bait shack at the moment,” he said. “We had this discussion, we wanted to work in good faith with Bruce and Annie’s Bait Shack to try to put them there to keep some historical heritage associated with Cortez village in place but we cannot sign leases on condemned buildings. That’s not wise to do, and it’s not legal to do.”
“We did have those discussions prior to the hurricanes when the previous board directed us to purchase the property, we discussed how we could keep operations going on the marina for the two and a half years before we can build something new and get something in place,” Parnell said. “Post-hurricanes, it’s not an option for us anymore.”
“I know that’s not what people want to hear,” Kruse said. “The reality is we do not have a physical structure to sign a lease for. Once this is up and running, this is a good conversation to have with us, how do we refill the location which is inclusive hopefully of Annie’s Bait Shack, which I will keep beating that drum for in two and two and a half years, because I want to keep that historical component associated with this property.”
PUBLIC COMMENT
“My dad is Bruce Shearer, he owns Annie’s. I understand what you’re saying about the building,” said Anna Gaffey. “My parents Bruce and Kim bought Annie’s Bait and Tackle Jan. 1, 1996. They worked hard over the years to turn it into a place where families could come and eat, buy bait and tackle and learn about fishing.”
Gaffey said Annie’s means a lot to the community.
“Over the years, they have watched kids coming in to buy bait and have watched them grow up and now we get to see those kids all grown up bringing their kids to eat and get bait,” she said. “It’s one of the pleasures of being in a business like this, generations of love and passion for fishing.”
“Annie’s has always been an older historic building and that’s what’s important out there. We’d like to see if it’s at all possible to protect it,” Karen Bell said.
“Annies is very important to Cortez,” tour boat Capt. Kathe Fannon said. “It’s historical and a lot of people depend on it. I think taking two and a half years is not acceptable. I think we need to give him the opportunity to put the place back together.”
Shearer said he could fix the hurricane damage for about $5,000.
“If we hadn’t been hit by the hurricanes, you’d have let me stay,” Shearer said. “Five grand, that’s all the damage I’ve got.”
Following the meeting Shearer said, “It’s an iconic place, I hope to get longer than two and a half to three years.”
