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Commissioners propose larger tax cut

Commissioners propose larger tax cut

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News, Featured.

ANNA MARIA – Mayor Dan Murphy recently presented his $10.4 million proposed capital plan for the 2024-25 fiscal year.

The plan was based on a proposed 1.75 tentative millage rate that would have lowered taxes for city residents and provided an estimated $1.21 million contingency fund to cover unanticipated expenses or project expenditures.

In a desire to give Anna Maria property owners an even greater property tax decrease, commissioners voted 3-2 in favor of setting the tentative millage rate at 1.65, creating a slightly lower anticipated contingency fund of $987,000.

When presenting his plan to city commissioners on July 25, Murphy broke the proposed capital improvement project expenditures into two main categories – existing projects that were previously budgeted for but not yet completed, and new projects that were previously discussed but not budgeted for until now.

EXISTING PROJECTS

The capital plan proposes spending a total of $6.94 million on existing capital projects.

Murphy’s capital plan proposes spending $250,000 on street and road paving and maintenance. That marks a significant decrease from the $673,000 budgeted for the current 2023-24 fiscal year that ends on Sept 30. Murphy said Anna Maria’s streets and roads have all been repaved in recent years and are in good shape, with no existing potholes that he’s aware of, but there’s still some pavement striping needed.

“I get compliments on our roads,” Murphy said.

The capital plan proposes spending $3.65 million for new Pine Avenue sidewalks, using money carried over from the current fiscal year. The sidewalk installations will be primarily funded by a state appropriation and some additional state and federal funds being carried over from the current fiscal year. Murphy said no ad valorem property tax revenues will be used to fund the sidewalk installations.

The capital plan proposes spending $2.47 million for stormwater and drainage improvements and $525,235 for stormwater and drainage maintenance.

NEW PROJECTS

The capital plan proposes spending $3.5 million on new capital projects previously discussed by the commission.

The plan proposes spending $70,000 to install shade sails above the children’s playground at City Pier Park, and $75,000 to install some type of shade structure above the city-owned uncovered deck area at the T-end of the City Pier.

The plan proposes spending $288,000 to construct a stand-alone comfort station near the Island Players building and public parking lot next to the Island Players. Featuring public restrooms and an outdoor shower for beachgoers and other visitors, the comfort station will be built using tourist development tax revenues received from Manatee County. The capital plan proposes spending an additional $175,000 to redesign and reconfigure that public parking lot to make it more efficient and more disabled-accessible.

The capital plan proposes spending $305,000 in resiliency grant funds to replace the city hall roof and install hurricane windows and hurricane doors.

The plan includes $95,000 in state funds to study a long-term alternative to dredging the Lake La Vista jetty entrance every two or three years. The plan also includes $2.49 million to remove the silt left behind by Hurricane Idalia in 2023 that covers and renders ineffective many of the city’s drainage trenches.

Anna Maria property owners getting tax break

Anna Maria property owners getting tax break

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News, Featured.

ANNA MARIA – City property owners will see their property taxes reduced in the coming year.

On July 25, the Anna Maria City Commission voted 3-2 to adopt a tentative 1.65 millage rate for the coming 2024-25 fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. The adopted tentative millage rate can be further reduced before the budget is finalized in September, but it cannot be increased.

Anna Maria’s current 2.05 millage rate has long been the lowest millage rate on Anna Maria Island and in Manatee County, joined last year by Holmes Beach.

Anna Maria property owners getting tax break
Mayor Dan Murphy proposed a 1.75 millage rate. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

On June 27, Mayor Dan Murphy proposed lowering the millage rate to 1.82 mills, with the possibility of bringing it even lower. When presenting his proposed $10.4 million capital project plan on July 25, Murphy proposed setting the tentative millage rate at 1.75 mills.

“My goal is to reduce the taxes in this city for the first time in history. It’s not a huge cut, but it is a cut. It’s a step in the right direction,” Murphy said, noting the proposed rate would result in Anna Maria property owners paying a lower city tax bill next year.

Murphy said lowering the millage rate to 1.75 mills would leave the city with a $1.21 million contingency fund for the new fiscal year. The contingency fund for the current budget year is $981,851. The non-earmarked contingency fund can be used to cover unexpected expenditures, including hurricane clean up and recovery efforts.

Commission discussion

During the lengthy discussion that followed, commissioners Gary McMullen and Charlie Salem lobbied for a 1.65 tentative millage rate and Commissioner Kathleen Morgan later joined them in adopting that tentative millage rate.

Commissioners Jon Crane and Mark Short expressed support for a 1.75 tentative millage rate but for differing reasons opposed adopting the tentative rate at 1.65 mills. Short noted a 1.75 millage rate would be a 15% reduction.

Anna Maria property owners getting tax break
Commissioner Gary McMullen supports a 1.65 millage rate. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

Commissioner Gary McMullen asked if reducing the proposed contingency fund to its current level would lower the millage rate. Murphy said a 1.65 millage rate would produce a $987,000 contingency fund.

“At 1.65, we’d still have a contingency fund that’s almost a million dollars,” Salem said. “We don’t have this opportunity very often. We should take advantage of it and we’re in a good position due in large part to the mayor’s leadership.”

Crane expressed concerns about a 1.65 millage rate negatively impacting the city’s finances in the years to come.

“I’m happy to bring it down to 1.75, but I’d hate to jump to back where we are now the following year,” he said.

Anna Maria property owners getting tax break
Commissioner Jon Crane supports a 1.75 millage rate. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

Murphy said the city is now benefiting from the street paving and drainage improvements made during the past decade.

“We’ve invested in our infrastructure. Now we can reap that benefit, and it’s not just a one-year benefit,” Murphy said, noting the 1.75 millage rate could be maintained if the city continues to invest wisely in infrastructure maintenance and improvements.

After noting that high taxes and insurance premiums contribute to the loss of permanent residents, Murphy said, “We only play a small part of that tax bill, but I think we need to set an example for the school board, for the county, for all the other agencies.”

Murphy said he asked Sen. Jim Boyd to relay that message to Manatee County’s other taxing authorities.

“Nobody else is doing this. It has to start somewhere and I would like it to start here tonight,” he added.

Public input

During public input, Anna Maria businessman and mayoral candidate Brian Seymour encouraged the commission to set the final millage rate at 1.65 or 1.6, even if they set the tentative rate at 1.75.

Anna Maria property owners getting tax break
Mayoral candidate Brian Seymour supports setting the millage rate as low as possible. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

“I want to applaud the mayor and commissioners. I think it’s long overdue, as our property values have doubled, if not tripled, in the 15 years I’ve lived here. We can be the example for other cities,” Seymour said.

Participating by phone, Barry White said he’s owned a residential property on Spring Avenue property since 2017 and his taxes and insurance premiums have increased astronomically since then.

“Things have gotten out of hand,” White said, noting his total tax bill last year was $33,000, which was reduced from $50,000 because he protested the initial assessment.

Regarding the increased value of his home, White said, “The equity doesn’t help me if I’m not going to sell. I don’t want to sell and I don’t want to rent my property.”

White, 65, retired in 2017.

“I pay $20,000 in school taxes and I get zero return for that. My kids are grown. That’s $20,000 of $33,000 right there,” White said. “Thank you so much for what you’re considering tonight.”

The commissioners then voted 3-2 to adopt the 1.65 tentative millage rate.

Anna Maria property owners getting tax break
Commissioner Mark Short remains open to a 1.65 millage rate. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

Immediately after the meeting, Short said, “I was all for the proposed reduction to 1.75. I am for reducing the property tax millage rate as much as we can. Since today’s number was not final, and we have the ability to bring it even lower when we have the final numbers, I felt it was safe going in at 1.75. I’m perfectly fine with 1.65 and we’ll see where we are once the numbers are finalized.”

The next budget discussion is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 8 at 1 p.m.

Related coverage:
Anna Maria budget preparations continue
Mayor proposes reduced millage rate

 

Anna Maria budget preparations continue

Anna Maria budget preparations continue

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News, Featured.

ANNA MARIA – The fiscal year 2024-25 city budget being crafted by Mayor Dan Murphy and city com­missioners proposes $5.82 million in operating and general expenses during the new fiscal year that begins on Oct. 1.

Presented by Murphy during the city commission’s second budget meeting on July 18, the projected expenses include employee salaries and wages and represent a $296,979 increase over the $5.53 million in similar estimated year-end expenses for the current fiscal year that ends Sept. 30.

The $5.82 million does not include the capital projects and infrastruc­ture improvements to be decided during the third and final budget meeting on Thursday, July 25. That meeting begins at 5 p.m. and will include the setting of the tentative millage rate.

During the commission’s initial budget meeting on June 27, Murphy proposed, and the commission tentatively supported, reducing the city’s longstanding 2.05 millage rate to the rollback rate of 1.8245 mills, or possibly lower.

Murphy said due to increased property values, the rollback rate would generate $4.24 million in ad valorem property tax revenues during the 2024-25 fiscal year. The proposed budget anticipates $18.2 million in total revenues that also include previously approved state appropriations, unused funds carried over from the current fiscal year and other funding sources.

On July 18, Murphy said the 1.8245 rollback rate would result in Anna Maria property owners not expe­riencing a tax increase. And if there’s enough money left after the July 25 capital improvements decisions, the millage rate could be lowered further and provide property owners with the first property tax reduction in Anna Maria that Murphy is aware of.

The millage rate and fiscal year budget will be finalized during two public hearings in September.

“I want to leave the city in good shape when I walk out the door,” Murphy said regarding his recent decision to not seek reelection in November after 10 years in office.

Departmental expenses

The largest proposed operating expense is $1.54 million for public safety, which includes $1.52 million for contracted law enforcement services provided by the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office Anna Maria Unit. Murphy anticipates a $184,042 (14%) increase for MCSO services in the coming year and is scheduled to meet with sheriff’s office representa­tives this week in hopes of reducing those anticipated costs.

The 2024-25 budget also currently proposes:

  • $777,984 for public works department expenses, a $26,267 (3%) increase;
  • $1.02 million for the administra­tion department expenses that include the city clerk’s office, a $22,693 (2%) increase;
  • $1.01 million for building department expenses, a $32,788 (3%) increase;
  • $723,671 for code enforcement expenses, a $22,906 (3%) increase;
  • $461,345 for parks and recreation-related expenses, a $8,154 (2%) increase; and
  • $81,880 for city commission expenses that include the mayor and commissioner’s salaries, a $52 increase.

Commissioner Jon Crane asked the commission to consider for future discussion increasing the mayor and commissioners’ salaries to help attract more city candidates in future election cycles.

The Anna Maria mayor earns $19,500 a year and commissioners make $4,800. The Bradenton Beach mayor earns $9,600 a year, while commissioners earn $$4,800 a year. It was stated the Holmes Beach mayor earns $28,160 a year and Holmes Beach commissioners earn $8,080.

Commissioners Gary McMullen and Kathy Morgan said they’d only support pay increases for the mayor and commissioners if it can be accom­plished while reducing property taxes.

Wage increases

Murphy proposes 5% salary and wage increases for city employees in the coming fiscal year. Murphy said the city recently conducted a city government wage survey that indi­cated city government employees are receiving pay increases in the 4% to 6.5% range, with 5% being the “sweet spot” in the middle of that range. Murphy said the wage increases will help the city retain current employees, attract new employees and help offset the impacts of inflation.

Related coverage: Mayor proposes reduced millage rate

Mayor proposes reduced millage rate

Mayor proposes reduced millage rate

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News, Featured.

ANNA MARIA – Mayor Dan Murphy proposes lowering Anna Maria’s current 2.05 millage rate to the 1.8245 rollback rate, or lower.

The rollback rate is the rate needed to generate the same ad valorem property tax revenues generated during the cur­rent fiscal year, with increased property values producing the same revenues at a lower millage rate.

When presenting his final city budget before leaving office later this year, Murphy proposed the millage reduction during the Anna Maria City Commission’s June 27 budget meeting. Focused on projected revenues, Thursday’s meeting was the first of three preliminary budget meetings scheduled for the prepara­tion of the 2024-25 fiscal year budget that takes effect on Oct. 1.

Regarding the millage rate, Murphy said, “We’re not going to go in at 2.05. We’re actually going to start at the rollback rate which will yield $4.24 million (in ad valorem property tax revenues). I think we can actually bring it in under the rollback rate and provide all the services we need to provide for the residents of this city, so the property owners and the homeowners of our city could experience a tax reduc­tion. I hope that you could share that goal with me as we go forward with the budget.”

The commission expressed prelimi­nary support for the proposed millage reduction.

Murphy said a budget based on a lower millage rate would be “lean and mean” while still providing the services and benefits residents and property owners expect.

“It’s not like we’re going to live in austerity,” he said. “We maintain or improve our quality of life, yet we do it with less money because we do things more efficiently and we utilize what we’ve got in terms of the carryover from projects we couldn’t finish.”

At 1.8245 mills, Anna Maria prop­erty owners would pay a city property tax of approximately $1.82 per every $1,000 of assessed property value after homestead exemptions and other tax exemptions are applied.

According to the Manatee County Tax Collector’s 2024 Preliminary Tax­ing Authority Report, the taxable value of Anna Maria’s 1,707 real properties is $2.32 billion.

Anna Maria’s current 2.05 millage rate has historically been the lowest on Anna Maria Island and the lowest in Manatee County.

In 2022, the Holmes Beach City Commission lowered its 2.15 millage rate to 2.07 and in 2023 they lowered it again to 2.05 for the current fiscal year. The Bradenton Beach millage rate has remained at 2.3329 for several years.

Anna Maria property owners also pay Manatee County property taxes and the county’s 2023 millage rate was 6.2326. Manatee County property owners also pay taxes and assess­ments levied by the Manatee County School Board, fire and rescue districts, stormwater management districts, mosquito control districts and the West Coast Inland Navigation District.

City revenues

Murphy said the city received slightly more than $10.1 million in total revenues for the current 2023-24 fiscal year that ends on Sept. 30 and he projects the city receiving $18.1 million in total revenues during the 2024-25 fiscal year that begins on Oct. 1.

The $8 million increase includes $6 million in unspent project-related funds to be carried over into the new fiscal year. Murphy said $12.8 million is already earmarked for specific projects and expenditures and the remaining $5.3 million is not yet earmarked for specific expenditures.

Murphy said $1.28 million of the projected $3 million in stormwater revenues is carryover from the current fiscal year. He said some stormwater and drainage projects couldn’t be completed this year because the contractor didn’t have the needed labor resources.

Stormwater revenues are received from the Southwest Florida Water Management District, FEMA and the stormwater assessment fees the city levies annually on Anna Maria property owners.

Regarding the stormwater and drainage projects to be included in the new budget, Murphy said, “When this is completed, the whole city is covered with vertical infiltration and stormwater treatment.”

The projected revenues include a previously approved $2.6 million state appropriation for the Reimagining Pine Avenue safety improvement project and an additional $185,094 in remaining American Rescue Plan funds that will be used to install new Pine Avenue streetlights.

Mayor proposes reduced millage rate
The Anna Maria City Commission and Mayor Dan Murphy have begun their fiscal year 2024-2025 budget planning process. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

Murphy noted that Gov. Ron DeSan­tis recently vetoed the city’s $475,000 state appropriation request for the construction of a stand-alone public comfort station (public restrooms) near the public parking lot by city hall and the Island Players.

Murphy said Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Elliott Falcione supports the city seeking $288,000 in tourist development tax revenues to help fund the comfort station project.

“I feel optimistic that we can convince the county commission to give us that money,” Murphy said. “It’s an excellent investment in the city – a comfort station near the beach, with a diaper changing station and an outdoor shower. It’s a good use of tourist development money.”

Senior discount

Commissioner Mark Short mentioned the tax exemptions given to Manatee County property owners. According to the tax collector’s office, permanent residents qualify for a $25,000 homestead exemption and those whose assessed property value exceeds $50,000 are eligible for an additional $25,000 exemption. Senior citizens who are at least 65 years old and meet the income threshold are eligible for an additional $25,000 exemption.

“We have the ability, through ordinance, to change that to $50,000,” Short said in regard to increasing the city’s senior citizen tax exemption to the full $50,000 allowed by the state.

“As we move forward, I would like to take that into account,” Short said. “It doesn’t affect a lot of people who live in the city, but it does affect some.”

Budget meetings

The mayor and commission will dis­cuss operating expenses on Thursday, July 18. Capital project and improve­ment expenses will be discussed on Thursday, July 25 and the tentative millage rate will also be set during that meeting. Both July budget meetings will start at 5 p.m. The commission will set the final millage rate on Thursday, Sept. 12 and adopt the final millage rate and 2024-25 budget on Thursday, Sept. 26.

Letter to the Editor: Fond farewell

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Letter to the Editor, Opinion.

I was saddened to hear that Mayor Dan Murphy had decided not to run for reelection. But only for a minute, because I quickly realized how fortunate Anna Maria has been to have him as mayor for the past 10 years. He has not only been honest but also strong in his attempt to keep Anna Maria, Anna Maria in the face of powerful forces. His accomplishments are many but none greater than the rebuilding of the City Pier. With his vision and hard work, it should be in place for the world to enjoy for many decades to come.

I have witnessed Anna Maria mayors for the last 50 years and it is not a stretch to say he has been the best I’ve seen. So, I thank Dan and his wife, Barbara, for what they have given the city. Enjoy your well-deserved retirement.

 

Doug Copeland

Anna Maria

Mayor optimistic about vacation rental bill’s fate

Mayor optimistic about vacation rental bill’s fate

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News.

ANNA MARIA – Mayor Dan Murphy is growing increasingly confident that the Florida Legislature’s latest attempt to preempt vacation rental regulation to the state will once again fail.

Proposed and supported by the Florida Legislature earlier this year, Senate Bill 280 and its matching companion bill, House Bill 1537, seek to take short-term vacation rental regulation and the regulation of short-term rental advertising away from Florida cities and counties and place that authority solely with the state.

Sen Jim Boyd (R-Bradenton) and State Rep. Will Robinson Jr. (R-Bradenton) are among the many state legislators who voted in favor of the proposed legislation.

To become new state law, the proposed legislation must be transmitted to Gov. Ron DeSantis. If the governor supports the legislation, he can sign it into new state law effective July 1 or allow it to become new state law without his signature of support. He can also kill the proposed legislation by vetoing it.

“The bill has not been placed on the governor’s desk,” Murphy told the Anna Maria City Commission on May 23.

Murphy said he and the city’s contracted lobbyist have no idea if or when the proposed vacation rental regulation will ever be transmitted to the Gov. Ron DeSantis.

“The good news is the governor’s staff has a multitude of concerns about the bill itself, starting with some of the input we gave them,” Murphy said.

The proposed state legislation would eliminate Anna Maria’s existing short-term vacation rental occupancy limits and replace them with more generous occupancy limits that would be virtually impossible for the city to enforce.

The city input the mayor referenced pertains to Anna Maria’s vacation rental guest population quickly increasing by an estimated 32% if the city’s occupancy limits are eliminated, which the mayor said would further strain the city’s already-strained infrastructure systems.

Murphy said DeSantis’ staff also has political concerns about the legislation, including a carve-out exemption for Flagler County, the home of Speaker of the House Paul Renner. The proposed carve-out would create a grandfathering exemption for Flagler County’s current vacation rental regulations.

“They’ve got a list of concerns. When I get the word that it’s headed to the governor’s desk – and we should get at least a day or two of advance notice – we’ll crank up HomeRuleFl.com to bombard letters to the governor for a veto,” Murphy said.

“We’re in a very good spot. That’s what our lobbyist said, but it’ll be back next year. It’s not going to go away. This is going to be a continual struggle,” Murphy cautioned.

When asked, the mayor and city attorney said they didn’t know when the deadline is to transmit bills to the governor.

Reimagining Pine Avenue one step at a time

Reimagining Pine Avenue one step at a time

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News, Featured.

ANNA MARIA – Mayor Dan Murphy has proposed a block-by-block approach to installing permeable brick paver sidewalks along Pine Avenue where meandering unpaved paths currently exist.

New crosswalks would also be installed across Pine Avenue in a similar block-by-block fashion as part of the long-desired Reimagining Pine Avenue safety improvement project.

The existing concrete sidewalks along Pine Avenue will remain in place for now and potentially be replaced with brick paver sidewalks later.

When initiated, the sidewalk and crosswalk improvements will be funded by a state appropriation previously approved by the Florida Legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis.

New streetlights will be installed later using different, non-state funding sources.

In recent years, the commission, at the mayor’s recommendation, has rejected four previous project-related bids received from the Sarasota-based C-Squared construction company.

C-Squared’s most recent bid was $1.38 million to install a one-block Reimagining Pine Avenue prototype area between Gulf Drive and North Shore Drive. The prototype would have included new brick paver sidewalks along both sides of Pine Avenue and new crosswalks. The bid did not include street lighting.

On May 23, the mayor proposed a new approach to securing a local contractor or contractors to do the work in a more piecemeal fashion. Murphy said he engaged in preliminary discussion with the project engineer as to how to go about the piecemeal approach to installing the brick paver sidewalks one block at a time, beginning with the stretch of Pine Avenue between Gulf Drive and North Shore Drive. Murphy said three local contractors have expressed interest in the project.

“That’s a good sign,” he said. “One contractor told me, ‘You finally have an approach that makes sense and I want to bid on it.’ ”

Murphy said the city’s public works department may be able to assist with the crosswalk installations.

Murphy said once the brick paver sidewalks are installed in the unpaved paths, the concrete sidewalks will be replaced by brick paver sidewalks, to be followed by new street lighting.

Murphy said with the commission’s support he’d work with the project engineer and the Florida Department of Transportation – the state agency controlling the expenditure of the state funds – and figure out how to move forward with the solicitation of bids.

The city commission expressed preliminary support for the block-by-block, one-step-at-a-time project approach and now awaits additional information from the mayor.

CBD resolution finalized

CBD resolution finalized

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News.

ANNA MARIA – The city commission has adopted a resolution providing the sales and registration requirements allowing existing CBD and hemp sellers to continue those sales by acquiring city-approved grandfathering status.

City Attorney Becky Vose presented Resolution 24-796 to the city commission on May 23 and the commission unanimously adopted the resolution on first and final reading. Vose plans to present the accompanying grandfathering registration form on June 13.

The adopted resolution and the still-pending registration form will work in unison with a recently amended city ordinance prohibiting the sale, processing or manufacturing of any product derived from cannabis (marijuana) plants – including medicinal marijuana, CBD and hemp products – while creating grandfathering exceptions for businesses that already sold limited amounts of CBD and/or hemp products as of April 1.

There are currently no full-blown CBD stores in Anna Maria and the commission’s goal is to prevent that from happening. The grandfathering provision cannot be obtained by an existing business or a new business after July 1.

The recently-adopted grandfathering provision, the newly-adopted city resolution and the soon-to-be-approved registration form satisfy the mayor and commission’s regulatory concerns while still allowing those few existing businesses to continue selling the CBD and hemp products that few realized were illegal in Anna Maria until earlier this year.

CBD and hemp products are legal statewide but Anna Maria is an exception to that rule, similar to a dry city or county that doesn’t allow alcohol sales. State-compliant CBD sales are allowed in the neighboring city of Holmes Beach, throughout Bradenton and in unincorporated Manatee County.

RESOLUTION PRESENTED

When presenting the resolution to the city commission on May 23, Vose said, “As you recall, we did change our marijuana ordinance having to do with businesses that have a fixed physical location, not to include mobile sales, in the city of Anna Maria and sell products that would otherwise be prohibited in the ordinance. This would allow them to continue.”

The resolution states all grandfa­thering applications must be submit­ted to the city by July 1 on forms to be provided by the city.

“In addition to information about the grandfather applicant and location, the grandfather applications must include a listing of relevant products sold by the business and the quantity of such products that were purchased/sold from March 1-31 and photographs of then-current supplies of relevant products,” the resolution states.

The resolution also states, “Grandfather applications must be submitted under oath and notarized.”

Vose noted the resolution gives the mayor the authority to oversee and tweak the registration and enforcement processes as needed.

COMMISSION INSIGHTS

Commissioner Gary McMullen questioned the need for the grandfathered businesses to list and photograph their CBD and/or hemp product inventory and whether that might be burdensome for the business owners.

“It’s in the very recent past and they should be able to give us that information,” Vose responded. “Then they’d give us photographs of then-current supplies of the product so we have some kind of feel for the product they have.”

Vose said there’s a finite number of hemp and CBD products already being offered for sale in Anna Maria and those business owners already have a pretty good idea of what they have and how much they’re selling.

“I don’t think this will be terribly burdensome, but if it ends up being terribly burdensome, there is the authority for the mayor to tweak this,” Vose said. “We don’t want a gift shop that happens to sell some CBD products to all of the sudden turn into a head shop where 95% of what they sell are these products.”

CBD resolution finalized
Cool Beans AMI sells a limited amount of CBD products. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

Commissioner Charlie Salem said, “I think the intent is to make sure we’re not going beyond the grandfathering. Let’s let them continue what they’ve been doing but you don’t want them to be exclusive dealers of a much broader set of these products. I think this is a way to make sure there’s something on record so we all can rest easy that they’re going to comply with what they get through the grandfathering.”

“This resolution effectively is putting a stake in the ground,” Commissioner Mark Short said, noting the resolution states that grandfathered businesses can’t increase their CBD or hemp product offerings. “It’s limiting them to where they were at as of April 1st.”

Short noted the city is aware of three Anna Maria businesses currently selling CBD or hemp products, but there might be more.

The North Shore Café offers food and drink items made with hemp powder that contains trace amounts of THC. The Cool Beans AMI coffee shop sells CBD items in addition to its coffee, food, beverage and other offerings. AMI Beach & Dog Supply sells canine-grade CBD products among its many other offerings.

Mayor Dan Murphy said the plan is to contact every business that operates in Anna Maria and ask them if they’re carrying any CBD or hemp products. If so, they have until July 1 to register for the grandfathering provision. Murphy said the business owners will be given a copy of the resolution so they know what’s expected of them.

“I’m not going to make it burdensome,” Murphy pledged.

The city’s efforts to regulate CBD sales come at a time when additional CBD restrictions proposed by the Florida Legislature are still awaiting a final decision by Gov. Ron DeSantis. If the state decreases the allowed potency and THC content of CBD products, Anna Maria’s CBD grandfathered sellers must comply with the new state law.

Fences, visibility triangles, parking discussed

Fences, visibility triangles, parking discussed

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News.

ANNA MARIA – The Planning and Zoning Board is reviewing city regula­tions pertaining to fences located in street corner intersection visibility triangles and driveway intersection visibility triangles.

City Planner Ashley Austin and Building Department General Man­ager Dean Jones are assisting with these efforts.

VISIBILITY TRIANGLES

Section 90-2 of the city’s existing code of ordinances establishes street corner visibility triangles with the following language: “On a corner lot there shall be no parking or loading spaces, structure or planting, includ­ing trees, but not to include tree trunks where the tree branches are higher than 7 feet above the surround­ing grade, which materially obstructs the vision of vehicular traffic within 20 feet of the two intersecting street right-of-way lines measured from the intersecting corner of the rights-of-way involved.”

Fences, visibility triangles, parking discussed
Anna Maria city code includes this visibility triangle illustration. – City of Anna Maria | Submitted

Section 114-423 of the city code specifically addresses walls and fences, and the planning board recommends adding a text amendment to that sec­tion of city code that would allow solid fences up to 3 feet high, or 50% open, or transparent, fences 3-6 feet high, in visibility triangles. Transparent and partially transparent fences included rope and bollards, picket fences and split-rail fences.

Fences, visibility triangles, parking discussed
This is one example of a partially transparent fence. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

Regarding street corner plantings, city code says plant masses or structures below 3 feet in height, and structures or tree foliage, not includ­ing tree trunks, 8 feet in height are not considered obstructions.

Board member Dusty Crane said the combination of vehicles parked within 20 feet of the intersection, foliage and fences at the corner of North Bay and Poinsettia make it difficult to pull onto North Bay.

“We’ve had an issue with that before. We’ve had to put up some bollards to try to mitigate that,” Jones said, not­ing that additional ropes and bollards could be installed where needed.

PASS-THROUGH LOTS

The board discussed fence heights on some of the ‘pass-through lots’ located along North Bay Boulevard. Pass-through lots, also known as through lots, are non-corner lots in which a property’s front and rear lot lines both abut streets.

Fences, visibility triangles, parking discussed
Several pass-through lots exist between North Bay Boulevard and North Shore Drive. – Google Maps | Submitted

Between Bayfront Park and the Rod & Reel Pier, 10 pass-through lots abut both North Bay Boulevard and North Shore Drive. Some of those homes have front entrances and front yards facing North Bay and others face North Shore. Austin said pass-through lots are not prevalent in Anna Maria, but there are some others elsewhere in the city.

Fences, visibility triangles, parking discussed
Pass-through lots are allowed four-foot-high fences in their front and back yards. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

Crane noted at least one pass-through lot fence along North Bay Boulevard appears to be 6 feet high and she asked if that’s allowed. Board member Doug Copeland noted that 6-foot-high fences are allowed in the back yards, but Austin said the height limit is 4 feet on both the front and back yards for pass-through lots. Austin said she would look into that matter.

DRIVEWAY INTERSECTIONS

The board reviewed the existing code that addresses driveway intersec­tions and says, “At the intersection of a driveway with a street right-of-way line, there shall be no structure or planting, including trees, which mate­rially obstructs the vision of vehicular traffic within 10 feet of the intersecting street right-of-way line and the driveway pavement edge measured from both intersecting corners of the right-of-way and driveway involved.

Similar to corner lot landscaping, the code also says, “For purposes of this section, planting masses or structures below 3 feet in height, and structures or tree foliage, not to include tree trunks, 8 feet in height are not considered obstructions.”

Jones, who recently returned as a city employee, acknowledged he hasn’t studied that section of the city code in a couple of years but he believes street-side parking is prohibited within 10 feet of a driveway, and that would be a code enforcement issue.

Copeland said visitors and residents need to be made aware of the 10-foot parking prohibition because most people who visit Anna Maria don’t know about it. Jones said there are already approximately 798 signs in Anna Maria and the city doesn’t want to significantly increase that number by erecting additional signs that address the 10-foot parking rule. Jones said a sign could be placed at the entrance to the city and Copeland suggested ropes and bollards as a potential alternative to more signs.

Fences, visibility triangles, parking discussed
Parked vehicles, fences and foliage can impact intersection visibility. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

When the discussion ended, Austin said she would incorporate the board’s fence height and transpar­ency suggestions in a proposed text amendment to be discussed at the board’s June 26 meeting.

Candidate qualifying commences soon

Candidate qualifying commences soon

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria Island, Community News.

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – The candi­date qualifying periods will soon begin for those seeking election or reelection during the 2024 election cycle.

Anna Maria provides a two-week qualifying period. Bradenton Beach, Holmes Beach and Manatee County provide one-week qualifying periods. All city commission and may­oral terms on the Island are two-year terms.

Pre-qualifying

State law also provides pre-qualify­ing periods for candidates. According to Manatee County Supervisor of Elections Office Chief Deputy Sharon Stief, “The pre-qualifying process is set forth in Florida Statute 99.061(8): A qualifying office may accept and hold qualifying papers submitted not earlier than 14 days prior to the beginning of the qualifying period, to be processed and filed during the qualifying period. This is not new. Municipalities that piggyback onto the general election are able to pre-qualify. When the municipality has elections in off years, that provision is not in their charter.”

Form 6

Because of a new state law that took effect on Jan.1, municipal candidates seeking election or reelection to a mayoral or city commission office must, for the first time, file a Form 6 financial disclosure form that lists the candidate’s net worth, all income sources, all debts (except credit cards) and all tangible assets valued at more than $1,000. County commission candidates were already subjected to the Form 6 filing requirements. Learn more about the Form 6 requirements at the Florida Commission on Ethics website.

Anna Maria

The two-week qualifying period in Anna Maria begins on Monday, June 3 at noon and ends on Friday, June 14 at noon. The mayor’s seat currently held by Dan Murphy and the city com­mission seats currently held by Gary McMullen and Mark Short are up for election in November.

Anna Maria City Clerk LeAnne Addy said during the May 9 city commission meeting that the pre-qualifying period begins on May 27. Qualifying packets will be accepted at that time, but Anna Maria candidates will not be considered qualified until the qualify­ing period opens on June 3.

Bradenton Beach

The one-week qualifying period in Bradenton Beach begins on Monday, June 10 at noon and ends on Friday, June 14 at noon.

The Ward 2 commission seat currently held by Marilyn Maro and the Ward 3 commission seat currently held by Ralph Cole are up for election this fall.

Maro has not attended a commis­sion meeting in person in over a year but has attended several meetings by phone.

Holmes Beach

The one-week qualifying period in Bradenton Beach begins on Monday, June 10 at noon and ends on Friday, June 14 at noon. The mayor’s seat cur­rently held by Judy Titsworth and the city commission seats currently held by Dan Diggins and Greg Kerchner are up for election.

Manatee County

The one-week qualifying period for county candidates begins on Monday, June 10 at noon and ends on Friday, June 14 at noon. County offices up for election this fall include the District 1, 3 and 5 county commission seats, the at-large District 7 county commission seat, the offices of the supervisor of elections, the county clerk, the property appraiser, the tax collector and the sheriff, the District 1 and 3 school board seats and West Manatee Fire Rescue board seats 1 and 5.

Registration, party affiliation

Preceded by early voting and mail voting, the Manatee County primary election will conclude on Tuesday, Aug. 20. The deadline to register to vote in the primary, or to change party affiliation for the party-specific primary elections, is Monday, July 22.

Preceded by early and mail voting, the general election will conclude on Tuesday, Nov. 5. The deadline to register to vote in the general election is Monday, Oct. 7 and party affiliation doesn’t matter in a general election.

To register to vote or to change one’s party affiliation before the county primary, visit the “voter information” link at www.votemanatee.com or visit www.RegisterToVoteFlorida.gov.

For additional qualifying infor­mation regarding city and county races, contact the Supervisor of Elections office or the applicable city clerk’s office.

Island Players produce thrilling ‘Woman in Black’

Island Players produce thrilling ‘Woman in Black’

Written by Jason Schaffer on . Posted in Entertainment, Theater.

ANNA MARIA – Anyone who regularly attends performances by the Island Players is used to lighthearted comedies that have the audience in hysterics for a great deal of the time they are in their seats.

With performances of “Later Life,” “Farce of Nature,” “The Mousetrap” and “Communicating Doors,” the Players’ historic 75th season has offered plenty of what audiences are used to, until now.

The play that closed the season was definitely not a comedy, and was actually scary at times.

When telling ghost stories, Arthur Kipps’ (Tom Horton) children ask him to tell one of his own. Pushing him by saying, “Everybody knows at least one ghost story,” Kipps knows if he shares the tale he has to offer, it won’t be a story they want to hear, and he has no desire to share it at the time.

What Kipps does decide to do is share his horrific encounter with the supernatural with his friends and family on a theater stage, so he hires a professional actor to help him. While Kipps isn’t much of an actor in the beginning, the Actor (Mark Lennox) convinces him to play all of the characters besides himself in the story, while the Actor plays Kipps.

The play was adapted by Stephen Mattatratt from a novel by Susan Hill and directed by veteran director Kelly Wynn Woodland, who has well over 100 plays under her belt. While it wouldn’t fall under the horror genre, “The Woman in Black” is a fantastic ghost story that takes place in a creepy English manner that is only accessible at low tide due to its remote location just outside a small town, whose residents won’t go anywhere near it. Add in plenty of fog, deadly quicksand, some strange characters and a terrifying ghost (Tahlia Chinault) who manages to make the audience jump despite not having a single line of dialogue in the entire play, the audience was much quieter than at a typical Island Players production.

The show started almost lighthearted, but as it progressed, it became obvious things were turning darker by the minute, eventually leading to an ending that left the entire audience literally speechless. Even as the audience filed out of the final performance, the lobby was much more quiet than the average Players’ play, as guests were still processing what had just happened moments earlier.

There’s still time to catch one of the last shows of the season. “The Woman in Black” runs through May 12 with nightly performances at 7:30 p.m. and a Sunday matinee at 2 p.m. Both online and box office ticket sales are available at www.theislandplayers.org and 941-778-5755. Box office hours are Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and one hour before curtain on Sundays for will call tickets only.

CBD, hemp grandfathering status advances

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News.

ANNA MARIA – The city is one step closer to adopting a new ordinance that will grant grandfathering status for businesses that already sold CBD and/or hemp products as of April 1.

On April 25, a previously discussed city ordinance, Ordinance 24-923, was presented to the city commission on first reading. The second reading and final adoption of the ordinance is expected on May 9.

The ordinance amends Section 34-2 of the city’s code of ordinances, which currently prohibits the growth, distribution, or sale of marijuana, medical marijuana, or any product derived from the cannabis plant, including hemp and CBD.

According to the proposed amended ordinance, “The growing, processing, distributing and sale of marijuana within the city limits of Anna Maria is hereby prohibited. Marijuana shall be defined for purposes of this section to include all parts of any plant of the genus cannabis, whether growing or not; the seeds thereof; the resin ex-tracted from any part of the plant; and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of the plant or its seeds or resin, including but not limited to ‘low-THC cannabis,’ as defined in Florida Statute 381.986.”

However, the proposed ordinance includes new language that will provide grandfathering status for Anna Maria businesses that already sell CBD or hemp products.

According to the proposed ordinance, “Businesses with a business location in the city of Anna Maria – not to include mobile sales – that, as of April 1, 2024, regularly sold product that would otherwise have been prohibited shall be eligible to receive grandfather status to continue such sales, but not to increase the volume of such sales, in accordance with procedures set forth in a resolution to be adopted by the city commission.”

Anna Maria businesses that did not sell CBD or hemp products prior to April 1 will not be eligible for the grandfathering status.

The yet-to-be-presented city resolution referenced in the proposed ordinance will establish the specific procedures to be followed by those seeking the grandfathering status, including a registration process.

During the April 25 meeting, Mayor Dan Murphy said the city is currently aware of three Anna Maria businesses that sell hemp and/or CBD products. The North Shore Café sells food and drink items that include hemp powder with miniscule amounts of THC. The Cool Beans AMI coffee shop sells CBD products in addition to coffee, food items and other non-CBD products. AMI Beach & Dog Supply sells canine-grade CBD products.

Murphy said any additional busi­nesses that sold CBD and/or hemp products as of April 1 and want to continue doing so must notify the city soon and be able to prove those pre-April 1 sales.

The proposed ordinance notes, “Nothing in this ordinance shall be construed to allow the sale of any product, the sale of which is otherwise prohibited by Florida law as then applicable.”

City Attorney Becky Vose said this provision addresses the possibility that Gov. Ron DeSantis may soon sign into state law proposed state legislation that would further restrict CBD sales and the potency of CBD products legally sold in Florida. Vose said there’s a strong possibility that many currently legal CBD/THC products would be made illegal by the proposed state legislation.

As of April 27, the proposed CBD legislation created by Senate Bill 1698 and House Bill 1613 had not yet been transmitted to DeSantis to veto, sign into new state law, or allow to become new state law without his signature.

Related coverage:

City to grandfather existing CBD, hemp sales

Commission struggling with CBD regulation

Kapok tree relocated to Anna Maria

Kapok tree relocated to Anna Maria

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News.

ANNA MARIA – A large kapok tree now graces a residential construction site along the 700 block of North Shore Drive.

The new beachfront home is being built by Ross Built Custom Homes with Max Gazzo serving as project manager, Jake Ross serving as superintendent and Michael Gilkey serving as the landscape architect and landscape contractor.

Gilkey owns the Sarasota-based Michael A. Gilkey Inc. landscape architect and contracting firm that has clients on Anna Maria Island and other barrier Islands from Boca Grande to St. Petersburg.

Kapok tree relocated to Anna Maria
Michael A. Gilkey Inc. serves as the landscape architect for the ongoing residential construction project. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

Gilkey said the kapok tree now standing along North Shore Drive is 60 to 80 years old. It came from Pahokee, Florida, on the southeast rim of Lake Okeechobee, and is approximately 57 feet tall – as tall as it can be for transportation purposes.

Kapok tree relocated to Anna Maria
The transplanted kapok tree stands more than 57 feet tall. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

Extensive preparations preceded the tree’s recent relocation to Anna Maria.

“The tree has been being prepared for about three years for the move, with extensive preparations happening over the last six months,” Gilkey said. “Initial pruning started three years ago. Initial root pruning started three years ago. In the last six months, getting ready for transport, the majority of the heavy pruning took place. The day before the move, they cut the buttress roots, or the flared roots, off the tree and labeled and numbered them to the corresponding parts on the tree. The tree came on a separate truck from the roots. We got it on-site and pinned it all back together using large stainless-steel screws.”

Kapok tree relocated to Anna Maria
The kapok tree and its buttress roots were reconnected after arriving in Anna Maria. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

Gilkey said transporting the massive tree required permits from the Florida Department of Transportation and the Florida Highway Patrol, with escort vehicles accompanying the trucks transporting the tree and the tree’s root system.

“A crane and about 20 people were involved on-site with the planting and logistics to get it in. It was a massive effort,” Gilkey said.

Relocating the kapok tree was just the start of a lengthy and ongoing process.

“It’ll take about five years to get the canopy looking normal. We won’t trim it for the first year. The tree’s going to be using its leaves and branches for its health and nutrients, but after the first year we’ll start reducing the number of sprouts for the purpose of making strong connections,” Gilkey said, noting he’ll remain involved in that process.

“The tree will have an arborist overseeing its pruning twice a year for five years. Over time, you want to thin those new branches down from the 20 branches that may sprout to the most viable branches to make those strong connections,” Gilkey said.
When asked if kapok trees are common in this area, Gilkey said, “I wouldn’t say they’re common, but they’re out there. Selby Gardens (in Sarasota) has a real beautiful one people are probably familiar with and there’s a big one on the bayfront in St. Pete as well.”

Gilkey said transplanting this kapok tree was the result of the homeowners wanting to have some large established trees on their property.

Kapok tree relocated to Anna Maria
A mature kapok tree provides an extensive shade canopy. – Wikipedia | Submitted

“Over the years, I’ve planted several trees this size or bigger and we were able to accommodate them,” Gilkey said. “With new construction, a lot of times it’s hard to save existing trees on a site; and sometimes it takes five, 10, 15 years to get appropriate scale to a new house, especially a two-or-three story house. It’s cool to be able to plant trees that give you an immediate sense of scale. We’re able to give this house scale and context of landscape.”

According to Wikipedia, a kapok tree’s flowers provide nectar for bees and bats and an oil can be pressed from its seeds. The kapok tree is considered a sacred symbol in Mayan mythology and is considered a sacred tree in some religions.

Kapok tree relocated to Anna Maria
Kapok trees are among the most majestic tree species. – Submitted

Greg and Lee Ross own Ross Built Custom Homes. The couple have long been fixtures in the Anna Maria Island construction community and the Island community as a whole.

After noting the homeowners wish to remain anonymous, Lee Ross said, “She is in love with the home and the tree is his baby.”

Regarding Gilkey’s work, she added, “He is one of our go-to landscape designers. He’s very professional and always a pleasure to work with. The moving of this giant tree was as smooth as you could possibly expect it to be.”

City to grandfather existing CBD, hemp sales

City to grandfather existing CBD, hemp sales

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News, Featured.

ANNA MARIA – Businesses in the city that currently sell CBD and hemp products will be allowed to continue doing so with a soon-to-be-adopted grandfathering exception.

A city ordinance adopted in 2015 to prohibit medical marijuana dispensaries also prohibits the sale of any product made from the cannabis plant, including CBD and hemp products – even though Florida law allows CBD and hemp sales.

Anna Maria leaders want to allow limited CBD and hemp sales without allowing full-blown CBD stores like those legally operated in Holmes Beach and many other Florida cities.

City to grandfather existing CBD, hemp sales
Anna Maria City Attorney Becky Vose crafted the proposed grandfathering ordinance. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

On April 11, City Attorney Becky Vose presented newly-proposed Ordinance 24-293, which contains the following language: “Businesses with a business location in the city of Anna Maria – not to include mobile sales – that, as of April 1, 2024, regularly sold product that would otherwise have been prohibited shall be eligible to receive grandfather status to continue such sales, but not to increase the volume of such sales, in accordance with procedures outlined in a resolution to be adopted by the city commission.”

To receive grandfathered status, busi­nesses that currently sell CBD and/or hemp products will have to register those business activities with the city.

The city’s efforts to revise its CBD and hemp prohibitions began in February after Holmes Beach-based CBD vendor Mel Wendell was told she couldn’t participate in an arts and crafts fair taking place in Anna Maria.

City to grandfather existing CBD, hemp sales
The North Shore Café can continue using non-CBD hemp products. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

The North Shore Café owners then received a notice of violation for selling food and drink products made with a legal hemp powder containing trace amounts of THC. The Cool Beans AMI coffee shop owners received a notice of violation for selling CBD products. Those two businesses will be eligible for city commission-approved grandfathering exemptions.

City to grandfather existing CBD, hemp sales
Cool Beans AMI will be allowed to continue selling CBD products. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

When offering public input during the April 11 meeting, AMI Beach & Dog Supply owner Janalee Gallagher informed city officials that canine-grade CBD products are currently sold at her Anna Maria business. Gallagher was told she would also be eligible for the grandfathering exception.

The proposed ordinance has not been formally adopted yet and the accompanying city resolution that establishes the specific grandfathering rules and requirements is expected to be presented soon.

The commission previously rejected a proposed ordinance that would have limited CBD and hemp offerings to no more than 10% of a retail establishment’s total inventory. The commission felt the 10% threshold would be nearly impossible to enforce and would require an audit of the retailer’s entire inventory.

STATE LEGISLATION

Anna Maria’s efforts to amend its CBD regulations occur at a time when stricter CBD regulations proposed by the Florida Legisla­ture await transmittal to Gov. Ron DeSantis to veto, sign into new state law or allow to become state law without his signature.

On April 9, Vose sent the mayor and commissioners a copy of SB 1698 and a brief summary of the proposed state law that said: “It basically prohibits the sale of hemp-based products that create euphoric effects on people by putting caps on the amount of THC concentration in hemp-based products that can be sold. The publicity surrounding the bill seems to indicate that it will prohibit a large percentage of the products sold in CBD stores.”

The ordinance Vose presented on April 11 says, “Nothing in this ordinance shall be construed to allow the sale of any product which is otherwise prohibited by Florida law.”

On April 11, Vose also noted legalizing recreational marijuana statewide will be on the general election ballot this fall.

Related coverage: Commission struggling with CBD regulation

Disputed, then approved beach home being built

Disputed, then approved beach home being built

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News.

ANNA MARIA – Construction is well underway on Fedora Campbell’s new beachfront home at 105 Elm Ave.

Campell’s new home is being built in front of and seaward of the neighboring home at 107 Elm Ave. formerly owned by Wendy and Robert Jordan’s North Carolina-based WAJ Rustic Vacations LLC.

In April 2021, the Jordans purchased the $4 million beachfront home and property at 107 Elm that at the time offered a mostly unobstructed view of the beach and the Gulf of Mexico.

Disputed, then approved beach home being built
The home at 107 Elm Ave. used to have an unobstructed view of the Gulf. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

A few months later, after learning of Campbell’s plans to build a new beachfront home in front of their home, the Jordans launched a much-publicized, but ultimately unsuccessful, Preserve AMI opposition campaign that included a website and an online petition drive. The website and petition drive opposed the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) ruling that allowed for Campbell’s new home to be built seaward of the Coastal Construction Control Line, on a property that currently had no direct street access to Elm Avenue because the street ended at 107 Elm.

The Preserve AMI campaign also included signs placed along the beach walkway that encouraged Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy to “do the right thing,” even though the mayor had no legal grounds to overrule the FDEP permitting decision unsuccessfully challenged by a group of neighboring property owners, who were later joined by the Jordans in the dispute.

In June 2022, Campbell and her attorney, Kevin Hennessy, addressed the Anna Maria City Commission while seeking a right-of-way use permit that would allow Elm Avenue to be extended to connect to Campbell’s property at Campbell’s expense. Hennessey noted Campbell’s property was platted in 1912 and purchased by her father in 1925. Campbell, a Bradenton resident, said she began visiting Anna Maria and that family’s vacant beachfront property when she was about 2 years old.

The following month, after further review by FDEP, the city commission approved the right-of-way use permit that later allowed for the issuance of the other city-issued building permits needed to construct the new beachfront home.

Around that same time, the Jordans put their house and property on the market. In December 2022, the Ohio-based Depalma Corporation Inc. bought the 107 Elm home and property for $4.15 million and it’s now being rented as a short-term vacation rental.