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hands along the water

Hundreds send positive message about the environment

Written by Tom Vaught on . Posted in Featured, Outdoors, Red tide.

The Gulf of Mexico was churning up more dead sea life and caustic smell Sunday morning, the result of the latest red tide outbreak. But that didn’t stop about 500 people who turned out at Coquina Beach not to protest but to show support for Florida’s fragile environment by participating in the Hands Along the Water event.

“I could not sleep when red tide came because of the smell and knowing what it was doing to the sea creatures,” event organizer Elizabeth Shore said. “I learned about Hands Along the Water and wanted to hold an event on Anna Maria Island.”

Shore, who owns Bunny and the Pirate Bazaar on Cortez Road West, said she didn’t want to protest anything, just show positive support for the environment.

Shore is a fifth-generation native of Manatee County and the daughter of the late R.B. “Chips” Shore, former Clerk of the Circuit Court.

Hands along the water masks
Tracy Powers and Teri Lennon pause for a selfie before departing.
Teri Lennon | Submitted

Noxious stuff

Red tide is an algae that emits a neurotoxin when it blooms. The toxin can kill sea life and seabirds that feed on them and sea turtles. The Island has had outbreaks in the past but not in such an abundance, according to long-time residents.

Hands Along the Water also shows support for ending the algae that fill rivers and canals around Lake Okeechobee in the southern part of Florida.

A group of visitors from southern Florida said they learned about Hands Along the Water from Facebook and are shocked at the way the green algae kills everything in the canals and rivers. They said they would support politicians who would want to protect the environment and improve the condition of Florida’s waterways and shores.

Anna Maria Elementary Lauren Sato

Another school season starts at AME

Written by Tom Vaught on . Posted in Community News, Schools.

HOLMES BEACH – Motorists got a bright reminder that another school year had begun Monday morning from emergency lights on a patrol car and Police Chief Bill Tokajer’s vehicle in front of Anna Maria Elementary School. As a bus pulled up, Tokajer greeted the kids as they stepped off. Inside, AME School Resource Officer Josh Fleischer was watching the parents and their children. With the advent of new security steps, visitors to the school won’t be admitted without some identification, and they will be required to wear a visitor’s pass as long as they are inside the school.

Anna Maria Elementary back to school
Parents and kids wait to get into the school Monday morning. – Tom Vaught | Sun

For now, all doors are locked and those who want in will have to use a call box on the entryway wall. A staffer will then come to the door and let the visitor in.

“We’re getting a buzzer soon, so they can let the visitor in without having to go to the door,” said AME Principal Jackie Featherston.

Lauren Sato and her husband, Jason, dropped off their son, Dylan, in the crowded hallway.

“He’s a little worried, but he’ll be okay,” she said. This year, the parents of kindergartners dropped their children off at their classrooms and there were some tears on the parents’ cheeks and worried looks on the kids’ faces, but everybody was greeted by the teachers and many of the parents headed for the auditorium to attend an AME tradition: the “Boo hoo Breakfast.”

ame Karaline Berzowski
Karaline Berzowski wears a bright belt as she helps with parent drop off and pick up. – Tom Vaught | Sun

One concern is the presence of red tide in the Gulf of Mexico three blocks away and possibly in the bay. Will they keep students inside?

“If we can smell it, we’ll limit their outside access,” said Featherston. “The students will have gym in the auditorium.”

There was no smell Monday and no dead fish were visible in the bay behind the elementary school.

Manatee County seal

County praised for cleanup, but…

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

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – City officials on Anna Maria Island are praising Manatee County’s response to the red tide crisis, particularly in terms of cleaning up the beaches along the Gulf of Mexico shorelines.

County crews and others, including some volunteers, have been working seven days a week to keep the Island beaches as free of dead fish and marine life as possible.

Regarding the county response, Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy said Monday morning, “They really rose to the occasion and are doing a great job. I have been impressed not only with their promptness but their thoroughness and care as well. Our city owes them a debt of gratitude for ponying up when we needed them badly. Commissioner Carol Whitmore continues to play a pivotal part in coordinating the county efforts.”

On Sunday, Bradenton Beach Mayor John Chappie said, “I was out there this morning, and they were working like crazy. They’re doing a great job cleaning our beaches, and I can’t give them enough praise for what they’re doing.”

Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer said, “The county’s doing a wonderful job, working very diligently to pick up all the fish that have died and come ashore. Waste Pro is working hand-in-hand with the city, the county, code enforcement and public works to make sure that all the dumpsters are emptied as quickly as possible so there is no lingering smell. It’s been a team effort. Everybody’s pulled their weight and done a great job, and it’s much appreciated.”

County update

On Monday morning, Whitmore forwarded to the three Island mayors a 7:45 a.m. red tide update distributed by Parks Operation Manager Carmine DeMilio and Executive Assistant Marianne Lopata.

“Coquina Beach and Cortez Beach have light amounts of fish. Cortez Beach north to Bean Point has light amounts of fish. We are running one beach rake from Bean Point southward. We are running one beach rake from the Coquina Pass northward,” the update said.

“Bayfront Park is being cleaned by staff. Coquina North Boat Ramp is very light with fish and will be okay shortly. Coquina South Boat Ramp is very light with fish and will be okay shortly. Coquina Bayside is very light with fish and will be okay shortly. Air quality is okay but some minor irritation and coughing. Smell is okay in the county-maintained areas,” the update said.

County contributions

Elliott Falcione serves as executive director of the county-funded Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) that works in unison with the county’s Tourist Development Council (TDC).

“With the recommendation of the TDC, the Board of County Commissioners made the decision to use tourist dollars for this kind of situation,” Falcione said Monday morning.

A significant portion of the county’s resort tax revenues are generated on Anna Maria Island. Falcione encourages vacation rental companies and owners to work with impacted customers in a cooperative manner that encourages the repeat business that’s a staple of the county’s tourism industry.

He said the CVB is monitoring the red tide impacts on a daily basis and providing red tide information to the public at the county tourism website.

“The best thing we can do for our customers is to be totally honest with them. If there’s red tide, we’ll share that. If it’s modest, we’ll share that. If it’s bad, we’ll share that. And if it’s gone, we’ll share that. You have to share the news good and bad, and we urge people to share the good news when it comes,” Falcione said.

Whitmore, who serves as the TDC chair, said the red tide cleanup occurring at Coquina Beach and Cortez Beach in Bradenton Beach, Manatee Public Beach in Holmes Beach and Bayfront Park in Anna Maria is being funded using state-restricted, county-controlled, TDC-recommended resort tax funds. She said the additional shoreline cleanup is being paid for using the county’s general fund.

Related coverage

Executive order issued for red tide

Cortez fishermen assist with red tide cleanup

Red tide bloom can affect your health

Castles in the Sand

Property values, taxes always hot topics

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

Summer cocktail parties are one of the staples of the nice warm summer months, sometimes too warm. But whether you’re on the beach, on the boat or just hanging by the backyard pool, the conversation at some point will always turn to property values and taxes.

Last week, we talked about the May sales statistics for Manatee County, which continue to go up overall. This week, we have some new property value information from Manatee County, which was submitted to the Florida Department of Revenue.

Construction was up $1.1 billion in market value, which included 2,502 new single-family homes and 398 new condos. County-wide the taxable values increased from $33.3 billion to $36.1 billion, an 8.16 percent increase.

On Anna Maria Island, the city of Anna Maria had the biggest increase in taxable value between 2017 and 2018 by 10.32 percent. This was the largest increase compared to all other Manatee County municipalities. Bradenton Beach’s taxable value increased 9.3 percent and Holmes Beach’s taxable value increased 7.9 percent. Per Manatee County Administrator Ed Hunzeker the fiscal year of 2018 saw a growth of 9.2 percent in the tax base. This means that he does not see the need to increase the property tax rates for the next fiscal year and presented this recommendation to county commissioners.

Last week, we also touched on the new tax overhaul as it related to home equity loans, but here’s a little more detail. Prior law allowed homeowners to deduct interest up to $100,000 of home equity debt to be used for any reason. Under the new tax provision, you will no longer be allowed to take the interest deduction on new or existing home equity loans unless they’re used for home improvements.

The term “home improvements” is broadly defined as anything that adds value to the home such as landscaping or remodeling but not repairs. This can be a definite maybe when calculating your ability to make these deductions and should be discussed with a tax expert.

A lot of homeowners who currently have outstanding home equity loans on their property will not be happy. Note that if you took a home equity loan out 5 years ago to help your daughter purchase a home and have been deducting the interest on this loan for 5 years, you will no longer be able to take this deduction for the 2018 tax year. However, keep in mind that since the standard deduction has increased to $12,000 for single people and $24,000 for married couples with a potential added benefit for filers 65 and older, the loss of the home equity deduction may not be as bad as you think.

In addition, as previously stated, homeowners from high taxed states are seriously on the move. Residents of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, California, Maryland, and Oregon have the highest state and local tax rates in the country, which are now being capped under the provision of the new tax law.

States like Florida are seeing potential buyers from these and other high taxed states looking for property in the Sunshine State with the potential of establishing residency. I haven’t personally seen it yet, but I’m sure some creative real estate professional is marketing the property to out-of-state buyers, pointing out the tax benefits of relocating to Florida.

With property values going up, property taxes not increasing and no state tax, no wonder we’re seeing a huge influx of new residents. The only minor blip on the radar is the home equity tax deduction ruling. At least this summer the cocktail party chatter won’t get boring.

More Castles in the Sand

Where have all the houses gone?

Preparing your home for sale

Castles in the Sand

Where have all the houses gone?

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

For a very long time now, those involved in the real estate market have been moaning about the lack of inventory. There are buyers ready, willing and able, but there’s not much to choose from. We’re looking at bidding wars and first-time buyers just throwing up their hands and signing another year’s lease.

No one seems to know the answer including the National Association of Realtors which reported that May’s national home sales were 5.43 million of previously owned homes compared with 5.6 million in May of last year. In addition, so far this year sales are 2 percent below last year’s pace, despite a strong job market and increased household incomes.

There are all kinds of opinions about this unusual phenomenon, ranging from new homes not being built to higher interest rates. And, of course, the new tax plan, which caps state and local tax deductions and places some limits on mortgage interest deductions, could also be reducing buyer incentives.

But is it really? If interest rates and tax deductions were the reason, housing prices would fall and inventory would be higher, neither of which is happening nationally or right here in Manatee County. Nationally, the median sale price for an existing single-family home in May was $264,800 versus $252,500 in April. So here are the Manatee County May statistics:

The median sale price for single-family homes in Manatee County for May was $305,000, up 2 percent from May of last year. The average sale price was $405,029, up 1.8 percent from last year. The listing to closing price is holding at about 95.5 percent and the median time to sell was 98 days compared to 92 days last year.

Condo numbers were both up and down for May. The median sale price was $183,750, down 1.3 percent from last year, but the average sale price was up 11.3 percent to $234,256 from last May. Listing to sale was 94.1 percent with the median time to sell at 93 days, pretty consistent from last year for both condos and single-family homes.

What’s also unfortunately consistent is the supply of properties for sale, which is approximately 4.5 months for both condos and single-family homes, remaining essentially unchanged from last year. Nationally, the month’s supply is about the same, which is way down from a decade ago where it stood at between 5 and 6 months, the level economists consider healthy.

Swirling around all of this talk about the softening of the housing market is the effect of the new tax plan on mortgage interest deductibility as stated above. Homeowners are sharpening their pencils and attempting to determine if paying off or buying down their mortgage is advantageous for them.

Everyone’s tax position is unique to them and needs to be calculated by a professional, especially as it relates to doubling the standard deductions, capping the state and local taxes and possibly losing interest deductions for some high-end mortgages. And don’t forget your home equity loan interest, which cannot be deducted unless you can justify the funds were used to buy, build or improve your home.

Somehow, all of these serious changes are having an impact on the market, if for no other reason than to force buyers and more importantly sellers to step back and wait for the dust to settle. Don’t hold your breath waiting for it to happen any time soon. I think we need to get through at least another tax year before we see any movement.

Related Coverage

Preparing your home for sale

Mortgages ain’t what they used to be

Let the sunshine in

Taxes and second homes

WMFR merger district map

WMFR commissioners address merger concerns

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Community News.

BRADENTON – West Manatee Fire Rescue commissioners are giving Commissioner George Harris the green light to reach out to leaders at two other Manatee County fire districts to see if there’s any interest in merging.

Talks about a merge began in May with a comment by Harris, saying that with the district readying to sell its administration building and Chief Tom Sousa considering retirement in three years, now is the time to talk about merging with another district. At the June meeting, Harris said, as chair, he’d approached the commission board chairs at both Cedar Hammock and Southern Manatee to see if there is any interest in a merger between the three fire districts. He said both chairs were willing to discuss the idea with their boards.

At WMFR, Harris’ fellow commissioners agreed to have the discussion but not to put forward any funds for an independently-conducted feasibility study that would be required by the state before a merger could take place. In addition to the study, each district would have to hold public hearings, publish a plan for how the merger would work and enter into a joint resolution with the other merging fire districts. The final decision would be up to voters. If at any point during the process there was opposition from one district or its voters to the merger, the process would likely end.

Commissioner David Bishop wished Harris good luck on his quest, noting that WMFR had previously considered merging with the neighboring Cedar Hammock district in 2010 and had rejected the idea.

“You’ve got a lot of hurdles to tackle,” he said to Harris.

Before the feasibility study, each board has to determine how or if the merger would be beneficial to their district and employees. Harris said items to consider include if the merger would improve the level of service in one or all of the three fire districts, if there would be no increased cost to taxpayers and if the merger terms would be agreeable to each district’s firefighters union. Commissioner Larry Jennis said he believes mergers like this often are done to cut overhead and administration costs, something that’s already been accomplished at WMFR.

“How much could we expect to gain in that area?” he asked.

Harris said he would expect cost savings to appear over time. The trick, he said, would be to avoid an increase in short-term costs.

Another issue with the merger proposed by Harris is that mergers of special districts are only allowed if the two share a border. While WMFR does share an eastern border with Cedar Hammock, of the two, only Cedar Hammock shares a border with Southern Manatee. In order to bring Southern Manatee into the mix, Cedar Hammock’s leadership would have to agree to the merger with WMFR.

At their June meeting, Southern Manatee commissioners were less than enthusiastic about the idea.

Southern Manatee Commissioner Daniel Center said he didn’t understand why a merger with a district not bordering its own was even a discussion at this point. In addition to believing the merger talks are premature, he said he’s unsure what a district as large as Southern Manatee would gain from merging with Cedar Hammock and West Manatee.

Commissioner Melanie Marken agreed that she felt the talks were premature and felt that it put undue stress on district employees who might be concerned about their positions if a merger were to take place.

Without an agreement to a merger from Cedar Hammock leadership, Southern Manatee commissioners agreed it was “a conversation about nothing” for their district at this point.

Cedar Hammock’s commission board meets July 26.

Bradenton Beach sewer line smoke tests start Monday

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

BRADENTON BEACH – Manatee County will be smoke testing sewer lines in Bradenton Beach beginning on Monday, June 25 and ending on Wednesday, July 11.

A yellow door hanger bearing the county logo advises those with heart conditions, asthma, emphysema or respiratory conditions to call USSI at 888-645-9570.

“If you know of anyone in the area who is a special needs person or who may suffer a heart, lung or breathing problem, or a shift worker, please notify USSI at the number on this card,” the door hanger says.

On Friday afternoon, calls to the listed number and the three extensions cited on the automated greeting message resulted in no contact with USSI representatives. Calls to Manatee County’s Utilities Department produced similar results.

A call to County Administrator Ed Hunzeker’s office Friday afternoon resulted in the promise of a phone call from a county official on Monday to further explain the smoke testing.

Sewer Smoke Test
Door hangers bearing the county logo provide smoke test details and contact information. – Cindy Lane | Sun

“The smoke used for this test is manufactured for this process. The smoke leaves no residuals or stains and has no effect on plants and animals. Direct contact with the smoke may cause minor respiratory irritation in some people,” the door hanger says.

“Manatee County will be smoke testing sewer lines in the area to improve sewer service. This test, which involves forcing smoke through the sanitary sewer lines, will check for leaks, breaks, and defects in the system. The smoke is odorless, creates no fire hazard and should not enter homes or businesses unless you have defective plumbing or dried-up sink traps or floor drains,” the door hanger says.

“Crews will be in uniform for easy recognition. Homeowners do not need to be present; workers will not enter homes or disturb properties. Prior to testing, please pour two gallons of water in the seldom-used sinks or floor drains to prevent sewer gases, smoke or odor from entering the premises. If smoke does enter the home during testing, immediately leave from the building, notify the crews that are conducting the test or call Manatee County Customer Service (941-792-8811). If smoke enters the home, it is an indication of a plumbing defect, notify a plumber. Crews can assist in the location of defects on private property, however, the corrections of any defects are the responsibilities of the property owner,” the door hanger says.

“Smoke coming from the vent stacks on houses is normal. However, smoke coming from holes in the ground is not normal and is considered a defect. All defects will be photographed and logged. Manatee County will contact property owners if a defect is located on private property,” the door hanger says.

“The smoke test will be performed weekdays, weather permitting, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. The smoke test should only affect the house for approximately 15 minutes. For additional information please contact 888-645-9579,” the door hanger says.

Bradenton Anna Maria Island Longboat Key

New tourism marketing campaign in the works

Written by Cindy Lane on . Posted in Business, Tourism.

BRADENTON – A new marketing campaign aims at attracting potential visitors to Anna Maria Island and Manatee County with the cure for what ails them.

The Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) is working on the 2019-20 Cure Campaign with an eye to what visitors want, marketing spokesman John Fisher told the Manatee County Tourist Development Council on Monday morning.

Got fam-nesia? Come to the Bradenton Area and spend time with your family. Got pale-a-tosis? Get to the beach and get a tan.

These and several other ailments will require beach therapy, retail therapy, and other cures in a game format on the county’s tourism website, he said.

Participants will be able to select their symptoms and the game will generate a prescription for certain accommodations, restaurant dishes, and activities. Prospective visitors can share the prescription with friends on social media, which will enter them into a contest for a chance to win their prescription. The game also will generate a sick note for a visitor’s boss when they share some personal information.

“It’s all about engaging people to get interested in the destination while having fun,” Fisher said.

The time has come for a new style of marketing campaign, CVB Director Elliott Falcione said.

“We have to be bold and catch their eye,” he said. “Once we’ve got them, 94 percent of the time they will come back.”

Until now, the county has been using marketing campaigns based on slogans, such as the current “Craft Your Own Vacation,” and the previous “Our Little Secret,” “Crystal Blue Persuasion,” “Pure Florida, Nothing Artificial” and “Real. Authentic. Florida.”

To better target visitors with new marketing efforts, the CVB has launched a partnership with Adara, a data-gathering business that works with airlines, hotels and vacation rental websites to identify people looking for information on travel and persuade them to book flights and accommodations while gathering information about them for future marketing efforts, the TDC learned. The company describes itself as an “anonymized, real-time search, purchase and loyalty data-gathering co-op.”

Tourism update

The first quarter of the year is the most active tourist season on Anna Maria Island and the rest of Manatee County, culminating in the height of the season in March.

In the first quarter of 2018, the number of visitors countywide was up 4.9 percent to 233,400. In March alone, visitation was up 7.3 percent over March 2017, according to Walter Klages, of Research Data Services, the county’s tourism consultant.

First quarter occupancy was down 1.4 percent from the first quarter of 2017 to 84.1 percent. In March alone, occupancy was down 1.9 percent.

Occupancy decreased because lodging units have increased, especially transient lodging establishments, Klages said, noting a “significant increase in inventory causing people to switch from older product to newer product.” Airbnb is the “gorilla in the room,” Falcione added.

The traditional end of the season – Easter – was early this year, on April 1, also significantly impacting visitation, Klages said.

Direct expenditures were up 9.1 percent to nearly $283 million in the first quarter.

Room rates were up 1.7 percent to $203 a night in the first quarter. In March alone, room rates were up 2.4 percent countywide, and 3.5 percent on Anna Maria Island.

The top five U.S. feeder markets to the county in the first quarter were New York, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Boston and Tampa/St. Petersburg.

April saw a significant gain in the European market, which grew by 22.7 percent from April 2017, Klages said, adding that nearly half of April visitors were couples.

A non-stop flight is expected soon from Dallas to Sarasota/Bradenton International Airport, Falcione said, predicting “a big impact” on the Latino market.

Castles in the Sand

Mortgages ain’t what they used to be

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

The end of the super low mortgage interest rates has just about arrived. From a low of 3.31 percent for a fixed rate, conventional home mortgage in 2012, we are, as of this writing, up to between 4.4 percent and 4.5 percent. This also happened pretty fast considering as recently as January of this year the rates were still below 4 percent.

In addition, we’re probably not done with rate increases since the Federal Reserve has said it expects to raise short-term rates two to three more times this year and again three times next year. In real money to home buyers, this has a big effect on monthly payments. A 4 percent rate on a $250,000 loan is a monthly payment of $1,194, but at 5 percent, the monthly payment goes up to $1,342. In higher-end homes with larger loan amounts, this monthly payment figure goes up at a faster rate, potentially keeping buyers in all price ranges from qualifying.

Typically, buyers who don’t qualify for mortgage financing because of rate increases readjust their price range. However, because housing inventory all over the country is almost at an all-time low, buyers, especially in the entry-level category, have no place to go.

Meanwhile back in Manatee County, April was a much better month than March. Not really surprising since April has always been a busy month for real estate closings, so here are the numbers:

April single-family homes had a median selling price of $311,000, up 5.4 percent from last year and an average selling price of $405,020, up 11.7 percent from last year. The median time to sell was only 91 days and the median selling price was 95.8 percent of the original list price. If you recall, March’s median selling price dropped below $300,000 to $285,000, which I predicted would turn around this month.

April condo sales had a median selling price of $209,950, 23.1 percent higher than last year and an average of $256,789, 20.5 percent higher than last year. Days to sell were 80, quite a bit less than single family, and the median price to sell was 95.4 percent of the original list price, almost the same as single-family. For both single family and condos, the month’s supply of available properties were both low with single-family dropping to 3.9 percent and condos staying stable at 4.5 percent. Statistics are from the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee website.

It’s always nice to have a high appreciation, but are we setting ourselves up for another bubble? Possibly, since so far this year the housing market has the strongest growth since 2005, and since mid-2012 home prices have increased 28 percent, according to data from the American Enterprise Institute.

Some of this potential bubble is being caused by lower underwriting standards by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, which as government agencies underwrite 80 percent of all home purchase mortgages. Both agencies are expanding their 3 percent down mortgages, and new government regulations will allow delinquent taxes to be excluded from credit scores, pushing credit scores up.

Do we really want to go through another housing crisis because of exotic mortgage products with lax underwriting? Fannie and Freddie need to re-evaluate their underwriting standards, which are the benchmark for the industry and put a lid on this before it gets out of control again.

Very little is the way it once was, and mortgage lending and rates are continually in a flux. Whatever the mortgage rates are, people always must sell and people always must buy. There just may be fewer of them for quite a while.

Related Coverage

Taxes and second homes

A real estate plateau

Palma Sola Causeway missing bollards

Missing bollards mystery stumps scenic highway management

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

MANATEE COUNTY – The mystery of the missing bollards on the Manatee Avenue causeway continues to haunt county law enforcement and members of the Palma Sola Scenic Highway Corridor Management Entity.

For the past several months, members of the scenic highway group have noticed several bollards being removed on the south side of Manatee Avenue along the Palma Sola Causeway. Co-Chair Ingrid McClellan said she’s found several of the missing bollards floating in the water along the shoreline after they’ve been removed and tossed into the waves. Now McClellan and the other scenic highway members are banding together with law enforcement to find the culprit.

Palma Sola Causeway bollards trailer
A photo taken along the Palma Sola Scenic Highway shows a small watercraft trailer being driven through where bollards were removed to retrieve an ultralight aircraft. – Submitted | Ingrid McClellan/Joshua Linney

While people have been observed using the newly-cleared space where bollards used to be as a makeshift small craft launch, information is still sought to show the bollards actively being removed. The area is patrolled primarily by the Bradenton Police Department along with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.

In the meantime, Manatee County Property Management and Public Works employees have come up with a harder-to-remove barrier to keep watercraft launches along the causeway limited to designated areas. In places where bollard removal is common, the wooden pieces have been replaced with trash cans. The cans are encased in a concrete base that is set several inches into the sand to discourage would-be vandals from removing them.

Palma Sola Causeway bollards trash can
In some places where bollards continue to go missing, Manatee County employees are replacing the missing wooden pieces with trash cans with cement bases. – Kristin Swain | Sun

At McClellan’s request, a new tactic is being used to keep bollards in the ground once installed. County workers are installing rebar along the bottom of the wooden bollards, buried under the sand so that it will be more difficult, if not impossible for vandals to remove the bollards. This new approach is being taken as bollards are replaced along the Palma Sola Causeway.

McClellan said she hopes the vandal is stopped soon to help prevent more work for county employees along with eliminating the additional costs to replace bollards.

Anyone with photos or videos of the bollards being removed is asked to please share the information with The Sun or McClellan at arborist@manateebeautiful.com.

Castles in the Sand

More people and we’re still growing

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

We’re at the end of our winter season, and as much as I hate to say it, the traffic was worse than ever. I know everyone says the same thing every year, but they’re correct every year. It is indeed worse and for good reason.

Between July 1, 2016, and July 1, 2017, Manatee County gained an estimated 10,000 more residents according to the U.S. Census data. This makes Manatee County the 44th fastest-growing county in the United States between 2010 and 2017.  In addition, we added about 62,700 people during a seven-year period, and they all want to go to our much-publicized beaches.

The estimated population of Manatee County as of July 1, 2017, was 385,571, and there’s more.

The Florida Bureau of Economic and Business Research estimates the 2020 high projected population to be around 405,100, and by 2045 it could go as high as 645,200, and with all of the new development either underway or planned, I believe every one of those numbers. What effect this has on real estate values, in general, is almost impossible to predict, but more people need more housing – you do the math.

But this is still 2018, and it’s time for my one million dollars and over analysis of properties sold and listed in Cortez and the three cities on Anna Maria Island. This time I looked at January, February and March for sold properties and currently available properties for sale or pending as of this writing.

The statistics on foreclosed properties are from the Manatee County Property Appraiser’s Office, and the properties on the market are from the realtor.com website, which generally reflects properties on local multiple listing services. Also, please note that I use primarily condos and single-family homes in the analysis.

Properties $1 million and over that closed between January and March of this year are as follows:

Cortez had one sale at $1,112,500; the previous three-month period had none. The city of Anna Maria had 11 sales during this period ranging from $4,260,000 to $1,140,000; during the previous period there were nine. The combined cities of Bradenton Beach and Holmes Beach had eight sales between $1,925,000 and $1,000,000; the last three-month period had 11.

Available properties for sale as of this writing are: Cortez has four properties either available or pending between $1,100,000 and $1,500,000; the previous three-month period there were five. The city of Anna Maria has 56 properties either available or pending ranging from $4,995,000 to $1,169,000. During the previous three-month period there were 42. And the combined cities of Bradenton Beach and Holmes Beach have 70 either available or pending properties between $4,600,000 and $1,000,000. The previous three-months there were 47.

So, what does this snapshot of our coastal market tell us? First of all, it tells us that the number of closed properties is more or less stable. However, the number of available properties, some of which are pending, is up on the island, particularly Holmes Beach and Bradenton Beach, which is way up. There are certainly closed sales that are not reflected in these numbers, and, hopefully, the next three-month period will reflect more closing as we start to ease out of the winter selling season.

What we do know for sure is more and more people are discovering our little piece of paradise, which will only lead to bigger and bigger traffic jams. I can almost guarantee you that a year from now I will be writing the same thing as I stated in the first paragraph of this column – it’s the worst year for traffic ever, assuming I can get over the Cortez Bridge.

eugene matthews sentencing

Matthews gets 65 years minimum

Written by Tom Vaught on . Posted in Beach Beat, Community News, Featured.

BRADENTON – Eugene Matthews will likely spend the rest of his life in prison for the shooting death of Rebecca Rawson on Jan. 10, 2017.

On Thursday, April 19, Judge Brian Iten sentenced the 84-year-old Parrish resident to life in prison with a 25-year minimum for felony second-degree murder with a firearm. He also sentenced him to 30 years on each of two counts of felony attempted murder in the second degree with a firearm. Each count also had a 25-year minimum attached to it.

Rawson’s daughter, Kathryn, who was with her mother when she was mortally wounded by a gunshot, spoke before the sentencing decision was ready by Judge Iten.

“You have taken away a beautiful woman, my mother, my everything,” Rawson said after she took the witness stand. “I will never feel her kiss my head or call me her honey bunny.”

After she returned to her seat, she was heard sobbing.

Matthews took the stand, saying any sentence would be a death sentence to him because of his age. He alleged the incident started as a home invasion.

According to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, on the day of the shooting, Rebecca Rawson, her daughter and brother-in-law, Rodney, were driving to Matthews’ home in Parrish to pick up Rawson’s dog, which Matthews had been watching. When she pulled up to the house she was greeted by Juanita Sills, who also lived in the home. Rodney Rawson called for the dog, which came running outside. Rodney Rawson picked up the dog and headed toward the car. Matthews then emerged from the house and fired two rounds from a pistol into the air. He fired a third round toward the car and it hit Rebecca Rawson in the face. The vehicle subsequently backed up and crashed into a gate. Rodney Rawson tried to get the pistol out of Matthews’ hand and another round was fired before the incident ended.

eugene matthrews sentencing rawson
Kathryn Rawson testifies about the loss of her mother in court Thursday afternoon at the sentencing of Eugene Matthews. Matthews was found guilty of the January 2017 fatal shooting of his late best-friend’s ex-wife outside his Parrish home. In February, a jury found Matthews guilty of second-degree murder with a firearm and two counts of attempted second-degree murder with a firearm as charged. He was handed a life sentence. – Submitted | Tiffany Tompkins-Condie

At the hearing, Matthews call Kathryn Rawson a “spoiled brat” who got her mother killed. He said Rebecca Rawson was hit by a bullet that ricocheted.

Matthews called the court a “kangaroo court” and talked about how he felt his home was being invaded and he had to stand his ground, referring to a law that allows people to use force to protect their property.

Matthews then talked about his military duty where he earned two Purple Hearts and two Silver Stars and spilled two gallons of his blood.

After Judge Iten announced the sentence, Matthews was returned to jail. He has 30 days to appeal.

Traffic

Traffic snarls at Gulf Drive construction zones

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

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – Along the Holmes Beach/Bradenton Beach border, residents and visitors alike are finding themselves stuck in something reminiscent of winter season traffic with added heavy construction equipment.

The backup is due to work on the Manatee County Force Main Five project in two spots on Gulf Drive, at 28th Street and 26th Street. Construction in the area is expected to last through the end of April, resuming May 1 at Gulf Drive and Avenue C. With traffic patterns shifted to the west side of the street and sections of sidewalks used for vehicular traffic, bicyclists and pedestrians should be especially careful when moving through construction areas.

force main gulf drive crosswalk
Cars drive past a crosswalk stuck in the middle of Gulf Drive construction where traffic is temporarily down to one lane for vehicles. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

While construction is ongoing during the day, flaggers are stationed at both ends of each construction area. These flaggers will stop vehicular traffic to allow bicyclists and pedestrians through the vehicular traffic lanes where sidewalks aren’t available. They also stop traffic to allow pedestrians and cyclists to safely cross Gulf Drive. Temporary crosswalks are located on both sides of each construction area. Cyclists and pedestrians should be very cautious when approaching the construction areas and remain to the side of vehicular traffic until instructed to move by flaggers. If a flagger is not available, pedestrians and cyclists should avoid the area or move through with extreme caution. Without a flagger’s assistance, pedestrians should not attempt to walk in vehicle lanes. Sidewalks on the west side of Gulf Drive remain open except where vehicle lanes shift to the west.

force main gulf drive two bicycles
Vehicles share the road with two bicyclists as they travel northbound on Gulf Drive through the Force Main Five work zone. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

Motorists also will experience intermittent temporary lane closures where traffic is reduced for a short time to a single lane. Anyone driving through the area should prepare to experience delays. Speed limits are reduced to 25 miles per hour in the construction zones.

Because the Force Main Five project is a two-year project, construction will be ongoing on different sections of the Island’s primary roadways for the near future. Tina Allen, community outreach specialist on the project, said workers will try to get everyone through construction areas as quickly as possible. Due to the amount of work to be done, she said it’s impossible to plan work around seasonal traffic increases.

“Inevitably, this project presents impacts to someone, somewhere on AMI related to daily construction activities,” Allen said in an email to The Sun. “We understand the impact that a project of this magnitude presents to AMI property owners and visitors, and the project team is working to ensure that our contractors are sensitive and responsive to all expressed concerns, to the extent practical.”

County voters adopt one-mill school tax

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

MANATEE COUNTY – By a slim margin, Manatee County voters passed the proposed one-mill school tax in the county election that concluded this evening.

As a result, Manatee County property owners, for the next four years, will pay an additional $1 for every $1,000 of assessed taxable property value.

The unofficial margin was 28,949 votes (51.4 percent) in favor of the new tax and 27,392 (48.6 percent) opposed to the new tax. Of the county’s 235,388 registered voters, 56,450 cast votes. This equates to 24 percent voter turnout.

Manatee County School District officials estimate the additional tax will generate $33 million a year in additional tax revenues for the district. School district officials say the additional revenues will be used for pay raises that will help attract and retain teachers and support staff, and help prevent them from leaving to take jobs in neighboring Sarasota County, where teacher salaries are higher. The additional revenues will also allow for a longer school day for students, which school officials and supporters say will improve academic achievement.

Opponents of the tax questioned the school board’s management of its existing tax revenues, and claimed additional tax would hurt blue-collar workers, single parents and seniors without improving academic performance.

The new tax is subject to voter renewal after four years.

Sarasota County voters renewed their school tax for another four years by a comfortable 78.6 to 21.3 percent margin.

holmes beach manatee concession

Commissioners consider concession fund projects

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

HOLMES BEACH – Commissioners made a few changes to the list of projects approved by commissioners in Anna Maria and Bradenton Beach requesting use of surplus concession funds from the county.

Surplus concession funds are held by Manatee County and controlled by the county board of commissioners. However, the funds can be made available to the Island cities for one-time projects if commissioners from all three cities agree on the project and the project is something that will benefit the whole Island.

While commissioners from Anna Maria and Bradenton Beach have already created and approved their lists and a tentative list of projects for funding in Holmes Beach, commissioners in that city got a first look at the list during a March 1 work session.

“This is a wish list,” Commissioner Carol Soustek said. “It’s not guaranteed money. The county has a right to turn us down for any reason.”

City Engineer Lynn Burnett, who helped Mayor Bob Johnson create the city’s portion of the list, said it was a way to stretch the city’s dollars while supporting projects already in this year’s budget if a monetary match is required. Some of the items on the list include sidewalk installation and repairs, bike and pedestrian path improvements, repairs to the city’s skate and dog parks, and a kayak launch at Grassy Point Preserve.

All in all, the city’s total request was for $292,290 of a total of $923,520 being requested.

Another request posed by Bradenton Beach to help fund The Center of Anna Maria Island to assist with structural repairs and maintenance amounts to $100,000 with each city being asked to petition the county for a third of that amount.

At the end of 2017, the surplus concession funds account has $1,144,307 in it. Commissioner Judy Titsworth estimates the balance grows by about $200,000 each year.

“There’s no advantage to saving this money,” Commissioner Rick Hurst said. “If the county approves everything on the list plus the Center, we’ll still have some money leftover with funds added in 2018.”

Burnett said if each city commission agreed to fund the Center’s capital projects through the concession funds and the county agreed, it would be a way to help the nonprofit financially without affecting each city’s own funds.

Commissioner Jim Kihm expressed some concern about using the funds for the Center. He said he’d like to have something on the list to help supplement the $10,000 a year the Holmes Beach Police Department receives for policing the county beach. Commissioners voted 3 to 2, with Kihm and Soustek dissenting, to support adding funding for the Center to the list.

While commissioners were in favor of asking for funding for the HBPD, Titsworth said it should be for a project, not for an ongoing expense like patrolling the beach. For that, she said commissioners need to be more resolute in their discussions with county commissioners about increasing the amount paid to the department for policing the public beach.

For a project, Chief Bill Tokajer suggested the installation and set up of a license plate recognition camera system like that on Longboat Key. The system would monitor vehicles going on and off the Island and share it with local law enforcement. Cameras would be placed at each of the three entry points to the Island.

Commissioners agreed to add a $50,000 line item for the HBPD to cover preliminary work on the acquisition and setup of the camera system, bringing the total requested up to $1,073,520 combined from the three cities.

If the other two cities agree to the addition of funds for the police department, the list of requests will move forward to seek approval from county commissioners.