BRADENTON BEACH – Police Chief and Public Works Director John Cosby warned commissioners of continuing financial implications for the city from the 2024 hurricanes at the Oct. 23 city commission meeting.
“Via Roma, Tradewinds, Runaway Bay and Tropic Isles are not open at this time, and are not occupied. They are still going through the process,” Cosby said. “The reason I’m telling you this, and the concern is, none of these properties are going to be up by the end of the year. So, we’re still going to have a tax issue next year and evaluations end this year. When we get our numbers in June, it’s going to be greatly affected by this.”
According to the Manatee County Property Appraiser’s Office, “A homeowner may be eligible for a refund of a portion of property taxes paid for the year in which the catastrophic event occurred if the property was uninhabitable for at least 30 days due to a catastrophic event.”
Cosby said there are 11 empty lots at commercial businesses that aren’t currently operating, 12 unoccupied properties where all the necessary improvements haven’t been completed and 31 properties where the building was either torn down or destroyed by the hurricanes.
“There are quite a few permits that are out, and quite a few more coming to get permits, so it’s going to be another year before we see some relief,” he said. “We’ll see what happens as we move forward.”
Cosby also alluded to issues with FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) reimbursements to the city for hurricane-related expenses.
“We are having some pain with FEMA, I don’t know where it’s going and I don’t want to hit the panic button, but we are definitely having some issues with them, to the point where I had to ask the state to step in and help,” Cosby said. “We could have some financial issue with what FEMA’s willing to pay for. When I hear, I’ll let you know.”
Code Enforcement Officer Evan Harbus then spoke about city properties that are scheduled for demolition.
“The house at 1202 Gulf Drive S., tomorrow morning there will be a demolition crew and they will demolish the concrete area,” Harbus said. “The home will be removed in the next week and a half.”
Harbus said Queens Gate Resort at 1101 Gulf Drive N. will also be completely taken down.
“Those are the two big ones,” he said.
