If you want to know why you’re starting to analyze traffic patterns so you can plan your trips to the supermarket, doctor’s office and Trader Joe’s, here’s the reason. During 2018, Sarasota and Manatee counties had more closed sales, an increase in overall inventory and a rise in median prices compared to 2017.
Sarasota single-family median home prices increased by 5 percent to $282,500, and Manatee single-family median home prices increased by 1.9 percent to $300,475 from 2017. Sarasota median condo prices increased by 3.2 percent to $232,300, while Manatee median condos increased by 5.8 percent to $190,500.
Meanwhile, the volume of single-family home sales in Manatee increased by 7 percent and in Sarasota, the increase was 0.5 percent. Condo sales in both counties as reported by the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee, recorded the highest number of sales over the last 10 years. Sarasota increased by 8.1 percent and Manatee increased by 11.1 percent.
These are great numbers especially when you look at them compared to last year’s sales number as reported by the National Association of Realtors. Nationally, last year was the weakest for home sales since 2015 with buyers pulling back because of rising mortgage interest rates, a shortage of starter homes and a volatile stock market. However, the February home sales of previously owned homes nationally were up 11.8 percent, the largest monthly gain since 2015, obviously due to the lowering of mortgage interest down to 4.28 percent in March from 5 percent at the end of last year.
Let’s take a look at Manatee County’s February closed sales reported by the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee:
Closed single-family sales were up 4.8 percent, the median sale price was down slightly by 0.5 percent to $298,500 and the average sale price was up 2.6 percent to $389,119. Median time to sell was 97 days up a little from 93 last year and the month’s supply of available properties was 4.5 months – no real change.
Condo sales were down, closed sales were down 14.9 percent, the median sale price was down 11.4 percent to $189,000 and the average sale price was also down by 10.9 percent to $227,849. Median time to sell was up to 101 days from 94 and the number of months supply of available properties was up to five months.
Keep in mind these types of statistics are a snapshot in time and there are a variety of things that can influence sale prices and sale numbers in any given month. It’s the overall picture for a sustained period of time that really tells the story, and the year over year story for Manatee and Sarasota Counties is spectacular.
The months of March and April traditionally experience the most closed sales, so I look forward to when those numbers are compiled before we head into our slower summer season. That said I may have to revise that statement down the road since there doesn’t ever seem to be a slow season anymore.
It goes without saying that Florida’s Gulf Coast is one of the most beautiful areas in the country.
We have beaches, sun, culture, low taxes and great choices when it comes to purchasing a home. And what comes along with all that is more people, more cars and overbooked restaurants, even Sarasota Airport is reporting a 35 percent increase in traffic during February this year, but would you change anything?
BRADENTON – Fit Crew Bradenton and Reveal Vitality are forming a partnership which will allow the businesses to offer the next level of health and fitness. By offering professional nutrition counseling through Fit Crew and state-of-the-art scans and diagnostics through Reveal, the companies are able to better serve their clients and help them reach their health goals in a cost-effective, time-efficient and convenient manner.
“We have shared a passion for health and fitness for over nine years as well as the belief that most chronic illnesses stem from a lack of education regarding proper nutrition,” Reveal Vitality Founder Christopher Davis said. “After seeing that we had multiple mutual clients in our respective businesses, we recognized the incredible potential to truly elevate the health of our clients by combining our services.”
Currently, the partnership includes nutrition counseling, personal training, DEXA body composition and visceral fat measurement, circumference measurements, VO2 max and metabolic rate assessment, IV nutrient therapy, Ketone level measurement, and hormone balance evaluation and treatment. The businesses offer more comprehensive solutions to chronic health concerns and issues and allow individuals to enjoy optimal health without many of the current medications that are prescribed to treat symptoms rather than underlying root causes.
For more information about the partnership and upcoming public seminars – or to schedule an appointment – please email info@fitcrewbradenton.com or info@revealvitality.com or visit them online.
Reveal Vitality is a wellness and functional medicine practice with the mission of educating and empowering every individual to live a life of optimal health and wellness through nutrition, education, hormone balance, fitness and permanent weight control programs.
Reveal was founded by Davis, a triple board-certified integrative interventional cardiologist with a passion for educating and empowering individuals to take control of their own health by teaching simple lifestyle changes that have been overlooked by our medical establishment for years. He firmly believes that our bodies were designed to heal themselves given the proper nutrition.
Operating since 2010, Fit Crew is the collaborative effort of Niels Renzenbrink and Andrew Terman. Located at 608 19th Ave. W., Fit Crew is the largest independently-owned gym in Bradenton and offers a wide variety of group classes such as HIIT interval training, strength and conditioning, cardio, stretching, Olympic weightlifting, and youth classes – as well as personal training and nutrition counseling.
BRADENTON – When Chief Tom Sousa retires from the district in October, West Manatee Fire Rescue will have a new chief in Battalion Chief Ben Rigney.
When Sousa announced his early retirement from the district, board members decided to open the position first to internal candidates before considering allowing non-district employees to apply. Out of that first round of searching, one internal candidate emerged – Battalion Chief Ben Rigney. During a March 19 meeting, commissioners voted unanimously in favor of appointing Rigney as Sousa’s successor as fire chief, contingent upon contract negotiations with board Chair David Bishop. The terms of the contract will be brought before the board at a future meeting.
Commissioner Larry Jennis, who headed the selection committee, recommended the board do away with the final phase of the application process, presenting a short oral presentation to the board. Jennis said that with Rigney having already presented to the board numerous times there was no reason to ask him to do it again, something his fellow commissioners agreed with.
Rigney’s appointment to the fire chief position will be effective upon Sousa’s retirement, expected Oct. 17.
Commissioner Randy Cooper said he feels that Rigney is well qualified for the position and has good ideas to move the district forward in the future. “I’m looking forward to working with him,” he said.
“I think he’ll make a fine chief,” Commissioner George Harris said.
“I’m very pleased with the candidate,” Commissioner Al Robinson said.
For his part, Sousa said he’s very pleased with the choice of Rigney as his successor. “The district’s in great hands so everything’s going to work out great,” he said.
“I’m very excited,” Rigney said of the opportunity to be WMFR’s chief. “I’m very excited to work with the district and to further the goals of the missions of the department.”
BRADENTON – West Manatee Fire Rescue commissioners had a full agenda for their February board meeting.
The group met Feb. 19 at the administration building to discuss the future of the fire district.
Retirement and succession
With Chief Tom Sousa retiring from the district in October, the search is on for a new fire chief. Opening the position up first to internal candidates, only one emerged – Battalion Chief Ben Rigney.
Commissioner Larry Jennis, who’s heading the panel to find qualified candidates, said that he was very impressed with Rigney and his credentials, advising his fellow board members to allow him to move forward in the selection process. The next hurdle is for Rigney to have an interview with each board member.
“He’s exceptionally well qualified to be fire chief,” Jennis said, adding that when he spoke to the district’s firefighters Rigney also received glowing recommendations.
After the individual interviews, commissioners will decide whether or not to open the position up to outside candidates.
Administration merger
In light of Sousa’s retirement and the imminent sale of the district’s administration building to the Oasis Middle School, Commissioner George Harris suggested his fellow commissioners consider a different option – merging administration services with nearby Southern Manatee Fire Rescue. If this happened, the firefighters, stations and board would all remain West Manatee Fire Rescue but the administrative staff would be merged with Southern Manatee’s and that district’s chief would also serve as WMFR’s chief.
Because the two fire districts do not share a border, they could not completely merge into one district without Cedar Hammock Fire Rescue also agreeing to merge.
The idea received mixed reviews from commissioners with Jennis and Commissioner Al Robinson both agreeing that since WMFR has a small administrative staff that works well they don’t see a benefit or a need to the merger. Commissioners voted 3 to 2, with Jennis and Robinson dissenting, to allow Harris to enter into exploratory talks with Southern Manatee.
Cortez Fire Station
Harris said he’d received word from Cortezian Mary Fulford Green that the old Cortez Fire Station is vacant. He added that Green asked if the district would be interested in helping to create a fire services museum at the site. Commissioner David Bishop asked Sousa and Harris to do more research on the project, potentially reaching out to other county fire districts to see if there is any interest in creating a museum, and bring the information back to the March meeting.
The new marina at One Particular Harbour Margaritaville will have a grand opening on Saturday, Feb. 9 from noon to 4 p.m.
The opening of the deep-water marina will include a number of festivities, including live bands, aerial artists, a water ski show, hors d’oeuvres and stilt walkers. Attendees also will be invited to tour the marina, model homes and the Harbour Isle Beach Club. Boats from Cannons Marina, Erickson Marina, Galati Yacht Sales and MarineMax will be on display.
The new marina features a Ship’s Store, 55 wet slips for boats up to 45 feet and an enclosed dry dock facility capable of holding 128 vessels up to 42 feet. Additionally, the marina has a floating fuel dock, detailing services, dockside water and electricity, air-conditioned restrooms, showers and laundry facilities.
The marina is adjacent to the Harbour Isle residences and the residences at One Particular Harbour Margaritaville. A 131-room hotel and Floridays Restaurant and Grill are still in the development phase for the location.
One Particular Harbour is being developed as a joint venture between Minto Communities and Margaritaville Holdings.
BRADENTON – Firefighters and staff with West Manatee Fire Rescue had a lot to celebrate Jan. 15 during the district’s annual awards ceremony held at the administration building.
Awards were given in recognition of meritorious service and years of service to the district, along with the Firefighter of the Year and Officer of the Year awards.
Honored for years of service were Firefighter Cameron Fraizer who’s been with WMFR for five years, Firefighter Jerrod Apple and Inspector Rodney Kwiatkowski for 10 years of service, Firefighters Brian Gaskill and William “Buddy” Bowen for 15 years and Firefighter Nathan Berbom for 20 years of service. Apple and Berbom were not present during the awards ceremony.
Captain-turned-Battalion Chief Ryan Moore’s family was on hand for his promotion. His wife and children came up to assist Moore in pinning on his new badge and celebrating his promotion.
Administrative Battalion Chief Ben Rigney, Battalion Chief Rich Losek and Firefighter Alex Flores were honored for their deployment to the Florida Panhandle with one of the district’s advanced life support fire engines as a part of a Hurricane Michael response team. The group was part of one of five strike teams from Manatee County and the only ALS engine in the group. Rigney served as leader of all five Manatee County teams during the more than one week of deployment. The strike teams were deployed to Port St. Joe and Marianna.
The next awards were the Firefighter of the Year and Officer of the Year awards chosen by a vote of the district’s firefighters. Chief Tom Sousa said this year was an anomaly being the first year that the district handed out two Firefighter of the Year awards, one to Firefighter/Paramedic Andrew Powers and another to Firefighter Josh Adkins. While he said it’s usually one firefighter who stands out among the rest over the course of the year, both Adkins and Powers received the same number of votes. Sousa said he “sees a bright future going forward” for both men.
The Officer of the Year award went to Battalion Chief Rich Losek for the second year in a row. Losek received a standing ovation from the attending firefighters for his work with the district. He is set to retire from the fire service in March.
Ending the evening’s festivities was the award of the gavel to 2018 board chairman Larry Jennis in honor of his first year as chair of the fire commission.
Officer of the Year, Battalion Chief Rich Losek, and Firefighter of the Year Josh Adkins strike a pose with Adkins’s wife. - Kristin Swain | Sun
Inspector Rodney Kwiatkowski accepts accolades from Chief Tom Sousa on his 10 years with the fire department. - Kristin Swain | Sun
Chief Tom Sousa congratulates Administrative Battalion Chief Ben Rigney for his leadership as the leader of five strike teams deployed from Manatee County to assist with Hurricane Michael cleanup in the Florida Panhandle. - Kristin Swain | Sun
Chief Tom Sousa honors Battalion Chief Rich Losek as Officer of the Year for the second year in a row. - Kristin Swain | Sun
Newly promoted Battalion Chief Ryan Moore takes a moment to celebrate with his family during the awards ceremony. - Kristin Swain | Sun
WMFR Commissioner Larry Jennis receives the gavel in honor of his service as the 2018 board chair. - Kristin Swain | Sun
Firefighter Cameron Fraizer accepts an award from Chief Tom Sousa for five years of service with the district. - Kristin Swain | Sun
Firefighter Brian Gaskill accepts an award honoring his 15 years with the district. - Kristin Swain | Sun
Chief Tom Sousa presents Firefighter/Paramedic Andrew Powers with the Firefighter of the Year award. This is the first year WMFR has awarded two firefighters with one of the district’s top honors. - Kristin Swain | Sun
Battalion Chief Rich Losek presents Firefighter Josh Adkins with the Firefighter of the Year award. - Kristin Swain | Sun
Firefighter William “Buddy” Bowen receives an award for 15 years of service with West Manatee Fire Rescue from Chief Tom Sousa. - Kristin Swain | Sun
Merry Christmas Trees of Bradenton is teaming up with The Center of Anna Maria Island to help make the season brighter for the nonprofit.
Michigan natives Kerry and Chrissy Foley, along with their family, come to the Beachway Plaza at 75th Street and Manatee Avenue every year to sell fresh cut Christmas trees as Merry Christmas Trees of Bradenton. This year, if patrons of the pop-up tree farm mention that they live on Anna Maria Island or support The Center of Anna Maria Island, the Center will receive 10 percent of each tree purchase. Kerry said he and his family feel that it’s a great way to give back to the community that becomes their home over the holidays. He said the family also donated a tree to be raffled off for Lester Family Fun Day at the Center.
The tree farm is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day and has trees of all sizes, decorations and homemade jam for purchase. Tree delivery and set up also are available for an additional fee.
PERICO PRESERVE – It’s a cool, sunny, Thanksgiving weekend day and you’re walking along the path at Perico Preserve looking at the butterflies and being thankful that there’s no red tide in the preserve when a shot rings out.
Four pelicans flush from the mangroves.
Another shot.
Two white egrets fly away from the sound.
Two more shots – then silence.
First Place
Lucy Morgan Award for In-Depth Reporting
2019
– Cindy Lane | Sun
A few moments later, doors slam on a dark pickup truck parked on Perico Isle Circle, just outside the preserve boundary, the engine starts, the tires squeal, and it’s gone.
What is happening at the preserve, created by Manatee County as a bird sanctuary?
According to county environmental officials, state wildlife officials, and neighbors of the preserve, duck hunting season is happening.
The season closed the last day of the Thanksgiving weekend, Nov. 25, and reopens again on Saturday, Dec. 8, ending Sunday, Jan. 27.
Third Place
Environmental Writing
2020
“The last thing people are thinking is, ‘Maybe I should wear an orange vest on the boardwalk.’ ” – Charlie Hunsicker
It’s a constant frustration to county environmental officials, who have no law enforcement powers, said Charlie Hunsicker, director of the Manatee County Parks and Natural Resources Department.
For seven months out of the year, between August and February, it is legal to hunt 28 bird species in Florida, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC); each species has specific dates designating its season.
The juxtaposition of a densely populated neighborhood, a preserve that was built with birds in mind, and hunters shooting at the birds is worrisome at best, and tragic at worst, Hunsicker said.
“I am surprised we still allow hunting against residential neighborhoods in the name of sport where a catastrophic convergence of families and their pets meets up with people who appear in camouflage,” he said.
The county does not oppose hunting outright, Hunsicker said.
“We’re supportive of a well-managed hunting program like the one at Duette Preserve,” he said. The preserve is in east Manatee County, which is more sparsely populated than Perico Island, and offers hunting for deer, turkey, hog, quail and other species.
However, he said, “It’s contradictory that as long as you’re standing in state submerged land, you can hunt wherever you want. I hope there will never be an incident as a result.”
Robinson Preserve, from Perico Preserve, across Perico Bayou. – Cindy Lane | Sun
“Diametrically opposed activities can only be resolved in tragedy if both sides are not careful,” Hunsicker said. “The last thing people are thinking is, ‘Maybe I should wear an orange vest on the boardwalk.’ ”
Is it legal?
During Thanksgiving week, Elsbeth Frischmann heard the guns a couple of times a day, morning and evening, for four or five days in her home at Perico Island Condos, which overlooks Perico Bayou, between Perico Preserve and Robinson Preserve.
“They were so close, the birds flew away,” including brown ducks and mallards, she said.
If there is no ordinance against discharging a weapon within a certain distance of residences, or within city or county limits, game officers can’t prohibit it, FWC Officer Timothy Hinds said.
If duck hunters are properly licensed and trained, if they use the right weapon, if they wade, kayak or boat into Perico Bayou, which is state-owned submerged land, if they target birds on the wing that are in season, and if they use the proper ammunition, they are within the law, he said.
Lily pond – Cindy Lane | Sun
“That’s legal for them to do as long as they’re not shooting towards houses or over houses or at power lines,” he said.
The proper weapon and ammunition for duck hunting is shotguns and birdshot, which does not travel as far as bullets, he said, but still falls, potentially on people.
“It would be very troubling to have bird shot raining down on their head,” he said. “It’s got to be done in a safe manner. It’s a populated area.”
Whether a bird can be targeted or not is all about boundaries, Hinds said.
“The birds are either in the preserve or not,” he said.
Birds that can be hunted in Florida during specified seasons
Source: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
Hunters are not allowed to shoot into the preserve, but if their birds fall on the preserve they can retrieve them, Hinds said.
Hunters do come into the preserve to retrieve their prey, Hunsicker said; people find carcasses left behind after the breast meat has been carved out.
Is it fair to target birds living in a bird sanctuary when they fly outside its boundaries?
“Some of the best hunting land is near designated wildlife refuges because the populations are healthy there,” Hinds said.
For the birds
Perico Preserve opened on May 14, 2016 – International Migratory Bird Day – highlighting its purpose as a rookery.
– Cindy Lane | Sun
The 176-acre Manatee County preserve touts its bird sanctuary status in signage, prohibiting dogs, which are bird predators, and prohibiting bicycles in a portion of the preserve where bird nesting is encouraged. The county also built an island in a lake in the preserve with poles for osprey to nest in.
“We have a preserve that we’ve worked very hard to establish, and a bird sanctuary should not be available to anyone shooting guns, whether they’re near or on the property, because that is near the nesting we’re working hard to protect,” said Sandra Ripberger, of the Sierra Club Manatee-Sarasota Group, suggesting that a citizens watch group could be formed to monitor hunting.
Bradenton Beach-based Wildlife Education and Rehabilitation Inc. releases rehabilitated birds at Perico Preserve, Gail Straight said.
“I’m not totally opposed to people hunting, as long as they’re eating what they’re hunting. My big problem is you’ve got people all over the place and kids playing and condos; one stray bullet could go through windows and cars,” she said. “There’s a million places you can go hunting for ducks.”
“It’s pretty dangerous to invite people into a preserve to walk and hike and observe wildlife and plant life and fire a firearm,” said Merrie Lynn Parker, with the Manatee Fish and Game Association.
Gopher tortoise – Cindy Lane | Sun
The Sarasota Bay Estuary Program has spent $8,000 to coordinate volunteer native planting events at Perico Preserve, said Darcy Young, director of planning and communications.
The Tampa Bay Estuary Program (TBEP) is funding exotic plant control on a parcel of land that will connect Perico Preserve with Robinson Preserve, spokeswoman Maya Burke said.
When TBEP was rewriting its comprehensive management plan in 2016-17, they included the issue of hunting near preserves, which was starting to happen in Hillsborough County.
“One of the strategies was the need to better understand and address it,” she said.
“At restoration projects, hunters use these areas, and hikers find it disconcerting,” Burke said. “Local governments are ill equipped to address these user conflicts. The region needs to work on this issue.”
No active initiatives exist to connect local law enforcement, FWC and preserve managers, she said.
Whose job is it?
The FWC’s law enforcement officers focus on game violations, Hinds said, and if there are any other legal issues, other law enforcement agencies have jurisdiction.
It’s not easy to know who to call to report gunshots near a preserve.
“It might take something tragic or a massive public outcry to prompt the Legislature to act.” – Michael Elswick, manager of the Manatee County Parks and Recreation Department
Frischmann contacted Damon Moore, with the county parks department, who looked into the issue.
He found that hunters are allowed to carry their guns into the preserve and even clean them on the picnic tables, as long as they don’t shoot within the preserve, where hunting is prohibited, Moore said.
The state has prohibited local governments from regulating firearms, so the county can’t say “no guns in the preserve,” said Michael Elswick, manager of Manatee County’s Parks and Natural Resources Department, adding that hunters have been observed in boats against the mangrove tree line firing over the water in Perico Bayou.
Mangrove – Cindy Lane | Sun
“We can prohibit hunting in the preserve, but not the carrying of firearms,” he said. “We’re waiting for someone to shoot onto private property” or be caught hunting in the preserve to call law enforcement.
Parts of Perico Island fall under the Bradenton Police Department’s (BPD) jurisdiction and other parts fall under the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO), including Frischmann’s neighborhood. Her homeowners association has a video camera at the entrance of the condos that might have captured a license plate number of hunters parking in the neighborhood, but there have been no complaints filed, according to the office.
Mangrove butterfly – Cindy Lane | Sun
“If they’re discharging a firearm in a neighborhood, call 911, suggested BPD Capt. Brian Thiers. “They can tell whether you are in the city or county.”
The City of Bradenton has an ordinance against discharging a firearm within city limits, referring to Florida Statute 790.15, he said, adding that BPD enforces that law.
If the agency gets a call on gunshots fired within the city limits near the preserve, they would respond, and also call FWC, he said.
“We rely on people to let us know,” MCSO Public Information Officer Randy Warren said. “Call us. Get a description of the vehicle. We can start a paper trail. We will put patrols out to look at it. Never hesitate to call law enforcement if something is of concern,” he said.
Law enforcement needs to make sure shooters are not doing something other than hunting, he said.
That prospect disturbs Hunsicker.
“How can you tell if it’s a shotgun or rifle? This bothers me to no end, knowing that most pistol or rifle rounds would carry a lethal trajectory into the surrounding homes of Perico and as far away as Flamingo Cay and traffic on State Road 64,” he said.
Regulations for an urban preserve like Perico should be different than for uninhabited or sparsely populated areas, Elswick said.
“You’re regulating the Ten Thousand Islands the same way you’re regulating a highly visited preserve,” he said, noting that hunting is a highly-charged issue with the gun rights lobby.
“It might take something tragic or a massive public outcry to prompt the Legislature to act.”
- Cindy Lane | Sun
White egret - Cindy Lane | Sun
Saltbush - Cindy Lane | Sun
Mangrove - Cindy Lane | Sun
Mangrove butterfly - Cindy Lane | Sun
Pied-billed grebe - Cindy Lane | Sun
Water lilies - Cindy Lane | Sun
Muhly grass, slash pine - Cindy Lane | Sun
Slash pine - Cindy Lane | Sun
Saw palmetto - Cindy Lane | Sun
Robinson Preserve, from Perico Preserve, across Perico Bayou. - Cindy Lane | Sun
Gopher tortoise, with bird nesting island in background - Cindy Lane | Sun
BRADENTON – Manatee County first responders don’t only answer the call of duty locally, they also answer when other people need their help, including those affected by Hurricane Michael in the Florida Panhandle.
West Manatee Fire Rescue Chief Tom Sousa said that when the call came in for assistance in the aftermath of the Category 4 storm, five strike teams of firefighters and emergency medical service workers from region six, stretching from Manatee to Collier County, assembled including 25 fire engines with around 100 firefighters and five ambulance teams with 25 ambulances and about 50 medical personnel.
Sousa said the region’s six strike teams assembled first in Tallahassee before traveling to Marianna, Fla., where they helped to clear debris, treat injuries using the WMFR advanced life support engine, distribute supplies and run emergency calls with local first responders.
He said the team, including firefighters from WMFR, Longboat Key, Cedar Hammock, Southern Manatee, the City of Bradenton, East Manatee and North River fire districts, was redeployed Oct. 15 to Port St. Joe and Port St. Joe Beach to provide hurricane recovery assistance.
WMFR Battalion Chief Ben Rigney served as the leader for an engine strike team of five engines and around 30 personnel. The City of Bradenton Urban Search and Rescue team also responded, sending six personnel to the region along with Manatee County EMS workers.
Sousa said the teams were expected to return home after nearly two weeks in the region early this week.
BRADENTON – West Manatee Fire Rescue personnel took a little time off from the serious business of keeping the community safe to throw a family-friendly block party.
The district’s 2018 open house festivities took place Oct. 13 at Station 1 on 67th Street in Bradenton. This year’s community gathering was so big that it reached from the fire station to the end of the block and brought out hundreds of families to meet their local first responders, take a tour of the fire station, play games and enjoy lunch.
Old Glory flies gracefully over the open house at the end of the towering ladder. – Kristin Swain | Sun
On hand for this year’s event were representatives from Domino’s Pizza store 5038 providing pizza, Winn-Dixie store 2404 serving up hot dogs and hamburgers with firefighters and snow cones were served from the Kona Ice Truck.
Artists from Childlike Productions handed out balloon animals and painted faces. Members of the Manatee High School Keys and Canes club also donated their time by lending firefighters a helping hand wherever needed, and Holmes Beach Police Officers helped provide crowd and traffic control.
WMFR commissioners, firefighters and even Chief Tom Sousa took turns in the dunk tank where some firefighters gave a helping hand to younger ball throwers. Another popular attraction was the bounce house with a line rivaling that for the dunk tank.
WMFR Commissioner Randy Cooper takes his turn in the dunk tank. – Kristin Swain | Sun
Children also lined up to don firefighter gear and compete on an obstacle course. Firefighters helped families through the Southern Manatee Fire District safe house and took attendees on tours of the district’s rescue equipment including the fire boat and ladder truck and allowed children to take a seat in one fire truck.
The free event drew large crowds and featured on-site music and live broadcasts from AMI Radio.
BRADENTON – More than 300 bowlers took to the lanes Sept. 8 in a bowling tournament that was more about comradery than competition.
Bowlers filled 52 sponsored lanes for the annual LaPensee Bowling Tournament held at the AMF Bradenton Lanes. Two kids’ lanes, sponsored by the Zaccagnino and Talucci families, were filled with laughter and a lot of excitement as children took turns rolling bowling balls down the lanes. After taking a year off in 2017, the tournament returned stronger than ever as one of the primary fundraisers for The Center of Anna Maria Island, this year bringing in more than $15,000 in sales and donations.
From left: Center Board Chair David Zaccagnino; 50-50 winner Martha Jones, who donated half her winnings back to the Center; event chair Karen Harlee; and Cindy Jones, Martha’s mom. – Chantelle Lewin | Sun
Throughout the three-game tournament, bowlers cheered on each other and surrounding teams as some people rolled strikes and others rolled gutter balls. Everyone agreed they had a great time as they came out to support the Center in one of the organization’s signature events. Though the competition was all in good fun, there were a few awards handed out.
The bees of Team Bins Be Clean took home the award for best team costume, beating out the “Dodgeball” inspired costumes from Team Purvis. Young bowler Fiona McCarthy took home the award for the highest kids score. Bowler Charles Wade, from the team from Roser Memorial Community Church, won the award for the highest male score after bowling three nearly perfect games. Lauren Powell took home the highest scoring female bowler award. The award for lowest male score went to Greg McKinney, while Isabella Miller took home the award for the lowest scoring female in the bowling tournament.
In addition to competing for awards, bowlers also were competing against each other for silent auction items and raffle prizes along with $603 in the 50/50 raffle. Auction and raffle prizes included gift baskets from local businesses, a two-hour sunset cruise with Capt. Ben Webb, an original artwork print by artist Patricia Bowers, a trip to LEGO Land, a fishing charter and a one-year family membership to the Center. The two largest raffle prizes were a grill donated by Rice’s Appliances and a beach cruiser bicycle donated by Beach Bums. Winner of the bicycle, Alex Harllee, even considered taking the bicycle for a quick spin through the bowling alley at the urging of Center board chair David Zaccagnino causing a round of laughter to erupt from nearby bowlers.
While not everyone went home with an award or a prize, everyone agreed they had a great time. Center executive director Chris Culhane said the tournament was a lot of fun for everyone involved.
“We’re thankful to everyone who came out tonight,” he said.
MANATEE COUNTY – Manatee County paid APTIM approximately $140,000 for a week’s worth of canal cleaning services, according to Information Outreach Manager Nick Azzara.
During a Monday, Aug. 27, press conference, county officials announced APTIM’s services had been discontinued
“The contractor was able to manage to have all those fish picked up in a week,” County Administrator Ed Hunzeker said.
Hunzeker and Commissioner Steve Jonsson also announced the county was transitioning to a voluntary “Nets to Neighbors” maintenance program that involved hand nets, buckets and dumpsters being placed in some waterfront neighborhoods.
Dated Aug. 17, the county’s contract with APTIM’s Boca Raton office included a not to exceed amount of $468,988. The contract stated APTIM would collect biological debris along the Bradenton Beach, Holmes Beach and Anna Maria bayside shorelines as well as the mainland shorelines along the Palma Sola and Sarasota Bay. The contract stated APTIM wouldn’t cleanup along the Gulf of Mexico, Longboat Key or the Manatee River shorelines.
The contract stated APTIM would provide three 26-foot marine work vessels manned by a captain and two deckhands who would manually skim the surface with nets to remove the floating debris. The contract also called for a survey vessel and a dedicated collection vessel to transport the collected debris to offloading areas for transport to the county landfill.
APTIM’s fee proposal listed $145,680 in labor costs, $35,698 in equipment costs and $287,610 in direct costs if the contract was carried out in full. APTIM’s projected direct costs included $272,580 for SWS Environmental Services – a national firm with locations in Tampa and St. Petersburg that offers on-water spill response services. SWS comprised 95 percent of APTIM’s projected direct costs.
APTIM’s work assignment sheet listed daily rates for engineers, managers, surveyors, a hydrographer, biologists, geologists and more. In addition to survey boats, the daily equipment rates included cameras, a pitch and roll compensator, tidal gauges, a fathometer, a navigation system and more. The direct cost rates consisted of meals, lodging, and mileage.
On Saturday, Aug. 25, Manatee County Environmental Program Manager Damon Moore sent an email to County Commission Executive Assistant Sheri Smith explaining his decision to discontinue APTIM’s services.
“We were relying on this contractor to remove large mats of floating rotting fish in canals and boat accessible shorelines. By midday Friday they had worked through the existing large contiguous masses mostly within the areas of Coral Shores, Bowlees Creek, and Trailer Estates. With the lack of accessible floating masses and fish rotting to the extent that they could not effectively be removed via the nets, I made the decision that this waterside approach was no longer an effective or wise use of funds at over $25k per day. I did this after a report from the helicopter survey on Friday of no more significant floating masses in the bay and speaking with Ed (Hunzeker) and Dan (Schlandt),” Moore’s email said.
On Aug. 21, county commissioners amended the fiscal year budget and appropriated $750,000 in county funds for red tide response. In turn, the county has a received a funding commitment for a $750,000 FDEP grant.
During the press conference, Hunzeker said the cleanup costs were $250,000, but he provided no details. Azzara said later that figure included APTIM’s fees, overtime pay for county employees and other costs associated with the county’s red tide response.
Canal conditions
A Wednesday, Aug. 29, visit to the Coral Shores neighborhood on Cortez Road revealed only small amounts of dead fish and horseshoe crabs floating in the canal ends. Two weeks ago, those canal ends were filled with dead and rotting fish, and the smell was nearly unbearable.
A dumpster had been placed along the main entry road, accompanied by a sign that said, “Fish Disposal Only.” A peek inside the dumpster revealed no dead fish.
The county placed this dumpster in the mainland Coral Shores neighborhood. – Submitted | Sun
A visit to the neighboring Mt. Vernon community revealed similar canal conditions.
On Sunday, Coral Shores resident Lindy Gallagher said she didn’t see dead fish in her canal, but black algae had appeared. Resident Kelly Strom said there was a bad odor in the air, and she was seeing sheets of green algae floating in the canal.
An Aug. 29 visit to a residential canal at 20th Place North in Bradenton Beach revealed a bayside canal end covered with seagrass, dead fish, eels and horseshoe crabs, with flies and maggots congregating on the decomposing marine life.
One block over, the 21st Place North canal contained only a few floating fish and crabs.
When contacted, County Commissioners Carol Whitmore and Steve Jonsson said they were not aware of APTIM doing any work along the Island shorelines, and Whitmore said none of the Island mayors requested assistance.
BRADENTON – Manatee County is contracting APTIM to remove the dead fish and marine life accumulating in residential canals and channels due to red tide.
The pending contractual arrangement was announced at a press conference on Friday afternoon and the decision disappointed some local fishermen who previously offered their assistance to the county.
County Administrator Ed Hunzeker said he would ask the County Commission to appropriate $500,000 when presenting the APTIM contract details on Tuesday, Aug. 21.
Hunzeker said the county already does business with APTIM and Parks and Natural Resources Director Charlie Hunsicker said later that APTIM provides design and engineering services for the county’s beach renourishment program. With offices in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Boca Raton, Miami, Orlando and Jacksonville, the Texas-based company also offers environmental and disaster recovery services.
The Aug. 17 press conference began with County Commissioner Steve Jonsson saying, “We’re going to do our best to alleviate some of the situations our citizens are experiencing.”
Hunzeker said the cleanup would occur in canals and channels on Anna Maria Island, the mainland and Longboat Key. He said the goal was to pick up the maximum amount of fish in the shortest amount of time.
“We don’t want to represent that we will get every fish in every canal and every waterway, but we’re trying to do the major cleanup. We have no idea how long this will last nor how long this contract will be in place,” Hunzeker said, noting the county budget includes contingency funds set aside for these types of unanticipated expenditures.
Serving as the county’s point person, Hunsicker said reconnaissance work conducted over the weekend would determine where the cleanup occurs.
Hunsicker said the cleanup would be done by hand, using boats and nets. “We’re not going to get every fish. And we’ll have to be patient because they are floating fish in the open waters. We’re not going to be able to remove the floating fish in our open bays, our rivers and the Gulf.”
Hunsicker said APTIM will clean mangrove shorelines because those shallow waters are difficult to access by boat.
Hunsicker said local fishermen could still be hired by those who desire a more thorough cleaning and Hunzeker noted that those who contract private fish removal services will not be reimbursed by the county.
Hunzeker was asked why the county didn’t contract local fishermen to clean the canals.
“We just don’t have time to deal with each individual fisherman to enter into each individual contract with 20, 30, 40, 50 fishermen that might be willing to help,” he said, also noting liability insurance and permitting requirements.
Fishermen disappointed
On Sunday, the county website still listed contact information for nine businesses or individuals offering fish removal services. Among them was Nathan Meschelle, president of the Cortez chapter of the Organized Fishermen of Florida (OFF).
“I’m not happy about the situation and there are many others that feel the same way. I am very curious to see how well of a job this outsource group does and what they actually cost us,” he said of the county’s decision.
Meschelle leases a boat from Adam Sears, who led a crew that assisted with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill cleanup efforts in 2010.
“We’re available, we worked on the oil spill, we’re insured,” Sears said, noting that OFF members are covered by the organization’s liability insurance. “We could have already had this done and cleaned. They’re basically saying we couldn’t do the job.”
When contacted, Jonsson said he would ask APTIM to consider using local fishermen if possible.
Coral Shores
During the press conference, Jonsson said dead fish were creating public health concerns in residential areas, including the Coral Shores community on Cortez Road.
“It’s critical to give these people some relief,” he said.
A visit to Coral Shores on Wednesday, Aug. 15, revealed three residential canals whose landward ends were filled with dead and rotting fish that created a nearly unbearable stench. That afternoon, resident Cynthia Saint Cacchiotti received from one individual listed at the county website a $6,000 bid to clean the three canals.
Cacchiotti’s husband, Rick, is president of the Coral Shores homeowners’ association and the bid she obtained was research for a potential association expenditure – a process that would require 10 days advance notice before a vote of members could occur. Instead, the Cacchiottis and some of their neighbors hired local fisherman Preston Rowland to begin cleaning their canal on Friday, before the APTIM contract was announced.
Coral Shores residents were scheduled to meet at the Cortez Baptist Church on Tuesday, Aug. 21, to discuss the ongoing cleanup efforts.
Manatee County also is now operating a Citizens Information Center that includes a hotline for citizens who have questions about red tide and the cleanup operations. The hotline number is 941-749-3547.
BRADENTON – A new marketing campaign aims at attracting potential visitors to Anna Maria Island and Manatee County with the cure for what ails them.
The Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) is working on the 2019-20 Cure Campaign with an eye to what visitors want, marketing spokesman John Fisher told the Manatee County Tourist Development Council on Monday morning.
Got fam-nesia? Come to the Bradenton Area and spend time with your family. Got pale-a-tosis? Get to the beach and get a tan.
These and several other ailments will require beach therapy, retail therapy, and other cures in a game format on the county’s tourism website, he said.
Participants will be able to select their symptoms and the game will generate a prescription for certain accommodations, restaurant dishes, and activities. Prospective visitors can share the prescription with friends on social media, which will enter them into a contest for a chance to win their prescription. The game also will generate a sick note for a visitor’s boss when they share some personal information.
“It’s all about engaging people to get interested in the destination while having fun,” Fisher said.
The time has come for a new style of marketing campaign, CVB Director Elliott Falcione said.
“We have to be bold and catch their eye,” he said. “Once we’ve got them, 94 percent of the time they will come back.”
Until now, the county has been using marketing campaigns based on slogans, such as the current “Craft Your Own Vacation,” and the previous “Our Little Secret,” “Crystal Blue Persuasion,” “Pure Florida, Nothing Artificial” and “Real. Authentic. Florida.”
To better target visitors with new marketing efforts, the CVB has launched a partnership with Adara, a data-gathering business that works with airlines, hotels and vacation rental websites to identify people looking for information on travel and persuade them to book flights and accommodations while gathering information about them for future marketing efforts, the TDC learned. The company describes itself as an “anonymized, real-time search, purchase and loyalty data-gathering co-op.”
Tourism update
The first quarter of the year is the most active tourist season on Anna Maria Island and the rest of Manatee County, culminating in the height of the season in March.
In the first quarter of 2018, the number of visitors countywide was up 4.9 percent to 233,400. In March alone, visitation was up 7.3 percent over March 2017, according to Walter Klages, of Research Data Services, the county’s tourism consultant.
First quarter occupancy was down 1.4 percent from the first quarter of 2017 to 84.1 percent. In March alone, occupancy was down 1.9 percent.
Occupancy decreased because lodging units have increased, especially transient lodging establishments, Klages said, noting a “significant increase in inventory causing people to switch from older product to newer product.” Airbnb is the “gorilla in the room,” Falcione added.
The traditional end of the season – Easter – was early this year, on April 1, also significantly impacting visitation, Klages said.
Direct expenditures were up 9.1 percent to nearly $283 million in the first quarter.
Room rates were up 1.7 percent to $203 a night in the first quarter. In March alone, room rates were up 2.4 percent countywide, and 3.5 percent on Anna Maria Island.
The top five U.S. feeder markets to the county in the first quarter were New York, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Boston and Tampa/St. Petersburg.
April saw a significant gain in the European market, which grew by 22.7 percent from April 2017, Klages said, adding that nearly half of April visitors were couples.
A non-stop flight is expected soon from Dallas to Sarasota/Bradenton International Airport, Falcione said, predicting “a big impact” on the Latino market.
MANATEE COUNTY – The mystery of the missing bollards on the Manatee Avenue causeway continues to haunt county law enforcement and members of the Palma Sola Scenic Highway Corridor Management Entity.
For the past several months, members of the scenic highway group have noticed several bollards being removed on the south side of Manatee Avenue along the Palma Sola Causeway. Co-Chair Ingrid McClellan said she’s found several of the missing bollards floating in the water along the shoreline after they’ve been removed and tossed into the waves. Now McClellan and the other scenic highway members are banding together with law enforcement to find the culprit.
A photo taken along the Palma Sola Scenic Highway shows a small watercraft trailer being driven through where bollards were removed to retrieve an ultralight aircraft. – Submitted | Ingrid McClellan/Joshua Linney
While people have been observed using the newly-cleared space where bollards used to be as a makeshift small craft launch, information is still sought to show the bollards actively being removed. The area is patrolled primarily by the Bradenton Police Department along with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.
In the meantime, Manatee County Property Management and Public Works employees have come up with a harder-to-remove barrier to keep watercraft launches along the causeway limited to designated areas. In places where bollard removal is common, the wooden pieces have been replaced with trash cans. The cans are encased in a concrete base that is set several inches into the sand to discourage would-be vandals from removing them.
In some places where bollards continue to go missing, Manatee County employees are replacing the missing wooden pieces with trash cans with cement bases. – Kristin Swain | Sun
At McClellan’s request, a new tactic is being used to keep bollards in the ground once installed. County workers are installing rebar along the bottom of the wooden bollards, buried under the sand so that it will be more difficult, if not impossible for vandals to remove the bollards. This new approach is being taken as bollards are replaced along the Palma Sola Causeway.
McClellan said she hopes the vandal is stopped soon to help prevent more work for county employees along with eliminating the additional costs to replace bollards.
Anyone with photos or videos of the bollards being removed is asked to please share the information with The Sun or McClellan at arborist@manateebeautiful.com.
