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City releases audio of Cushing suspension

City releases audio of Cushing suspension

Written by Leslie Lake on . Posted in Bradenton Beach, Community News.

BRADENTON BEACH – The city has released a Jan. 22 audio re­cording from the meeting between Mayor John Chappie and former Building Official Darin Cushing in which Cushing was suspended from the city’s service.

Cushing met with City Attorney Ricinda Perry and Chappie, in part, regarding comments he had made on social media regarding his permit approval of the Drift-In tiki bar.

Perry said that Cushing was aware that the conversation was being recorded.

The city had been at odds with Cushing over his approval of the Drift-In tiki hut. The city main­tained the permit should not have been issued and that the project had to be classified as a “major development” due to the tiki’s size.

In one Facebook comment, Cushing wrote, “I pretty much call ******** on the whole cockamamie affair! It was approved adminis­tratively and needed no more than that. But others aren’t getting their way (or that property) so I’m being asked to pull back my approval and force the owner to go through a ridiculous set of processes. Well, I am not taking this laying down, nor is the owner Derek (Williams). My job is actu­ally in question over this and other things. I can’t afford not to work, unlike others involved. So, when it all hits the fan, be prepared to get some on your face!”

In the recording, Cushing said, “I feel like I’m being railroaded. I think there’s something going on. I don’t know what it is. If you want to railroad us out of here, then railroad us out of here. I’ll leave today. For some reason somebody doesn’t want me here and a lot of people in this town will say just the opposite. They’ll back me up 100%. They do like how I operate this building department, and I don’t know what’s going on after 18 years with the same contract, but now we need to reevaluate? That doesn’t make any sense to me. Makes no sense to me one bit, whatsoever. It sounds squirrely. Something’s up.”

Cushing was employed on a contractual basis in Bradenton Beach since January 2024 through a city contract with M.T. Causley, a subsidiary of SAFEbuilt. Fol­lowing the suspension from the city, Cushing’s employment was terminated by M.T. Causley.

According to Longboat Key media reports, Cushing had been termi­nated as building official in 2017 for undisclosed reasons after two years as that city’s building official.

Cushing’s LinkedIn account shows that he was the Deputy Chief Building Official for the City of Palm Coast; Building Code Administrator-Construction Educator for SAFEbuilt for eight years beginning in 2017 and Senior Project Manager for Michael K. Walker and Associates for seven years beginning in 2017.

Cosby responds to Cushing allegations

Cosby responds to Cushing allegations

Written by Leslie Lake on . Posted in Bradenton Beach, Community News.

BRADENTON BEACH – Police Chief and Public Works Director John Cosby responded at a Feb. 20 commission meeting to allegations made by former Building Official Darin Cushing that he was pres­sured to approve permits by city staff.

“Cushing is claiming that certain staff members, or the whole team, that he was being pressured into approving major developments or homes,” Cosby said, adding that he spoke on behalf of senior manage­ment staff, not the mayor or city attorney. “There was nothing to approve. The building department was not accepting any plans or any permits of that caliber.”

“We in some way had a build­ing moratorium that was never approved by anybody because we were not issuing anything and we were not accepting anything for review,” he said.

Cosby said the allegations rep­resent the first time his character been called into question in his years in Bradenton Beach.

“The thing that I’m most upset about, I have been here for 37 years. My integrity has never, ever been called into play,” Cosby said. “This man has made accusations that he was being forced to do things that don’t exist. The bad part about this is he knows they don’t exist, because he’s the one that told them, the clerks, to put things on the back burner.”

The city never got information they requested from Cushing about numbers of permits completed or in the queue, he said.

Cosby said the city found inaccu­rate permits and permitting clerks said they had received no guidance from Cushing.

Cosby said Cushing approved permits for air conditioning units without the state-required elevation in flood zones, and those approvals are now causing turmoil among contractors.

“We could see that there was a problem,” Cosby said. “We kept asking him if he needed help and he responded that everything was under control.

“At every meeting Mr. Cushing would state that this was supposed to be his retirement job and he shouldn’t be working this hard,” Cosby said. “One day he made that comment, and I said maybe we should get a new building official.”

Sandpiper, Pines Trailer parks

After the hurricanes, Cushing told the emergency staff that the trailer parks were uninhabitable, because of FEMA guidelines, they had substantial damage and “had to go.”

Cosby said he looked at mobile homes at Sandpiper Resort Co-op.

“Water had come in through the door and all they had to do was mop up the water,” Cosby said. “This didn’t seem right to me.”

“They’re considering selling because they’ve been told that it’s done,” Cosby said. “I thought we needed to reevaluate this, so we did.”

Cushing and Steve Gilbert, the retired city building official called back into service by the city, took another look, Cosby said.

“Cushing then said the Sand­piper was “good to go,” so the city started the process of issuing letters that they could repair their trailers under the 50% rule,” he said.

“He told us the same thing in the beginning, about the Pines, ‘It’s no good.’ He brought up the FEMA rule,” Cosby said. “He said no, we can’t move forward with this.”

Cosby said he asked Cushing to get that message to Pines residents.

“Then we had the meeting at city hall. The people from the Pines came,” Cosby said. “The next day he tells city staff, ‘Everything is OK, we’re going to say that they’re not substantially damaged.’ ”

Cushing declined to comment.

Related coverage:

City outlines ‘deficiencies’ in Cushing’s work

 

Former building official alleges pressure to condemn properties, threats

Letter to the Editor: Drift-In owners appeal to governor for help

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

Gov. DeSantis,

My wife and I own a small business in the city of Bradenton Beach located on Historic Bridge Street on Anna Maria Island in Manatee County. As we headed into 2025, we hoped to celebrate the business’ 100th anniversary with our loyal patrons and visitors to the area. Unfortunately, the hurricanes last fall had a huge impact on our area. Our building sustained some minor damage and together with the city’s building department we set out to repair and reopen expeditiously.

The business, known as “The Drift” or Drift-In AMI LLC, is a local Island dive bar once owned by New York Yankee George Herman “Babe” Ruth. The property/building and parking lot (two parcels) are also owned by us separately, 1715 Ventures LLC. My in-laws owned the business since the late 1990s but due to each of their recent cancer treatments, my wife and I stepped in and purchased the property in 2021 and business in 2022.

With the direction of city officials, we began the process of cleanup and repair immediately. Daily we consulted with the city’s Building Official and Code Enforcement as the process for permitting was dislocated temporarily. We were directed to create a “narrative” and scope of work. Using resources immediately available, we created concept drawings to review with officials and acquired engineered drawings. Most importantly, we were given a permit and proceeded forward.

What has unfolded since that time stinks of government overreach, corruption, property right violations and the tarnish of my family’s good name. As natives of Bradenton, Florida and lovers of the ‘Old Island Charm’ that once was AMI, we are highly disgusted by the actions of local government. From last minute meetings, vague agendas, guarding of questionable easements not used in decades to special titles given to the city’s independent contractor workforce so that contractor can be paid “FEMA dollars;” the same contracted city worker who set up a Florida not-for-profit corporation with the largest developer on Anna Maria Island, and to that same person presenting biased information to commissioners that rule on the fate of our business. We are fed up, sadly disappointed and frustrated to the extent that I write this letter to you for IMMEDIATE ACTION.

Please help us, as we have over 15 employees looking to get back to work. It looks to the public, the local media and patrons that our officials are covering their tracks and hastily running over anyone in their path. We love our state, our community and our businesses. We are asking for justice and transparency.

Derek and Helena Williams

Bradenton Beach

 

Ed. note: The Drift reopening has been stalled by ongoing permitting issues with the city that will be addressed during two city meetings on Thursday, March 6.

Public speaks out in favor of Drift-In reopening

Public speaks out in favor of Drift-In reopening

Written by Leslie Lake on . Posted in Business, Restaurants | Bars.

BRADENTON BEACH – Despite approval for the tiki hut construction at the Drift-In by recently-terminated Building Official Darin Cushing, the city has put the project on hold and determined that a major development hearing is required for the structure.

That hearing is scheduled for Thursday, March 6, first with the Planning and Zoning Board followed by a city commission meeting later that evening.

At a Feb. 6 city commission meeting, employees and owners of the Drift-In spoke in support of its reopening and some criticized the city’s process.

“I’m the owner of the Drift-In. I bought that business not for the money, but I didn’t buy it to develop it, I didn’t buy it to tear it down. I experienced what these people are saying, it’s a family,” Derek Williams said. “We’re closed right now, if I open in April, season is over. I went to your building official from day one and I followed every step from Steve Gilbert to Darin Cushing. He wasn’t the only one looking at my stuff – your city planner, your code enforcement, your experts came in my building every single day.

“There was a comment two meetings ago that you had a comment that you had spoken to my general contractor and your minutes say ‘a general contractor’,” Williams said. “I’m going to challenge you to listen to the audio. You’ve never spoken to my general contractor. I’m not a cheat, I’m not a scapegoat and I’m not going to sit back and be smeared like this and it’s affecting my whole life and my family.”

Williams said he’s not looking for litigation, but instead is looking for ways to work with federal (FEMA) rules that the city is obligated to follow to preserve its flood insurance rating.

“But I did what your people told me to do and now I’m sitting here and I am bleeding,” Williams said. “Every day that goes by it’s getting worse and worse. Give us a chance. I’ve reached out to the governor (See Letters to the Editor on page 6), I’ve talked to every legislator. I’ve talked to county commissioners, I’ve talked to senators, I’ve talked to city commissioners… I want to put a spotlight on Bradenton Beach and it’s time for us to fix this.”

Williams’ letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis reads in part: “We were given a permit and proceeded forward. What has unfolded since that time stinks of government overreach, corruption, property rights violations and the tarnish of my family’s good name.”

Doreen Flynn, manager of the Drift-In, read a letter she wrote to Mayor John Chappie.

“When I read The Sun, I was so disillusioned to read that everyone thought the city was trying to help get the businesses back open. To have this city back to what it was before hurricane.”

She said the Drift-In employees have been struggling to survive since September’s Hurricane Helene, which flooded most of Bradenton Beach.

“The employees of the Drift-In are struggling to pay their bills. They have rent, they have kids, they have car payments, they have mortgages. They have maxed out their credit cards and can’t pay them,” Flynn said. “You cannot live on $275 a week unemployment.”

She said not only employees are impacted by the closure, but also musicians, beer and liquor salespeople, truck drivers and cleaning people.

“It’s very sad that you can’t depend on the city to help us, but I’m asking you to please help us get back open asap,” Flynn said.

“It is a sad situation what we’re going through,” Chappie said.

PUBLIC SUPPORTS DRIFT-IN

Mike McConnell, a musician who plays at the Drift-in, called the bar a special place that is a destination for a lot of people.

“I expect our government should help people. Let’s get their doors open quickly,” Gina Mariani said. “When hurricanes hit, I thought your job was to help alleviate the red tape and help our businesses open as quickly as possible. It seemed like the person that was hired by you was doing just that. Then it seems like he was overridden by you through no fault of the Drift-In. Please stop scrutinizing the little guy while letting others on this Island get away with anything they want. We had a catastrophic event and instead of trying to bend a little you seem to throw roadblocks in,” Mariani said.

Kelly Flynn said the entire community is affected by the Drift-In being closed.

“I’ve worked for the Drift for over a decade,” Heather McNeal said. “They do nothing but amazing things for the community. It’s very important that we get the doors open, for a small business to lose money daily this time of year, it’s not good at all. I know you’re going to do the right thing.”

“How do we get them back in business?” Commissioner Ralph Cole asked following public comment.

“The meeting has been set with Planning and Zoning and once that goes through, it will come to the city commission,” Mayor John Chappie said. “We have to follow our procedures, we have no choice. We have to follow the guidelines from FEMA.”

FEMA review may jeopardize flood insurance, buildings

FEMA review may jeopardize flood insurance, buildings

Written by Leslie Lake on . Posted in Bradenton Beach, Community News.

BRADENTON BEACH – The city’s National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) insurance rate discounts, the ability to obtain flood insurance, and even some buildings may be in jeopardy after FEMA reviews the building department’s post-hurricane procedures, according to City Attorney Ricinda Perry.

“We’ve been flagged,” Perry said at a Feb. 6 city commission meeting.

Perry said she had a call from FEMA and the Florida Divi sion of Emergency Management in which she was asked “why we are letting our city run afoul of all the regulation s that FEMA puts out there in our floodplain requirements.”

“I did have a meeting with FEMA, and whether we like it or not, we have to deal with FEMA and it’s excruciating,” Perry said. “But they came in and they sat down, as they explored the city’s records, they discovered there are substantial problems here that under the prior building official, there were no standard operating procedures. That’s red flag number one. Red flag number two was they could not believe how much of the community was not determined to be substantially damaged.”

Perry said she was told there were major red flags on 76 properties.

“He also said that he drove around and saw way too much construction activity going on without placards, seeing materials and felt that there was no enforcement by the building department on unpermitted work,” she said.

After examining city building department records, FEMA is expected to review about 200 permits that were issued since Hurricanes Helene and Milton devastated the city in September and October 2024, and any work that was verbally approved by the former building official will have to be reviewed, she said.

Building Official Darin Cushing was suspended by city commissioners and terminated earlier this month by his employer, M.T. Causley, which contracts with the city for building services.

The city is in the process of replacing him, Perry said.

“What it means, is, anything that we allowed that we should not have allowed, whether it was by mistake of the building official and something that he did in the field, whether it was by errors or omissions by not having an SOP (standard operating procedure), or following it to a ‘t,’ whether it was somebody doing something and we didn’t catch it, FEMA has the right to tell us we have to tear that structure down,” Perry said.

Under the FEMA 50% rule, if 50% or more of the value of a building is damaged by a storm, it must be repaired in compliance with FEMA rules, which may require demolishing a ground-floor building and rebuilding it one story higher.

FLOOD INSURANCE AT RISK

The city could also be removed from the NFIP’s Community Rating System (CRS), which could affect insurance discounts and even the ability of city residents and business owners to obtain flood insurance.

Bradenton Beach is one of approximately 1,500 communities nationwide that participates in the CRS, a voluntary incentive program that recognizes floodplain management practices that exceed the minimum requirements of the NFIP. In communities that comply with CRS policies, flood insurance premiums can be discounted from 5% to 45%.

“What I want to avoid is going through an audit and that is what Lee County went through, and it did not go well for them,” Perry said. “It is something we cannot afford financially. Our staff cannot handle it. We do not have the budget for it, but more importantly, if we fail, our community will lose the ability to have flood insurance.”

Without flood insurance, some residential and commercial property owners with mortgages could be required by their lenders to pay off their mortgages early.

In November 2024, Lee County, Ft. Myers Beach, Estero, Cape Coral and Bonita Springs received FEMA letters following Hurricane Ian notifying those municipalities of potential probation from the NFIP based on the need to correct identified deficiencies or violations in their floodplain management programs.

“As a flood insurance policyholder, you are receiving this letter as an advanced notice that if your community is unable to correct the identified deficiencies or violations, if will be placed on probation from the NFIP,” the FEMA letter to the Lee County municipalities states in part. “As of April 1, 2025, you will lose any discounts you are receiving through the CRS. If your community is placed on probation, it may not rejoin the CRS program for at least two years after being removed from probationary status. Further, if your community does not address identified deficiencies or violations, it will be subject to suspension from the program.”

Bradenton Beach could possibly face similar sanctions.

“FEMA’s review indicates the city of Bradenton Beach’s processes demonstrate potential serious program deficiencies that do not meet substantial damage administration requirements,” according to the FEMA Feb. 1 email.

“Addressing these areas will help ensure the city of Bradenton Beach’s substantial damage and post-disaster permitting process meet the NFIP’s minimum requirements,” the Feb. 1 FEMA email to the city states. “As the city of Bradenton Beach progresses with recovery and permitting efforts, please ensure the permitting documentation reflects the established validation process. This will promote the consistent application of the substantial damage and substantial improvement procedures and facilitate any future reviews of documentation. Rescinding higher standards, or failure to enforce those adopted in your regulations, may reduce community rating systems, policy discounts and result in a CRS class downgrade.”

“The good news is if we take steps to correct it, they’re going to be satisfied and they are not going to come down and destroy our community, which they could, with the ability to get flood insurance,” Perry said.

Cushing told The Sun he was reserving comment at this time.

He posted the following in part on The Sun Facebook page, “I was 100% following FEMA Guidelines, and they are just that, guidelines. I also executed my authority as the Licensed Building Official of Record and Floodplain Manager for the Community. They have no idea what the FEMA guidelines even are. There is something else behind all this, and everyone knows it!”

City commission discussing building department restructuring

Commissioners discuss restructuring building department

Written by Leslie Lake on . Posted in Bradenton Beach, Community News.

BRADENTON BEACH – Following discussion at a Jan. 16 city commission meeting about a possible restructuring of the city’s building department, commissioners decided to meet on Tuesday, Jan. 28 for a work meeting on the subject.

The city has been at odds with Building Official Darin Cushing over his issuance of a permit for the Drift-In tiki structure on Bridge Street.

“Right now, we are currently under a contractual agreement with SAFEbuilt to provide a building official and planner,” Mayor John Chappie said. “This is opposed to the way it used to be with a department head as employees of the city.”

Chappie said over the years, the system of contracting has worked out for the most part, but said he would like commissioners to evaluate the return of the building department positions to the city.

“The past four or five months have been very challenging as we all know,” Chappie said, citing the importance of having department heads at emergency team meetings.

Cushing serves as the city’s building official with Luis Serna as land planner. Both are contractual roles.

Commissioners approved a contract for Cushing on Jan. 18, 2024 as city building official  following the Dec. 15, 2023 retirement of former building official Steve Gilbert. Cushing has been a licensed building official since 2005.

“There’s some differences that need to be addressed so that we can function a lot better for our community and our property owners,” Chappie said. “There’s been some concern and bumps in the road that made it a little more challenging than it needed to be at times. I want to set up a work meeting so we can take action and discuss the overall functions of the building department and the comparisons to actually having an employee.”

City Attorney Ricinda Perry noted that as a contractor, Cushing does not have the same authority over the building department as a department head.

“There’s this whole reassessment of what is working and what isn’t working and how do we properly supervise the department,” Perry said. “You need somebody who has that authority under the employee handbook. I will tell you by state statute the building official is the chief code enforcement officer for a municipality.”

She said the hurricanes magnified weaknesses and also shed some light on the strengths of an independent contractor.

“This department is under a tremendous amount of demand right now, a very high level of demand and that department is under tremendous strain. They are in our next phase of recovery and a critical component for getting permits turned around so people can return to their normal life,” Perry said. “It is also critical for turning over the properties that are damaged and are being redeveloped or rebuilt for purposes of getting those properties back on the tax rolls.”

Prior to the November return of Gilbert and the arrival of a team of 20 inspectors provided by the state to assist with damage assessments, Cushing had been tasked with evaluating the damage to hundreds of storm-affected homes citywide since Hurricane Helene on Sept. 26.

Perry asked the commission to assess whether the city needs more resources or restructuring to go back to an employee scenario.

“We need to get information from you as to what you need and solve the problem, but I agree with the mayor that a separate work meeting is needed at this point, it’s critical,” Perry said.

“I believe this is something that needs to be discussed and addressed,” Commissioner Deborah Scaccianoce said.

Commissioner Scott Bear asked what the expectations are from those under contract.

“Prior to the meeting we’ll look at their contract to see what services they’re supposed to be providing,” Bear said. “That would help us understand what we’d want from any employee as well.”

A work meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 28 at 9 a.m. at the Katie Pierola Commission Chambers, 107 Gulf Drive N.