Tag: Kevin Van Ostenbridge

Protestors oppose beach parking garage

Written by Joe Hendricks on June 24, 2023. Posted in Community News, Featured, Holmes Beach.

BRADENTON – More than 50 concerned citizens and city officials gathered on Friday to protest Manatee County’s plans to build a 1,500-space, three-story parking garage at Manatee Beach in Holmes Beach.

The protesters made their voices heard along Manatee Avenue in front of the county administration building in downtown Bradenton.

The scheduled protest coincidentally occurred a few hours after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 947. Introduced by State Rep. Will Robinson (R-Bradenton), supported by Sen. Jim Boyd (R-Bradenton) and unanimously approved by the Florida House and the Florida Senate, HB 947 allows Manatee County to build a parking garage on the county-owned Manatee Beach property in Holmes Beach despite the city’s prohibitions on the construction of a parking garage.

Manatee Beach in 1955. – Manatee County Historical Records Library | Submitted

The parking garage must still comply with the height restrictions contained in Holmes Beach’s city charter, which will limit it to three stories with parking on the roof. To make room for the garage, which is expected to fill the entire existing parking lot, the vintage concession stand and other buildings at the beach will be demolished.

The estimated $45 million construction process is expected to take two years.

Protesters speak

Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth and city commissioners Dan Diggins and Carol Soustek participated in Friday’s protest.

“I’m glad the bill was either signed or vetoed because I didn’t want it to just go unnoticed,” Titsworth said. “Now people know what DeSantis believes in – the loss of home rule and big government overreach. That completely circumvents our ability to govern and people don’t have a voice anymore. It’s wrong.

“The parking garage is unfunded, so the county’s going to have to find the money. I hope they don’t dip into reserves because we need those reserves, especially with the increased magnitude of the hurricanes coming our way. And there’s a lot of infrastructure in the county that needs funding. We’re dealing with a county water pipe issue right now. I hope they put the emphasis on things like that instead.”

Titsworth said the fight is not over.

“We have legal recourse and a couple other things we’re working on that I think could make an impact,” she said. “The citizens have to take their stand and tell the people they elected how disappointed they are.”

Titsworth said the city will have no input or oversight of the construction of the parking garage.

“They made sure we didn’t have a seat at the table. I’ve never seen such hostile local bill,” she said.

Diggins said, “I think it’s heavy-handed government at its worst. This bill was passed to solve an undefined problem. They never brought us a plan to say this is what we’d like to do with the studies about drainage, traffic and beach carrying capacity. If those things were done, we’d be open to consider it. This whole thing was done bass-ackwards.

“It was basically done because some county commissioner got their feelings hurt,” Diggins said. “We passed an ordinance that banned a parking garage. It had nothing to do with the county’s plans and that set this whole thing in motion. Once (Manatee County Commissioner) Kevin Van Ostenbridge saw that, he threatened us with retribution; and apparently, this is part of that retribution.”

Diggins and Titsworth were asked if the county ever considered buying the nearby vacant Bank of America property and building a parking garage there instead.

“I brought that up in front of Kevin and he said, ‘Why would I do that when we already own the county beach?’ He didn’t want to do it,” Titsworth said.

“I talked to Kevin before I was a commissioner and I brought up that suggestion. He said why would we do that? We already own the county beach,” Diggins echoed.

Soustek said, “There’s a lot of people here that are very concerned. We appreciate everyone who takes a stand against big government trying to take away home rule rights from the cities. It’s not the solution. It’s just another problem. There are other solutions. There are studies that were done in the past and they recommend off-Island mass transportation to the Island. That would help with the traffic. I think they should have taken a lot more time to look into the matter before they pushed it through.”

Holmes Beach resident and Island business owner Morgan Bryant helped organize the protest.

“I want to preserve Anna Maria Island. We don’t need a 1,500-space parking garage. It’s sad that the first thing people are going to see when they drive over the bridge is a giant parking garage,” she said.

“The biggest thing here is big government overreach and circumventing our home rule and our city’s ability to preserve itself. I was upset driving over here when I heard the news. I don’t know that this protest will change anything, but at least our voices will be heard. I hope the city and the county can find a better solution. People need to be made aware of the parking spaces we have throughout Holmes Beach and the Island. I grew up in east Bradenton. I understand why people get upset when they can’t find parking spaces, but there are parking spaces,” Bryant said.

“Some of us are also concerned that this will open up the door to a higher structure and before you know it, we’ll have a whole bunch of high-rises on the Island,” former Island resident Carla Ballew said. “We’re trying to keep the jewel that it was, which it’s not anymore, but we’re still trying to preserve some of that quaintness that used to be Anna Maria Island.”

“The county has completely mishandled this entire situation from start to finish. This is an absolute misuse and waste of our tax dollars,” Speak Out Manatee founder Talha Siddique said. “The county has closed off far more beach parking than the city of Holmes Beach has and that’s almost $50 million that could go to schools, teachers, our police and firefighters and our crumbling infrastructure. Our elected officials want to put our money towards something we don’t want. At its core this is a local issue. Our county commission didn’t want to work out a deal with the city. That’s why we need to speak out and we need to vote in 2024. If these county commissioners aren’t going to vote in accordance with what we want them to do, we have an opportunity to take anybody out of office who doesn’t want to listen to us.”

Longtime Island resident Tom Aposporos said, “The governor signed the bill and it surprises me because I understood he was a believer in home rule. This is the antithesis of home rule. Can you imagine a parking garage staring you right in the face as you’re driving onto that bucolic Island? And making traffic worse, not better. How can anyone who has an ounce of decency think that’s a good idea?”

Regarding Robinson and Boyd’s legislative efforts, Aposporos said, “I’m surprised. I’ve never had a reason to disrespect either one of them. I do not understand this at all. I think there has been political intrigue between the local governments and those gentlemen as state officials, but somehow I think that can be worked out. It doesn’t have to become this draconian decision to build a multi-story parking garage in the middle of a beautiful place. It will not accomplish what they’re saying it will accomplish and I hope that all comes out in the courts.”

Charlene Smock and Brandi Brady were among those holding blue and red signs that said, “Danger Will Robinson.” Smock lives in Palma Sola and Brady’s family has owned and operated the West Coast Surf Shop next to Manatee Beach for more than five decades.

Regarding DeSantis signing the bill, Brady said, “We just found out and we’re devastated. You’re going to fill that big concrete building on the beach with a lot more people coming to the Island and leaving the Island. All the tourists that come into our shop love the Island the way it is and everybody we’ve talked to is against the garage. That might be great for our business, but no. We have enough business. Everybody has enough business. The traffic’s going to be even worse,” Brady said.

Smock said, “Think about emptying that parking garage with 1,500 cars all trying to come out at once during bad weather.”

Smock suggested the county finish its Coquina Beach parking improvements so those temporarily unavailable parking spaces are available again.

Letter to the Editor: Open letter to AMI representatives

Written by SUN contributor on January 26, 2023. Posted in Letter to the Editor, Opinion.

This is a copy of the letter I have sent to:

Rep. Will Robinson Jr.
Rep. Mike Beltran
Rep. Tommy Gregory

Sen. Jim Boyd
Sen. Joe Gruter
Manatee County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge

It has taken me several days to compose my anger at you and ALL of the other members of the local state legislative delegation. Who do you think you are and how dare you make an attempt to subvert our three local governments? I can’t tell you how disgusted and terrified I am with every one of you. I have always been under the impression that Republicans believed in as little government intervention as possible. It seems as though that has changed with you. Our democracy is now being taken over by a dictatorship!

I discovered early on that Commissioner Van Ostenbridge, who supposedly represents Anna Maria Island, does not support his constituents, apparently, unless they are investors, realtors or wealthy folks who can line his political pockets. He does not think or care about the residents of our three cities. He certainly appears to be another self-centered politician who is only interested in his own well-being. Now, unfortunately, it has become apparent that ALL of you legislative delegates are only interested in your own political futures. Why don’t you come out to the beach two to three times a month, especially during the summer months, and observe that there is no room for one chair, let alone for a group. The overcrowded beaches are becoming unsafe for all of us. But NO!! We have to continue to advertise all over the world and bring more and more tourists here. And then you complain that there is inadequate parking for the thousands of off-island beachgoers and then threaten us with a four-story parking garage.

I have lived here for 30 years and my parents for 20 years before that, so 50 years of being high taxpaying residents while watching AMI lose its quiet charm, especially in the last 10 years. Do you see what is happening to local residents who are leaving in droves? Do you even really care? No, because you receive more money and support from investors, etc.

Now I wonder if we need to warn residents from Sarasota, Pinellas, Hillsborough and other counties with small coastal communities that they may be next? Why don’t you take over Mar-a-Lago???

Please contact the delegates and voice your dissent before it is too late.

May God help us.

Ruth Cawein

Anna Maria

AMI fights back against state representatives

Written by SUN contributor on January 23, 2023. Posted in Anna Maria Island, Community News, Featured.

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – As state representatives discuss bypassing Holmes Beach codes to build a parking garage and dissolving the three Island cities, locals aren’t taking it lying down.

Residents, property owners, business owners, visitors and others who love the Island just the way it is have banded together to get the word out and reach out to Manatee County’s state legislative delegation members in an effort to have their voices heard in Tallahassee.

Led by Holmes Beach resident Laurel Nevans, 950 people had joined Save AMI Cities as of Jan. 23. The Facebook group is dedicated to making the people’s voices heard at the local and state level on both issues.

The battle is focused on a parking garage. Manatee County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge wants to build one at Manatee Beach, a property owned by the county but located in Holmes Beach. Before those plans got off the ground, city commissioners voted to not allow multi-level parking structures in their city, a stance echoed by city leaders in Bradenton Beach and Anna Maria. Van Ostenbridge warned city leaders at a public meeting that there would be consequences to their actions.

Now the fight has escalated to the state level with Rep. Will Robinson Jr. initiating a bill to not only override the city’s decision to disallow parking garages but also to break the city’s three-story building height restriction, which is in the city charter. Robinson said he wants to see a four-story parking garage built at Manatee Beach. A four-story garage also would violate the three-story height limitation for unincorporated Manatee County, which is what the Island would likely be merged into if all three Island cities were dissolved by the Legislature.

That possibility arose from state legislative delegation discussions earlier this month to consider hiring the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability to study the feasibility of dissolving the Island’s three cities.

Protestors speak out

Members of Save AMI Cities are writing letters to state representatives and looking at other ways to make sure their opinions on the proposed measures are heard.

The Sun reached out to those members to see what they have to say about the two proposals.

“This ‘taking’ of our local cities diminishes our votes and our ability to get those little things done in our communities,” Binky Rogers said. “We have owned in Bradenton Beach for 35 years and lived here permanently for 14 years. I feel that our mayor and city commission have our best interests at heart, and they are very approachable. The ‘bully’ county commissioners will not worry too much about our small Island except, of course, bringing in more tax dollars from all the high rises that’ll appear. All I can say at this point is think hard about who you vote for. We can’t just ‘pave over paradise and put up a parking lot.’ ”

“I recognize the value of tourism to our little island, but it’s the vibrant, quaint, simple life that we fell in love with and that is slowly being destroyed by developers,” Holmes Beach resident and local Realtor Kelly Gitt said. “I am strongly against the proposal of a parking garage and an advocate of slower speed limits, safe sidewalks/bike lanes and paying a toll to come out to the island. I don’t believe the parking garage has anything to do with protecting our beaches or the slower pace of life we love and appreciate here.”

“I’m a homeowner and small business owner here on AMI,” Bob Casey said. “A parking garage is not the solution and I think the county commissioners know this. How about finishing the parking lot at Coquina? I could be wrong, but I think they have ulterior motives. If they can overrule our three-story building limit it will be like ringing the dinner bell to all the developers. Then AMI will lose its old-school charm that locals and visitors alike enjoy. Our local governments are not perfect (who is?) but they live among us and have our best interests at heart.”

“The tourist board advertises Anna Maria as ‘a taste of Old Florida,’ then does everything it can to destroy that,” resident Janis Ian said.

“It begs the question of what the motivation is for the county commissioners and legislators to try and control AMI,” part-time Island resident Barbara Trinklein Rinckey said.

Chris Arendt referenced an Urban Land Institute study that notes that additional parking on the Island will not solve issues related to reaching maximum capacity for people and vehicles on the seven-mile Island. Arendt called both proposals by the legislative delegation “sham proposals.”

“It’s intimidation, plain and simple,” Arendt said. “Fact is every single Island conservative I know, and that’s many, are vehemently opposed to both the proposals. That should tell you all you need to know.”

“This is outright intimidation to control our Island towns,” Barbara Quinn said. “A garage won’t help the massive traffic caused by overdevelopment.”

“The Manatee County commission wants to keep their thumb on the cash cow that is AMI,” Laura Siemon Seubert said. “And a certain county commission member didn’t get his way, he essentially ran to ‘daddy’ to step in and make the other kids play with him. The county doesn’t care if we turn into another Panama City Beach or Fort Lauderdale. They only see the dollar signs with each bed tax. The ironic thing is a parking garage won’t help the bottom line. The day trippers that will use the parking garage aren’t spending the night. There is no financial gain from a parking garage. And as far as the three cities becoming one? All the charm and uniqueness of the Island will disappear.”

“I thought we lived in the United States?” Bradenton Beach resident Chris Johnson questioned. “Have any of the commissioners talked to the Islanders to see how we feel on the Island? This Island has been in my family’s blood for four generations, and we have protected the Island for years. The beaches are beautiful but there is more to this Island than beaches.”

State representatives suggest eliminating Island cities

Written by SUN contributor on January 17, 2023. Posted in Anna Maria Island, Community News, Featured.

MANATEE COUNTY – Members of the local state legislative delegation are making plans to permanently change the face of Anna Maria Island, beginning with a parking garage and potentially ending with the dissolution of the three Island cities.

A citizens’ action group, Save AMI Cities, has already sprung up on Facebook with the intent of making voter and stakeholder voices heard by state legislators.

During a Jan. 12 legislative delegation meeting, Rep. Will Robinson Jr. brought up beach access and parking issues in Holmes Beach. Robinson, a Republican, proposed introducing a bill during the upcoming state legislative session to pre-empt Holmes Beach city leaders’ decision to ban parking garages. His plan would allow a four-story parking garage on the Manatee County-owned parcel at Manatee Beach, one story higher than the city’s limit. His fellow Republican members of the delegation, Rep. Tommy Gregory, Rep. Mike Beltran, Sen. Jim Boyd and Sen. Joe Gruters, voted unanimously in favor of the proposal and putting the bill forth for consideration at the state level.

If the proposed bill makes it through all of the levels of state government, including committees and the Senate, and gains the approval of Gov. Ron DeSantis, it would allow Manatee County commissioners to subvert local government regulations and issue their own building permits for construction on county-owned property, regardless of the city the property is located in.

“I thought it was incumbent for the Legislature to step in and pre-empt that authority to allow a four-story parking garage if the county commission so votes and funds that parking garage to be built,” Robinson said. “It is fundamental for anyone to be able to visit our public beach and, in my view, parking spaces have been strategically taken away over the last few years under the guise of COVID to not allow folks to access the beach. Folks are getting frustrated – they can’t park, they can’t access the beach, they’re turning around and they’re going back home. And, to me, there’s nothing more important than to allow a person, a taxpayer, who pays for that beach, by the way, to visit that beach.”

Currently, the majority of beach renourishment funding comes from state-funded renourishment programs and the county resort tax, paid by visitors, not local tax dollars.

Parking problems

Public beach parking in Holmes Beach has been a point of contention between city and county leaders for more than two years. In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, access to local beaches was restricted by the state to help curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Contact Manatee County state representatives

Rep. Will Robinson Jr.

District office: 941-708-4968

Capitol office: 850-717-5071

Email: Will.Robinson@myfloridahouse.gov

Rep. Mike Beltran

District office: 813-653-7097

Capitol office: 850-717-5070

Email: Mike.Beltran@myfloridahouse.gov

Rep. Tommy Gregory

District office: 941-893-5434

Capitol office: 850-717-5072

Email: Tommy.Gregory@myfloridahouse.gov

Sen. Jim Boyd

District office: 941-742-6445

Capitol office: 850-487-5020

Email: boyd.jim.web@flsenate.gov

Sen. Joe Gruters

District office: 941-378-6309

Capitol office: 850-487-5022

Email: gruters.joe.web@flsenate.gov

In Holmes Beach, city leaders closed public beach parking during the lockdown. When the beaches were allowed to be reopened, city leaders took the opportunity to create a long-planned permit parking area on some residential streets near the beach. The plan was to not only give city residents who don’t live near the beach a place to park but to also reduce traffic, trash and beachgoers relieving themselves on residential streets. Permits are available to city residents only and permit parking takes up approximately 642 spaces located solely on the sides of city streets. Other streets were labeled as no parking zones at the request of residents or due to the narrowness of the roads, eliminating about 300 parking spots. The city still has more than 1,200 public parking spots, including the parking available at Manatee Beach, within a quarter mile of the beach and more along other residential streets further away from beach access points.

During city commission meetings, Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer has reported counting more than 40,000 vehicles coming and going on Manatee Avenue, just one of three Island access points, on an average busy beach day. That number can jump higher over holiday weekends.

City leaders have met with state and county representatives to discuss parking problems in Holmes Beach with few resolutions found. The city’s website features a parking map to show where vehicle and low-speed vehicle/golf cart parking is located near the beach. Plans to create an interactive parking app also are underway.

When Holmes Beach commissioners met to discuss banning parking garages last year, Manatee County Commission Chair Kevin Van Ostenbridge stepped up during public comment to issue a warning if they moved forward with the ban. Van Ostenbridge said he had plans to present a proposal to build a multi-level parking garage at the county-owned Manatee Beach. Commissioners chose to move forward with the ban. The city of Bradenton Beach, where the county owns property including Cortez Beach and Coquina Beach along with two boat ramps, also has a ban on multi-level parking garages.

Holmes Beach’s three-story height limitation on structures is written into the city’s charter, meaning it would take a charter amendment being approved by a majority of voters or the dissolution of the city to remove the restriction. Abolishing it would pave the way for high-rise development.

Robinson said that he feels “very confident” in the proposed parking legislation and that he feels it will pass during the state legislative session beginning Monday, April 10.

Dissolving Island cities?

The state legislative group decided last week to look into the possibility of engaging The Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability to study how feasible it would be to dissolve the three city governments on the Island. If that were to happen, Robinson said it would remove the city governments in Anna Maria, Bradenton Beach and Holmes Beach, replacing them with Manatee County commissioners and administration.

He said it could be a good tax break for residents who would no longer have to pay city taxes.

In Florida, the Legislature can dissolve a municipality if either the residents of the municipality vote for dissolution or by special act. In the event of a special act by the state, a bill would have to be introduced during a legislative session, pass votes by state representatives and senators and be signed by the governor before it’s effective. The requirements for a special act involving the dissolution of a municipality state that the city in question must not be substantially surrounded by other municipalities; the county or an adjacent municipality must be willing to take on the governing of the area and arrangements have to be made to provide compensation for employees of the city.

The closest adjacent municipality to any of the three Island cities is Longboat Key, where leaders are working diligently to have the entire town under Sarasota County jurisdiction, leaving only Manatee County leaders to take over Anna Maria Island if its three cities were dissolved. If that happened, all infrastructure, building and zoning regulations and governing would fall under the same leadership as unincorporated Manatee County – the board of county commissioners currently led by Van Ostenbridge as its chair. Instead of being represented by their fellow Island residents, Islanders would be represented by commissioners elected by residents from all over the county.

Local elected officials’ reactions

Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth issued a statement in reply to the legislative delegation discussions.

“I am disappointed at the position that Will has taken regarding pre-empting city ordinances to construct a parking garage in a coastal community when the city currently and historically has always exceeded the number of parking spaces required for state-funded beach renourishment and interlocal agreements with the county,” Titsworth said. “As a mayor in his district, I would have appreciated Mr. Robinson to have, in the very least, given notice prior to getting out of his lane in making such a bold move. At this point in time, I shouldn’t be surprised about anything that comes from this district. I do not feel Mr. Robinson needed the support of the local delegation to move on this bill but next time he moves on a bill that will affect the lives of our city residents, I hope that he would first reach out to the representatives of the city so he can become better informed. A four-story parking garage at the entrance to our city is not in keeping with the historical character of our quaint city. For this to happen, the potential gutting of our height restrictions would also be in play. These restrictions are in our city charter. This undoubtedly is what led to the next proposal by the representative which is the consideration of the consolidation and/or dissolution of the three Island cities.”

“I believe that is probably the biggest overstep and attack on home rule yet,” she continued. “Holmes Beach has been incorporated for over 70 years. We are a vibrant and prosperous city. Our population continues to grow. Our city is responsible for the majority of the contributions to the tourist development tax in the county and has contributed over $30 million since its inception. We continue to improve roads, sidewalks and storm infrastructure and continue to make public safety a number one goal. We have a very strong commission and numerous appointed boards. All board positions are readily filled by residents who desire to give their time to civic duty. The city of Holmes Beach is proud of not only retaining its residents but providing a tourism experience that is a top vacation destination. Property values continue to soar and our city has investors from all over the world. For a representative to single out Anna Maria Island to study dissolving our city chartered governments is a wake-up for all cities of this state. Because of this, I do not believe this will receive the legislative act that this representative is seeking.”

In a Jan. 13 discussion with The Sun, she said she feels that any action to dissolve the cities would be the equivalent of a “hostile takeover” by the county commission. “What happened to the will of the people?” she asked, noting that it was supposed to be a politician’s job to work in the best interests of the voters.

Addressing Robinson’s comment concerning taxes, she said there is currently a difference of $17 million between taxes paid by homesteaded residents and those without a homestead exemption in Holmes Beach. If the Island cities were dissolved and development were allowed to go unchecked, Titsworth said she feels that residents would leave, potentially allowing more properties to be acquired by short-term rental investors.

“This is a much bigger issue,” she said. “This is about more than parking.”

Bradenton Beach Mayor John Chappie echoed Titsworth’s statement, telling The Sun that while he doesn’t agree with how leaders in the neighboring city amended their parking restrictions, he too feels that the attempts by the state to subvert local government ordinances and dissolve the three cities have to do with more than just the loss of a few hundred parking spaces.

When contacted by The Sun, Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy said he does not support the state legislative delegation’s actions and does not think dissolution is a good idea. He added that he does, however, feel that there are opportunities for the three cities to share resources and work together better that are currently being missed.

County leaders play blame game over Kingfish funding

Written by SUN contributor on September 20, 2022. Posted in Community News, Holmes Beach.

MANATEE COUNTY – A proposed project at Kingfish Boat Ramp won’t be happening and county leaders are placing the blame for it squarely on the shoulders of city officials in Holmes Beach.

County staff members, with County Administrator Scott Hopes adding his voice to the group, said they are prepared to cancel grant funding of $4,500,000 from the Gulf Coast Consortium for planned renovations at the boat ramp, including paving, adding launch lanes, bathrooms, new dock facilities and other changes.

Two of the proposed changes that garnered the most public attention were the planned removal of dozens of trees along with the removal of a popular tree-shaded picnic area and the elimination of parking spaces to serve as a stormwater retention area until the Anna Maria Bridge is one day replaced. Though it’s designed, construction on a new bridge is not yet funded through the Florida Department of Transportation.

During a Sept. 13 county commission meeting, Hopes and other members of staff said that the reason the grant funding was being canceled is that a permit for construction from the city could not be obtained in time to complete construction before the November 2023 expiration of a Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) permit. As that permit had already been granted multiple extensions by the department, staff members said it couldn’t be extended again. In addition to the outstanding construction permit from the city, other permits also were mentioned as still needed for the project, including one from Manatee County.

Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge said he would like to see if there’s some way to recoup the funds that the county has already spent on the project in staff time, engineering fees and other costs. He suggested suing the city, but was cautioned against that action by the county attorney, who stated that the permit application hadn’t been denied by city leaders.

In an Aug. 25 email to Hopes, Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth said that the permit application was progressing through the city’s approval process for site plan changes. She said she was told by city staff that the changes planned for the boat ramp required site plan approval by the city commission to comply with Manatee County codes under the annexation agreement for the boat ramp. Titsworth said that city staff notified the county’s representative for the project, Michael D’Angelo, of the site plan approval requirement on June 7 and 22. She added that building department staff was notified by the county’s project engineer on July 6 that the Kingfish project was put on hold. With no further communication from county representatives, Titsworth said she instructed city staff to continue with the internal site plan review, which was almost complete as of Aug. 25.

She added that she believes some of the delay with the project was due to county leadership signing a lease for the Kingfish property with the Florida Department of Transportation instead of FDEP.

In a Sept. 15 email to The Sun, Titsworth said that city leaders only had two points
of contention concerning the Kingfish project, the removal of Australian pine trees that provide shade and nesting habitats for birds along with the picnic area and the elimination of parking spaces on the east side of the boat ramp to turn that area into a stormwater retention area.

“This in no way held up any permitting process as Florida statutes do not give us that authority,” she said.

In a Sept. 14 email to city and county commissioners, Titsworth said, “Holmes Beach does not have the authority to withhold permitting. This had nothing to do with additional parking. The hold up was that the planning administrator made the county aware that the annexation agreement required Holmes Beach to administer the permit using the county’s own rules which required site plan approval. I am disheartened by the continued misinformation and deviation from the truth. These improvements also required a new lease between the county and DEP as the original lease was done in error as the ownership of the land was not FDOT. Unfortunately, the county could not complete this in the time constraints of the grant. This is no fault of the city.”

County, vendors face off on takeover of beach market

Written by Leslie Lake on September 20, 2022. Posted in Anna Maria Island, Community News, Featured, Manatee County.

BRADENTON BEACH – Manatee County commissioners debated the county’s takeover of the Coquina Beach Market last week as vendors defended ousted organizer Nancy Ambrose.

The beach market saga began publicly on Aug. 2 when, in a press release, Manatee County Information Director Bill Logan announced that the county would take over the market from Ambrose.

At an Aug. 18 county commission land use meeting, Commissioner Carol Whitmore voiced her opposition.

“I think this needs to be decided by the board if we’re going to do this,” Whitmore said. “I don’t believe in the board interfering with the private sector in this. I don’t want to run a market.” The issue arose again on Sept. 13 when Elliott Falcione, executive director of the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) gave an update to the board.

“For many months, the county administrator has been going through an optimization process organizationally allowing certain positions to gain more responsibility bandwidth,” Falcione said. “This additional bandwidth gives an expertise and oversight ability to operate the beach market at the county-owned park, allowing the proceeds to go to the community.”

Falcione said one market objective is to provide tourists and residents what he called a unique beach market experience that complements the current assets on Anna Maria Island. He also characterized the county-run market as a source of revenue for the proposed water taxi initiative.

Falcione said the county-run market will begin on Nov. 1 and run through July 27, 2023 on Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Thursdays from 3-8 p.m. He said there will be about 100 vendors, with a different set of vendors each of the two days.

“We stand ready to move this forward,” he said. “We’re ready to roll.”

Commission opposition

Whitmore voiced her opposition to the idea of a county-run market.

“I can’t believe this board would actually want to run a business and take it away from the private sector,” she said, adding, “We’re not in the world here to have a business.”

Whitmore added, “This is probably going to get passed – it has been rammed through already.”

Commission Chairman Kevin Van Ostenbridge voiced his support for the county-run market.

“This is a taxpayer asset being monetized by someone else and the taxpayer is receiving very little in return,” Van Ostenbridge said. “We’re now using that asset to fund a water taxi to lower the number of cars by moving the same number of people hopefully out to the Island.”

Commenting on the water taxis, Whitmore said, “We couldn’t get anybody to bid on it so I hear we’re buying the water taxis and we’ll pay ourselves back. Who gave that authority to do that?”

Commissioner Misty Servia said she could have supported the county-run market, but the proper process was not followed.

“This should have come to the board to ask the board what they wanted to do before the administrator made all of these plans to run the market in a different way,” Servia said.

Vendors weigh in

Van Ostenbridge then opened the floor to citizen comments.

Several Coquina Beach Market vendors who worked under Ambrose’s oversight of the market spoke about her in glowing terms.

“Nancy worked around the clock to provide us a beautiful work environment,” said Amanda Champ, characterizing Ambrose as the vendors’ biggest advocate.

“Nancy was the matriarch of this beach market,” Champ said. “There are many people that love her.”

Vendor Victoria Dargan said, “I have been honored to have been part of the market for the last six years. It’s been run as the best market I’ve ever seen and to have it taken away from Nancy and this shift is very difficult for us to accept.”

Dargan said that changing the days of the market and losing Sundays will negatively impact her livelihood, along with many others.

“We don’t even know right now who’s going to be accepted (in the new market),” she said.

Jean McDonald, a self-described small family business vendor, called the market a consistent safe space in which she generated income.

“That woman has the highest integrity,” McDonald said of Ambrose. “The market is a community of hardworking individuals from all walks of life. Nancy played a huge role in the success of our business.”

Ambrose is currently looking at other market venue options.

A Facebook page, “Where is the Market?” has garnered 1,200 members – many of whom are vendors who have worked with Ambrose and are expressing loyalty and a willingness to follow her to a new venue.

Gloves come off in parking garage discussion

Written by SUN contributor on June 21, 2022. Posted in Community News, Holmes Beach.

HOLMES BEACH – The gloves are off in the fight between city leaders and Manatee County Commission Chair Kevin Van Ostenbridge after the county commissioner made an appearance during a city commission work session.

With the possibility of a parking garage ban in Holmes Beach on the agenda, commissioners weren’t surprised when Van Ostenbridge wanted to share his opinion on the issue. After being welcomed by city commissioners, he stepped up to the podium during public comment to issue a warning against the potential prohibition of parking garages in the city.

“Think long and hard before you make this decision,” he said, stating that prior city commission decisions have resulted in county commissioners rejecting funding requests.

“How do I say this politely? It’s not an accident that the governor vetoed $2 million in funding for the city,” Van Ostenbridge said, insinuating that the recent cut made by Gov. Ron DeSantis to the state’s budget removing appropriation funds for water quality in the city was related to parking discussions.

“There will be good or bad consequences to what is decided here today,” he said, adding a warning to commissioners to be thoughtful in their deliberations.

After speaking to commissioners, Van Ostenbridge left the June 14 meeting but told Mayor Judy Titsworth later that he listened to the ensuing discussion on Zoom.

“I’m sorry he couldn’t stay,” Titsworth said when the parking garage discussion began on the dais. She noted that with taxable property values in the city increasing over 200% in the current fiscal year and Holmes Beach accounting for 37% of all bed tax funds collected by the county, it’s not in county leaders’ best interests to threaten withholding funding to the city.

“You want to protect the golden goose,” she said.

After the meeting, Titsworth posted a video response to Van Ostenbridge’s comments on the city’s YouTube channel restating her position.

“I too am sorry the commissioner chose to not listen to our response to his threats,” Commissioner Terry Schaefer said. “It’s sad how this county commission is run, putting a gun to our heads.” He went on to say that he feels that with all the tax dollars going to the county from Holmes Beach, the city is getting “a very poor return on our investment.”

In the past 10 years, more than $30 million has been funneled to the county through tourist tax dollars, Schaefer said, adding he believes the city has only received about $141,000 of those funds back for parks projects. He said he’s not in favor of parking garages in the city and felt that allowing them would only serve to help the county solve its issues created by overmarketing of Anna Maria Island and its beaches.

Commissioner Carol Soustek said she wants to see long-term traffic and mobility solutions to address issues and help residents and beachgoers coming from county commissioners rather than threats. She said that she doesn’t think adding more places to park would solve the problems facing city and county residents, primarily traffic congestion, public safety and failing infrastructure.

During his comments, Van Ostenbridge said that he was planning to put together a plan to present to city commissioners over the summer for a parking garage to be constructed at the county-owned Manatee Beach.

While the prohibition of parking garages was on the city work session agenda, parking garages are currently not an allowable use in the city, nor is paid parking. To allow a parking garage to be constructed at the beach would require an ordinance change, site plan approval and potentially an in- crease of the current height limit in Holmes Beach. The height limit now would only allow for a three-story structure.

Despite Van Ostenbridge’s comments, Titsworth noted that the discussion had been placed on the agenda not because of the potential for a parking garage at the public beach but because the property owner of the former Wells Fargo Bank location at the corner of Marina and Gulf drives was seeking city staff guidance to determine what uses could be al- lowed on the property. She said no formal proposal for the site had been given to city staff, which committed to looking at potential ideas for the site and other nearby vacant commercial properties for future commission discussion.

Related coverage

Holmes Beach parking changes planned

Beach parking meeting reaps results

All roads lead to parking

Van Ostenbridge and Baugh’s Sunshine Law compliance questioned

Van Ostenbridge, Baugh Sunshine Law compliance questioned

Written by Joe Hendricks on June 21, 2022. Posted in Community News, Featured, Manatee County.

MANATEE COUNTY – Constituent Dave Tank believes he heard Manatee County Commission Chairman Kevin Van Ostenbridge and County Commissioner Vanessa Baugh discussing county business in a manner that was not compliant with Florida’s Government-in-the-Sunshine Law.

The Sunshine Law requires elected city and county officials to conduct and discuss their official governmental business with one another in properly noticed public meetings, and the state prohibits them from doing so in non-public, non-noticed settings.

On June 8, Tank expressed his Sunshine Law compliance concerns in an email addressed to Van Ostenbridge and Baugh. Tank’s email was also shared with the five other county commissioners, County Administrator Scott Hopes and County Attorney Bill Clague.

“I ate lunch at Robin’s Downtown today. You sat down at the table next to me and talked loudly about various Manatee County matters. I assume you are aware that a conversation between two or more commissioners about public business, without public notice, violates the state’s open meetings law. I’d appreciate you avoiding this sort of thing in the future,” Tank’s email said in its entirety.

Tank also included a link to the Office of the Attorney General website that includes information on the Sunshine Law and a link to the 2022 Government-in-the-Sunshine manual.

In her June 8 response to Tank, Commissioner Misty Servia wrote: “Mr. Tank. Thank you for the email. I hope they were not discussing county business, as that would be a criminal offense.”

In his two-word response to Servia, Tank wrote: “They were.”

As the county’s District 3 commissioner, Van Ostenbridge was elected by constituents from Anna Maria Island, the northern portion of Longboat Key, Cortez and west Bradenton. Van Ostenbridge was contacted by The Sun on June 16, and asked about Tank’s Sunshine Law compliance concerns.

Van Ostenbridge said he and Baugh discussed politics and politicians but did not discuss official county business.
“The Sunshine Law was not violated because I did not discuss anything the board could potentially vote on. I respect Mr. Tank for reaching out to me out of concern. I did respond to him as well and I assured him we didn’t discuss anything we’d vote on,” Van Ostenbridge said.

When contacted by The Sun that same day Baugh declined comment.

“Nothing to comment about,” she wrote in her message to The Sun.

County Commissioner Vanessa Baugh declined comment on the Sunshine Law compliance concerns. – Joe Hendricks | SunBaugh remains the subject of an ongoing Ethics Commission investigation regarding her role in organizing a controversial COVID-19 pop-up vaccine clinic only for those living in zip codes specific to the Lakewood Ranch area she represents as the county’s District 5 commissioner.

On June 17, The Sun emailed Tank and asked him if he would clarify which specific county issues Van Ostenbridge and Baugh discussed during their lunch outing.

In response, Tank wrote, “I don’t see the upside in going into what the commissioners were talking about, other than what I’ve said and written. It wasn’t ‘just politics.’ Since Mr. Van Ostenbridge denies that, all that will result is a lot of ‘he said, he said’ back and forth.”

In his email response to The Sun, Tank also noted, “Mr. Van Ostenbridge and the county FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) people have not produced all of the emails about the conversation.”

On June 14, The Sun requested from the county all email correspondence from any county commissioner as well as Hopes and Clague regarding Tank’s Sunshine Law compliance concerns. At week’s end, the county had not yet provided those requested public records. Earlier this month, the Mantatee Clerk of the Court’s Inspector General’s office notified the county that the Inspector General’s office was reviewing how the current county administration responds to public records requests.

Police chief shares more funding, staffing concerns

Written by Joe Hendricks on June 6, 2022. Posted in Bradenton Beach, Community News.

BRADENTON BEACH – An incident involving two Bradenton Beach police officers prompted Police Chief John Cosby to again voice concerns about the police department budget and staffing shortages.

During the June 1 Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) meeting, Cosby provided an update on the policing efforts in the CRA district.

Noting that Bridge Street is filled to capacity on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, Cosby said, “You can’t fit any more people down there.”

He said there are now issues with patrons lingering late at night after the businesses close.

“I only have two officers on. It’s hard to disperse that many people,” Cosby said.

He then referenced an incident involving a vehicle that left the Drift In parking lot during the early morning hours of May 29.

According to the probable cause report, an officer saw a vehicle driven by Steven Davis reverse at a high rate of speed and fishtail out of the Drift-In parking lot with no headlights on before striking a signpost. After eventually being wrestled to the ground and pepper-sprayed, Davis was arrested for resisting arrest and disorderly intoxication (see related story, page 9).

As that arrest took place, Davis’ companion, Torrie Kronk, was arrested for disorderly intoxication for the alleged verbal abuse she directed toward the arresting officers.

“One subject had to be wrestled to the ground. They wound up going to the hospital,” Cosby said. “They were tied up at the hospital for seven hours. An officer has to stay with them the entire time they’re there. The second person who was arrested also claimed injury and also went to the hospital and was there for seven hours. From 3 o’clock to 7 in the morning there were no officers available to take any calls in Bradenton Beach unless it was a priority call. Our mutual aid contracts with the other cities and the county only call for them to come out if we have a priority call. So, any other type of call went ignored until 7 o’clock – until the day shift officer came in.”

Cosby said the two officers were supposed to get off duty at 3 a.m. but wound up working until 10 a.m. and had to be back to work at 5 p.m. Sunday evening.

“I have eight patrol officers. I’m down two right now, and I have some that are taking vacation. I’m down to five people to cover all the shifts. I need more staff,” Cosby said.

Other issues

Cosby described the recent Memorial Day weekend as “total mayhem.” He said Manatee County Commission Chairman Kevin Van Ostenbridge rode with Manatee County Marine Rescue personnel that Sunday and witnessed firsthand the challenges faced by law enforcement and public safety personnel.

“He was in awe of what was going on out here. He responded with them to the fight calls we had over parking issues, which were multiple, and the sheer amount of traffic. There’s too many people coming here. There’s no place to put them,” Cosby said.

“It’s not my job to come up with an answer. This is a political issue. It’s your job to work with them (the county) to figure something out,” Cosby told the CRA members – five of whom also serve on the city commission.

Cosby said he’s raising from $35 to $40 the hourly rate the department charges the CRA for off-duty policing services in the CRA district that includes Bridge Street. He said other law enforcement agencies in the area charge $40-$45 for off-duty policing.

“If you can’t pay it, then we can’t provide the service. I can’t expect my people to go out there and not make the same amount of money other officers at other agencies are making,” Cosby said.

Regarding staffing shortages, Cosby said, “Myself and Lt. Diaz are covering shifts. I just don’t have anybody. I’m hoping to be back to a full staff in July. I have not been at full staff for three and a half years. Again, you’re getting what you pay for,” Cosby said.

CRA Chairman Ralph Cole said the CRA and the city commission have to figure out how to address the ongoing police funding concerns and he noted other city services may need to be reduced. Cole said the city needs more financial support from Manatee County and the other taxing authorities that place additional burdens on the city’s police department.

CRA member John Chappie noted the county-owned beaches and boat ramps make up one-third of Bradenton Beach and help attract 14,000-20,000 people to the city on any given Saturday or Sunday.

Previous comments

During the May 5 commission meeting, Cosby and two residents voiced their concerns about the city having one officer available to respond to an incident involving 10 people, a possible fight and a gun.

During that meeting, Cosby said more officers and more funds are needed if the city’s police department is going to keep up with the additional policing demands created by the constant influx of tourists and the continued growth in Manatee County.

Trees get the ax in Kingfish renovation plans

Written by SUN contributor on May 16, 2022. Posted in Community News, Featured, Holmes Beach.

MANATEE COUNTY – Plans are underway to make significant changes at the Kingfish Boat Ramp in Holmes Beach, but those improvements are coming at a significant cost, namely the removal of a well-used picnic area and many of the park’s trees.

The project’s technical expert Tom Yarger answered questions from county commissioners about the renovation plans during a May 10 meeting. He said that there are approximately 130-140 trees at the boat ramp. To make space for additional launch lanes and parking that will be lost when the Anna Maria Island Bridge is eventually replaced, a lot of those trees will have to go.

Yarger said that 41 trees will be removed and 82 will be relocated. He did not state where those trees would be relocated. The trees are Australian pines that have been at the boat ramp for decades though they are not protected under Florida law and are considered a non-native species.

To accommodate the extension of the seawall at the boat ramp, not only will trees that provide shade along the waterline have to be removed, but a popular picnic area will be lost.

Commissioner Carol Whitmore, a Holmes Beach resident and former mayor of that town, said she couldn’t support the removal of the trees or picnic area and she also didn’t support paving the parking area.

Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge said he was concerned about the removal of the trees, but he was more concerned about the paving and asked if it would be possible to replace the planned pavement with crushed shell.

County Administrator Dr. Scott Hopes said that commissioners could request a change order to determine if replacing the pavement with crushed shell would be a feasible option, but he felt it wasn’t an issue of major concern and that it was easier to launch boats on concrete than a softer surface, like crushed shell.

Van Ostenbridge said that he and Whitmore had both expressed concerns with the project for over a year and he felt that county staff was pushing the project through without addressing the issues with paving and tree removal.

“That is completely on you,” he said, addressing county staff members. “I’ve been saying I have an issue for over a year. Remember, we write the checks around here. You cash them.”

Though Whitmore said she didn’t know until the May 10 meeting that design for the improvement project was already 100% complete and that she had repeatedly asked county staff to put the Kingfish renovation on a work session agenda with a full presentation for commission discussion. She added that she was surprised to receive an email from Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth stating that a permit for construction at Kingfish had been applied for through the city’s building department. Whitmore went on to say that Titsworth had asked about the planned tree removal. When Whitmore said that she didn’t believe Titsworth would sign off on the needed construction permits due to the number of trees being removed at Kingfish, Hopes said that if Titsworth delays the permits, he would be prepared to file legal action against the city of Holmes Beach in a bid to force city leaders’ hands to issue the permits.

Hopes said that to reduce the number of trees planned for removal would require an entire redesign of the renovation project, which could cost the county a permit issued from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to complete the planned improvements. He stated that the FDEP permit had been issued once for a five-year period for renovations at Kingfish and been extended for another five years, expiring in November 2023. He said he doesn’t believe the department would give another extension on the permit if renovations were delayed any further.

“We’re out of time,” Hopes said.

Whitmore, along with some of her fellow commissioners, stated that if the matter was of such urgency, she didn’t understand why it was just now being addressed and at her request, not through a staff presentation. Yarger said that typically projects like the Kingfish renovation don’t require commission approval of the design until much later in the process when a contract comes before the board for construction.

“It’s wrong what we’re doing,” Whitmore said, adding that she wouldn’t support removal of the trees or paved parking at Kingfish. She also said she didn’t support taking legal action against the city of Holmes Beach if the issuance of permits was delayed.

Permit applications for construction at Kingfish are still under review by Holmes Beach building department staff as of press time for The Sun.

Van Ostenbridge said that while there might be a road to remove paving from the renovation plans, he felt that there was no way to win the battle for the trees at Kingfish. He proposed a motion to have staff bring back a change order for consideration to remove paving from the design plans, which passed with a 4-2 vote.

Beach parking meeting reaps results

Written by SUN contributor on May 9, 2022. Posted in Community News, Holmes Beach.

HOLMES BEACH – Leaders from state, county and city governments are coming together to find solutions to ongoing public parking and beach access issues on Anna Maria Island.

Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth hosted a May 4 meeting with participants including Bradenton Beach Mayor John Chappie, Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy, Manatee County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge, Florida State Sen. Jim Boyd and Florida State Rep. Will Robinson. While the meeting was closed to the public and press, Titsworth shared what was discussed and the ways that participants are working together to address beach access issues, particularly in Holmes Beach.

Titsworth agreed that city leaders and staff would publish a new parking map to identify areas in the city where beach parking is available, including at the county-owned public beach and along residential city streets. She also said that city staff would physically mark all beach access parking spots to make them easily identifiable.

City leaders also said they will reach out to area churches to see if they’re interested in opening their parking lots for use by beachgoers and, if so, assist them through the process to get any approvals needed from city commissioners. A suggestion was made during the meeting that Manatee County leaders provide portable restrooms and trash receptacles at any parking lots offered for beach parking to assist in keeping them clean and providing needed amenities for beachgoers.

At the suggestion of Boyd, Titsworth said city leaders will look at the Holmes Boulevard corridor to see if there is any opportunity to safely add more parking without creating a hazard for the pedestrians and bicyclists who often use the road.

Van Ostenbridge committed to looking further into the possibility of building a parking garage at the public beach and submitted a proposal to city commissioners for the project. Since a parking garage is not an approved use in the recreational zone, the project would need two public hearings along with consideration by the Holmes Beach Planning Commission to add the use to the zoning district. If an increase in height limitations in the city is required for the parking garage proposal, it would have to be approved through a charter amendment by Holmes Beach voters before permits for construction could be issued by the city building department.

Another project that Van Ostenbridge agreed to work on is reviewing all public beach access points in the community and determining if they can be acquired through eminent domain for the benefit of the county. He said he’s identified four beach access points with existing easements and wants to avoid conflicts like the one ongoing at 78th Street in Holmes Beach. Private property owners recently closed a long-used beach access path at the end of the street without notice to area residents, stating that the path is located on their private property and an easement that previously existed on the property is not enforceable.

City Attorney Erica Augello said that the easement on the 78th Street property for the path does not specify who the easement benefits and therefore cannot be enforced for public use.

Chappie asked Boyd during the meeting to look into broadening the use of tourist tax funds to see if they can be used to fund infrastructure and safety needs in the Anna Maria Island cities. Right now, those funds can only be used for projects benefitting tourism, such as the creation of a park.

Titsworth asked that state leaders consider giving a percentage of the bed tax funds back to the cities directly rather than restricting the use of the funds through the tourist tax program.

Related coverage

All roads lead to parking

No solutions found to parking issues

Murphy to Mote: Fish or cut bait

Written by Joe Hendricks on April 17, 2022. Posted in Anna Maria, Community News, Featured.

ANNA MARIA – Dr. Michael Crosby and his Mote Marine Laboratory associates have until Friday to present the final conceptual plans for an educational outreach center on the City Pier.

Mote’s latest plans are expected to be presented during a special Anna Maria City Commission meeting on Friday, April 22 at 2 p.m. The commission is willing to abandon the project if Friday’s deadline is missed.

On Sept. 30, Mote and the city of Anna Maria entered into a five-year, rent-free lease agreement that would allow Mote to occupy the larger city-owned building at the T-end of the City Pier. The smaller pier building is occupied by the City Pier Grill & Bait Shop.

In September, Mote Marine staff member Kevin Cooper said he expected Mote to complete its interior buildout and exhibit installation by March and open the facility soon thereafter.

As of Thursday, April 14, Mote officials and their contracted architect, Barron Schimberg, had not yet submitted their final plans for the long-delayed facility. Schimberg previously served as the city’s contracted architect for the pier replacement project completed in 2020.

The original plans that Mote presented in early 2021 featured live marine exhibits. In January, Mote provided the city with an alternate plan that featured virtual exhibits instead. Murphy said then that the city commission would ultimately decide whether the Mote facility includes live exhibits, virtual exhibits or both.

Project update

On Thursday, April 14, Murphy provided commissioners with a project update.

“We’ve had numerous false starts. I anticipated having a proposal for you today. I also anticipated having a proposal for you two weeks ago and a month ago. None of those have happened. For various reasons, the goal post has been moved several times. We’re now at the point where there’s no more moving the goal post. I had a conversation with Dr. Crosby last night. I told Dr. Crosby how disappointed I was that we didn’t have a proposal ready. They have all the information necessary to put together a proposal. This latest delay was caused by the architect. He had all the information, but didn’t have the time to put it together,” Murphy said.

“We have a lease contract that we signed back in September and that lease contract gave them 180 days to produce and/or request an extension. I’m here today to give you two options. You can enforce the contract as it is and decide to not extend it any further. This is the end of it and we tell Mote farewell and move on. The other option is that they have a proposal to us by Friday of next week. I propose to you that we’ve gone this far and that we go one more week,” Murphy said.

Murphy expects Friday’s presentation to include visuals, live exhibit examples and non-negotiable start and completion dates.

Commission feedback

In September, Commissioner Mark Short opposed the commission’s 4-1 decision to pursue an educational outreach center rather than a full-service restaurant or open-air cantina.

During the April 14 meeting, Short said, “This Mote exhibit was supposed to be done now and we don’t even have the final plans yet. There’s been delay after delay. There’s nothing to show a year after the commission agreed to move forward with Mote and 180 days after the lease was signed. I’m fine giving them another week, but I just don’t think this is the right path to go down.”

“It’s been an extreme disappointment,” Commissioner Deanie Sebring said.

Sebring said the proposed shift to virtual exhibits seems to be an attempt by Mote to use the City Pier to advertise the new Mote Science Education Aquarium being built in Sarasota.

“What they offered us was something that was going to be quite unique and incredible and it’s turned into nothing. It’s disheartening. I’m getting a bad taste in my mouth thinking they’re not going have any live exhibits,” Sebring said.

Commissioner Robert Kingan said, “I completely agree. I think we should give them one more week, but that’s it. They’ve had ample time to make preparations.”

“I kind of agree, but my vision is a little longer-range. I think this project has the potential to be fabulous. I’m happy to give them another week,” Commissioner Jon Crane said.

“I agree with all of you. I’m disappointed that it’s taking so long, but I do think it will be a good project,” Commissioner Carol Carter said.

Murphy told Mote officials the city doesn’t want virtual exhibits.

“What we signed up for was live exhibits,” he said.

“The commission has to decide: Do you fish or cut bait?” he added.

The commission unanimously agreed to give Mote until Friday to present its final plans.

County support

In June 2021, the Manatee County Commission agreed to provide $500,000 for the design, interior buildout and installation of the Mote facility, with Mote covering the remaining $40,000-$50,000 in estimated start-up costs. Mote also agreed to staff the facility at its own expense for the duration of the lease, with the city covering the utility expenses.

County Commission Chair Kevin Van Ostenbridge attended Thursday’s meeting. He left before the Mote discussion ensued, but he addressed the commission before departing.

“I know there have been a significant number of delays. I share your frustration, but I think the project is a great project. I advocated strongly for the project and I was able to get our board to unanimously approve a half-million dollars for the project. I think it will be worth the wait,” Van Ostenbridge said.

“I did speak with Dr. Crosby this morning and he assured me that Mote now has all the information they need to move forward with the engineering. They want to make sure the pier can hold what they put out there and withstand the weight of the exhibits. There will be aquariums. There will be live exhibits. It sounds like things are headed in the right direction,” he said.

All roads lead to parking

Written by SUN contributor on March 7, 2022. Posted in Community News, Holmes Beach, Manatee County.

MANATEE COUNTY – Despite having 12 items on the agenda for a joint meeting, the recent discussion between Holmes Beach and Manatee County commissioners kept coming back to one contentious topic – beach parking.

It may have only been March 1, but the lengthy meeting produced as many fireworks as any Fourth of July display.

Though the parking item had a time-certain discussion planned for 11 a.m. during the two-and-a-half-hour session, the topic was the proverbial elephant in the room from the start.

The meeting kicked off with public comment, during which several east county residents stated their resentment of Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth concerning traffic and an inability for some beachgoers to find parking in Holmes Beach. The onslaught of comments prompted Manatee County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge to remind speakers to remain civil in their comments and Holmes Beach Commissioner Carol Soustek to note that while Titsworth is the face of the city’s leadership, it’s the commissioners who vote to accept or deny proposed changes, including those related to parking.

Beachgoers driving into Holmes Beach have had issues finding parking spaces for years. – Kristin Swain | Sun

Beach patrol

During a discussion on beach patrol funding, Titsworth said she’d like the county to step up their financial support of the Holmes Beach Police Department, which is tasked with policing the county-owned beach, public beaches in Holmes Beach and Kingfish Boat Ramp, along with the rest of the city. While the county currently reimburses the city $46,612 for beach patrol services, Titsworth said the city pays about $150,000-160,000 per year to adequately patrol the beaches, boat ramp and beach parking.

The mayor said she’d like to see the county increase its financial support, working up to a minimum of $90,000 per year to be more in line with the amount offered to the Bradenton Beach Police Department annually for similar services, and ideally $115,000 or more to cover the entire cost of one HBPD officer.

While Titsworth acknowledged that the city of Bradenton Beach has a longer stretch of county-owned beach, she noted that Holmes Beach is a larger city and provides more public parking for beachgoers than the Anna Maria Island city to the south.

Manatee County Commissioner George Kruse said that while he appreciates Titsworth’s request for more beach patrol funding, he wanted to know what city leaders are prepared to do for the county in exchange for additional funding, a sentiment echoed by Commissioner Vanessa Baugh.

Holmes Beach Commissioner Terry Schaefer said Holmes Beach city leaders had come to the meeting to discuss items of concern, not to try and leverage one item for another.

County Commissioner Carol Whitmore, a Holmes Beach resident, said she thinks the stretch of beach in Holmes Beach is too small to necessitate the spending of more funds to police it. County Administrator Scott Hopes said he thinks the county’s funding to Holmes Beach is complimentary to the amount given to Bradenton Beach, $125,000, given the size of the city versus the size of the county park, Manatee Beach and Kingfish Boat Ramp, within the city.

Accusations fly

When 11 a.m. finally rolled around and leaders could get to the discussion they really wanted to have, beach parking, accusations began to fly around the room on both sides.

Van Ostenbridge accused Holmes Beach leaders of having less than 1% of the population of Manatee County and closing its beaches to 99% of Manatee County residents to save its own residents.

Titsworth called out Van Ostenbridge for “weaponizing funding” in a bid to try and force city leaders’ hands to allow beach parking to go unrestricted in the small city to the detriment of Holmes Beach residents, who she pointed out, are also Manatee County residents who pay county taxes. She accused Manatee County commissioners of being unwilling to work with the city and learn the facts about what happens in the Island city and how issues affect residents and tourists alike.

At the crux of the discussion was the status of about 480 parking spaces located solely on the sides of residential streets in neighborhoods near beach accesses. Those residential streets are maintained by the city of Holmes Beach and are funded by tax dollars paid to the city, not the county. Public parking also has long been a headache for nearby residents, who often find trash and litter in their yards, people vandalizing their property, some trespassing and using their private pools and water hoses as public facilities and others defecating in their yards.

After more than a decade of discussion, 124 of those 480 spaces were designated in 2021 as Holmes Beach resident permit parking only from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily after being closed to public access since 2020. Ever since that decision was made by Holmes Beach commissioners, it’s been a sore spot between city and county leaders.

Van Ostenbridge demanded that city leaders reopen all city streets to public parking.

“You want 400 spaces?” Soustek countered. “480 parking spaces is a spit in the ocean,” she said, noting that the number of people trying to find parking in Holmes Beach regularly exceeds that amount. She added that opening residential streets to the onslaught of beach parking wouldn’t guarantee Manatee County residents a space to park, that they would still need to get up early to drive out to the Island and avoid traffic and parking stresses.

Holmes Beach Commissioner Jayne Christenson suggested county commissioners designate some of the spaces at Manatee Beach as Manatee County resident-only parking, a suggestion dismissed by county commissioners without comment.

“You’ll never have enough spaces and the people will never all be able to get out to the beach,” Titsworth said, noting all of the housing developments currently planned for Manatee County and the increase of people expected to travel to Anna Maria Island’s beaches. At about seven miles long, with about three miles of that being Holmes Beach, she said Anna Maria Island only has so much room to fit people and vehicles on.

Commissioner Terry Schaefer said residential street parking wasn’t going to be used as a bargaining chip between the city and county.

Whitmore said that while she wants to work with city leaders, she’s opposed to the permit parking system and refuses to pay for one herself. She also said she feels that Holmes Beach has too many rules, including the newly instituted city-wide 25 mph speed limit.

Getting down to business

With tensions already flaring between the two groups, Manatee County Director of Parks and Natural Resources Charlie Hunsicker offered the results of a parking study conducted by APTIM/CPE, an independent group. The field study was completed in 2020 with the report from that study dated September 2021. The study area was limited to the city of Holmes Beach and conducted on parking spaces located within a quarter-mile of beach access points and compared to a similar report from 2013.

According to that report, the city of Holmes Beach has 775 public parking spots located within a quarter-mile of public beach access points, with an additional 480 spaces that are either without signs or reserved/permit only. According to the 2013 report, there were 1,255 public parking spaces with the only change being 480 spaces converted to unsigned/reserved status. Of those 480 spaces, 124 were observed to be reserved for resident permit-only parking from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with the other 356 “lost” spaces being attributed to parking obstructions and a potential increase in no parking signed areas. Signed public parking spaces in the study area actually increased by 12, with the number of unsigned spaces decreasing by 492 from 2013 to 2020, reducing driver uncertainty on where parking is allowed.

To receive beach renourishment funding, Holmes Beach is required by the state of Florida to have 364 public parking spaces located within a quarter-mile of the beach. In the city’s interlocal agreement with the county regarding beach renourishment funding, Holmes Beach is committed to having about 500 spaces within a quarter-mile of the beach. Currently, there are more than 1,200 public parking spaces, not including resident permit parking spaces, located within a quarter-mile of public beach access with more available throughout the city but located outside of the quarter-mile area.

Titsworth said she’s not only concerned with the issues residents see in neighborhoods but how those issues could also affect the city’s tourism, with more than 1,500 short-term rental properties located in residential neighborhoods. She added that for people just coming to the beach for the day, there need to be adequate restroom, trash and food facilities as well as crosswalks to get safely from parking areas to the beach.

She suggested that county leaders meet with her to work on a renegotiation of the lease for the Island Branch Library land to allow for public parking at that facility when the library is closed. She also noted that public parking is allowed at Holmes Beach City Hall. In addition, if county leaders want to use Anna Maria Elementary School’s parking spaces as public parking when the school isn’t open, she said they should go through proper permitting with the city and provide portable restroom facilities, trash cans and either a crossing guard or lighted beacon for the crosswalk across Gulf Drive.

Van Ostenbridge said he expects people to know how to cross the road when coming to the Island, dismissing the idea of having either a crossing guard or flashing beacon to alert drivers at the location.

Parking garage

Another idea floated around during the meeting was the construction of a parking garage in Holmes Beach to provide more public parking.

Titsworth suggested commissioners consider the purchase of additional property in the city to build a garage on, such as the old Bank of America building on the southeast corner of East Bay Drive and Manatee Avenue. The site is located about two blocks from the entrance to Manatee Beach.

That idea was shot down by Manatee County commissioners. Whitmore said it wasn’t worth it to the county to build a parking garage limited to the city’s 36-foot building height limitations. Titsworth said that with the height limitations in the city’s charter, it would take Holmes Beach voters casting their ballots in favor of changing it to allow for a larger garage to be built. Van Ostenbridge said he opposes purchasing additional property in Holmes Beach and if commissioners decide to build a parking garage in the city, he’d want it to be at Manatee Beach.

Another meeting between Manatee County commissioners and Holmes Beach city leaders is planned to take place in the future to continue discussions.

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County commissioner assisting families displaced by fire

Written by Joe Hendricks on November 19, 2021. Posted in Community News, Manatee County.

BRADENTON – District 3 Manatee County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge is leading the efforts to assist 16 families recently displaced by an apartment building fire.

The fire occurred at the Aaron Lake apartment complex in west Bradenton on Saturday, Nov. 6. The 16 apartments damaged in the fire were all located in the same large, connected building. The apartment complex is located at 4325 40th St. W., near the Bowlero bowling alley on Cortez Road.

Van Ostenbridge, whose commission district includes west Bradenton, Anna Maria Island and the north end of Longboat Key, witnessed the fire firsthand. Moved by what he saw, he then started a GoFundMe online fundraiser that, as of late this morning, had raised $16,835 to assist the displaced families.

Thursday morning, Van Ostenbridge held a press conference in front of the burned-out apartment building to discuss the fire and the fundraising efforts.

“I was actually on a ride-along with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office and we responded to this fire, so I can attest to some of the horrible things that were experienced that night by these families, as well as the bravery we saw from a father (who rescued his children) and our first responders that night,” he said.

He noted Cedar Hammock Fire Rescue, the Bradenton Fire Department, West Manatee Fire Rescue, Southern Manatee Fire Rescue and Manatee County EMS responded to the four-alarm fire.

According to Van Ostenbridge, four injured children were airlifted from nearby G.T. Bray Park and flown to Tampa General Hospital.

“There were three helicopters at one time landing on the soccer fields there,” he said.

“Thanks to the heroics of our first responders, that father, and the grace of God no one died. Six people were transported to trauma centers, but in the end, everyone survived,” he said.

He noted one pet was lost, but many others were saved.

“The cause of the fire was a dryer vent. This building appears to be a total loss,” he said of the structure behind him.

Van Ostenbridge said the American Red Cross (Southwest Florida Chapter), on the night of the fire, provided each displaced family with a $900 debit card to help meet their most immediate needs.

“Greatly appreciated, but we all know with a family $900 doesn’t take you very far, especially when you have no place to go. So, I started this GoFundMe. We raised $12,500 so far (as of that morning) and this weekend is going to be the final push to raise money for the families. On Monday, I want to start distributing the money to the families in time for Thanksgiving. They have medical bills, they’ve been displaced from their home and virtually all of their possessions have been lost,” he said.

“I thank the community. Some people I called and asked to contribute money, but the vast majority of over 100 contributors either contributed anonymously or were names I did not recognize. We’re hoping to make one last push to help these families before the Thanksgiving holiday,” Van Ostenbridge said.

“I’m going to shut down the GoFundMe on Monday (Nov. 22) because I feel it’s important to get these folks some cash relief before the holiday. Any donations we can get over the weekend are very much appreciated. I’m hoping to hit $16,000 for 16 families and give them each a $1,000 cash infusion as they head into the holidays,” he said.

The assistance efforts extend beyond the online fundraiser.

“We have had members of the community reach out. Bayside Church, The Bridge Church and several churches have reached out to ask what they can do. I had the county assign a social worker to this case to try and help these families and coordinate the relief efforts. And we’ve had over 100 members of our community that have donated financially,” he said.

Van Ostenbridge said the Salvation Army is also providing assistance and Tidewell Hospice is providing counseling for those who need it. He advises folks to contact the Red Cross or the Bayside Church to see what else can be done to assist the displaced families. The Red Cross office in Sarasota can be reached at 941-379-9300. Bayside Church’s West Bradenton campus can be reached at 941-755-8600.

Lasting impact

“People think of west Bradenton and the Islands as these very affluent communities, but the truth is the meat and potatoes of west Bradenton are working families and blue-collar families. A lot of these folks are paycheck-to-paycheck working families. The apartment complex gave them their deposit back and their last month’s rent and they sort of got patted on the behind and sent on their way. These people have to go on with their lives and they’re still very much in a bad way. We all know it’s a very difficult housing market and you can’t just walk up to an apartment complex and expect to move in in a few days. This may have to float these folks until they’re able to move into an apartment,” Van Ostenbridge said.

He said affordable housing was the topic of lengthy discussion at the previous night’s county commission meeting. He also said the large influx of people moving into Manatee County has placed additional pressure on an already tight housing market.

Van Ostenbridge was asked what he saw and felt the night of the fire.

“When I arrived there was about 30 feet of fire coming out of the second story of this building. Cedar Hammock fire department was just pulling up on the scene. There were people shouting; there were still people and children and pets inside of burning buildings. Cedar Hammock fire department reacted heroically and immediately went straight into what was an inferno at the time. They immediately began evacuating people in a systematic and calm way and they went straight into the danger and literally saved lives,” he said.

“It was a chaotic scene when we arrived, however, as the first responders showed up, things calmed very quickly. I was terrified that people were going to perish in the fire. I then watched firemen running into the buildings and I was terrified that something would happen to them while they were in the fire. It was certainly emotional to see a fireman giving CPR to an infant. It was certainly emotional to see people screaming that children were in burning buildings,” he said.

Van Ostenbridge said he accompanied the sheriff’s deputies who helped evacuate the occupants of the neighboring buildings that were not on fire.

“That was the extent of my participation. Even those folks who did not suffer fire damage to their apartments, they spent a cold night sitting in a parking lot.”

“It’s important to recognize the heroics of our first responders, but this press conference is also to remind people that there is an aftermath for these families and the days and weeks that follow don’t necessarily get easier for them. They’ve been displaced from their home, they’ve lost all their possessions and to a certain extent they have to start over. We’re fortunate that every life was saved, but there is an impact to your life when you’re displaced from your home leading into the holidays,” he said.

Van Ostenbridge also shared some video footage from the night of the fire.

County commissioner hopes to pave more of paradise

County commissioner proposes beach parking garage

Written by SUN contributor on September 20, 2021. Posted in Community News, Featured, Holmes Beach.

HOLMES BEACH – Manatee County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge wants a new parking garage to be built on Manatee Beach’s sand parking lot, but the mayor of Holmes Beach so far appears unlikely to sign off on the project.

During a Manatee County Commission meeting last week and in a letter to Holmes Beach city officials, Van Ostenbridge said he would like to look at the possibility of building a parking garage on the county-owned property at the beach at the end of Manatee Avenue to provide more public parking for beachgoers. The garage would potentially be built in the primary parking area in front of the snack bar building at the entrance to the beach on Gulf Drive.

Van Ostenbridge also stated he wants Holmes Beach city leaders to dismantle their permit parking program for residents, opening up more street parking in residential areas for public use. He also has demanded that public beach parking be allowed at the Island Branch Library and Anna Maria Elementary School when those facilities are not otherwise in use. Providing public parking at the school requires permission from the School District of Manatee County and either a special permit or site plan amendment approval from the city of Holmes Beach. Public parking at the county library branch would require an amendment to the lease between the city and county for the land under the building.

If city leaders refuse, Van Ostenbridge said he’d consider refusing to provide beach renourishment funds for the Holmes Beach coastline. However, Manatee County commissioners have limited control over the disbursement of beach renourishment funds, which come primarily from federal and state resources – including the Army Corps of Engineers and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection – and a portion of Manatee County Tourist Development Tax collections.

Though Van Ostenbridge has repeatedly said he would pull beach renourishment funds from the city to try to force Holmes Beach leaders’ hands regarding parking, it could be a double-edged sword for Manatee County, opponents say. Any reduction in beach renourishment could shrink the county’s beaches on Anna Maria Island due to rising sea levels and erosion, potentially reducing tourism to the area and damaging businesses throughout the county. Anna Maria Island generates the majority of tourism funds for Manatee County.

Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth said a parking garage is not an approved land use in the city and would potentially require the approval of an ordinance to allow the use or a special exception from city commissioners. The parking garage also would have to meet city requirements concerning maximum height (three stories), setbacks, stormwater retention and drainage and other building codes.

Titsworth has said while she’s happy to have conversations with county leaders about parking, she doesn’t feel that Holmes Beach and its residents should bear the majority of the responsibility for providing beach parking for the entire county and its visitors.

While the mayor has mentioned the possibility of the county building a parking garage in past talks concerning beach parking, she suggested building that garage off of 75th Street in Bradenton and using public transportation to get beachgoers to and from Manatee Beach.

Parking program scrutinized

Van Ostenbridge is among those who led the charge against the city of Holmes Beach regarding the public parking available for beachgoers in the Anna Maria Island city. The disagreement between county commissioners and Holmes Beach city leaders has gone on for months, stemming from a decision on the part of city leaders to enact a residential permit-only parking program on some residential streets located next to beach access points following a COVID-19-related shutdown of beach accesses in early 2020.

The permit parking program was planned for several years before becoming a reality and was designed to help lessen the negative impacts of large numbers of beachgoers in residential areas. Some issues that residents reported include people trespassing on their property, damaging property and landscaping, using exterior water hoses and pools without permission and leaving trash and other debris on lawns.

Despite Van Ostenbridge’s claims that city leaders have reduced the number of public parking spots by about 2,000 spaces, Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer, who helped implement the parking permit program, said that claim is false.

Tokajer has stated that before the COVID-19 parking closures, which have been lifted, the city had about 2,400 parking spaces, including those at beach access points, public parking areas and along the side of streets within a quarter of a mile of the beach. Now there are 1,261 parking spots that do not require a parking permit and 642 on-street parking spots that require a permit but become available to the public daily after 5 p.m. About 497 on-street parking spots were removed by city leaders in residential areas as a part of the parking changes.

Under an agreement with the county, the city provides many more spaces than the 500 or so that are required to receive beach renourishment funding, according to city officials.

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