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Tag: West Manatee Fire Rescue

Holmes Beach surf shop fire award Mayor

West Coast Surf Shop employees honored for bravery

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

HOLMES BEACH – A fire at the West Coast Surf Shop on April 15 turned staff members Kaitlin Kee, Anna Rehorn and Benjamin Webb from store clerks into heroes when they not only got themselves out of the burning building but also evacuated an estimated 30 patrons.

During the May 22 city commission meeting, Holmes Beach city leaders, along with police Chief Bill Tokajer and members of the West Manatee Fire Rescue district recognized the three for their bravery and quick thinking during the emergency situation.

“Because of their efforts they saved lives,” Tokajer said.

Holmes Beach Surf Shop fire award West Manatee Fire Rescue
West Manatee Fire Rescue Chief Tom Sousa congratulates the staff of West Coast Surf Shop on their bravery in evacuating the store during a fire emergency. – Kristin Swain | Sun

Fire Marshall Jim Davis, reading from Kee’s statement to officials on the day of the fire, said the smoke, believed to be caused by a faulty transformer on a neon light in a window, was first reported to staff by a customer. Upon investigation, the staff of three called 911 and evacuated the building as flames began and smoke started filling the shop. The staff and patrons were not injured. The upstairs apartment was not inhabited at the time of the fire.

“If not for them, it would’ve definitely been a different story,” Davis said.

Once on the scene, it took firefighters about two minutes to fully extinguish the fire. Damage was sustained to the shop’s exterior, the store and the shop’s inventory, which had just been restocked. Damage was estimated at $250,000.

The West Coast Surf Shop is the oldest surf shop on Florida’s Gulf Coast. Owners Jim and Ronee Brady are currently in the process of making repairs to the shop with the hope of reopening in about six months.

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Fire commission opts for incremental increase

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Community News.

BRADENTON – Fire assessment rates are going up in West Manatee Fire Rescue’s District for the coming fiscal year. The 2 percent increase, which passed commissioners with a 3-2 vote, averages out to less than $5 per year for most residential homeowners in the district.

When commissioners entered the public hearing to set the district’s rate for the 2018-19 fiscal year, they had two options on the table. The first option proposed by Chief Tom Sousa and district administrative staff was a zero percent increase in rates with $1.5 million being pulled from reserves to fund capital projects. More than $1 million of that amount was saved by the district in reserves and earmarked for special projects, such as replacing aging air packs for firefighters and purchasing new gear.

Sousa said he anticipates the district’s operating expenses to increase 2.9 percent over the next two years and, with the district in a bargaining year with the firefighter’s union, the possibility is there for employee expenses also to rise.

The district’s SAFER grant, which is currently covering the cost of three firefighter positions, expires this fall, though Sousa said he will be reapplying for the grant. With costs to the district expected to rise, under the zero percent increase this coming fiscal year, Sousa said the next one, 2019-20, could see a 4 percent increase to district property owners.

The second option, the one commissioners voted to adopt, is an incremental increase of 2 percent in 2018-19 and a potential 2 percent increase in 2019-20.

“We’re not committing to next year yet; we’re just showing you what it could be,” Sousa said to commissioners.

“If we don’t need this money in the current budget year, I’m not in favor of collecting it,” Commissioner George Harris said. Harris and fellow Commissioner Al Robinson voted against the 2 percent increase.

“It seems to me that this is very risky to not have any increase this year and have an unknown increase next year,” Commissioner Randy Cooper said.

Commissioner David Bishop said he voted in the previous year against raising rates, believing the district would get the funds it needed from pending grant applications, and was disappointed when those funds never materialized. He worried that voting against any type of rate increase this year could put the district in a bad financial position the following year.

The 2 percent increase represents about $138,000 in additional funds to the district through the fire assessment.

Commissioner Larry Jennis said he feels if the district didn’t raise the rate and suffered unforeseen expenses it could place a serious financial burden on the district and taxpayers in the next year.

“We have expenses we know are rising,” he said.

Administration building

With the sale of the district’s administration building to The Oasis School still pending without a closing date set, commissioners discussed what to do with the almost $700,000 in funds estimated to come into the district. There was some discussion of earmarking the funds for a new administration building or using them to pay for the district’s rented office space, rather than dumping them into a general fund. The sale of the building is expected to close no later than July 5.

Commissioners will be hosting a facilities workshop prior to their June 19 meeting to discuss the possibilities of renting and purchasing a new administration space.

Lease talks are still ongoing with nearby Palma Sola Presbyterian Church, where district leaders plan to temporarily house administrative staff while decisions about a permanent home are made. Sousa said the lease for office space at the church property will become effective on the date of closing for the administration building sale.

Dissolving the district

With the sale of the administration building and Sousa’s contract with the district renewed for only three years, Harris suggested commissioners consider looking at any available options to merge WMFR with another local fire district.

“I think this is something we need to consider,” he said, adding that it’s difficult to replace a fire chief. With the chief potentially retiring in three years and the district’s administration building gone, he said it puts WMFR in an excellent merger position.

No other commissioners commented on the idea.

West Manatee Fire Rescue Administration Building

WMFR commissioners seek legislative change

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

BRADENTON – West Manatee Fire Rescue commissioners didn’t get quite what they bargained for when Attorney Jim Dye appeared before them to discuss the district’s practice of offering exemptions to assessments for some property owners.

While the district has historically offered assessment exemptions to all people and organizations allowed tax exemptions, Dye said an opinion from the Florida Attorney General to the North River Fire District on the matter says the fire districts don’t have the right to grant exemptions. Dye said his interpretation of the opinion given by the Attorney General is that the only exemptions to assessments allowed are those for government-owned properties used for government purposes that are not leased. Otherwise, the district could face legal action if some property owners are charged the fire assessment fee and others are not.

Historically, the district has given an exemption to everyone who would be exempted from ad valorem taxes – churches and parsonages, public schools, parks and recreation areas, colleges, hospitals, the disabled and disabled veterans of the armed services. Chief Tom Sousa said the exemptions affect about 200 properties in the district, amounting to around $76,000 in assessments. And now that commissioners know there’s a problem, the practice of granting exemptions can’t continue without legislative change at the local and state levels.

“The desire to do this is coming from a good place,” Dye said. “The risk is an audit if the district is found operating outside its scope of authority or ending in a lawsuit because someone gets a break they shouldn’t have and someone else feels they were unfairly assessed.”

He added that it’s unlikely but possible that continuing the practice without legislative change could open commissioners up to personal liability since it’s on the record they received a legal opinion on the matter. For someone who had the assessment exemption and lost it to take the district to court, Dye said, would place the property owner in a legally indefensible position because of the Attorney General’s opinion. He suggested sending a letter to all affected property owners explaining why the exemptions would no longer be granted.

“We just need to fix it,” Commissioner David Bishop said. “I don’t want to be doing something that I feel is wrong. We need to fix it through the Legislature, not just blindly send people a tax bill.”

“It’s a legislative fix,” Dye said. He reminded commissioners that it’s the state Legislature that created and governs special districts, including what powers their leaders have.

To make the exemptions legal, district commissioners need to do two things. The first is to change the district’s enabling act, which currently states assessments are set by board resolution but does not mention exemptions. A line would have to be added to allow for the exemptions even though exemptions are addressed in the assessment resolution. The second is to petition lawmakers in Tallahassee to change the legislation governing special districts to allow for exemptions. With deadlines looming for commissioners to set this year’s tax roll with the Manatee County Tax Assessor’s Office and set an assessment rate, some people who have never gotten a bill from the district for services may get one this year on their property tax statement.

“I think our hands are tied this first year,” Commissioner Randy Cooper said.

Bishop said that while he understands the necessity of the situation, it still doesn’t feel right to him.

“If we collected by ad valorem these people would be exempt,” he said. “We can’t put our heads in the sand. I think we have no choice now at this point than to assess these people.”

Commissioners rallied around Dye’s suggestion of writing a letter to each affected property owner explaining the situation and how the district is attempting to fix it.

“It needs to be a carefully worded letter to help them understand that we have no choice,” Commissioner George Harris said.

Commissioners voted unanimously for Dye to come back to them with suggested language to change the district’s enabling act and to present for discussion to state legislative delegates.

While the district cannot encourage affected property owners to lobby for change with the state legislature, Bishop and Harris both said they hope property owners will support the district in its move for legislative change.

“This needs action,” Harris said.

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Firefighters recognized for outstanding service

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

BRADENTON – Jeff Philips is the West Manatee Fire Rescue’s Firefighter of the Year, Richard Losek is Officer of the Year and William “Buddy” Bowen is the recipient of the Meritorious Service Award.

Fire Chief Tom Sousa handed out these special awards and other service awards on Tuesday, Jan. 16, at the fire district’s administrative offices in Bradenton.

“We recognize a firefighter and an officer of the year for the exceptional work they do. It’s not just what they’ve done in the last year, it’s generally cumulative. Year-in, year-out, these guys bring something to the organization,” Sousa said.

All three special award winners were selected by their peers.

Firefighter of the year

First Class Firefighter Philips has been with the district since 2004.

“Jeff’s not really a boat guy, but we moved him out to station 3 (in Holmes Beach) and said, ‘Now you’re going to be a boat guy.’ He tackled that challenge. He also works at the fire school at Manatee Technical College doing a lot of training. The guys felt he stepped up this year. He’s very deserving of the award,” Sousa said.

“I had no clue. This is a nice surprise,” Philips said afterwards.

Officer of the Year

“I have never in the fire service met someone as passionate about their agency and as loyal and as dedicated,” Sousa said of Losek.

“He works really hard to move this district forward every single day. He’s always looking out for the best interests of the people he supervises. He’s an excellent fire scene commander. We have a saying: “Everybody goes home,” and that’s what he lives by – to make sure everybody’s healthy and safe when they get done with their 24 hours of duty,” Sousa said.

Losek also was recognized for 30 years of service. He began in 1987 as a volunteer firefighter with the Anna Maria Fire Control District and was part of the 2000 merger that created the West Manatee Fire and Rescue District. He works out of the administrative office and visits all three fire stations when making his daily rounds. The district has two fire stations in west Bradenton and one in Holmes Beach.

“It’s an honor for your peers to pick you. You give your heart and soul to the job for 30 years. It really isn’t a job when you love coming to work every day. I’ve been blessed,” Losek said.

Meritorious service

Sousa said the Meritorious Service Award is not given annually, but only when there’s a reason to recognize someone’s exceptional work. Sousa said Bowen spends much of his own time working with the firefighters, serving as their union representative and as their advocate for health and safety issues.

“He’s really stepped up to the plate these last couple years. He gives the guys a voice when they have concerns,” Sousa said.

He credited Bowen for the good working relationship that exists between labor and management.

“He’s looking out for the best interests of the district. He’s not just looking out for ‘I’ and ‘us,’ ” Sousa said.

“I’m completely caught off guard. I’m very honored,” Bowen said.

Service awards

Administrative Assistants Julie Kichar and Chris O’Kelly, who was not present, were recognized for 20 years of service

Kichar started with the Anna Maria Fire Control District and was also part of the merger. She served 17 years as the district’s financial assistant.

“When I became fire chief, she was promoted to administrative assistant. My success is attributable primarily to Julie being here. She actually runs the place,” Sousa said.

Robert Haygood was promoted to First Class Firefighter. His wife, Jessica, unpinned his badge and his mom, Cheryl Haygood, pinned his new badge to his uniform.

Zac Benshoff and Derek Bill were recognized for five years of service.

Frank Agresta, Alex Flores and Andrew Powers were promoted to Third Class Firefighters and Branden Baserva, Danielle Burton, Matthew Frey, Richard Johnson, Clayton Lease, Sean Morrisey and Benjamin Stasurek were recognized for one year of service as reserve firefighters.

Financial assistant Ana Reyes was recognized for one full year of service.

Jeff Philips receives the Firefighter of the Year award from Chief Tom Sousa. - Joe Hendricks | Sun

Jeff Philips receives the Firefighter of the Year award from Chief Tom Sousa. - Joe Hendricks | Sun

Administrative Assistant Julie Kichar was recognized by Chief Tom Sousa for 20 years of service. Joe Hendricks | Sun

Administrative Assistant Julie Kichar was recognized by Chief Tom Sousa for 20 years of service. Joe Hendricks | Sun

Richard Losek receives the Officer of the Year award from Chief Tom Sousa. Joe Hendricks | Sun

Richard Losek receives the Officer of the Year award from Chief Tom Sousa. Joe Hendricks | Sun

Buddy Bowen receives the Meritorious Award from Chief Tom Sousa. Joe Hendricks | Sun

Buddy Bowen receives the Meritorious Award from Chief Tom Sousa. Joe Hendricks | Sun

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