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Another coconut palm falls on Bridge Street

Another coconut palm falls on Bridge Street

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

BRADENTON BEACH – One of the recently-planted coconut palm trees on Bridge Street toppled over onto the sidewalk during heavy rains on Sunday evening and city workers attended to it on Monday morning, according to Mayor John Chappie.

“The Chief (Interim Public Works Director and Police Chief John Cosby) has his guys out there this morning putting it back up and re-staking it,” Chappie told The Sun on Monday. “It had been staked but some of the stakes had disappeared.”

The tree is one of about 60 palms planted the week of April 24 on and around Bridge Street at the suggestion of developer Shawn Kaleta, who is planning to build a restaurant, hotel and shopping complex at Bridge Street and Gulf Drive.

The $50,000 tree project is a public-private partnership between the city and Kaleta’s Beach to Bay Investments LLC. The maintenance and liability for the trees are legally Beach to Bay’s responsibility under a contract signed by Chappie and Kaleta last month.

The fallen palm tree was located near 120 Bridge St. It appeared to have been uprooted with the complete root ball out of the ground.

“It’s possible that that’s because there’s a lot of rock in that area,” Chappie said, adding that M&F Lawn Care will be checking the tree to make sure it’s staked properly.

A smaller tree fell across the sidewalk on May 15 near the same location and another was leaning into Bridge Street on June 14.

“The little one near Sports has been hit by trucks,” Chappie said. “We may be taking that one out.”

At a June 5 Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) meeting, Chappie said that four or five of the smaller palms were leaning and didn’t appear to have a good connection with their root balls.

“Miguel (landscaper Miguel Mancera of M&F Lawn Care) assured us that he was guaranteeing everything that was planted,” Chappie said at that meeting.

Mayor accepts responsibility for misplacement of palms

Mayor accepts responsibility for misplacement of palms

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

BRADENTON BEACH – At the June 5 Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) meeting, Mayor John Chappie accepted responsibility for the Florida Department of Transportation-mandated removal of the newly planted coconut palm trees on Gulf Drive.

“I did make a mistake at the beginning when we had the 19 palms that were planted in the FDOT right-of-way and that’s all on me,” Chappie said.

The trees were planted the week of April 24 on the Gulf Drive South roundabout and traffic islands as part of a CRA-approved project that included Bridge Street. The $50,000 coconut palm project is a public-private partnership between the city and developer Shawn Kaleta’s Beach to Bay Investments LLC.

That portion of Gulf Drive South is a state road and falls under the jurisdiction of the FDOT. The city was notified by FDOT that coconut palm trees are not allowed on state roads due to safety concerns about visibility, along with falling fronds and coconuts.

“Darryl (FDOT Scenic Highway Coordinator Darryl Richard) was very kind and very efficient with trying to get ahold of us,” Chappie said. “Once he got ahold of us I was out of town for a week at the hurricane conference, but within 24 hours, I considered it an emergency situation that those needed to get out of the right of way because they were concerned that it doesn’t meet their standards.”

Chappie said the city would have to fill out a permit form and go through the FDOT process to plant in the traffic islands and roundabout.

“He (Richard) did say, the rule is four inches in circumference,” Chappie said. “The Alexander palms (which were previously in the roundabout) were four inches in circumference but apparently, 10 years ago or whenever it was, there wasn’t needed permission from FDOT to put them in. So my thought was on trying to replace those, they didn’t look very healthy and that’s all on me of course.”

According to Chappie, four of the 19 palms were taken back to landscaper M&F Lawn Care’s yard. Chappie said the trees may be relocated to Lou Barolo Park or the city police department.

Chappie said he will be meeting with Miguel Mancera of M&F Lawn Care and city attorney Ricinda Perry to determine what is needed to finish the project.

Chappie then spoke about the trees along Bridge Street.

“There were a total of 60 palms that have been delivered. We planted 56 palms on Bridge Street, on First Street and the pier dock area,” he said.

Chappie said that four or five of the smaller palms were leaning and didn’t appear to have a good connection with the root ball.

“Miguel assured us that he was guaranteeing everything that was planted,” Chappie said. “I talked to him yesterday. We need to get together to go over everything, to continue to do some of the beautification that we like.”

IRRIGATION PURSUED

Chappie brought up an irrigation system installation on Bridge Street which had received CRA approval for a cost of up to $7,500.

Police Chief John Cosby, who is currently serving as interim public works director following the resignation of Tom Woodard, weighed in.

“I don’t think the amount of money that’s budgeted is going to cover it,” Cosby said. “In order to run the line down the entire street on both sides we’re going to have to lift the bricks out of the crosswalks to put the pipe underneath it, otherwise we’re going to have to bore and boring is very expensive so that brick would have to be removed and the lines run so the whole street has irrigation. I don’t know that $7,000 is going to cover it but we’ll get some estimates and bring those back and we’ll go from there.”

MAYOR RESPONDS

At the June 6 city commission meeting, Chappie responded to press coverage of the city’s lag in producing a fully-executed agreement between the city and developer Shawn Kaleta ensuring Kaleta’s assumption of responsibility for newly-planted coconut palm trees on Bridge Street.

The Sun’s news coverage included a timeline of events, including emails from the city, that showed that a signed agreement for the coconut palms between the city and Kaleta was not in place until May 28 – more than a month after the trees were planted the week of April 24. The Sun also published two editorials criticizing the process and the project.

Chappie did not name The Sun and did not refute any of the facts in the stories.

“As everybody knows, we’re five people up here and we are a weak mayor form of government, we are equal, and we assign people to oversee on certain projects,” Chappie said. Ricinda (City Attorney Ricinda Perry) has gotten the brunt of a lot of projects to do and unfortunately has gotten a lot of the brunt of the criticism.”

Editorial: Signed palm tree agreement better late than never

Written by Sun staff on . Posted in Editorial, Opinion.

The now-signed maintenance, indemnification and hold harmless agreement for the flawed Bridge Street coconut palm tree planting project lists April 1 as the project commencement date, which fittingly coincides with April Fool’s Day.

But Mayor John Chappie and the city’s witness, City Clerk Terri Sanclemente, didn’t sign and fully execute the agreement until May 28 – nearly two months after the listed commencement date.

On May 15, City Attorney Ricinda Perry told The Sun a “signed agreement” existed but a copy couldn’t be provided until Sanclemente returned from vacation on May 28. Local developer and project partner Shawn Kaleta might have signed the agreement on behalf of his Beach to Bay Construction Limited Liability Corporation in mid-May, as Perry’s emails indicate, but the agreement wasn’t legally enforceable until Chappie and Sanclemente signed it.

We appreciate Sanclemente promptly providing a copy of the fully executed agreement upon her return. We thank her for acknowledging that she and Chappie signed the agreement that day and for providing additional project-related documents and answers to our questions. Sanclemente did her job, while others associated with the project failed miserably.

Of the 70 coconut palms planted on and around Bridge Street, one already fell on a Bridge Street sidewalk and 22 others were removed from Gulf Drive South and replanted elsewhere along Bridge Street because FDOT doesn’t allow coconut palms and their falling coconuts and palm fronds along state-owned roads. Bradenton Beach leaders apparently don’t share similar safety concerns about city-owned Bridge Street.

During the month-long gap between the plantings and the mayor’s signature, would the city have been solely responsible for any palm tree-related deaths, injuries or property damage that occurred before the agreement became legally binding?

The Perry-drafted agreement includes indemnification language designed to protect the city from project-related lawsuits. An indemnification clause doesn’t prevent the city from being named in a lawsuit. It simply means the city can try to recoup its lawsuit-related losses from Kaleta and his roster of attorneys. That’s a risky proposition for a city financially desperate enough to sign over control of city-owned assets in exchange for shared project costs.

Perry and her elected accomplices are taking liberties with taxpayer assets that might get them removed by shareholders if they sat on a private sector board of directors. A misguided tree-planting project isn’t the worst sin a local government can commit, but the city attorney shouldn’t be leading the lackadaisical mayor and commissioners by their noses in her efforts to broker questionable public-private partnerships.

This fiasco prompted some Sun readers to call for Perry’s termination and Chappie’s resignation. Neither of those scenarios are likely, but maybe the light shined on this botched affair will cause all involved to think twice before pursuing another partnership with Team Kaleta.

Palm tree landscaper awaiting payment from city

Palm tree landscaper awaiting payment from city

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

BRADENTON BEACH – Since April 24, Miguel Mancera’s landscaping crews have been busy laying stone, planting and, in some cases, removing and replanting multiple coconut palm trees on and around Bridge Street.

Mancera, the owner of M&F Lawn Care in Bradenton, sent an invoice to the city on April 19 for a $25,000 down payment toward the $50,000 cost of the trees and landscaping work, and as of May 30, he said he has not received payment.

“I have payroll to meet every week,” Mancera said, adding he has 12 employees. “They haven’t paid me yet. I called Ricinda (City Attorney Ricinda Perry) and she is supposed to talk to Thompson (City Treasurer Shayne Thompson).

Mancera said he paid for the stone and trees out of pocket in anticipation of payment by the city.

“I don’t know the exact amount, but it cost more than half (of the $50,000),” he said. “There was more than 20 yards of rock, so that was $6,000 just for the rock.”

M&F Lawn Care was hired by the city to plant up to 80 coconut palm trees on and around Bridge Street, as well as to lay white river rock.

The tree planting project is a city partnership with developer Shawn Kaleta. According to the city clerk, Kaleta made his agreed-upon donation of $10,000 toward the project on April 10.

Palm tree landscaper awaiting payment from city
Some of the coconut palm trees that were removed from Gulf Drive South were replanted along the approach to the Bradenton Beach Pier. – Leslie Lake | Sun

Mancera, who has done work for both the city and Kaleta, said he had been contacted by Perry and Kaleta for the tree project.

“They called me up and I met them a couple of times on Bridge Street so they could show me where to plant the trees,” he said.

On May 24, Mancera’s crews were back to remove what he said were 22 of the coconut palms that they had planted in the roundabout and traffic islands of Gulf Drive South as part of the project.

The trees were removed after the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) informed the city that coconut palms were not allowed on state roads due to safety concerns about sight lines along with falling palm fronds and coconuts. That section of Gulf Drive South falls under the jurisdiction of the FDOT.

“We took out 22 trees and we replanted 18,” Mancera said. “Some were replanted on Bridge Street, some in front of the parking lot at the Pines Trailer Park and some along the pier across from the oyster restaurant (Anna Maria Oyster Bar). I don’t know about the other four.”

The city clerk sent The Sun a copy of the April 19 M&F Lawn Care invoice which showed a total cost of $50,000 for the landscaping and planting of the palm trees. M&F had requested a $25,000 down payment which was due within 30 days or subject to a 1.5% late charge.

The invoice was marked with a handwritten: “OK to pay. JRC (Mayor John Chappie’s initials).” The city clerk confirmed by email on May 30 that payment had not been made.

Editorial: Signed palm tree agreement better late than never

City releases signed coconut palms agreement

Editorial: Palm trees and other shady endeavors

FDOT: Wrong trees, wrong place

Expert outlines optimum coconut palm maintenance

Signed palm tree agreement remains elusive

City releases signed coconut palms agreement

City releases signed coconut palms agreement

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

BRADENTON BEACH – The fully signed agreement between the city and developer Shawn Kaleta for the maintenance of the coconut palm trees on and around Bridge Street was signed by Mayor John Chappie on May 28 and placed into the public record that day.

That comes more than a month after the trees were planted the week of April 24 in a public-private partnership between the city and Kaleta.

On May 29, City Clerk Terri Sanclemente provided The Sun with a copy of the agreement signed by Chappie, Kaleta – as Beach to Bay Construction LLC manager – and Sanclemente as witness. The Sun made multiple requests for the document beginning on May 6.

The maintenance, indemnification and hold harmless agreement in a public-private partnership between the City of Bradenton Beach and Kaleta, through his LLC, designates responsibility for the tree maintenance to Kaleta and indemnifies the city in the event of injury or damage from the trees.

Public-private partnerships between cities and developers are unique to Bradenton Beach among the three Anna Maria Island cities.

Both Mayor Dan Murphy of Anna Maria and Mayor Judy Titsworth of Holmes Beach responded to The Sun’s email asking if either city had partnered with a private entity for city projects.

“If you define a public-private partnership as a “capital improvement project with the city getting dollar funding from a developer” the answer is no, we have had none that I can recall during my tenure of 10 years as mayor. I don’t think we’ve ever had a developer give us any money for a project,” Murphy wrote.

Titsworth wrote, “We have not, to my recollection.”

The partnership with Kaleta for the palm trees’ maintenance and indemnification was approved unanimously on April 3 by the Bradenton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA).

At that meeting, City Attorney Ricinda Perry assured CRA members that the agreement would be signed by Kaleta prior to the trees being planted.

CRA member Jan Vosburgh expressed concern about the trees’ safety and maintenance.

“I believe everything the city does should be as maintenance-free as possible,” Vosburgh said. “It sounds to me like we’re making a nightmare for the city and the businesses.”

Ultimately, following assurances by Perry that a signed agreement would be in place, Vosburgh voted to approve the agreement, making it a unanimous vote.

In addition to Chappie and Vosburgh, Deborah Scaccianoce, Marilyn Maro, Ed Chiles and Chair Ralph Cole make up the CRA.

OUT OF ORDER

It is unclear when Kaleta signed the agreement.

The city clerk provided The Sun a copy of the receipt for the April 10 $10,000 payment from Kaleta, but based on correspondence between City Attorney Ricinda Perry and Kaleta’s attorneys, it does not appear that he signed the agreement prior to the planting of the palm trees the week of April 24.

On April 25, Kaleta attorney Sean Kelly sent an email to Perry that said, “Shawn asked me to finalize this agreement for the coconut palms on Bridge Street. Will you please send me the Exhibit A site plan and the dollar amount for the CRA’s contribution? Then I can update the document and have Shawn sign. Thanks!”

On May 9, Perry sent an email to Kelly copied to Kaleta that said, “Good morning. It took me a bit to find a way to document in a ‘site plan’ the palms and to make sure we knew exactly where Miguel was planting everything. I ended up flying my drone and then inserting stars where palms are located with a description for areas that have multiple palms at or near an address.” “Miguel” refers to Miguel Mancera, the owner of M&F Lawn Care, Inc., the company that planted the palm trees, who has not yet been paid for his work (see story, page 9).

On May 14, Kaleta attorney, Rainier Altiere, sent Perry an email that said, “Here is the completed maintenance agreement. The only thing missing is the start date. Please provide me with that and let me know if this is OK for us to have Shawn sign.”

On May 15, Perry sent Kaleta, Kelly and Altiere an email that referenced an unnamed limited liability corporation (LLC) Kaleta intended to use as the CRA’s project partner and the party responsible for maintaining the coconut palms for the next 30 years.

“This corp (corporation) named in the document was set up at the end of last month. Is it just a ‘shell company’ with no assets or insurance to cover the harm/damage caused by a falling coconut? At a minimum, the company will need an insurance policy naming the city that actually covers damage caused by the coconuts. I can’t just have a piece of open (missing word) with no actual protection for the public. Ideas?” Perry wrote.

On May 15, The Sun emailed Perry requesting a copy of the fully signed and fully executed agreement. In her May 15 response, Perry wrote, “There is a signed agreement. The clerk is out of the office and can provide further documents upon her return.”

On May 29, Perry sent an email to Sanclemente and Chappie that addressed the date Sanclemente and Chappie signed the agreement.

“Contracts have counterpart signatures that most always have differing dates – hence the reason contracts ALWAYS state an effective date. The effective date controls contracts. In this instance, I always stated that the effective date would be when the date trees were being delivered. The city did not pick nor write the date but found the effective date to be acceptable and within the approval of the CRA. Standard contract law. Feel free to forward to anyone needing legal contract law information,” Perry wrote.

The effective date of the agreement is April 1, which is two days before its approval by the CRA at its April 3 meeting. The city did not respond to The Sun’s request for an explanation of the earlier effective date.

“The city of Bradenton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) has approved a CRA beautification project on Bridge Street to be installed at a cost not to exceed forty thousand and no/dollars ($40,000) to be paid for by the CRA and ten thousand and no/dollars ($10,000) to be paid for by the Sponsor (Kaleta). All trees installed in this beautification project shall be maintained at the sole cost of Sponsor,” the agreement states.

The agreement will be in place for 30 years with options to renew every 10 years.

According to the signed agreement, “Sponsor shall at its sole cost and expense maintain the permitted installation in good condition. The city makes no warranties or representation of any kind regarding the suitability of this public property/right-of-way location for the proposed installation.”

The signed agreement includes indemnification language that states, “As consideration for use of the city’s public property to install coconut palm trees, the Sponsor (Kaleta) shall at all times, at its expense, hold harmless and indemnify the city, its officers, employees, agents, elected and appointed officials, and volunteers from and against any and all claims, demands, liens, liabilities, penalties, fines, fees, judgments, losses and damages whether or not a lawsuit is filed, including, but not limited to claims for damage to property or bodily or personal injuries, including death.”

The indemnification language also states that Kaleta is responsible for any costs, expenses and attorney fees associated with a claim or lawsuit associated with the coconut palm trees.

According to the Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, “To indemnify, also known as indemnity or indemnification, means compensating a person for damages or losses they have incurred or will incur related to a specified accident, incident or event. Typically, parties make a written agreement in which one party promises to indemnify the other party for future specified losses.”

On May 31, The Sun received a copy of Kaleta’s proof of insurance with $1 million in liability per occurrence for personal injury, $5,000 for medical expenses per person, $100,000 damage to rented premises and $2 million general aggregate coverage. The policy expires on Sept. 9.

The insured is listed as Beach to Bay Investments, 102 48th St., Holmes Beach and the producer of the policy is Gulf Insurance, LLC, 301 Manatee Ave. in Holmes Beach.

The Sun has requested an updated site plan since the location of some of the trees has changed due to their FDOT-mandated May 24 removal from Gulf Drive South, a state road.

As of May 31, that site plan has not been received.

According to the maintenance, indemnification and hold harmless agreement Exhibit B, Kaleta’s company is responsible for: “Removing fronds, fruit, seedpods and fruit stalks carefully without damaging the trunk or fronds that are to be retained. All coconut fruit must be removed once it produces on the tree.”

The guidelines continue, “Pruning will be required a minimum of two times a year on municipal property and rights-of-way to manage the hazards of falling coconuts and fronds and to minimize the risk to persons and property within the fall zone.”

People on the Anna Maria Island Sun Facebook page had plenty of comments about the palm trees and the agreement.

Wendy Holcomb wrote, “Not a good idea EVER to put coconut trees where pedestrians walk and vehicles drive.”

Richard Becker wrote, “All this over a palm tree. It’s not about the palm tree, it’s about the politics.”

“Indemnify means to ‘make right again’ not ‘protect,’ so if the city lost a case, Team K would have to pay them back, the settlement ck (check) has to come from the defendant,” Susan Paxton wrote.

According to recent city Scenic WAVES committee meeting agendas, the CRA board did not request a preliminary project review from the city commission-appointed committee

The Scenic WAVES committee acts as the commission’s advisory board on proposed landscaping and beautification projects.

Related coverage:

Editorial: Signed palm tree agreement better late than never

Palm tree landscaper awaiting payment from city

Editorial: Palm trees and other shady endeavors

FDOT: Wrong trees, wrong place

Expert outlines optimum coconut palm maintenance

Signed palm tree agreement remains elusive