ANNA MARIA – City commissioners have selected the specific type of pervious brick pavers to be used to install new sidewalks along Pine Avenue.
The first phase of the new brick paver sidewalks will be installed between Gulf Drive and North Shore Drive, where no concrete sidewalks currently exist. The initial block-by-block sidewalk installation project will progress in four separate phases toward the end of Pine Avenue near the city pier. The existing concrete sidewalks along Pine Avenue are expected to be replaced during later phases of the Reimagining Pine Avenue safety improvement project.
On Sept. 11, Mayor Dan Murphy told city commissioners that the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) approved the city’s proposed $233,000 contract with the Eason Builders Group for the phase one sidewalk installation. Murphy said a preconstruction meeting with Eason Builders and FDOT was scheduled for Monday, Sept. 16.
General Manager Dean Jones presented two slightly different colored pavers to choose from. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
With the contract approved, Murphy said the commission needed to select the specific pavers to be used. General Manager Dean Jones presented commissioners with two pavers that featured slightly different shades of gray – granite or glacier. Jones said there’s no price difference between the two gray-hued pavers that are among the most widely used and most readily available in the industry. Jones said using a different colored paver would result in an 8- to 10-week delay.
Murphy noted the granite-colored paver is slightly lighter than the glacier-colored paver and the lighter-colored paver would absorb and retain less heat. The commission unanimously supported Murphy’s recommendation to use the lighter granite-colored pavers.
ANNA MARIA – A signed contract is now in place for the installation of brick paver sidewalks along Pine Avenue, between Gulf Drive and North Shore Drive, where no paved sidewalks currently exist.
Where applicable, the brick paver sidewalks will follow the same unpaved meandering paths that veer away from Pine Avenue and closer to the business entrances. New crosswalks will also be installed in the initial phase of the multi-phase sidewalk installation project. The existing concrete sidewalks in that area will remain in place for now and be replaced later in a future phase of the Reimagining Pine Avenue safety improvement project.
On Aug. 22, the Anna Maria City Commission authorized Mayor Dan Murphy to sign a contract with Eason Builders Group owner Scott Eason for the initial phase of the multi-phase project.
In reference to the city’s long-protracted efforts to secure a suitable and affordable sidewalk installer, Murphy paraphrased a famous World War II statement made by United Kingdom Prime Minister Winston Churchill and said, “It’s the end of the beginning on Pine Avenue.”
The unpaved pedestrian paths will be replaced with brick paver sidewalks. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
For the first one-block portion of the sidewalk and crosswalk installation project, Eason Builders Group bid $233,704, Mali Construction bid $272,796 and C-Squared construction bid $665,290. On July 25, the city commission authorized Murphy to meet with Eason as the mayor and commission’s first choice to do the initial phase of the project. After some additional fact-finding and contract negotiations, Murphy, on Aug. 22, sought city commission authorization to sign the contract with the Eason Builders Group that had already been reviewed and approved by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) as the state agency overseeing the city’s expenditure of the state appropriations that will fund the majority of the Reimagining Pine Avenue project. Murphy said the signed contract would be sent to FDOT so the state agency can issue a notice to commence.
“I expect to get all that done quickly so Scott can begin work and we have this come to fruition,” Murphy told the commission.
Eason’s wife and young son accompanied him to the meeting.
When introducing himself to the commission, Eason, a Holmes Beach resident, said, “I’ve got a seven-month-old boy and what I realized in the past seven months is I’m walking a lot more than I ever have in my entire life. I’m pushing a stroller.”
Eason applauded the mayor for working so hard on the Reimagining Pine Avenue project and not accepting the single bids received from C-Squared that were rejected by the city commission on four previous occasions.
“I’m an Island resident. I want to do this project. I very much care about this city and I think a walkable Pine Avenue is what we all want. We’d love this opportunity to do this work. I won’t let you down,” Eason told the commission.
In response to Eason’s stroller comments, Murphy said he watched his own daughters struggle to push his grandchildren’s strollers down Pine Avenue while headed to the beach at the end of the street.
“I didn’t understand why we had sand sidewalks out here. I’m looking forward to Scott doing a bang-up job and bringing this project home for us. I hope we can get it done quickly, efficiently and to everybody’s satisfaction,” Murphy said.
The commission then voted 4-0 in favor of authorizing the contract with Eason Builders Group, with Commissioner Charlie Salem recusing himself because he and his husband own two commercial properties along Pine Avenue.
The city is approaching the sidewalk installation project in four separate stages, with each stage covering a block or so of Pine Avenue. Bid proposals will soon be reviewed for the next stage that will extend from North Shore Drive to Crescent Drive, followed by another phase from Crescent Drive to Tarpon Street and another phase from Tarpon Street to Bay Boulevard.
ANNA MARIA – City commissioners have reduced a builder’s potential fine for beginning work without a permit from $29,331 to $2,500.
On Aug. 2, the city issued a stop work order to the Eason Builders Group for preliminary construction activities at the vacant residential property at 226 Periwinkle Plaza without a city-issued building permit.
In an Aug. 8 memo he sent to the city’s building official, Eason Builders Group (EBG) owner Scott Eason requested the building official rescind the $29,331 triple permit fee fine and lift the stop work order because a mistakenly installed temporary power pole (T-pole) was removed from the construction site and no electrical connections were completed.
Eason Builders Group owner Scott Eason appeared before the city commission on Aug. 24. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
When appearing before the city commission on Aug. 24 seeking a reduced or forgiven fine, Eason said his father-in-law mistakenly delivered the premanufactured T-pole to the property before a building permit was obtained.
City Planner Ashely Austin said the construction activities that began prior to the issuance of a building permit included the T-pole installation, the delivery of a portable toilet and the placement of silt fence stakes.
Austin said a contractor does not have the authority to engage in those activities before a permit is issued.
She also said, “The building department policy is to issue a stop work order and assess a double permit fee application penalty for such actions, hence the term ‘triple permit fee.’”
Austin said the proposed $29,331 triple permit fee would have been twice the amount of Eason’s original $14,665 permitting fee.
Eason said the silt fence was installed when the previous structure was demolished in late 2022.
The city issued a stop work order on Aug. 2. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
Commission Chair Mark Short asked if the commission could reduce the fine rather than assess the entire full triple permit fee or waive the fine completely. Austin said the commission had the authority to do as it wished and City Attorney Becky Vose agreed. Austin said the city has imposed triple permit fees several times in the past and she’s not aware of a triple permit fee being reduced.
Commissioner Jon Crane said he doesn’t want to see the city’s permitting processes and building ordinances ignored, but he also felt a $29,331 fine in addition to the original permitting fee was quite high. Craine said he doesn’t want to discourage development, but he also doesn’t want contractors and builders acting like “cowboys.”
Commissioner Deanie Sebring also felt the proposed fine was excessive in relation to the activities that occurred.
Commissioner Robert Kingan said he’d be inclined to forgive one simple mistake, but several violations occurred at the same site.
Participating in the discussion by phone, Eason’s attorney, Jason Miller, said he felt the proposed fine was excessive in relation to the mistake that occurred regarding the delivery of the T-pole. Miller said there was no cavalier or cowboy-like behavior involved, and he suggested a fine of a few hundred to a thousand dollars and a warning to strictly abide by the city’s building regulations. He noted Eason was also incurring attorney fees as a result of the transgressions and delays with starting the construction project.
Crane then made a motion to waive the triple permit fee and impose a $2,500 fine instead. The other commissioners unanimously supported Crane’s motion.
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