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Jewelry sale success for Island Library

Jewelry sale success for Island Library

Written by Jason Schaffer on . Posted in Clubs, Entertainment, Events.

HOLMES BEACH – Thanks to the efforts of the Friends of the Island Library, significant funds will go to help the Island Branch Library and those who use it, raised at an event that couldn’t have happened without the generosity of many in the community.

“This is the first-ever jewelry sale that we’ve had,” said Julie Perry, a member of the Friends of the Island Library and the chairperson of the jewelry sale committee. “It’s all via donations from the community, so without the community support, we couldn’t support our Island library.”

The March 10-11 sale featured deals on jewelry including necklaces, bracelets, rings, watches, earrings and more for reasonable prices ranging from $1 to $10. All the items for sale were donated by people in the community so all the money raised could go to projects related to the library.

“The reason we support this is because libraries run on such a small and tight budget,” Perry said. “With help from the Friends, the added value is funding programs for kids and adults, new furniture, craft supplies, equipment, beautification projects and other things that add value to our wonderful libraries.”

The Friends send a special “thank you” to the many who donated their jewelry and time to make the sale a success. Although the total amount of money raised from the sale is not yet known, they said they were very pleased with the turnout and expect this to be an annual fundraiser.

Letter to the Editor: Parking garage won’t solve problems

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Letter to the Editor, Opinion.

On March 1, I attended a Town Hall Meeting in Holmes Beach conducted by County Commissioner George Kruse. The main topic of the meeting was the traffic issues on Anna Maria Island and the proposed parking garage. Kruse listened politely, but he had obviously made up his mind that a parking garage should be built in Holmes Beach.

His decision was made with no input from any residents of Anna Maria Island, the people who will be most affected by the building of the parking garage. It’s disappointing that all the county commissioners, Rep. Robinson and Rep. Boyd did not take the time to meet with their Anna Maria Island constituents to gather additional input on a decision of this magnitude. What Kruse did not tell the audience is that the day before the Town Hall Meeting he had voted, along with the other County Commissioners, to endorse the parking garage. He has subsequently stated he is in favor of House Bill 947, legislation that would authorize a parking garage in county-managed public parks such as at Manatee Beach.

Kruse did admit that Anna Maria Island does not have a “visitor” problem, but rather has a traffic problem. His solution to reducing traffic on Anna Maria Island is to build a parking garage that Manatee County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge has stated could add 1,500 additional parking spaces.  How does the building of a 1,500-stall parking garage reduce traffic coming onto Anna Maria Island? Won’t providing 1,500 additional parking spaces only add to the traffic problem? Why aren’t the county commissioners, Rep. Robinson and Rep. Boyd pursuing other options that would allow visitors to Anna Maria Island while reducing traffic as actively as they are pursuing a parking garage? Why aren’t they moving more quickly to find other solutions such as off-island parking facilities, shuttle services or other mass transit options to reduce the number of cars coming onto Anna Maria Island?

Jeff Dentz

Holmes Beach

One proposed bill would pave way for parking garage at Manatee Beach

One proposed bill would pave way for parking garage at Manatee Beach

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Community News, Featured, Holmes Beach.

HOLMES BEACH – There’s a bill in the Florida House of Representatives that would allow a three-story parking garage to cover the entire parking lot at the Manatee County-owned Manatee Beach.

If HB 947 passes both houses and is signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, Island visitors and residents could be facing at least two years of construction, according to Manatee County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge.

The possibility of a parking garage first came up during a 2022 meeting between county and city leaders to discuss issues related to beachgoer parking in Anna Maria Island’s largest city. Later in the year, city leaders passed an ordinance banning parking garages in Holmes Beach, though a special exception for the use could still be sought with approval of the city commission. In a talk with The Sun last week, Van Ostenbridge said he’d planned to move forward with a proposal for a parking garage on the county-owned beach property but felt that city leaders “kept moving the goalpost.” So, he posed the issue to state legislators.

If the parking garage is approved at the state level, the proposed structure would be three stories tall, remaining within the city’s height restrictions – unlike previous garage plans of four stories – but still two stories higher than the existing concession stand. The exception to the height restriction would be the elevator shaft, which would extend above the top level of the garage to allow beachgoers to access rooftop parking.

The structure would only require building permits from the county, not from the city where it would be located, according to the bill.

Van Ostenbridge said the proposed structure would stretch across the entirety of the parcel –  from the 10-foot required setback on the south side at West Coast Surf Shop to the northern boundary of Gulf Drive – and house between 1,500-1,700 parking spaces along with new restroom, concession and retail facilities. The cost of the project is estimated at $45 million.

Van Ostenbridge said construction would take about two years. During those two years, the currently existing 427 parking spaces at the public beach would be unavailable, so he said all of the residential streets on the Island would have to be opened to public parking to accommodate beachgoers. Currently, all three Island cities have limited public parking available on residential streets, requiring all four tires of a vehicle parked street-side to be off the pavement.

Once the garage is completed, Van Ostenbridge said that parkers would have to pay a nominal fee to use the garage spaces, such as $2 per hour, to help the county recoup the money spent to build the structure.

Holmes Beach mayor’s response

In a letter last week to county commissioners, Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth reiterated her opposition to the proposed parking garage and urged state and county leaders to come to the Island to see the currently available parking and how it’s used by beachgoers.

“As mayor of one of the many cities in Manatee County, I once again welcome each of you on a tour,” Titsworth said in the letter. “I understand decisions have and will continue to be made by your board, many of which will have a profound effect on the quality of life for our citizens, guests and business owners. I hope that you will each be able to gain valuable knowledge as to why Holmes Beach is not only one of the most special places on earth to live but also an extremely popular tourist destination to which people come from all over the world each year to visit.

“For the past three years now, Holmes Beach citizens have found to be on our heels defending against false narratives by county leaders,” she wrote. “These stem from city leaders finally putting a limit on the number of secondary beach parking that could safely be accommodated in residential neighborhoods. I hope that you will accept my offer for a visit as this will not only provide you with the needed insights in making sound decisions but will allow you to see that as citizens of Manatee County, we have always been and continue to be part of the solution. The lack of available parking for county residents is not a result of parking limitations at the beaches. It is a result of growth in our county which is evidenced by the hours spent sitting in traffic trying to get to and from work on weekdays and to get to and from the beach on weekends and holidays.”

On March 3, Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer said that over the previous seven days, Holmes Beach had an average of 31,099 cars per day coming into the city. Titsworth said there are 4,783 parking spaces available in Holmes Beach for beachgoers, including those at vacation rental properties. Over 2,000 of those are public parking spaces.

Van Ostenbridge said that he doesn’t feel that Holmes Beach is at maximum capacity for beachgoers on average, with the exception being the highest points of tourist season, which is typically the most crowded in mid-March. Titsworth disagrees.

“There will never be enough,” she said in a Feb. 28 commission meeting. “There will never be enough parking spaces to accommodate everyone who wants to come to the beach.”

Editorial: Paving paradise

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

Anna Maria Island is changing and it has been for years. Our little Island has turned into a popular tourist destination and, while we love our visitors, especially the ones who come year after year and participate in the community, it’s hard not to feel like residents are getting pushed out in favor of beachgoers.

A bill is being considered at the state level that would have a parking garage built on the entire parking lot at Manatee Beach in Holmes Beach to overrule local regulations and allow Manatee County commissioners to issue their own building permit instead of going through a special exception request process with the Holmes Beach Commission.

The garage would hold 1,500-1,700 parking spaces after it’s built. What happens to all of the cars that are usually parked at the beach during the proposed two years of construction? Manatee County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge suggests opening all residential streets on AMI to beach parking for the duration of construction. If all residential streets are open to parking, and the four tires off the road street side parking regulations are lifted in the three Island cities, it has the very real potential to be a free-for-all where residents are severely outnumbered and have little to no chance of winning or preserving their quality of life.

Once the garage is built, it would be difficult to impossible to take back residential streets from parking and the garage will have a pay-per-hour system which would either have drivers circling residential streets looking for a free parking place or result in city leaders installing parking meters on the side of every road.

Imagine driving across the Anna Maria Island Bridge and instead of being greeted by a view of the blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico, you see a wall of concrete? Why not compromise and let the county build its parking garage on a different parcel, say the former Bank of America lot that’s only a block from the beach? The county would have to compromise by purchasing another piece of land and the city would have to compromise by allowing the garage to be built, but the existing parking at the public beach would remain open and there would be no need to open more residential streets to public parking for the beach without facilities, such as restrooms, concessions or adequate trash receptacles. If another garage is needed after the first one is built and open, put one up at the south end of the Manatee Beach parking lot. With 30,000-plus cars coming across the Anna Maria Island Bridge every day, it becomes a question of reasonableness and thinking about just how much a 7-mile island can take. We can only hope that our elected officials see reason before it’s too late.

Letter to the Editor: When is it enough?

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Letter to the Editor, Opinion.

When do the builders and developers have enough money so that they will stop destroying what used to be a great place to live, Anna Maria Island?

When will there be enough monster homes built by overzealous investors right next to smaller homes where people raised their families and came to vacation for generations? When will there be enough residents forced to move because of the noise of traffic or the unending disturbance of two, three or four families suddenly living next door, but moving in and out every week? The once-family homes that were razed and replaced with buildings that accommodate three, four and five families are mini-hotels, not homes.

When will there be enough gold lining the pockets of builders, investors and developers who are turning an unpolished gem into Clearwater, St. Pete or Fort Lauderdale? We need to wake up and see the destruction of the lifestyle we all thought we had on Anna Maria Island.

Sean Murphy is right – the issue is not parking; the issue is traffic! Why not have an engineering company perform a traffic impact analysis?

Who is going to pay for the proposed parking garages on the island? Will visitors then have to pay to park when visiting our free beaches?

Beachgoers could park in the two virtually empty parking deck garages in downtown Bradenton. The county can lease, on a seasonal basis, interstate/Greyhound-type buses that have plenty of storage for beachgoers’ chairs, etc. They can run every 20 minutes, significantly reducing congestion. This would eliminate idling cars either stuck in traffic or moving so slowly due to traffic that air pollution is increased, valuable fuel resources are wasted, and frustration and anger and angst are created – let us not forget people who LIVE on the island.

Residents cannot go out to shop, go out to eat, or leave the Island to go to church unless they spend hours in traffic for what used to be a 10-minute drive. Have you ever walked on the Island’s sidewalks in season while cars spew carbon monoxide in your face?

The fellow Holmes Beach resident who wrote, “We only have so much space; apply the math…” was so right.

It is painfully clear that parking isn’t the real issue – the true motive behind this is development and profit.

Stop the madness!

Last, but not least, the county commissioners and the FDOT should build a bridge to Longboat Key which would alleviate the Gulf Drive/Cortez traffic nightmare.

 

Paul Reed Steberger

Holmes Beach

Pizzano’s packs a punch with pizza

Pizzano’s packs a punch with pizza

Written by Jason Schaffer on . Posted in Business, Restaurants | Bars.

HOLMES BEACH – Nobody is quite sure if being two blocks from the beach makes pizza taste better, but the owners of Pizzano’s Pizza and Grinderz say it’s good for the soul if nothing else.

While new to AMI, Pizzano’s has been established in Florida for decades, with the first location opening more than 30 years ago in Orlando. Born in Sicily and raised in Michigan, owner Sam Marhi has been connected to AMI long before he opened his restaurant here.

“My family’s vacationed down here for lots of years,” Marhi said. “We always said if the opportunity came up on the Island, we’d love to do a pizza place here. Over the years, not too much became available that fit what we were looking for, then we got lucky enough and this spot came open.”

The spot Marhi speaks of is 5318 Marina Drive in a popular shopping plaza that has ample foot traffic and is highly visible. There are now 11 Pizzano’s; the first nine locations are all in the Orlando area and are still very successful, with the 10th being their Bradenton location.

However, it was number 11 that made Marhi and his wife, Missy, relocate to Anna Maria Island and make it their permanent home. Like so many others, they just want to work hard and live the “Island life.”

Sam and Missy work open to close just about every day in their new location, but always have a smile on their face because they feel fortunate to be in their dream location. The couple met nearly 30 years ago when Sam had just opened his first Pizzano’s and Missy was a customer. A saucy romance began, and the couple has been together, feeding the public ever since.

When asked what the secret to their success has been, Marhi says it’s his attention to the details he says many pizza restaurants no longer do.

“We still do things old school,” Marhi said. “I still make all my pizza dough in-house, and I still make all of our pizza sauces and other sauces in-house. We don’t buy anything frozen or anything pre-made. It makes a big difference, and a lot of places don’t do that anymore, especially out here on the Island.”

Pizzano’s has a large menu that offers something for everybody. While the traditional pizza is very popular, they also do a Detroit-style Sicilian pizza, wings, subs, various breads and garlic knots, salads, pastas, desserts and grinderz. It should be noted for those from the Northeast that in Michigan, a grinder is similar to a calzone, not another name for a “sub” or “hero” sandwich. Marhi admits there is sometimes confusion due to the origin of the customer, but they’re “keeping it Michigan.” “A new item we’ve introduced here on the Island is a gluten-free cauliflower pizza crust and we have a dairy-free plant-based cheese option too,” Marhi said. “We’re also in the process of adding some gluten-free pasta to the menu as well.”

Anyone visiting Pizzano’s will be greeted by a friendly staff that seems genuinely happy to see them walk through the door. Many customers have become friends of the staff and a great deal are already on a first-name basis. Pizzano’s is open seven days a week with both carry-out and delivery available during all business hours: Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m.-12 a.m.; Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m.-1 a.m.; and Sunday from 11 a.m.-12 a.m.

To place an order, call 941- 778-3663 (FOOD) or order online. During the busy spring season, delivery and carryout times may be longer than at other times of the year.

Island Gallery West moving off Island

Island Gallery West moving off Island

Written by Jason Schaffer on . Posted in Art, Entertainment.

HOLMES BEACH – Island Gallery West (IGW) has been operating in the same location for 33 years, but on Friday, March 10, they will say goodbye to AMI and begin the move to downtown Bradenton, where they will open their new gallery in May. They have not yet announced where the new location will be but said the announcement will come soon.

“Our final day will be Friday, March 10 and will include an evening ArtWalk with our featured artist, Terri Westbrook. We would love to see you. We will miss our Island home dearly so please join us to celebrate the past and toast the future,” the gallery said in a recent press release.

The gallery members did not wish to comment on exactly why they are moving, but ever since a road construction project in Holmes Beach began last year, multiple IGW artists have told The Sun that foot traffic has seriously decreased due to the work being done just a feet away from their parking lot. They think that many tourists likely don’t know how to enter the parking lot due to multiple road closures and changing traffic patterns in the area.

“We asked ourselves how we could continue to grow as a gallery; offering more artist demonstrations and adding hands-on classes in the space we have occupied for 33 years,” member artist Karen Beach said. “Having a larger space would be ideal. We explored the possibilities off-Island and downtown Bradenton is undergoing a revitalization and that central location would allow us to reach a wider audience in the greater community.”

IGW isn’t the first gallery to leave or dissolve in recent years. While the Island Art League is still active on AMI, hosting popular events such as Springfest, they no longer have a physical location on the Island. The Studio at Gulf and Pine in Anna Maria is also gone, as well as ArtSpace.

The only remaining gallery with a physical location on AMI after IGW closes its doors will be The Artists’ Guild of Anna Maria Island. After doing signif- icant renovations while closed during the COVID pandemic, the gallery, with more than 100 member artists, says they have no plans to leave the Island.

During the transition period, you can view IGW online and purchase artwork through their website. They also will be operating during regular hours, Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Some of the artists will be offering special prices on their work at the gallery. Also visit the final ArtWalk they will participate in where the gallery will stay open until at least 7:30 p.m. along with other businesses in the area, including The Artists’ Guild.

Island Gallery West is located at 5368 Gulf Drive in Holmes Beach and can be reached at 941-778-6648.

Letter to the Editor: Show some respect

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Letter to the Editor, Opinion.

I have to express my disappointment at the lack of respect and consideration the Holmes Beach commission gave to the two residents that got up to speak at Tuesday’s meeting.

The residents of our city have been working day and night to save our city from a potential takeover. It wasn’t as if there was a room full of people that wanted to speak. There were just two. Giving them 2 minutes to talk was an insult.

Residents have been writing letters and offering their expertise to form web pages, research documents, write letters, design yard signs and collect petitions.

If they think they can resolve the lack of communicating with legislators and initiating controversial plans such as the elimination of parking and garage bans on their own, I personally think they are not facing reality. Right now, they need the support of their residents more than ever.

I’m afraid they have just shown a lot of us that our opinions are not worth their time.

Very sad for us and for the future of our city.

Renee Ferguson

Holmes Beach

Bill filed to build beach parking garage

Bill filed to build beach parking garage

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Community News, Featured, Holmes Beach.

HOLMES BEACH – Just like the traffic headed to Anna Maria Island on holidays, an effort by Florida legislators to build a parking garage at Manatee Beach is inching forward.

House Bill 947 was filed on Monday by Rep. Will Robinson Jr., who represents Manatee County, including Anna Maria Island. If the bill passes, it will allow Manatee County commissioners to erect a three-story parking garage at the county-owned beach with no approvals from city leaders needed.

Previous plans mentioned by legislators were for a four-story garage, which would exceed the height restrictions in the city.

Though parking garages were never an allowable land use in Holmes Beach, city commissioners voted in 2022 to formally disallow multi-level parking facilities. At a meeting where that ordinance was discussed, Manatee County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge warned commissioners against the action, stating that he had planned to present an application to the city to build a parking garage on the property.

Mayor Judy Titsworth said that she’s disappointed by Robinson’s decision to file the bill and feels that it’s a blatant infringement of home rule. She said county leaders never submitted a formal application to the city for consideration of a parking garage and never put anything before city commissioners to consider allowing one through a special exception.

During a Feb. 14 commission meeting, Titsworth said that Robinson was scheduled to come to Holmes Beach later in the week to speak with city staff and tour the available public parking with her. On Monday, she said he decided to move the meeting to the end of the month.

In addition to the parking spaces already available in the city for beachgoers, Titsworth said she’d been speaking with two area churches about using their parking areas for the public outside of church service times. If the parking garage bill goes through at the state level, she said she’s unsure if those organizations will go through with providing extra parking since part of the reason for that potential solution was to avoid having a parking garage built at Manatee Beach.

She encouraged everyone to continue writing letters to state legislators and to write to each of the committees that HB 947 goes to for consideration.

While a parking garage is becoming more of a possibility, a state-funded study to look at the consolidation or elimination of the three Anna Maria Island cities is off the table – for now.

The state legislative delegation recently backed off its January proposal to pursue consolidating the cities at the state level if Island city leaders agreed to work together to consolidate some services at the city level.

Titsworth said she’s begun regular meetings with Bradenton Beach Mayor John Chappie and Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy to begin a discussion on how they can consolidate some services across the three cities.

While she said she’s unsure right now of where they can consolidate, she said she’s hopeful that by working together, the three can find solutions that will take away the threat of consolidation or elimination by state legislators.

She was also quick to reassure city staff that no positions were being eliminated, saying, “No one’s losing a job in the city.”

Titsworth said she’s having a bit of a difficult time trying to decide what could be consolidated.

“This is going to take quite a bit of time between the three cities to determine what can be consolidated,” she said. “We are committed to look and see what could be consolidated, listen to each other and work together.”

The mayoral meetings are a result of a recent meeting between state legislative representatives and the Island mayors concerning the consolidation of all three Island cities into one municipality or into unincorporated Manatee County.

Robinson began the year with a quest to launch a state-funded study to determine if the three cities should be eliminated or consolidated. The study, which was supported by the other members of the Manatee County state legislative delegation, has since been abandoned, at least temporarily, in favor of allowing the three Island governments to work some issues out among themselves.

“I can’t thank the citizens, visitors, residents, everyone enough,” Titsworth said of the outpouring of support from the public to fight against the consolidation study. “I couldn’t be more proud. You did an amazing job.”

Castles in the Sand

When the numbers are too high to count

Written by Louise Bolger on . Posted in Business, Castles in the Sand.

Several years ago, I started writing a monthly column analyzing the over $1 million properties on the Island and in Cortez. Then, because of the volume of properties, I amended that to do the analysis quarterly. Now I’m faced with the reality of having so many properties over $1 million that it’s easier to count the ones under a million and provide an overview of what’s going on. And what’s going on is mind blowing, probably something I don’t need to tell you.

Little Cortez has 19 properties either available or pending. Twelve of them are $1 million or over, counting a $999,000 property. The properties start with $4,999,999 and several of the properties are part of the new Hunters Point community.

The city of Anna Maria, which everyone knows by now is the second most expensive zip code in the state of Florida, continues to grow. There are 80 properties either available or pending on the north end and only two of those listings are under $1 million. It starts at $12,775,000 and ends at $1,399,900 with only 16 properties between $1 million and $2 million.

The combined cities of Bradenton Beach and Holmes Beach have 172 available or pending properties. They start at $12,995,000 and end at $999,000. There are only 53 out of 172 properties listed under $1 million.

All of the above numbers are based on the available information as of this writing, which changes daily. Nevertheless, it’s pretty obvious that we have broken records and keep breaking them. But why?

It seems like the world is moving to Florida and based on the increase in population numbers it very well may be. The population of Florida in 2022 was 22,244,823, an increase of 1.91% from 2021. The population of Florida at the end of 2019, when the COVID-19 pandemic was just starting, was 21,492,056, an increase of 752,767 in just three years.

As a comparison, the state of New York for the year 2022 had a population of 19,677,151. You would have to go back to 2014, long before COVID was even a word, when Florida’s population was 19,853,880 to come close to New York state’s current population. The increases in Florida’s population show a consistent growth pattern, with only two states, California and Texas, having higher populations.

And there are other reasons for Florida’s expanding population. Certainly, the lack of state income tax is a huge draw for wealthy individuals and businesses alike. Florida has a lower budget by billions than other large states and a higher GDP rate. And, although our sales tax and some permitting fees may be higher than other large states, in the end, it’s generally a more affordable state to live in.

Finally, do I even want to go down the lifestyle road, something it’s impossible to put a number on? For the most part, properties are being bought by buyers from out of state and it’s not all about the money.

I guess I really do know the reason the sales numbers are too high to count and the population keeps increasing. In spite of some adjustments to the real estate market all over the state, chances are it will continue, especially when buyers and sellers realize it’s now or never.

Fire district looks at reclassifying vacation rentals

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Featured.

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – Vacation rentals are a popular use of residential properties both on the Island and in unincorporated Manatee County where West Manatee Fire Rescue’s district is located. Now district leaders are looking at reclassifying those properties within their district as commercial properties for enforcement and tax purposes.

During a January board meeting, Fire Marshal Rodney Kwiatkowski presented the idea to the district’s staff and board of commissioners as a life safety concern. With so many people in and out of vacation rentals across the district and limited oversight from government agencies, as a preventative measure, he said he’d like the district’s fire prevention bureau to be able to inspect the properties for safety.

Inspections would include looking for items such as properly placed smoke alarms, fire extinguishers, floor plans of the home indicating exit points, emergency lighting and other precautionary measures commonly found in commercial properties. To fund the initiative, he suggested the fire department’s staff look into the possibility of assessing the owners of vacation rental properties in the district as commercial rather than residential properties. If that happens, it will mean a jump of approximately $200 per year, depending on the size of the property, for vacation rental owners and an increase of more than $1 million in funding to the fire district.

To run the program, Kwiatkowski said the district would need two more inspectors and an assistant at an estimated cost of $350,309 per year with an additional $140,000 needed to pay for department vehicles for the new hires.
Currently, the district charges a fire assessment on residential trim notices at a lower rate than they do for commercial properties. And while multiple-unit residential properties are already assessed and inspected as commercial properties, traditionally residential properties, such as single-family homes and duplexes, are still treated as if a full-time resident lives there. Because they are rented, Kwiatkowski said that under the state’s fire code, the properties are identified as transient public lodging establishments, allowing for them to be inspected by the fire district’s staff. This is the same designation given to a hotel.

In the past three years, Kwiatkowski said that of the 11 residential structure fires on the Island, eight of them were at vacation rental properties. In 2022, he said there were three pediatric drownings or near-drownings on the Island, all of which occurred at rental properties.

He presented the proposed project at a Holmes Beach Code Compliance town hall meeting with vacation rental owners and representatives on Jan. 31, reassuring the rental community that the fire department would be working with local municipalities to make sure that enforcement and inspections would not overlap with those currently taking place on the Island as a result of city efforts to make rentals safer for visitors. He added that the inspections would likely begin taking place in the fall.

The curious case of the missing parking signs

The curious case of the missing parking signs

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Community News, Holmes Beach.

HOLMES BEACH – Residents who live near beach access points have noticed something strange happening over the past week – some permit parking only and no parking signs have been disappearing from the side of city streets.

While the disappearance of these signs may seem mysterious, Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer has an explanation.

The sign disappearances are due to the removal of signs due to sign pollution, he said.

In 2022, city commissioners passed an ordinance making side street parking only available in places where all four tires can be safely parked off the road. Tokajer said the sign removals are only occurring in places where all four vehicle tires cannot safely be parked off the side of the road. If all four tires cannot be parked off the side of the road, then it’s automatically a no-parking zone, Tokajer said.

City employees are working to remove unnecessary parking signs in an effort to reduce sign pollution in the city. Signs noting that side-of-street parking requires all four tires off the road are located at the southern and northern city limits boundaries. With Holmes Beach city leaders adopting and enforcing all four tires off the road, the city came in line with regulations already passed by the cities of Anna Maria and Bradenton Beach.

Any residents who feel that permit parking only or no parking signs were removed from their streets erroneously should contact city staff to have the area measured to make sure that no vehicles can legally park in the area.

Despite some theories circulating on the Island, Tokajer said the removal of the signs was actually a planned initiative and has nothing to do with the ongoing issues among city leaders, Manatee County commissioners and state legislative representatives over beach parking for the public.

Rep. Will Robinson Jr. began leading the way during a recent Manatee County legislative delegation meeting to initiate a state bill to undermine city ordinances to construct a four-story parking garage at the Manatee County-owned Manatee Beach. The proposed bill, which is highly contested by Island city leaders and residents, is expected to be presented during the upcoming state legislative session.

Letter to the Editor: Message to state representatives

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Letter to the Editor, Opinion.

I strongly oppose your efforts to do away with home rule on Anna Maria Island. The three cities are unique, which adds to the appeal of the Island, and they deserve to rule themselves according to their specific needs.

In addition, your proposal to override local parking restrictions to build a parking garage will do nothing to solve the “parking” problem and will do much to worsen the actual problem, traffic. There is a finite amount of space on the Island, and allowing more cars to park will only worsen the conditions for everyone. Any long-term solution should maintain the character of the Island and involve off-site parking with shuttles. There will never be enough parking for every resident of Manatee County, nor should there be.

It is highly suspicious of your true motives that you failed to consult with Island officials before acting on your proposals. How ironic and sad (and infuriating) it would be if your changes eliminated the very things that make the Island appealing.

I have already witnessed the gradual worsening of conditions on the Island in the nine years we have been coming here. The first year we were here, I was struck by the pristine condition of the beach. It felt “holy” to me, like a very special place; I never saw a single piece of trash. With the increase in “day trippers,” I now see trash on the beach constantly. There seems to be a lack of a sense of “ownership” when people are here for just a few hours. It would benefit the Island to maintain the combination of renters, owners and visitors and not turn the place over to those who seek to make money above all else.

I am a property owner and part-year resident of Holmes Beach. I did not buy property as an investment or to be a landlord. I own property here because of the Is- land’s unique, old Florida character and combination of residents, part-time residents and vacationers. Your proposals would lay waste to what makes AMI special. I beseech you: Do not submit these as part of a bill in the forthcoming legislative session.

Sincerely,

 

Debra Pysno

Holmes Beach

Merger or dissolution could erase local city regulations

Merger or dissolution could erase local city regulations

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Anna Maria Island, Community News, Featured.

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – The recent proposal by Manatee County’s state legislative delegation to fund a study to determine the feasibility of combining or eliminating the three Anna Maria Island cities has far-reaching ramifications.

The Florida Legislature has the power to merge or dissolve cities, although it has only dissolved three cities in the past 50 years.

The 1973 ratification of the Home Rule Powers Act allows dissolution or consolidation by a special act of the Florida Legislature or by a referendum vote of the voters in the municipality, according to the Florida League of Cities.

Since then, only 11 municipalities have been dissolved and only three were by a special act of the Legislature: Hacienda Village was merged into the town of Davie in 1984, Golfview was sold to an airport in Palm Beach County for a new runway in 1998 and Islandia was dissolved in 2012 because the population dwindled to less than five and no elections had been held since 1990.

In 2005, voters in Bradenton Beach and Holmes Beach voted in favor of a non-binding resolution to study the feasibility of consolidation, but Anna Maria city commissioners opted to not put the question to voters in that city, so nothing came of the proposal.

If the state Legislature consolidates the three Island cities into one new municipality, the new city would lose its existing ordinances, including length of stay for vacation rentals, height restrictions, parking restrictions, occupancy requirements and vacation rental regulations. Some regulations would lose their grandfathered status as they would be pre-empted by subsequent state law, according to the league.

Deconstructing cities

According to Florida Statute 165.061, not only can a municipality be dissolved by a special act of the state Legislature, but multiple municipalities also can be merged together.

The statutory requirements for a municipality to be dissolved include that the municipality not be substantially surrounded by other municipalities. The county or another neighboring municipality also must prove the ability and willingness to provide necessary services to the dissolved municipality and be able to absorb the financial responsibilities of the dissolved municipality. In addition, a financial or job placement arrangement must be made for employees of the dissolved municipality.

To create a new municipality by merging existing municipalities, the area under consideration must be compact, contiguous and susceptible to urban services, honor existing solid waste contracts, provide financial compensation or job placement for employees and meet the prerequisites to annexation listed in Florida Statute 171.042. Some of those prerequisites include the creation of a new boundary map, creating plans for the running and governing of the new municipality and holding public hearings for all residents and property owners.

Mayors on Anna Maria Island have expressed their opposition to the dissolution or consolidation of the cities and met on Jan. 30 with delegation members Rep. Will Robinson Jr. and Rep. Jim Boyd to discuss the proposed study and a proposed bill to circum- vent Holmes Beach regulations to build a four-story parking garage at the county-owned property at Manatee Beach. A joint statement on the two topics is expected to be issued after press time for The Sun. 

Island officials unite to preserve home rule

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Community News, Holmes Beach.

HOLMES BEACH – Anna Maria Island’s elected officials are uniting to preserve home rule in the face of recent attempts by state legislators to circumvent local parking ordinances and fund a study to determine if the Island’s three cities should be dissolved.

Not only the central city on the Island, but also the one central to a debate at the state level, Holmes Beach has a prohibition against parking garages that state legislators have threatened to overturn. City leaders took a few moments during a Jan. 24 city commission meeting to address that issue and that of dissolving the Island cities.

It was standing room only in city hall chambers as residents, property owners and other stakeholders came out to show their support to Mayor Judy Titsworth and city commissioners. More joined the meeting online through Zoom.

Titsworth thanked everyone in attendance for their “outpouring of support” and vowed to do everything possible to fight back against the state’s encroachment into home rule of the Island, the ability of local governments to govern themselves.

While she said she and the two mayors from Bradenton Beach and Anna Maria would be meeting on Jan. 30 to discuss options and strategy, she wouldn’t be discussing those things publicly so as to not give state legislators the upper hand.

During a January legislative delegation meeting, Rep. Will Robinson Jr. proposed putting a bill forth in the upcoming state legislative session to install a four-story parking garage at Manatee Beach in Holmes Beach. Installation of a parking garage would undermine city ordinances that prohibit parking garages in the city and would break the city’s three-story building height limitation, which is written into the municipality’s charter. While parking garages were never an approved use in Holmes Beach, the ordinance officially stating that was not passed until 2022, after a meeting with Manatee County commissioners to discuss beach parking issues.

Titsworth said that Robinson, Rep. Jim Boyd and Manatee County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge were informed prior to the discussion that parking garages were not an allowable use in the city but that they could submit for a change of use. She said no one from the county, which owns the Manatee Beach property, ever did.

“There’s lots of misinformation from the county,” she said. “I’m over this. We’re not trying to privatize the Island. We’re a far cry from a private island.”

Robinson also proposed having a state-funded agency do a feasibility study to determine if the three Island city governments should be dissolved, putting the Island under the control of Manatee County commissioners. Consolidation of the three cities also has been discussed.

Florida Statutes 165.061(3)(b) requires that if a municipal government is dissolved by a special act of the state Legislature, a neighboring municipality would have to demonstrate that it is willing and able, including financially, to “provide necessary services to the municipal area proposed for dissolution.” Other statutory requirements prohibit the municipality to be dissolved from being “substantially surrounded by other municipalities.”

Data from the Florida League of Cities shows that only 11 municipalities have been dissolved since 1977 and only two of those were by special act of the state Legislature.

Commissioner Terry Schaefer, who attended the legislative delegation meeting, said that no one in the three Island city governments received prior notification about the parking garage proposal or the state-funded study.

“I think it showed a great deal of disrespect to everyone who lives on and loves this Island,” he said, noting that the dissolution study is “a stark warning to every community in Florida.”

“It’ll be really sad if there comes a time when all of our little coastal cities are gone,” Titsworth said.

“We’re not going to get into a fight,” Commissioner Carol Soustek said. “We want to move forward carefully and legally.”

Though the city’s elected officials committed to doing everything they can to halt both the parking garage and the attempt to dissolve the Island cities, they also encouraged all residents, property owners, visitors and stakeholders to lend their voices to the fight by reaching out to local and state representatives with their opinions on the two issues.

Schaefer also appeared on Jan. 26 at a ManaSota League of Cities meeting in Longboat Key on behalf of Holmes Beach. He was joined by Bradenton Beach Mayor John Chappie and representatives from several other local municipalities. The group agreed to draft and send a letter to the state Legislature and local delegation in support of the three Anna Maria Island cities remaining as-is and decrying the state’s potential intrusion into home rule.