HOLMES BEACH – City commissioners recently voted 4-0 against entering into a maintenance agreement with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) pertaining to the roadside rights of way at the entrance to the city.
The proposed agreement requested by the city would have shifted to the city the responsibility to clean and maintain the state-owned rights of way along Manatee Avenue (SR 64) from the east side of the Anna Maria Island Bridge, on the bridge, along the Kingfish Boat Ramp and along the areas leading to the East Bay Drive and Gulf Drive intersection.
In recent months, the mayor and commissioners have expressed their disappointment with the appearance of the entrance to the city that’s maintained by FDOT. The state’s maintenance responsibilities include mowing the grass and removing litter and debris from those state-owned rights of way.
As directed, Public Works Director Sage Kamiya helped broker the proposed agreement before he took a job with the city of Sarasota in October. Using a standard FDOT memorandum of agreement, the state agency proposed paying the city $3,883 per year for the next three years to maintain those rights of way currently maintained by FDOT.
Commissioner Terry Schaefer was unable to attend the Oct. 28 meeting but he included in the meeting package a memo he submitted in support of the city taking over those maintenance responsibilities.
“This issue was originally discussed with Sage and Judy (Titsworth) months ago as an alternative to the inconsistent maintenance provided by FDOT at the threshold to our city,” Schaefer stated in his memo. “The debris collecting on the south walkway of the bridge, and irregular debris pick up and mowing of the right of ways was in my opinion casting a negative appearance to our city.”
“I’m not in favor of it. It’s a lot of right of way,” Titsworth told the attending commissioners.
She said the agreement would subject the city to more storm and hurricane cleanup and debris removal responsibilities and would require city staff to remove litter and debris from the state-owned bridge.
Titsworth said Public Works Maintenance Supervisor Tray Thorp would be relieved to not take on the additional right of way maintenance responsibilities.
Titsworth suggested the commissioners, and others, contact FDOT more frequently if they continue to have concerns about the appearance of the entrance to the city.
City Attorney Erica Augello said, “I couldn’t support the contract. It’s got a lot of language in it that’s not applicable to a maintenance agreement. It puts a lot of onus on the city and this contract would put a lot of liability on the city if anything were to happen.”
Commissioner Dan Diggins said he didn’t like the proposed agreement.
“It’s a state road,” he added.
Commissioner Carol Soustek said she wasn’t comfortable with the proposed agreement and commissioners Steve Oelfke and Carol Whitmore joined Diggins and Soustek in opposing the proposed agreement.
