Anna Maria Island beach cameras
Tag: Anna Maria Island
Higher rates here to stay
On Aug. 17, mortgage interest rates spiked to 7.09%, the highest in years per Freddie Mac. A lot of this has to do with the 10-year treasury yield, which hit its highest level since 2008 on the same day. Since mortgage rates tend to move somewhat with the 10-year treasury, rates went up combined with the Fed’s ongoing attempt to tame inflation.
Last year when rates started going up, except with a brief decline at the end of 2022, the consensus was that the higher cost to borrow would be temporary. Now, however, eight months later, all players in the real estate market are adjusting to the idea that higher rates are either here to stay or at least will be around for a long time.
So, what does that mean to the average home buyer? Essentially it means it’s time to get off the bench and make a commitment since things aren’t changing any time soon. That, of course, is easy for me to say but the truth is buyers are finding it is the hardest thing to accomplish even after they adjust to higher rates.
The lack of inventory all across the country is pushing prices up to a level many buyers can’t afford. After all, if you had a 3% or 4% mortgage, would you sell your home and move on to something else unless you absolutely had to? Probably not, and that is the log jam in the real estate market. About 60% of the country has mortgages below 4% and even homeowners who missed the absolute bottom are still ahead of the curve by at least 2 percentage points.
Buyers need to understand there is no crystal ball and even the real estate gurus called it wrong with their temporary thinking. Now is the time buyers have to bite the bullet by downsizing their expectations and being flexible. Not all of your children need their own bathroom or even their own bedroom, and you can prepare dinner in a kitchen without a quartz island; millions of people do.
Look at the additional expense of a higher mortgage from a monthly payment perspective. When you break it down into financial pieces, it may not be as intimidating, kind of like upgrading your iPhone. Don’t ask what it costs, just what it will cost monthly.
Let’s look at Manatee County’s July sales statistics reported by the Realtor Association of Sarasota & Manatee:
Single-family homes closed 10.1% more properties this July compared to last July. However, the median sale price of $515,000 was down by 1.2% and the average sale price of $641,991 was also down by 6.9%. The median time to contract was 29 days this July compared to 9 days last year and the month’s supply of properties was 2.7 months, about the same as last year.
Condo sales were down 8.0%, the median sale price was $389,500, down 0.4% from last year and the average sale price was $523,922, down 2.5%. The median time to contract was 36 days this year compared to 10 days last year, and the month’s supply of properties was 3.4 months compared to 1.6 months last year.
The Association of Realtors states, “Despite higher interest rates, the housing market in Sarasota and Manatee counties stays strong due to low supply and continued demand with relatively stable prices.”
A lot of what’s going on in other parts of the country does not aways apply to Florida, which tends to march to its own drummer. All real estate markets are local, and all states have different economic challenges. Sales are taking longer to book, but overall, Manatee County is hanging in there.
Sarasota Bay Watch Scallop Search resumes
Sarasota Bay Watch, a local nonprofit, is dedicated to educating and enlisting the Sarasota Bay community to act to preserve and protect our waters. Some community efforts include cleanups, above and below the water’s surface, to remove trash and entangling debris, and initiate vegetative and shellfish restoration. The organization also creates programs that promote youth education and leadership.
Sarasota Bay Watch has been conducting its annual Scallop Search for over 13 years. Unfortunately, in recent years, COVID-19 and red tides have canceled the searches.
Why are scallops important? Scallops serve as canaries in the coal mine, providing a good indicator of water quality since they are affected by storms, water salinity, red tide and predation. In addition, during the search, a great deal of information is collected on various shellfish like clams, seagrasses, and other marine organisms.
This citizen science approach (community information gathering) not only benefits the organization but also educates the community on life in our waters. Changes in populations, temperatures, and pollution are reflected in the marine environment. Educating the community with this hands-on activity is the goal of the search. To be a proponent of water quality protection, a basic understanding of the marine environment is essential. This is one of the event’s main objectives.
Last Saturday, Sarasota Bay Watch hosted this year’s Scallop Search at the Sarasota Sailing Squadron. Participants in the family-friendly boating event were tasked with collecting information on the state of Sarasota Bay from north to south. Boaters were essential to the success of the event, bringing their crews and additional volunteers out on the bay.
Students received community service hours for their involvement in the search. Participants were assigned to an area and provided equipment. They then snorkeled in their designated area and recorded what they saw.
Gathering for lunch after the event was a wonderful opportunity to meet and be inspired by like-minded individuals.
More information can be found at the Sarasota Bay Watch website.
Join a community that understands and embraces its water!
Tourism numbers stay strong on Anna Maria Island
ANNA MARIA – Research Data Services’ (RDS) Ann Wittine presented an optimistic state of tourism update to the Manatee County Tourist Development Council (TDC) on Aug. 21 at The Center of Anna Maria Island.
She began by addressing her company’s research into public sentiment on the new water taxi service that is slated to begin operation soon.
The Tampa-based company is the tourism consultant for the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.
“We are doing a water taxi survey, and we have been doing that for a while,” Wittine said. “We were out for Memorial Day weekend, Fourth of July weekend and we’ll be out on Labor Day weekend. We are hearing more interest now than ever before. Not just a little bit more interest, but a significant interest in the water taxi.”
Wittine says RDS is not just talking to tourists, but also residents and business owners. She told the TDC the surveys are showing an increase in interest from all potential user groups. She said there will be more data available after the Labor Day weekend research is completed. That information will be presented at the TDC’s Monday, Oct. 16 meeting.
Wittine’s report featured the latest available statistics related to the tourism industry in Manatee County from June 2023. Total visitors were up by .8% and economic impact was up 2.9%. Room nights were down slightly from June 2022 by .5%. Wittine says this is due to larger party sizes this year.
Room occupancy for June was down slightly (2.6%) after being down 2.8% in the last report from RDS that quoted data from April 2023. The average daily room rate, however, is up 3.5%, at $216.41 per day in June 2023 compared to $209.19 in June 2022.
RDS also keeps track of where visitors are coming from when they visit the area. The largest increase in any visitor origin domestically is Florida, which is up 7.5% over the same time period in 2022. Globally, travel from Europe has risen 13%, after being down more than 13% in RDS’s April report. The largest domestic visitor origin was the Midwest, which is down 10% over the same time in 2022, but still remains strong.
“We are still double the number of Floridians that we had in 2019 that came this June,” Wittine said. “This is due to the marketing efforts we did during COVID. What this shows is, if we can bring first-time visitors, they fall in love and they come back again. That’s what the Florida number shows us.”
Wittine says the most growth potential for tourism is still Europe, which is down more than 67% since 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lastly, Wittine said the number of visitors to Manatee County was 821,900, up 2.4% from June 2022 and the economic impact was $1,382,734,200, up 7.6% from the same period.
Hurricane Idalia swamps Anna Maria Island
ANNA MARIA ISLAND – Much of Anna Maria Island experienced storm surge and king tide-related flooding, but the barrier island survived Hurricane Idalia mostly unscathed.
During the evening hours of Tuesday, Aug. 29 and the overnight and the early hours of Wednesday morning, Hurricane Idalia passed by Anna Maria Island as a category 3 storm, far enough to the west to spare the Island from the worst of its wind damage and storm surge.
On the Island, the hurricane produced significant flooding but minimal structural damage, electrical outages or disruptions of the water and sewer services provided by Manatee County.
The storm produced no Island fatalities or reported injuries.
A drive around the Island early Tuesday evening before the hurricane arrived indicated most residents and visitors had already evacuated or retreated to the safety of their homes and almost all Island businesses were closed. A hurricane party was unfolding at Slim’s Place in Anna Maria and folks were also still enjoying libations at the Sports Lounge in Bradenton Beach.
Storm unfolds
While the storm unfolded Tuesday night, many Island residents shared information at the Island Ratz Unite Facebook page and elsewhere on the social media platform. The Tuesday evening posts included notice of a structural fire in Holmes Beach, limited power outages and rising floodwaters.
The Bradenton Police Department posted a Facebook notice stating the Palma Sola Causeway was closed due to high water flooding one of the three roadways that lead to the Island.
Early Wednesday morning, well before daylight, Bradenton Beach Police Officer Tom Ferrara posted this information: “Please stay off Gulf Drive in Bradenton Beach. It’s impassable and very dangerous.”
At 4:25 a.m., Lexi DeLeon posted the following information: “Thigh-high flooding through Bradenton Beach. Waves are crashing at beach entrances and flooding out to Gulf Drive. Both bridges are closed.”
The morning after
The Sun’s attempted trip to the Island at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday morning ended at the foot of the Cortez Bridge, where Manatee County Sheriff’s Office deputies blocked access to the Island while Bradenton Beach officials assessed the storm damage.
Nearby in Cortez, Tide Tables restaurant co-owner Bobby Woodson and others watched the water rising over the docks and seawall and creeping up against the restaurant building. Woodson said the restaurant equipment was removed before the storm and even if some minimal interior flooding occurred, he expected to reopen on Friday.
The rising waters also spilled over into the adjacent Cortez Park mobile home park, and all the side streets south of Cortez Road in Cortez were flooded.
A subsequent trip to Manatee Avenue ended east of the causeway, where officers from the Bradenton Police Department blocked access to the roadway leading to the center of the Island. An officer there said return access to the Island was not expected until 2 p.m. or later, after the mid-day king tide subsided.
After an afternoon conference call with the three Island mayors and others, the Holmes Beach Police Department posted on its Facebook page that return access to the city would begin at 4:30 p.m., with no re-entry tags or proof of residency or business interests required.
Before the bridge reopenings were announced, Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer said, “We still have some flooding. The water is receding and Gulf Drive receded much quicker than Marina Drive. We’re hoping that within the next couple hours, it recedes enough so you can discern the difference between the roadway and the ditches.
“The city did well but I think we’re going to see some water damage because the roadways were inundated with high water. I think we had a surge of at least 6 to 7 feet,” he added.
Regarding the fire, he said, “A power line went down on a shed. The shed caught fire, then the fence next to the house caught fire and the house next to the fence caught fire. After FPL shut off the power grid, they (the fire department) quickly knocked down the fire,” Tokajer said.
Tokajer said power outages and downed power lines were minimal and he wasn’t aware of any fallen trees.
When contacted before the Cortez Bridge reopened, Bradenton Beach Police Chief John Cosby said, “We had a lot of water and it just wasn’t safe for people to come back yet. The main road is open and the water’s gone down on the secondary roads that are passable now.
“Every street in Bradenton Beach was under a minimum of 2 feet of water, and closer to 3 or 4 feet in some places, including the avenues at the north end of the city. The Gulf flowed over to the bay and that has not happened since the ‘Storm of the Century’ in 1993. It pushed a lot of sand onto Gulf Drive and we needed extra time for Public Works to get the sand off the road to make it passable, which they accomplished in record time. Kudos to them,” Cosby said.
“Bridge Street itself flooded and we had some water intrusion, but I won’t know where until the owners get back. The pier has some damage and we’ve got some boats tied to the pier. Some of the new finger docks may have separated from their connections to the floating dock and we’ll do a full assessment tomorrow,” Cosby said.
Cosby said the Longboat Pass Bridge that leads to Longboat Key at the south end of the city would remain closed until further notice Wednesday evening.
When contacted Wednesday afternoon, before the bridges reopened, Sgt. Brett Getman said, “We’re still flooded down here. The water on North Bay is pretty deep. When the bridges open, we’ll be restricting access to residents and business owners. The city fared well. We didn’t lose electricity and there’s not a lot of wind damage. It’s mostly flood damage.”
Back on the Island
The Sun was part of the first wave of people returning to the Island on Wednesday afternoon via the Anna Maria Island Bridge on Manatee Avenue. Gulf Drive was dry but motorists encountered several inches of standing water on Marina Drive near Keyes Marina, the Island Branch Library and Holmes Beach City Hall. Gulf Drive was free of any significant standing water, but some of the residential streets between Marina Drive and Gulf Drive remained flooded.
At the entrance to Anna Maria, near CrossPointe Fellowship, sheriff’s deputies asked motorists to provide reentry tags, proof of residency or proof of business intentions and those unable to provide that information were turned away.
Nearby, a crew from Manatee County worked to unplug a plugged sewer line.
A portion of Magnolia Avenue, near Ginny’s and Jane E’s Café, was flooded and a safety barricade remained in place. A portion of North Shore Drive near Linda Lane was flooded and remained impassable for some motorists. Around the corner, Jacaranda Road was flooded and remained impassable for some motorists.
Near the City Pier, a barricade blocked one lane of North Bay Boulevard atop the humpback bridge and the roadway north of the bridge was severely flooded, as were several adjacent side streets.
By early Wednesday evening, much of the flooding in Bradenton Beach had subsided. The most visible storm damage was seen at the T-end of the Bradenton Beach Pier. A cabin cruiser anchored south of the pier broke loose during the storm, crashed into the pier and shattered a portion of the wooden pier railing.
Another cabin cruiser that broke free during the storm was tied up to the pier with its motor running, joined by another large sailboat. Two more sailboats that broke free were tied to the new finger docks connected to the floating public dock.
On Bridge Street, the Drift In bar was the first Island business to reopen that evening.
Final thoughts
When contacted Thursday afternoon, Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy said the storm surge and high tide reached a maximum height of approximately 4 feet in some locations.
“The biggest issue we’ve had to deal with in the city has been flooding; and secondly, debris on the streets, including sand. We lost nearly 50 yards of beach in some locations, maybe more in others. It’ll take us a while to get the city back to normal. We’ve had crews and contractors out pumping and clearing the streets. County Commissioners Kevin Van Ostenbridge and Jason Bearden toured our city this morning and promised us whatever help we need to bring our city back to a state of normalcy,” Murphy said.
Island consolidation back on table
ANNA MARIA ISLAND – The threat of consolidation of the three Island cities isn’t over. Members of the Manatee County Legislative Delegation have warned Island mayors that they’re getting ready to start up talks again at an October meeting.
In an Aug. 21 letter, delegation members Sen. Jim Boyd (R-Bradenton) and Rep. Will Robinson (R-Bradenton) sent a letter to all three Island mayors noting that they’re ready to initiate a Florida Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability study, known as OPPAGA, to “focus on the potential benefits of combining the three municipalities of Anna Maria Island, which encompasses the cities of Anna Maria, Holmes Beach and Bradenton Beach.”
The letter is in response to Jan. 30 talks with the mayors about the possibility of combining city services. In the Aug. 21 letter, Boyd and Robinson said they haven’t received a major update from the mayors and blamed Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth.
“We understand the mayor of Holmes Beach does not want to participate in the coordination talks, given it will be seen as a first step toward consolidation of the three Island cities,” the letter states, giving the mayors a deadline sometime prior to the delegation’s planned Oct. 5 meeting for a response.
In speaking to The Sun on Aug. 24, Titsworth said that she hasn’t stopped participating in any talks among the three Island mayors. In fact, she said she’s been hosting the ongoing talks at city hall in Holmes Beach.
“Staff is working on it,” she said of the process to combine or streamline some services. She noted that the building departments in all three cities are working to see how they can streamline their processes to make applying for permits in each municipality easier for homeowners and contractors. Though the mayors have all been participating in the talks, she said that at only about eight months in, they’re not at a point where any specific service has been identified for consolidation or streamlining.
“As mayors, we all have full plates,” she said, adding that the mayors are committed to all working together. She said that her city’s code compliance officers have helped to train code enforcement officers in the other cities.
“We’re not trying to be defiant,” Titsworth said. “This was just dropped on us in January. We’re trying to work on what the delegation has requested but they need to have some patience.”
One sticking point is that Titsworth said she and Bradenton Beach Mayor John Chappie are unwilling to give up their individual police departments, allowing those two cities to be patrolled only by Manatee County Sheriff’s Office deputies who now provide law enforcement services to the city of Anna Maria. Titsworth said she’s happy with the services provided by the Holmes Beach Police Department and doesn’t want to change the law enforcement situation in the city.
As for the study, she said that it’s important to note that the example given in the letter from Boyd and Robinson of Longboat Key having had a study to determine if it should remain in two separate counties has a major difference from the one proposed on Anna Maria Island – the people of Longboat Key asked for the study.
“They asked for that study; we didn’t,” she said.
If state leaders insist on conducting the study on Anna Maria Island, Titsworth’s response is, “Bring it. I’d love to find ways to help save taxpayer money.” The letter states that the purpose of studying the benefits of consolidation would include saving taxpayer money and potentially reducing taxes for property owners.
While Titsworth said she was unable to attend an Aug. 24 Anna Maria Commission meeting, she said Mayor Dan Murphy had her approval to speak on her behalf giving an official response to the letter on behalf of all three mayors. She said the mayors met earlier in the day to discuss their response and decided that they’re in favor of the study if it can help save taxpayer money. However, they’re not in favor of consolidation of the three Island governments.
The topic of consolidation came as a surprise to the three mayors when the members of the state legislative delegation started the conversation at their Jan. 11 meeting, voting unanimously to approve the OPPAGA study for the Island. That was the same meeting in which the idea of sponsoring a bill to allow Manatee County commissioners to approve and build a parking garage at Manatee Beach in Holmes Beach against the city’s land development code was initiated. That bill, HB 947, was passed earlier in the summer by the state Legislature after receiving unanimous votes in the House and Senate before gaining the approval of Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Vicious dog attacks again
HOLMES BEACH – A Holmes Beach resident says she and her dog are lucky to be alive after being attacked by a 143-pound mastiff while going for a walk at her condo.
Evalena Leedy was taking her 9-pound toy poodle, Alonzo, for a walk on Aug. 21 about 8:30 p.m. when the unleashed 143-pound dog approached rapidly.
“The whole ordeal was terrifying!” Leedy said. “I was walking Alonzo near the condo when out from the bushes, next to the dumpster comes an unleashed, large mastiff dog running straight for us. I picked up Alonzo and threw him on top of a parked car. The dog repeatedly lunged at me and bit my right arm, causing me to bleed. The dog kept coming, I was trying to protect myself and Alonzo and was unsuccessfully attempting to kick the dog away.”
Leedy said after she had been bitten, the dog’s owner, later identified as Anthony Santamauro, arrived and pulled the mastiff off her.
“I was screaming for someone to call the police and get help, we were being viciously attacked. The owner then put the dog inside the gate of one of the units and started walking toward me asking what was happening. Standing there bleeding, I told him that his dog bit me. His reply was ‘He did not bite you, you are going to kill my dog,’ which I thought was a strange and unbelievable response,” Leedy said.
According to a medical report from HCA Florida Blake Hospital that Leedy provided to The Sun, along with photographs of her injuries, the dog bit her and she had five serious puncture wounds and lacerations to her right arm that required multiple sutures and medication after she was treated.
Leedy says she is thankful the injuries weren’t worse and her dog, Alonzo, escaped unharmed, but she feared for both of their lives as the incident unfolded.
Worried about rabies complications, she was able to get vaccination records from the owner of the condo where the mastiff’s owner was staying. She said that fortunately, the animal did have a rabies shot in February of this year. However, while looking at the vaccination record from a Bradenton veterinarian, she was shocked to see Santamauro’s name.
“I read an article in The Sun recently about a small dog being killed in an attack at Island Time Bar and Grill in Bradenton Beach on Aug. 9,” Leedy said. “I quickly realized this was the same dog and the same owner. The last dog he attacked died. How is he still running around without a leash?”
Leedy had called 911 after the attack, but since she was in the car with her partner driving to the hospital, they referred her to Manatee County Animal Control and did not send police since the victim wasn’t on the scene to speak to them.
She said a later call the next day didn’t get her much information from Animal Control, and she didn’t even know if the dog was still in her neighborhood. The Sun called Manatee County Animal Control on Aug. 24, and was told they would not provide any information on the case. The following statement was issued by email from Manatee County Public Information Officer Bill Logan, which he said was from Manatee County Animal Welfare:
“This is an open active Dangerous Dog (Florida Statute 767) Investigation. The dog owner will be served his letter today along with citations that will be issued.”
According to the Florida Department of Health, there is a mandatory 10-day quarantine for any dog that bites a human. If the dog has been vaccinated and is up to date on its rabies shots, that quarantine can be at the home of the owner. Since the first attack took place on Aug. 9, the 10-day mandatory quarantine period would have expired when Leedy was bitten on Aug. 21, but the animal should now be under a second quarantine for the attack against her.
Both Animal Control and Holmes Beach police met with Leedy on Aug. 25 at her home, and she said that both agencies told her they had not yet been in contact with Santamauro, who was no longer staying in the Holmes Beach condo complex where the incident occurred.
Lt. Brian Hall of the Holmes Beach Police Department told The Sun in an Aug. 25 phone call that his department had compiled a report on the incident and would be sharing that report with Animal Control, which is leading the investigation.
If the investigation finds the dog to be dangerous, any further attacks on humans or other domestic animals would cause the owner to be subject to a first-degree misdemeanor charge, and the dog could be confiscated by animal control and humanely destroyed after a 10-day period, according to Florida Statute 767.13 (1). If a dog deemed dangerous attacks, causing serious injury or death to a human, the owner could be guilty of a third-degree felony and the dog humanely destroyed after a 10-day period, according to Florida Statute 767.13 (2).
Water main repairs to resume Sept. 6
HOLMES BEACH – As work resumes to repair and relocate a water main on the Anna Maria Island Bridge, lane closures and periods of one-way traffic will begin on Sept. 6.
Daily lane closures can be expected between 7 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.
Due to safety concerns, the work is not possible at night, according to a Manatee County press release.
Crews will be completing the last phase of the repair and installing additional hangers to support the pipe on the east side of the bridge.
It is anticipated that the work to secure the pipe will take two to three weeks. Specific information on any future closures will be provided by the county as needed.
The main source of water to Anna Maria Island, the 16-inch aging water main pipe broke on June 19, causing intermittent drops in water pressure to Island residents. While repairs were underway, the north end of the Island received water through Bradenton Beach via a pipe from the south. The main was brought back into service the week of July 10.
Motorists who want to avoid the work zone should consider accessing Anna Maria Island by the Cortez Bridge or the Longboat Key Bridge.
Tracking Hurricane Idalia
Tuesday, Aug. 29, 5 p.m. UPDATE:
MANATEE COUNTY – Hurricane Idalia has been upgraded to a Category 2 storm with maximum sustained winds of 100 miles per hour. The storm is anticipated to continue to impact Anna Maria Island and the surrounding area this evening and overnight. County officials warn that the greatest risk the storm poses to this area is the chance for tornadoes to spawn from the hurricane and storm surge combined with a king tide expected to come in tomorrow morning at 11:30 a.m. Currently, NOAA shows that Anna Maria Island, Cortez and coastal areas of west Bradenton remain in the 4-7 foot peak surge warning zone.
Tuesday, Aug. 29, 3 p.m. UPDATE:
MANATEE COUNTY – Hurricane Idalia is classified as a Category 1 storm with sustained winds of 90 mph near its core. The storm is forecast to increase in strength to a Category 3 storm before making landfall. Currently, the hurricane is anticipated to make landfall mid-morning Aug. 30 near Cedar Key.
The outer bands of Idalia are bringing rain to the area. Anyone choosing to stay on the Island are asked to avoid driving through flooded areas and to shelter in place as the storm moves through the area.
A significant storm surge is expected with Hurricane Idalia. Due to a king tide expected Wednesday, Aug. 30 around 11:30 a.m., the highest storm surge is expected tomorrow morning. County officials advise residents and visitors to continue to shelter in place through tomorrow’s high tide. NOAA predicts 4-7 feet of storm surge for Anna Maria Island.
NOAA predicts sustained winds of 35 mph with wind gusts up to 50 mph for coastal Manatee County. County officials note that once winds reach a sustained 35 mph or roads become impassible due to flooding, first responders will not be able to respond to emergency calls.
There will be no trash pickups today or tomorrow. Recycling and yard waste pickups are canceled for the week.
Currently, there are no plans to cut water or other utilities to Anna Maria Island. Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy said that water will be shut off if Hurricane Idalia reaches a Category 3 designation or storm surge is expected at 7 feet or higher.
Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer said that the drawbridges would not be raised at any time to prevent people from leaving the Island during the hurricane.
There will be no trash pickups today or tomorrow. Recycling and yard waste pickups are canceled for the week.
MANATEE COUNTY – Hurricane Idalia is on a collision course with the west coast of Florida. The Sun is committed to giving you the latest updates as the storm moves closer to Anna Maria Island.
County officials issued a press release at 9:37 a.m. today including newly announced closures. Manatee County Area Transit buses will stop operations at 2 p.m. today or earlier if weather conditions call for an earlier suspension of service. Transportation services will remain suspended until it is safe to restart them.
Level A residents and visitors, including everyone living in mobile homes, Anna Maria Island, Perico Island, Flamingo Cay, waterfront areas of west Bradenton, and Cortez, are under a mandatory evacuation with Level B residents and visitors under a voluntary evacuation notice. All residents who evacuate are reminded to take their re-entry tag issued from their city in order to gain access to the Island after the storm passes. Anyone who chooses to shelter in place on the Island is advised that all first responders and emergency personnel will be grounded once winds reach a sustained 45 mph.
County officials warn that while wind and rain are expected as Hurricane Idalia moves closer to the west coast, the major cause for concern is storm surge, which could happen near an already expected king tide on Wednesday. As of a 4 a.m. update, NOAA was projecting a storm surge near Anna Maria Island of 4-7 feet.
Sandbagging stations are open at Bayfront Park in Anna Maria, City Field in Holmes Beach, Coquina Beach in Bradenton Beach and GT Bray on 59th Street in Bradenton.
All Manatee County libraries are closed until Thursday, including book drops.
All Manatee County schools are closed until Thursday morning at this time pending assessments after the storm passes.
Emergency shelters are open for those who need them. Shelters should be considered a last resort and anyone who can is asked to shelter in place with friends or family outside of the evacuation zone. A list of open shelters can be found online. If going to a shelter, take bedding, food, water, medications and other supplies to last for at least three days. Note that not all shelters are pet-friendly. If you’re taking a pet, make sure the pet has a crate, food, water, leash, litter box (if needed) and any other supplies necessary for a three-day stay. All pets must be accompanied by their owners and owners must furnish proof of recent vaccinations.
Manatee County officials are scheduled to give a 3 p.m. update from the Emergency Operations Center which can be viewed live on YouTube and Facebook.
While Idalia is not currently forecast to make a direct impact on Anna Maria Island, county officials warn residents and visitors to keep an eye on the weather and watch as models of the path of the storm are updated throughout the day. Keep checking back to this post for the most up-to-date information from The Sun.
Bradenton Beach declares state of emergency
BRADENTON BEACH – In advance of Tropical Storm Idalia, which is forecast to potentially make landfall as a major hurricane on Florida’s west coast, city commissioners voted unanimously on Aug. 28 to declare a local state of emergency.
The state of emergency will remain in place until Tuesday, Sept. 5 and will be extended if needed.
“What we’re expecting now is a storm surge of 4-7 feet,” Bradenton Beach Police Chief John Cosby said. “Tuesday night around 1 a.m. is high tide. We’re going to have some water. That’s going to be our biggest issue. Winds anywhere from 35 (miles per hour) gusting to 73.”
At 2 p.m. Monday, a mandatory evacuation order was in place for Level A residents and all Manatee Couty residents in mobile home parks. The county also issued a voluntary Level B evacuation.
“The reason we’re issuing the evacuation order so soon is sometimes it takes people a while to get out,” Cosby said. “You don’t have to go at that time. You’re probably going to be pretty comfortable staying here through tomorrow (Tuesday). But tomorrow night is when you really need to start thinking about it.”
Cosby suggested people closely monitor the weather forecast.
“The concern is if it shifts to the right, we’re going to have a problem,” he said. “The best situation for us is it moves a little more to the left. The further away the better.”
He said city businesses, along with city hall, will be closed Aug. 29-30. Manatee County government offices closed at noon on Monday.
“There are three shelters open – Miller, Freedom and Mills,” Cosby said.
Virgil Mills Elementary School is located at 7200 69th St. E., Palmetto; Jesse P. Miller Elementary School is located at 6014 Third St. W., Bradenton and Freedom Elementary School is located at 9515 FL-64, Bradenton.
City officials said public works staff is preparing for the storm by checking storm drains and code enforcement is clearing the beaches. Construction sites in the city also will be shut down.
Cosby said there would be extra police staff on duty.
Residents who do evacuate Anna Maria Island will need to show a driver’s license as proof of residency upon return, Cosby said.
WMFR moves forward with vacation rental inspections
BRADENTON – West Manatee Fire Rescue’s board and staff are moving forward with beginning an annual inspection program for vacation rentals in the district that will reclassify the properties as commercial for fire district purposes.
Commissioners voted unanimously during an Aug. 15 meeting to move forward with the plans, despite some concerns stated by the public.
Under the new program, the district will assess vacation rental properties, also called transient public lodging establishments, as commercial properties, regardless of their zoning. District staff also will annually inspect these properties for life safety, looking for items such as fire alarms, carbon monoxide alarms, fire extinguishers and proper egress from each bedroom in case of an emergency.
Fire Marshal Rodney Kwiatkowski said that after sending a letter in July to over 12,000 people in the district describing the new program, he said he’d received 12 written responses and 87 phone calls from the public, each one of which he said had been amicably resolved. A few more people stepped up during the public hearing to voice their concerns and questions about the new initiative.
One man said he only wanted to rent his property for one year. Kwiatkowski said that for the one year he rents the property, it will be assessed as a commercial property, however, when he stops renting the property, it will revert to a residential property in the eyes of the district and be assessed as such.
Kwiatkowski said the new assessment rate and inspections are allowed under the Florida Fire Code. Under the questioning of district attorney Maggie Mooney, he added that the district’s classification of properties does not affect those by any governing municipality and does not change property from residential to commercial for county or city property tax purposes.
Attorney Aaron Thomas stepped up to the mic, stating that he was representing the ownership of more than 500 rental properties in the district. Thomas said that he feels there is sufficient case law to argue against the district assessing vacation rental properties as commercial and suggested that his clients may seek legal action if the district pursues the change.
The district charges property owners a non-ad valorem assessment rate which appears on TRIM notices each fall. The rate consists of a base rate that is adjusted based on the size of the building on a property, not the value. On average, a commercial property owner, as defined by the district, will pay about $200-300 a year more than a residential owner, depending on the size of the structure.
Commissioners shrink wetland buffers
BRADENTON – After a lengthy and contentious land use meeting in which environmentalists, scientists and citizens spoke against a comprehensive plan amendment that would diminish county wetland regulations, Manatee County commissioners voted 6-1 to adopt the state’s less restrictive wetland regulations.
The changes to county wetland regulations would reduce the 30-foot wetland buffer for development and remove the 50-foot buffer for environmentally sensitive coastal wetlands to the state’s 25-foot minimum. The changes will require amendments to the county’s comprehensive plan and land development code.
Dan DeLisi, of DeLisi Inc., a land planner and former chief of staff for the South Florida Water Management District, spoke at the Aug. 17 meeting.
“I was asked to look at where there are overlapping regulations where the state is already providing regulations and is redundant,” he said. “There is a proposed amendment in your comprehensive plan.”
Part of that amendment is the removal of state and local regulatory overlap, DeLisi said.
“Essentially what these amendments would do is defer permitting to the state of Florida,” he said. “These amendments do not cause impacts to wetlands.”
The statement provoked laughter and jeers from the audience.
“We’ve got our regulations and you’re saying we should defer to the state. Let’s get to the heart of the request,” Commissioner George Kruse said to DeLisi. “We’re not doubling up regulations. The state doesn’t have regulations per se, the state has set minimums.”
Kruse spoke out against the amendment.
“The state’s trying to take control of this and now we’re trying to give it to them voluntarily before they take it,” Kruse said. “We’re supposed to keep it here, because you all vote for us and we control local and the state controls state. The state is trying to gut wetland and water quality protection. Why are we going to facilitate that?”
Kruse noted that two developers and a developer’s attorney were at the meeting but none of them came up to speak in favor of reducing wetland buffers.
“There’s no way they’re going to go on the record supporting this,” he said. “There’s no way they’re going to put their name and face together with gutting our wetland protection.
“We’re taking everything from the exact same consultant who was against us on the exact same policy twice,” Kruse said, referring to DeLisi and his involvement in previous litigation with the county. “It’s like we won the Super Bowl and hired the quarterback for the losing team to run our team next year.”
Public comment
Suncoast Waterkeeper Executive Director Dr. Abbey Tyrna was one of many speakers who spoke against the amendment to the county’s comprehensive plan during the public comment session of the meeting.
“I represent today the 1,704 people who signed our petition to save our wetlands,” Tyrna said. “Wetlands are tied to our human wellbeing, and they’re tied to our human wellbeing because of the ecosystem services they provide, which is plentiful.”
Tyrna said wetland benefits are tied not only to water quality but to flood regulation, climate regulation, recreation, tourism and local fisheries.
“Let’s talk about policy 3.3.1.5 (of the county’s comprehensive plan) here,” Tyrna said. “It states all wetlands and watercourses will be protected from land development activities by requiring the establishment of natural area buffers adjacent to all post-development wetlands and watercourses within a watershed overlay.”
Based on that policy, buffers are required to be a minimum of 50 feet wide adjacent to all non-isolated wetlands, and a minimum of 30 feet adjacent to all isolated wetlands, she said.
Following public comment during the five-hour-long meeting, Commissioner Jason Bearden made a motion to approve the text amendment, with a second by Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge.
Other commissioners who voted in favor of approval were James Satcher, Amanda Ballard, Mike Rahn and Ray Turner.
Kruse cast the lone dissenting vote.
As the vote was announced, someone from the audience shouted, “Shame!” as others stood up and walked out.
A statement from the county was released following the meeting that said:
“Today the Manatee County Board of County Commissioners voted in favor of transmitting a comprehensive plan amendment to the state of Florida concerning wetland protection policies.
This proposed amendment, if approved would eliminate redundancy and duplication in the permitting of wetland impacts, and development near or around wetlands and surface waters, which are already protected under existing state and federal regulations.
By aligning with numerous other counties and municipalities in Florida, the board’s primary objective is to gain efficiency while still achieving the same environmental results, ultimately benefiting the taxpayers of Manatee County.”
High-end properties show blow-out numbers
Every day I look at new listings on Anna Maria Island and in Cortez, and every day I’m surprised and ask myself when it will end. In the years leading up to COVID-19, I would analyze over $1 million properties listed on the Island and in Cortez. Now that exercise seems quaint, almost peculiar and it all changed in a short three-year period.
Because of these extraordinary listing numbers, which I see every day, I did a quick analysis of available properties in the three cities of Anna Maria Island and Cortez, researched on the Realtor.com website as of this writing. Rather than use $1 million as my breaking point, I upped it to $3 million, so get ready for this:
The city of Anna Maria had 82 properties listed, 44 of which were $3 million or over, almost half. The top property was listed at $16,995,000. Every million-dollar category was represented, and, except for the very top listing, there wasn’t a big gap between the categories.
Holmes Beach and Bradenton Beach, which are combined by zip code on Realtor.com, had 179 properties listed, 45 of which were $3 million or over. The top listing number was $22,500,000 and, like Anna Maria, except for the very top, the listing prices represented every million-dollar category.
Even Cortez has a new listing at $3,750,000 with the rest of the 12 listings hovering in the mid- to high-million dollar range.
Sales of properties in the high-end market around the country are slowing. The high-end and luxury market nationwide is defined as the top 5% of homes and they’re suffering from the same issues the regular old real estate market is struggling with, low inventory and high interest rates.
Redfin’s analysis reports that in the first quarter of 2023, the sales of high-end properties were down by 33% from the first quarter of the previous year. They feel this is the result of the frenzy during the pandemic as well as inflation and a volatile stock market.
The markets with the biggest drop in transactions for the three months that ended June 30 are also the metro areas that were unstoppable during the pandemic: Miami was down 40.14%, Nassau County on New York’s Long Island was down 39.34%, New York City was down 35.98%, Los Angeles was down 36.17% and Chicago was down 34.13%.
Miami and New York City are starting to show signs of life. Miami is still recovering from the mass migration and buying frenzy during COVID-19, and inventory has not been resupplied. And New York is New York and will always come back to life with the suburban high-end areas around it following. However, it appears that Los Angeles and Chicago will take a little longer based on residents leaving Los Angeles for lower tax states and Chicago residents leaving because of crime.
Based on the number of pending properties, it looks like Anna Maria Island is also slowing but we are in the worst part of our off-season with heat alerts and record-breaking temperatures, so we won’t have a clear idea until later in the year. Typically, Anna Maria Island, and Florida in general, has outpaced most of the country in growth and the real estate market has followed along.
The combination of Anna Maria, Holmes Beach and Bradenton Beach had 89 properties listed at $3 million or over, all on a 7-mile spit of land. I think I’ll stop asking myself where it will end because I don’t know and neither does anyone else. Such is the nature of real estate.
Team Luxury Services undefeated champs
ANNA MARIA – After seven weeks of regular season adult co-ed flag football play in the summer evening heat, Luxury Services team captain Chase Richardson led his team to another victorious playoff run, winning the championship last Thursday night at The Center 40-24.
Making relatively easy work of their opponents each week, the Luxury squad characteristically put 40 points on the scoreboard in the final game of the season against the Moss Builders team for the win.
Finishing the regular season #1 and #2, Luxury Services and Moss Builders were the favorites to meet up in the season finale. Offensive errors by Moss Builders led to three defensive touchdowns by Derrick Carey for his team.
Carey is credited with one offensive TD, two flag pulls and a single one-point conversion. Teammates Tim Holly, Alonzo Lemus and Brad Lowrey each made it into the endzone for Luxury touchdowns. Holly had two in the game for 12 points.
In addition to the five throws for touchdowns, Richardson added six points to his team’s score with a rushing score of his own. Chase is also credited with three defensive stops and a QB sack on Moss Builders’ QB Ryan Moss.
Rounding out the scoring for Luxury with additional points after touchdowns were Lemus, Lowrey and Jasmine Muldoon.
Despite the loss, the Moss Builders team did not quit. Keeping the game within reach for two halves of play, team captain Moss threw four touchdown passes.
Peggy Smith was Moss’ target for two TDs, while teammates James Roadman and Greg Moss each had a touchdown nab, putting an additional 12 points on the board.
The strong defensive efforts of the Moss Builders team included three flag pulls by Smith, R. Moss and Isaiah Lambert. Moss’ Nick Cavalluzzi finished the game with four defensive stops and an interception on a Richardson pass.
G. Moss rounded out the game statistics with two flag pulls and a sack.
Luxury’s defense made the difference in the big game. Moss Builders were stopped at each point after conversion, leaving their scoring at four TDs, resulting in 24 points.
Overall, the efforts of the Moss squad just were not enough to overcome momentum-changing Luxury Services interceptions. Team Luxury Services once again won it all in the Island’s adult flag football league, ending the season as champions.
Reel Time: Vote water
Readers of this column have heard me recommend checking a politician’s voting record before casting a vote for them. Why? All too often they will tell you what you want to hear to get your vote but never follow through on that commitment. This past week that assessment rang all too true when Manatee County Commissioners Kevin Van Ostenbridge and James Satcher, along with four other commissioners (Mike Rahn, Jason Bearden, Amanda Ballard and Ray Turner), voted to gut Manatee County’s wetland protections. While all are culpable in betraying the public trust, Satcher, Van Ostenbridge and Ballard stand out in my mind since Van Ostenbridge and Satcher’s campaign flyers (mentioned during the meeting by Commissioner George Kruse, the lone dissenter) specifically mentioned protecting the environment.
In a meeting that Suncoast Waterkeeper Executive Director Abbey Tyrna and I had with Ballard soon after her election, she expressed concern with the welfare of children. When it came time to vote they all held the interests of the developers that funded their campaigns over that of the citizens and children of Manatee County.
First Place
Outdoor and Recreation
2024
I spoke at the meeting and was present for five hours as citizen after citizen made eloquent speeches about why this was such a bad idea. Not one person spoke in favor of the amendment and almost no discussion of the matter was held, except for Kruse’s objections. And when the vote was taken, they voted 6-1 in favor of gutting wetland protections. In what appears to me to be the height of hypocrisy, Van Ostenbridge started the meeting with the pronouncement that he was concerned with government overreach and the taking of property before leading the commission to do just that. He’s participating in government overreach by not following his oath of office to the citizens of Manatee County and taking by reducing the filtering capacity of lands adjacent to water bodies that will directly affect the quality of life of current and future citizens.
Just recently the commission voted on a zoning change that will pave the way for a massive East Manatee County development by developer Carlos Beruff. Corbit Creek, a stream that feeds into nearby Lake Manatee Reservoir, runs through that property. Kruse was once again the lone dissenter. If this change is made by the commission, it could reduce the builder’s setback to a stream feeding directly into the county’s water supply, a water body that is currently suffering from an algae bloom that’s affecting the smell and taste of every Manatee County citizen’s water.
If that wasn’t bad enough, Rob Brown, the county’s recently retired environmental protection division manager with the natural resources department, reminded the commission that this change would also affect phosphate mining in Manatee County. Mosaic is the largest landowner in Manatee County and much of that land is wetlands. These changes could have a profoundly negative effect on lands disturbed by mining.
Once again, vet who you vote for. Don’t pay attention to what they promise if elected, check their voting records on issues that affect the public good, or we and future generations will suffer the consequences.
You can voice your concerns to the Manatee County commission online.
Finally, this isn’t (or shouldn’t be) a political issue. It’s not about Democrats or Republicans, it’s about our children’s future and that of generations of future Manatee County citizens.