PALMETTO – County and state officials believe they now have the Piney Point crisis under control.
During today’s 4 p.m. press conference, acting County Administrator Scott Hopes said, “This has been short-lived. We have dramatically reduced the risk in a very controlled way, so that, hopefully, all of us have time to recover both physically and emotionally. I think everybody should rest assured that this is very much under control now. The risk has been lessened to the point that people will be able to return to their homes. Well water (and) drinking water is safe. The environment is being protected as much as possible.”
Manatee Public Safety Director Jake Saur said the Piney Point evacuation order has been lifted and residents and business owners and operators are now allowed to return to their homes and businesses. US-41 is open but a stretch of Buckeye Road remains closed.
According to Saur, the breached pond currently contains approximately 59 feet of water. More than 20 pumps are being used to continue siphoning approximately 33-34 million gallons a day of water from the breached containment pond continue to be pumped into Tampa Bay.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) is taking frequent water quality samples at the Piney Point site, at Port Manatee and in the waters beyond the port. Water quality sample results can be found online.
Kevin Guthrie, the deputy director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management said a submersible will be brought in Wednesday to survey and hopefully repair the tear or tears in the liner of the breached retention pond.
Earlier today, during the Manatee County Commission meeting, Hopes said there has been no second breach of the containment pond. He said the thermal imaging previously detected by aerial drones and thought to be another potential breach in the containment wall, proved to be plant material rather than water seeping through a tear into the containment wall. Hopes said approximately 300 million gallons of water remained in the breached containment pond as of this morning.
During today’s meeting, county commissioners unanimously approved using deep well injection to remove any remaining water from the breached pond and also from the more polluted water contained in two additional Piney Point retention ponds that have not been breached. According to County Commission Chairwoman Vanessa Baugh, the water will be treated to the county’s standards before it is injected deep into the ground using a deep injection well to be located on a nearby county-owned property.
FDEP Secretary Noah Valenstein said the permitting, engineering and design work for a deep injection well typically takes two to three years before the actual injection process begins.
State and federal funds are expected to be provided to cover or help cover the significant cost of the deep well injection process.
In closing Hopes said he did not anticipate the county holding any additional press conferences on the Piney Point situation.
FDEP and FDEM officials and are expected to remain at the Piney Point site for the foreseeable future.
Updated Nov. 16, 2020 – BRADENTON BEACH – Longtime Island resident Mark Mixon died Wednesday evening from an accidental electrical shock he received during Tropical Storm Eta.
According to Det. Sgt. Lenard Diaz, of the Bradenton Beach Police Department, the fatal accident occurred at a home Mixon was working on at 211 Bay Drive N. The police department received the dispatch call at about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.
“The Fire Department and EMS were there. When we got there, a guy came running up to us and said his friend just got electrocuted,” Diaz said that evening.
According to Diaz, Mixon was placing sandbags around the bayside of the Bradenton Beach home before the accident occurred.
“He went inside his storage room, which is part of the house and on the ground, and there were approximately 3 inches of water inside the storage room. When he walked inside, he didn’t realize he had an appliance still connected to electricity. He walked inside and he was electrocuted because the appliance was partially in the water,” Diaz said.
Diaz said the storage area contained a washer and dryer and some tools. He later said he believed the dryer to be the source of the electrical shock.
Diaz said Mixon’s friend tried to pull Mixon out of the storage area, but he felt electricity surging through the water and discontinued those efforts and called 911.
“When we got there, we couldn’t walk in until the electricity got turned off, which took approximately 30 minutes. We then brought him out and checked his vital signs and he was deceased,” Diaz said.
When contacted that evening, Manatee County Public Safety Director Jake Saur provided some additional details. He said Manatee County EMS was among those who responded to the 911 call.
“Our 911 center called FPL. This was the first time in my 20 years we’ve had to call FPL and ask them to de-energize a portion of the county. That takes a lot to do and they asked us if we’re sure we want to do this because we could take out power to a lot of other critical things. We’ve never really done that before, but we did it in this case so we could get into that home,” Saur said.
Around that same time, several Bradenton Beach residents noted on Facebook that they had lost power.
When contacted that evening, West Manatee Fire Rescue Chief Ben Rigney confirmed the electrocution. Rigney did not provide the victim’s name but did say the victim’s next of kin was notified of the accident.
“The next of kin was on scene,” Rigney said.
“They had an electrocution. It came in at approximately 5:35 today. Our responders went there. When they first walked in they felt a little tingle so they had to back away until they got FPL out there,” Rigney said.
“They were unable to access the patient due to the power still being on. They had to wait for FPL to secure power to the area before going in to check on the patient and he was confirmed DOA (dead on arrival),” Rigney said.
Rigney said this was the first time he was aware of a significant portion of the power grid being turned off in response to an emergency call.
Several years ago, Mixon took over operations of Jim Mixon Insurance Inc., the family-operated, Holmes Beach-based insurance agency founded by his father, Jim. After the agency was sold, it was renamed Waller-Mixon Insurance.
Holmes Beach resident and County Commissioner Carol Whitmore knew Mixon well.
“I’ve known Mark since the 70s or 80s. He grew up in Holmes Beach. He used to be my neighbor on 84th Street for many years before he moved to Bradenton Beach. Mark was a very quiet man and he helped his parents with Mixon Insurance. He was a very hard worker. He took pride in succeeding his parents in the family business and carrying on the family legacy. I know more people than I can count in Manatee County and on the Island who got their insurance from Mark. After they sold the business, I heard he stayed busy repairing and remodeling houses,” Whitmore said.
Patrick Shomo owns the property at 209 Bay Drive N., next door to the scene of the accident. He also spoke kindly of Mixon.
“Nobody lived there. Mark told me it was his personal project house and he’d been working on it mostly alone,” Shomo said.
“Mark was good people and has been nice to my family since we became neighbors in October. He hit it off with my wife and kids and talked to my 9-year-old son about fishing, always letting him chase a lost lure onto his property. We are all sorry to see him gone. He was also my insurance agent for years. The Island lost a good man,” Shomo said.
Holmes Beach resident Margie Motzer said, “We were so sad to hear about Mark. He was such a nice guy and he will be sorely missed.”
Holmes Beach resident Scott Moore said, “Mark was a great guy. He was a really nice guy and everybody on the Island liked Mark.”
Moore’s daughter and longtime Island resident Kelly Moore Hunt said, “It’s so tragic. Mark was such a good person. I have his smiling face in my head. When we were children, we used to stay at his house all the time. He was so welcoming to all the kids and he treated us like a second dad. I ran into him about a year ago and he said if you need anything you come to me. He was the most loving, caring human and he was always there for his friends. He grew up on the Island and he was all about Anna Maria Island.”
MANATEE COUNTY – County officials and the Manatee County Health Department are trying to address a critical shortage of (COVID-19) specimen collection kits.
On Tuesday, Manatee County Commissioners authorized County Administrator Cheri Coryea to spend up to $100,000 to purchase up to 1,200 COVID-19 test kits and the personal protective equipment needed to administer those tests.
Using $100,000 of the county’s $6.5 million emergency disaster fund, Manatee County is now trying to directly purchase coronavirus test kits without going through the state government.
Public Safety Director Jake Saur said the county had already submitted a request to the state for 600 testing kits, in addition to the 1,200 test kits Coryea is now authorized to purchase.
While Tuesday’s meeting was in progress, Commissioner Carol Whitmore reached out to Florida Sen. Bill Galvano.
“I texted Bill Galvano while we were sitting here and told him that we can’t get testing kits. He told me he was on it. He called with the EOC Director (Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Jared Moskowitz) on conference call and asked what we were missing. I told him we needed collection kits. He said the collection kits are on their way,” Whitmore said while participating in the virtual meeting from her home.
Commission Chair Betsy Benac said she recently emailed Galvano as well.
“Great job Carol. That’s great news,” Commissioner Misty Servia said.
Later in the meeting it was learned that 300 test kits would be coming from the state that day and they would likely be used for a second round of drive-thru testing at the Bradenton Area Convention Center in Palmetto.
“Our goal today is to get to the state level of 1% tested over the next seven days. Another 1,200 tests will get us to that goal and continue to raise that percentage locally,” Coryea said.
Benac said she was concerned that Manatee County has the fourth-highest mortality rate in Florida.
“We know local numbers are going to keep going up. People have got to respect the fact that we cannot be together. We cannot congregate yet. The advice is clear. We need to do more testing,” she said.
Saur said COVID-19 cases and deaths are flattening statewide but still trending upward in Manatee County.
“The state of Florida currently has 823 fatalities and of those, 33 have been within Manatee County. This compares to 686 for all of Florida and 20 for Manatee on Friday afternoon, which results in an increase of fatalities of 65% for Manatee County since Friday,” Saur said.
Saur said Manatee County had 312 positive reported COVID-19 cases on Friday afternoon and 431 positive cases as of Monday evening, which he noted was a 38% percent increase during that short span.
Mixed messaging
Servia asked Saur about the messaging coming from the federal government.
“I watch the President’s press conference every single night and last night I heard Vice President Pence say we have enough tests, the state governors have plenty of tests and we can begin phase one reopening the country. I’m confused. Why are we hearing that message? I talked to Kevin DiLallo this morning, from Manatee Memorial Hospital. I said do you have enough tests? He said absolutely not, we are so short on tests. He said the labs are also very short on tests. They cannot properly test people, including the frontline people. I’m just trying to understand why there are two different messages,” Servia said.
In response, Saur said, “We placed an order today for 600 testing kits within the state, but the overall message from the state Emergency Management Office is there’s no tests. I can’t speak for the federal government at all. I can only speak for our dealings within the state government, and no, we are not getting ample tests.”
Testing shortages
Saur said about 1% of Florida’s population has been tested and approximately one-sixth of 1% (.006%) of Manatee County’s population has been tested.
During Friday’s emergency county commission meeting, Saur was asked about reaching a 10% testing threshold in Manatee County.
“I can tell you 10% for our county would be about 46,000 tests. That is not going to be possible prior to beginning to open up and getting back to work,” Saur said.
Servia asked Saur why Manatee County has had so many fewer tests than Sarasota County.
“We know the state of Florida has run out of tests. Since we last saw our 200 tests we used for our drive-thru (testing) the State of Florida has sent us more tests. However, we were told we could not use them and all of the information on all those tests were in Chinese,” Saur said.
Saur said the tests marked with Chinese language were not FDA-approved.
On Friday, Saur said MCR Health in Manatee County has purchased its own tests and is providing COVID-19 testing for those who meet the testing criteria. He said those with a prescription from their personal health care provider and those without a prescription can be tested at an MCR Health facility.
“MCR has plenty of tests,” Saur said.
On Tuesday, Coryea said it costs $107 to get tested at a local MCR Health facility and part of that amount covers the lab fees. She said there is a co-pay for those with health insurance and a sliding cost scale for those without insurance. It was also noted that it costs between $50-$60 to purchase each test.
Saur said tests conducted with test kits received from the state must be done at no cost to the person being tested – including those conducted at the county’s drive-through testing facility.
Dr. Jennifer Bencie, of the Manatee County Health Department, said the health department returned to the state the 150 unusable test kits marked with Chinese language.
BRADENTON – Manatee County Commissioners have extended the countywide curfew until Tuesday, but they have even larger concerns about the lack of coronavirus (COVID-19) testing kits and the high number of nursing home residents and employees who’ve already tested positive.
And according to Commissioner Carol Whitmore, former commissioner Gwendolyn Brown has died as a result of contracting COVID-19. Brown was Manatee County’s first African-American county commissioner and the county’s first African-American commission chairperson.
Curfew extended
During Friday afternoon’s emergency county commission meeting, Manatee County Public Safety Director Jake Saur presented his request to extend the curfew for another seven days.
“Manatee County has not yet achieved a flatting of the curve. Our response to COVID-19 is going to continue for some time. Therefore, sustained efforts to promote social distancing that slow the spread or flatten the curve remain more crucial than ever. Over the next few weeks, while our health and medical community remain on the front lines and under a great deal of stress, we need to be doing all that we can to build and maintain resiliency in ourselves and in our community,” Saur told the commission.
Saur said COVID-19 cases in Manatee County are now predicted to peak during the week of May 3. The previous anticipated peak was on or around April 21.
The commission voted 4-3 to extend the curfew until Tuesday, April 21, when it will be discussed again during the regular county commission meeting which starts at 9 a.m.
When making her motion to extend the curfew until Tuesday April 21, Commissioner Priscilla Trace said it was possible that Gov. Ron DeSantis might make an announcement on Monday that impacts the county curfew.
For now, the countywide curfew remains in effect from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. daily. Travel during that overnight timeframe is restricted to those engaged in essential businesses, services or activities set forth in Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Executive Order 20-91, which some refer to as a ‘stay-at-home’ order.
Testing concerns
Commissioner Misty Servia asked Saur why Manatee County has had so many fewer tests than Sarasota County.
According to Saur, the Manatee County Health Department has run out of specimen collection kits and is waiting for more.
“We know the state of Florida has run out of tests. Since we last saw our 200 tests we used for our drive-through (testing) the State of Florida has sent us more tests. However, we were told we could not use them and all of the information on all those tests were in Chinese,” Saur said.
The tests marked with Chinese language are not FDA approved.
“As of today, they’re going to start replacing those with valid FDA-approved tests. When those come in, we will definitely start using those to start testing the public,” Saur said.
Manatee County commissioners are dealing with numerous coronavirus-related concerns. – Manatee County Submitted
Saur said MCR Health in Manatee County has purchased its own tests and is providing COVID-19 testing for those who meet the testing and symptomatic criteria. Saur said those with a prescription from their personal health care provider can be tested at a MCR Health facility. He also said those without a prescription can be tested at a MCR Health facility if they meet the testing criteria.
“MCR has plenty of tests,” Saur said.
Saur said Manatee Memorial Hospital has purchased tests and he thinks Blake Medical Center has too.
Commissioner Vanessa Baugh asked Baugh if COVID-19 testing was free nationwide. Saur said he’s aware of medical facilities in Manatee County charging for coronavirus tests.
Dr. Jennifer McCullen is an obstetrician in Lakewood Ranch. She is also the president-elect of the Manatee County Medical Society. During public comment, she expressed support for extending the curfew. She also addressed the cost of purchasing COVID-19 tests.
“They are $60 per test and you’re not getting them for free,” McCullen said.
County Administrator Cheri Coryea said there would be a meeting on Monday at which she, Saur, local health care professionals and Manatee County Health Department officials would discuss purchasing test kits directly, without going through the state.
Coryea said she has asked the discussion group to provide a number as to how many tests are needed and how many tests can be appropriately administered in Manatee County.
Commissioner Reggie Bellamy asked about the county’s available financial resources.
“It is a funding issue from the standpoint of the costs of tests, but it’s also an access issue of finding tests that are the appropriate tests. At this point we’re not as concerned about the financial implications,” Coryea said.
Coryea said said she’s spoken to other organizations and individuals in the community who’ve offered to assist in the efforts to purchase tests directly.
“I don’t feel it’s a funding issue, it’s getting the right information so the right tests are here and carried out properly,” Coryea said.
Coryea said she would provide the commissioners with more details on Tuesday.
Nursing home concerns
Saur addressed the need to test nursing home residents and employees.
“Our number one testing concern right now is with our nursing homes. The state has brought in incident management teams to our nursing homes and they’ve started a very big push to get all of those patients and workers tested,” he said.
“As of this week, our health department has started issuing involuntary quarantines to some of those nursing home workers because we know they’re spreading COVID-19. The state is reserving those tests for the nursing homes. We have to get into those nursing homes to make sure they’re following all the proper procedures and that they’re also being tested,” Saur said.
“We have two long-term care facilities that have tested employees and residents. And of those two sites, we’ve had over 100 positives in those two long-term care facilities,” Saur said.
COVID-19 claims former commissioner
During Friday’s meeting, Whitmore announced Brown’s passing.
“I have some very bad news. Commissioner Gwen Brown died at 2:49 from this terrible disease. She was at home. She wasn’t in a nursing home. She wasn’t able to drive, so somebody brought it (the virus) to her. Her family asked me to publicly announce this and to please pray for her. So, for those of you who say you don’t know anybody and can’t put a name to this, Commissioner Gwen Brown rest in peace,” Whitmore said.
Former County Commissioner Gwendolyn Brown has passed away. – Manatee County | Submitted
Beaches still ‘closed’
During public comment, Bradenton resident Michelle Pinel addressed the beach closures on Anna Maria Island. She questioned the fairness of Island residents and vacation rentals guests being allowed to access the Island beach areas that remain difficult for other county residents to utilize due to the temporary elimination of public parking spaces.
Bradenton resident Michelle Pinel wants the county beaches reopened. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
“The beach is closed down, but it is only closed down to the average Manatee County citizen. There are people illegally checking into vacation rentals and the citizens (of the Island) are allowed to use the beach, but we are not. I think that is unfair,” Pinel said.
MANATEE COUNTY – On Friday afternoon, Manatee County commissioners voted to enact a temporary countywide curfew that took effect at 11 p.m. Friday night and remains in effect until further notice.
The countywide curfew prohibits non-essential travel – travel that is not for food, medicine, essential supplies or employment – between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. seven days a week.
The commission majority approved the curfew as an additional measure to prevent the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19).
Commissioners Betsy Benac, Reggie Bellamy, Misty Servia, Priscilla Trace and Carol Whitmore supported the curfew.
Commissioners Vanessa Baugh and Steve Jonsson and opposed the curfew. Baugh and Jonsson said they did not think the curfew was necessary. They felt Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Executive Order 20-91 – which took effect Friday morning and pertained to essential and non-essential businesses and services – provided law enforcement with all the enforcement powers they needed.
Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells and Manatee County Public Safety Director Jake Saur requested the curfew. Mayors and local law enforcement agencies throughout Manatee County also requested the curfew during a previous emergency operations policy group meeting.
What it means
The curfew prohibits non-essential travel – travel that is not for food, medicine, essential supplies and employment – between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. seven days a week.
The curfew was enacted by the commission majority’s adoption of Manatee County Resolution R-20-053.
According to the resolution, “A curfew is hereby established, effective immediately, for all of Manatee County. All pedestrian and vehicular movement, standing and parking, except for:
(a) persons commuting to and from places of employment;
(b) the provision of fire, police, emergency and hospital services;
(c) the transport of medical patients;
(d) utility work;
(e) state and local government employees and officials providing services;
(f) emergency calls by physicians;
(g) food delivery services;
(h) and walking of domestic animals are allowed during curfew hours.”
According to the county resolution, “Social gatherings of 10 or more people that do not constitute essential services or essential activities as those terms are defined in the Governor’s Executive Order 20-91 are prohibited.”
According to the county resolution, “The prohibitions set forth herein shall embrace all publicly owned property, all public spaces and all privately owned property (excepting the interior space of residences) within Manatee County, including all municipalities within the county, excepting the Town of Longboat Key.
According to the resolution, “The restrictions set forth herein shall remain in place until such time as terminated by the Board of County Commissioners or seven days from the effective date of this resolution, whichever is sooner.
“Notwithstanding, the foregoing, the chairperson (or in her absence, any vice-chairperson) of the Board of County Commissioners, after consultation with the Director of Public Safety (or in his absence, the Emergency Management Officer) is empowered to extend the period of the prohibitions declared herein, in seven-day increments, by memorandum,” the resolution says.
County Commission Chairperson Betsy Benac led the discussion and decision making on the proposed curfew. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
“Any person violating any provision of this Emergency Resolution is guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in Section 252.50, Florida Statutes,” according to the resolution.
Enforcement powers
Late Friday afternoon, Manatee County issued a press release pertaining to curfew.
“Under the supplemental local emergency resolution, Manatee Sheriff’s Office and municipal police department officers now have the ability to issue citations to anyone not in compliance with the Governor’s Executive Order 20-91 & 20-92,” according to the press release.
“Law enforcement will now also have the ability to cite outside group gatherings on private property. Under Florida Statute 252.50, those who violate the State Emergency Management Act are guilty of a second-degree misdemeanor and can be served a notice to appear order,” according to the press release.
During Friday’s meeting, Wells and Saur told the commission the curfew would protect law enforcement officers and first responders who face a critical stretch in April as COVID-19 cases are expected to climb steadily in Manatee County and throughout the state of Florida.
The press release notes the curfew also gives law enforcement agencies the ability to enforce group gathering restrictions on private property, in conjunction with Governor DeSantis’ Executive Order 20-91 & Executive Order 20-92.
Curfew request explained
“We’re at a pivotal point to make a difference and to flatten the curve,” Saur said. “I do believe with a curfew, the public should know they shouldn’t be out on the roadways. The curfew is a time when you should be at home.”
Saur said several EMS staff have already needed to be quarantined because of accidental exposure to COVID-19. He voiced concern that as the virus continues to spread, law enforcement officers and other first responders will become depleted by sickness or quarantine. For that reason, he said additional local restrictions are needed now.
“We are receiving an average of 100 COVID-19 calls a day. Each coronavirus call takes two hours to complete. At night and on weekends, other medical emergencies still occur, like trauma, people having accidents. That still occurs every day and every night,” Saur told the commission.
The county’s press release notes the commissioners were leery of infringing on personal freedoms, but ultimately voted 5-2 to approve the resolution in an effort to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and to protect first responders.
“I want to make sure everyone’s civil liberties are protected but we could argue that COVID-19 has already led to some restraints on our civil liberties when you think about the travel ban and the quarantine,” Commissioner Misty Servia said.
“The public should realize we take this very seriously but we’re doing the best we can in extremely bad times,” Commissioner Priscilla Trace said.
“Before today’s action, local COVID-19 restrictions were only enforceable on public property such as public beaches and public boat ramps. County and city officials say the public has largely heeded those restrictions, but group gatherings at private residences – such as vacation rental homes, recreation centers and event halls – continue to pose a public health risk,” the press release said.
State-mandated boat ramp and marina restrictions
During Friday’s meeting, Assistant County Attorney Bill Clague also addressed the impact DeSantis’ essential services order, Executive Order 20-91, now has on Florida’s boat ramps and marinas.
Assistant County Attorney Bill Clague explained the impact Governor Ron DeSantis’ essential businesses and services order has on boat ramps and marinas. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
“It’s very difficult to understand how it works because the governor’s order is challenging. There’s Miami-Dade (County) orders attached to it and those orders reference other orders that are not attached to it. Right now, the governor’s order does require privately run boat ramps and marinas to be closed, with the exception for commercially licensed saltwater fishermen. That wasn’t the case until this order was issued, but now they are closed, along with the public boat ramps. It’s very hard to find, you have to dig for it to understand what’s going on,” Clague told the commission.
The governor’s executive order does not prohibit boating or fishing, nor does the county curfew.
City Administrator Cheri Coryea said the two county-owned golf courses would remain open and private golf courses can also remain open. But it was noted that golf course clubhouses and country clubs are not allowed to sell alcohol for consumption on-premises and their restaurants and kitchens are limited to takeout and delivery food service only, as our all Florida restaurants at this time.
Friday’s county commission meeting can be viewed on demand on the county’s YouTube channel.
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