ANNA MARIA – In what was anticipated to be an action-packed championship flag football game last Thursday night, team Luxury Services and the Solid Rock Construction crew gave the spectators a game that did not disappoint.
After a season of lopsided scores, Luxury Services made it clear why they ended the regular season undefeated and on the top of the rankings. Putting up as many as 96 points in a game this season, the squad led by Chase Richardson continued to find his main target, Jonathan Soultatos, in the final game of the adult flag season.
The Richardson-Soultatos duo added 20 points on the scoreboard. Soultatos finished the season with 15 receptions in the championship game against the talented Solid Rock team.
Despite seven precise flag pulls by Charles “Tuna” McCracken, making amazing stops against Soultatos, Solid Rock Construction came up short of the 32-26 win.
Winning the game by just one touchdown, Richardson threw for five TDs including three to Soultatos, as well as singles to Tim Holly and Dustin Tomcho.
Tomcho made three big catches and possibly the game-winning interception on defense to help his team march to victory.
On the other side of the football, QB Dominick Otteni hit his marks with 11 solid catches by Corey Jacques and three by Tyler Brewer. Brewer added two points to the scoreboard with a focused catch in the endzone after a Solid Rock touchdown.
Solid Rock Construction’s Hannah McCracken played a hard final game and made four amazing flag pulls to stop the Luxury Services offense. The efforts of H. McCracken, older sister of Tuna, contributed to the fight that kept her team in it for two halves of play.
Defensively, Travis Bates put the heat on Richardson the entire game as the Solid Rock designated rusher. Putting the pressure on the Luxury QB kept the offensive players on their toes with Richardson’s quick-release passes.
Otteni added to his game stats with a catch thrown by McCracken and a flag pull. Solid Rock teammate Brian Leibfried made big contributions on the field throughout the season to help get the Solid Rock team to the big game.
A flag pull by Jasmine Muldoon added to the strong defensive effort by Luxury Services that earned the team the winter 2023 Center adult flag football championship title.
I have a condo personality. Not everyone does, but I do. Down through the years, I’ve written quite a bit about condo ownership, culture and personality. I have very happily been living in a condo for over 20 years; it suits me. I despise gardening, cleaning the pool and worrying about the roof, all of which were part of my previous everyday life. But there is one aspect of condo ownership that frankly I haven’t thought much about until the last few years.
After the collapse of the residential condo building in Surfside, there were developers hovering around older condo buildings, especially those with Florida’s most precious commodity, waterfront locations. The interest in these buildings became more intense after the subsequent passage of a Florida law that requires most condo buildings over 30 years old to undergo structural inspections and correct structural failures. Owners and their boards of directors were approached by developers and started conversations about condominium termination rather than perform expensive repairs many long-time owners couldn’t afford.
Florida condominiums are by definition considered legal entities, just like corporations. They have boards of directors, owners, financial budgets and reserves and creditors. It’s different from single-family homes in that once you become an owner, you become part of this legal entity as just one of its unit owners. And that, of course, is where the condo personality or lack thereof comes in. If you don’t like making decisions by committee, better keep looking for the single-family home.
Condo terminations have been more prevalent in Florida than in other parts of the country because of the large number of aging condo units in South Florida and the lack of developable land near the water. According to the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, over the past decade there have been at least 400 buildings that have undergone condo termination.
So how do you actually achieve a condo termination? All condominiums have bylaws that address condo termination and what the required number of owners must agree to in order to take this action. Some are 80%, some are less, and some are 100%. Realistically, under the best of circumstances, getting 100% of anything is virtually impossible.
In 2007, the state of Florida stepped in and passed legislation that essentially contradicted some condo bylaws by allowing 80% of the condo unit owners to agree to dissolve or terminate the condo regardless of what was written in the original bylaws. The state decided it was to the advantage of current owners who were considering condo termination but were stuck. This was also during the period of foreclosure fraud and the real estate crisis impacting the country. The statute goes on to say that once a developer acquires 80% of the units, it can terminate the condo.
Granted, it appears the law was decided in favor of developers, but individual owners are also benefiting. Some of the buildings being terminated would be staring down the barrel of major special assessments in order to bring the property up to code, making it unaffordable for owners and downgrading the value of their units. Developers state they are offering market value to owners, eliminating structural risks to the building and its owners and enhancing the aesthetics of the area.
Could this happen in Manatee County? Of course it could, but because we have height restrictions in many areas of the county, our waterfront condos may not be as tempting to developers. Nevertheless, all condo owners need to be aware of the change in legislation and the reality that termination of condos is happening in Florida.
In the meantime, my condo personality will help me overcome whatever happens.
BRADENTON BEACH – Black smoke could be seen rising high into the air after a fire started on March 8 at 403 Gulf Drive S., Unit D in a four-unit condo building known as Birds Nest.
Bradenton Beach Police Officer Steve Masi and Lt. Lenard Diaz were the first to arrive on the scene after getting through the long line of spring break traffic.
“Since it was unknown whether the building’s units were occupied, as soon as I arrived, I exited my vehicle and ran towards it,” Masi said in a police report. “In passing, I saw the building’s owner, and Unit A resident, Mr. Bettona. I asked him if anyone was in his unit or any other and he said nobody was in his, but they were all rented, so possibly, yes.”
Masi ran up to Unit D, which he said he could clearly see was on fire from the outside and touched the door handle to see if it was hot. Since it was only warm, Masi entered the unit, which was filled with smoke, and said he could visibly see the fire coming from the right side of the condo. He announced himself and asked if anyone was in the unit, while lying on the floor to reduce smoke inhalation. After Masi cleared the unit, he went back down to assist with traffic and crowd control with other officers, since fire crews were on the scene at that point.
In a department report, West Manatee Fire Rescue (WMFR) firefighters note they could clearly see the smoke from the fire as they were crossing the Cortez Bridge into Bradenton Beach. Engine 121 was the first to arrive on the scene and noted heavy smoke and fire coming from the Unit D corner of the two-story-over-parking structure building. The E121 team assumed command and advised a firefighter to stretch a 200-foot line to the affected area while another officer from E121 conducted a 360 check of the building, finding one vehicle and no residents present.
Additional trucks arrived, including ladder engine 139 and trucks from Longboat Key and the City of Bradenton, who also assisted. WMFR’s report notes that fire attack did a good job of extinguishing the fire both interior and exterior and all searches came back negative. According to Fire Marshal Randy Kwiatkowski, the fire started on the exterior second-story balcony of Unit D, but the exact cause was undetermined.
Firefighters extinguish a fire in a second-floor condo at Birds Nest Apartments, 403 Gulf Drive S. in Bradenton Beach on March 8. – Lewis J. Unger | Submitted
“Our investigation could not determine the cause of the fire in part because the extent of damage to the area of origin compromised the integrity of the balcony, creating an unacceptable life safety risk to our investigators,” Kwiatkowski said. “I did call Bradenton Beach Building Official Steve Gilbert, who responded and condemned Unit D. There were no injuries to firefighters or residents. Also, one note of extreme importance is, at the time of the fire, there was one resident in Unit D in the shower who heard the sound of a smoke alarm. Because of the working smoke alarm, he escaped the fire unharmed. I cannot stress enough that working smoke alarms save lives.”
The fire marshal said the building is a four-unit, all-wood construction apartment building. Units B, C and D are licensed transient public lodging establishments/vacation rentals and all three were being rented at the time of the fire. Once the building was cleared of hot spots and the area was cleaned of debris, residents of the undamaged units were allowed to return.
“Without the extraordinary professionalism of West Manatee firefighters and our partnering agencies, this would no doubt have ended more tragically,” Kwiatkowski noted.
ANNA MARIA – City and county officials continue to work on an interlocal agreement that would allow the Anna Maria City Pier to be used as a landing area for Manatee County’s pending water taxi service.
On March 9, Mayor Dan Murphy and the Anna Maria City Commission discussed but took no formal action on the revised interlocal agreement recently received from the county. That document includes the revisions county staff made to the original agreement the city proposed several months ago.
The discussion resulted in additional revisions being requested by the city commission. Those revisions will be included in an updated agreement to be presented during the commission’s Thursday, March 23 meeting or soon thereafter. If the commission deems those revisions acceptable, the city-revised agreement will be returned to county officials for their consideration.
Waiting for the taxi
The water taxi service was originally expected to begin in March or April. In October, Manatee County commissioners authorized then-County Administrator Scott Hopes to spend up to $700,000 to design and build two pontoon boats to be used as water taxis. Manatee County will initially own the boats to be managed and operated by the Clearwater-based Clearwater Ferry company.
According to Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Elliott Falcione, the water taxis will travel to and from downtown Bradenton with anticipated stops at the Anna Maria City Pier, the Bradenton Beach Pier and the Coquina South boat ramp in Bradenton Beach, operating from 10:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays only. Extended hours and/or additional service days are possible depending on demand.
When asked about a starting date for the water taxi service, Murphy told the commission that Falcione would not commit to a specific date but said it would be “right around the corner.”
City revisions
The county-revised agreement says the purposes of the water taxi program are “to relieve
automobile congestion coming to and from the Island, and to provide an alternative and affordable means of public transportation to and from the Island for Manatee County visitors, residents and service workers.”
City Commissioner Charlie Salem suggested removing the word “service” and making the reference inclusive to all who work on the Island.
Commission Chair Mark Short referenced the proposed agreement language that says the cost of any Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-related improvements, permits or studies required for water taxi dockage at the pier would be the financial responsibility of Manatee County or its water taxi contractor.
Short said those ADA improvements could potentially include safety rails being added to the existing boat landing area near the T-end of the pier. He noted the proposed language doesn’t address who would cover the costs of any water taxi-related ADA improvements needed elsewhere on the pier in order to serve as a water taxi stop. According to Murphy, the commission would have to approve any changes or improvements made to the pier.
Short also referenced the agreement language that says, “Subsequent maintenance and the cost thereof for the pier shall remain the responsibility of the city.” He suggested the ongoing maintenance remain the responsibility of the county.
Short noted the county-revised version of the agreement references Exhibits A and B, but those exhibits were not included with the document. City Attorney Becky Vose said the city can’t formally enter into the interlocal agreement without being provided with the documents.
ANNA MARIA – In an action-packed flag football game, team Pineapple Market Place captured the 11- to 13-year-old league championship against Solid Rock Construction in a close battle last Tuesday night at The Center.
With the 8- to 10-year-old flag football league final game rescheduled due to an event at Anna Maria Elementary School, the top-seed Sato Real Estate squad faced the fourth-ranked Westfall’s Lawn Care and Pest Control last Thursday night.
Sato Real Estate’s 38-7 win against sixth-seed Moss Builders last Monday night earned them their spot in the championship game.
Going into the semifinal game a slight underdog, team Westfall fought their way through two halves of flag football play to win by nine points against Solid Rock.
As the clear favorites, the Sato Real Estate team was shook when their opponents came out onto the field playing to win.
With the much-needed mid-season add-on of Kellen Hunt behind center for Westfall, the Sato team fell behind for the first time in the season with a Westfall touchdown in early play.
In a cleanly physical and exciting game, Sato Real Estate’s Dylan Sato found himself injured and on the bench for several snaps of the football.
Team Westfall continued to play with accuracy and fire, taking advantage of a Sato squad struggling to find its footing in the game.
Self-determined with supportive coaching by volunteer and father Jason Sato, quarterback Brandon Sato lit up the field and ignited the excitement of the sideline with a game-changing interception. B. Sato’s nab of Hunt’s throw gave the Sato Real Estate team the positive play needed to ultimately win the championship.
Finishing the game with five touchdown passes, two defensive flag pulls and two interceptions, including one for six points, B. Sato was the unofficial game MVP.
Big brother D. Sato caught three of his brother’s throws for touchdowns and had a big defensive stop to help win the game.
Teammates Braylen Briggs and Kellen Reed each were the scoring targets for B. Sato, scoring 12 points in receiving touchdowns.
Scoring three total points, Silas DeWitt, Beau DeWitt and Reed all caught for one point conversion after Sato Real Estate TDs.
The remaining team Sato flag pulls came from Reed, B. DeWitt and Briggs. S. DeWitt had three crucial flag pulls to assist his team defensively.
Game-winning and season-making contributions came from Sato Real Estate players Camden Rudacille and Leo Tyler, helping to make the championship win possible.
Despite the loss, Westfall’s players fought hard until the last second of the final youth flag football game of the season played before the adult flag football semifinal games.
Hunt’s touchdown duos in the big game were Ethan Angel, Carter Hey and Callin Westfall, each with a scoring catch for six points. Westfall put four receptions in the stat book.
Angel finished the game with five catches and two flag big flag pulls. Hey made two stops in addition to his TD catch.
Elijah Karabagli and Cody Stockton caught three and two passes for positive yardage for team Westfall, respectively.
Helping the Westfall’s Lawn Care & Pest Control work their way to the championship game, Thadeous Daniels and Ruby Kesten made critical plays throughout the season.
The high-scoring championship game for the older age group was a shootout with 17 total caught passes thrown by Pineapple Market Place quarterbacks, including by Jack Mattick, for a total of 18 points.
8- to 10-year-old flag football league champions, team Sato Real Estate, are, from left, (top row), Braylen Briggs, Camden Rudacille, Kellen Reed and Brandon Sato, (bottom row) Coach Jason Sato, Beau DeWitt, Silas DeWitt, Leo Tyler and Dylan Sato. – Monica Simpson | Sun
The caliber of play on both sides of the football by both teams makes it difficult to determine who would walk away with the most valuable player honors for the season-ending game.
Mattick threw for three TDs, pulled three flags, caught for one interception and one two-point conversion.
Carter Eurice and the offensive team for Solid Rock Construction threw for 16 passes, scoring 24 points.
Despite the in-the-air action, it ultimately was the two rushing touchdowns that may have been the difference for the 11- to 13-year-old league Pineapple Market Place team.
The speedy wheels of Mattick raced the football past his Solid Rock opponents.
The Pineapple scoring receptions came at the hands of Krosby Lamison with two scoring catches. Cyrus Ryan was the receiver for six points in the endzone.
Lamison’s hot hands made six catches and snagged a flag while on defense.
Rounding out the scoring, Peyton Hovda scored three points with two one-point conversions and a two-point play after a TD. Defensively, Hovda had a team high four flag pulls.
Kaleb Romangnino had a single catch and two flag pulls, while teammate Brantley Kobialka scored one point with a point after conversion.
Brantley finished the last game of the season with two catches in the game.
On defense, Colin Bankert made a huge stop for Pineapple Market Place. Bankert’s teammates Jordan Tobey and Riley Karecki each made team contributions in the winning season.
Working on the other side of the field, quarterback Eurice hit the hands of Hyden Eurice and Audrey Guess for 24 points, each with two TD catches.
Eurice made four catches, two flag pulls and had one interception in the game. Brother Carter Eurice had two flag pulls in addition to his scoring throws.
Guess was the top receiver in the game with eight catches and had five defensive stops.
Austin Guess contributed to his team’s efforts with one catch and three flag pulls, while Addie Guess had two nice receptions and a one-point conversion.
Making a nice two-point conversion and catching a pass for Solid Rock was Colson Mendiola.
Solid Rock Construction’s Bella Roadman had a beautiful defensive stop with a flag pull.
Obi Roadman and Avery Guess made huge team contributions throughout the season, helping the Solid Rock squad make it to the championship game against the top-seed Pineapple Market Place as underdogs.
In the adult co-ed flag football league, #1 met #2 in the final game of the season. With an easy win against The Briley Mortgage Team, with the final score 96-39, the Luxury Services squad secured their position in the big game.
Despite the name, Solid Rock Construction’s owners and family represented Moss Builders on the football field against the Solid Rock team. The Solid Rock squad slotted into the final championship position with the 35-28.
Ready for battle on Thursday, March 16 at 7 p.m., top-seed Luxury Services meets team Solid Rock Construction, with the young team looking to take home the championship.
ANNA MARIA – When hearing that “The 39 Steps” is an early Alfred Hitchcock film from 1935, comedy is probably not the first thing that comes to mind, especially considering the adaptation by Patrick Barlow actually follows the plot of the film fairly closely.
Those facts noted, there is absolutely nothing serious in the Island Players’ production of this hilarious spoof in which four actors play more than 100 characters in a little more than 90 minutes on stage, leaving the audience little time to catch their breath between laughs from a talented veteran cast.
Colin Brady is cool-headed as Richard Hannay, an English gent who, after a visit to the theater, gets swept up by pure chance into a convoluted plot of murder and international espionage. Sylvia Marnie is a mysterious German secret agent, a Scottish farmer’s wife and a stranger on a train who wants nothing to do with Hannay, but becomes ensnared in his plight nonetheless.
Mark Shoemaker and Joseph Smith each play dozens of roles without missing a beat. To accomplish this feat, there are a lot of quick costume changes, many of which take place during the action in front of the audience. To do it any other way would not accomplish what is at the core of “The 39 Steps,” being 180 degrees opposite of what community theater audiences are used to seeing.
At the beginning of the play, director Heiko Knipfelberg warns the audience that there will be special effects including gunshots, strobe lights and dense fog, which all add to the fun, but are not the norm for the Island Players.
Fans of Hitchcock should make sure to keep an eye out for references to many of his other films. Some are subtle, while others are more “in your face” references. It’s all part of the extremely fast-paced fun.
The only thing audiences may have a difficult time keeping up with is the actual plot, but it doesn’t matter, it’s supposed to be that way. Even the protagonist seems lost about what’s going on at times. The laughs come from the journey, which proves the old adage that getting there is often more fun than the destination.
“The 39 Steps’” runs through Sunday, March 26, with daily performances at 7:30 p.m. and a Sunday matinee at 2 p.m. There are no performances on Mondays. Tickets are $25 at the box office and $27 online. The box office is open Monday through Saturday 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and can be reached by phone at 941-778-5755 or online.
I heard my first whippoorwill almost three weeks ago. It’s one of my favorite times of the year and one of the most productive for anglers who fish with flies, artificial lures or live bait. I like to think of this time of the year as spring training. March and early April can be challenging months, but they can also be very productive. It’s a time when the changing seasons can bring clear skies and balmy breezes one day and high winds and late-season cold fronts the next. It’s a good time to keep an eye on the weather and water temperature.
Water temperatures that hover in the 70s bring fish out of their winter haunts. It doesn’t matter if it’s winter one day and spring the next. Even if the weather is unpredictable, anglers know to start watching for the signs of spring. They’ll keep an eye on the Gulf, looking for flocks of diving sea birds as they feast on schools of baitfish that gather off the beaches in their seasonal migration. They know from experience that schools of little tunny, Spanish mackerel, cobia and kingfish will be attracted by and feed around the schools of bait.
In the bay, trout, redfish and snook will be roaming the flats in search of pilchards, shrimp and glass minnows. Spring is the time when local anglers have a host of piscatorial choices and some of the best conditions, mostly. The weather, while always unpredictable during the changing seasons, seems to be warmer every year. Of course, it’s always possible that a late-season cold front can rile Gulf and bay waters. It’s a swing time and the kind of weather that can play with the emotions of the die-hard angler. But hope springs eternal and we know from experience that it won’t be long before spring is here. That’s why it’s time to be prepared, flies tied and tackle ready for that day when it’s no longer a question of when it will happen, but what species we’ll fish for!
I like this time of year even if it can be exasperating. One day the flats and Gulf can be barren and the next the action is red hot. When fishing the Gulf, having a rig on board that can handle a big cobia or kingfish makes good sense and having wire at hand in case toothy kingfish and Spanish mackerel make an appearance can make or break a day.
If you’re fishing the Gulf and bait isn’t showing on the surface, try fishing areas where they congregate, like artificial reefs, rocks, and ledges. I like to work a top water plug or fly-over structure and have often found fish where there was no outward sign of their presence.
In the bay, work the areas of the flats on the outside seams of grass flats and the edges and ends of sandy potholes. Pay particular attention to deep grass that’s often present at the end of a pothole and work your casts into the area by casting short and then progressing right over the hole. Top water plugs and flies are particularly effective when waters warm and can be an invaluable aid in finding action.
Whatever your fishing style or whether you like fishing the Gulf or bays, take advantage of this swing time and you might just be rewarded with the promise of spring.
HOLMES BEACH – Monthly Art Walks always draw a crowd to Island Gallery West (IGW) and the Artists’ Guild Gallery of Anna Maria Island, as well as many surrounding businesses that participate in the event. The March 10 Art Walk was bittersweet for IGW, as it was the final day the gallery would be open before closing its doors after 33 years to move to downtown Bradenton.
It was the largest crowd to attend an Art Walk at IGW this season, as most of the 33 member artists gathered to say farewell to both locals and visitors who have visited the member-run co-op art gallery, some for decades. While IGW has issued no official statement on the exact reason for the move, conversations over the past few months have alluded to a rent increase and reduced visitation to the gallery due to ongoing road construction in the direct vicinity of IGW being reasons the move was necessary.
The farewell evening was not a sad event; it was very much the opposite, with most of the artists (none of whom resigned from the gallery because of the move) being excited about the future and more grateful for the past 33 years than sad.
“I’ll miss this place very much, but I’m excited to get in the new space,” member artist Charlotte Sorsen said. “We are going to have a lot more space and will be able to hold classes, demonstrations and a lot of things we just didn’t have the space for here at this location. In the end, it’s going to be a very good thing for all of us.”
IGW officials initially kept the new location a secret, but now say the new gallery will be located at 456 Old Main St. in Bradenton.
“We’re going to have so much room at this new location,” member artist Judy Goldman said. “We’ll have room for classes, a design studio, an open studio for artists that are learning to paint and even a painting with the pros studio. It will be a lot of things that will give back to the community. It’s kind of sad because we have so much of our heart invested here, but we’re growing; that’s just how progress goes.”
The Artists’ Guild of Anna Maria Island is now the only remaining member-run artist co-op gallery on the Island and many members there said they are sad to see IGW leave, believing the two galleries helped each other by providing access to the arts for both locals and visitors alike.
“I’m sad they’re leaving, it’s nice to have more than one gallery because people come and shop then they walk around, so things will change a little bit,” Artists’ Guild member and former president Sharon Tarras said. “We have a meeting in the next few days and we’ll have to talk about restructuring the Art Walk now that we have lost IGW. Maybe make it more of a Holmes Beach shopping event. It’s not just the galleries involved, there are businesses here that participate, and I’m sure they want it to continue.”
The Artists’ Guild confirmed there are no plans to leave the Island and the gallery will remain at its current location in Holmes Beach.
HOLMES BEACH – Thanks to the efforts of the Friends of the Island Library, significant funds will go to help the Island Branch Library and those who use it, raised at an event that couldn’t have happened without the generosity of many in the community.
“This is the first-ever jewelry sale that we’ve had,” said Julie Perry, a member of the Friends of the Island Library and the chairperson of the jewelry sale committee. “It’s all via donations from the community, so without the community support, we couldn’t support our Island library.”
The March 10-11 sale featured deals on jewelry including necklaces, bracelets, rings, watches, earrings and more for reasonable prices ranging from $1 to $10. All the items for sale were donated by people in the community so all the money raised could go to projects related to the library.
“The reason we support this is because libraries run on such a small and tight budget,” Perry said. “With help from the Friends, the added value is funding programs for kids and adults, new furniture, craft supplies, equipment, beautification projects and other things that add value to our wonderful libraries.”
The Friends send a special “thank you” to the many who donated their jewelry and time to make the sale a success. Although the total amount of money raised from the sale is not yet known, they said they were very pleased with the turnout and expect this to be an annual fundraiser.
I recently read a very extensive and well-researched piece in The Wall Street Journal regarding how foreign buyers are back in the United States to buy real estate and relocate their families. As expected, the majority of these buyers are wealthy individuals who are ready to make a move they may have been thinking about and weren’t able to do during COVID-19 lockdowns in their own countries. Well, they’re here now and buying in Florida and other sunbelt states and, naturally, New York City.
Obviously, if you come across a buyer from another country with a pocket full of cash considering your home, it could be your lucky day. That doesn’t mean you still don’t need to adhere to common sense. No one wants to overpay just because they can.
Everyone knows that cleaning, decluttering and making obvious repairs or paint touch-ups is essential in selling your home, however, that isn’t the most important thing to take care of. The most important decision a seller makes is pricing their property correctly and, in a fluctuating market, it’s not as easy as it sounds.
The old real estate adage that all real estate is local should not be ignored. Since anyone reading this will likely be selling a property on the Island or coastline of Manatee County, what you’re really selling is the Gulf of Mexico. Our region has an abundance of waterfront, water view, water peek, canal front, sailboat water, direct access to the Gulf and I’m sure other descriptive wording I haven’t thought of. Every single one of these “water” possibilities changes the value of your home. Reviewing recently closed properties as close to yours and as recent as possible is a good start. Manatee County’s property website provides access to the public and has every closing available and can be sorted in a variety of ways.
You may have the best waterfront on Anna Maria Island, but if you overprice the property with the assumption that you’ll have plenty of leeway to negotiate, it could be a mistake. You may be missing an entire block of buyers who won’t even look above a certain price point. Pricing a home correctly when it first lists is a much better strategy. Remember there are buyers out there who have been actively looking for just the right thing and have educated themselves in the value of the area. They or their agents are aware of anything new on the market and will know instantly if this property is priced right and worth looking at.
Likewise, pricing a property high because of improvements you have made and perceive to be valuable could be another mistake. What you value is not always what buyers are looking for, especially if the improvements are dark or not neutral or specific to your tastes.
During the pandemic frenzy you could sell just about anything that had four walls and a door. No one cared if your 10-year-old daughter glued almost impossible to get off stars on her bedroom walls or if your husband insisted on a black guest bath, but now they do. According to Zillow, in December 2021, about 44% of homes sold above list price; in December 2022, only 25% sold above list price. Today’s buyers now have a more critical eye and are calculating how much those stars are going to cost to remove.
Whatever market adjustment we’re going through in the country, remember there are always foreign buyers who want to move here. It’s a confidence in our country and our markets we may take for granted, but others don’t. If they have the confidence, certainly we should also.
On March 1, I attended a Town Hall Meeting in Holmes Beach conducted by County Commissioner George Kruse. The main topic of the meeting was the traffic issues on Anna Maria Island and the proposed parking garage. Kruse listened politely, but he had obviously made up his mind that a parking garage should be built in Holmes Beach.
His decision was made with no input from any residents of Anna Maria Island, the people who will be most affected by the building of the parking garage. It’s disappointing that all the county commissioners, Rep. Robinson and Rep. Boyd did not take the time to meet with their Anna Maria Island constituents to gather additional input on a decision of this magnitude. What Kruse did not tell the audience is that the day before the Town Hall Meeting he had voted, along with the other County Commissioners, to endorse the parking garage. He has subsequently stated he is in favor of House Bill 947, legislation that would authorize a parking garage in county-managed public parks such as at Manatee Beach.
Kruse did admit that Anna Maria Island does not have a “visitor” problem, but rather has a traffic problem. His solution to reducing traffic on Anna Maria Island is to build a parking garage that Manatee County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge has stated could add 1,500 additional parking spaces. How does the building of a 1,500-stall parking garage reduce traffic coming onto Anna Maria Island? Won’t providing 1,500 additional parking spaces only add to the traffic problem? Why aren’t the county commissioners, Rep. Robinson and Rep. Boyd pursuing other options that would allow visitors to Anna Maria Island while reducing traffic as actively as they are pursuing a parking garage? Why aren’t they moving more quickly to find other solutions such as off-island parking facilities, shuttle services or other mass transit options to reduce the number of cars coming onto Anna Maria Island?
ANNA MARIA ISLAND – After more than three weeks of west winds pushing red tide and subsequent dead fish toward local Gulf of Mexico beaches, an easterly wind shift on Thursday gave some beachgoers a slight respite.
“We’ve been fighting the west wind for weeks,” said Mark Taylor, Manatee County Natural Resources employee and the operator of a mechanical beach-cleaning rake. “We appreciate a little break, the east wind is our friend.”
The beach rake that Taylor drives along the beaches has a spring-loaded conveyer with stainless steel tines that scratch the surface of the sand and pick up debris, including dead fish.
“We try to do the public beaches first,” he said. “That’s our priority always. They populate early with fish and it’s been a heavy amount of them.”
The fish go up the belt and are dumped into a 2-yard hopper on the back of the apparatus. When the hopper is full, Taylor backs up the vehicle to dumpsters at Manatee Beach, Coquina Beach and Bayfront Park and empties the load.
Rather than doing his normal run along Manatee and Coquina beaches, Taylor was sent to the northwest end of Anna Maria Island on Thursday, where the beaches were littered with dead fish.
“The wind is pushing it in today to Bean Point from the rocks and to Bayfront Park,” he said Thursday.
The predominant types of fish Taylor is seeing on the shore are catfish, pinfish and baitfish.
“The eels, the catfish and the baitfish come first,” Taylor said. “I’m seeing Spanish mackerel, pelagic, and grouper. Today I dumped a load of fish and one large grouper was in there, probably about 3-foot long.”
At Bean Point on Thursday, dead fish were scattered from the shore to the dune lines more than 60 feet away.
“The full moon we had recently and the huge tides washed the fished up to about a 100-foot span,” said Liza Click, supervisor of the Manatee County Property Management Grounds Division. “We’re seeing sheepshead, trout, catfish, dogfish, a lot of mullet and an occasional big grouper washed up on the sand.”
The county has four rakes to cover the local beaches and has been operating three of them recently.
“This past Sunday we had three beach rakes going off,” Click said on Thursday. “Winds play a big part in our day. Today was a great day.”
Click, who operates a beach rake, said her day begins at 4:30-5 a.m.
“The good thing is, we’re not in turtle season so I can get out there early,” she said. “I start at Coquina and once I get to Cortez, I’m closer to the buildings and I can get done by 6 or so.”
Click said the dumpsters where the fish are disposed of are emptied three times a week, and the county is getting ready to put down lime under the dumpsters to alleviate the odors of dead fish.
Taylor said that so far the fish kills are less than he saw during the heavy red tide of 2018.
“It’s not as bad as ’18 was,” he said. “In ’18 we had much larger quantities of fish on the beach. We’re able to manage right now. We had to bring everybody out in ’18. I worked 28 12-hour nights and days then.”
In 2018, Taylor said there was a run of dead horseshoe crabs along with the fish.
“What’s interesting is at Bayfront is primarily bay species. It’ll be mullet and trout and sheepshead,” he said. “And then out front (in the Gulf), you’ll get the grouper and the mackerel and maybe a pompano even.”
Taylor said thus far, the fish cleanups have been manageable for county crews.
“At some point, we have the beach clean each day right now,” he said.
Red tide intensifies
For the first time this year, some local waters are showing high levels of red tide.
Water samples taken on March 10 at Longboat Pass showed high concentrations of the red tide organism Karenia brevis, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). High levels can cause respiratory irritation, shellfish harvesting closures, probable fish kills, water discoloration and detection by satellite.
Red tide levels were reported as medium at Kingfish Boat Ramp on Anna Maria Sound just east of Anna Maria Island and at the Rod and Reel Pier in Anna Maria. Medium levels can cause respiratory irritation, shellfish harvesting closures, probable fish kills and detection by satellite.
Palma Sola Bay registered low levels of red tide.
According to the FWC, red tide was observed at low to high concentrations in 12 samples collected in Manatee County, background to high concentrations in 38 samples collected in Pinellas County and background to high concentrations in 51 samples collected in Sarasota County.
For updated information on red tide, visit the Red Tide Respiratory Forecast at RedTideForecast.com, which tells beachgoers what red tide impacts are expected to be at individual beaches at different times of the day. The forecast is also available in Spanish at PronosticoMareaRoja.com.
Beachgoers also can get updates at visitbeaches.org, the Mote Marine Laboratory beach conditions reporting system, which documents respiratory irritation and fish kills at local beaches.
Call 866-300-9399 from anywhere in Florida to hear a recording about red tide conditions throughout the state.
CORTEZ – Administrative Law Judge Bruce Culpepper issued a recommended order supporting the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s issuance of a permit for the construction of 49 canal-side dock slips at the Hunters Point Marina & Resort in Cortez.
“Based on the foregoing findings of fact and conclusions of law, it is recommended that the Southwest Florida Water Management District enter a final order granting Cortez Road Investment’s application for the permit to build a dock in the canal and issue ERP (environmental resource permit) Individual Construction Major Modification Permit 43032468.003,” Culpepper stated in the written recommended order he issued on March 7.
Administrative Law Judge Bruce Culpepper presided over the permit challenge hearing. – Submitted
Culpepper’s recommended order will be sent to the water district’s governing board for a final ruling. If the board’s final ruling supports Culpepper’s recommended order, the Hunters Points docks can be built in the man-made, privately-owned canal that surrounds the Hunters Point property on three sides.
This rendering illustrates the proposed Hunters Point dock locations along the canal. – Hunters Point | Submitted
Culpepper’s recommended order is based on the multi-day administrative hearing he conducted on behalf of the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings (DOAH) over the span of eight days in June, August and September.
In June 2021, the water management district issued Hunters Point developer Marshall Gobuty and his Cortez Road Investments and Finance Inc. ownership group the environmental resource permit/individual construction major modification permit needed to construct the docks. The permit authorizes Cortez Road Investments to install approximately 4,352 square feet of new piling-supported dock structures and to replace approximately 3,631 square feet of existing piling-supported dock structures.
The Cortez Village Marina is located eastward and upland from the Hunters Point property. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
Cortez Village Marina is located eastward and upland of the Hunters Point property. In July 2021, the Cortez Village Marina’s MHC Cortez Village LLC ownership group filed a petition challenging the issuance of that permit.
MHC Cortez Village asserted the proposed docks would adversely impact safe navigation and increase and impair vessel traffic through the canal by narrowing the canal’s navigable width.
During the hearing, MHC Cortez Village presented the testimony of marina manager Skip McPadden, Capt. Christopher Karentz and others. Cortez Road Investments presented testimony by Gobuty, land title expert Adron H. Walker, Captain Dane Fleming and others. The water management district’s witnesses included Lauren Greenawalt, who serves as a lead environmental scientist for the district.
The canal
According to Manatee County Property Appraiser records and testimony provided by Walker and Gobuty, Cortez Road Investments owns the portion of the canal that extends eastward from the humpback bridge at 127th Street West to the western boundary of the Cortez Village Marina property. Cortez Road Investments does not own the portion of the canal located directly in front of the marina basin or the remaining portion of the canal east of the marina.
Culpepper’s order notes the marina has existed in its current configuration since at least 2008 and a marina facility has operated at that location since at least the 1970s. According to McPadden’s testimony, the marina provides approximately 365 boat storage slips that include ‘high-and-dry’ slips, outside dry storage and in-water slips. McPadden testified the marina’s average boat size is 26 feet long and the largest boat stored there is 38 feet long and 11 feet wide.
The order notes the canal provides the marina and its clients with their only direct water access to the nearby Intracoastal Waterway.
“Consequently, to reach Tampa Bay or the Gulf of Mexico by boat, marina customers must travel down the canal past Hunters Point,” the order notes.
The order notes there are approximately 18 single-family homes located alongside the canal and many of those homes have existing docks and boatlifts – most of which predate Gobuty’s purchase of the Hunters Point property and canal in 2016.
In his order, Culpepper states: “Mr. Gobuty conveyed Cortez Road (Investments) never authorized any homeowners along the canal to access or use the waterway it owns. Neither has Cortez Road (Investments) given the marina or its customers specific permission to traverse the canal. Mr. Gobuty urged that Cortez Road (Investments) does not necessarily object to boaters using the canal to access Anna Maria Sound. However, Cortez Road (Investments) does intend to take steps to ensure that its property interests and rights to the canal are protected, as well as ensure the safe use of the canal. Towards this end, Cortez Road has and may continue to pursue legal action to ensure that the private homeowners across from Hunters Point comply with Manatee County codes in the configuration and placement of their docks in the canal.”
Testimony given
The order notes Cortez Road Investments has already implemented several navigational aids to enhance the safe use of the canal. One-way travel along the canal at timed intervals is encouraged to help prevent boats from passing side by side in the canal’s narrowest areas. Mirrors were installed at the 90-degree corners to increase boater visibility. “No wake” signs require boaters to travel at minimum speed and canal users are encouraged to monitor VHF radio channel 9 regarding inbound and outbound canal traffic.
Safety pilings and new signs were recently installed in the canal near the Cortez Village Marina. – Hunters Point | Submitted
Regarding testimony he received, Culpepper’s order says, “Ms. Greenawalt best framed the analysis by acknowledging that the dock, and any boats moored thereto, will undeniably affect navigation through the canal to some extent. The evidence clearly shows that boaters will have to be mindful of a reduced navigable width when traveling alongside Hunters Point, particularly when crossing the three ‘pinch points’ on the north-south channel. However, Capt. Fleming convincingly explained that after the dock is built, the canal will still contain sufficient space for boaters to safely travel between the bridge and the marina.
Several of the 86 Hunters Point homes have already been built and some area awaiting new docks. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
“All witnesses agree that following construction of the dock, boats will still be able to freely travel through the canal one at a time. The proposed dock will not interfere with or prevent a single boater from traversing from the bridge to an upland property.
“The evidence shows that the dock will not reduce the safe navigational width of the waterway any more than the bridge at the entrance to the canal, which is 15 feet wide, or the narrow bottleneck just before the marina where mangrove growth restricts safe movement to one boat at a time,” Culpepper noted in his order.
“It is uncontroverted that the placement of the dock in the canal will affect navigation to some degree. However, the evidence was insufficient to conclude that the dock will constitute an environmental hazard to public health, safety, welfare or property. Similarly, the evidence and testimony do not show that the construction of the dock will cause more than a mere inconvenience to boaters similar to what they already face at the bridge, much less result in a significant impediment to navigation,” the order states.
“Based on the evidence and testimony presented at the final hearing, the undersigned finds that Cortez Road (Investments) and the district presented competent substantial evidence establishing Cortez Road’s entitlement to the permit. Conversely, the marina did not meet its burden of demonstrating that the district should not issue the permit,” Culpepper stated in his order.
It’s that time of year again. You know, when the average high temperature is approximately 74.1 degrees Fahrenheit, the UV index is 6 and the dew point is a very comfortable 58. Oh… and the traffic to the beaches is bumper-to-bumper and stretches west of 75th Street along Manatee Avenue and Cortez Road, respectively. Thousands of those headed to Anna Maria Island are vacationing, staying in one of the roughly 3,500 vacation rental properties or the dozens of resort-style hotels. Spring breakers from the north are here to enjoy some much-deserved sun and fun. These vacationers are welcomed with open arms; however, there is a lot of information they need to know to fully enjoy their time here and return home safely. Our local beaches, pools and waterways pose a significant safety risk.
Studies show:
Drowning kills about 4,000 people each year in the United States;
Drowning is the leading cause of death for children 1-4 years old;
There are about 8,000 emergency department visits for nonfatal drowning each year;
Injuries and deaths from drowning cost the United States $53 billion in 2020;
DROWNING IS PREVENTABLE.
This March, in an ongoing effort to combat these risks, the West Manatee Fire Rescue District continues its annual Drowning Prevention Campaign. This campaign is designed to bring awareness to the drowning risks those living and playing in our community face, as well as to educate the public on how to safely enjoy water-related activities.
A volunteer waves a sign to raise awareness about water safety near Manatee Beach. – Submitted | WMFR
WMFR’s Fire & Life Safety Bureau, with the assistance of local elementary school teachers and other volunteers, kicked off this campaign with a sign-waving event on March 4 at Manatee Beach. Join WMFR in its effort to make sure everyone has a relaxing, fun and, most importantly, safe Spring Break in 2023.
When do the builders and developers have enough money so that they will stop destroying what used to be a great place to live, Anna Maria Island?
When will there be enough monster homes built by overzealous investors right next to smaller homes where people raised their families and came to vacation for generations? When will there be enough residents forced to move because of the noise of traffic or the unending disturbance of two, three or four families suddenly living next door, but moving in and out every week? The once-family homes that were razed and replaced with buildings that accommodate three, four and five families are mini-hotels, not homes.
When will there be enough gold lining the pockets of builders, investors and developers who are turning an unpolished gem into Clearwater, St. Pete or Fort Lauderdale? We need to wake up and see the destruction of the lifestyle we all thought we had on Anna Maria Island.
Sean Murphy is right – the issue is not parking; the issue is traffic! Why not have an engineering company perform a traffic impact analysis?
Who is going to pay for the proposed parking garages on the island? Will visitors then have to pay to park when visiting our free beaches?
Beachgoers could park in the two virtually empty parking deck garages in downtown Bradenton. The county can lease, on a seasonal basis, interstate/Greyhound-type buses that have plenty of storage for beachgoers’ chairs, etc. They can run every 20 minutes, significantly reducing congestion. This would eliminate idling cars either stuck in traffic or moving so slowly due to traffic that air pollution is increased, valuable fuel resources are wasted, and frustration and anger and angst are created – let us not forget people who LIVE on the island.
Residents cannot go out to shop, go out to eat, or leave the Island to go to church unless they spend hours in traffic for what used to be a 10-minute drive. Have you ever walked on the Island’s sidewalks in season while cars spew carbon monoxide in your face?
The fellow Holmes Beach resident who wrote, “We only have so much space; apply the math…” was so right.
It is painfully clear that parking isn’t the real issue – the true motive behind this is development and profit.
Stop the madness!
Last, but not least, the county commissioners and the FDOT should build a bridge to Longboat Key which would alleviate the Gulf Drive/Cortez traffic nightmare.
Paul Reed Steberger
Holmes Beach
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Water temperatures that hover in the 70s bring fish out of their winter haunts. It doesn’t matter if it’s winter one day and spring the next. Even if the weather is unpredictable, anglers know to start watching for the signs of spring. They’ll keep an eye on the Gulf, looking for flocks of diving sea birds as they feast on schools of baitfish that gather off the beaches in their seasonal migration. They know from experience that schools of little tunny, Spanish mackerel, cobia and kingfish will be attracted by and feed around the schools of bait.
