There are many sides, but no winners in the battle over residential noise on Anna Maria Island. On one side are full-time residents who want to maintain the peace and quiet of their once completely residential neighborhoods. On a second side are the visitors who pay a premium to enjoy our beautiful island and want to have a good time while they’re here. A third side features the island’s three law enforcement agencies who are tasked with keeping the peace. No matter which side you’re on, there’s no solution that gives everyone everything they want.
As a full- or part-time resident, you might have an expectation of being able to spend an afternoon in solitude on your balcony. You have every right to that. But the people vacationing next door also have every right to enjoy the pool at their rental house. And because of overbuilding and small lots, that pool may only be 10 or 15 feet from your balcony, making silence impossible.
Even if winning the battle isn’t possible, maybe a cease-fire is.
We must admit that the Anna Maria Island of the past is gone and it’s not coming back. A balance needs to be found so that we can all move forward in our blended community. Maybe the way forward is through respect and mutual understanding.
Visitors need to respect that they are in a residential neighborhood where people live. If you wouldn’t do it at your home, please don’t do it at ours.
Residents need to be reasonable. If someone’s having a loud party during quiet, late-night hours, call your local law enforcement agency and allow them to do what they need to do to get the situation resolved. If a couple of kids are laughing and playing in the pool at noon, accept that there are children in the neighborhood and sometimes kids make noise.
Being on vacation doesn’t mean the rules don’t apply to you and being a resident doesn’t give you more rights than the visitor next door. Without tearing down every other house on the island, there’s almost no way to guarantee that you won’t hear some noise from your neighbors.
It’s also important that officers take community member concerns seriously. Public education programs are in place to help visitors understand the rules in each city. Maybe more outreach is needed for island residents to better understand what is considered a noise issue and how to handle issues in their neighborhoods.
People on every side are essential to preserving our way of life. We have to find a way to live together in harmony so that we can all enjoy our little piece of paradise.
The most expensive home in U.S. history was just sold. It’s a four-story condo on Central Park South in New York City dubbed “billionaire’s bunker” and closing for $238 million. The buyer is a hedge fund manager who collects houses around the world so no surprise that the Big Apple was next on his hit list.
Those of us who live a little closer to earth will be interested in my latest three-month analysis of properties in the three cities of Anna Maria and Cortez that have sold or are listed over $1 million. This time we’re looking at November and December 2018 and January 2019. The residential closed property numbers are from the Manatee County Property Appraisers Office and the available or pending properties as of this writing are from realtor.com which reflects properties listed on the multiple listing records.
The little area of Cortez did not have any properties closing over $1 million during these months. The previous analysis was for a four-month period and showed two properties closed. The combined cities of Holmes Beach and Bradenton Beach closed 7 properties ranging from $2,300,000 to $1,050,000. The four-month analysis previously showed there were 14 properties closed. The City of Anna Maria closed 14 $1 million or over properties ranging from $3,300,000 to $1,010,000. The previous four-month analysis reported 17 closed properties over the $1 million mark.
Although the sold properties appear to be a little lower considering we’re comparing three months to four months during the holiday season when there aren’t too many serious buyers around, I think we’re just fine.
The available properties are another story, every location is up considerably from the last analysis. Starting with Cortez, there are currently 6 over $1 million properties on the market or pending, ranging from $1,500,000 to $1,100,000, the last analysis had five.
The combined cities of Holmes Beach and Bradenton Beach have an incredible 85 properties $1 million or more currently on the market or pending. The range is from a high of $9,500,000 to $1,049,000. There is one listing which happens to be land for $7,775,000; one property over $5 million; two properties over $4 million, five properties over $3 million and 16 properties over $2 million. The balance of the properties are between $2 million and $1 million. The previous analysis had 68 properties on the market.
The City of Anna Maria is also listing more properties than during the previous analysis. As of this writing, there were 58 either available or pending properties ranging from $5,496,000 to $1,065,000. There are two over $4 million; three over $3 million and 15 over $2 million; the balance of the available properties are between $1-2 million.
Lest we forget, it’s early March and the buyers are just starting to sniff around.
When you see the listing prices of the island properties lined up in a row it’s a little mind-blowing, considering what you could buy on the island in previous years. It may not be as mind-blowing as the price tag on a home in a 1,000-foot-tall tower with a view of Central Park, but we have our own views and we’re sticking to them. Are we smarter than a hedge fund manager? You bet we are.
ANNA MARIA ISLAND – One of the biggest events of the year is just around the corner and tickets are on sale now. The Center of Anna Maria Island’s annual Tour of Homes takes place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 16. This year’s tour features four of Anna Maria Island’s most elegant homes along with a stop at The Center of Anna Maria Island where attendees can shop, grab a bite to eat, tour the facility and buy raffle tickets for a chance to win this year’s tour quilt. The tour is dedicated to the memory of Island resident Ann Horne.
The Willow House – 222 Magnolia Ave., Anna Maria
Simplicity, softness and grace welcome you to this new home, built last year by Moss Builders. This home features four bedrooms, four baths and two half-baths. The upper level of the home has an inviting living area complete with bedrooms, a TV room and a small kitchen. Don’t miss the beautiful tree trunk table!
The interior of the home is complete with hand-scraped, wire-brushed oak floors throughout. Most of the home is painted in Sherwin Williams “Extra White.” The kitchen and upstairs bar area were done by Progressive Cabinetry and the accent color cabinetry is called “Aegean Teal.” This color can also be found on the walls of the guest bedroom at the end of the hall. The powder bath and accent wall in the guest bedroom are painted with “Twilight Blue.” The dining room table and living room coffee table were custom-made by local fabricators. The upstairs bathroom color is “Sea Salt.” The master bedroom is painted in “Tradewinds Blue.” The exterior of the home is painted “Harbor Haze” with “Vanilla Bean” accents and dark glazed natural cypress tongue and groove.
222 Willow Avenue was designed by Beacon Home Designs with the selections and interior design done by Emily Moss. Lancaster Designs did the landscaping and Sanger Pools did the pool. It is currently for sale through Gulf Bay Realty of Anna Maria, Inc.
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Horne Home – 8403 Marina Dr., Holmes Beach
Purchased 31 years ago by John Horne during his tenure at the iconic Fast Eddie’s, this traditional 1960s block home sitting on Bimini Bay was completely renovated in 2017, maintaining the small island charm in the of design.
John’s parents, Ann and Lynn were riding their bikes around the island and came across the house “for sale by owner (Gus Kent.)” They told John that they had found the perfect house for him to buy on the island and in usual Momma Ann style she ended her “pitch” with “…because I’m going to live there when I get old.”
Fast forward 29 years and her wish became a reality upon the sale of their two-story home on the north end of the island. John and Amanda renovated the one-story home with an eye to their parents being able to live there for many years.
We had “imagineered” many times over various projects with the talented Mike Carter and his construction team and this project was no different. We focused on a floor plan that had no doorway thresholds and in the master bedroom, again, no shower threshold to reduce the chance of tripping.
One of our favorite features is the Brazilian pecky cypress in the walls in the living and dining areas – it added warmth and a nautical cottage feel to the house paired with the oyster shell sconces and candelabras. Enhancing the nautical feel is the mother of pearl backsplash in the kitchen. Be sure to check out the kitchen cabinet handles.
The back of the house overlooks beautiful Bimini Bay and has pavers and flowerbeds. The garden was designed and implemented by Jeff Gilchrist with much input from Lynn, Sr. who requested multiple citrus trees and lychee to compliment the famous old mango tree. This mango tree is a favorite of the old islanders. Snooks Adams was known to stop by to take samples and ensure there was a tasty crop!
This home has so many special memories of celebrations over the years: oyster stew on Christmas Eve, Momma Ann and Papa Lynn’s 60th wedding anniversary celebration, birthdays … family and friends. We hope you feel the aura of love and happiness created by Ann and Lynn.
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Kerschner Home – 637 Key Royale Drive, Holmes Beach
The owners, Greg and Kathy Kerchner, local architect Gene Aubry, and Shoreline Builders collaborated on the design of this coastal contemporary. The custom Sapele doors match both the garage doors and two garden gates. Wiederhold Creations custom made some of the woodwork. The eight aluminum balconies cannot be missed as you walk up to the home.
The two-story foyer draws your attention to the incredible perimeter overflow and infinity-edged pool and spa. Overhead in the foyer hangs a 32-pendant chandelier. The globes were hand blown in Israel. The wood artwork on the wall is Fever Tree, indigenous to Africa but grown at Selby Gardens in Sarasota. Floating black walnut stairs lead to the first living area. The 14-foot dining room table was created from a single slab of sinker cypress. This massive log was underwater for over 100 years and was created by Mother Nature and embellished by local craftsmen. The second chandelier features raindrop shaped globes as a paean to the natural beauty on display outside.
The kitchen tabletop was custom built for the owners for their previous home. Greg refinished it to coordinate with the quarter-sawn black walnut flooring throughout the home. The cypress mantle over the fireplace was also handcrafted by Greg. Be sure to take notice of the of the Camphor wood countertop in the powder room as Greg, again, designed and built it himself.
The owner’s wine collection rests in a climate-controlled room of cypress racking. A wet bar incorporates a local nautical chart as a backsplash. An expansive guest suite makes a perfect in-law suite with an oversized tub, sitting space and twin balconies. The second living level includes an exercise room and office. The master suite affords a view of the sunrise from a private balcony. The master bath features marble flooring and counters. A unique tub circulates air through its jets. Bedrooms three and four are also on this level. Both feature en-suite and private balconies.
An inviting bar awaits outside with full outdoor kitchen. A water feature graces one side yard and provides a soothing visual interest.
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Fangmeyer Home – 92 52nd Street, Holmes Beach
When you enter this beachfront home get ready to be swept away to the French countryside. Belle Fangmeyer designs all the charming interior. Her love of flowers and birds are ever present. As you come through the front gate be sure to see the iron sailfish artwork. This sculpture was originally a fountain in front of a bank in Tampa. You will also have an opportunity to peek over the gate at Belle’s herb garden and potting shed. Gardening is her favorite pastime. Hand-painted palm trees grace the border near the foyer ceiling, and waves greet you as you enter.
Upstairs, in the living area, is a breathtaking view of the Gulf of Mexico. A large “birdhouse” in the kitchen makes you smile as you see the wine bottles tucked into the holes of the birdhouse. A handyman friend from North Carolina made the large arch over the kitchen stove as well as the mantle over the fireplace in the living room.
Dan and Belle’s favorite room is the small room off the living room they call the porch. The table in the center of the room is from Paris. In fact, many pieces of furniture throughout the home are antiques from Europe. You will notice a dry sink in their lounge room which came from their horse stable in North Carolina. Their Tennessee Walker horses are stabled there along with Boer goats they call their big pets. Belle and Dan have a 60-acre farm in North Carolina which also doubles as a wedding venue.
As you slowly stroll and take in the serenity of this home, notice the burst of flowers as you enter each of the three bedrooms. Sunset can be viewed from two of the up or downstairs porches. The backyard and pool offer a relaxing respite. Another impressive iron sculpture of a humpback whale and calf sits close to the 149 feet of beachfront property. An outdoor kitchen is near the pool alongside the “Margarita” room. This is another guest room with an en-suite bath. Murphy beds are enclosed along one wall. The Margarita “feel” flows into the bath with shower doors that are etched with a margarita glass and shaker of salt. Olé!
Dan and Belle purchased this 3300 sq. ft. home in 2017. The builder was Whitehead Construction in 2014.
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Photos by Jack Elka
Center Bazaar
The Center Bazaar is open to all and is located at The Center at 407 Magnolia Ave in Anna Maria Island. The Bazaar will be open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. It is sponsored by Duncan Real Estate. The Bazaar will feature local vendors selling art, pottery, jewelry, and more. There will be food vendors for those looking for a quick bite during the tour. The Tropical Treasures Boutique will also be located at The Center with The Bazaar. The boutique includes crafts, art, and homemade jellies all donated to The Center. The quilt created by the Eyeland Needlers will be on display at The Center and tickets can be purchased for the raffle. The quilt is titled “Mermaid’s Garden” and is sponsored by Green Real Estate.
Photos by Jack Elka
Tickets for the Tour of Homes are $25 each and can be purchased at The Center, 407 Magnolia Ave., Anna Maria, or at each stop of the tour on the day of the event. For more information, call the Center at 941-778-1908 or email info@centerami.org.
Our mayor is a morning person. I remember during noise ordinance discussions, her describing sleeping in as 8 a.m., something service workers laughed at and felt compelled to correct. Our chief of police can be more of a night owl. Do you know how I know this? From the time stamps on their responses to my emails.
Both our chief and our mayor have personally intervened on my behalf when I was having issues with a certain rental agent. Both our mayor and our chief have urged me to contact them if I need their help, but because we maintain different schedules, I prefer to use email. I write the mayor at 3 a.m., and she responds at 6:30 a.m. I have likewise received responses to emails from our chief that were written in the wee hours.
I would NEVER call anyone after 11 p.m., with the exception of my friends on the West Coast where it is three hours earlier. I cannot believe the hubris of folks who think it is OK to call after 11 p.m. for a nonemergency situation, especially when they know the person they are calling is most likely in bed, let alone a city commissioner.
I so appreciate living somewhere where I have an opportunity to butt heads with our elected officials. But it does not mean I can abuse this opportunity. Especially when it is about an issue that should be handled with a call to the police, a department that works 24/7.
I support our mayor publicly stating that this is not acceptable. I support our mayor blocking the numbers of folks who abuse it, telling them she will only respond to calls made through the city switchboard, the number to which the calls should have been directed in the first place. Your rant will actually be heard better and responded to better if you call our mayor when she is actually awake. And she will also respond to rants communicated via email rather than over the phone.
With the Sunshine Laws in place, going through official channels is always preferable. And I hope our city commissioners know that.
The Holmes Beach City Commission appears to want to “speed up” Island traffic by adopting regulations designed to effectively eliminate golf carts. These regulations are presented in the name of safety but really represent the frustration of those who want to drive faster on our tiny Island.
Where/why do we want/need to go faster? Aren’t we all here to see children/grandchildren/tourists enjoy the beauty of our fresh air paradise? There is no statistical evidence that seat belts save lives at 20 MPH. Child car seats in a golf cart is “helicopter policing;” parents can be relied upon to protect their children.
Golf carts don’t kill people on this Island, automobiles kill people here– look it up.
For whom do we want to speed up traffic – the contractor’s pickup trucks and their landscaper’s flotillas?
Why do we need any speed limit above 25 MPH in Holmes Beach?
Every errand in an (electric) golf cart is one less automobile emission.
When I purchased my AMI home 10 years ago, I was drawn by the ethic of “Island time,” no need to go faster. The industry of the Island is tourism. Do the tourists feel the need to go faster? Don’t they rent the golf carts and other non-traditional vehicles to enhance enjoyment for them and their families which ultimately leads them to come back each year?
The Holmes Beach Commission should eliminate regulations that are not fact-based nor in the interest of the AMI experience. Life is better on “Island time.”
HOLMES BEACH – Excessive noise in residential areas is once again a hot topic of conversation in the Island’s largest city.
With the high tourist season in full swing, new visitors are coming in every day, some for several months and some for just a few days. The influx of visitors into residential areas where homes are built close together sometimes creates an issue for residents due to increased noise. City leaders enacted a noise ordinance more than a year ago with a public education component to help alleviate the issues for residents and remind visitors that they’re vacationing in a residential neighborhood.
The noise ordinance limits daytime noise to 65 decibels and nighttime noise, between the hours of 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., to 50 decibels. At 55 decibels, noise is described as a quiet conversation between two people or light traffic. At 65 decibels, noise should be at about the level of a normal conversation or regular vehicular traffic. And while the level of noise decreases the further away from it you are, in Holmes Beach’s residential areas, sometimes the furthest away you can get on your own property isn’t that far away at all. When noise becomes a problem, residents and visitors are encouraged to report the issue to the Holmes Beach Police Department.
Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer said the correct way to report a noise complaint is to call the police department’s dispatcher directly at 941-708-5807. Do not call 911. By calling dispatch, Tokajer said it allows the call to be recorded, creating a record of the incident. Callers can give their name and address or be anonymous. Anonymous callers also have the ability to give their name and address but to remain anonymous on the police records. During the day, if available, code enforcement officers respond to noise complaints. At night, or during the day if code enforcement officers are not available, police officers respond to complaints.
When officers respond to a noise complaint, they take along one of the city’s two noise meters. Officers use the decibel measurement from the noise meter to determine if the noise observed is in violation of the city’s noise ordinance. When a caller identifies themselves to dispatchers when placing the noise complaint, officers can approach the home and, if permitted, observe the noise and take meter readings from where the complainant heard the excessive noise. If the complainant chooses to not identify themselves or does not allow officers onto their property, Tokajer said officers can still do the noise meter readings but they have to be done without officers trespassing on private property. That means potentially less accurate meter readings and that some readings can only be done from the street or an adjoining property. Tokajer said officers typically do four noise meter readings at different points on the property in question.
Regardless of whether or not the noise officers observe is found by the meter readings to be in violation of the noise ordinance, he said officers approach the residence in question and ask the occupants to keep the noise down. Noise complaints also are followed up on by officers the following day to see if there are any recurring issues, he added.
For noise to be in violation of the noise ordinance, Tokajer said the responding officers must observe the noise and it must be sustained noise. One scream from a pool area might not earn the occupants a citation but consistent screams over a period of time would. Tokajer said the noise meter picks up “peaks and valleys” in sound.
Though the city’s noise ordinance does allow for enforcement not through the noise meter readings but through seven observational criteria, Tokajer said officers only use the seven criteria to describe the incident when filling out a report instead of an enforcement tool because, if a citation is challenged, the meter reading has a better chance of holding up in court.
HOLMES BEACH – A new large dog park is on the way, but construction isn’t scheduled to begin any time soon.
City Engineer Lynn Burnett gave commissioners an update during their Feb. 12 meeting on the status of the city field complex, including the dog park. She said improvements are scheduled for the park, including relocating the large dog park, but that improvements in the area are taking place in stages. The first stage, she said, was to relocate the tot park.
Public works employees began the task of dismantling the playground equipment and removing it from its previous Marina Drive facing location in January. Due to necessary improvements needed, the equipment is still at the public works facility awaiting installation at its new location near the pavilion at city field.
The second stage is already underway, to demolish the existing skate park and relocate the construction staging area from beside the existing dog park to the former skate park site near public works. Burnett said the demo on the old skate park is taking longer than expected because city workers are having to consult with Manatee County Utilities before the concrete pad can be demolished, due to the site having once been a house.
Timing with dog park renovations also is an issue, Burnett said. Though the existing park is planned to remain open during construction, she recommended not beginning construction on the new park until after the Island’s peak tourism season passes.
During public comment, dog park user and Holmes Beach resident Renee Ferguson asked commissioners to remove the two large umbrella shade structures placed in the north end of the large dog park in 2018. She said the umbrellas are not useful, people do not use them, and they’re taking up space that could be used to allow dogs to run freely. She also asked that construction on the new dog park be programmed to begin as quickly as possible.
“It’s booming in that park right now,” Ferguson said. “If we could get it moved quickly, I think it would benefit everyone.”
Burnett said she would come back before commissioners at their first meeting in March with a more detailed update on the dog park.
ANNA MARIA ISLAND – Island beaches are scheduled to get new sand, beginning with a minor repair to Coquina Beach this year, followed by a major project on Coquina Beach and Holmes Beach next year.
Sand from the dredging of Longboat Pass will be placed on Coquina Beach this year, Manatee County Parks and Natural Resources Director Charlie Hunsicker told Manatee County commissioners last week.
For nearly 30 years, the sand from maintenance dredging of the pass has been shared with the Town of Longboat Key. Last time, Longboat Key got all the sand, he said; this time, Anna Maria Island probably will need most of it.
Longboat Key plans to build five groins on its northernmost beach to protect homes threatened by erosion, Hunsicker said.
Early next year, Coquina Beach and Holmes Beach will be renourished in two major projects. The Coquina Beach project is estimated to cost $6.5 million ($3.25 million in state funds and $3.25 million in local funds) and the Holmes Beach project is estimated to cost $16 million ($8 million in federal funds, $4 million in state funds and $4 million in local funds), said Thomas Pierro, principal engineer for APTIM, the county’s beach consultant.
Coquina Beach is not eligible for federal funding because there are no homes there, and the federal government does not assist with renourishment for recreational properties, Hunsicker said, adding that one-fifth of tourist taxes collected in the county are reserved for renourishment. The state helps the county with state funding because Coquina Beach provides ample parking for beachgoers, he added.
Other projects include replacing the jetty, or terminal groin, at the southernmost tip of Anna Maria Island in Longboat Pass, replacing the groins on Coquina Beach and building a 2-acre limestone boulder mitigation reef.
Mitigation efforts
Renourishment impacts the seabed and its marine life, covering hardbottom areas with sand, said Lauren Floyd, senior marine biologist with APTIM.
While Anna Maria Island does not have hard coral reefs like those in the Florida Keys, soft corals live on the exposed hardbottom, a rich habitat for sea life.
The county builds artificial reefs in areas not impacted by renourishment to give marine life a place to go when their habitats are covered with sand, she said.
Project managers also work with Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring to avoid impacting shorebird nests, making buffers around bird nesting areas, Floyd said.
Why renourish?
Beach renourishment protects property, roads and lives, makes nesting grounds for sea turtles and shorebirds and provides a beautiful place for beachgoers to enjoy, Hunsicker said.
In renourishment projects, a freighter sucks up sand from the bottom of the seabed and pumps it through pipes onto a beach, where it is bulldozed out into the shallow water, creating a wider beach. Without renourishment, the beaches would lose an average of 10-12 feet of sand annually, he said.
Manatee County began renourishing beaches in 1992-93, when Island beaches were severely eroded, with seawalls and rocks exposed and water lapping at the foundations of homes. Subsequent major projects in 2002, 2005-06, 2011 and 2013-14 and several smaller projects, including the recent replacement of the three erosion control groins at Twin Piers in Cortez Beach, have continued to keep homes and roads high and dry.
“We can resist up to four feet of sea level rise,” because of renourishment, Hunsicker said.
The 2013-14 beach renourishment project on Anna Maria Island had a heavy impact on beachgoers. - Cindy Lane | Sun
2013 beach renourishment- Cindy Lane | Sun
The 2013-14 beach renourishment project on Anna Maria Island. - Cindy Lane | Sun
The 2013-14 beach renourishment project on Anna Maria Island. - Cindy Lane | Sun
The 2013-14 beach renourishment project on Anna Maria Island. - Cindy Lane | Sun
Charlie Hunsicker - Cindy Lane | Sun
Hurricanes have historically caused beach erosion on the Island. - Cindy Lane | Sun
Hurricanes have historically caused beach erosion on the Island. - Cindy Lane | Sun
The sand on Anna Maria Island’s beaches is a major tourist draw. - Cindy Lane | Sun
HOLMES BEACH – In a surprise move, Mayor Judy Titsworth not only publicly named two residents who called her to report noise issues but also reprimanded the two from the dais during a Feb. 12 commission meeting.
During mayoral comments at the start of the meeting, Titsworth read a prepared statement to city officials and the gathered public concerning two phone calls she’d received over the weekend, one from resident Richard Motzer and one from resident and Commissioner Kim Rash.
“Last weekend I was called twice about noise complaints. The first call was made by resident Kim Rash. For some reason, he didn’t want to be a commissioner when he called at 11:15 at night. I was called 15 minutes before he decided to call the police. The police did respond after they completed a traffic stop and they addressed the situation. The second call I received was made by Mr. Motzer on Sunday afternoon and when I asked him to call the police he refused and said that they wouldn’t do anything and then he angrily said goodbye. In both instances, they said they were only doing what I told them to do. Because of the nature of both of these calls I have unfortunately blocked them from my phone as I don’t condone bullying or harassment,” Titsworth said.
She concluded her comments by calling on Code Enforcement Officer James Thomas to inform commissioners and the public how to properly report a noise complaint to city officials.
While Rash’s only comment during the meeting from the dais was that in calling the mayor, he was doing what he had been instructed to do, Motzer was not present during the discussion.
According to emails between Rash and Titsworth, the call to the mayor’s phone on Feb. 9 resulted in a voicemail that she responded to the following morning by email, volunteering to follow up on the noise complaint with some additional information from Rash. The email chain shows that Rash responded to the request with more details about the situation, offering to work with Titsworth to bring solutions for noise back to his fellow commissioners. In an interview with the Sun, Rash said that he also went to city hall to try and meet with the mayor before the Feb. 12 meeting but was not accommodated by Titsworth.
Rash forwarded the emails between himself and Titsworth to City Clerk Stacey Johnston on Feb. 13 along with a statement to be shared with commissioners. In the email he said, “I was totally shocked at Mayor Titsworth’s attacks towards me, especially on the dais. I am 100 percent sure Judy asked me to call her direct if I ever had a noise problem. That is what I did. The email she sent Sunday morning was totally different than her attacks at the meeting. I thought my reply was very professional to her. I want to build bridges toward solutions.”
The Feb. 9 incident involving Rash and renters at 202 72nd Street was reported to HBPD officers who were involved in a traffic stop when the call from Rash came in at 11:31 p.m. Rash states that he called Titsworth to witness the noise at 11:16 p.m. He said that when the residents of the property moved back inside before officers arrived that he called HBPD dispatch and said the noise had stopped. According to HBPD records, that call came in at 11:49 p.m. Officers still responded to the call, Chief Bill Tokajer said, and determined that it was unfounded. They spoke to the residents who agreed to turn off a generator powering an incorrectly parked recreational vehicle and agreed to correctly park the vehicle as soon as possible.
Motzer also chose to respond to the mayor’s comments by email.
“Some residents, including myself, have expressed that we were totally blindsided by the mayor at the Feb. 12 commission meeting where I was not even present. All of us have had the understanding that Mayor Titsworth has told them to call her if there were noise issues. She even lamented in a Nov. 22 text ‘the Motzers have never called.’”
Motzer’s wife, Margie, was at the Feb. 12 meeting.
Motzer’s email goes on to say that the call to Titsworth lasted 32-seconds because she was not in town. He said that he did state she suggested he call the police but that he has found reporting noise complaints to officers to be “ineffective and/or counterproductive.” Motzer said he had no knowledge of Rash’s call to the mayor the night before.
Regarding the mayor’s comments about exhibiting bullying and harassing behavior, he said the accusations are false.
“Citizens were taken aback that this was done in public forum and that two residents were blocked with one call each after being, not only instructed, but encouraged to do so,” he said in the email.
“After the meeting there were more residents discussing the imminence of moving, so we are losing more residents because of incidents such as the above,” he said, concluding the emailed statement. “We need professional leadership.”
Though Motzer’s complaint was not called in to the HBPD, Tokajer followed up on it via the NoiseAware system installed in the rental he said Motzer was complaining about noise coming from, 5501 Holmes Boulevard. At the time the call came in to Titsworth, Tokajer said the print out from the NoiseAware system showed no noise that would violate the city’s 65-decibel noise maximum for daytime noise.
HOLMES BEACH – When Janis Ian makes her appearance for the Island Branch Library’s Friends’ Lecture and Travel Series Thursday, Jan. 31 at 2 p.m., she will likely do so before the largest audience in series history.
The library has enlisted the aid of Waterline Marina Resort and Beach Club, located nearby at 5325 Marina Drive in Holmes Beach, to handle the large crowd. To attend, you will have to get a free ticket at Waterline at 11:30 a.m. on the day of her appearance.
Ian will sing, read and talk about her life and career. Her appearance at Waterline will be live streamed to the library so more people can watch. Afterward, she will sign copies of her book for attendees.
Ian broke into the popular music world at the age of 16 with “Society’s Child,” a ballad about interracial dating in the socially conscious mid-1960s. She followed up in the 1970s with “At Seventeen,” a Grammy award-winning song about the importance of looks among young females.
She won a second Grammy in 2013 for Best Spoken Word Album, for her autobiography, “Society’s Child,” with a total of 10 nominations in eight different categories.
Janis Ian currently lives in Nashville with her wife, Patricia. The couple has visited Anna Maria Island in the past and is trying to engineer a move to the Island. Ian is familiar with the Island Branch Library but has not previously taken part in the popular lecture series.
“That’s why I said yes when they asked me to be a speaker in the lecture series,” she said. “I love what they do there and I’m a big supporter.”
Ian, who continues to write music, said she kept busy after “At Seventeen.”
“I went on the road from 1978 to 1982 and explored some things, but I was and am always writing,” she said.
“I look forward to my appearance for the library and I’m expecting to meet some nice people,” Ian said.
BRADENTON – It was a win and a loss for both sides during a Jan. 8 hearing in Judge Edward Nicholas’ courtroom on the tree house case.
New to the case, Nicholas dismissed the City of Holmes Beach’s motion to default, an attempt to push the case to a trial, and the tree house owners’ motion to abate, saying the move wasn’t warranted at this time. Both sides of the years-long case will have the opportunity to have their motions reheard, including a declaratory judgment request filed by attorney David Levin on behalf of owners Lynn Tran and Richard Hazen in 2013, and not pursued by either side until now.
During the Jan. 8 court proceedings, Levin argued that the declaratory judgment needs to be ruled on before the case can go to trial. On behalf of the city, attorney Jim Dye argued that the case has gone on long enough, since a code enforcement hearing in 2013, and the city wants to “go to trial and get a resolution as quickly as possible.” He also said that with different hearings and rulings happening in the case since the submittal of the request for declaratory judgment, the complaint is obsolete and would need to be redone to take into account all of the facts of the case in the previous five years.
The March 5, 90-minute conference will allow the court to consider the nature of discovery, if any, needed for a trial, determine if the declaratory judgment needs to be resolved before going to trial and allow both sides to tell their stories to the new judge on the case. If the case goes to trial, it will be to receive a ruling on the city’s request for injunctive relief and motion for default. These would either require Tran and Hazen to pay more than $65,000 in code enforcement fees and remove the tree house themselves or allow the city to forcibly remove the structure.
Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth listens to councils’ arguments during a hearing for the tree house case. – Kristin Swain | Sun
The tree house has been the subject of much debate in the city since it was built in the last half of 2011. The two-story structure is built partially in an Australian pine and supported by telephone poles designed to look like trees.
Tran and Hazen argue that they went to city hall before building the tree house to ask if they needed a permit and were told ‘no’ by a building department staffer. City leaders have previously argued that a permit was needed, that the tree house is potentially hazardous to neighbors in a storm, and that the tree house was built partially over the erosion control line on public land. The owners maintain that the structure is entirely on their property and within required setbacks from the erosion control line.
While the owners applied for after-the-fact building permits from the city, Building Official Jim McGuinness found that the supports for the tree house were not deep enough in the sand, the structure could not be made ADA compliant, and to bring it up to code would require tearing it down and rebuilding it, which could happen only if the owners could get a permit from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
The tree house case is back in court on Tuesday, March 5 at 9 a.m.
HOLMES BEACH – Commissioners will discuss whether alternate mobility share services should be allowed in the city and how they would be regulated at a work session later this month.
With a moratorium in effect blocking alternate transportation share services, including docked and dockless bicycles and electric scooters, commissioners have time to work on how they want to regulate these businesses, if they want them in the city at all, and if they want to allow docking stations on public property.
A share service operates differently than a rental agency. While rentals are done for a day, a week or more, a share service can be done through a smartphone application for only a few minutes to get the user from point A to point B.
Commissioner Carol Soustek said that while she doesn’t have a problem with docked bicycle share services, such as the one proposed by Mobile Muttley’s owners Tracy Thrall and Tom Pechous, she doesn’t want the electric scooters and undocked bicycle share services to come to Holmes Beach.
“We have limited road access,” she said. “We have to be careful what we put on them.”
She also said that if some sort of share service did come to the community, she wants to make sure that the equipment is controlled and maintained by the owners and that it doesn’t add clutter to already busy streets and sidewalks.
Standing in for City Attorney Patricia Petruff was attorney Thomas Thanus, who told commissioners that Florida law prohibits the use of electric scooters on roadways and bicycle lanes but allows them on sidewalks, which might merit further conversation about regulations for that mode of transportation. Soustek and Commissioner Pat Morton both agreed that neither wants electric scooters allowed on sidewalks.
Morton expressed concern that allowing a share service might hurt the mom and pop bicycle rental stores on the Island. He also said he’s worried about the number of bicycles that share services would want to bring to Holmes Beach. While he said he’s not a fan of either type of service, he’d rather see a docked bicycle share service instead of a dockless one.
Commissioner Kim Rash said he doesn’t believe in allowing anyone to use the public right of way for a for-profit business. He also said that he’s not in favor of allowing a mobility share service at all in the city and that none of the residents he spoke with were in favor either.
Commissioner Jim Kihm gave his fellow commissioners several alternatives to an outright ban on the services including limiting the number of bicycles allowed for the service in Holmes Beach, designating areas near trolley stops for mobility share services, requiring regular inspections of bicycles used by share services, giving companies a probationary period and requiring removal of all equipment if faced with an oncoming tropical storm.
“I don’t want to close the door on this,” Morton said. “The public should have their say.”
HOLMES BEACH – City Engineer Lynn Burnett has a plan to help keep pedestrians and motorists safer during pedestrian street crossings. The first phase of that plan, to install an estimated 13 lighted crosswalks in the city, is underway.
The first of the crosswalks was installed near the intersection of Gulf Drive and 58th Street, close to the Harrington House Bed and Breakfast, in December. Now that the first one is in, Burnett plans a second one at Gulf Drive and Guava, located within a dangerous S-curve that has proven deadly for pedestrians in the past.
Burnett said the crosswalk is in the design phase and will undergo construction in the next several weeks. One of the main concerns, she said, with the placement of the crosswalk is to make sure there’s ample signage to warn drivers of the location of the crosswalk without contributing unnecessarily to the city’s sign pollution issue.
With a public beach access located at the planned Guava crossing, Burnett said plans also are underway to add a pedestrian path on the west side of Gulf Drive to allow for safe passage between the two crosswalks.
As more plans develop, each planned crosswalk will go before city commissioners for review and approval.
HOLMES BEACH – The year 2018 was filled with court cases, city renovations and a highly-contested election for city commissioner and mayoral seats. Here are some of the highlights from this past year.
Treehouse
The treehouse case, concerning a two-story treehouse built in an Australian pine with additional supports on the erosion control line in front of the Angelinos Sea Lodge, began the year with a refusal by the United States Supreme Court to hear the case. Though city leaders pushed to have the unpermitted structure removed, the treehouse ends the year still aloft in its perch overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. Owners Lynn Tran and Richard Hazen filed court documents in mid-December seeking a temporary injunction to prevent demolition of the treehouse. The case goes back to court in early January 2019.
Spring Lake
Pollution at Spring Lake in Holmes Beach has remained an issue not only for the residents surrounding the man-made lake but also for city leaders seeking ways to clean up the lake and prevent future pollution. Currently, the previously brackish lake is acidic and cannot support marine life. City Engineer Lynn Burnett is presenting commissioners with a survey determining the amount of solid pollutants in the water and options for removal to return the lake to a healthy saltwater or freshwater state.
Brown water and silt fill the once-clear basin of Spring Lake in Holmes Beach. – Kristin Swain | Sun
Skate park
The city’s skate park has been closed for renovations throughout 2018. At the beginning of the year, city officials were considering rehabilitation of the current park. By the first of December, commissioners voted unanimously to move the skate park to run along Marina Drive with an enlarged concrete park design, costing a budgeted $150,000. If an additional $100,000 can be raised in the next eight months, a skate bowl will be added to the park.
Dog park
One of the most controversial conversations of the year concerned how to improve the city’s dog park. After nearly a year of deliberation between city leaders, dog park users and the city’s parks and beautification committee, a design was created that allows the small dog park to remain where it is and relocates the large dog park to a section of the baseball diamond, which will be repurposed as a part of larger plans to remodel the city field complex. Construction is set to begin in early 2019.
City Field
Plans to renovate city field underwent several renovations themselves. Now with a set rough layout for the park complex, renovations are expected to begin early in the new year. The tot lot is being relocated to the opposite side of the park, from near Marina Drive to adjacent to the existing park pavilion. The baseball diamond will be remodeled as part of the dog park renovations and pick up games can be played in the larger multi-use field. With the skate park being relocated, the staging area will be moved to the old skate park location near public works. The only hitch in Burnett’s plans for the park is the newly planted city Christmas tree, located in an area she’d planned as a grand entrance to the multi-use field. Mayor Judy Titsworth vowed to work around the tree to prevent moving and potentially killing the 10-year-old blue cypress.
After months of debate, Holmes Beach commissioners have agreed to a revised layout for the city field complex, as shown in this rendering by City Engineer Lynn Burnett. – Lynn Burnett | Submitted
Bert Harris
Holmes Beach received its first Bert Harris case win in court as the court upheld the city’s occupancy restrictions of six people or two per bedroom, whichever is greater, in short-term rental properties. More cases are set to be heard by Manatee County Circuit Court judges in 2019.
City manager
Over the summer, commissioners voted not to put a charter amendment on the ballot in 2019 to allow Holmes Beach voters to decide if they want a city manager or not. Instead, commissioners agreed to leave it up to the newly elected charter review committee to place on the ballot. If charter review members decide to not address the issue, commissioners agreed to reconsider before the deadline to submit charter amendments for the November ballot.
City election
The 2018 election brought several newcomers to the table, including Joshua Linney who challenged Judy Titsworth for the mayoral seat, and Kim Rash, who, along with Don Purvis, went head-to-head with incumbent Commissioner Pat Morton to claim one of two available seats on the city commission. Rash was elected with the highest number of votes, Morton was re-elected to another two-year term and Titsworth won a term as mayor in a landslide against Linney.
HOLMES BEACH – Treehouse owners Lynn Tran and Richard Hazen will be kicking off the new year in Manatee County Circuit Court as they try to save their beloved two-story treehouse from the wrecking ball.
Tran and Hazen filed for a temporary injunction Dec. 10 asking the court to prevent the city of Holmes Beach or the Florida Department of Environmental Protection from forcibly removing their treehouse from its Australian pine perch in front of their Angelinos Sea Lodge. In a summons received at Holmes Beach City Hall, the couple cited irreparable harm and loss of property value as reasons to allow the treehouse to remain, saying that if the treehouse was torn down there’s no way they could ever rebuild it and there would be damage to the large pine tree or the tree would potentially be taken down with the treehouse. They also asked for relief from the more than $65,000 in fines, growing at a rate of $50 a day for every day the treehouse remains aloft, attributed to the code enforcement violation by the city.
The treehouse was built without a permit more than six years ago. Tran and Hazen say that they went to city hall to inquire about a permit and were told they didn’t need one for a treehouse. They built the two-story structure partially in a large Australian pine that sits on the erosion control line and partially supported by telephone pole-like structures that are disguised to look like trees. When the construction was brought to city leaders’ attention in 2012 it sparked a case that has been ongoing for six years with no end in sight. For their part, city leaders are committed to seeing the treehouse come down and are seeking restitution for the $151,135 spent in court costs and attorney’s fees in the case.
The couple states in the summons that they spent $28,000 to build the treehouse and another $180,000 defending it since 2012. They also say they have a petition signed by approximately 5,000 people asking for the treehouse to remain as-is.
City leaders have 20 days from the Dec. 12 delivery date of the summons to file a written statement to be considered by the court.
The treehouse case goes back before Circuit Court Judge Lon Arend at 10 a.m. Jan. 8 where the judge will hear a motion for entry of default filed by the city’s attorney Jim Dye.
