TALLAHASSEE – Florida Senator Jim Boyd (R-Bradenton) filed an amendment to Senate Bill302 that if fully adopted might make it more challenging to do the dredging needed to accommodate a proposed Knott-Cowen Cruise Port in the Terra Ceia Aquatic Preserve.
Boyd filed his amendment on Feb. 18. The following day, the Florida Senate voted 38-0 in favor of adding that additional language to the previously filed Senate bill.
As of mid-day Monday, Feb. 23, a similar amendment had not been introduced in the Florida House of Representatives. Without a matching bill supported by the House, the Senate bill, as now amended, would fail to become new state law. The Florida Legislature’s 2026 legislative session is scheduled to end on March 13.
The Florida Senate website lists House Bill 1035 as the rebill to SB 302. As of Feb. 23, the most recent amendment to the House Bill occurred on Feb. 16, and that amendment was not similar to Boyd’s amendment.
In January, Tampa-based Slip Knott LLC and cruise ship terminal operator SSA Marine announced they were exploring the development of a multi-berth cruise ship port in northwest Manatee County on the Knott-Cowen tract of land near Rattlesnake Key and the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.
That announcement was met with petitions, protests and significant public backlash against the proposed cruise port that has not yet been subjected to any public hearings as part of the permitting process that would entail the Manatee County Commission at some point.
THE AMENDMENT
Boyd’s senate-supported amendment says, “No further dredging or filling of the submerged lands of the Terra Ceia Aquatic Preserve shall be approved or tolerated by the board except:
“(a) Such minimum dredging and spoiling as may be authorized for public navigation projects or for such minimum dredging and spoiling as may be constituted as a public necessity.
“(b) Such other alteration of physical conditions, including the placement of riprap, as may be necessary to enhance the quality and utility of the preserve.
“(c) Such dredging as is necessary for the purpose of eliminating conditions hazardous to the public health or for the purpose of eliminating stagnant waters, islands and spoil banks, the dredging of which would enhance the aesthetic and environmental quality and utility of the preserve and be clearly in the public interest as determined by the board.
“(d) Such minimum dredging and filling as may be authorized for the creation and maintenance of marinas, public boat ramps, piers and docks, and their attendant navigation channels and access roads. Such projects may be authorized only upon a specific finding by the board that there is assurance that the project will be constructed and operated in a manner that will not adversely affect the water quality and utility of the preserve. This paragraph may not be construed to authorize the connection of upland canals to the waters of the preserve.
“Any dredging and filling pursuant to paragraph (a), paragraph (b) or paragraph (c) shall be approved by the board only after public notice as provided,” the amendment says.
According to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, “The boundary of the Terra Ceia Aquatic Preserve starts at the south end of Port Manatee and extends out into Tampa Bay. The preserve extends as far south as Emerson Point, on the northern bank of the Manatee River. Terra Ceia Aquatic Preserve includes several embayments such as Terra Ceia Bay and Bishop Harbor, along with tidal creeks like Frog Creek and McMullen Creek.”
SB 302
SB 302 addresses “Coastal Resiliency.” According to the bill summary listed at the Florida Senate website, the bill addresses “Prohibiting the board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund from approving the dredging or filling of the submerged lands of the Terra Ceia Aquatic Preserve unless such dredging and filling occurs for certain reasons; authorizing certain dredging and filling of submerged lands and placement of certain shorelines and seawalls within the Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserve; authorizing the erection of certain structures within aquatic preserves; requiring the Department of Environmental Protection, by a specified date, to develop guidelines and standards for nature-based methods to address coastal resiliency and to adopt rules, subject to legislative ratification, for a statewide permitting process for such coastal resiliency, etc.”
In that blog, Siddique wrote, “This amendment would enshrine additional protections for the Terra Ceia Aquatic Preserve to limit large-scale dredge & fill projects – the kind a certain cruise terminal project would use.”
Regarding SB 302 as a whole, Siddique wrote, “SB 302 began its life, in my view, as a great piece of legislation creating a statewide framework for how Florida can use nature-based solutions to improve coastal resilience. Projects such as mangrove replanting and living shorelines would be formalized in state statutes and grant funding would be provided through the Resilient Florida Grant Program. This issue focuses on the Aquatic Preserve, the amended language, and how you can advocate for it.”
When asked about the potential impact Boyd’s amendment might have on the cruise port, Siddique said, “What will be interesting though is whether the bulkhead rights become preempted by this legislation or not. Those rights predate any aquatic protections. Attorneys and a court would have to decide that.”
CORTEZ – The demolition of Annie’s Bait and Tackle Shop on April 16 marked a sad day in Cortez as years of memories for many were reduced to a pile of rubble.
More than a 70-year-old building, Annie’s held a wide array of meaning for those who came to watch the demolition. For some, it was the first stop for a day on the water for ice, beer, gas and bait; for others it was a spot to unwind on the patio for dinner and drinks and for many, it was one of the last standing local tributes to Florida heritage.
“They’re taking away everything that’s old Florida in Cortez,” Greg Hermes said. “What’s to say they won’t take away the village next?”
The excavator tore through Annie’s and the memoires created there. – Leslie Lake | Sun
Annie’s is on the Seafood Shack parcel that was purchased by the county on Dec. 31, 2024 for $13 million and is slated to become a public boat launch facility to be named Cortez Marina. Manatee County commissioners voted 6-1 on March 4 against entering into a lease agreement with Annie’s and in favor of demolishing the hurricane-impacted building. Commissioner Jason Bearden cast the dissenting vote.
That vote followed a January directive by county commissioners to have staff explore options to bring Annie’s up to code.
Standing across the street from the business he owned for 30 years, Annie’s co-owner, Bruce Shearer, watched with his daughter, Anna Gaffey, and 25-30 Cortez residents and friends as an excavator bucket tore through the building.
Within an hour, the building was demolished.
“I almost wish it had just come down in a hurricane so we wouldn’t have had to watch this,” Gaffey said.
Annie’s owner, Bruce Shearer (in hat), watches with friends behind the salvaged Annie’s sign as the building is demolished. – Leslie Lake | Sun
Many in attendance hugged Shearer and shook his hand while thanking him for the years of memories at Annie’s.
The large yellow Annie’s sign that hung over the door was caught in the rubble. Shearer walked across the street to retrieve it but was sent back from the site by a Manatee County Sheriff’s Office deputy for safety reasons. One worker took the battered sign off the pile and brought it across the street to Shearer.
Annie’s owner, Bruce Shearer (in black shirt and hat), has a beer with friends to toast Annie’s Bait and Tackle Shop. – Leslie Lake | Sun
A woman, who said she worked at Annie’s for eight years, tearfully said as she walked away, “I can’t watch this anymore.”
The demolition of Annie’s marked the end of an era. – Leslie Lake | Sun
Shearer had said he offered to make repairs to both the building and the county-owned docks at his own expense but was declined by the county.
“They (Manatee County) had a plan. They put us through a dog and pony show to appease people,” Shearer said earlier this month.
Demolition debris from Annie’s Bait and Tackle Shop is loaded into a dump truck for disposal. – Leslie Lake | Sun
During the demolition, attendees expressed anger at the Manatee County Commission and in particular, District 3 Commissioner Tal Siddique, who represents Cortez. Some attendees were wearing stickers that said, “No Tal. Anyone but Tal, 2028.”
Shearer said he had extended an invitation through the person in charge of the demolition for Siddique to watch the building come down.
Siddique did not attend, but sent the following email to the Sun: “The future is still bright for the Cortez community. Today we can begin to move forward with plans to bring amenities the community has been asking for and do it in a way to be resilient against future storms.”
Spray-painted on the side of Annie’s building was “45.8% FEMA,” referring to the evaluation of storm damage to the building.
“It was less than 50% and we should have been able to fix it up,” Shearer said.
The excavator begins demolition of Annie’s Bait and Tackle Shop. – Leslie Lake | Sun
In an April 9 email to The Sun, Manatee County spokesperson Bill Logan addressed the damage estimate and wrote: “The Substantial Damage Estimator (SDE) on January 29, 2025, originally was shown as 45.8% on the building addressed as 4334 127th Street West. The other address shown at this location was 4330 127th Street West with 41.6% SDE. These 2 estimates at the same building were based on visual and high-water marks during the Substantial Damage Assessment.
“The engineering report was used to correctly identify the level of damage and this information was entered into the FEMA Substantial Damage Estimator. The new level of damage for the entire building was reflected on SDE report at 100% on 3/16/25. The Substantial Damage letter will reflect the 100% repair costs to building value.”
As the day wore on, less of Annie’s Bait and Tackle remained. – Leslie Lake | Sun
The Sun made a public records request on April 10 for the Substantial Damage letter and engineering report referenced by Logan, but as of April 16, nothing was received.
“We are saddened by all the losses caused by the busiest and most destructive hurricane season on record,” Logan wrote on April 9. “We will host nine outreach events to gather input from Manatee County residents on the future of this property and look forward to giving our community additional access to the water for boating and recreation.”
CORTEZ – Manatee County has issued a 30- day demolition notice for the removal of Annie’s Bait and Tackle Shop.
“We haven’t received the letter yet, but I was told it’s coming,” Annie’s co-owner, Bruce Shearer, said on March 15. He doesn’t know the final date yet.
The Manatee County Commission voted 6-1 on March 4 for the demolition of the 70-year-old Cortez landmark, which is sited on the Seafood Shack parcel that was recently purchased by the county for $13 million and is slated to become a public boat launch facility. The vote followed recommendations by a structural engineer, the Florida Division of Emergency Management and fire officials based on damage from Hurricanes Helene and Milton last year.
Shearer took issue with the county’s characterization that the building was beyond repair.
“Their own report says it’s under the 50% damage,” he said. “That building is solid as a rock. It’s an old wooden building. It’s history they’re taking away there.”
Shearer said he felt that the commission’s intent was always to remove Annie’s from the property.
“I think it was a dog and pony show all the way through,” Shearer said. “They wasted everyone’s time. We were railroaded. Tal (Manatee County Commissioner Tal Siddique) was bound and determined to turn that into concrete.”
Shearer’s daughter, Anna Gaffey, told The Sun on March 13 she felt the hurricane damage was a convenient excuse for the county to have Annie’s removed.
“We believe the plan was to get us out, and the hurricanes were the perfect excuse,” she said.
She said she reached out to Manatee County Commissioner Jason Bearden, the sole dissenting vote against the demolition, to question the less than 50% damage estimate.
“He told me he’d love to bring it back, but he doesn’t have the support of the other commissioners,” Gaffey said. “It was heartbreaking.”
“We gave Bruce a 30-day notice,” Siddique wrote in a March 13 text message to The Sun. “I notified his daughter; we’ve been in close contact. They’re mad understandably, but it’s a lot of misunderstanding.”
“When it’s demolished, I want to invite him (Siddique) and his family to watch my family’s building being torn down,” Shearer said.
Shearer said his offer to make repairs at his own expense was declined by the county.
“I offered to repair the building and the docks to keep going,” he said. “I don’t own the docks, but I was willing to fix them. With the lease payments I would have been making, that would have been about half a million dollars total. And they turned it down.”
Annie’s Bait and Tackle is part of the Seafood Shack property now owned by the county. – Leslie Lake | Sun
He said county workers moved his personal items and restaurant equipment out of Annie’s without his knowledge and the items were placed in storage waiting for his retrieval.
“I’m going to have to go get the things and I’ll probably be selling some of the items,” he said.
Shearer said he has been looking for a spot to open another Annie’s but has had no luck.
“There’s nothing around,” he said.
Annie’s Bait and Tackle sustained damage during Hurricanes Helene and Milton. – Leslie Lake | Sun
Shearer said locals are not happy about the demolition order and he half-jokingly said he may fill his truck up with ice to chill the beer for 500 Cortezians who could show up to watch Annie’s come down.
“Nobody has anything good to say about this,” Shearer said.
MANATEE COUNTY – Commissioners are floating the idea of charging for ramp access at the yet-to-be constructed Cortez Marina.
Manatee County purchased the Seafood Shack property in December for $13 million with the intent of creating a public boat access facility that will include boat ramps.
Plans for the marina were discussed at a Feb. 13 town hall meeting conducted by District 3 Commissioner Tal Siddique.
Capt. Scott Moore asked about possible fees for use of the boat ramps
“How do you not charge and apply a discount for residents and commercial fishermen?” Moore asked.
“That is the conversation we’re having around the marina property,” Siddique said. “One, we don’t have a plan, and two, I’m very careful when discussing fees. The marina property gives us an opportunity to have an Annie’s-like amenity (Annie’s Bait and Tackle, which is severely hurricane damaged). We’re not ready to propose it, but that’s where the thought is.”
Siddique said he asked staff to prepare a business model to ensure that any funds collected at boat ramps will stay at the boat ramps.
Moore noted that many other counties charge for boat ramp usage.
“Tampa, people pay to use the boat ramps,” Moore said. “We’ve been very fortunate here.”
Traffic and public input
“We had no notification, we had no idea the county was going to buy the Seafood Shack. There was no planning, there was no discussion,” said one Cortez resident, who did not give her name. “To get to Seafood Shack, that’s the access to our homes back there. There will be trucks going back and forth to pick up their boats. I’m here to ask if there is a plan and who is planning this? How do I find out what’s going on?”
“As far as a plan goes, it was bought with the intent to have boat ramps and a marina,” Siddique said. “My plan is this; add sufficient parking so we can relieve traffic on the new bridge, have a ferry service to Bridge Street, we already have the boats to do it, and the ferry to take you from downtown Bradenton to Anna Maria. We’ll take the two that we have and run them north-south just on the Island. For Seafood Shack, my challenge is this, to get cars off the road.”
Attendees asked Siddique what the specific plans for the parcel are.
“Is that normal to buy something for millions of dollars with no plan?” one attendee asked.
“We’re working on it,” Siddique said. “If Manatee County were to buy the property and not tell you what the plan is and not have any public input… I’m working now on having public workshops.”
He said he visualizes a trolley service to help alleviate traffic.
“My vision is we get a trolley just for Cortez that takes you from Seaflower (on 75th and Cortez Road), loops through Cortez and stops at the marina, people get off there and they can take the ferry. I want to make sure we’re giving people options.”
Siddique said a priority for the property now is to try to clear some 15 boats that are sunk at the former Seafood Shack marina.
He said he would like to expand the historic designation that the village has to the boat ramp area across Cortez Road.
“I want to be sure we preserve a significant part of that for charter boat captains and for fishermen,” he said.
Siddique said the final plans for the boat ramp will be a product of public input.
“There will be workshops in the near future,” Siddique told The Sun on Feb. 14. “I’d like to see those happen as soon as possible.”
HOLMES BEACH – The Manatee County Development Services department has received more than 11,000 building permit applications in recent months, many of them hurricane-related.
The ongoing delays in obtaining county-issued building permits were discussed during District 3 Manatee County Commissioner Tal Siddique’s town hall meeting held on Feb. 13 at the Island Branch Library in Holmes Beach. During his opening remarks, Siddique briefly addressed the county’s struggle to keep up with the current permitting demands.
“We are very behind. Permits have been a big topic for me,” he said. “We can’t hire enough people. I keep telling the board (of county commissioners) to find some solutions. We need to get people back in their homes, get their roofs fixed, get their houses fixed and get back on track.”
According to the FEMA website, “Every part of a building – from roofs, walls and siding to plumbing, septic systems and heating/air conditioning systems – may require a permit before you start to rebuild. A permit may also be needed for demolition.”
After Siddique’s opening remarks, Flamingo Cay resident Darren Horesh initiated a longer discussion about the county’s permitting challenges.
“Those of us who had our homes affected are being tortured by the insurance companies, by the mortgage companies and then by the county who won’t give us permits. They won’t let us fix our homes,” Horesh said.
More than 30 people attended the town hall meeting. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
The Flamingo Cay community is located along Manatee Avenue in unincorporated Manatee County, near Anna Maria Island. Unincorporated areas are those located outside the city limits of one of the six Manatee County municipalities. Hurricane repairs made to properties located in unincorporated areas are permitted and inspected by county staff. The properties in Cortez, Sunny Shores and along Cortez Road west of 75th Street West are all in unincorporated Manatee County.
“We’re all sitting pretending like we’re all fine and we’re building back and we’re not,” Horesh said.
He said the county only has two employees working on permit applications. He later clarified that he was referring specifically to permits needed for hurricane-related repairs, including flood damage – a claim the county later addressed.
“It just goes on day after day. Nothing’s happening. No permits are being issued, so what are we going to do?” Horesh said.
“It’s getting hot out. All these homes you’re not letting us fix are going to fill with mold in the next few months. Is the county go to pay to remediate that? The citizens of the county are suffering and nothing’s happened,” he said.
Siddique said he doesn’t get involved in the day-to-day operations of the building department but he has been contacted by a dozen county residents regarding their permitting delays. He said he asked the department directors to submit proposed budget amendments seeking funds for additional staffing. He noted Manatee County is currently competing with several other counties, from Sarasota to Naples, in its efforts to hire more staff. Siddique, who was elected in November, said the county lost 1,100 employees during the past four years.
Horesh asked why Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state aren’t providing more assistance.
“This is a national disaster. This is an emergency. We’re not some third-world country. We deserve to get back in our homes. We deserve to not be worried about having our homes red-tagged and us being penalized for fixing our own home. Do something and stop acting like everything’s fine. It’s not,” Horesh said.
After noting that hurricanes are not new to this area, Susanne Arbanas said, “Why weren’t we prepared for something like this? We were not ready. You don’t get ready after it happens, you get ready before it occurs. It wasn’t done appropriately beforehand and now we’re suffering. I’m a renter, but I lost everything I own. Why weren’t people in place to take care of a situation like this? Who was responsible? Who can we talk to about that?”
Siddique said the blame ultimately falls on himself and the other county commissioners.
“I’m putting real public pressure on staff to get after that problem,” Siddique said, noting he’s also reached out to State Sen. Jim Boyd and State Rep. Will Robinson Jr. for assistance.
County response
On Feb. 14, The Sun emailed Information Outreach Manager Bill Logan, County Administrator Charlie Bishop and County Commission Chair George Kruse seeking clarification on some of the statements and assertions made at the town hall meeting.
In his email response, Logan wrote, “We have approximately 11,000 properties that received substantial damage and this is directly contributing to the increased levels in permit applications we receive. In October and November, we saw a 50% increase in permit applications compared to pre-storms – approximately 6,200 compared to 4,000. In January, we saw another increase with over 6,500 applications.”
According to Logan, the county currently has approximately 12 permitting technicians, approximately four floodplain review specialists, 20 additional permitting employees contracted from the Florida Department of Emergency Management, approximately five plan review officers and the contractual services of two private companies assisting the county with plan reviews and floodplain reviews and approximately 29 building inspection officers.
According to state law, only one person per county or city can be designated as the building official. Logan said Matthew Rush is currently serving as the county’s interim building official.
When asked when and why former Manatee County Building Official Bill Palmer recently vacated that position, Logan referred The Sun to the county’s human resource department. Kruse confirmed Palmer’s recent departure, but he didn’t know Palmer’s departure date or the reason for his departure.
On Feb. 14, Bradenton Beach Commissioners approved hiring Palmer to serve as the city’s new city-employed building official and former county employee Sandy Tudor to serve as the city’s floodplain manager.
Palmer will replace former third-party-contracted building official Darin Cushing, who was suspended in late January and later terminated.
BRADENTON BEACH – Former city Building Official Darin Cushing alleges that he saw the city attorney and a well-known developer drive around the city together looking for hurricane-damaged structures and properties after Hurricanes Helene and Milton struck Anna Maria Island last year and pressured him to condemn them.
He also alleges the city attorney, mayor and police chief threatened his employment status on several occasions for not complying with permitting and inspection requests made by the developer.
Cushing made his public allegations during a town hall meeting that District 3 County Commissioner Tal Siddique held at the Island Branch Library on Feb. 13. During the meeting, Cushing handed Siddique a four-page letter that expands upon the allegations he made during the town hall meeting.
Siddique provided The Sun a copy of Cushing’s letter on Feb. 15. The next day, Cushing confirmed by email that his town hall comments and his letter pertained to Mayor John Chappie, City Attorney Ricinda Perry and Police Chief John Cosby. He did not name the developer.
“Based on this person’s track record of retaliation and lawsuits, I am hesitant to spell out a name. Regardless, no matter who the developer is, I was asked and even threatened with my job, to engage in unethical practice, which I refused to do,” he wrote The Sun in an email on Sunday.
Toward the end of his letter, Cushing wrote, “There is so much more I could tell you about the goings on, where there have been dealings with this developer and the city attorney and the mayor and many people can corroborate them. Including eyewitness accounts of the attorney and the developer driving through town following the storms, picking out houses and the developer asking me to condemn them; stating that he was told by the attorney that if we hurried up, the city was going to get the houses demolished and hauled away using FEMA dollars. I refused and only condemned properties that were either completely destroyed or in damage of collapse. Every time I refused to do his bidding, I was questioned by one of the three city staff about it, always with pressure being put upon me to just do it.”
Contrary to his statement about only condemning properties that were either destroyed or in danger of collapse, Cushing did issue a condemnation order to Tennessee resident and “Love Shack” cottage owner Dan Ibach on Oct. 31.
Unlike the neighboring cottage that was completely destroyed by Hurricane Helene, Ibach’s cottage suffered no structural damage and had already been boarded up and sealed off by the time Cushing issued the condemnation order.
According to Ibach, he then received a call from Perry, who said the city could likely assist with his demolition costs. Ibach told Perry his cottage was not condemnable and would not be demolished. He contacted his attorney and the condemnation order was soon lifted. Ibach’s beachfront property is located next to Shawn Kaleta’s Seabreeze at Anna Maria Inn property.
Gash Caudill also staved off the city’s condemnation of the duplex on Gulf Drive North he shares with his mother.
At the city’s request, Cushing was recently suspended, due in part to a hurricane restoration-related permitting dispute between the city and Drift-In bar owner Derek Williams; and due in part to Facebook comments Cushing made in defense of his administrative decision to issue Williams’ permits without city commission approval. Cushing was later terminated by the SAFEbuilt/M.T. Causley development services firm that has provided Bradenton Beach’s contracted building officials for nearly two decades.
Town hall comments
The town hall discussion about Bradenton Beach began with Williams commenting on the delays he’s encountered trying to repair, renovate and reopen the Drift-In.
Drift-In owner Derek Williams shared his concerns during the town hall meeting. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
“I have a permit. The building official (Cushing) that worked on my project is sitting in this room. I worked with him, the city planner, the code enforcement folks. I went through every step and all I’ve gotten is government overreach, private property issues. I tried to follow every letter of the law.
“It’s definitely a land grab. Somebody needs to step up and say that’s wrong. All the way along, this is a back-to-back disaster. This is third-world stuff and it needs to be addressed as the highest level. It’s absolutely a tragedy. It is a clown car show but it’s hurting real people,” Williams said.
Speaking next, Cushing said, “I’m the person who issued Derek’s permit. It was done properly. It was done correctly and it was done by the book.”
He then referenced the letter he later handed to Siddique and said he would hit the high points rather than read the entire letter aloud. He noted he’s been a licensed building official for 25 years and a certified floodplain manager for longer than that.
“I’ve been there since December of 2023. There has been constant, constant threats to me,” he said. “I know what I’m doing. We were getting things done, we were moving forward, we were doing things the right way. But every time that I didn’t do that for a particular developer – and you all know who I’m talking about – I was threatened. I was threatened by the mayor, the attorney and the police chief: ‘Do we just need to get another building official. Why won’t you do this for him?’ Things that were illegal,” Cushing said.
“I have a code of ethics I have to follow and I don’t want to lose that license. That’s my livelihood. I lost my job now and the company I worked for fired me too because I retaliated about the things that were being said about me – slanderous things they said about me and those things are not true. There’s dirty stuff going on in that city and somebody needs to look into it,” Cushing said.
“Our state statute says that I, the building official for that jurisdiction, will perform the duties under my responsibility without interference from any person. Not the mayor, not the city attorney, not anybody,” Cushing said.
County Commissioner Tal Siddique received a letter from Darin Cushing. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
Siddique said he’s been following The Sun’s reporting on the Drift-In permitting issues and other concerns being reported in Bradenton Beach.
“I have not been able to get in contact with anyone from Bradenton Beach. I have not had one phone call back from Bradenton Beach since November. I left a voicemail this morning. I have no idea what the hell’s going on,” Siddique said.
Cushing said he recently interviewed for a position with Manatee County but he fears the “slanderous things” said about him may impact his ability to get a job.
Cushing’s letter
Regarding the start of his tenure in Bradenton Beach, Cushing wrote, “A certain developer, whom I’d known from my time as building official of Longboat Key, began asking me to issue permits that had been placed on hold for various reasons by the previous building official (Steve Gilbert). I reviewed the permits and told the applicant what needed to be done in order for the permits to be released.
“Several times over the next few months, I would get questioned by the city attorney, the mayor and several times by the police chief about what was holding this developer’s permits up. Each time, I would explain what needed to be done, but at the same time felt pressured to just give him his permits.”
Marina
Cushing’s letter addresses the stop-work order he issued to the owner of the Bradenton Beach Marina, developer Shawn Kaleta, when a new bar opened there.
“It had been built and the opening announced with no permits for construction, nor did they have a liquor license. Within hours, the developer called me and said, ‘I talked to the city attorney and the mayor and they’re all good with it.’ ”
According to his letter, Cushing told the developer this was not the attorney or mayor’s decision to make and he would still need to obtain all the needed permits and inspections before the stop-work order was lifted.
Pines
Regarding the hurricane-damaged Pines Trailer Park (owned by Kaleta and investment partners), Cushing wrote, “Following the hurricanes, I was immediately asked for the damage assessment status of the Pines by the developer. He also asked me if I would go ahead and condemn the whole park. I responded that I could not do that and that a proper damage assessment needed to be done.”
His letter notes it was later determined that only a few mobile homes needed to be condemned and the rest could be rehabilitated.
“I was asked no less than 10 times, by either the developer, the attorney, the mayor or the police chief, if I was going to write to the Pines (mobile home) owners and tell them they were done.”
Regarding the Drift-In permitting issues, Cushing acknowledges he erred in not routing the tiki bar permit to the fire marshal for an initial review of the tiki structure and its roof materials.
Cushing’s letter says the city received approximately 10 change of contractor forms from “said developer” a few days before he was suspended. According to Cushing, he told the developer he would not issue the change of contractor permits until all needed documents were correctly completed.
“Two days later, in a senior staff meeting, I was essentially threatened by all of the senior staff – attorney, mayor and police chief – that I needed to release those permits to him; or again, ‘maybe we need to get a different building official,’ ” Cushing states in his letter.
Mayor John Chappie and City Attorney Ricinda Perry are alluded to in Darin Cushing’s four-page letter. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
Regarding the city attorney and a developer driving around town looking for properties to condemn, Cushing told The Sun on Sunday, “I personally witnessed them driving around together and other people (residents and city employees) visibly witnessed this happening on multiple occasions following the storms. Several owners told me verbally that this had happened to them.”
No response from city
On Feb. 14, The Sun asked Chappie if he wanted to comment on the town hall allegations Cushing made about being threatened by the mayor, city attorney and police chief. Chappie said he had no comment.
On Feb. 15, The Sun sent Cosby a text message containing a link to the town hall meeting video and seeking his comments on Cushing’s allegations. Cosby did not respond.
On Feb. 16, The Sun sent an email to Chappie, Perry and Cosby seeking their comments on these allegations. The email included a link to the archived town hall meeting video and a copy of Cushing’s letter. As of press time, The Sun had not received a response from the city.
The archived video of the town hall meeting can be viewed on YouTube by searching for “Tal Siddique Town Hall @ Island Branch Library.” The Bradenton Beach discussion begins at the 22-minute mark and continues to the 40-minute mark. The letter can be viewed in its entirety below.
(Sun reporter Leslie Lake contributed to this story)
CORTEZ – For the first time in the five months since a hurricane swamped the area, people were once again smiling and enjoying the camaraderie of their friends and neighbors at the 43rd Annual Cortez Commercial Fishing Festival.
“I’m so proud of Cortez right now,” Cortez Village Historical Society (CVHS) vice-president Paul Dryfoos said on Saturday afternoon. “After all that everybody has been through and to pull off a festival like this and make it successful is so great.”
Fried grouper sandwiches were on the menu at one of the food tents. – Leslie Lake | Sun
This year’s theme, “Swamped but Never Sunk,” was an appropriate nod to the resilience of Cortez.
On the same streets where, in September, Hurricane Helene’s storm surge flooded many homes throughout the village, thousands of visitors gathered on the first day of the weekend festival on Feb. 15 to enjoy live music, local seafood, crafts, educational displays and kids’ activities. The festival continued on Sunday.
Sycamore Shade performed on Saturday at the 43rd Annual Cortez Commercial Fishing Festival. – Leslie Lake | Sun
“There’s been a steady stream of people today,” Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage (FISH) Treasurer Jane von Hahmann said.
Unsure that there would be a 2025 festival due to the hurricane damage, in November the FISH board held a meeting asking for Cortez residents’ opinions about holding the annual festival. Many residents agreed that a festival would be uplifting.
100% of the proceeds from the volunteer-run festival will benefit FISH and its mission to preserve the village of Cortez and continue the conservation of the 98-acre FISH Preserve.
Stone crabs and oysters were on the menu at one food stand. – Leslie Lake | Sun
On Saturday, von Hahmann introduced Manatee County District 3 Commissioner Tal Siddique and Bradenton Mayor Gene Brown.
She thanked Brown for arranging to have the 2025 Bradenton Area River Regatta rescheduled to Feb. 22 to avoid its conflicting with the festival.
Dr. Angela Collins, extension scientist for the Florida Sea Grant program at the University of Florida, presented educational Dock Talks on Saturday. - Leslie Lake | Sun
MANATEE COUNTY – Republican candidate Tal Siddique won the District 3 Manatee County Commission seat, defeating Democratic candidate Diana Shoemaker.
Incumbent Republican candidate George Kruse won the countywide at-large District 7 county commission seat, defeating Democratic candidate Sari Lindroos-Valimak.
Anna Maria Island voters helped determine the winner of the District 3 race, with District 3 encompassing the entire Island as well as the northern portion of Longboat Key, the village of Cortez and portions of unincorporated Manatee County and Bradenton.
Tal Siddique will serve as the next District 3 county commissioner. – Submitted
In the District 3 race, Siddique received 23,609 votes (60.72%) and Shoemaker received 15,197 votes (39.09%), according to the unofficial results posted at the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections website. Siddique will fill the commission seat currently held by Kevin Van Ostenbridge.
Island voters helped determine the winner of the countywide At-Large District 7 race in which Kruse received 142,920 votes (66.82%) and Lindroos-Valimak received 70,968 votes (33.18%).
George Kruse will serve another four years as the at-large District 7 county commissioner. – Submitted
Island voters also helped determine the winner of the non-party-affiliated District 3 school board race won by Charlie Kennedy. Kennedy received 21,094 votes (57.51%) and his opponent, Jonathan Lynch, received 15,583 votes (42.49%).
Supervisor of elections
In August, Island voters helped determine the winner of the Supervisor of Elections Republican primary race in which former elections office chief of staff Scott Farrington defeated Gov. Ron DeSantis appointee James Satcher.
Running unopposed in the general election, Farrington received 173,936 votes (96.85%) votes and he will serve as Manatee County’s next duly-elected Supervisor of Elections, taking over from Satcher on Jan. 7.
Other county races
In the District 1 county commission race, Republican Carol Ann Felts defeated Democratic candidate Glenn Pearson and non-party-affiliated candidate Jennifer Hamey. Felts received 35,651 votes (64.27 %), Pearson received 14,631 votes (26.37%) and Hamey received 5,192 votes (9.36%). Felts will fill the county commission seat vacated by Satcher in April, when he was appointed to serve as the interim supervisor of elections.
In the District 5 county commission race, Republican candidate Bob McCann defeated non-party-affiliated candidate Joseph Di Bartolomeo. McCann received 41,229 votes (72.4 %) and Di Bartolomeo received 15,717 votes (27.6 %). McCann will assume the county commission seat currently held by Commissioner Ray Turner.
In the non-party-affiliated District 1 school board race won by Heather Fulton, Fulton received 28,573 votes (57.57%) and Mark Stanoch received 21,060 votes (42.43%).
Manatee County voters approved a county referendum to increase from 5% to 6% the county tourist development tax collected on hotel, motel, resort and short-term vacation rental stays. On that referendum question, 141,803 county voters (68.04%) supported the tourist tax increase and 66,603 county voters (31.96%) opposed it.
Manatee County voters overwhelmingly supported renewing the school district’s 1-mill property tax assessment that generates additional property tax revenues for the county school system, with 171,321 county voters (82.55%) supporting the tax increase and 36,224 county voters (17.45%) opposing it.
State and federal races
In Manatee County, 121,234 voters (54.55%) supported Amendment 3 (legalizing recreational marijuana) and 100,999 voters (45.45 %) opposed the amendment to the Florida Constitution. The state amendment failed because it garnered 55.8% of the vote statewide, failing to meet the state’s 60% threshold.
In Manatee County, 121,814 voters (54.9%) supported Amendment 4 (an amendment pertaining to preserving abortion rights) and 100,066 county voters (45.1%) opposed the amendment. The state amendment failed because it garnered 57% of the vote statewide.
In Manatee County, incumbent Republican District 71 State Rep. Will Robinson Jr. candidate received 43,881 votes (59.9%) and his Democratic challenger, Adriaan DeVilliers, received 29,375 votes (40.1%).
In Manatee County, incumbent Republican District 16 U.S. Congressman Vern Buchanan received 141,756 votes (64.18%) and Democratic candidate Jan Schneiderreceived 79,100 votes (35.82%).
In Manatee County, Republican incumbent U.S. Senate candidate Rick Scott received 136,300 votes (61.1%) and Democratic candidate Debbie Mucarsel-Powell received 83,392 votes (37.39%).
In the presidential race, 138,876 votes (61.45 %) were cast in support of Donald Trump and 84,555 votes (37.41%) were cast in support of Kamala Harris.
On Election Day, there were 281,798 registered voters in Manatee County, with 227,224 of those voters (80.63%) casting votes in the general election.
MANATEE COUNTY – Anna Maria Island voters helped determine the winners of three key Republican primary races that saw Tal Siddique, George Kruse and Scott Farrington emerge with victories on Aug. 20.
Island voters joined voters countywide in rejecting several candidates associated with political consultant Anthony Pedicini and the divisive, developer-beholden political ideology that has defined county politics since the 2020 elections. Pedicini clients April Culbreath, Kevin Van Ostenbridge, James Satcher, Ray Turner and Steve Metallo lost their primary races.
District 3
Siddique defeated Culbreath in the District 3 county commission race. Siddique received 6,070 votes (61.07%) and Culbreath received 3,870 votes (38.93%). Siddique now faces Democratic candidate Diana Shoemaker in the general election in November.
The District 3 commissioner directly represents a district that includes Anna Maria Island, Cortez, a portion of Longboat Key and portions of Bradenton. Of the 9,940 votes cast in the District 3 race, approximately 14% were cast by Anna Maria Island voters.
District 7
In the countywide at-large District 7 Republican primary, Kruse, the incumbent, received 24,225 votes (58.43%) and Van Ostenbridge received 17,232 (41.57%). Kruse now faces Democratic candidate Sari Lindroos- Valimaki in the general election.
In late May, Van Ostenbridge dropped his District 3 reelection bid and chose instead to challenge Kruse in the countywide District 7 race. Culbreath then dropped out of the District 7 race and entered the District 3 race instead.
Supervisor of elections
In the Supervisor of Elections race open to Republican voters countywide, Farrington received 24,327 votes (58.79%) and Satcher received 17,051 (41.21%). With no Democratic candidate in the general election, Farrington’s primary victory means he’ll return to his former workplace on Jan. 7.
Farrington spent 12 years working at the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections Office before resigning in April after Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Satcher, then the District 1 county commissioner, to serve the remaining months of the four-year term that long-time supervisor Mike Bennett vacated in March. Despite his primary loss, Satcher will remain in office until Jan. 7 and will still oversee the upcoming general election.
School board
Island voters helped determine the top two vote-getters in the non-party-affiliated District 3 school board race. Charlie Kennedy received 7,370 votes (47.53%). Jon Lynch, a Pedicini client, received 4,655 (30.02%) and Anna Maria resident Perri Ann Parkman received 3,481 votes (22.45%). Because no candidate received 50%-plus-one additional vote, Kennedy and Lynch will face off in the general election.
Non-island races
Several other primary races were decided without input from Island voters. Seeking to fill the District 1 commission seat Satcher vacated, Carol Ann Felts defeated Steve Metallo in that Republican primary and now faces Democratic candidate Glenn Pearson and non-party-affiliated candidate Jennifer Hamey in the general election.
In the District 5 county commission race, Robert “Bob” McCann defeated DeSantis appointee Ray Turner and now faces non-party-affiliated candidate Joseph Di Bartolomeo in the general election.
Heather Felton and Mark Stanoch were the top two vote getters in the District 1 school board race and will face each other in the general election.
Voter turnout
Voter turnout was 24.86%, with 68,211 of Manatee County’s 274,383 registered voters participating in the primary. Voter turnout was 40% in Anna Maria, 36% in Holmes Beach and 33% in Bradenton Beach, with 1,411 of Anna Maria Island’s 3,848 registered voters casting votes.
According to the elections office, 2,316 non-Republican county voters switched their party affiliation to Republican to participate in the Republican primary.
Post-election reaction
“I am thrilled with the results of the election,” Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth said. “Talk about a clean sweep! I feel the threat of a parking garage in our city has passed with the results of this election. I have great relations with all current candidates and they are all big supporters of home rule and assisting Holmes Beach as needed. I attended the watch party with Scott Farrington, George Kruse and Tal Saddique and it was a memorable and exciting night.”
Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer said, “The election turned out to be a great day for Manatee County and the Island cities. The winning candidates took the time to visit the city and look at the parking improvements we have completed. Those candidates spoke about their objection to the parking garage and the consolidation of the Island cities.”
Speaking on behalf of herself and her husband, Richard, Holmes Beach resident Margie Motzer said, “This was our best-case scenario; it was not only a clean sweep, but they were all very decisive wins. Those who care about good governance couldn’t have asked for a better outcome. It should not only send a message to the ‘developer darlings’ and their political consultant, but it was also a repudiation of the local developers backing them.
“In addition, it should send a clear message to the remaining commissioners that voters want good governance, fair representation, ethics, integrity, accountability and clean grassroots campaigns – not smear campaigns with a deluge of mailers and attack ads containing false or misleading information.
“We believe this election will go down in the history books. We believe the proposed parking garage will not have the same support it had under the commissioners who will be leaving office. However, we hope the whole experience will encourage a team effort between city and county officials to look at alternative solutions,” Motzer said.
Siddique reaction
“By running a grassroots campaign as a first-time, unknown candidate I knew I had a difficult path ahead of me,” Siddique said. “I believe this win can be attributed to having the right message, a strong work ethic and great local media that kept voters informed. Voters want someone who will represent them fairly instead of casting them aside for developers or special interest groups. I take the results as a signal that voters are tired of negative campaigning with fiery rhetoric. I was disgusted with the outright lies spread about my work history, the involvement of elected officials in supporting that campaign and the attacks on my wife. We have filed a number of cease-and-desist letters against SIMWINS (Pedicini) and other organizations and are not ruling out future legal action.
“I was in the room with George Kruse and Scott Farrington with dozens of our supporters on election night. As the results came in, I could feel hope and optimism fill the air throughout the night until we reached the crescendo when we realized that not only did Scott win, but that we would see a total shift on the board of county commissioners. I am grateful to all the local journalists, volunteers, political clubs, community organizations, grassroots Facebook groups and Manatee County voters for having the courage to act and fight for their community,” Siddique said.
Farrington reaction
“I am incredibly humbled by the trust that the voters have placed in me,” Farrington said. “I believe the outcome of the election shows the voters want to trust their elections office. I was very optimistic going into election day, but the margin was greater than I expected.”
Regarding the campaign tactics utilized by SIMWINS and Satcher’s campaign, Farrington said, “These tactics are designed to affect the less informed voter; and in my conversations, it seemed more voters had taken an interest and become involved. However, the ads and mailers were constant and deceptive and I didn’t discount that they would have an effect. I hope the outcome of this election will set a new tone for future campaigns. I believe these results prove that you do not need to bombard voters with constant negativity, and it shows that voters want engaged candidates that are willing to communicate and speak to them.”
Looking ahead to the general election to be conducted under Satcher’s supervision, minus four elections office employees that Satcher fired after the primary election, Farrington said, “I want the November election to go well. I am concerned about what I have read in the letters from the staff and I am concerned about the lack of knowledge that the office now has.”
Kruse reaction
“Tuesday, Aug. 20 was a pivotal day for Manatee County. The entire community, regardless of party or affiliation, came together to show the special interests that we are now, and forever will be, an informed voter base,” Kruse said. “The tactics of recent election cycles will no longer convince unsuspecting voters to vote against their best interests. The collective efforts of everyone in our county have turned the tide of our government and our future for the better. I am excited and optimistic about the next four years and beyond for Manatee County. Thank you everyone for your efforts, your resolve and your support this primary season.”
MANATEE COUNTY – Manatee County’s Republican voters opted for change during today’s primary election.
In doing so, the county’s registered Republican voters rejected the far right, hyper-partisan political atmosphere that has dominated Manatee County politics since 2020.
Five of the primary losers utilized Anthony Pedicini’s Tampa-based Strategic Image Management (SIMWINS) political consulting firm.
Five of Anthony Pedicini’s six Manatee County clients lost their Republican primary races. – Submitted
The unofficial election results posted at the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections website must still be certified by the independent three-member canvassing board. Subject to potential change, the vote totals listed in this story were as of 8 p.m. Tuesday evening, with some mail ballots still being counted. Voter turnout was 23.57%, with 64,683 of Manatee County’s 274,385 registered voters participating in the primary election.
Supervisor of Elections
Former Supervisor of Elections Office Chief of Staff Scott Farrington will serve a four-year term as Manatee County’s next elected supervisor of elections, having defeated incumbent gubernatorial appointee James Satcher.
Scott Farrington will serve as Manatee County’s elected Supervisor of Elections. – Submitted
In the closed primary race that was open to registered Republican voters only, Farrington received 23,376 votes (58.92%) and Satcher received 16,299 votes (41.08%). Because there is no Democratic challenger in this fall’s general election, Farrington wins the supervisor of elections race.
County Commission races
Tal Siddique defeated April Culbreath in the District 3 county commission race that pitted two first-time candidates against each other in a closed primary race open only to registered Republicans who reside in District 3 – a district that includes Anna Maria Island, Cortez, a portion of Longboat Key and a portion of Bradenton.
Tal Siddique won the District 3 Republican primary. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
Siddique received 5,783 votes (60.91%) and Culbreath received 3,712 votes (39.09%). Siddique will now face Democratic candidate Diana Shoemaker in the District 3 general election race that concludes on Tuesday, Nov. 5.
George Kruse will continue serving as the District 7 county commissioner. – Submitted
Incumbent District 7 at-large Commissioner George Kruse defeated current District 3 Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge in the District 7 Republican primary race. Kruse received 23,245 votes (58.48%) and Van Ostenbridge received 16,503 votes (41.52%). Kruse will now face Democratic candidate Sari Lindroos-Valimaki in the general election.
Seeking to fill the District 1 county commission seat that Satcher vacated in April – when Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Satcher to serve the remaining months of former Supervisor of Elections Mike Bennett’s four-year term – Carol Ann Felts defeated Steve Metallo in the District 1 Republican primary. Felts received 5,427 votes (54.07%) and Metallo received 4,610 votes (45.93%). Felts will now face Democratic candidate Glenn Pearson and non-party-affiliated candidate Jennifer Hamey in the District 1 general election.
In the County Commission District 5 race, Robert “Bob” McCann defeated gubernatorial appointee Ray Turner. McCann received 5,744 votes (54.31%) and Turner received 4,833 votes (45.69%). McCann will now face non-party-affiliated candidate Joseph Di Bartolomeo.
Property Appraiser, Clerk, Sheriff
In a countywide race open to all voters, Incumbent Manatee County Property Appraiser Charles Hackney defeated Republican challenger Darin George. Hackney received 48,830 (80.98%) votes and George received 11,469 votes (19.02%).
Running unopposed, Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller Angel Colonneso will serve another four-year term in that role. Running unopposed, Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells will serve another four-year term as sheriff.
School board races
Charlie Kennedy was the leading vote getter in the non-party-affiliated District 3 school board race. Kennedy received 6,970 votes (47.39%). Jon Lynch, a Pedicini client, received 4,426 votes (30.09%) and Anna Maria resident Perri Ann Parkman received 3,311 votes (22.51%). Because no candidate received a 50%-plus-one additional vote, Kennedy and Lynch will face off in the general election.
Heather Felton was the leading vote-getter in the District 1 school board race. Felton received 6,100 votes (38.96%), Mark Stanoch received 4,960 votes (31.68%) and Alex Garner received 4,596 votes (29.36%). Because none of these candidates secured a 50%-plus-one additional vote, the top two vote-getters, Felton and Stanoch, will face each other in the general election.
Island city races
The winners of the Anna Maria mayor’s race and the Holmes Beach city commission race will be determined in the general election this fall.
MANATEE COUNTY – Tal Siddique is running against April Culbreath in the District 3 Manatee County Commission Republican primary race that will determine who faces Democratic candidate Diana Shoemaker in the general election.
District 3 includes Anna Maria Island, Cortez and portions of Longboat Key and Bradenton.
Siddique moved to Bradenton three and a half years ago from the Virginia/Washington D.C. area. He seeks the commission seat currently held by Kevin Van Ostenbridge, who is now running for the at-large District 7 seat instead. Siddique recently stopped by The Sun office to discuss his campaign.
THE INTERVIEW
Why do you want to be the District 3 commissioner?
“I want to bring some fresh perspectives to the commission. I’ve been involved in many local issues. I got involved in county politics and saw there were a lot of decisions made by our District 3 commissioner that I disagreed with. I realized I wasn’t going to have an impact unless I ran for office,” Siddique said.
“I’m running on ethics, preserving our small-town feel and empowering people over special interests. I hope people are paying attention to how we conduct our campaigns. My opponent has conducted hers very negatively and she has very little to offer. There’s a lot of special interest money at play and they have no value. They only care about ensuring that they make a profit at everyone else’s expense.
“I bring the right skills, experience and temperament. I’m 30 years old but I’ve led a career for the Air Force building software and leading software teams. I’ve also managed complex budgets for a number of organizations and right now for the private sector I do the same thing, leading multiple software and product teams.”
Would you like to comment on April Culbreath’s disciplinary record with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office?
“She has a 30-year record of misconduct. A record like that is shameful. Committing those violations was unbecoming of a deputy and is unbecoming of someone seeking a position of power. I don’t think that kind of record reflects the values of our community.”
Do you support the county constructing a parking garage at Manatee Beach against the will of residents and city officials, but with the support of state legislators?
“I do not. I have not since day one and I’ve been at a number of parking garage protests. Parking at the public beach might fill up but you can find plenty of other parking spots the city of Holmes Beach provides, and they have a map and a website that shows where those spaces are. I don’t think parking is the main concern. The main concern is traffic. Building a parking garage is going to be very expensive, at $50 million minimum. I’d rather put that money toward other solutions.”
What are your thoughts on the Island-wide consolidation study requested by state legislators Jim Boyd, Will Robinson Jr. and others?
“I don’t believe the consolidation issue was approached appropriately. There has been a significant breakdown in the relationship between the city of Holmes Beach and the county and I think that’s primarily due to our current District 3 commissioner. I would like to normalize that relationship and the relationship with our state Legislature as well, and I think I can. I have good relationships with all three Island mayors and particularly with Mayor (Judy) Titsworth and Chief (Bill) Tokajer, who both endorsed me.
“The Island city millage rates are significantly lower than Manatee County, which is 6.23 mills. The county also has the least restrictive and most poorly written land development codes and the most poorly written comprehensive plan within our region.
“I do not believe consolidating the three cities into one city is going to provide any benefits. I also don’t believe consolidating the Island cities into Manatee County is the right solution. The Island people elected their city governments and they deserve to have them. As a conservative, I don’t believe in big government eating little government.
“Forcing Holmes Beach and Bradenton Beach to get rid of their police departments would put more strain on our Sheriff’s Office. It’s going to be very costly as well. As far as consolidating city services, that’s a decision the residents and city officials should make.”
What should the county commission and school district do to lower property taxes?
“We are a strong Republican county and all these county officials claim to be fiscally responsible conservatives but they gladly spend the taxpayers’ money. From fiscal year 2022 to fiscal year 2023, we saw a $44 million increase in county property tax revenues without raising the millage. As property values increase, the county collects more revenues but doesn’t lower the millage rate. I would like to see us lower the millage rate by at least half, or by as much as we can, and I hope the school board can lower their taxes too.”
Do you feel there’s any excessive or unnecessary spending taking place at the county level?
“Absolutely. With respect to the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), in my district, the 59th Street West expansion project is completely unwarranted and unnecessary. To spend $86 million to widen a road in that location is not a need, especially when there are other streets that need attention.
“Spending at least $50 million for the Holmes Beach parking garage is unnecessary. The county also plans to build new parking garages in downtown Bradenton, at the Premier Sports Complex in Lakewood Ranch and at the convention center in Palmetto. That’s hundreds of millions of dollars on parking garages. There’s a lack of focus with what’s happening with our Capital Improvement Plan. The county is also bonded $700 million in debt and it’s costing $40 million a year to pay that off.”
In 2023, Tal Siddique, center, participated in a Holmes Beach parking garage protest outside the county administration building. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
Manatee County doesn’t regulate short-term vacation rentals. Should the county regulate vacation rentals?
“The Island cities have reasonable vacation rental regulations and occupancy limits and Governor (Ron) DeSantis vetoed a bill that would have prevented them from implementing and enforcing local policies. No one likes vacation rentals in their neighborhood except for the investors and large corporations that own them. Commissioner (Kevin) Van Ostenbridge said he has no solution and doesn’t plan to pursue vacation rental regulations. I’d like to see the county adopt something sensible that protects property rights for residents. At least look at what the city of Bradenton has done, which is a phone line residents can use to register complaints.”
What are your thoughts on the Gulf Island Ferry service?
“Having a larger, faster boat that can handle more inclement weather conditions will help, and I support that. I think there’s a desire for a ferry stop in Holmes Beach. The challenge is where? I think the Kingfish Boat Ramp probably makes the most sense. You can walk to the beach from there. And we need to make the ferries more practical for the Island workforce.”
Do you consider yourself to be more moderate than some current commissioners and candidates?
“I consider myself conservative. There tends to be this arms race to prove who’s the loudest and craziest and you see that playing out on the county board, which is why they talk about issues they have no impact on. I’m pro-life, pro-Second Amendment and I support Donald Trump. Those are things I stand for and believe in, but I also recognize that if a county commission gets too caught up in trying to be on TV you won’t get anything done locally. I ran because our commissioners are distracted and they’re not getting things done. I think you’re seeing that with my opponent, who has no policy positions on her website and can’t articulate her positions without help from her special interest backers.”
If elected, do you think you can successfully govern with your fellow commissioners?
“I think so. Fundamentally, most of us believe in the same values but there’s far too much special interest and developer money that swings elections and affects commission decisions. There’s no way they’d approve certain projects if it weren’t for the special interests and developer money. I plan to take a different approach than some of our current commissioners, which is to attack one another on the dais. Personal attacks and being combative with each other shouldn’t happen in board meetings. The negativity in politics has gotten worse and people don’t care for it.”
To err is human, the old axiom goes, and we Republicans proved ourselves all too human in 2020 when we put Kevin Van Ostenbridge (KVO) on the Manatee County Board of Commissioners (commission). Now, in 2024, we have the opportunity to prove ourselves insane, as well, by doing it all over again.
Van Ostenbridge currently holds the commission’s District 3 (Dist-3) seat, meaning it was Dist-3 residents, me included, who voted him onto the commission in 2020. Dist-3 covers Cortez, the three Anna Maria Island cities, the Palma Sola area, and the northwest part of Bradenton.
When Van Ostenbridge filed his election papers early this year, they were for his Dist-3 seat.
Then, in late May, KVO announced he had terminated his Dist-3 campaign and was now running for the commission District 7 (Dist-7) seat. Dist-7 covers all of Manatee County. What happened was, KVO and April Culbreath, a friend and ally of his, had swapped election campaigns. So he is the Dist-7 candidate now, and she is running for his Dist-3 seat. Culbreath, you may have read, carries some interesting baggage herself.
The reason for the KVO-Culbreath switcheroo is Van Ostenbridge knows his chances of rewinning the Dist-3 seat are nil. He misrepresented himself to Dist-3 voters in 2020, and his conduct these past four years has so angered Dist-3 communities and residents that most Dist-3 voters – people of all political stripes – can hardly wait to throw the bum out.
Because commission Dist-7 has approximately five times more residents than Dist-3, Van Ostenbridge figures its commission seat is one he can win. The disdain he has earned for his Dist-3 blunders and plunders will be diluted considerably in Dist-7’s much larger voter base. Also, KVO will have the financial and other support of his posse (those he controls) and those who control him. Money is no object for many of them, and money yields votes (and, as we painfully know, pays for scurrilous campaign ads).
Van Ostenbridge also figures that, should he win the Aug. 20 commission Dist-7 Republican primary election, the November general election is his to lose. Unfortunately, I have to agree with him on this, and many others do as well.
In fact, I am hearing that a sizable number of you Democrats and No Party Affiliations have changed your voter registrations to Republican so you, too, can vote on Aug. 20 to end KVO’s reign.
Hopefully, more of you will do the same – enough more to ensure George Kruse, KVO’s Republican opponent and the current Dist-7 seat holder, wins the Dist-7 Republican primary election.
If you too wish to vote in the Aug. 20 Republican Dist-7 primary, the deadline for changing voter registrations to Republican is this July 22. You can change yours easily online, and then back again after Aug. 20 (as you know, in the November general election you can vote for any candidate on the general election ballot you like, regardless of your and his or her party affiliation).The Election Office web address is: https://www.votemanatee.com/. Its helpline number is: 941-741-3823.
Also, if you wish to vote by mail in the Aug. 20 Republican primary, the deadline for enrolling in the Election Office’s VBM directory is Aug. 8. This can be done online or by telephone (to remain active in the VBM directory, you must reenroll every two years).
Back in 2020, when Van Ostenbridge was running for his commission Dist-3 seat, his campaign rhetoric was similar to what it is now. In short, KVO said he was a principled, free-market conservative, detests government waste, wants Manatee County to run more businesslike, and will work with fellow commissioners to find common-sense solutions to residents’ problems. This sounded good, but what a crock of brown gumbo algae it turned out to be!
Upon joining the commission, Van Ostenbridge essentially declared himself the new sheriff in town and bullied his way into the powerful chairman position. Then, poof, Campaign KVO, the would-be principled conservative, became Commission Chair KVO, an unabashed, spend-happy, crony-capitalist. And the constituents whose problems he said he would work to solve? Well, they obviously are not us ordinary and regular tax-paying residents.
Thus, it comes as no surprise Van Ostenbridge’s developer/builder cronies and other real estate-industry benefactors have amassed for him a huge 2024 campaign fund. Per June 25 Election Office records, it is $234,300 so far, a staggering sum for county-level elections. It is four times more than what the other two Dist-7 candidates have received, combined.
Ergo, one cannot help wondering if some of Van Ostenbridge’s various misfeasances and malfeasances can be explained by the generosity of his big-money campaign benefactors.
Especially things KVO has done or promoted that otherwise make no sense at all, such as the notorious Manatee Beach parking garage.
The garage is the $40-$45-million, multi-level, pay-to-park parking garage that Van Ostenbridge is clamoring to erect on the sands of beautiful Manatee Beach in the island City of Holmes Beach on Anna Maria Island. KVO justifies this parking garage on the unsupported notion that this beach is underused due to a shortage of convenient, publicly-available parking spaces that prevents off-island County residents and visitors from using and enjoying the beach on weekend and other high-use beach days.
Van Ostenbridge knows this unsupported notion is false. Knowledgeable officials and KVO’s own eyes tell him the predominant impediment to off-islanders using Manatee Beach on high-use beach days is the terrible, bumper-to-bumper, snail-pace-or-worse traffic they face just getting over to Anna Maria Island. Moreover, this geographically small neighborhood beach is not underused. On high-use beach days, with “just” the 425 onsite parking spaces it currently has, the beach typically is packed shoulder-to-shoulder and umbrella-to-umbrella with beachgoers.
It is no wonder commission Dist-3 residents and others are so angry about the garage.
It will make a terrible traffic situation substantially worse, congestion-wise and public-safety-wise; it will sully the natural pristine beauty of this Gulf Coast beach; it will put the beach’s iconic, uberpopular beachfront establishments out of business; it will eliminate all 425 existing fee-free onsite parking spaces; and, during its projected two-year-plus construction phase, there will be no onsite parking opportunities at all.
Although the animosity created by the garage is reason enough for Van Ostenbridge to cancel his Dist-3 campaign and pursue George Kruse’s Dist-7 seat, KVO is also vindictive. Kruse has angered KVO by raising important questions that beg for answers before the county proceeds any further with the garage. Shame on Kruse to want the county to run itself businesslike.
In closing, I will leave you with another old axiom: Every vote counts. And in an election as close as the Aug. 20 commission Dist-7 Republican primary threatens to be, every vote is important. Van Ostenbridge has had his way with our county long enough, so let us work together to stop the hurt now.
And let us commission Dist-3 residents combine forces to see that Van Ostenbridge’s ally and proxy, April Culbreath, loses her Aug. 20 commission Dist-3 Republican primary election to her opponent, Tal Siddique.
MANATEE COUNTY – The District 3 Manatee County Commission race reshaped by incumbent Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge’s switch to the District 7 at-large race sets up a Republican primary race between Tal Siddique and former District 7 candidate April Culbreath.
The winner of the Republican primary that concludes on Aug. 20 will face Democratic candidate Diana Shoemaker in the general election that follows.
District 3 represents all three Anna Maria Island cities, Cortez and portions of Longboat Key, west Bradenton, Bradenton and Rubonia.
Siddique
On June 3, Siddique provided The Sun with the following statement regarding Culbreath’s decision to exit the District 7 at-large race and enter the District 3 race after Van Ostenbridge switched races.
“Since entering this race in September 2023, I am proud to have sustained a conservative, grassroots movement behind me,” Siddique stated. “I am running my campaign as I have since the beginning with a focus on improving the quality of life for District 3 residents. I encourage readers to read the facts about my opponent’s disturbing police record and her poor performance as chair of the Manatee GOP, where she sought to benefit herself over the party. I don’t have to play musical chairs to better my chances of winning like other unqualified and unfit candidates. I am the only serious District 3 candidate with the community support needed to restore trust with the county government.”
Whitmore endorsement
On June 4, Siddique issued a press release announcing the endorsement he received from former Manatee County Commissioner, former Holmes Beach Mayor and current city commission candidate Carol Whitmore. The press release included this statement from Whitmore: “I have had the pleasure of getting to know Tal through his deep commitment to understanding all facets of Manatee County and through his active participation in numerous civic organizations, including the Bradenton Kiwanis. Tal’s family has deep roots in Manatee County, and I have personally known them and their community involvement for decades. Tal and his wife, Kristen Truong, embody the energy and passion we need from our young leaders to build a better future for Manatee County. I believe he is exceptionally qualified to represent his constituents on the Board of County
Commissioners, and I hope you will join me in supporting his candidacy.”
The press release also noted that Siddique received previous endorsements from Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth and Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer.
Culbreath campaign
According to her campaign website, “April Allison Culbreath has served Manatee County as a sheriff’s deputy for 27 years. Over the course of her 30-year career in public service, including three years in emergency medical services, she has served in almost every possible law enforcement capacity. She counts her greatest accomplishments to be her services as a Crimes Against Children detective and her volunteer work as deputy advisor to troubled Manatee County youth.
Culbreath
“April entered the political realm in 2016, when she began volunteering locally for the Republican Party. She has served in multiple Manatee County Republican leadership positions. Now retired from law enforcement due to injuries sustained in the line of duty, she looks forward to continued service as a Manatee County Commissioner.”
Her campaign website also notes, “Together with her husband, Duane, she is raising three teenagers. April and her family are committed to their Christian faith and to the Manatee County community.”
Culbreath is currently named as the defendant in a civil lawsuit filed on May 20 regarding her actions as the chairperson of the Manatee County Republican Executive Committee. Incumbent committee member Michael Keegan filed the lawsuit seeking an emergency injunction to prevent Culbreath from removing an incumbent committee member without due process, denying a member’s access to a committee meeting, denying a committee member’s voting rights and eliminating the committee’s dual signature requirement for financial disbursements.
A lawsuit-related declaration filed by Keegan states the executive committee treasurer and secretary both resigned in December because of their civil and criminal liability exposure created by “Culbreath’s ongoing financial malfeasance and abuse of executive committee funds.”
Police record
The Sun emailed Culbreath’s campaign email account on June 6 seeking her comments on the District 3 race and some of the incidents cited below. As of press time, she had not responded.
Culbreath’s 12-page Manatee County Sheriff’s Office Professional Standards Employee Resumé lists several internal affairs investigations regarding her actions.
In 1999, Culbreath received verbal counseling as a disciplinary action pertaining to her responding to a call without being dispatched or notifying dispatch, and also for gathering information not included on MCSO forms.
In 2000, she received a letter of reprimand for failing to preserve evidence.
In 2001, she received a letter of reprimand for driving an MCSO vehicle out of the county to her residence without permission.
In 2004, she received a letter of reprimand for failing to properly secure her weapon in her holster, which resulted in her handgun falling out and being discovered on the ground.
In 2005, she was suspended 86 hours without pay after she failed to respond and conduct an investigation, as ordered by a supervisor.
In 2005, she was suspended for 129 hours without pay for having sex while on duty.
In 2006, she received a 387-hour suspension for allegedly attending a wedding reception and being observed dancing in a suggestive manner while in uniform.
In 2009, she received a 17-hour suspension without pay for disrespecting her supervisor by using profane and obscene language because she was called in to respond to an assignment.
In 2009, she received an 8.6-hour suspension without pay after she failed to respond to a missing child call as directed by her supervisor.
In 2011, she received a 258-hour suspension without pay for an off-duty incident in which she allegedly became involved in an altercation when obtaining her own medical records and allegedly punching an employee in the face.
In 2015, she received a verbal reprimand for the misuse of the Driver And Vehicle Information Database (D.A.V.I.D.) utilized by the sheriff’s office.
According to The Bradenton Herald, in 2010, Culbreath (then known as Dugan) was involved in a disciplinary case. Capt. Kristin Kennedy told investigators she kissed Det. Dugan the previous year and then had two subsequent intimate encounters with her.
MANATEE COUNTY – Incumbent District 3 Manatee County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge announced he’s no longer seeking reelection in his current district.
He will instead seek election to the District 7 at-large seat currently held by George Kruse, who seeks re-election to another four-year term in that seat. The two sitting county commissioners will square off in the District 7 at-large Republican primary that concludes on Tuesday, Aug. 20.
On May 31, Van Ostenbridge filed his campaign redesignation letter with the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections Office, as did former District 7 Republican candidate April Culbreath, who is now running against Tal Siddique in the District 3 Republican primary.
The winner of the District 7 Republican primary will then face the winner of the Democratic primary between Aliyah Hurt and Sari Lindroos-Valimaki in the general election. The winner of the District 3 Republican primary will face Democratic candidate Diana Shoemaker in the general election.
On May 31, Van Ostenbridge distributed the following text announcement regarding his political lane change: “For me, it boiled down to this: Manatee County Republicans deserve a truly conservative representative who believes in the free market; who will never apologize to liberals; and who will protect and defend every God-given constitutional right. I can continue to represent west Bradenton and at the same time restore the promise of conservative representation to the county as a whole. George Kruse is a liberal. I am a staunch Trump conservative. George Kruse thinks the government knows best. I know the people know best.”
Van Ostenbridge shared his pro-Trump campaign statement the day after a 12-person New York jury found the former president guilty of all 34 felony charges alleged against him.
George Kruse seeks reelection to another four-year term as the District 7 at-large county commissioner. – VoteKruse.com | Submitted
On June 1, Kruse provided The Sun with the following written response to Van Ostenbridge’s statement: “Both the decision to run away from the District 3 race and the context of his announcement are not a surprise to anyone. After a lifetime of living in his district and four years of ‘representing’ his district, the residents out west made it clear through their polling that Kevin only represents himself and a very small handful of people in Manatee County and his district wants him out. I’m happy for those residents and I’m hopeful they’ll once again have a commissioner who actually cares about their voice and their future.
“His announcement of this change is a reflection of how they’ll campaign throughout 2024. When you know you can’t run on your record, you deflect and distract in hopes of finding enough uninformed voters to manipulate into voting against their best interests. Kevin’s consultant (Anthony Pedicini) will deflect everything wrong with him onto me while they continue pushing their revisionist history of the facts. Kevin has consistently fought to stifle the voices of the people he claims ‘know best.’ Through his actions on Anna Maria Island and throughout the county, he has proven to be the foremost advocate of authoritarian, big government, tax-and-spend policies Manatee County has had on our board in a very long time,” Kruse stated.
“I’m hopeful that our community has finally been pushed too far by Kevin and his syndicate. The public is waking up and an informed electorate is not their voter base,” Kruse stated.
DISTRICT DIFFERENCES
Van Ostenbridge has invited opposition on Anna Maria Island due to his ongoing efforts to build a three-story parking garage at the county-owned Manatee Beach in Holmes Beach. Since being elected to the District 3 seat in 2020, Van Ostenbridge has frequently feuded with Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth and Police Chief Bill Tokajer about beach parking and other parking allowances.
These anti-Van Ostenbridge campaign signs can be seen throughout Manatee County. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
District 3 includes all of Anna Maria Island, all of Cortez, the northern half of Longboat Key, west Bradenton and portions of Bradenton. It was long-rumored that Van Ostenbridge would switch to the District 7 at-large race if early polling numbers indicated he might not win the District 3 race, which features fewer total voters and a higher percentage of Island voters. Island voters make up a significantly smaller percentage of the total votes cast in the countywide District 7 at-large race.
When winning the election for the first time in 2020, the then-relatively unknown Van Ostenbridge received 23,213 (58%) of the 39,766 votes cast in the general election in which he faced non-party-affiliated opponent Matt Bower. Van Ostenbridge was the only Republican primary candidate in that race.
When winning the election for the first time in the 2020 District 7 at-large Republican primary, Kruse received 21,184 (57%) of the votes cast in the primary race that also included former county administrator Ed Hunzeker. When later running unopposed in the general election, Kruse received 159,894 (93%) of the 171,437 votes cast, with unnamed write-in candidates receiving 11,543 votes.
CAMPAIGN FUNDRAISING
According to the latest campaign fundraising reports, Van Ostenbridge has raised $214,253 so far. Kruse raised $37,088, Valimaki raised $500 and Hurt has raised nothing. In the District 3 race, Siddique has raised $26,933, Culbreath has raised $19,993 and Shoemaker has raised $25,767.
Monday, July 22 is the deadline to register to vote in the August primary. July 22 is also the deadline to change one’s party affiliation to vote in the Republican primaries that will help determine who ultimately wins the county commission seats up for grabs in this year’s general election.
BRADENTON – The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) recently hosted a workshop seeking community input on the development of a Cortez Road corridor vision and action plan.
The Oct. 18 workshop at American Legion Post #24 in west Bradenton drew about 50 community members, FDOT personnel and staffers from the Renaissance Planning consulting firm conducting the workshop.
The Cortez Road corridor extends from 121st Street Court West in Cortez to U.S. 301 in Bradenton/West Samoset. The corridor project is a partnership between FDOT, Manatee County and the Sarasota-Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization, with Renaissance Planning gathering input from the public and other stakeholders.
The primary goal is to identify ways to make the Cortez Road corridor safer for pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and others. The study and resulting action plan also will address the connection between the roadway and the development occurring along the corridor. In the coming years, more than 8,500 new homes and residential units are expected to be constructed near Cortez and Anna Maria Island.
This property along Cortez Road is being cleared for the Lake Flores development. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
Large-scale land clearing is progressing along Cortez Road between El Conquistador Parkway and 86th Street West. This work is for the 1,300-acre Lake Flores development, which is expected to include 6,500 homes, 2 million square feet of retail space, 1 million square feet of office space, 500 hotel rooms, and a 19-acre man-made lake. The Lake Flores development is expected to continue along the east side of 75th Street West, 53rd Avenue West and El Conquistador Parkway.
According to the Manatee County Property Appraiser’s Office, ownership of the Lake Flores property currently being cleared was transferred from Whiting Preston’s LF Manatee LLC to the Chicago-based Cortez75W Investors LLC in March 2022. It appears that LF Manatee LLC still owns the large area of undeveloped farmland between 53rd Avenue West and El Conquistador Parkway.
Several multi-family dwellings have already been constructed in the Aqua development along El Conquistador Parkway. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
Construction is already occurring along El Conquistador Parkway at developer Carlos Beruff’s partially completed Aqua development. Abutting Sarasota Bay, the Aqua development was approved for more than 2,800 residential units, including single-family homes, multi-family dwellings and a limited number of high-rise buildings.
Preston’s pending Peninsula Bay development near the Sunny Shores neighborhood in Cortez is approved for approximately 2,000 residential units, a boat ramp and marina basin, and commercial, retail and office space.
The Peninsula Bay development is planned near the Sunny Shores neighborhood in Cortez. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
According to the property appraiser’s office, Preston’s Pen Bay 1 LLC owns the two large agricultural properties slated for development as Peninsula Bay. The county sewer line to provide future service to the Peninsula Bay community is currently being installed along Cortez Road.
The Hunters Point development is being constructed near the Cortez Bridge. – Joe Hendricks
Near the foot of the Cortez Bridge, construction is well underway on developer Marshall Gobuty’s Hunters Point development, which will include 86 solar-powered homes.
These current and future developments were mentioned during the workshop.
Workshop discussions
Sitting in small groups, attendees participated in board game-like planning and visioning activities. In the first exercise, attendees were asked to place transparent overlays atop a long, scroll-like corridor map. The overlays represented neighborhoods, town centers and employment hubs.
The Lake Flores development was a topic of workshop discussion. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
Cortez resident and former county commissioner Jane von Hahmann’s workgroup noted the Lake Flores development is expected to be developed in a town center-like style that includes stores, restaurants, coffee shops and other establishments and amenities accessible by interior roads.
In the comments section provided for that exercise, von Hahmann summarized her group’s desires and wrote: “Looking for livability, walkability and sense of neighborhood. Have shops, restaurants and services within walking, biking and golf cart distances. Safety for pedestrians and bikes. Provide natural spaces and areas to gather as a community.”
At another table, San Remo Shores Association Past President Lynda Einspar said, “How are you going to build anything if there’s no space?”
During another exercise, participants created their ideal streetscapes, factoring in right-of-way elements that included sidewalks, bike lanes, bus stops, building setbacks and landscaping.
During the final exercise, participants placed colored dots on photographs of various corridor elements they deemed most important.
District 3 Manatee County Commission candidate Tal Siddique’s workgroup listed limited growth, increased safety, nature conservancy and landscaping as corridor priorities.
“I live through this traffic,” Siddique said. “I go to the Island almost every day. I’m seeing Lake Flores and Peninsula Bay coming online and whatever’s done at the other end of Cortez Road with the DeSoto Mall is going to involve more density. A lot of people are upset about the growth that’s happening, and quite a few of them don’t know how many new homes are coming to Lake Flores alone.
“I heard some people discussing a monorail or light rail service from downtown Bradenton to the Island. That was kind of interesting. Nobody wants the extra traffic and the growth that’s happening but you can’t stop or slow growth unless you say ‘no’ to developers,” he said.
Consultant insights
Renaissance Planning consultant Frank Kalpakis said, “My hope is that we can capture the desires of the community and their vision for this corridor that’ll serve as a blueprint for how we design the road. It’s important that we have a transportation system that is aligned with the growth in the corridor. How can growth be organized on the corridor, and how can it be made safer and more walkable?”
Kalpakis doesn’t envision more travel lanes being added to Cortez Road anytime soon.
“We’re really not looking at that yet,” he said.
He mentioned multi-modal transportation options, including automobiles, bikes, pedestrians, low-speed vehicles, mass transit, water transit and more.
“I think there are several opportunities for multi-modal strategies and transportation strategies that provide choices for people to get up and down the corridor,” he said.
“The visioning process will go through January. After that, it’s probably a six-month phase for the action plan and developing strategies for the corridor. The action plan will lay out the implementation strategies and help create an implementation schedule. Based on funding, we’ll lay out the implementation sequence. It’s a collaboration between FDOT, the county and the city of Bradenton,” he said.
Parting thoughts
At the conclusion of the workshop, Einspar said, “I came because I want to support my community, but I didn’t have a lot of hope for this workshop because there’s just no way you can impact the number of cars going back and forth on Cortez Road. They can’t make the road wider. It’s not going to happen. Safety is the biggest thing. We have a blind gentleman who lives in our community and he has a terrible time crossing the street to catch the bus.”
Einspar also participated in the public input process that FDOT initiated several years ago on the replacement of the Cortez Bridge drawbridge. Despite public support for a new and higher drawbridge, FDOT decided to construct a fixed-span bridge that provides 65 feet of vertical clearance. Bridge construction is expected to begin in 2026.
When asked if she thinks the public input provided during the corridor workshop will factor into FDOT’s decision-making, Einspar said, “I think they’re going to do what they want to do.”
Approximately 50 people attended the Cortez Road corridor workshop. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
Regarding the workshop, von Hahmann said, “It was interesting, but I don’t know how you turn what’s already existing into a new vision. I’m a little gun-shy given how much input we gave for the bridge and then FDOT just did what they wanted anyway. I hope the remarks we wrote down resonate, but they’re just trying to put a whole lot more people into a very small space.”
Learn more about the corridor study and visioning plan at the project website.
