NEWS

from Anna Maria Island Sun June 1, 2022

by Anna Maria Island Sun

CROSSWORD

4THE SUN ISLAND NEWS

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IN BRIEF

Man caught in Bean Point rip tide survives

On Thursday afternoon, May 26, a 57-year-old Texas man was caught in the rip tide at Bean Point, according to Sgt. Brett Getman, of the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office Anna Maria Unit. Getman said the man was unconscious when first responders arrived and was transported to HCA Florida Blake Hospital in Bradenton. “He is alive and expected to make a recovery,” Getman said. Kerbi Adkins witnessed the event and shared the following post on Facebook: “An older Asian man got pulled down by the waves, collapsed and was unresponsive on the beach. I was one of the first ones on scene and stayed with the man while my husband was on the phone with 911, and until EMS showed up.” When commenting on Adkins’ Facebook post, Anna Maria resident Charlie Trygg noted the emergency response took place near his home on the 700 block of North Shore Drive.

Charter amendment questions on Thursday agenda

The Bradenton Beach City Commission will meet on Thursday, June 2 at 6 p.m. The commission will consider approval of a consent agenda that includes an $805 invoice from attorney Robert Watrous for services pertaining to a past Sunshine Law lawsuit and a $14,407 invoice for regular legal services provided by City Attorney Ricinda Perry. Perry will then present the commission with an ordinance that codifies and formalizes the charter amendment questions to be placed on the fall ballot. The public is invited to comment on items on and off the meeting agenda.

Clock tower boardwalk open, bell silent

The boardwalk beneath the clock tower at the foot of the Bradenton Beach Pier is open again, but the bell remains silent. The area directly beneath the tower had been closed for repairs to the clock tower’s bell system and was barricaded with caution tape due to concerns that the bell could fall. A technician made initial repairs on May 24 to the bell system, which typically rings on the hour. “The technician ran into an unforeseen problem with the bell striker,” Bradenton Beach Public Works Director Tom Woodard wrote city officials in an email. “It needs to be replaced. The clock controller has been upgraded and works great. The bell is secure but will not sound until we get the striker back.” The bell striker will be shipped from Cincinnati, and Woodard expects the striker replacement to be completed within a few weeks.

JASON SCHAFFER | SUN The clock tower boardwalk is no longer blocked.

Students, teachers all smiles as AME wraps school year

It was all smiles as students wrapped up the 2021-22 school year at Anna Maria Elementary School.

BY JASON SCHAFFER

SUN CORRESPONDENT | jschaffer@amisun.com

HOLMES BEACH – As parents waited in line to pick up their children on the last day at Anna Maria Elementary School, the graduating fifth-grade class made a lap around the school, getting a round of applause from fellow students, teachers and school staff.

The victory lap ended as every student gave Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer a high-five while parents and staff continued to clap in support of the children who will be moving on from the little school by the bay.

“It has been an amazing school year,” said Alyson Larson, parent of fourth-grader Alba Rose Larson. “We got to participate in field day last week. Having the parents involved and back out there with the kids was super special.”

“It was great to see the kids all back together and see their parents get involved. It was just fantastic,” said David Larson, Alyson’s husband.

The 2021-22 school year that ended May 25 saw a return to normalcy after the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic halted the parent-teacher involvement that AME students and parents are accustomed to. This year, in-person meetings with parents and teachers returned along with plays, field trips and other activities.

“The beginning of the school year was a little tricky; we had to be flexible,” AME Principal Mike Masiello said. “It was around March when things began to feel normal and the kids seemed to be really engaged. We were able to have all of our field trips, plays and fifth-grade graduation. It ended up being a great year.”

This was Principal Masiello’s first year at AME. At the beginning of the school year, he had no idea what COVID would bring when it came to the way his new school would operate. Fortunately, AME had one of Manatee County’s lowest COVID numbers throughout the year, with 27 student cases and two staff

JASON SCHAFFER | SUN Graduating fifth-grade students do a victory lap around the school that concluded with a high-five with Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer.

SEE AME, PAGE 12

ANNE YARBROUGH | SUN

Algae removal to start in Spring Lake

Holmes Beach commissioners are exploring ways to rid the city’s waterways of algae mats, including an eco-harvester.

BY KRISTIN SWAIN

SUN STAFF WRITER | kswain@amisun.com

HOLMES BEACH – City commissioners are experimenting with ideas to get rid of algae blooms and they’ve chosen Spring Lake as a test subject.

After an early May presentation from members of the city’s Clean Water Ad-Hoc Committee, commissioners delved into a discussion on potential algae removal solutions during a May 24 meeting. While they think some of the ideas the committee produced are good, they’re not sure of their feasibility.

City Engineer and Supervisor of Public Works Sage Kamiya told commissioners more about one of the committee’s suggestions, an eco-harvester. The small barge-type device would vacuum algae mats from the water’s surface. Kamiya said it would be in the city’s best interests financially to purchase one of the machines rather than to contract the work out, but there would still be additional costs to consider, such as staffing and disposal of the algae.

Mayor Judy Titsworth noted that using an eco-harvester to remove algae would require the algae to be pushed into a containment area, such as a canal, which could be in use for a couple of weeks or more depending on the size of the algae bloom. She also said that while the algae is being contained, it would require the use of booms, preventing boats from being used in that area.

Kamiya said that it would take about $100,000 or more to purchase one of the machines, compared to the cost to contract the work - about $30,00050,000 per canal per incident.

Before city leaders spend the money to buy the equipment, they’re opting to contract a small project and complete water testing to see if it works the way they hope it does.

Commissioners all agreed to use up to $30,000 in contingency funds, if necessary, to conduct a test at Spring Lake. While an aeration system has been removing some of the acidity from the lake’s waters over the past few years, it doesn’t do anything for the several inches of muck lining the bottom.

Commissioner Carol Soustek pointed out that city leaders have been talking about removing the accumulated debris at the bottom of the lake for years and suggested they use it as a test subject for the eco-harvester and water testing.

“We’ve got to see what’s going to work,” she said.