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Tag: Charlie Bishop

City officials seek funding for pier repairs

City officials seek funding for pier repairs

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

ANNA MARIA – Mayor Mark Short estimates it will cost approximately $8 million to repair the damage that Hurricane Milton inflicted on the City Pier in 2024.

During the Feb. 27 Anna Maria City Commission meeting, he said the city recently submitted a funding request to Manatee County that lists $8 million as the anticipated total cost to replace the missing pier walkway and make any additional repairs needed.

Short said the application form submitted to the county notes the city could provide up to $1.5 million (20%) in matching funds.

The funding will come from the $252.7 million Community Develop­ment Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) grant that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently awarded the county.

According to the HUD website, “CDBG-DR grant funds are ap­propriated by Congress and al­located by HUD to rebuild disaster-impacted areas and provide crucial seed money to start the long-term recovery process.”

Short said he met with County Administrator Charlie Bishop, County Commissioner Tal Sid­dique, Manatee County Conven­tion and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Elliott Falcione and three or four other county staff members on Feb. 25.

“It was a meet-and-greet but we spent a lot of time talking about our pier and what’s in front of us,” Short said, “I came out of that feeling very comfortable that the county is helping us any way they can getting this pier rebuilt. I feel very positive.”

During past discussions, it’s been stated that additional pier repair funding sources might include county commission-controlled tourist de­velopment tax revenues and funding assistance from the state.

Short said the George F. Young engineering firm has completed its structural and geotechnical inspec­tions and submerged land surveys but the firm has not yet provided the requested analysis of what specific factors caused the pier walkway to fail during Hurricane Milton.

City General Manager Dean Jones told commissioners that solar lights were installed at the T-end of the pier, in part to make it more visible to boaters. The T-end of the pier currently has no electricity and cannot be accessed on foot due to the missing walkway.

No timetable has been provided as to how long the pier repairs will take or when the repairs will begin. The pier will remain closed until the repairs are made.

County administrator seeks favor from mayor

County administrator seeks favor from mayor

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Bradenton Beach, Community News, Featured.

BRADENTON BEACH – Manatee County Administrator Charlie Bishop put Bradenton Beach Mayor John Chappie in an awkward position when he sought the mayor’s assistance in shortening his anticipated wait time at the Daiquiri Deck restaurant.

After receiving the call from Bishop on Thursday evening, July 25, Chappie, a former county commissioner, attempted to contact Jake Spooner. Spooner, a former city commissioner, owns the three-story commercial building on Bridge Street that contains his ground-level Bridge Street Bazaar retail store. Spooner leases the two upper levels of his building to the Daiquiri Deck but has no ownership stake in the restaurant.

County administrator seeks favor from mayor
Manatee County Administrator Charlie Bishop sought a small favor from the mayor. – Manatee County | Submitted

Chappie mistakenly called the wrong number and left his Bishop request-related voicemail on another person’s phone. The following morning, an anonymous source provided The Sun with a recording of the voicemail that had already been shared on Facebook.

County administrator seeks favor from mayor
Mayor John Chappie attempted to assist the county administrator with his dining accommodations. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

During the 59-second voicemail, Chappie, sounding a bit hesitant, said, “Hey Jake, John Chappie here. Ugh… I’ve never done this before. I just got a call from the county administrator, Charlie Bishop. He is at the Daiquiri Deck and believe it or not he called me to see … he’s got a 45-minute wait for a reservation to get a seat and it’s under Madison. He wanted to know if I could pull a string for him. I’m just asking if maybe you could call Daiquiri Deck and let them know, maybe. For Madison is the person – there’s three I believe: Charlie Bishop, his girlfriend and his girlfriend’s daughter, I believe it is. It’s under Madison. If you could let me know. I’ll see what I can do. Take care, thank you.”

When contacted by phone Friday afternoon, Chappie acknowledged leaving the voicemail and being aware of the voicemail being shared on Facebook.

“It is what it is,” he said. “I got a call from Charlie. I consider him a friend. I’ve known him for about 15 years. He was out here, and like anybody, I always try to help out friends and constituents if I can. So, I just made a phone call. I’ve never really done that before. I said that on the tape. From what I understand, he was already seated before Jake even got back to him.”

Chappie acknowledged that he intended to leave the voicemail for Spooner but accidentally left it with another person named Jake.

Regarding the optics of a county official seeking favor from a city official, Chappie said, “People will speculate, but I didn’t look at it that way. I’ve known Charlie for a long time – since I was with the county. I would do the same for anybody else I know.”

When contacted Friday afternoon, Spooner said he did not receive the voicemail in question but did receive a call from Chappie that evening.

The Sun also sought comment from Bishop via his office phone number, his county-issued cell phone number and his county email address. As of Saturday morning, he had not responded.

According to the Manatee County website, Bishop joined the county staff as a project manager in 2001. In 2023, the board of county commissioners appointed him county administrator, with a $230,000 annual salary.

It’s not illegal for a county official to ask a city official for assistance getting a table at a busy restaurant, nor does it constitute an ethics violation at the state level, but the county administrator does have influence with county commissioners when it comes to approving or denying funding requests made by the city of Bradenton Beach and the two other Island cities.