Tag: Anna Maria Island

Commissioner Kruse hosts Island talk

Written by SUN contributor on September 26, 2023. Posted in Anna Maria Island, Community News, Featured.

HOLMES BEACH – Only 18 people came out to the Island Branch Library on a stormy Wednesday night to hear what Manatee County Commissioner-at-large George Kruse had to say, but the conversation continued for nearly two hours.

Kruse held his monthly town hall meeting in Holmes Beach and invited anyone who attended to ask him questions. One of the hot topics of the night was the anticipated parking garage at Manatee Beach.

Parking garage

While Kruse said he wasn’t particularly for or against the parking garage, he doesn’t believe that it’s worth the cost to taxpayers or the best use of an estimated $30-50 million.

“We have much more important things to do in this county,” he said. “We do not have the money to do all the important CIP (Capital Improvement Plan) work we need to do. We don’t collect enough in impact fees; we don’t collect enough in FIF (Facility Investment Fees). We need to be focusing on our bridges, we need to be focusing on our major roads, we need to be focusing on Ft. Hamer, so for anyone to tell me this parking garage is even in the top 50 most important things is asinine,” Kruse said, referring to a recent county commission work session where several of his fellow commissioners stated that the Manatee Beach parking garage was a top priority project for the county.

Due to legislation signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and supported by members of the Manatee County legislative delegation, Manatee County commissioners can go against Holmes Beach city ordinances and the city’s land development code to build a three-story parking garage at the county-owned Manatee Beach, located in the Island city. If it’s built, the parking garage is planned to have 900 parking spaces along with restroom, concession and retail facilities. The project would require the removal of the restaurant, restroom, bar and retail store at the beach, along with the existing 400+ parking spaces.

Manatee County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge, who is leading the charge to build the garage, said he estimates the garage will take at least two years to build. During that time, no parking, facilities or public access would be available at the popular beach.

Infrastructure and utilities

Another topic of conversation was water.

Kruse said that the county is facing a number of infrastructure issues, including a water shortage and water quality.

“We’re running into a water capacity issue,” Kruse said. “Not tomorrow, but I have to look into the future. You can’t build something in a day.”

He said that the long-term growth going on in the county will eventually create a strain on water utilities. As to the issue of water quality, he said he’s looking for any ideas to help increase water quality in the county in order to help increase water capacity for the county.

He also addressed the issue of the water main serving the north end of the Island that is still being repaired.

“That happened because we’re not maintaining it,” he said of the pipe that fell off the bridge this summer and has since been replaced with a temporary pipe taking up the south side of the sidewalk. “We don’t have the money to maintain it because fees and rates have been kept too low for too long. No previous board wanted to be on the hook to increase something even a nickel because then they’re going to have some negative campaign ad against them saying they raised taxes, so we kept the rates artificially low. It covered the water, but it didn’t cover the maintenance.”

Kruse added that the fees paid by developers that are supposed to help increase capacity and expand infrastructure are also too low. He estimated that those fees are about 20-30% of where they need to be.

Regarding infrastructure, he said that the county was keeping up with maintaining and creating new infrastructure, including roads, until 2008, when the housing market crashed. After that, he said it took the county years to begin collecting impact fees from builders again and by that time it was too late to catch up with all of the work that needed to be done.

“We’ve never caught up from then,” Kruse said, adding that some of his fellow commissioners have delayed a vote on increasing impact fees. Currently, he said the county is charging based on a 2015 impact study that used 2013 data. A new impact fee study has been done, though he said bringing impact fees to a vote has been delayed multiple times. Though it’s now currently slated for discussion by the commission in November, Kruse noted that if the vote is delayed again until December, an argument could be made that the study is now stale and would need to be redone, delaying the vote another six to eight months.

Bridges

On the topic of bridges, Holmes Beach Commissioner Terry Schaefer said that the Cortez Bridge is currently scheduled to be replaced in 2026, pending litigation, with the Anna Maria Island Bridge on Manatee Avenue tentatively scheduled for 2029. On both bridges, he said, the Florida Department of Transportation is looking at adding a third lane that would be designated for transit and emergency personnel.

Kruse said the county is considering adding another trolley for the Island trolley’s free transit system. He also said he’s pushing for the county to open libraries at least part of the day on Sundays and run Manatee County Area Transit buses on Sundays, when he said people are off work and can take advantage of the free amenities.

See more of what Kruse had to say on The Sun’s YouTube channel.

Get ready for fabulous fall fishing

Written by Rusty Chinnis on September 26, 2023. Posted in Outdoors, Reel Time.

The first cold front is probably still a month or more away, but fish are showing up and now is a great time to prepare for the fall season, getting tackle in order and keeping an eye on the sky for diving birds and breaking fish.

Under those birds, you’ll find Spanish mackerel, little tunny, jack crevalle and any number of other predators that come together to feast on giant schools of baitfish that migrate to nearshore waters in the fall. All will take live bait, lures or flies and can be caught on spinning, bait casting or fly tackle. Except for king mackerel and cobia, most can be landed with light (8- to 10-pound test) tackle, adding to the excitement.

Depending on the species you’re targeting, you’ll want to rig accordingly. Since it’s possible to encounter such a diversity of fish in a single outing, multiple outfits are a good idea. One of the main considerations should be rigging. After a long, hot summer, tackle can fall into disrepair and need to be replaced. However you fish, take care to avoid the number one way fish are lost, improperly tied knots. To ensure you’ll never lose a good fish to inferior knots, moisten and tighten all knots. Properly sharpened hooks and rig outfits with the appropriate bite tippet and leader are also key. Options include wire, monofilament, long-shanked hooks or a combination of these. It’s possible to catch a kingfish without wire, but your odds aren’t good. The same applies with certain exceptions to Spanish mackerel. Mackerel can sometimes shy from the wire. That’s the time to switch to a long shank hook or a heavy (60-pound) monofilament leader. Even then it’s possible to get cut off, but you’ll be guaranteed more action if the fish are feeding.

When using wire or heavier mono for a bite tippet an 8- to 12-inch trace can be tied to monofilament using an Albright Special knot (best) or a swivel. If you use a swivel, use a black one as opposed to silver to prevent fish from mistaking it for forage. American Fishing Wire makes a product called Surflon Micro Supreme that is extremely flexible and kink-resistant. This wire can be knotted to your lure, hook or fly like monofilament; it also provides greater flexibility and less stretch than monofilament. Umpqua makes a product that’s ideal for fly anglers. Their Re-Twistable Haywire Twist wire is reusable and will allow you to change flies in a snap. This is the quickest and most painless system to rig wire for toothy fish. A wire is less likely to deter a bite under low light conditions like early morning, overcast days and late in the day.

One of the most effective ways to find schooling fish in the fall is to look for surface action and diving birds in the inshore Gulf waters. Predators can also be present without revealing themselves around structure, reefs and wrecks, so a few exploratory casts around structure and baitfish schools is advisable. When you find baitfish schools and feeding fish, you can approach them by trolling, drifting or with the use of a trolling motor. Whatever method you employ, never let your boat pass through or get too close to the action. With more and more boats and anglers pursuing feeding fish, they are likely to sound and move away. The best bet is to stay outside the action but within casting distance. If trolling, make wide turns so only your lures pass through the action. On species like little tunny that surface, feed and then sound suddenly, only to resurface yards away, learn to watch hovering birds. The birds track the finicky fish as they move from between baitfish schools.

Live bait anglers target schooling fish in several ways. Anchoring upcurrent from a likely area, they may deploy a chum bag and then toss wounded live baits to draw fish into casting range. This can be an extremely effective method. Those who prefer artificial lures find spoons particularly effective as well as jigs like the DOA CAL or the Berkley Gulp. One of the most exciting and effective types of lures are top water models like the MirroLure Top Dog, the Heddon Zara Spook or the Rapala Saltwater Skitter Pop. Not only is the strike visual and often explosive, but the surface action can attract target species.

Fly fishing is also an effective and exciting way to target fall species from cobia to triple tail, Spanish mackerel and even kingfish. The same rigging applies and top water flies like the Crease fly or Garthside Gurgler can produce some memorable strikes. Clouser Deep Minnows are also a great choice for Spanish mackerel and little tunny. This would be a good time of the year to have a 10- or 11-weight rod rigged with a big black fly should a cobia or late-season tarpon make an appearance.

Whatever your fishing style, take advantage of the great action you’ll find in area waters this fall. If you’re new to the game, consider hiring a guide. It’s a great way to learn the ropes and a great value when shared with a friend. Good fishing!

Market in the eye of the beholder

Written by Louise Bolger on September 26, 2023. Posted in Business, Castles in the Sand.

To some people, our national real estate market is downright awful, but to others, it may be the best of real estate times. It’s all in the eye of the beholder.

Don’t believe everything you read and, believe me, I read it all. Yes, it’s true that buyers, especially first-time buyers, are having a terrible time finding an affordable house. Yes, indeed, sellers aren’t moving out of their 1,200-square-foot starter house because they have a 3% mortgage. But it’s also true that sellers who want to sell are in a pretty darn good financial position and they’re as happy as can be.

Home prices were declining for five consecutive months but all of that has reversed itself quicker than the housing economists expected. The surprisingly quick recovery suggests that the residential real estate downturn is turning out to be shorter than many housing economists expected. Even if the number of sales keeps going down, sale prices are unlikely to fall significantly. In popular regions, including Florida, bidding wars are breaking out again, reliving the insanity of the 2021 market.

A byproduct of higher selling prices and fewer sales is, of course, the fear of low appraisals. If the buyer is planning on obtaining a mortgage based on the contract price the lender will be looking for a satisfactory appraisal for at least the purchase price. If the appraisal comes in too low, that will affect the loan-to-value ratio and could easily sink the transaction.

Sellers in today’s competitive market may remove the appraisal contingency from the contract. This means that no matter the amount of the appraisal, the buyer is legally bound to complete the transaction and better have the additional cash available.

Facing a low appraisal in an escalating market is not uncommon and can be a shock to buyers. Again, they will need to come up with more cash to close the gap to proceed with the transaction. Parties to the transaction like the broker and/or attorney can ask for consideration on the appraisal if they determine that one or more of the comparable properties were not valid, however, getting appraisers to change appraisals is nearly impossible.

Time to look at Manatee County’s August sales as reported by the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee for the month of August:

Single-family homes closed 6.9% more than last August. The median sale price was $525,000, the same as last August. The average sale price was $715,711, up 9.2% from last year. The median time to contract was 33 days, compared to 13 days last year. The month’s supply of properties was 2.8 months, compared to 2.5 last year.

Condos closed 0.8% less than last August. The median sale price was $358,990, up 1.8% from last year. The average sale price was $393,727, down 2.6% from last year. The median time to contract was 50 days, compared to 13 last year. The month’s supply of properties was 3.3 months, compared to 1.8 months.

The Realtor Association feels that our prices are steady, and Florida is enduring in its desirability among out-of-staters. The fact that new listings and pending inventory are up for both single-family and condos is encouraging. Single-family had 8.6% new listings and 8.4% pending inventory. Condos had 18% new listings and pending inventory at 16.1%.

My eye beholds further adjustments, not a downturn, and once buyers get comfortable with 7.5% interest rates, they will forget all about the 3% their friends have. This is the way the economy rolls; it can’t be timed, it can only be faced head-on.

Turtle season slows to a crawl

Written by Leslie Lake on September 26, 2023. Posted in Featured, Outdoors, Sea turtles.

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – The 2023 turtle nesting season is coming to an early end, partly due to Hurricane Idalia.

“No changes in nest numbers,” Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch Executive Director Kristen Mazzarella said. “That’s not surprising as this is usually the hatching time of year.”

The last nest on the Gulf of Mexico side of the Island hatched on Sept. 19 and volunteers continue to check three remaining nests on the bay side.

“We are still hoping to see a hatch,” she said.

Sea turtle season officially begins on May 1 and ends on Oct. 31.

Volunteers did not conduct patrols on Aug. 30 due to Idalia, but they were out on the beach assessing the status of the nests the following day.

“We had 76 unhatched nests left on the beach when Hurricane Idalia came through. Stakes were lost from all but 12 of them,” Mazzarella said.

“It is possible that some nests may still hatch, although unmarked. Turtle season is not quite over, but we are happy with the results, having allowed nearly 23,000 hatchlings to go out to sea prior to the storm.”

One local celebrity loggerhead turtle, Suzi – named after the late Suzi Fox, longtime executive director of Turtle Watch – was released from Coquina Beach on June 27 after being fitted with a satellite monitor. She is participating in the Sea Turtle Conservancy Tour de Turtles race and is currently swimming in the Gulf of Mexico near Cancun, Mexico.

The hatchling numbers from Suzi’s nest were unavailable due to the storm.

“Unfortunately, we never saw Suzi’s nest hatch prior to the storm, so we don’t have any information on how many hatchlings the nest produced,” Mazzarella said. “It is possible it hatched on one of the rainy days prior to Hurricane Idalia. The rain sometimes makes it impossible to see the hatchling tracks and therefore document the hatch.”

As the season winds down, Turtle Watch focuses on education and outreach.

“We are looking forward to having a booth at the Anna Maria Farmer’s Market in October,” Mazzarella said. “We are still compiling our data and working on coordinating with the schools about outreach programs.”

Miles Moss: Not stopped by Guillain–Barré

Written by Monica Simpson on September 26, 2023. Posted in Sports.

HOLMES BEACH – To anyone seeing him on the playground at Anna Maria Elementary School or on the field at the Island’s community center, Miles Moss looks like any 8-year-old boy. Kicking the soccer ball on the field or in the gym at The Center, Miles has excelled as a young athlete.

But it has not been an easy road for Miles to reach his position as one of the top youth goalkeepers in The Center’s recreational leagues.

Over Thanksgiving break 2016, Miles’ mother, Emily, worked as the Youth Programs Director for The Center of Anna Maria Island and had a week of fun-filled activities planned for The Center’s campers, but one November morning would forever change her family’s world.

On Nov. 21, 2016, a switch seemingly went off in Miles’ body, rendering him unable to stand or gain stability. Taking time away from the business he recently started with his uncle, Miles’ dad, Ryan, immediately took his son to the doctor, who rushed them to All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg.

With conditions worsening, pain at the touch and loss of movement progressed. Testing and speculation began. The possible diagnoses ranged from encephalitis to spinal myelitis. Negative or inconclusive tests led to preventive treatments, with no improvement for Miles.

As testing continued, Miles slowly became paralyzed.

“He could no longer sit up, eat, drink or speak,” his mom said.

In excruciating pain, his spinal tap resulted in a Guillain–Barré Syndrome diagnosis. The head neurologist at All Children’s expressed to the Moss parents that Miles was the youngest patient he had seen with this diagnosis.

Guillain-Barré is a rare disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks part of the peripheral nervous system, affecting the signals to the brain, causing weakness, numbness, pain, temperature and touch sensitivities, paralysis, as well as difficulty swallowing and breathing.

The future was unknown for the entire Moss family. Because of Miles’ young age, lack of research and experience meant uncharted territory for medical professionals and everyone else involved in his recovery. The progression to recovery that typically is seen within a few weeks in most patients was not the case for Miles.

The road to recovery was up and down until Miles was well enough to start the therapy necessary to move him back to his home. During the next weeks, he started three hours of hard work a day for occupation, speech and physical therapy.

Earning the nickname “Smiles” at The School for Constructive Play, Miles brought his infectious personality with him while he worked through his daily recovery with his mom in the hospital. While Emily was with Miles, co-worker, Rainia Lardas, kept youth programs at The Center running smoothly, allowing Emily to focus on her son’s health.

Making the trip back and forth to Tampa when possible and spending weekends at the hospital, Ryan and Miles’ older brother, Mason, poured love and support into his recovery. Thanks to the Tampa Ronald McDonald House, the family had a place to escape the hospital setting for emotional and physical recovery as caregivers.

Working and growing his then-new construction company, Moss Builders, Ryan tirelessly supported Miles’ recovery.

Learning to walk again, starting with a crawl to walking with braces, Miles eventually worked up to returning to school. With sports and other daily activities, Ryan helped him regain his confidence.

According to Emily, “Ryan and Mason both helped coach and encourage him in sports and would always cheer for him along the way.

“Mason was such a trooper through it all. He never complained about the long car rides to Tampa after school, or coming for the weekends,” his mom said. According to Emily, Mason would make games out of his brother’s therapy, helping him to get through his exercises.

After more than a month at All Children’s, Miles was finally on his way home, but the road to recovery continued at Blake Hospital. The journey was not easy and it was not overnight.

Over three years later, “Miles has made a full recovery as far as we can tell,” Emily said. Completing his last therapy session in February 2020, Miles has been able to resume a full and active life.

Playing sports with Mason, now 12, Miles has been dominating the soccer field both inside and outside at The Center along with his brother.

“There is always a fierce competition with his older brother, Mason, in all things,” Emily said of Miles.

In the most recent seasons, Miles has been one of the top goalies in The Center’s youth leagues and has been playing in his designated age group, as well as the older leagues.

Being an Island kid, he loves chatting it up with people fishing at the City Pier or helping the waitresses at Slim’s Place, the location of his “dream job.”

“Sometimes, when I look back at the photos, it’s hard to believe that was even my life at one point,” Emily said.

Seemingly with the hard part behind them, the Moss family is thankful that Miles thrives today. His mom’s statement of pride says it all.

“Miles is confident and loves being in the spotlight. He wants to be ‘famous’ like his dad and brother, who are often found in the sports section of the local newspaper,” she said.

The confident third grader, with the love and support of his family and the community, goes through life today like any other 8-year-old after enduring the life-altering impacts of Guillain–Barré Syndrome.

The importance of socializing your child early

Written by SUN contributor on September 24, 2023. Posted in Guest column, Opinion.

By Pam Bertrand

As the director at School For Constructive Play, my 30ish years in early childhood education have produced many parent questions.

Some questions are asked in a panic, “She touched a banana pepper during dinner and must have touched her face because it’s on fire. What do I do?!” The answer to this question is to take a deep breath, get some milk, and put it on her face. The child in this story was 100% OK; her face is as fresh as a daisy, and to repay me for my awesome advice, she eventually came to work for me. She, too, would one day pass that wisdom on to another frantic parent like her mother.

Other questions are asked in less of a panic and more in regard to the philosophy at our little Island preschool. Among the most common question is, “According to your philosophy, what are the benefits of socializing my child early?”

By socializing your child early and implementing a play-based learning strategy, you are helping them to:

Develop a positive self-image. This enables a child to be successful in a learning environment and provides the building blocks for personal development throughout the child’s life.
Learn to handle their emotions in an appropriate way. Children have strong feelings. They are often confusing and beyond their control. By socializing your child early, you are helping them learn to understand, label and express their feelings towards themselves and others in appropriate ways.
Develop a sense of personal responsibility. When children are given opportunities to make choices and solve problems with others, they begin to learn how the world around them operates and how they function in it. In a safe and loving environment, children begin to learn their actions have consequences not just for themselves but for others as well.
Learn to trust and care about those around them. Through the relationships they make by socializing with their peers and teachers, children begin to develop the ability to give and receive affection and understanding. They start to learn to trust themselves and others around them.

Beach report

Written by Sun staff on September 22, 2023. Posted in Environment, Outdoors, Special Sections.

Are you worried about algae blooms and other water quality issues? Check out these links to see the latest information on local water testing and water quality.

Beach water quality

Red tide

Blue/green algae blooms

Vibrio vulnificus

Bioluminescence dazzles AMI beachgoers

Written by Leslie Lake on September 19, 2023. Posted in Anna Maria Island, Community News, Featured.

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – The bioluminescent glow coming off the water in recent nights may be related to the aftermath of Hurricane Idalia, according to one local expert.

“This could be related to the nutrient pulse from Idalia,” said Dr. Dave Tomasko, executive director of the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program. “The water came up and much of the grass clippings and yard debris on our landscape got dragged back out into the bay as the water receded. So our water took a little bit of a hit.”

Tomasko said there are several types of organisms that could be responsible for the glowing flashes in local waters.

“It seems most likely to be a dinoflagellate called gonyaulax,” he said. “That’s a type of single-cell organism that’s known to cause California red tide, but not here. Our red tide here is caused by a different organism.”

Another organism, noctiluka, which comes from the Latin meaning “shines by night,” could also possibly be the cause of the glow, Tomasko said.

Tomasko said the organisms are not harmful to humans.

“It’s thought that this lighting is a protection against predators,” he said.

“The neat thing about these organisms is they create light from an enzyme they have that takes chemical energy and turns it into light,” he said. “It has to be there in a high enough amount to see the glow. It’s a neat little show.”

The best time to see the phenomenon is when the sky is darkest, he said.

Tomasko said the bioluminescence has often been seen south of Coquina Beach in Longboat Pass.

“One way to stir them up is to kick at the water, or the waves from a boat will do it,” he said. “I would not advise swimming at night though.”

Idalia erodes Island beaches

Written by Leslie Lake on September 19, 2023. Posted in Beach, Outdoors.

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – Hurricane Idalia’s storm surge eroded the Island’s renourished beaches, but the full extent of the damage and when it will be repaired is not yet known.

“It could be months before any decision on what efforts will be undertaken is made,” Manatee County spokesman Bill Logan said in a Sept. 8 email to The Sun.

The first step of the process – evaluation by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) – has been completed.

“Jacksonville District completed preliminary damage assessments of all federal shore protection projects Sept. 1-3,” according to David Ruderman of the USACE Jacksonville Corporate Communications Office.

“Non-federal sponsors of federally authorized and constructed coastal storm risk management projects which sustained damages resulting from Hurricane Idalia have until Oct. 1 to apply for rehabilitation assistance under Public Law 84-99,” Ruderman said in an email to The Sun.

As of Sept. 15, Ruderman said requests have been received from Manatee and Pinellas counties.

During the Aug. 29 hurricane, storm surge reached 3-4 feet in coastal areas in Manatee County.

“This is the beginning of what I am told is a long process whereby the beaches are hand-measured, staked-out and surveyed for damage estimates from the storm and what measures may be needed to renourish any impacted areas,” Logan said in the Sept. 8 email.

Sarasota Bay Estuary Program (SBEP) Director Dr. Dave Tomasko evaluated the impact from Hurricane Idalia on the SBEP website.

“With Idalia, even though it was about 100 miles offshore, we were on its strong side, and thus we got the storm surge, even though we mostly experienced just tropical storm level winds,” he wrote. “This storm surge came a few hours before the peak of the full moon high tides.”

Water levels were retreating as the tide was coming up, Tomasko wrote.

“So, the dreaded ‘high tide on top of a storm surge’ did not happen,” Tomasko wrote. “That is lucky, because that could have added another foot or two. Still, water levels were about 3’ higher than they would have been otherwise.”

The last major beach renourishment locally was the 2021 Coquina Beach Storm Damage Restoration project, which placed approximately 74,805 cubic yards of sand at Coquina Beach.

“Beach renourishment projects not only provide recreational beach width for the benefit of residents and visitors, but during storm events, the sand also provides critical protection for structures and infrastructure landward of the beach. In addition, the beach provides critical habitat and nesting areas for protected species such as sea turtles and shorebirds,” according to Manatee County’s website.

Since 1992, Manatee County has participated in eight beach nourishment projects.

Approximately 6.9 million cubic yards of sand from offshore borrow areas have been placed as a result of the county’s and USACE’s beach preservation efforts.

Investigation continues into SeaPort Manatee oil spill

Written by Leslie Lake on September 19, 2023. Posted in Environment, Outdoors.