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Holmes Beach mayor responds to consolidation threat

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

HOLMES BEACH – City leaders are making sure that state leaders know where they stand on the idea of consolidating the three Anna Maria Island cities.

Prior to an upcoming Manatee County Legislative Delegation meeting planned for Thursday, Oct. 5, Rep. Will Robinson Jr. (R-Manatee) and Sen. Jim Boyd (R-Manatee) sent out a letter warning the mayors of all three Island cities that if they don’t have a proposal for how the three municipalities can better work together, the state leaders would be seeking a state-funded and run study to determine if the cities should be consolidated into a single municipality.

Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth responded individually to both legislators on behalf of the city in letters dated Sept. 26. During a meeting on the same day, she added that she’d also spoken with Boyd on Sept. 22 and felt that they’d had a productive discussion.

Titsworth said that while city leaders are not in opposition to the study if it is used to find ways to reduce the tax burden on residents, they’re not in favor of using it as a means of paving the way toward consolidation of the three Island cities. While the cities share a single 7-mile island, she said they each have their own character that charms both residents and visitors alike.

She added that during her discussion with Boyd, she apprised him of the steps the leaders of all three Island cities are taking toward making processes more streamlined across the board, such as the building permitting process and the efforts they’re making to work together to consolidate some other processes.

While state leaders had made suggestions such as combining law enforcement, public works and building department efforts into a single department across the Island instead of one for each city, there are currently no plans to integrate any of those departments into one.

Market in the eye of the beholder

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

To some people, our national real estate market is downright awful, but to others, it may be the best of real estate times. It’s all in the eye of the beholder.

Don’t believe everything you read and, believe me, I read it all. Yes, it’s true that buyers, especially first-time buyers, are having a terrible time finding an affordable house. Yes, indeed, sellers aren’t moving out of their 1,200-square-foot starter house because they have a 3% mortgage. But it’s also true that sellers who want to sell are in a pretty darn good financial position and they’re as happy as can be.

Home prices were declining for five consecutive months but all of that has reversed itself quicker than the housing economists expected. The surprisingly quick recovery suggests that the residential real estate downturn is turning out to be shorter than many housing economists expected. Even if the number of sales keeps going down, sale prices are unlikely to fall significantly. In popular regions, including Florida, bidding wars are breaking out again, reliving the insanity of the 2021 market.

A byproduct of higher selling prices and fewer sales is, of course, the fear of low appraisals. If the buyer is planning on obtaining a mortgage based on the contract price the lender will be looking for a satisfactory appraisal for at least the purchase price. If the appraisal comes in too low, that will affect the loan-to-value ratio and could easily sink the transaction.

Sellers in today’s competitive market may remove the appraisal contingency from the contract. This means that no matter the amount of the appraisal, the buyer is legally bound to complete the transaction and better have the additional cash available.

Facing a low appraisal in an escalating market is not uncommon and can be a shock to buyers. Again, they will need to come up with more cash to close the gap to proceed with the transaction. Parties to the transaction like the broker and/or attorney can ask for consideration on the appraisal if they determine that one or more of the comparable properties were not valid, however, getting appraisers to change appraisals is nearly impossible.

Time to look at Manatee County’s August sales as reported by the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee for the month of August:

Single-family homes closed 6.9% more than last August. The median sale price was $525,000, the same as last August. The average sale price was $715,711, up 9.2% from last year. The median time to contract was 33 days, compared to 13 days last year. The month’s supply of properties was 2.8 months, compared to 2.5 last year.

Condos closed 0.8% less than last August. The median sale price was $358,990, up 1.8% from last year. The average sale price was $393,727, down 2.6% from last year. The median time to contract was 50 days, compared to 13 last year. The month’s supply of properties was 3.3 months, compared to 1.8 months.

The Realtor Association feels that our prices are steady, and Florida is enduring in its desirability among out-of-staters. The fact that new listings and pending inventory are up for both single-family and condos is encouraging. Single-family had 8.6% new listings and 8.4% pending inventory. Condos had 18% new listings and pending inventory at 16.1%.

My eye beholds further adjustments, not a downturn, and once buyers get comfortable with 7.5% interest rates, they will forget all about the 3% their friends have. This is the way the economy rolls; it can’t be timed, it can only be faced head-on.

Holmes Beach Commissioners approve budget first reading

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

HOLMES BEACH – The city’s new budget and millage rate has received unanimous support from commissioners during an initial public hearing and vote.

Despite Commissioner Terry Schaefer’s absence, city commissioners had no trouble getting the two items passed during a Sept. 16 meeting.

The proposed millage rate was dropped to 2.05 mills, a reduction from the previous year’s 2.15 millage rate but still 12.18% higher than the 1.873 mills rollback rate. The millage rate is the rate charged per $1,000 of assessed property value for city taxes. The rollback rate is the millage rate that would bring in the same amount of revenue as the previous year.

“I don’t know how you all did it,” Commissioner Carol Soustek said. “The quality of services that people expect here are high and you kind of have to keep that up. But you all have just done a phenomenal job. It got lower than I thought it would go,” she said of the millage rate.

Soustek said that she hopes property owners understand that by lowering the millage rate from the previous year, commissioners provided a tax cut even though the city’s ad valorem tax revenue actually did go up due to an increase in property values. She added that it was unfortunate that the price tag has increased for city property owners, however, she added that increases across the board in costs make it impossible for the city to use the rollback rate to bring in a lower amount of tax revenue.

Commissioner Greg Kerchner asked if language could be added to the millage rate ordinance that explains how the tax rate works, but the idea was shot down by City Attorney Erica Augello who said it would be inappropriate to add such wording to an ordinance.

The budget presented during the first budget hearing totals $25,121,957 including $10,960,076 in reserves. The city treasurer noted that with a modest increase in reserves, Holmes Beach will have 24.5% in unrestricted reserves, just under the recommended 25% in unrestricted reserves recommended for coastal cities. The unrestricted reserves are used to run the city in case of an emergency, such as a hurricane, if the tax base for Holmes Beach is decimated. The funds also can be used to help cover unexpected expenses throughout the year with commission approval.

There was no public comment offered during the meeting.

The public has one more chance to weigh in on the budget before commissioners vote on it again. A final budget public hearing and vote is scheduled on Tuesday, Sept. 26 at 5 p.m. at city hall, 5801 Marina Drive. While meetings can be viewed online, anyone who wants to speak must appear in person in commission chambers.

The 2023-24 fiscal year begins Oct. 1.

Hurricane floods local gas station tanks

Hurricane floods local gas station tanks

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

HOLMES BEACH – Customers who purchased gas at Jessie’s Island Store immediately following Hurricane Idalia may have received a surprise they weren’t counting on – floodwater in their vehicle’s gas tank.

After several vehicles broke down after getting gas from the station, it was discovered that seals on the station’s underground tanks had failed. When the area was flooded by Hurricane Idalia, representatives from the Sarasota-based ATCO Inc./Merit Petroleum said that floodwater mixed with the gasoline in two of the tanks. The company estimates that more than 200 gallons of the tainted gasoline was sold, resulting in damage to vehicles.

According to the mechanics at CarParts.com, mixing water with gasoline in a vehicle can cause several problems depending on the amount of water in the tank. Some of the most common issues include the vehicle running roughly, the check engine light coming on shortly after putting the fuel in the gas tank and the engine stalling. Water in a vehicle’s fuel system also can cause corrosion to occur, which can lead to more issues down the road. Repairs to the vehicle may include flushing the fuel system and draining the gas tank to remove any water from the vehicle.

The underground gas storage tanks at the Island convenience store were cleaned out over the weekend of Sept. 8-10 and refilled with clean gasoline, according to ATCO representatives. At press time for The Sun, it was unconfirmed whether repairs to the seals on the tanks had been completed to prevent water from re-entering the storage tanks if the area floods in the future.

Anyone who believes they purchased some of the tainted gas is asked to stop by Jessie’s at 5424 Marina Drive in Holmes Beach and pick up a form to fill out and return to ATCO with any documentation concerning repairs needed to the vehicle after purchasing gas at the convenience store. Anyone who believes they may have purchased some of the ruined gas is advised to have their vehicle checked out by a certified mechanic and should not attempt to continue driving their vehicle without first having the gas tested to determine if any water is in the fuel tank, even if no performance issues with the vehicle have been noted.

The ruined gas is estimated to have been sold between the store’s reopening after Hurricane Idalia passed on Aug. 30 until the issues were noted the week of Sept. 4.

When Hurricane Idalia swept past Anna Maria Island on Aug. 29, storm surge combined with a king tide caused widespread flooding in all three Island cities. Holmes Beach police reported that there were several inches of standing water throughout the city center area where Jessie’s Island Store is located.

Letter to the Editor: Garage would ruin appeal of Manatee Beach

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

This is in response to the Aug. 23 edition of the Anna Maria Island Sun, “Beach parking garage fight continues.”

I just want to add my voice in support of the comments made by Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer. My family has been coming to Holmes Beach since the early 1980s when my in-laws lived across the street from Manatee Beach. Our three children have such great memories of being on the beach and “jumping in the waves.” We celebrated my mother-in-law’s 80th birthday at the Beach Café, where my wife’s parents danced together to the background music that always seemed to be playing at the Beach Café every night. Sunday mornings we’d take the kids over to have breakfast with The Pancake Kings. When we were back in Chicago, and then in Minnesota, I’d often see the AMI sticker on cars while out driving, and it’d make me wish I were there. Thousands upon thousands of people all over the country can probably tell you of the great times they’ve had at Manatee Beach and the Café.

It’s part of what Anna Maria Island is all about. It’s the City Pier, where the people responsible resisted putting up railings along it when it was recently rebuilt because railings weren’t in the original design. It’s going to the restaurants that seem to have been there forever, like Hurricane Hanks, Skinny’s and the Sandbar, and coming back to them year after year. But what attracted me right away to Anna Maria Island, and especially Holmes Beach, was that Holmes Beach has somehow managed to hold on to having the look and feel of being a town. It’s not what most of the other islands along the Sun Coast have become. That’s what draws people to come here and to want to live here. Manatee Beach, the Beach Café, the Pancake Kings, they’ve all been an integral part of the Island for as far back as most people can remember.

Take that away by putting in a three-story concrete structure right where people have been parking for years, well, it’s paving paradise to put up a parking lot. Once you lose paradise, you can’t get it back.

 

Jeff Forsythe

Bradenton

Where have all the volunteers gone?

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

Election season is coming up and it’s a strange one this year on Anna Maria Island, mainly because there are no elections being held in any of the three cities. All the qualified candidates are incumbents, leaving no reason for voters to go to the polls in November.

Either residents are happy with their current elected officials or are there no more willing volunteers on the Island.

It may be the latter.

Holmes Beach commissioners are about to amend their city’s charter because only one person qualified to run for the five-person 2024 Charter Review Commission. In Anna Maria, the historic preservation board just dropped its numbers down to three people so that it only takes two volunteers showing up to have a quorum.

Are Island residents just not taking an interest in their city governments anymore or is the lack of volunteers due to residents leaving the Island?

While city leaders in Holmes Beach say their population grew over the past year, U.S. Census data from 2021, the most recent data publicly available, shows a drop in full-time residents across the Island.

Drops in population combined with a lack of willing candidates to run for office could signal a shift that some Manatee County and state leaders are looking for, one that would indicate the three Island cities are ripe for consolidation.

Our communities need some volunteers to step up to work on committees and run for office. Otherwise, it may just be the straw that breaks the Island’s back.

No election, charter commission in Holmes Beach

No election, charter commission in Holmes Beach

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

HOLMES BEACH – There will be no changes on the city commission dais this year. Commissioners Pat Morton, Terry Schaefer and Carol Soustek are all automatically re-elected for another two-year term.

All three incumbent commissioners were unopposed when election candidate qualifying ended at noon on Sept. 1, eliminating the need for a November city election in 2023.

This will be Soustek’s fifth full term as a city commissioner. She was first elected in 2015 after being appointed in 2014 to fill the unexpired term of former Commissioner David Zaccagnino.

Morton was first elected in 2003 as a city commissioner, serving 17 years on the dais before losing his seat in the 2019 election. He regained his seat in 2021.

This will be Schaefer’s third term as a city commissioner. He was first elected to his seat in 2019.

Not so cut and dry were the Charter Review Commission results. After only one candidate, Holmes Beach resident William Romberger, qualified for one of the five seats, city leaders had to look to the charter and City Attorney Erica Augello for advice.

Initially, City Clerk Stacey Johnston announced that Romberger would be working to appoint an additional four members to the Charter Review Commission. Then Augello weighed in with a different opinion by email.

In her email, Augello said that because there were not five members sitting on the commission, the seats could not be vacated and therefore an appointment couldn’t occur. Under the city’s charter, she said there must be five members, or the review board can’t convene.

“Right now, the city is in a position where it is violating its charter by following the provisions of its charter through no fault of its own,” Augello said. “There is no way to enforce it if not enough people volunteer to run and serve.”

What this means for city commissioners is that they are now tasked with amending the charter.

According to the Holmes Beach charter, a charter review commission must be convened every five years to see if any amendments need to be made to the document by which the city is run. Mayor Judy Titsworth often refers to the charter as the city’s “Bible” during city commission meetings. Without a charter review commission, the scheduled five-year examination of the document in 2024 cannot take place.

Augello said an ordinance needs to be drafted for commissioners to consider to amend the charter to put the operations of the city back in line with the document.

This year marks the first time since the city was incorporated in 1950 that not enough people qualified to run for the charter review commission.

Island consolidation back on table

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

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – The threat of consolidation of the three Island cities isn’t over. Members of the Manatee County Legislative Delegation have warned Island mayors that they’re getting ready to start up talks again at an October meeting.

In an Aug. 21 letter, delegation members Sen. Jim Boyd (R-Bradenton) and Rep. Will Robinson (R-Bradenton) sent a letter to all three Island mayors noting that they’re ready to initiate a Florida Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability study, known as OPPAGA, to “focus on the potential benefits of combining the three municipalities of Anna Maria Island, which encompasses the cities of Anna Maria, Holmes Beach and Bradenton Beach.”

The letter is in response to Jan. 30 talks with the mayors about the possibility of combining city services. In the Aug. 21 letter, Boyd and Robinson said they haven’t received a major update from the mayors and blamed Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth.

“We understand the mayor of Holmes Beach does not want to participate in the coordination talks, given it will be seen as a first step toward consolidation of the three Island cities,” the letter states, giving the mayors a deadline sometime prior to the delegation’s planned Oct. 5 meeting for a response.

In speaking to The Sun on Aug. 24, Titsworth said that she hasn’t stopped participating in any talks among the three Island mayors. In fact, she said she’s been hosting the ongoing talks at city hall in Holmes Beach.

“Staff is working on it,” she said of the process to combine or streamline some services. She noted that the building departments in all three cities are working to see how they can streamline their processes to make applying for permits in each municipality easier for homeowners and contractors. Though the mayors have all been participating in the talks, she said that at only about eight months in, they’re not at a point where any specific service has been identified for consolidation or streamlining.

“As mayors, we all have full plates,” she said, adding that the mayors are committed to all working together. She said that her city’s code compliance officers have helped to train code enforcement officers in the other cities.

“We’re not trying to be defiant,” Titsworth said. “This was just dropped on us in January. We’re trying to work on what the delegation has requested but they need to have some patience.”

One sticking point is that Titsworth said she and Bradenton Beach Mayor John Chappie are unwilling to give up their individual police departments, allowing those two cities to be patrolled only by Manatee County Sheriff’s Office deputies who now provide law enforcement services to the city of Anna Maria. Titsworth said she’s happy with the services provided by the Holmes Beach Police Department and doesn’t want to change the law enforcement situation in the city.

As for the study, she said that it’s important to note that the example given in the letter from Boyd and Robinson of Longboat Key having had a study to determine if it should remain in two separate counties has a major difference from the one proposed on Anna Maria Island – the people of Longboat Key asked for the study.

“They asked for that study; we didn’t,” she said.

If state leaders insist on conducting the study on Anna Maria Island, Titsworth’s response is, “Bring it. I’d love to find ways to help save taxpayer money.” The letter states that the purpose of studying the benefits of consolidation would include saving taxpayer money and potentially reducing taxes for property owners.

While Titsworth said she was unable to attend an Aug. 24 Anna Maria Commission meeting, she said Mayor Dan Murphy had her approval to speak on her behalf giving an official response to the letter on behalf of all three mayors. She said the mayors met earlier in the day to discuss their response and decided that they’re in favor of the study if it can help save taxpayer money. However, they’re not in favor of consolidation of the three Island governments.

The topic of consolidation came as a surprise to the three mayors when the members of the state legislative delegation started the conversation at their Jan. 11 meeting, voting unanimously to approve the OPPAGA study for the Island. That was the same meeting in which the idea of sponsoring a bill to allow Manatee County commissioners to approve and build a parking garage at Manatee Beach in Holmes Beach against the city’s land development code was initiated. That bill, HB 947, was passed earlier in the summer by the state Legislature after receiving unanimous votes in the House and Senate before gaining the approval of Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Vicious dog attacks again

Vicious dog attacks again

Written by Jason Schaffer on . Posted in Community News, Holmes Beach.

HOLMES BEACH – A Holmes Beach resident says she and her dog are lucky to be alive after being attacked by a 143-pound mastiff while going for a walk at her condo.

Evalena Leedy was taking her 9-pound toy poodle, Alonzo, for a walk on Aug. 21 about 8:30 p.m. when the unleashed 143-pound dog approached rapidly.

“The whole ordeal was terrifying!” Leedy said. “I was walking Alonzo near the condo when out from the bushes, next to the dumpster comes an unleashed, large mastiff dog running straight for us. I picked up Alonzo and threw him on top of a parked car. The dog repeatedly lunged at me and bit my right arm, causing me to bleed. The dog kept coming, I was trying to protect myself and Alonzo and was unsuccessfully attempting to kick the dog away.”

Leedy said after she had been bitten, the dog’s owner, later identified as Anthony Santamauro, arrived and pulled the mastiff off her.

“I was screaming for someone to call the police and get help, we were being viciously attacked. The owner then put the dog inside the gate of one of the units and started walking toward me asking what was happening. Standing there bleeding, I told him that his dog bit me. His reply was ‘He did not bite you, you are going to kill my dog,’ which I thought was a strange and unbelievable response,” Leedy said.

According to a medical report from HCA Florida Blake Hospital that Leedy provided to The Sun, along with photographs of her injuries, the dog bit her and she had five serious puncture wounds and lacerations to her right arm that required multiple sutures and medication after she was treated.

Leedy says she is thankful the injuries weren’t worse and her dog, Alonzo, escaped unharmed, but she feared for both of their lives as the incident unfolded.

Worried about rabies complications, she was able to get vaccination records from the owner of the condo where the mastiff’s owner was staying. She said that fortunately, the animal did have a rabies shot in February of this year. However, while looking at the vaccination record from a Bradenton veterinarian, she was shocked to see Santamauro’s name.

“I read an article in The Sun recently about a small dog being killed in an attack at Island Time Bar and Grill in Bradenton Beach on Aug. 9,” Leedy said. “I quickly realized this was the same dog and the same owner. The last dog he attacked died. How is he still running around without a leash?”

Leedy had called 911 after the attack, but since she was in the car with her partner driving to the hospital, they referred her to Manatee County Animal Control and did not send police since the victim wasn’t on the scene to speak to them.

She said a later call the next day didn’t get her much information from Animal Control, and she didn’t even know if the dog was still in her neighborhood. The Sun called Manatee County Animal Control on Aug. 24, and was told they would not provide any information on the case. The following statement was issued by email from Manatee County Public Information Officer Bill Logan, which he said was from Manatee County Animal Welfare:

“This is an open active Dangerous Dog (Florida Statute 767) Investigation. The dog owner will be served his letter today along with citations that will be issued.”

According to the Florida Department of Health, there is a mandatory 10-day quarantine for any dog that bites a human. If the dog has been vaccinated and is up to date on its rabies shots, that quarantine can be at the home of the owner. Since the first attack took place on Aug. 9, the 10-day mandatory quarantine period would have expired when Leedy was bitten on Aug. 21, but the animal should now be under a second quarantine for the attack against her.

Both Animal Control and Holmes Beach police met with Leedy on Aug. 25 at her home, and she said that both agencies told her they had not yet been in contact with Santamauro, who was no longer staying in the Holmes Beach condo complex where the incident occurred.

Lt. Brian Hall of the Holmes Beach Police Department told The Sun in an Aug. 25 phone call that his department had compiled a report on the incident and would be sharing that report with Animal Control, which is leading the investigation.

If the investigation finds the dog to be dangerous, any further attacks on humans or other domestic animals would cause the owner to be subject to a first-degree misdemeanor charge, and the dog could be confiscated by animal control and humanely destroyed after a 10-day period, according to Florida Statute 767.13 (1). If a dog deemed dangerous attacks, causing serious injury or death to a human, the owner could be guilty of a third-degree felony and the dog humanely destroyed after a 10-day period, according to Florida Statute 767.13 (2).

Holmes Beach seeks TDC approval for path enhancements

City seeks TDC approval for path funds

Written by Jason Schaffer on . Posted in Community News, Holmes Beach.

HOLMES BEACH – City officials are seeking tourist tax funding for enhancements to the city’s multimodal path and the creation of a new path. Public Works Superintendent/City Engineer Sage Kamiya addressed the Aug. 21 Manatee County Tourist Development Council (TDC) meeting, citing the recent death of a bicyclist in the city and the death of a pedestrian who was struck by a truck earlier this year while crossing the street.

Kamiya told the TDC at the meeting at The Center of Anna Maria Island that a functional multimodal path running the length of the city was a matter of “life and death.”

Kamiya noted that there is a path for walkers and bicyclists that runs along a portion of Marina Drive, but it needs improvement. The proposed new path would begin around the 2800 block of Gulf Drive and continue almost the entire length of the city to where Gulf Drive and Marina Drive merge in the 8000 block. The proposal calls for the path to be separated from the road by a grassy buffer area that would further separate people using the path from the road, improving safety.

“Being here on the Island, you see a lot of people have to make use of the road because there aren’t a lot of good options for walking,” Kamiya said.

Holmes Beach seeks TDC approval for path enhancements
Holmes Beach Public Works Superintendent/City Engineer Sage Kamiya addresses the Manatee County Tourist Development Council on Aug. 21 seeking funding for the city’s proposed multimodal path. – Jason Schaffer | Sun

Connecting the path to the city’s 30 beach access points is also part of the plan, which would begin with the 65th and 66th Street access points near the center of the city. The city would also like to see educational signs along the path, allowing users to learn about wildlife they may encounter, such as shorebirds and sea turtles, as well as Island flora.

The budget estimate for the project totals $2,436,727, with half of the money going to the Gulf Drive path improvements ($1,293,238), and the remainder designated for Marina Drive path improvements, engineering design, crosswalks and educational signage.

Although the plan is ambitious, Kamiya told the TDC that it would be implemented in phases, with the first phase focusing on the city center area on both Gulf Drive and Marina Drive. The phase 1 estimate is $1,133,401 with $399,460 coming from the City of Holmes Beach and the remaining $733,948 being requested from tourist tax funds.

The TDC makes recommendations on the use of the funds to the Manatee County Commission.

Rather than approve or deny the funding recommendation, the TDC unanimously chose to have the matter brought to the next TDC meeting on Monday, Oct. 16, in hopes of getting answers to questions that multiple board members had, such as whether the path would eliminate public parking spots, which side of the street the path would be on, and defining a more specific timeline, among other concerns and questions.

Beach parking garage fight continues

Beach parking garage fight continues

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

MANATEE COUNTY – In the aftermath of a Manatee County Commission work session discussing the building of a parking garage at Manatee Beach, city and county officials continue to make their thoughts known on the hotly debated project.

During the Aug. 14 work session, county Commissioner Jason Bearden said that the beach parking garage should be “the top priority for the county.” This would rank the proposed three-story parking structure at the county-owned beach in Holmes

Beach, with an estimated 900 parking spaces at a cost of $30-50 million, higher than parking garages at the downtown Bradenton county administration building, among others.

Manatee County commissioners stated the garage would provide beach access for everyone in the county, which has almost half a million residents. Anna Maria Island is a 7-mile-long barrier island that is 1 mile wide at the widest point. According to Holmes Beach police, who patrol the Manatee Beach parking lot, the lot has more than 400 parking spaces with hundreds more located within a quarter mile of the public beach access, the only one in the city with restroom, shower and concession facilities.

The current downtown garage has an estimated lifespan of less than two years due to structural issues. A presentation on the plans for that garage estimates that it will cost about $100 million to construct and, once complete, would potentially have two stories of office space for county staff and parking for both the administration building and the downtown business and entertainment district at large.

Bearden’s comments were echoed by Commissioners James Satcher and Kevin Van Ostenbridge.

Commissioner George Kruse stated that while he’s not in opposition to putting a garage at the site, he doesn’t feel that it’s the project that’s most needed in the county right now. He was the sole member of the county commission who opted not to move the project forward into the design phase at this time.

After the meeting, Kruse released a statement reiterating his position on the proposed beach parking garage. He said that while the county has heard many reasons from residents why the garage should not be built, personally, he has two reasons why the project should slow down, not speed up. The first reason, Kruse said, is the cost of the parking garage versus other needs in the county that could better serve a larger number of people. Some of his examples include failing infrastructure across the county, the planned Fort Hamer Bridge, which he said would help more than 21,000 people a day in their commutes and cost approximately $60 million, and the planned downtown parking garage, all of which are currently awaiting funding.

Kruse went on to say that these projects could better enhance the quality of life for more county residents than a few hundred parking spaces at the beach.

During the county presentation, staff said there are approximately 300 surface parking spaces at the county beach available. If the garage is built, it will remove those spaces, along with the concession stand, retail stores, restrooms, bar and showers, for a minimum of 18-24 months. The new facilities would be incorporated into the bottom level of the garage, providing about 900 parking spaces on the property for beachgoers.

While the county presentation listed Manatee Beach as having about 300 parking spaces, Holmes Beach officials state that the existing parking area has 406 spaces. When first proposed, Van Ostenbridge said the beach garage would have 1,500 or more parking spaces. County staff said it would have a maximum of 900 spaces, increasing parking at the public beach by 496 spaces according to the city or 600 according to the county.

Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer, whose officers patrol the beach property, also issued a statement following the county work session. In his statement, Tokajer said that even during heavy beach days, such as over spring break, there were regularly 100-300 parking spaces available in the city for beachgoers that went unused. He also noted that if the garage is approved, lanes need to be installed along the sand for first responders and law enforcement personnel to be able to respond to an emergency situation.

“Approving this garage will truly put you on the wrong side of history,” he said. “You will be ruining the character of the Island, the experience that past guests have had and future guests expect. Destroying a beautiful landmark with open space, a natural environment filled with trees and nature, replacing this historic site with a massive concrete public safety nightmare.”

In addition to concerns about being able to access beachgoers in an emergency, Tokajer has also expressed concerns about patrolling the garage structure itself and traffic and safety concerns due to the congestion caused by a larger number of people trying to get in and out of the garage at the same time.

Castles in the Sand

High-end properties show blow-out numbers

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

Every day I look at new listings on Anna Maria Island and in Cortez, and every day I’m surprised and ask myself when it will end. In the years leading up to COVID-19, I would analyze over $1 million properties listed on the Island and in Cortez. Now that exercise seems quaint, almost peculiar and it all changed in a short three-year period.

Because of these extraordinary listing numbers, which I see every day, I did a quick analysis of available properties in the three cities of Anna Maria Island and Cortez, researched on the Realtor.com website as of this writing. Rather than use $1 million as my breaking point, I upped it to $3 million, so get ready for this:

The city of Anna Maria had 82 properties listed, 44 of which were $3 million or over, almost half. The top property was listed at $16,995,000. Every million-dollar category was represented, and, except for the very top listing, there wasn’t a big gap between the categories.

Holmes Beach and Bradenton Beach, which are combined by zip code on Realtor.com, had 179 properties listed, 45 of which were $3 million or over. The top listing number was $22,500,000 and, like Anna Maria, except for the very top, the listing prices represented every million-dollar category.

Even Cortez has a new listing at $3,750,000 with the rest of the 12 listings hovering in the mid- to high-million dollar range.

Sales of properties in the high-end market around the country are slowing. The high-end and luxury market nationwide is defined as the top 5% of homes and they’re suffering from the same issues the regular old real estate market is struggling with, low inventory and high interest rates.

Redfin’s analysis reports that in the first quarter of 2023, the sales of high-end properties were down by 33% from the first quarter of the previous year. They feel this is the result of the frenzy during the pandemic as well as inflation and a volatile stock market.

The markets with the biggest drop in transactions for the three months that ended June 30 are also the metro areas that were unstoppable during the pandemic: Miami was down 40.14%, Nassau County on New York’s Long Island was down 39.34%, New York City was down 35.98%, Los Angeles was down 36.17% and Chicago was down 34.13%.

Miami and New York City are starting to show signs of life. Miami is still recovering from the mass migration and buying frenzy during COVID-19, and inventory has not been resupplied. And New York is New York and will always come back to life with the suburban high-end areas around it following. However, it appears that Los Angeles and Chicago will take a little longer based on residents leaving Los Angeles for lower tax states and Chicago residents leaving because of crime.

Based on the number of pending properties, it looks like Anna Maria Island is also slowing but we are in the worst part of our off-season with heat alerts and record-breaking temperatures, so we won’t have a clear idea until later in the year. Typically, Anna Maria Island, and Florida in general, has outpaced most of the country in growth and the real estate market has followed along.

The combination of Anna Maria, Holmes Beach and Bradenton Beach had 89 properties listed at $3 million or over, all on a 7-mile spit of land. I think I’ll stop asking myself where it will end because I don’t know and neither does anyone else. Such is the nature of real estate.

Florida Highway Patrol

Cyclist killed in collision on Anna Maria Island Bridge

Written by Jason Schaffer on . Posted in Community News, Holmes Beach.

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – A man on a bicycle was killed after a collision with an SUV on Manatee Avenue near the center of the Anna Maria Island Bridge, according to the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP). The incident took place on Aug 9 at 12:23 a.m. FHP officers say a 23-year-old Bradenton man was driving eastbound on the drawbridge when he struck a 33-year-old Lancaster, New York man on a bicycle riding in the eastbound lane. The driver of the SUV stopped to lend aid. Troopers say the cyclist was thrown into the concrete barrier, suffering fatal injuries. FHP continues to investigate and has not yet released the names of those involved. 

AME students back in school

AME students back in school

Written by Jason Schaffer on . Posted in Community News, Featured, Schools.

HOLMES BEACH – For some children, it was their first day of kindergarten, and emotions ranged from excitement to just plain nervousness. For fifth graders, it was the first day of their last year at Anna Maria Elementary School (AME), and they were ready to enjoy a year of being at the top of the elementary school food chain.

AME students back in school
Kindergarten teachers Kiley Flynn and Rachel Frantz lead their students to the classroom after the new parent orientation on Aug. 10, the first day of
school at Anna Maria Elementary, as Joshua Cook looks back. – Anne Yarborough | Sun

Dressed to impress, with many sporting new backpacks and their personal favorite outfit, students were ready for the first day of school on the morning of Aug. 10. Parents lined up to drop off their children at AME as Principal Mike Masiello, the school staff, Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer and several Holmes Beach police officers greeted parents and this year’s 206 students.

AME students back in school
Police Chief Bill Tokajer greets first-grader Wilder King on the first day of school at Anna Maria Elementary. – Anne Yarborough | Sun

“We had a great turnout for back-to-school night. Parents and students were excited to meet the teachers,” Masiello said. “It’s wonderful to be back in session and see the kid’s smiling faces as they walked into the building for the first day of school. We look forward to a school year full of teaching, learning and all of the wonderful events that make AME such a great school.”

It wasn’t just staff and students who were excited to begin the new school year; parents were also ready for another year at the little school by the bay that many feel is a special privilege for their children to attend.

AME students back in school
Jana Wilder smooths her son Abel’s hair on his first day of kindergarten at Anna Maria Elementary. – Anne Yarborough | Sun

“My kids couldn’t wait to get into school this morning,” said Margie Messinger, who has three children at AME. “I have children in kindergarten, second and third grades. They were dressed up and ready to go, and there was quite the welcoming committee this morning. The principal, chief of police and just about everybody was out there; it was great.”

“This is one of the reasons we live here. Anna Maria Island is already amazing, but this school is the cherry on top,” second-grader parent Michelle Urbiola said. “They brought in the Guy Harvey program and I can’t have my kids anywhere else. This is the best place for them and I’m just so grateful.”

County moves forward with beach garage design

County moves forward with beach garage design

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

MANATEE COUNTY – Parking garage plans for Manatee Beach in Holmes Beach are moving forward despite pushback from Anna Maria Island residents and one commissioner.

During an Aug. 14 work session, county commissioners discussed four potential parking garages, one of which is the proposed parking garage at the county-owned Manatee Beach that was approved by Gov. Ron DeSantis earlier this year. When initially discussed, Manatee County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge proposed a three-story 1,500 parking space garage costing an estimated $45 million. The garage proposal presented to county commissioners during the work session is expected to cost $30-35 million to build and have about 900 parking spaces. While the actual look of the garage is not yet decided upon, the garage is planned to cover the entirety of the existing beach parking area, including the concession, retail and restroom areas. The new parking garage would include concession, retail, restroom and other facilities.

Commissioner George Kruse said he’s concerned about the cost of the four proposed parking facilities. He said that three of the garages are “niceties,” but the proposed downtown Bradenton replacement garage is the only one that is actually needed. The current garage has structural issues and must be replaced for safety reasons. Out of the four proposed garages, the downtown garage is estimated to cost the most at around $100 million.

Kruse said that rather than serving the public interest, he feels the Manatee Beach parking garage is being considered strictly to support a narrative constructed around a lack of beach parking. Having toured the city’s available parking, he said he feels that the 600 additional spaces the garage would provide over and above the current 300 in the parking lot are unnecessary and that the construction of the garage, planned to take anywhere from 18-24 months, could cause significantly more damage to the area than it helps, reducing facilities and beach access over two high tourism seasons. He also noted that the garage is currently an unfunded expense for the county.

Kruse’s comments received a round of applause from members of the public in the commission chambers. However, Van Ostenbridge said he feels that the rest of the board doesn’t share Kruse’s concerns.

Commissioner James Satcher said that if he could just choose one parking garage on the list of proposals, he’d pick the Manatee Beach parking garage. “People are clamoring to get to the beach. This is the right thing to do,” he said. “This should definitely be number one on our list.”

PUBLIC OPINION

During public comment, several people spoke against the parking garage, including Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer, former Holmes Beach mayor and former county commissioner Carol Whitmore, city attorney Erica Augello and Titsworth.

“We do have adequate parking and I want to show you so bad,” Titsworth said to the county commission. “Please, before you act, take me up on my offer. Come take the tour and see our available parking.” She did note that Bearden agreed to come visit the city in the next week.

Some of the issues with parking in residential neighborhoods that Titsworth noted include lack of bathrooms, resulting in people defecating in sea oats, and lack of lifeguards down the entire length of the beach.

Resident Bruce Meyer also spoke and said he feels that he’s being “punished” and is not represented by the county commission. He said that 600 spaces wouldn’t make a difference with the amount of people who want to come the county beaches.

Augello noted that the proposed revenue stream for parking garage, paid parking, is not an allowable use in Holmes Beach and would not be allowed. If pursued, she said it could potentially end in litigation.

Owner of the Bamboo Beach Apartments, Alice Sutton, invited the county commissioners to come for a free weekend stay on a day of their choice and help her pick up used diapers, condoms and other debris from the sea oats and beach, help direct parking and explain to naked people why they can’t change in the complex’s laundry room.

Holmes Beach Commissioner Carol Soustek said that the issue isn’t availability of parking, it’s not addressing the issues with traffic and not addressing multi-modal transportation. She noted that the city commission is responding to the concerns raised by the residents they’re elected to represent to reduce on-street beach parking in residential neighborhoods. She said the city is not limiting access to the beach.

“We want to accommodate everyone we can,” she said. “We just can’t accommodate all of the cars.” Soustek encouraged county commissioners to look at some of the studies that have been done concerning traffic and congestion for additional solutions to issues with beach access, such as multi-modal transportation.

Holmes Beach Commissioner Greg Kerchner addressed Bearden’s comments about planning for the future of the county with the potential for residential growth of 100,000 people over the coming years. He said that if the county wants to plan for the future, leaders need to look at more sustainable options than 600 beach parking spaces.

Closing out the meeting, both Kruse and Bearden spoke again with Kruse reiterating his earlier concerns that there are more pressing infrastructure issues in the county, such as the $60 million Fort Hamer Bridge project and the downtown Bradenton parking garage, that need to be addressed before a mere 600 parking spaces at Manatee Beach that will tie up facilities and parking for years is considered. Bearden said that he believes the 600 spaces will make a huge difference to people who live on the east side of the county who are waiting in traffic to get to the beach.