BRADENTON BEACH – Mayor John Chappie took swift action to halt a beachfront resort company’s short-lived efforts to designate public parking spaces at the 23rd Street North beach access point as parking reserved for resort guests only.
Owned by the city of Bradenton Beach, the public beach access point and its 10 public parking spaces are located at the west end of 23rd Street North, between the Seabreeze at Anna Maria Island Inn (2300 Gulf Drive N.) and the Seaside at Anna Maria Island Inn (2200 Gulf Drive N.).
The city of Bradenton Beach owns the beach access and public parking spaces at the west end of 23rd Street North. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
According to the Manatee County Property Appraiser’s Office, Tri Star Properties LLC owns both resort properties that share the Anna Maria Island Inn branding. Dated April 28, the LLC’s Florida limited liability company annual report lists attorney Louis Najmy as the corporation’s registered agent, Daniel Zoller Jr. as an authorized person and Shawn Kaleta as the manager.
A visit to the 23rd Street North beach access point at approximately 11:00 a.m. Thursday morning (May 22) revealed six guest only parking signs placed on private property in close proximity to the 10 city-owned public parking spaces.
The blue and white signs said, “Seaside Resort & Spa Prime Hotels PARKING ONLY. All vehicles without a visible parking pass will be towed at owner’s expense.” The signs also referenced Manatee Towing and the towing company’s phone number.
These guest only parking signs were still standing late Thursday morning but were removed a short time later. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
Photographs, comments and questions about the resorts’ new self-imposed parking restrictions appeared on Facebook earlier this week.
In June 2022, The Seabreeze at Anna Maria Island Inn tried to impose similar guest only parking restrictions at that location but the city quickly put an end to those efforts. It was stated back then that resort guests can park in the public beach access spaces but the spaces cannot be reserved for resort guests.
Signs removed
The new guest only parking signs were removed by resort personnel early Thursday afternoon. When speaking to The Sun an hour or so later, Mayor Chappie said he first noticed the new signs on Monday or Tuesday and he then contacted Police Chief John Cosby and City Attorney Ricinda Perry.
“I was very disappointed,” Chappie said. “We’ve been getting calls and we were hesitant to say go ahead and park there because we didn’t want anyone to have their cars towed. That’s why I wanted to get this taken care of before Memorial Day weekend started. That’s everybody’s parking.”
Chappie said when he and Code Enforcement Officer Evan Harbus arrived at the beach access property at mid-day Thursday, some resort employees were already in the process of removing the signs, as directed by resort management.
The guest only parking signs near the Seaside Resort & Spa were gone as of Thursday afternoon. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
“We made it clear this is public parking and they can’t regulate parking in a public right of way,” Chappie said. “I told them if they didn’t remove the signs we’ll end up putting bollards up; and I reminded the guys there today that these parking spaces are also counted for beach renourishment. The signs needed to come down and they took them down.”
The Seaside at Anna Maria Island Inn is located next to a public beach access. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
When asked if overnight parking is allowed in beach access parking spaces, Chappie said he wasn’t sure but he’s looking into it.
Regarding the previous incident in 2022, Chappie said, “I remember it well. They were told they can’t regulate parking in a public right of way.”
The city-owned 23rd Street North beach access provides public parking spaces. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
To report an improper or suspected improper public parking restriction, call the Bradenton Beach Code Enforcement Department at 941-778-1005, ext. 227.
BRADENTON BEACH – Mayor John Chappie read aloud a memo at a Feb. 20 City Commission meeting addressing the job performance of former city Building Official Darin Cushing.
The memo outlined what the city says were deficiencies in Cushing’s performance, including violation of state law, leadership and management issues, influenced decision-making and disregard of elected officials’ requests, among others.
Chappie suspended Cushing from his contractual city building official role on Jan. 22 and he was subsequently terminated by his employer, M.T. Causley, a subsidiary of SAFEbuilt.
According to the memo: “Preliminary review of the Building Department permits issued by Mr. Cushing through representatives from FEMA, WMFD, and other licensed reviewers have uncovered numerous errors and caused harm to Bradenton Beach. Over the coming weeks, the City had been advised to thoroughly review and rectify the post-hurricane work undertaken by Mr. Cushing. Regrettably, as senior staff has reviewed files and had discussions with Code Enforcement and the Building Department staff, the following has come to light regarding the performance of Mr. Cushing:
Leadership and Management Issues. The Building and Planning Department lacked effective leadership;
Absence of Written or Verbal Guidance. No written or formal guidance had been established or implemented for the Department;
Inadequate Response to the Public Inquiries. Failed to respond to a significant number of public email inquiries;
Neglect of Building Staff Requests. Repeatedly disregarded the requests of building staff for direction, leading to chaos and confusion within the Department;
Inappropriate Post-Hurricane Permitting Guidance. Provided improper post-hurricane permitting guidance to the community;
Influenced Decision-Making. Reversed and changed his decision-making and assessments on post-hurricane building matters based on pressure that he received from individual members of the public, homeowners, or businesses;
Overstepping Authority. Repeatedly acted outside the scope of his authority;
Issuance of Inappropriate Approvals. Issued land use and planning approvals exceeded his duty to administer the Florida Building Code;
Failure to Provide Critical Information. Failed to notify the West Manatee Fire District of crucial permit information;
Violation of State Law. As noted by SAFEbuilt, permits were issued in violation of State Law, e.g., issuing HVAC permits without requiring the elevation of outdoor equipment;
De facto Moratorium. Issued de facto moratoria on new development without proper notification to the City;
Lack of Post-Hurricane Experience. Lacked relevant experience in handling post-hurricane work required of building officials; and
Disregard of Elected Officials’ Requests. Disregarded requests and directives by the elected officials.
“It has become abundantly evident that Mr. Cushing was incapable of fulfilling the demands and responsibilities, particularly legally discharging the duties of the Building official under the laws of the State of Florida and Bradenton Beach,” the memo states.
“The only thing we agree on with Mr. Cushing is that it is time to move on. The City has a lot of work ahead of it to restore our post-hurricane community and are implementing changes to address past Building Department issues to strengthen and advance the needs of our community. In the ongoing efforts to enhance our community’s resilience, the City has made significant strides. We have secured the services of a seasoned Building Official with expertise in floodplain management, appointed a Floodplain Manager for independent oversight, and cultivated a collaborative partnership with the City of Holmes Beach.”
BRADENTON BEACH – The city commission conducted a work meeting on Jan. 28 to focus on restructuring the building department and the challenges the city faces in finding a permanent replacement for recently-suspended Building Official Darin Cushing.
“I want you to all know the work meeting is for the commission to discuss the current and future staffing of the Building and Planning Services Department,” Mayor John Chappie told attendees in a packed city hall. “Because this is a work meeting, the subject will be what is posted on the agenda, the building and planning department. This is a single subject commission meeting.”
However, during the meeting – particularly during public comment – the conversation evolved into discussions about Cushing and his city-disputed approval of the Drift-In tiki hut.
The commission considered changing the current model of using a contracted building department to hiring an employee.
Chappie began by giving an update on Cushing’s suspension, which he characterized as a “temporary suspension.”
He then read the letter the city sent to Cushing’s employer, M.T. Causley, a subsidiary of SAFEbuilt, which outlined the city’s reasons for the suspension. Chappie said M.T. Causley has place Cushing on administrative leave.
“M.T. Causley is working on a game plan at this time,” Chappie said. “They can provide an inspector on a partial basis. They also can provide online plan review.”
Chappie said the part-time inspector can conduct inspections, including electrical and mechanical, and residential plan reviews, but cannot conduct commercial inspections.
“We are also being backed up Holmes Beach for inspections and commercial inspections when we need them,” Chappie said. “We’re covering our basic current needs at this time.”
Chappie laid out some proposed options for the building department which included putting out a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a company other than M.T. Causley, continuing with M.T. Causley, using the building planning services of Integrated Solutions Consulting (ISC), retaining former retired building official Steve Gilbert for floodplain review, sharing building services with Holmes Beach (Joe Payne Inc. – JPI) or advertising for a new employee.
“In the past, the building official was an employee, and we changed that in 2015,” Chappie said.
He said the pros to hiring an employee as a building official are continuity of care, getting to know the public and being an actual supervisor of the building department. The cons include paying for errors and omissions insurance included in a contractual agreement.
“It is my opinion that it would benefit Bradenton Beach to have an inspector in-house rather than outside,” Commissioner Jan Vosburgh said.
Chappie said the current cost to the city of building official professional services is $215,977 and $70,000 for planning professional services.
“I think we have better options in-house, but I’m concerned about what happens immediately,” Commissioner Scott Bear said. “If we decided to terminate (with M.T. Causley), how do we make sure we don’t have a gap?”
Chappie said M.T. Causley has been advertising for a year or more for a building official.
“It would be a difficult road to hire somebody,” Chappie said. “It could take a lot of time. Right now, M.T. Causley is willing to work with us. They’re working on a game plan to try to get somebody here all the time.”
“We also have the option because we’re still within the FEMA timeframe to get compensation for building services,” City Attorney Ricinda Perry said. “That expires in approximately two months. So, you could under your emergency powers hire the same firm that Holmes Beach is using.”
Perry said she could prepare an RFP within 24 hours if approved by the commission.
“I think M.T. Causley should come up with a solution,” Commissioner Ralph Cole said. “I have constituents who are concerned and standing in limbo waiting for permits.”
Perry said the city has not missed a single inspection.
“This meeting has nothing to do with the Drift-In application, it has nothing to do with Mr. Cushing’s performance,” Perry said. “It was simply one of the steps the city is going through to get stronger and better dealing with storm events.”
“It was read into the record at the beginning of the meeting, about the Drift-In,” Cole said. “That being said, that’s separate. We need to assure the public that the permits are getting processed and it’s our job to make sure that happens. So here we are, we have to make a decision on what to do.”
Commissioner Deborah Scaccianoce said, “I have a concern about going forward with M.T. Causley. The Drift-In, the planner in that process, also failed to catch issues, which is an M.T. Causley employee. So, my concern is the quality and the knowledge of that company in our permit review process. I think we need to consider that because how many other poor decisions were made that we don’t know about? That was a big one.”
Perry said there are 55 days left for the city to get FEMA reimbursement for building services.
“There’s a hybrid option for all of this,” Perry said. “There’s floodplain, there’s inspections, plan review, building official services.”
“Another part of the process could possibly be to talk to Mayor Titsworth (Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth) about shared building services,” Chappie said. “In fact, if we were able to work something out with who they’re using. It would help our elected officials in the state realize we are listening to what you say, and we are using the OPAGGA study, as much as we didn’t like it, we are using it as a tool.”
The OPPAGA study recommended that Island cities work together on certain issues to save money.
“We have Causley in place, then we can make a decision rather than rushing,” Cole said. “We have them under contract until June.”
“The hybrid approach makes a lot of sense, that’s a long term solution,” Bear said. “We also need an immediate solution.”
“M.T. Causley is a stop gap until we have more information with regards to what they come up with in their plan,” Chappie said. “To the extent that Mr. Cushing is available, he is on administrative leave. Do we want to continue with Mr. Cushing or have M.T. Causley provide a different building official?”
“I don’t think we should use Mr. Cushing,” Vosburgh said.
“It sounds like he doesn’t want us to use him either,” Bear said. “I think the motion is they provide someone other than him, because having him here as a disgruntled employee is not going to help us. There are two sides to the argument, so I’m not taking one side over the other, I’m just saying it’s a little difficult to have a disgruntled employee.”
“I think the motion should be to continue with M.T. Causley and have them provide a building official so we can make a permanent decision on some type of hybrid approach,” Bear said.
The meeting was then opened for public comment.
Public comment
Linda Cushing asked who the building official of record for the city is. She was advised by Chappie that questions would not be answered during public comment.
“I’ve been a property owner since 1995 and have done numerous building projects. I just wanted to add my two cents about Darin Cushing,” Keith O’Neill said. “I will tell you I was very supportive of him, he was very supportive of our project and regardless of everything I want to speak on his behalf and say he did a great job for the projects I was engaged in.”
“I live in Sandpiper Resort and I’m here to support what may or may not occur with Drift-In,” Bill Wisotzka said. “We’re all trying to recover from a disastrous scenario. I hope you find some compassion to process what we need to do with Drift-In.”
Pines Park homeowner Elayne Armaniaco spoke in support of Cushing.
“Darin is approachable, he was knowledgeable,” she said. “I think the fact that he was so approachable was really helpful because as you all know we went through a terrible situation and through it all he was fair and kind.”
Michael Silberge, president of West Coast Air Conditioning, spoke in support of Cushing.
“My comments today are to support Darin Cushing,” he said. “I have never had any problems with M.T. Causley. Steve Gilbert is a saint in my opinion, and so is Darin Cushing.”
“I’m concerned. There’s been no discussion up here about Darin,” said Angela Rodocker. “What he did on social media is wrong. If I had an employee that did that I would put them on leave too. But I wouldn’t be up here talking about him being gone. I was shocked. There’s been no discussion about a man that has worked in this community and has an amazing reputation. That’s why you hired him in the first place.”
“What’s going on here today seems like a bit of a witch hunt,” Neil Lind said. “Has counsel or Bradenton Beach staff made mistakes in the past? If so, were you terminated? No.”
“I have a lot of employees who are really hurting right now,” Drift-In owner Derek Williams said.
Drift-In owners Helena and Derek Williams speak to commissioners at a Jan. 28 work meeting. From left are Commissioner Deborah Scaccianoce, City Attorney Ricinda Perry and Helena and Derek Williams. – Leslie Lake | Sun
Motions
Bear made a motion to continue with M.T. Causley and have them provide a building official until the city can make a permanent decision on some type of hybrid approach.
A second motion was read by Perry to authorize staff and Chappie to pursue emergency services for building department and planning services with JPI and ISC as well as to submit any necessary mission requests to the State of Florida or Manatee County.
A third motion was read by Perry to authorize Chappie and staff to coordinate with Holmes Beach for any additional services that cannot be fulfilled by M.T. Causley in the immediate future to provide building and planning services to the constituency.
All three motions passed unanimously.
“I think we should do everything possible to work with the owners of the Drift-In to help them move on with that building,” Vosburgh said.
Drift-In matters
Perry advised the commission that she would not represent the city in Drift-In matters.
“Mayor Chappie, there is a change,” Perry said. “I have declined representation on behalf of the city. The notices have gone out, the hearing will be the first commission meeting in March. The P&Z meeting and the city commission meeting. I am declining any representation, in large part, because Mr. Williams has retained the law firm of my husband and I am uncomfortable with representing the city with that perceived potential for conflict.”
That prompted an exchange between Drift-In owners Derek and Helena Williams and Chappie.
“In regards to the city attorney’s comment, as a business owner if she’s now stating she has a conflict of interest, from what we’ve been told there’s no replacement,” Helena Williams said. “So, in my opinion it looks from our perspective that we’re at a standstill until somebody else is appointed to represent you, so how that’s going to affect our business and us opening I would like to know the answer to that. There needs to be a replacement. When is that going to happen? Because we would like to move forward and open our business.”
Derek Williams said, “First let me say, I’m not attacking anybody, including Miss Perry. I feel the tensions back and forth since I arrived. The email I received last night said Ricinda got our 30-day public notice out and I have to wait for 30 days. There’s been some questions about when the Planning and Zoning meeting would be. All of these things get addressed in one day? There’s not been a lot of clarification. That means potentially I’m closed for another 30 days.”
“The only comment I’ll make is Ricinda is going to recuse to be clear there’s no conflict and it’s the safest way. Drift-In knew her husband was in the firm,” Chappie said.
Williams said, “I was told they’re divorced.”
“You knew who her husband was, and it is what it is,” Chappie said. “We’ve got to protect the city’s rights.”
Mayor John Chappie clarified his comments to The Sun on Jan. 24 that Cushing is temporarily suspended, not temporarily terminated as originally reported.
BRADENTON BEACH – The city temporarily terminated the contractual services of Building Official Darin Cushing on Jan. 22 pending discussion at the next city commission meeting.
“Temporarily suspending his services pending talking with the commission and M.T. Causley and that’s all I can say,” Mayor John Chappie said.
The next scheduled regular city commission meeting is Thursday, Feb. 6 at 6 p.m.
Cushing declined to comment on the suspension.
Cushing is a contractual employee who works for SAFEbuilt Inspections. M.T. Causley is a subsidiary of SAFEbuilt. The city has a contractual agreement with M.T. Causley to provide building official services.
Chappie did not give a reason for the suspension, but the city has been at odds with Cushing over his approval of a permit for the tiki hut at the Drift-In on Bridge Street.
At a Jan. 16 city commission meeting, City Attorney Ricinda Perry said that the permit should not have been issued based on factors that included the city-owned easements on the property as well as the size of the new structure.
“This was administratively approved and it should have gone through a public hearing,” Perry said. “Legally, I believe it should have been a major development.”
A major development application must first go through a Planning and Zoning Board hearing and then return to the commission for a public hearing.
Cushing wrote on Facebook on Jan. 21 in part: “It was approved administratively and needed no more than that. But others aren’t getting their way (or that property) so I’m being asked to pull back my approval and force the owner to go through a ridiculous set of processes. My job is actually in question over this and other things.”
In Cushing’s absence, permits and inspections will continue in the city, according to Chappie.
“Hopefully, somebody will be here today from M.T. Causley and we’ll try to run business as normal as possible in the interim,” Chappie said.
A city commission work meeting has been scheduled for Jan. 28 at 9 a.m. to evaluate the current model of contracted building department staff versus city employees.
On Jan. 21, Cushing posted on Facebook, writing in part:
“Come on out to the City of Bradenton Beach ‘work meeting’ on 1/28/25 if you truly believe that I’ve done a good job as building official,” he said, adding, “They’re trying to take me out to bend over for developers. I will not compromise my integrity or my license.”
Drift-In owner Derek Williams, who serves as president of the Bradenton Beach Merchants Association, posted on Facebook in support of Cushing. He asked the business community to attend the Jan. 28 meeting.
“Sticking together as business and property owners has never been more important. You might be aware there is a special ‘WORKSHOP’ scheduled on 1/28 at 9 a.m. regarding the building official and his permitting of the renovations at Drift-In AMI. The city has determined that the work is deemed a major development and not consistent with the approvals given by the city planner and city Building Official Darin Cushing. The city would like to discuss the status of an independent contractor versus an employee in the capacity of the building department. My thought is the business community needs to be present. If you can make it, we would love to see you there.”
The work meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 28, at 9 a.m. at the Katie Pierola Commission Chambers, 107 Gulf Drive N.
BRADENTON BEACH – Construction is expected to begin this summer on the Bridge Street hotel project, according to City Attorney Ricinda Perry.
“By way of keeping you in the loop with development activities within the CRA (Community Redevelopment Agency) district, I have spoken with Shawn and Jake (hotel co-applicants Shawn Kaleta and Jake Spooner) who have the hotel that’s supposed to come on to Bridge Street,” Perry said to CRA members at a Jan. 16 meeting.
On Dec. 7, 2023, the city commission approved the 106-room resort hotel, 60-seat restaurant, 5,396 square feet of retail and 154 on-site parking spaces.
“I have been told that those plans have been worked on, they are submitting the building department plans for this and they hope to turn dirt by late summer for that project, so it is still on task,” Perry said.
Just days after approval, on Dec. 11, a permitted demolition began on 129 Gulf Drive S., the location of the former Joe’s Eats N Sweets. On Jan. 13, 101 Bridge St., formerly the Freckled Fin, was demolished. On Jan. 26, demolition began on the building at 105 Bridge St., formerly the Magnolia Inn.
The parcel, on the corner of Bridge Street and Gulf Drive South, has since been used as a public paid parking lot.
The hotel property is sited on 1.61 acres and located at 101, 105, and 117 Bridge St. and 106, 108, 110 and 112 Third St. S.
“It’s nice to hear Bridge Street hotel is moving forward with their project,” Mayor John Chappie said.
Building Official Darin Cushing said he has not yet received updated plans from the hotel applicants.
Perry’s update was one of three she presented on Kaleta-owned projects at the CRA meeting. The others were a possible rezoning of the Pines Trailer Park and conceptual plans to eliminate dry storage at Bradenton Beach Marina and add retail and restaurants there.
The Sun reached out to a representative for Kaleta for comment, but no response was received by press time.
BRADENTON BEACH – Just two months after Hurricane Helene’s storm surge pushed piles of sand and debris into the city, a concerted clean-up effort enabled the festive spirit to return to Bridge Street.
At the city-hosted Christmas tree lighting at the post office on Nov. 21, Mayor John Chappie welcomed the crowd to the town’s main street.
“It’s been 56 days since this storm hit and it’s been tough,” Chappie said. “We are going to step up and do what needs to be done to get our city back up and better. We are survivors and we are going to survive.”
Luca meets Santa and Mrs. Claus for the first time at the tree lighting on Bridge Street. – Leslie Lake | Sun
Chappie applauded Police Chief and Public Works Director John Cosby as the driving force behind the massive cleanup and the restoration of activity in the city.
“Chief Cosby and his team have been amazing with the recovery that’s happened out here,” Chappie said. “He is an expert in his field of emergency operations and he has helped to develop this team of our city, our public works, our city clerk, our building department, the SERT team that came down to help our community to beat this. We have and we will continue to beat this.”
He introduced Cosby, who was chosen to light the Christmas tree.
“This is the first normal thing we have done since the hurricane,” Cosby said. “And if you look around, we all made the decision to do this five days ago – all the lights and the tree. We weren’t going to do it, then we decided we needed to do it.”
Cosby said following Hurricane Helene, there was 4 feet of sand on just about every road in the city.
“Even when the governor (Gov. Ron DeSantis) came, he looked at me and said, ‘I’ve been to a lot of disasters and I’ve never seen this much sand,’ ” he said.
Cosby thanked FDOT for the help with sand removal, Bradenton Beach city staff and City Attorney Ricinda Perry for organizing the tree lighting.
As Cosby pushed the button to illuminate the tree, cheers sprang up from hundreds of attendees.
The next event, Christmas on Bridge Street, will be held on Dec. 7 beginning at 2 p.m. with a Table of Hope banner signing. In a display of city resilience, the signed banner will be hung across Bridge Street.
ANNA MARIA – Manatee County tourist taxes are required to be used primarily to promote tourism and tourism-related projects, but some local officials, including Bradenton Beach Mayor John Chappie, want to change how the money is spent.
When anyone rents accommodations for six months or less in the county, they must pay a 5% tourist tax, earmarked for a state-mandated list of uses, including tourism marketing efforts, tourist attractions and beach renourishment. Anna Maria Island is the largest contributor of tourist tax funds in the county.
Chappie addressed members of the Manatee County Tourist Development Council (TDC) during public comments at an Aug. 15 meeting, suggesting that the law regarding how the tourist tax is spent be changed to include funding for infrastructure due to the recent tourism boom since COVID-19 restrictions were lifted.
“I just wanted to remind you that hopefully during this next state legislative session coming up, to really talk with legislators to try to change where the funds can be spent for our tourist tax dollars,” he said. “Back in the 70s when I got here, the lots on the Island were platted and there were three to six people on these lots. What’s happened over the last decade, through no action of our own for the most part, is we’re cramming in 12 to 22 people on the same 75×100 lots.”
Chappie says because of this large increase, the infrastructure of the Island is suffering. He noted that public safety, law enforcement, sewer lines, lifeguards and services that are being stressed by the large increase in visitors are in desperate need of additional funding. He believes the tourism tax should be the source of those much-needed funds.
Of the $2,838,590 collected in tourist taxes in June 2022 (the latest figures available) in Manatee County, $1,405,389 came from the three Anna Maria Island cities, accounting for almost half of the total for the county. At $890,927.24, Holmes Beach collected more tourist tax dollars than both Bradenton Beach and Anna Maria combined.
“We need to get on this and try to be able to use the TDC dollars for other things other than drawing more tourists in here,” Chappie said. “We love our tourists, I’m not jamming on the tourists at all, they’re a major part of our economy, but we can’t go on the way it is right now. We need other sources of funding for these important needs our communities have.”
Commissioner Carol Carter of Anna Maria also addressed the TDC, agreeing with the mayor’s plea. Carter said Anna Maria has more than 800 vacation rentals in a city that covers only one square mile. She said while permanent residents average 1.8 people per house, vacation rentals tend to average nine people per house.
“Just for your information, the state legislature did make some exceptions some years ago for TDC for the three counties in the panhandle, kind of focused on Panama City and all the tourist involvement that they have there for public safety reasons,” Carter said. “So, there is a precedent, and I just reinforced what Mayor Chappie said about the next legislative session.”
Manatee County Commissioner Carol Whitmore also weighed in on the discussion, saying that despite Holmes Beach being the Island’s primary source of tourist tax dollars, it still has not had the funds to replace its pier.
Later in the TDC meeting, Research Data Services’Ann Wittine presented her state of tourism update featuring the latest available statistics related to the tourism industry in Manatee County from June of 2022.
“We got very used to those arrows pointing up,” she said. “What we saw in June was a slight rollback in numbers in June of 2022, but what I really want to emphasize is that, compared to our benchmark in 2019, pre-COVID, our visitors are up 25.8%, room nights are up 25% and economic impact is up 38.4%.”
Wittine said the reason for the recent dip in numbers is because, in 2021, the area was seeing a huge surge in visitation driven by the fact that people were getting vaccinated in record numbers in the first quarter of 2021 and therefore more apt to travel. Room occupancy is also slightly down in 2022 at 79.3% compared to 88.1% in June of last year. It is still higher than in June 2019 when it stood at 74.7% pre-COVID. The average daily room rate is up though, at $209.19 per day in June 2022 compared to $195.19 in June 2021.
While the Island is used to seeing a large number of tourists from Florida, those numbers have actually dipped 19.8% from June 2021, but are up 126% from 2019, showing the effect COVID travel restrictions had on people who didn’t leave Florida during the height of the pandemic. For the fiscal year to date, visitation is up 14.1% from June of 2021 and economic impact is up 27.2%, standing at $1,284,951,900. That number is 47.6% higher than in June 2019.
RDS’s traveler sentiment study showed that 78.8% of prospective travelers to Florida were optimistic about personal health, but only 54.4% were optimistic about personal finances, compared to 70% in June 2021. When asked how close things are to returning to normal, 46.5% of people said they were close, compared to 51% last year. The biggest concern for prospective travelers was gas prices. Wittine’s data shows an expected dip in tourism numbers until at least October.
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