I never really believed in ghosts and evil spirits. It was always fun to talk about other people’s experiences at parties but since I never had any first-hand knowledge it was just that, fun until it wasn’t.
Anna Maria Island has its share of ghost sightings including haunted restaurants, even one with a ghost cat. Hotels have had sightings – how about a bride ghost – and, of course, Coquina Beach has its resident ghost. Naturally, some clever entrepreneurs have packaged these events into entertaining tours around the Island, so you can get up close and personal. But if you’re selling your property and you think you may have a ghost, what do you do?
Thankfully, Florida absolves property owners of the responsibility of disclosing paranormal activity in homes or the fact that a crime was committed in a home. In addition, the seller does not even have to disclose that their property was suspected to be the site of a crime. Further, a seller has no obligation to disclose homicides, suicides or deaths that occurred on the property. Basically, you can sell your property with all the ghosts, ghouls and goblins as an added bonus.
Florida is one of more than 20 states with laws that say agents and sellers won’t be held liable for failing to mention that 20 years earlier a wife stabbed her husband in the home’s master bedroom, for instance, or the possibility of paranormal activity. Our state does not consider these events material facts and therefore property owners are not subject to possible lawsuits down the road; you can do absolutely nothing within the law. However, in plenty of other states, you may be legally required to say something about your haunted house, deaths, suicides or crimes.
To me it does sound a little unnecessary to disclose deaths in a property; after all, how does an aged grandfather dying comfortably in his bed impact the structural integrity of a home. Even more unfair is a home that has no past history, but rumors have taken over facts and turned it into a stigmatized property that now has to be disclosed to potential buyers. This has happened in cases of celebrity or well-publicized events like the home where JonBenet Ramsey lived. Owners of some so-called stigmatized properties have even resorted to changing the property address in an effort to remove some of the stigma. Unfortunately, since you can’t prove the unproven, sellers are stuck and must disclose in states that require it.
As a general rule, it’s always better to disclose everything you know about a home, whether or not the law requires it. It will give your buyer a sense of honesty that is always important in a business transaction and will allow you to move out with a clear conscience knowing you’ve done the right thing.
My up close and personal ghost experience happened in a 17th-century hotel in Rome. Although I never actually saw a spirit, they did move several things around and made a copy of The New York Times disappear and then reappear in the exact spot. It was enough to give me the creeps and start paying closer attention to cocktail party talk.
If you’re selling your home and you think that it may be stigmatized in any way, ethics should prevail; if it makes you uncomfortable probably a good thing to disclose it even though you’re not obligated. Have a boo time on Halloween!
Updated Oct. 25, 2019 | PALMA SOLA CAUSEWAY – Pinellas County commissioners have banned horses from aquatic preserves in the county, impacting a popular tourism business that also rents horses at Palma Sola causeway in Manatee County.
C Ponies offers rides in an aquatic preserve in Tampa Bay near the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Pinellas County, and in Palma Sola Bay and along its narrow causeway beach in Manatee County. Activities include beach rides, water rides and “horse surfing,” standing on horses while they swim. Other horse rental businesses in Pinellas County also are affected.
“We only have one body of water to protect. We only have one planet to save. Once it’s destroyed, it’s destroyed,” said Pinellas County Commissioner Janet Long, a former competitive horseback rider.
The commission pinned its 5-1 decision Tuesday on evidence – including aerial photos – that horses trample fragile seagrass in the aquatic preserve, and that horse manure and urine pose a risk to human health.
Citing support for the ordinance from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council, the Tampa Bay Estuary Program and the City of St. Petersburg, the commission also prohibited the unpermitted damage of seagrass in aquatic preserves.
Recognizing the value of the horseback riding businesses to tourism, commissioners voted unanimously to direct county staff to investigate other locations for horseback riding.
Horsesurfing takes horseback riding in the bay to another level. – Cindy Lane | Sun
Manatee County officials have contacted Kelli Levy, Pinellas County’s Environmental Management division director, for a copy of the ordinance, Levy told commissioners, adding, “They will be looking into it as well.”
Bacteria happens
Simply put, horseback riding in the water decreases water quality, Levy told commissioners.
“It’s the wrong activity in the wrong place,” she said.
Tests by DEP and the Florida Department of Health show increased fecal bacteria in waters frequented by horses, Levy said, adding that the bacteria can cause gastrointestinal illness in people exposed to contaminated water through their eyes, ears, nose or cuts.
Florida Department of Agriculture best practices on horseback riding include staying at least 25 feet from water bodies, and the Florida Administrative Code discourages “activities that degrade the aesthetic, biological or scientific values or quality or utility of a preserve,” she said.
Water testing has shown increases in fecal bacteria in the areas where horses are ridden, said Heather Young, an environmental planner for the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council.
Water Quality Report
Bayfront Park North Poor
Bradenton Beach Good
Coquina Beach North Good
Coquina Beach South Good
Manatee Beach North Good
Palma Sola South Moderate
Source: Florida Department of Health
“Nutrients and bacteria are the same thing our local governments are working incredibly hard to reduce,” she said, adding that seagrass restoration has been a group effort among many organizations and governments. “These riding operations are being allowed without permission or oversight. There is no guarantee water quality is not being impacted.”
Seagrass at stake
Randy Reynolds, DEP’s aquatic preserve manager for Tampa Bay, said he has studied the Pinellas County horseback riding area for two years, initially snorkeling, then deciding against it due to the water quality.
He observed damage to shoal grass inconsistent with boat propeller scarring, and damage to turtle grass beds in deeper water.
“I’m convinced it’s the horseback riding, not boats,” he said. “They’re punching holes in the seagrass.”
Water horses are popular on Palma Sola Bay. – Cindy Lane | Sun
Jessica Bibza, a marine biologist and member of the National Wildlife Federation and the Tampa Bay Estuary Program Technical Advisory Council, told commissioners that one in five jobs are directly tied to the health of Tampa Bay.
“I don’t know why this one activity should be exempt,” she said. “We’ve all invested a lot of time and energy and money to restore the bay.”
Horseback riding defended
Commissioner Kathleen Peters defended the businesses, saying she took an anonymous ride to see things for herself.
“They picked up everything” using several rakes and buckets. “The beach was pristine,” she said.
“Many of these horses are rescue horses. These people are taking in abused horses and are giving them an opportunity to exercise in the water,” Peters said, suggesting in vain that commissioners compromise by imposing a permit fee and allowing only one water trail.
Jennifer Osterling, a guide for C Ponies, brought trash to the commission meeting that she said she collected from the bay during trail rides, including six-pack holders and plastic bottles.
Guides educate riders about the environment, she said, while helping veterans, cancer patients, and the horses.
Kimberly Kult of C Ponies said only 10% of the horse waste is deposited in the water, and guides use pool nets and buckets to remove it.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency excludes horse waste from the definition of “solid waste,” she said, because horse waste is primarily composed of grass.
The exclusion means that horse waste is not required to be disposed of at a hazardous waste landfill, Levy said, adding, “It can be disposed of in the trash, but it doesn’t mean it’s fit for human health.”
Local concerns
Much like the Sunshine Skyway causeway, the Palma Sola Bay causeway attracts people who enjoy other recreational activities besides horseback riding, including swimming, boating, kayaking, paddleboarding and kitesurfing.
An aerial image from Google Earth show the area where horseback riding is concentrated in Palma Sola Bay.
A representative from the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program told The Sun in July about concerns that horses are impacting seagrass beds in Palma Sola Bay on the northeastern corner of the causeway, where most commercial horseback rentals occur.
Other local organizations that have discussed concerns about horseback riding at Palma Sola Bay include Keep Manatee Beautiful, the Palma Sola Scenic Highway Corridor Management Entity, the Manatee Council of Governments and Sarasota Audubon.
“We do have concerns about horses and dogs on the causeway,” said Ann Paul, a biologist with Audubon’s Florida Coastal Islands Sanctuaries, days before addressing Pinellas County commissioners.
“They’re peeing and pooping, and there’s no cleansing of the water before it gets in the estuary,” she said. “Where they are walking through seagrass, they’re punching holes in the seagrass. People would like to use that stretch of beach and can’t because of horse poop.”
The Florida Department of Health’s Healthy Beaches Program lists moderate water quality in Palma Sola Bay as of the most recent test on Oct. 23. Tests showed poor quality on Oct. 21 based on enterococcus bacteria from fecal contamination on the south side of the bay, which horse proponents point out is across Manatee Avenue from the horseback riding businesses.
Is there an algorithm in your future? If you’re planning on buying or selling a house, get ready for the future of real estate.
In a world where technology has remade everything from your morning coffee to tracking your investments, the real estate market has remained very old school. Reams of paperwork are the norm and interaction with local real estate professionals is the custom in most markets around the country. It wasn’t that many years ago when local real estate associations opened up multiple listing access to consumers making practically everyone an informed expert. If the availability of multiple listing properties to everyone was a big step, wait until you see what’s coming down the road.
iBuyer computer platforms have been gradually immersing themselves in the real estate market, offering buyers and sellers practically on-the-spot gratification. An iBuyer is a company that uses technology to make an offer on your home instantly. iBuyers represent a dramatic shift in the way people are buying and selling homes, offering a simpler, more convenient alternative to traditional home sales. Just search iBuyers and you’ll be amazed at the hits you get.
Companies like Knock and Zillow are betting big time on the success of these platforms in a world where everyone is too busy to complete traditional real estate transactions. Knock, for example, helps customers buy a new home, usually an upgraded one, and then stages the old home and gets it on the market right away. There are, of course, fees for this service but for many professional couples, it’s worth it.
Zillow and others buy the property after an appraisal and the sellers move on without the hassle of selling. So far Zillow is moving along with its business plan, buying more than 1,500 homes in the second quarter of the year.
Then we have startups who are offering people with good income but not so good credit a way to get into a home. Divvy Homes buys homes then rents the homes to their clients so they can have a place to live, pay rent and build equity towards eventual ownership. This is an idea that has its roots in the real estate industry known as rent with an option to buy, which was a private contract between two parties. It worked for many buyers and sellers in the pre-tech world, especially for difficult-to-sell properties.
Now Divvy and others like Flyhomes are offering high tech plans to fill a need aimed at first-time buyers who are probably already renters. It’s not uncommon for first-time buyers to be faced with student loan debt and little or no savings while they’re getting their careers up and running.
Divvy’s plan is to charge monthly rent with about 20% of the monthly payment going toward equity to buy the property. The monthly rent is higher than what the going rate for a similar rental would be, but equity is being built. Naturally, Divvy makes most of their money from the rent paid.
Flyhomes offers a full-service brokerage, buys the homes for cash giving their clients an edge and then underwrites the potential mortgage. Naturally, there are fees attached to this as well as traditional real estate brokerage commissions.
Ask five different real estate agents what your home is worth and you’ll get five completely different answers. Ask an algorithm what your home is worth and you’ll at least get one answer which may or may not be correct. No matter how you feel about technology getting involved in real estate, we can all agree that it’s definitely a disruption.
ANNA MARIA ISLAND – Manatee County commissioners have approved a record $13.2 million marketing budget for the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) for fiscal year 2020-21.
Highlights of the 2020-21 CVB budget:
Online/digital marketing $2.36 million
Sports marketing $2.1 million
Advertising agency (Aqua) $1.23 million
LECOM Park $900,000
Florida Railroad Museum $700,000
Central European marketing $688,714
Allegiant Airlines initiatives $630,000
United Kingdom marketing $628,693
TV/radio ads $458,000
Tourism consultant $310,000
Website management $300,000
Concert series $200,000
Anna Maria Island budget items
AMI Chamber of Commerce Tourist Information Center and Ambassador program $181,900
AMI Chamber ads $90,000
Magazine/newspaper ads $82,050
Symphony on the Sand $60,000
Sandblast $12,000
Source: Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau
The budget – up 67% from five years ago – is aimed at attracting more visitors to Bradenton, Anna Maria Island and the Manatee County portion of Longboat Key.
The largest overall expenditure is online and digital marketing – more than $2.36 million over two years – reflecting an industrywide departure from print advertising.
Sports marketing ranks second, with $2.1 million allocated, not including another $900,000 in capital improvements for baseball stadium LECOM Park (McKechnie Field).
Other high-ticket items are the Aqua advertising agency ($1.23 million, not including its portion of the online and digital marketing budget), marketing in Central Europe ($688,714) and marketing in the United Kingdom ($628,693).
Budget funding is generated by Manatee County’s 5% tourist tax, paid by visitors to lodging establishments that rent for six months or less. The county spends about half of the tax proceeds on tourism marketing to draw more tourists to the area; 20% of the taxes are allocated to beach renourishment. Other recent uses have included rebuilding fishing piers in Anna Maria and Bradenton Beach.
The Manatee County Tourist Development Council (TDC) voted in June to recommend the budget to Manatee County commissioners for final approval on Sept. 24.
Writing has been compared to bringing order out of chaos, something I try to do weekly on this page, and one of the most chaotic aspects of real estate is the mortgage process, which may be getting even more confusing to the average home buyer.
As confusing as the typical mortgage process is, the relationship of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA and Ginnie Mae – entities that are also known as government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) – to the mortgage market continually contribute to the chaos.
Before we go on, a quick review: Over 50 years ago Congress chartered the government-sponsored enterprises to provide liquidity to housing finance. The GSEs securitized and guaranteed mortgages, freeing up private lenders to provide more loans, making mortgages more readily available to the average home buyer. This created the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage, which has been the gold standard of housing finance for all these years.
It was a great system until it went off the rails with sub-prime mortgage products partly encouraged by Congress leading to the bursting of the housing bubble and financial collapse in 2008. The American taxpayer was on the hook for $190 billion dollars to keep Fannie and Freddie floating and they have been in government conservatorship since then.
Now the federal government wants to gradually shrink the GSEs and start returning them to private hands. One of the suggested ways is to require them to have additional capital and underwriting standards comparable to private lenders. Will this happen? Maybe, but even if the wheels start to spin in that direction, it will be a long painful process which could turn on a dime subject to the outcome of a national election.
In the meantime, there is a new type of unconventional mortgage that has turned up. It’s called asset-depletion loans or asset-dissipation loans. Basically, they are designed for people who don’t have conventional paychecks, particularly retirees. As long as the borrower’s ability to draw on their assets is not overestimated, the loans can be fine.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac do make these loans but only based on a borrower’s 401k assets. However, Fannie and Freddie have eased up on standards for this type of loan, asking for smaller down payments and allowing more debt for borrowers. Again, this creates more risk for the American taxpayers.
So, what else do the gatekeepers of the American housing market have up their sleeve? Well, there is something that many Florida residents will be very interested in. Within the past year, they rolled out a program that would treat manufactured homes the same as it does site-built properties.
This means that a previous market that was difficult to obtain mortgaging for will now operate as a conventional mortgage market. They have also designed mortgages for manufactured homes at lower interest rates than buyers of these properties were previously able to obtain, as well as allowing appraisers to compare manufactured homes to those built on-site when determining value.
This may be a great program for many buyers of manufacturers homes, but in Florida, as we all know, manufactured homes are the most vulnerable in storms. Again, call me crazy, but do we as taxpayers need to assume more mortgage risk?
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, as well as all other GSE programs, will go on for a long time before any real change is made. It’s almost impossible to take away something that’s been in effect for so long. All I can do is try to bring order out of the mortgage processing chaos.
MANATEE COUNTY – Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium’s leadership is hoping for some funds from the Manatee County Tourist Development Council but TDC members are unsure that they can meet the $5 million request.
Dan Bebak, vice president of Aquarium, Education and Outreach at Mote, appeared before TDC members during a Sept. 16 meeting to ask for $5 million in funding spread over three years. The request includes $2 million in fiscal year 2020, $1.75 million in fiscal year 2021 and $1.25 million in fiscal year 2022.
If TDC members vote to approve the funding, followed by a vote of approval from Manatee County Commissioners and the potential approval of a budget amendment for the TDC, Bebak said the funds would go toward proposed expenditures at the Mote City Island campus. The City Island campus is expected to become a science and learning center when the new Mote aquarium is built adjacent to Nathan Benderson Park near the University Town Center Mall in Sarasota.
Proposed expenditures include estuary excursions, environmental kayaking experiences, behind-the-scenes science education opportunities, classroom technology, digital learning access, the development of an augmented reality aquarium tour, animal and exhibit care, guest experience enhancement and other upgrades at Mote.
Manatee County Commissioner Carol Whitmore said she doesn’t believe that Manatee County has ever had much of a brand or advertising presence with Mote and it’s something that she’d like to see happen in the future. Before it does though, she said she’d like to see more detail from Mote concerning where the funds would be going. She also said that she’d like to see Manatee County represented in both the City Island science center on Longboat Key and in the new aquarium when it’s built.
TDC funds must be spent on specific endeavors to encourage tourism to Manatee County. One way in which funds can be spent is to buy advertising and another is to create an exhibit or event that drives people to the area. Either way, the TDC needs to see a return on the funds in the form of economic impact to Manatee County.
TDC member and Anna Maria Commissioner Doug Copeland said he questions spending $5 million on advertising to a group of people who are already in the area.
Bebak said that of Mote’s annual memberships, 58% come from Manatee and Sarasota counties with the remainder from other areas. Of the total attendance numbers, 13% come from Manatee County, 18% come from Sarasota County and 69% come from other areas. Of that 69%, 12% come from a drivable range of eight surrounding counties and 88% come from outside of that drivable area.
“In my heart, I support the cause,” Whitmore said, adding that she needs to see how the funds will benefit Manatee County to help her and other county commissioners to justify the expense to residents.
Bradenton Mayor Wayne Poston said he was also not prepared to vote on the funding request at the Sept. 16 meeting.
“I love the concept. We have a lot of asks right now,” he said. “The devil’s in the details and we need the details. Convince me.”
TDC members voted to have representatives from Mote come back at a future meeting to present a budget of how funds would be used and ideas on how those funds would benefit Manatee County tourism.
ORLANDO – Anna Maria Island didn’t feel the effects of Hurricane Dorian, but Manatee County’s first responders didn’t take it easy as the storm swept by Florida’s east coast. First responders from around the state gathered supplies and equipment and journeyed to Orlando to gather at a staging area and await deployment to any areas hit hard by the storm.
Manatee County sent 28 first responder volunteers along with fire engines and other equipment to Orlando to await deployment. Participating departments include East Manatee Fire Rescue, North River Fire Rescue, Southern Manatee Fire Rescue, Bradenton Fire Rescue, Longboat Key Fire Rescue, Cedar Hammock Fire Rescue and West Manatee Fire Rescue which sent fire engine 131 along with firefighters Clayton Lease and Paul Hopkins.
Strike teams gathered for staging Sept. 3. With Florida being spared the hurricane’s wrath, the strike teams were not needed for hurricane relief efforts in Florida, and Manatee County’s team returned to the west coast Sept. 5.
In the event of a natural disaster, strike teams are formed with first responder volunteers to go into badly affected areas of the state and provide relief by helping in recovery efforts, assisting local first responders with rescue and fire response efforts and distributing supplies to local residents, among other assistance efforts.
Last week we talked about the fun and not-so-much fun of buying a home. This week we’ll talk a little about selling your home, choosing the perfect realtor and not necessarily one you’re related to. But before we do that, let’s review the June and July Manatee County sales statistics as reported by the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee.
In June, Manatee County closed 2.2% fewer homes than last year, not surprising for this time of year. In spite of that the median sale price, half above and half below, increased by 5% from last year to $315,000. The average sale price was $397,987, up 8.8%, and the month’s supply of properties is down to 3.6 months.
June’s condo sales increased for the number of sales by 6.1%, the median sale price was $210,000, up 14.3%, and the average sale price was $246,381, up 5.2%, all impressive numbers. The month’s supply of properties was 4.2%.
July single-family sales were down slightly by 1.8%, but the median sale price broke a record at $325,000 up 5% from last year. This is the highest median price since the housing crisis more than a decade ago and near historic levels. The average single-family home price was $391,049, up 2%, and the month’s supply of properties was down to 3.4%.
Condo sales were up by 8.7% with a median sale price of $191,000, down 4.1%. The average sale price for condos was $216,523, down 6.6% from last year and the month’s supply of properties was 3.7%.
Do these numbers give you incentive to find that perfect realtor and consider selling? Maybe, but remember statistics are only a snapshot in time and, although our sales and appreciation rates continue to go up every month, it could change in a heartbeat.
But just in case you’re ready to cash in, here are a few tips for choosing a realtor:
Although there are many questions you should ask a real estate professional before you turn over what may be your biggest asset to them, the two that are most important to me are how long have you been in residential real estate sales and what is your specific marketing plan?
Much of real estate experience is an on-the-job learning experience but choosing an agent who has accumulated a few designations or certifications shows a commitment to his/her profession. Certainly, you should ask if real estate sales are their full-time job. There are sales agents who get into the field thinking it’s a part-time job they can fit around their children’s school schedule. Trust me you don’t want this person.
As far as a marketing plan, the agent should be prepared to show you a written plan involving print advertising, open houses and digital participation. They may also include a pricing schedule suggesting a step-down pricing recommendation for 30, 60 or 90 days in the event offers are not coming in. As part of this plan, your agent should advise how frequently he/she will be in touch with you regarding showings and feedback.
It is also important for you to know how long homes in your area are taking to sell and the variation between the listing and final sales prices. I frequently note these statistics in my monthly updates for Manatee County because they are so important to the overall picture of the market.
Finally, giving your listing to a relative may look appealing since you already have a relationship and he/she may offer to reduce commission for you. However, it takes away the business aspect of the transaction and gets into the emotional aspect. My advice is don’t do it.
I’m looking forward to receiving the August Manatee County real estate numbers and hope you have a fun selling experience with a qualified broker.
ANNA MARIA ISLAND – Manatee County remains clear of Hurricane Dorian’s “cone of uncertainty” today, with lighter-than-normal Labor Day beach crowds, in part due to holiday plans that changed days ago when the forecast was less certain.
County emergency management officials de-escalated the Emergency Operations Center Saturday as forecasters predicted the category 4 storm would stay east of Florida and turn north.
Tonight’s sunset shows no sign of Hurricane Dorian on Anna Maria Island.
But with change being the only thing certain about tropical weather, officials advise residents to continue to keep watch on the storm, which clocked 145-mph winds today after stalling over the Bahamas with up to 185-mph winds.
“It’s been an unpredictable storm and it could take a left turn just like it took a right turn, so our residents should continue to monitor the forecast by watching reliable news sources and following the county’s social media accounts,”Emergency Chief Steve Litschauer said.
A 10% chance of tropical-storm-force winds remains in Manatee County through Saturday, Sept. 7, according to NOAA’s National Hurricane Center.
Officials canceled their plan to open shelters for those living in mobile and manufactured homes and RVs today, and announced that school and government operations are scheduled to continue normally on Tuesday following the Labor Day holiday. No changes are expected to the county’s holiday waste collection schedule.
Expectations of Dorian’s winds and rains curtailed Labor Day weekend crowds today on Anna Maria Island, where beachgoers experienced the typical summer mix of sun and rain.
Updated Aug. 30, 2019 at 1:15 p.m. | BRADENTON – The Manatee County Commission declared a local state of emergency this morning as Hurricane Dorian approaches, following the statewide emergency declared yesterday by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“Don’t panic. Get your plan in place and start planning for what’s looking to be a rain event, but could possibly turn into wind as well,” said Jacob Saur, acting director of the public safety department.
Dorian, now approaching Category 3 strength, has a taken a turn for the south, according to forecasters, who estimate West Palm Beach as the place of impact.
Locally, storm effects will be worst from the afternoon of Sunday, Sept. 1 through the evening of Wednesday, Sept. 4, Saur said, with a potential 3-6 feet of storm surge along the Gulf coast, 4-5 inches of rain, and seas 3-8 feet above normal.
If Dorian makes an expected northward turn in the center of Florida, Saur said there are no local storm surge worries, but if it waits to make the northward turn until it reaches the west coast, storm surge will be a concern.
NOAA forecasters currently show the “cone of uncertainty” as covering the entire Florida peninsula, and predict that the storm will slow after its makes landfall.
“As the storm slows down, it has an opportunity to expand its eyewall,” Saur said.
The arrival of storm-force winds locally are predicted from Monday, Sept. 2 through Wednesday, Sept. 4.
Winds are expected to be equal to or greater than Hurricane Irma in 2017, said Steve Litschauer, chief of the county’s emergency management department. Ground already saturated with rainwater then inundated with Dorian’s rain could lead to canals and rivers flooding, he said.
Residents of mobile homes and RVs should plan on evacuating Sunday, when county officials expect to declare mandatory mobile home and RV evacuations. Three to four shelters, three of which are pet-friendly, will be opened, along with the special needs shelter, also pet-friendly, he said, adding that shelter openings will be announced Saturday.
The homeless transportation plan likely will be put into effect to transport homeless persons to shelters, Litschauer said.
Sandbags are available today, Friday, Aug. 30, and tomorrow, Saturday, Aug. 31 at G.T. Bray Park parking lot, Bennet Park, Lakewood Ranch Park and the Bradenton Area Convention Center.
Free sandbags also are available from the City of Anna Maria at the corner of North Shore Drive and North Bay Boulevard at the far north end of Bayfront Park.
The county’s Citizen Information Center line, 941-749-3547, will field calls from the public today and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
MANATEE COUNTY – A user fee is being proposed for boaters using any of the Manatee County managed boat ramps.
There are 10 county-managed boat ramps in Manatee County with three on Anna Maria Island, Kingfish Boat Ramp in Holmes Beach and the Coquina North and South Boat Ramps in Bradenton Beach, and one, the Palma Sola Boat Ramp, on the Palma Sola Causeway near Flamingo Cay. With renovations needed at Kingfish, Coquina South and Palma Sola, along with a planned parking expansion at the Highland Shores Boat Ramp, county leaders are looking for a way to help pay for repairs, management and ongoing maintenance. During an Aug. 15 work session, Parks and Natural Resources Director Charlie Hunsicker presented a plan – charge the boat ramp users a fee.
The proposal from the Parks and Natural Resources staff is to charge $5 per day for boat trailer parking spaces. If the fee is charged, it’s estimated that each parking space would generate $500 in revenue each year, equaling $146,500 in annual revenue for 293 trailer parking spaces. The estimate to install solar-powered parking machines at the boat ramps is $65,000 with $5,400 in annual data costs.
Commissioner Carol Whitmore said that with the amount of money that would be raised with paid parking, she doesn’t feel that it’s worth it.
“I don’t support them, 100%,” she said. “I just don’t support charging to park our boats.” She added that she hopes her fellow commissioners won’t support paid parking at boat ramps either.
Commissioner Vanessa Baugh said she is more in favor of charging for paid parking at the boat ramps due to the use of the ramps for commercial businesses.
“I don’t think it’s right that a commercial fisherman should be able to use our ramps to run their business,” she said.
Commissioner Priscilla Whisenant Trace said that she believes that fishermen would be willing to pay to park if it gave them access to the county’s busy boat ramps. She added that she hopes the county finds a way to expand its boat ramps and maybe a way to provide preferential treatment for boaters who live in Manatee County.
“It only makes sense to charge user fees,” Commissioner Besty Benac said.
The Kingfish Boat Ramp in Holmes Beach is planned to undergo a minimum of a $4.5 million renovation. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
With the number of registered vessels in Manatee County jumping from 17,940 in 2015 to 20,931 in 2018, the county’s boat ramps are operating over capacity on a regular basis, according to Hunsicker. Adding in the approximately 395,000 Manatee County residents, the presentation notes that there should be 52 boat ramp lanes in the county to adequately accommodate everyone according to standards outlined in the county’s comprehensive plan. There are currently 18 boat ramp lanes in use in Manatee County in the nine improved boat ramps, not including the Lake Manatee Boat Ramp. In the nine boat ramps, there are 293 trailer parking spaces, not including those available to other vehicles.
Hunsicker also proposed creating a public-private partnership to create new boat ramps in the area, specifically one with Pen Bay 1 LLC to create a new four-lane boat ramp with access to Palma Sola Bay and 80 parking spaces in Cortez at the site of the proposed Peninsula Bay residential subdivision project. He said that the project as proposed would not change the shoreline of Palma Sola Bay.
He said the developer estimated in 2018 that the construction costs for the project, including cutting a channel to the bay, would be $10-15 million with the costs shared between the county and the developer. If county leaders opt to move forward with the project, Hunsicker said the developer is ready to go into design for the project as early as fiscal year 2020.
Whitmore said she feels “very good” about the possibilities of the project and applauded the developer for wanting to commit land to a public boat ramp that could be developed into more housing.
Currently, funds for boat ramp projects and renovations come from either matching funds with the West Coast Inland Navigation District or the Florida Boating Improvement Program from vessel registration fees. Without finding additional funding sources, Hunsicker said the county won’t meet their goals over the next five years to renovate existing boat ramps.
No decisions were made by commissioners due to the discussion taking place during a work session.
It’s the end of July, and most of the country is hot, really hot. But if you live near the water as we do, it doesn’t seem so bad. Imagine living in a landlocked state and it’s 95 degrees day after day. Aside from keeping cool, living near the water has many other benefits, according to a book called “Blue Mind.”
Sitting on a beach has always been one of my favorite things to do and I have been fortunate enough my entire life to have quick access to wonderful beaches. It gives me a sense of well being and just staring at the water puts me in a mildly meditative state, a blue mind.
This is exactly what Wallace Nichols a marine biologist talks about in his book “Blue Mind.” He says that merely being close to a body of water, sea, river, ocean or lake can promote mental health and happiness. Further, water lowers stress and anxiety, lowers heart and breathing rate and improves creativity. Sometimes even dreaming or daydreaming about a beautiful beach and crystal water can calm down anxiety.
Nichols’s theory would explain the popularity of Anna Maria Island and the accompanying increase in real estate values. Coastal Living Magazine had a recent list of the happiest seaside towns in the country. Anna Maria came in fifth and the only picture the magazine used in their piece was one of Anna Maria’s iconic cottages on Pine Avenue.
Now it’s time to take a look at the June Manatee County sales statistics reported by the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee:
Single-family homes closed 2.2% fewer properties, however, the median sale price was up 5% to $315,000 and the average sale price was $397,987, which is 8.8% higher than last June. The median percentage of original list price to the final sale price was 96%, about the same as last year. The median time to sell was 102 days this June. Last year it was 90 days and the month’s supply of properties is 3.6 months compared to 4.1 last June.
Condos closed 12.2% fewer properties this June compared to last. Like single-family homes, the median sale price for condos was also up by 3.9% to $199,000. The average sale price was also up 1.6% to $236,307. The median percentage of original list price to the final sale price was 95%, up 1.3 percent from last year. The median time to sell was 101 days this year compared to 111 days last year and the month’s supply of properties is 4.1 months, the same as last June.
With the exception of fewer closings, June’s numbers are all in the green for both single-family and condos. If you have a smaller supply of properties to sell, chances are you will have fewer closings – the good and bad of a great real estate market. In addition, the median percentage of listing to sale price is a good indicator of the health of the market. When you’re getting close to 100% of listing to sale, you know things are good.
This time of year, it’s not easy to find a state that is naturally cool, believe me, I’ve tried. It’s also not easy to find a place where people are not over-connected and over-stimulated, creating a red mind the opposite of a blue mind.
However, we have it right here on Anna Maria and the surrounding areas. Is it worth the extra money for a home on or near the water? Just ask anyone who has one. “Blue Mind,” a perfect name for a cottage on the beach.
BRADENTON BEACH – Manatee County’s force main sewer pipe replacement project is going to soon impact residents and business owners south of the Cortez Bridge.
Bradenton Beach officials hope to avoid the delays, disturbances and inconveniences that plagued Avenue C property owners for nearly two years while similar work took place at the north end of the city.
City Engineer Lynn Burnett presented the county’s plans to city commissioners on Thursday, July 18, and commissioners unanimously directed Burnett and city staff to approve the county plans as presented and discussed that night.
Burnett said the county project will impact property owners on Fifth Street South, Sixth Street South, Gulf Drive, Bay Drive South and Church Street North.
Burnett and Mayor John Chappie clarified the term force main applies to sewage pipes, but not to water pipes.
“It’s not going to be fun as far as what they’re going to be doing to our streets and neighborhood in the CRA area,” Chappie said.
He was referencing the Community Redevelopment Agency district that extends from the Cortez Bridge to Fifth Street South.
“We all know what it looks like when the county comes in and does a complete end of service life main replacement. We lived with that for a good couple years on Avenue C,” Burnett said.
Burnett said the Harris McBurney Company won the construction bid for this portion of the county project. The company recently completed similar work in Holmes Beach.
“They did a good job, they were very conscientious, they worked well with the neighbors,” Burnett said.
Westra Construction did the force main work along Avenue C.
Burnett said the county’s design documents and contract with Harris McBurney for the Bradenton Beach project also include a county project near Bayfront Park in Anna Maria and a county project along Marina Drive in Holmes Beach.
Burnett said the three-project documents list a project timetable of 227 days, which is seven and a half months.
Burnett expects the county projects to get underway within the next 30 to 60 days but she did not know last week when the work would begin in Bradenton Beach. She expects the Bradenton Beach project to take more than two months once started.
Chappie and Vice Mayor Spooner emphasized the need to begin as soon as possible to avoid working into the tourist season that begins to peak in February.
“Get it over with as quickly as possible and be done with it. Don’t end up down here in the middle of tourist season,” Chappie said.
Spooner said September through January would be the best time to do the work.
“That’s our slowest time,” he said.
“The bottom line is it needs to be done before we get into season,” Chappie reiterated.
Project path
Burnett said the work will begin near the lift station along Bay Drive South and the properties along the north side of Sixth Street South will be the first impacted. This work will require a 14-foot deep, open-cut trench along the north side of the street and will displace half of the travel lane for most of the street.
Burnett said an open cut trench will also be dug down the center of Fifth Street South. She said access to all properties will be maintained, but some mailboxes and landscaping may need to be moved.
Chappie suggested the county block off a portion of the nearby Cortez Beach parking area to serve as a parking area for construction employees and a staging area for equipment and materials.
Chappie wants to ensure that the shoreline mangroves at the east end of Fifth Street South be kept as healthy as possible. He also noted there will be water removal pumps running around the clock for four or five days in a row and this could create some noise issues.
The project will push north with an open cut trench along Bay Drive South, where Burnett said it could temporarily impact business operations at and near the Bridge Tender Inn.
The project will then continue with an open cut trench north along Church Street North and proceed and stop just short of First Street North.
Directional boring will then be used to run the sewer pipe under the concrete surface at the Bradenton Beach Marina and connect it to an existing lift station near the Cortez Bridge.
City Attorney Ricinda Perry stressed the need for the county to notify all impacted property owners in advance. She also stressed that this is a county project that the city has no control over.
For several years, I wrote about how the millennials were moving into the cities. They didn’t want anything to do with the suburbs and their parents’ lifestyle. Well, in the space of two weeks I discovered that everything old is new again.
In the 1950’s families, including mine, were moving from the city to the suburbs, buying up new homes in what were once potato fields and family farms. This migration from the cities to the suburbs happened because of the demand for housing after World War II when the veterans could finally settle down and start their families.
When the grandchildren of those families grew up, they said, “No way,” and vowed not to return to the mundane lifestyle of backyard barbeques and Little League. But don’t ever say never since the millennials, many of whom are in their late 30s, are coming back with families in tow, only this time instead of moving to the suburbs outside of major Northern cities, they’re coming south. This reversal has a lot to do with the mobility of jobs and the growth of the South, which is benefitting from the real estate slow down and taxes of the Northeast.
Recently, a very extensive piece in the Wall Street Journal studied the reversal from city to suburban life. It reported that the growth rates of the suburbs are far outpacing metropolitan areas and the South is winning the race. This supports what I wrote about last week regarding investors buying up first-time buyer properties, hurting millennials who suddenly want to buy houses and raise families.
Some of the hot Sun Belt areas with good job opportunities that are benefitting from this influx of young families are Frisco, Texas, Nolensville, Tennessee, Scottsdale, Georgia and our very own Lakewood Ranch.
As fate will have it, the same day I read the story about the city to suburban reversal there was a report in the Bradenton Herald about 3,000 new homes that will be built in Lakewood Ranch. After a little research, I discovered a couple of interesting things about Lakewood Ranch that we who live surrounded by water probably haven’t paid attention to.
First of all, 74 percent of Lakewood Ranch residents are either between the ages of 25 – 44 or over 65. I also read that Massachusetts General Hospital is opening a Brain Health Initiative that will be based in Lakewood Ranch, kind of an achievement for the Bradenton area. Also, the median age in Lakewood Ranch is 49.4 compared to Anna Maria Island’s 64.3. There are not too many millennials with families moving here. Finally, Lakewood Ranch is 31,000 acres and 29 square miles with a population of over 11,000.
The reason I’m telling you this is two-fold. First of all, to keep everyone aware of changes in real estate trends both locally and nationally and second to help us sun and sand worshippers appreciate what’s going on east of our shoreline. We’re all part of the same region, so what happens in Lakewood Ranch can have a serious impact on us – traffic, parking, success of restaurants and shops just to name a few. The millennials may prefer to live in Lakewood Ranch, but for them visiting Anna Maria Island is one of the reasons they came here.
Well, once again, millennials are picking up where baby boomers left off. Now it’s their turn to influence all aspects of life in the country. Everything old is new again.
Updated July 23, 2019 – TAMPA – Robert “Bo” Benac is now scheduled to stand trial on Monday, Sept. 16 for his alleged role in a much-publicized shark dragging incident captured on video in 2017.
The trial will be held at the Hillsborough County Courthouse in Tampa.
Benac faces two third-degree felony charges of aggravated cruelty to animals for allegedly using a spear gun to shoot a black-tipped shark and a second-degree misdemeanor charge of violating rules relating to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Benac was previously scheduled to stand trial in June, but his trial date was delayed. Benac was among a group of local men captured on self-shot video footage that showed the shark being dragged behind a powerboat at a high rate of speed on June 26, 2017.
The criminal affidavit report filed in December 2017 referenced additional video footage that alleged Michael Wentzel shot a shark with a .38 caliber handgun. The Florida Administrative Code prohibits harvesting a shark using any other means than a hook and a line.
Video footage of Benac’s alleged shark shooting incident recently appeared on several news organization websites and Facebook feeds.
In February, co-defendant Wenzel reached a plea deal with the State Attorney’s Office after he elected not to stand trial for his role in the alleged events.
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