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Mike Alexander is now serving as the Bradenton Beach building official. - LinkedIn | Submitted

Bradenton Beach has a new building official

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

BRADENTON BEACH – Bradenton Beach City Clerk Terri Sanclemente has confirmed that Mike Alexander is currently serving as the city’s building official. 

Alexander is a contract employee with the Tew & Taylor firm that previously provided the contracted building official services of Rob Perry. Alexander started working with the city on April 30 and has been issued a city email account. As of Tuesday, May 19, Alexander had not yet been formally introduced during a public city meeting, and Perry’s departure had not been publicly discussed. The commission meets next on Thursday, May 21, at noon.

On April 16, the Bradenton Beach City Commission reached consensus to advertise for the potential hiring of a full-time, city-employed building official. The commission spoke positively about Perry’s job performance but expressed concerns about the cost of the contracted building department services being provided by Tew & Taylor. At some point after that meeting, Perry’s working relationship with the city was discontinued.

According to Alexander’s LinkedIn profile, he served as the full-time building official for the city of Port Richey from Feb. 2023 to Aug. 2024; and while working at SAFEbuilt, he was the contracted building official in Port Richey from June 2022 to Feb. 2023. 

According to a Suncoast News story published at the Tampa Bay Beacons’ website on Aug. 21, 2024, Alexander resigned as the Port Richey building official on Aug. 30 after tendering his resignation to the city manager on Aug 16. According to the news story, Alexander resigned because he felt he could no longer effectively perform his duties due to the mayor’s alleged interference with the enforcement of building codes. 

Alexander served as a building inspector for Hillsborough County from Dec. 2018 through Nov. 2020.

Bradenton Beach seeks in-house building official

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

BRADENTON BEACH – The city of Bradenton Beach hopes to hire a full-time in-house building official. 

On April 16, the city commission reached consensus to advertise the full-time city employee position.

Since in-house official Bill Palmer resigned on Jan. 21, the city has utilized the contracted building official and building department services provided by Rob Perry and the Tew & Taylor firm that employs him. 

“Right now, we have consultants,” Mayor John Chappie said during the April 16 meeting. “I’ve talked to Rob about it. In talking with staff, we think it’s best to just go ahead and advertise for a building official who would be an employee of the city; and by being an employee of the city, would also be the department head.”

As department head, the building official would oversee the building department staff, including the code enforcement officer and the permit clerks. The in-house building official would also be responsible for the building department’s annual budget. 

“We have a smart guy here. Why are you trying to get rid of him?” Commissioner Robert Talham said. 

“You’re misconstruing what I’m saying,” Chappie replied.

Commissioner Robert Talham questioned the desire to replace the currently contracted building official. – Leslie Lake | Sun

“The first option I see is go ahead and put it out and advertise for someone,” Perry told the commission. 

“I’ll be here when that building official goes on vacation. I can bring inspectors here. I can help with plan review and assist the city. I want the best for the city,” Perry said.

Perry said Tew & Taylor would, or could, remain under contract to provide the city with additional building department-related services.

Perry said the second option would be Tew & Taylor taking over the city’s building department on a fee-sharing basis. Perry said Tew & Taylor would staff the building department and retain 85% of the permit fees paid to the city. The remaining 15% would go to the city.

“The city would have no expenditures. We’re paying for our own insurance. The city doesn’t have to worry about a thing,” Perry said. 

“You’re doing a great job, but just looking at your invoices from January 1 until March 30, we’ve spent $71,000. That’s one quarter (of the year),” Commissioner Scott Bear said. “Not that we didn’t get good work, but I think we have to explore looking for a building official. We will still need some of your resources for plans review, but we can’t sustain $280,000 for the building department.”

Police Chief and Public Works Director John Cosby, right, weighed in on Rob Perry’s building department proposal. – Leslie Lake | Sun

Police Chief and Public Works Director John Cosby expressed his concerns about continuing to contract the building official’s duties, and with Perry’s revenue sharing proposal. 

“Let’s say we get to the end of the contract and he pulls out, or we pull out. Then there’s nobody in that department,” Cosby said. “We need to have our own staff so we can maintain the quality work that’s being done and make sure the citizens and the businesses get the service they need. And the only way you’re going to do that is if you control it. 

“The other problem is at some point the city’s going to be built out,” Cosby said. “There may not be enough building fees coming in to support the full staff that Rob’s talking about. We may see that the building department has to be reduced in size in order to meet the fact that the major developments are no longer with us.” 

Commissioner Ralph Cole said he favored the city attempting to hire an in-house building official.

“The consensus is we want to throw the line out and see what we can catch as far as a building official who would be an employee of the city,” Chappie said.

If an in-house building official isn’t found, it’s expected that Perry would continue serving as a contracted building official employed by Tew & Taylor.

The city also recently issued a request for proposals seeking the services of an in-house city planner who would replace former city planner Luis Serna.

Commission discusses building official’s hurricane recovery availability

Written by Leslie Lake on . Posted in Featured.

BRADENTON BEACH – City commissioners sought and received reassurance from contracted Building Official Rob Perry that he would be fully available to the city if hurricane recovery services are needed in the future. 

“How well are we going to be served as a community?” Mayor John Chappie said during a building department work meeting on March 31. “We got stuck in a bad situation and had contract labor and they did not have the personnel to really support our community in a time of crisis.”

Perry is employed by Tew & Taylor, and that firm has a contract with the city to provide the city’s building department services. 

Chappie asked Perry what process the company has in place to provide help in an emergency situation. 

“I would get with Emergency Operations,” Perry said. “I’ve done this before.” 

Perry said he previously did disaster recovery work as a contractor.

“I would set up a small team here in the building department,” Perry said. 

Chappie said, “I don’t ever want to go through hurricanes where I’m making phone calls, or our attorney is making phone calls, to neighboring cities asking, ‘Can you help us out?’ I want an assurance that Tew &Taylor will be there for our city when we get hit.”

Following the 2024 hurricanes, the city did reach out to Holmes Beach for assistance with building department services. 

City Attorney Erica Augello asked Perry how many other jurisdictions he currently serves as a Tew & Taylor staff member. 

“I’m just here,” Perry said. 

“You would be required to be actively participating. You might not be an employee, but you would be required to work those hours, obviously at your hourly rate,” Augello said. 

Perry said he and one of his employees would help with damage assessments following a hurricane. He said a team of two people could conduct building assessments in three days.

“The bottom line is we had a contract building official who said he doesn’t work weekends or overtime,” Commissioner Scott Bear said. “During the middle of the hurricane recovery, that’s what we needed; so we’re trying to make sure that we’re going to have a building official available during hurricane recovery.”

“I wouldn’t do that to you,” Perry said. “I will be here helping you out, if it’s seven days a week, 24-7. It’s not just the building department. This is a whole team effort.” 

Bear said he would like something in writing that’s enforceable. 

“We’ve already got the first amendment (in the Tew & Taylor contract) to appoint Rob as the building official for the city. We can do a second amendment that will include disaster services or a higher volume of services as needed,” Augello said. 

Chappie said he was satisfied with that. 

“Let’s put something in writing to give you confidence and peace of mind,” Perry said. 

Commissioner Debbie Scaccianoce noted that the two major back-to-back storms in 2024 were unprecedented. 

“We need a building official that’s going to be present and working,” she said.

Augello pointed out that as a contractor – according to city code and the city charter – the building official employed by the city is considered a department head. 

“A contracted person cannot be a department head,” she said. “He’s not an employee of the city. There’s something that needs to be contended with: Rob’s supervisory capabilities.”

Augello noted that in other jurisdictions, contracted building officials walked off the job following hurricanes because they found more lucrative opportunities elsewhere.

“Those jurisdictions were left in the lurch,” she said. “If you have an in-house building official, you have a little more control with a full-time employee.” 

She said both are valid options that can work. 

“I need you to understand what the legal landscape might look like to make your best decision,” Augello said. 

Chappie then said, “We want to move forward with Rob and come up with something to amend the contractual agreement. We’re headed into a hurricane season and we need to get as much confidence in the services that will be provided as we possibly can.”

Perry said Tew & Taylor has about 45 employees, but he will be providing the services for Bradenton Beach.

“I think we’re all in agreement that Rob and Erica will be working an amendment and come back to the city commission as soon as possible,” Chappie said. 

During the work meeting, it was announced that Luis Serna will no longer serve as the city planner for Bradenton Beach. Perry said Serna accepted another job with a large company.

Chappie said the city already issued a request for proposals seeking a new city planner. City Clerk Terri Sanclemente said the city received responses from seven candidates. The city commission will determine which, if any, of those candidates serves as Bradenton Beach’s next city planner.

City responding to Cushing lawsuit subpoena 

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

BRADENTON BEACH – City Clerk Terri Sanclemente and City Attorney Erica Augello are handling the city’s response to a subpoena Sanclemente received as part of the civil lawsuit former Building Official Darin Cushing filed against his former employer, SAFEbuilt Florida LLC. 

While serving as the city’s building official, Cushing was a contractual employee for SAFEbuilt Inspections. M.T. Causley is a subsidiary of SAFEbuilt and the city had a contractual agreement with M.T. Causley to provide building official services.

Bradenton Beach is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit Cushing’s attorney filed with the 12th Judicial Circuit Court in Bradenton on May 7, 2025.

The subpoena sent to Sanclemente on Jan. 26 requested records pertaining to Cushing’s job description, performance reviews, disciplinary actions, complaints and all documents pertaining to the termination of his employment. Because Cushing was not a city employee, the subpoena does not seek employment applications and documents related to his hiring.

During the March 19 city commission meeting, Sanclemente said she had received the subpoena from Cushing’s attorneys.

“He is suing SAFEbuilt, so I have completed all of those documents and sent them over to Erica to review; and when she’s done, she does the submittal,” Sanclemente said.

The city temporarily suspended Cushing’s contractual services on Jan. 22, 2025. Following the suspension, Cushing’s employment with SAFEbuilt was later terminated.

Cushing’s suspension centered around his permitting approval for the Drift-In bar’s tiki hut structure, as well as for various social media posts he made. The city maintained the Drift-In permit should not have been issued and the project should have been classified as a “major development” due to the new tiki hut’s increased size. Cushing has maintained that the permit was issued properly. 

Cushing has alleged that his employment status with the city was threatened for not complying with what he characterized as “illegal and unethical” requests to provide favorable treatment to a local developer. City officials denied those allegations. 

Cushing’s lawsuit complaint alleges he was “unlawfully terminated because of his whistleblower actions in refusing to participate in illegal activities and reporting violations of laws, rules and regulations in violation of his rights under the Florida Private Whistleblower Act.”

A court date for Cushing’s requested jury trial has not been scheduled and the preliminary legal filings continue.

City commission approves acting building official

Written by Leslie Lake on . Posted in Featured.

BRADENTON BEACH – Following the Jan. 21 resignation of Building Official Bill Palmer, city commissioners held a special meeting on Jan. 27 and appointed Robert Perry, of Tew & Taylor, as acting building official for up to six months.

“With the unfortunate resignation of the building official, we are presently without a building official,” City Attorney Erica Augello said. “The city is under contract with Tew & Taylor. They do have several options, and they’ve sent someone here today who could act as the acting building official.”

Augello suggested commissioners put a time limit of six months on the appointment. 

“That way, you could determine whether you want to hire another in-house building official, or if you would like to continue with this person as your contracted building official. It’s completely up to you,” she said. 

Commissioner Ralph Cole asked if the city could try to find a permanent building official during the time Tew & Taylor is under contract.

“If you decide you want to have a full-time employee like Mr. Palmer was, then the commission could go ahead and interview people and hold public meetings,” Augello said. “You would then appoint a building official via your charter and the appointed acting building official would step down.”

She noted the contract with Tew & Taylor would remain in place for building department services.

“There is a difference between someone who can act like a building official and someone who is an appointed building official,” Augello said. “Every city can only have one appointed building official. While Bill (Palmer) was unable to perform some of those services, they did pick that up. But, if he had to make any determinations on ordinance passages or interpretations of the building code or your land development code, Tew & Taylor didn’t have the authority to do that because they weren’t the building official.”

Mayor John Chappie suggested discussing the options further at the next city commission meeting on Thursday, Feb. 4. 

Perry then spoke to the commissioners

“We’re catching up pretty quickly,” he said. “There are a few people working around town without permits, so we’re going to get that tightened up. There’s a lot of unlicensed work that’s happening right now that we’re tightening up on, so the plan is maybe stop by job sites, check permits and check licenses and insurance.” 

Perry said a team of three people will be working for the city: a full-time plans examiner, an inspector and himself.

“I think Bill was so busy in the office he couldn’t do all the hurricane damage,” Perry said. “It was just too much.”

Perry said he used to work the entire west coast of Florida for 3 ½ years and is familiar with small building departments up and down the coast. He suggested the commission consider a contract where Tew & Taylor manages the building department, as has been done in other cities. 

“Another thing I want to mention is that we do building department services,” Perry said. “We do certain contracts where we take over the whole building department and then we do a 90/10 split where we take 90% of the fees and 10% goes to the city for admin use.” 

He said his company would handle permit fees and scheduling. 

“What we’ll do is we come in, perform those services and it’s hands-off; it’s an enterprise fund. No money comes out of the city,” Perry said. “It’s pretty much like having your own building department but you don’t have to worry about the fees coming out the general fund. In my opinion, a building department enterprise fund is the way it should be run.”

“Just know that we can help you with that if you want to go that way,” he said. “Or, if you hire somebody here, we can just supplement you on as needed basis. I’ll help you find somebody. I’m not here to make every dime I can. I’m just here to help you try to run this place properly. “

City commissioners unanimously approved a motion to appoint Perry to serve as acting building official for a period not to exceed six months.

Palmer lays out timeline for permit backlog

Palmer lays out timeline for permit backlog

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

BRADENTON BEACH – Bill Palmer, the city’s new building official, began work on March 5 and has laid out a timeline for the order of business as he steps into his new role.

“My initial focus as building official will be reviewing the permits we have in backlog for storm-related repairs so people can get back into their homes and then work on new construction permits,” Palmer wrote in an email to The Sun. “Once that is all caught up, I plan to review the building depart­ment forms and checklists. After that I plan on creating standard operation procedures (SOP) for the department.”

The city is under FEMA review for its post-hurricane practices under previous Building Official Darin Cush­ing, including the absence of standard operating procedures.

“Bill Palmer is doing a lot of reviews. He’s moving things through as quickly as humanly possible,” Mayor John Chappie said at a March 6 city com­mission meeting. “He’s doing a great job.”

Palmer lays out timeline for permit backlog
Hurricane Helene badly damaged this Bradenton Beach home. – Leslie Lake | Sun

Palmer has issued 38 permits, mostly storm-related, he said.

“There are 143 total uncompleted applications,” Chappie said. “So when a project is brought forward by an applicant, they have a big application and they have to fill out a lot of things that have to be done to make an appli­cation complete. If it’s not complete, it doesn’t go to the building official. All of the applications that are sitting in the queue right now, everyone has been emailed telling them what needs to be done. It doesn’t go anywhere until it’s a complete document so the building official can review it.”

Chappie said that Palmer has requested that the city continue to pay M.T. Causley, the contract employer for the previous building official, for a few more weeks to assist in reduc­ing the backlog, which is nearly all hurricane-related.

“We all talked about the overlap that’s going to be necessary with M.T. Causley as we make the adjustments, as he goes through these plans reviews and these permits that are backed up to get things done,” Chappie said. “He’s competent. He knows his stuff.”

“He hasn’t issued any new construc­tion permits so far, and once he gets caught up, he wants to review the building department forms and checklists, then he will be starting on SOPs, which is one of the things that the department never had by the previous building official or officials,” he said.

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 attorney explains Cushing suspension

City attorney explains Cushing suspension

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

BRADENTON BEACH – In a Jan. 24 letter, City Attorney Ricinda Perry outlined the city’s reasons for the Jan. 21 suspension of Building Official Darin Cushing and is asking his employer to provide a replacement for the city.

The letter, which was addressed to Matthew Causley, president of M.T. Causley, was shared by email with city officials and The Sun. M.T. Causley is a subsidiary of SAFEbuilt Inc. and provided Cushing’s contractual building official staffing to Bradenton Beach.

The city’s reasons for what Mayor John Chappie characterized as Cushing’s “temporary suspension,” center around the Building Official’s approval of a permit for construction of a tiki hut structure at Drift-In on Bridge Street as well as various social media posts.

According to Perry’s letter, “The project at issue was for the Drift-In located on two parcels at 120 and 122 Bridge St. The project on the 120 Bridge St. parcel consisted of an outdoor structure that Mr. Cushing determined was a Chickee Hut, exempt from the Florida Building Code pursuant to Section 553.73 (10) Fla. Stat. He approved the structure with the following notable issues:

1. 450% larger (24’x54’) than the prior structure (13’x15’+3’ overhang);

2. Decreased parking spaces that were previously part of the site;

3. Allowed the replacement structure to be placed back into an easement granted to the City; and

4. The “Chickee Hut” contained non-wood features such as nails, screws, a concrete floor, outdoor bar, stage area, as well as electrical and plumbing work incorporated into the structure.

These proposed improvements fall outside of the Section 553.73 (10) exemption.”

On Jan. 21, Mayor John Chappie and Perry met with Cushing. Perry’s letter states that Cushing was asked about the intent and purpose of public comments he made on social media and said that instead, Cushing redirected the conversation to the tiki hut permit.

According to Perry’s letter, Cushing stated at that meeting: “I’m out. I’m requesting to be out of here. I want to tell SAFEbuilt to send another different building official here. They’ve already got a position for me elsewhere. So, it’s because now it feels like a hostile working environment.”

At that point, the letter states that Chappie advised Cushing he was suspending his service and would be contacting M.T. Causley for a replacement building official.

The city commission approved Cushing’s contract as building official on Jan. 23, 2024. He has been a licensed building official since 2005.

Cushing declined to comment on Perry’s letter.

Perry’s letter cited the following reasons for Cushing’s temporary suspension:

ULTRA VIRES ACT (ACTING OUTSIDE THE SCOPE OF AUTHORITY)

“The city is of the opinion that the issuance of an administrative development approval to Drift-In, for the installation of a structure that Mr. Cushing deemed to be a Chickee Hut, as exempted by Florida Statutes, was improperly categorized as such, and should not have been approved until a major development hearing was conducted by the Planning and Zoning Board and City Commission.”

Perry wrote that Cushing’s administrative approval of the structure was outside the scope of his authority, and he failed to adhere to the municipal laws in the city’s Land Development Code.

According to an exhibit attached to Perry’s letter, Cushing stated in a social media post, “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.”

DISREGARDING DIRECTION FROM MAYOR

“Mayor Chappie proactively advised Mr. Cushing to refrain from issuance of any permits immediately following the approval of a demolition permit for the property at 122 Bridge, because of active legal discussions between the city attorney and the attorney for the Drift-In,” the letter states.

The letter states that Cushing issued the administrative development approval without informing anyone in the city.

“Upon seeing redevelopment work and repairs at the Drift-In on Dec. 13, 2024, Mayor Chappie immediately contacted Mr. Cushing by phone and in writing to advise him of a number of concerns that he had in order to protect the city stating, ‘“[t]he Cities [sic] Land Use Right and the Drift-In’s Land Use Rights must be protected, and proper policy and procedures must be followed. The City must operate in accordance with the policy mandates of the Commission. All proper documentation must be in place to protect the city from any FEMA issues and the Cities [sic] easement issues must be addressed by the commission prior to any additional work.”

A copy of the written notice from Chappie was attached to the letter.

“Mr. Cushing disregarded all advice given by Mayor Chappie,” the letter states.

FAILURE TO ADHERE TO PROCEDURES AND NOTICE TO REVIEWING AGENCIES

Perry’s letter stated: “The failure to notify any of the reviewing agencies i.e. WMFD (West Manatee Fire District) violated the procedures of the Building Department and came at a cost to the property owner. Mr. Cushing did not provide any information nor the plans for review to the West Manatee Fire District (“WMFD”), the City of Bradenton Beach Police Department, nor the City of Bradenton Beach Public Works, as required in the approval process.”

“During a 12/19/24 Commission Meeting where an update was provided on the Drift-In matter, a directive by the city commission to notify WMFD was directed to Mr. Cushing, who made the following statement: “I know the Fire Marshal is aware of the situation, but I will bring this new information to him today and see if he needs to put an approval on it. However, during the WMFD meeting a month later on 1/14/25, Chief Rigney and Fire Marshal Kwiatkowski stated that they learned of the Drift-In project through social media and had not been provided any municipal notice, nor a copy of the permit application. The Fire Marshal was obligated to red tag the property and found that the thatched roof was in violation of the standards and regulations promulgated by the District. Accordingly, the new roof would have to be removed and replaced with synthetic thatched materials, which may have been avoided with notice to WMFD.”

According to a social media post attached to Perry’s letter, Cushing had written, “I will take ownership of not routing to WMFR, but the Fire Marshal and I immediately had a conversation about it and agreed on a game plan. Then he came out and red tagged it, at whose direction? The whole thing stinks to me… I may be wrong… but I’m usually not.”

FAILURE TO ADHERE TO AND PROTECT THE INTEGRITY OF FEMA/FLOODPLAIN POST-STORM EVENT

“The cessation of securing a permit for property improvements/repairs at 120 Bridge St. violates a number of policies of the City, the Land Development Code, and, in light of the post-hurricane floodplain/FEMA compliance, likely violated the substantial damage and substantial improvement procedures,” Perry stated in the letter.

“As noted by the Fire Marshal on 1/14/25, the second structure located at 122 Bridge St. had undergone extensive renovations including electrical, plumbing, restroom reconfigurations, windows, doors, concrete, painting, flooring, HVAC work. No permit was required by Mr. Cushing for any of the work until a meeting with WMFD, wherein the City Attorney and the WMFD Fire Marshal requested for one to be applied for and reviewed by the Building Department and the appropriate agencies,” Perry’s letter states. “As directed by FEMA Floodplain Management and Insurance Specialist, Braydon Williams from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, every single improvement to any property, including minor repairs such as repainting an interior wall, triggers the need in a post-storm event for a permit in order to properly and legally capture substantial damage and substantial improvement matters. Failure to do so is grounds for non-compliance and audits.”

SOCIAL MEDIA

“The actions of Mr. Cushing to engage in salacious social media postings with slang profanity terms is improper and harmful to the City of Bradenton Beach. The City is aware of no less than half of a dozen comments on social media that contained factual misstatements, made declarations adverse to the best interest of the City, incited the public against the City, and made statements that could be taken as threats against the City ‘[s]o when it all hits the fan, be prepared to get some on your face!’,” Perry’s letter states.

She stated that one additional posting by Cushing pending his temporary suspension casts a negative light on the City of Bradenton Beach.

“I requested the assistance of Paul Featherston to address any written or verbal statements by SAFEbuilt, M.T. Causley or its agents that could be defamatory in nature with the public or press. We would again emphasize the importance of maintaining a level of professionalism that does not negatively impact the reputation of the City or SAFEbuilt/M.T.Causley,” Perry stated in the letter.

Featherston is the West Coast/Central Florida Regional Operations Manager at SAFEbuilt.

THE CITY’S REQUEST FOR REPLACEMENT BUILDING OFFICIAL

“Mayor Chappie has contacted Mr. Featherston each day this week since Mr. Cushing has left the service of the city and has been advised that options are very limited,” Perry’s letter states. “Time is of the essence—especially in the aftermath of the two storm events that greatly impacted our community. If SAFEbuilt is unable to provide the services needed and contracted for by the city, please advise immediately.”

Bradenton Beach hires new building official

Bradenton Beach hires new building official

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

BRADENTON BEACH – A new building official has been hired following the Dec. 15 retirement of Steve Gilbert.

Commissioners approved a contract for Darin Cushing on Jan. 18 as city building official for an initial probationary six-month period.

“I have been a licensed building official since 2005,” Cushing told the commission. “I started doing this in Bradenton for five years, and was a building official in Longboat Key. I worked at Manatee County and was a construction project manager at Coquina, the pavilions and concession stands.”

Cushing worked for SAFE-Built inspection services throughout Pinellas County as well as Palmetto for the past year.

When Gilbert was getting close to retirement, he expressed interest in the position.

“I look forward to serving the city as well as Steve did,” Cushing said. “If it was just building code, it’s the same throughout the state. All these little municipalities I work with are all different. I’ll learn it as I go along.”

“Since he has a contract with SAFE-Built, he is not an employee,” Mayor John Chappie said. “So we have to go through another step to grant him the ability to sign some things and do some things that Steve did for us.”

SAFE-Built provides building department services nationwide.

“The city found it was more cost-effective to go with an independent contractor situation,” City Attorney Ricinda Perry said.

Perry said Cushing will have supervisory duties over the department.

The commissioners unanimously approved a motion to “Direct Cushing to supervise the building department and its personnel in the same capacity as the former building official on a probationary period for six months and to authorize the mayor to take any action necessary to effectively administer building department services, including any modification of the probationary period up to and including making the supervision permanent.”

Cushing introduced new permit technician Annabre Veal to the commissioners.

“She’s doing a great job,” Cushing said.

Veal is a Manatee County native and has been with the city since September 2022.

Commissioners Jan Vosburgh and Ralph Cole were in attendance at the Jan. 18 meeting. Commissioner Marilyn Maro attended by telephone.