HOLMES BEACH – Steve Oelfke, Jessica Patel and Terry Schaefer were sworn in to their two-year city commission terms on Nov. 18, followed by the newly-reconfigured commission’s organizational meeting, during which Commissioner Carol Whitmore was elected as chair.
Swearing in
During the city election that concluded Nov. 4, incumbent commissioners Oelfke and Schaefer were reelected and Patel was elected for the first time. After receiving the least number of votes in the city election, longtime commissioner Carol Soustek’s time in office has ended.
City Clerk Stacey Johnston conducted the well-attended afternoon swearing-in ceremony. Johnson provided some background information and her personal appreciation for each commissioner before swearing them in and administering the oath of office.
Whitmore elected chair
The ceremony was followed by the commission’s annual organizational meeting, during which the five commissioners select someone to serve as commission chair and someone to serve as the vice chair for the next 12 months. The chair leads the commission meetings and works with the mayor and the city clerk to set the agendas for the commission meetings and work sessions.
Schaefer nominated current Commission Chair Dan Diggins to serve another one-year term in the position. Taking her first action as a new commissioner, Patel nominated Commissioner Carol Whitmore to chair the commission. Patel, Oelfke and Whitmore voted for Whitmore and Schaefer and Diggins voted for Diggins. The commission then unanimously selected Diggins to serve as vice chair.
Regular meeting
During the regular meeting, the reconfigured commission adopted on second and final reading two previously reviewed and discussed ordinances.
The city commission’s adoption of Ordinance 25-06 updates the city’s regulations for seawalls, bulkheads, docks and piers.
According to the memo that Director of Development Services Chad Minor included in the meeting packet, “The ordinance provisions provide clarity to homeowners and contractors on docks, lifts, mooring areas and structures within Outstanding Florida Waters.”
During the planning commission’s final review of the proposed ordinance on Nov. 5, Minor said during the multi-meeting ordinance review process that the city received several letters from property owners in the Seaside Gardens subdivision.
Minor said a provision requested by Seaside Garden property owners along the Watson’s Bayou shoreline now allows those docks to extend 30 feet from the seawall instead of 25 feet. The ordinance also allows shared docks for Watson’s Bayou shoreline property owners, including duplex owners who face additional space restrictions.
The adopted 18-page ordinance also addresses several other specific docking locations and includes diagrams of many of those locations.
The city commission’s adoption of Ordinance 25-13 brings the city into compliance with a recent state law that requires code-compliant plat and replat requests to be administratively reviewed and approved by city staff without being presented to the city commission.
Minor told city commissioners this was “a necessity ordinance” requested and written by City Attorney Erica Augello in response to the Legislature’s adoption of Senate Bill 784 earlier this year and the ensuing state law that took effect on July 1.
During the recent planning commission meeting, Minor said plat and replat requests are rare in Holmes Beach but the new state law could come into play if the Gloria Dei Lutheran Church property is sold and the new owners want to replat the property for future development.
Traffic signals
The commission voted 5-0 in favor of opting out of a previously reached 20-year agreement with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) that obligates the city to maintain the state-owned traffic signals at the Manatee Avenue/Gulf Drive intersection and the Manatee Avenue/East Bay Drive intersection.
According to the existing agreement, the city must give FDOT two years notice of the city’s intent to opt out of the agreement. The opt-out will take effect July 1, 2028 unless FDOT wants the opt-out to take effect sooner.
The city’s public works department will continue to maintain the traffic signal at the Gulf Drive/Marina Drive intersection.
