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City manager amendment lacks supermajority support

City manager amendment lacks supermajority support

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

HOLMES BEACH – The quest to hire a city manager in Holmes Beach has suffered a significant setback, but the matter has not yet been officially decided.

Switching from a strong mayor to a city manager form of government would require a charter amendment recommended by the Holmes Beach Charter Review Commission (CRC) and supported by the city’s registered voters.

The Holmes Beach mayor’s responsibilities are set forth in Article IV of the city charter.

During the Thursday, April 4 CRC meeting, member Sean Murphy made a motion to leave Article IV as currently written.

“There shall be a mayor who shall be the chief executive officer of the city. The mayor shall be responsible to the electorate for the administration of all city affairs placed in his/her charge by or under this charter,” according to Article IV, §4.01.

“I recommend we make no changes to Article IV,” Murphy said when making his motion.

David Zaccagnino supported Murphy’s motion. CRC chairman Ed Upshaw and members Claudia Carlson and Nancy Deal opposed it.

Confusion then ensued as to what that 3-2 vote meant regarding the potential hiring of a city manager.

According to §13.03 of the city charter, “Any proposed amendment or amendments to the charter adopted by a vote of a supermajority of the charter commission shall be presented to the city commission which shall provide for its submission to the voters in the next city general election.”

A supermajority vote means at least four of the five CRC members must support a proposed charter amendment for it to move forward.

Filling in for City Attorney Patricia Petruff at Thursday’s meeting, attorney Thomas Thanus said, “There may be some confusion about the last vote. There were three ‘no’ votes and two ‘yes’ votes, which means the motion didn’t carry. The motion was to not make any changes to Article IV. That motion was defeated, which means that Article IV is still up for discussion. You’ve haven’t closed the door on any further discussion.”

The CRC members can continue debating the city manager question, but Thanus said any proposed amendment that doesn’t have supermajority support will not be included in the final recommendations presented to city commissioners.

“You still have the option of revisiting some or all of your decisions, but you will get to a point where you will have a final vote. At that point, it would take four ‘yes’ votes in order for something to be presented to the voters at a referendum,” Thanus said.

“You’ve had other 3-2 votes, which means you have not achieved the supermajority,” Thanus said regarding previous votes taken on other potential amendments.

City manager debate

During Thursday’s meeting, CRC members shared their personal views on the city manager issue.

“I think the process works. It is more democratic. Little towns like ours are the community garden of democracy and I think we need to do whatever we can to protect that,” Murphy said of the city’s current form of government.

“We have good strong department heads. I don’t think the chief of police needs another boss – and it’s expensive,” Murphy said of a city manager.

Carlson suggested it was undemocratic to prevent city residents from determining which form of government they want.

“The logic of that escapes me. The citizens have the right to make a choice,” Carlson said.

Zaccagnino said hiring a city manager would add another layer of government and make it harder for citizens to enact change through their elected officials. He also disputes the notion that a city manager can remain politically-neutral.

Zaccagnino and Murphy both noted citizens can still initiate by petition a city referendum if they wish to continue the pursuit of a city manager.

Upshaw said the CRC’s duty is not to set policy, but to present viable options to the public.

“There is a section of our citizens who favor this. Are they the majority, I don’t know? But the question keeps coming up. I think it should go before the citizens,” Upshaw said.

Upshaw said a citizen-initiated city manager referendum that does not fully address all aspects of the proposed hiring could cause “chaos.”

Recent hiring questioned

Deal questioned Mayor Judy Titsworth’s recent hiring of Barney Salmon as the city’s new development services director – and whether Salmon serves as a department head whose hiring should have required city commission approval.

“Some people think it was an end-around to avoid having a city manager,” Deal said. “As to adding another layer to the administration, isn’t that what the mayor just did?”

The charter states the mayor needs commission concurrence to appoint or remove a department head or charter official whose position is listed in the charter. The charter doesn’t reference a developmental services director.

Human Resources Analyst Mary Buonagura defended the recent hiring.

“Mr. Salmon is the director of five developmental services. He coordinates work, period. He reports to the mayor just like the rest of the departments do. Mr. Salmon is not going to be recommended to become a charter member of the city. It’s not necessary,” Buonagura said.

Tourism safety

Resident calls on tourism officials to address safety

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

HOLMES BEACH – Resident Nancy Deal challenged tourism officials on Monday to address pedestrian deaths and other safety issues created by thriving tourism on Anna Maria Island.

Noting the recent death of a woman visitor and the injury of her husband while they were crossing the street in Holmes Beach in January, Deal said, “I challenge this council to create a safety task force made up of conscionable stakeholders who have some responsibility in marketing for and profiting from tourism and development.

“If there are more accidents involving tourists – you want to get rid of us pesky locals, anyway, right? – what will that mean to the tourism industry on the island or in the county?”

Tourism safety
Nancy Deal

After relating several recent incidences that she witnessed where bicyclists, pedestrians and vehicles were at odds, she concluded, “AMI is not a brand. Manatee County is not a brand. We are a community of living things – plants, animals, human beings – with the right to safety, security and the opportunity to survive and thrive in peace.”

Manatee County Tourist Development Council (TDC) Chair Carol Whitmore acknowledged the problem, which is most evident during January, February and March.

“It was rough. Very rough,” Whitmore said about the height of the season. “But to say the TDC does not want citizens to be here is 100 percent wrong. I still live here. The reason why people come here from all over the world is because of the residents.

“I don’t want to lose the character of the Island. This is a big reason why people come to visit this destination,” she said. “I don’t know what we could do as a TDC to ensure that.”

There is “a major need” for safe pedestrian and bike pathways, TDC member and Island restaurateur Ed Chiles said, adding, “We have to look at solutions.”

Meanwhile, “When I’m at the end of Pine Avenue, I have to get myself in a completely different mindset,” Chiles said. “I just have to know I’m going 7 to 12 miles an hour.”

“I change my itinerary in season,” he said. “If I’m going to Mar Vista on Longboat Key, I know there’s 45 minutes to daydream or make phone calls coming back up.”

The good news, he said, is, “We’re in demand.”

Locals know that “If you want to come out here in the morning, you have to be here by 9 o’clock, and if you want to come in the evening you come after 5 or 6,” TDC member Jack Rynerson said.

It’s not just a problem on the Island, but also in Bradenton, TDC member and Bradenton Mayor Wayne Poston said, adding that it’s not just tourism creating the problem; the area also is attracting more residents.

“We have to be more patient than we are,” he suggested.

“There’s no one silver bullet, but we are reclaiming some of our right of way,” Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy told the TDC. “Over the years, people have encroached onto the right of way. It’s a painful process, people buy a house and the right of way is already cultivated,” he said, adding that the city, after lengthy discussions with property owners, is taking back a little of the right of way at a time.

Multimodal transportation would seem to be the answer, Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau Director Elliott Falcione said.

The TDC has endorsed water ferries and recommended tourist tax money for Anna Maria and Bradenton Beach pier renovations, but Island cities “apparently aren’t sure if they want to do that or not,” he said. “They need to decide. There’s no need to spend dollars from the tourism coffer if cities don’t want it.”

Nancy Deal’s presentation

“A few weeks ago, an 80-year-old tourist was struck by a car and killed at the curve on Gulf Drive in Holmes Beach, which is at the end of our street. Around that same time, another tourist was struck by a car in Bradenton Beach and was, fortunately, only injured.

My husband and I have been year-round residents on AMI since 2001. We ride our bikes from tip to tip of AMI and from the Gulf to the Intracoastal. Last month we witnessed the busiest season for bikers and pedestrians in our experience. We saw many, many large groups of families with children of all ages on bikes, in carriers, and in bike strollers dragged behind mom or dad’s bike. It has not been unusual for us to see groups of 12 riding on Gulf Drive at the spot where the tourist was killed.

As locals can tell you, visitors to the island are understandably self-absorbed in enjoying their vacation and seem to lose their sense of caution, common sense and knowledge of common rules of the road. It is harrowing to drive on the island, sharing the very narrow streets with bikes, pedestrians, construction vehicles, landscaper trucks and trailers, pool company trucks, garbage trucks, Segway, golf carts, utility trucks, dump trucks, bulldozers, 18-wheelers delivering food and beer, and of course, other cars.

As Chief Tokajer can tell you, every week a new batch of thousands of visitors means another heroic effort to educate them about local ordinances and safety issues. Locals advise visitors about safe bike and walking routs as often as we can. Why, just last week, I was trying to direct a man pushing a baby in a stroller trying to cross busy Gulf Drive to a nearby crosswalk and he told me to * myself. In essence our city has to endlessly protect visitors from themselves and others, while trying to mandate the day-to-day administrative duties that any city has.

If the industries of tourism, real estate, rentals, hospitality and development continue to entice more and more people to AMI and Manatee County, with the promise of paradise and bicycle and pedestrian-friendly streets, and they profit from those people – those industries need to take  a much more aggressive responsibility for the safety of everyone who comes here and lives here.

Last week we were driving around that curve on Gulf Drive and met an old woman walking just off the street. There are no sidewalks there, no crosswalks, no bike lanes, very little berm on either side of the road. Same day, on the way home, same spot, we passed an older man walking in the street with no way to be seen by oncoming traffic.

I challenge this council to create a safety task force made up of conscionable stakeholders who have some responsibility in marketing for and profiting from tourism and development. If there are more accidents involving tourists (you want to get rid of us pesky locals, anyway, right?), what will that mean to the tourism industry on the island or in the county? That said, there are many business folks on the island who benefit from tourists who sincerely care about the hearts, souls and the safety of everyone in our community and I am sure they would be interested.

Finally, I want you to understand – AMI is not a brand. Manatee County is not a brand. We are a community of living things – plants, animals, human beings – with the right to safety, security and the opportunity to survive and thrive in peace.”

In other business:

  • The TDC heard a request from Beverly Lesnick, chair of the Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce, to take into consideration the amount of tourist tax produced by Anna Maria Island versus Longboat Key when allocating tourist tax proceeds to each chamber.
  • Whitmore noted that Holmes Beach tourism is down compared to the other two Island cities. Falcione responded that many factors could contribute, but that flat visitation is good when average daily rates are up.
  • Murphy thanked the TDC for recommending funding for the Anna Maria City Pier. He announced that construction should begin in August 2018 and be completed by December 2019.
  • The county’s tourism consultant, Walter Klages, said that 97.6 percent of the people who visit the Bradenton area are satisfied with the destination, that the European market is growing and that an Irish market is emerging.
  • The Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau hosted 25 travel writers in 2017, attended media events in the UK, Atlanta and Dallas and launched a new website.
  • The board acknowledged the resignation of board member David Teitelbaum and announced plans to honor him for his service at the next meeting in June.