BRADENTON BEACH – Despite approval for the tiki hut construction at the Drift-In by recently-terminated Building Official Darin Cushing, the city has put the project on hold and determined that a major development hearing is required for the structure.
That hearing is scheduled for Thursday, March 6, first with the Planning and Zoning Board followed by a city commission meeting later that evening.
At a Feb. 6 city commission meeting, employees and owners of the Drift-In spoke in support of its reopening and some criticized the city’s process.
“I’m the owner of the Drift-In. I bought that business not for the money, but I didn’t buy it to develop it, I didn’t buy it to tear it down. I experienced what these people are saying, it’s a family,” Derek Williams said. “We’re closed right now, if I open in April, season is over. I went to your building official from day one and I followed every step from Steve Gilbert to Darin Cushing. He wasn’t the only one looking at my stuff – your city planner, your code enforcement, your experts came in my building every single day.
“There was a comment two meetings ago that you had a comment that you had spoken to my general contractor and your minutes say ‘a general contractor’,” Williams said. “I’m going to challenge you to listen to the audio. You’ve never spoken to my general contractor. I’m not a cheat, I’m not a scapegoat and I’m not going to sit back and be smeared like this and it’s affecting my whole life and my family.”
Williams said he’s not looking for litigation, but instead is looking for ways to work with federal (FEMA) rules that the city is obligated to follow to preserve its flood insurance rating.
“But I did what your people told me to do and now I’m sitting here and I am bleeding,” Williams said. “Every day that goes by it’s getting worse and worse. Give us a chance. I’ve reached out to the governor (See Letters to the Editor on page 6), I’ve talked to every legislator. I’ve talked to county commissioners, I’ve talked to senators, I’ve talked to city commissioners… I want to put a spotlight on Bradenton Beach and it’s time for us to fix this.”
Williams’ letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis reads in part: “We were given a permit and proceeded forward. What has unfolded since that time stinks of government overreach, corruption, property rights violations and the tarnish of my family’s good name.”
Doreen Flynn, manager of the Drift-In, read a letter she wrote to Mayor John Chappie.
“When I read The Sun, I was so disillusioned to read that everyone thought the city was trying to help get the businesses back open. To have this city back to what it was before hurricane.”
She said the Drift-In employees have been struggling to survive since September’s Hurricane Helene, which flooded most of Bradenton Beach.
“The employees of the Drift-In are struggling to pay their bills. They have rent, they have kids, they have car payments, they have mortgages. They have maxed out their credit cards and can’t pay them,” Flynn said. “You cannot live on $275 a week unemployment.”
She said not only employees are impacted by the closure, but also musicians, beer and liquor salespeople, truck drivers and cleaning people.
“It’s very sad that you can’t depend on the city to help us, but I’m asking you to please help us get back open asap,” Flynn said.
“It is a sad situation what we’re going through,” Chappie said.
PUBLIC SUPPORTS DRIFT-IN
Mike McConnell, a musician who plays at the Drift-in, called the bar a special place that is a destination for a lot of people.
“I expect our government should help people. Let’s get their doors open quickly,” Gina Mariani said. “When hurricanes hit, I thought your job was to help alleviate the red tape and help our businesses open as quickly as possible. It seemed like the person that was hired by you was doing just that. Then it seems like he was overridden by you through no fault of the Drift-In. Please stop scrutinizing the little guy while letting others on this Island get away with anything they want. We had a catastrophic event and instead of trying to bend a little you seem to throw roadblocks in,” Mariani said.
Kelly Flynn said the entire community is affected by the Drift-In being closed.
“I’ve worked for the Drift for over a decade,” Heather McNeal said. “They do nothing but amazing things for the community. It’s very important that we get the doors open, for a small business to lose money daily this time of year, it’s not good at all. I know you’re going to do the right thing.”
“How do we get them back in business?” Commissioner Ralph Cole asked following public comment.
“The meeting has been set with Planning and Zoning and once that goes through, it will come to the city commission,” Mayor John Chappie said. “We have to follow our procedures, we have no choice. We have to follow the guidelines from FEMA.”
