HOLMES BEACH – Mainsail Lodging & Development President Joe Collier says there’s currently no deal in place to sell Manatee County a boat slip so the county can install and operate a Gulf Islands Ferry stop at Waterline Villas & Marina.
When speaking to The Sun on Feb. 6, Collier said, “The bottom line is I haven’t decided whether to sell them a slip or not. There’s no contract. There’s no agreement for purchasing a slip in our marina.”
To date, the city has not received from the county a formal proposal for a Waterline Marina ferry stop. However, it has been discussed in general and speculative terms at recent city commission meetings. And some residents who live along the canal that connects the marina basin with Anna Maria Sound and the Intracoastal Waterway have expressed opposition to a ferry stop in the marina.
“I see both sides and I understand. The ferry landing at our place has never been our idea. We’ve been trying to be accommodating to the county – and to the neighbors. I haven’t signed an agreement or sold the slip or anything. I’m just letting this all play out so I can understand where everything falls,” Collier said.
The slip, or slips, to possibly be sold to the county are located at the northern corner of the Waterline Marina basin, near Marina Drive and the Keyes Marina parking lot. The county has not submitted a site plan to the city seeking city commission approval for a ferry landing in that location if the county reaches an agreement to purchase the marina space.
The Gulf Islands Ferry system currently operates between the Bradenton Riverwalk Pier near downtown Bradenton and the Bradenton Beach Pier. The county now has in its possession a new and larger $3 million ferry boat that hasn’t yet been put into service. With the capacity to carry approximately 96 passengers, the new boat features an enclosed passenger area with air conditioning and heat and an outdoor seating area at the rear of the boat.
Using the new boat, county officials hope to resume ferry service between the Bradenton Riverwalk Pier and the Anna Maria City Pier after the new pier walkway is constructed and the hurricane-damaged pier reopens this fall. One, or both, of the original 49-passenger open-air pontoon boats would then be used to transport passengers to and from the other Anna Maria Island ferry stops that are expected to also include a future stop at the county-owned Coquina Boat Ramp in Bradenton Beach.
PUBLIC RECORDS
When giving general public comment during the Jan. 13 city commission meeting, Holmes Beach residents Dana Sky, Izzy Sky and Daria Grinenko shared their concerns and opposition to a Waterline ferry stop.
Grinenko then submitted a public records request seeking copies of ferry-related text messages and emails between City Commissioner Carol Whitmore, county-affiliated Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Elliott Falcione, District 3 Manatee County Commissioner Tal Siddique and others.
The records Grinenko received and shared with The Sun provide a glimpse at the behind-the-scenes efforts to create a Holmes Beach ferry stop.
On June 26, Whitmore sent Collier a text message that said, “I am so trying to find a place for the water taxi to land. I have a few ideas. Just so you know, I voted against the water taxi when I was a county commissioner. I voted against it because (of) the return on investment to the county.”
In that text exchange, Whitmore asked Collier if some of the Waterline Villas rental units were operated as condominiums with a homeowners association.
“It’s an HOA but we kept 7 of the units and manage the resort,” Collier responded.
In her July 10 text to Collier, Whitmore wrote, “I went to a meeting and I had four of the seven county commissioners come up to me and told me I have to find a place for the water taxi.”
In another text exchange with Collier, Whitmore wrote, “If you’re as interested as I am, ask your attorney if he wants to talk to Elliott and then we’ll start working on all that. I’m not telling anybody at the city yet and Elliott’s not telling anybody at the county until he has a one-on-one with you. This can give you guys some cash flow and definitely some visibility of your hotel. It has to be deeded as a public use. They want it bad enough, so make sure you benefit.”
In her July 24 text to Collier, Whitmore wrote, “If this works the way we think, it’s not going to cost you anything but will totally bring business to your area that normally wouldn’t come to the shopping center or your restaurant.”
When discussing those text messages, Collier said, “I don’t operate that restaurant in my hotel. Chateau is a third-party operator, a tenant. While I would love to see him do well, I’m not positive whether the ferry customers are Chateau customers. I do think the ferry would certainly be helpful to Ugly Grouper, the Freckled Fin and all those places – and to Jacob’s (Jake Spooner) place.
In his July 29 text to Whitmore, Collier wrote, “My team is going to present a pro and con summary for me so we can present to unit owners and see if I can get approved for you.”
In his July 31 text to Whitmore, Collier wrote, “OK, we are going to help make this happen. We need to work on our list of asks and what about Judy T?”
Collier was referencing Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth.
In response, Whitmore wrote, “Last time I spoke to her at a commission meeting all the commissioners said that they will wait for the county to present them something.”
When discussing that text exchange, Collier said he doesn’t know what the city will ask of the county to accommodate ferry passengers boarding and disembarking near Marina Drive.
“You can’t just dump people off. Is there a structure on the street to receive them? Is there a landing place?” he said.
Collier said he still doesn’t know how the mayor and the other city commissioners feel about a ferry stop in the marina.
The mayor and other commissioners have not publicly stated their positions on a Waterline ferry stop because the county hasn’t presented the city with a proposed site plan.
“If she doesn’t want it, you’re fighting city hall,” Collier said.
“Why don’t they try it for 30 days and see if it creates a big problem or it’s a nuisance. They could at least put their toe in the water,” he suggested.
The county-owned Kingfish Boat Ramp near the entrance to the city has also been previously mentioned as a potential ferry stop location, but that location doesn’t provide the same walkability to nearby restaurants, retail businesses and other destinations as the Waterline Marina location. A Kingfish Boat Ramp ferry landing would also require a city commission-approved site plan.
On Sept. 26, Whitmore sent a text to Falcione that said, “I brought up the taxi service at the commissioner meeting yesterday. As you know, Tal had told the mayor and the chief that there would never be a taxi service at Kingfish.”
On Nov. 12, Whitmore sent an email to Manatee County Property Acquisition Division Deputy Director Charles Meador that said, “Are you overseeing the water taxi landing site in Holmes Beach? If so, I will push whatever you need on the city end.”
In his response, Meador stated county staff members Peter Morrow and Tim Cristello were taking the lead on that effort.
“From what I understand, the framework has largely been agreed upon. The county began working on the contractual components today. This remains a top priority for the county as well,” Meador wrote.
On Jan. 4, Falcione sent an email to Whitmore that said, “We are working with our project manager, Jeff Anthony, on the details for the site plan approval. As soon as we get the Holmes Beach requirements approved by your city, then Charles and team will help us purchase the slip.”
Regarding the county’s ongoing acquisition efforts, Collier said, “I was open to the idea, and I was trying to help the county on this deal, but I never received a contract or an offer. They were doing the appraisal so they could get an offer. Then I started getting calls from the neighbors, so I reached out to Elliott over the holidays and I told him the neighbors don’t want this thing. I’m not sure I want to do this.
“I think it’s a little bit of a tempest in the teapot. I think Carol, to her credit, was trying to lay the groundwork for something that she thought was important. There’s nothing nefarious going on. If there was going to be a transaction for the slip, it was going to be a very simple sales transaction and I was going to sell them two docks out there on the corner and that was the end of it for me. I had questions along the way about where the people were going to go and what the landing was going to look like. I thought they were doing a lot of legwork on that, to figure that out before this thing was going to go any further,” Collier said.
