Kaleta seeking investors
| SUN
Titsworth re-elected as mayor
Mayor Judy Titsworth won the election over rival Mike Roth by just 41 votes.
BY KRISTIN SWAIN
SUN STAFF WRITER | kswain@amisun.com
Short wins Anna Maria mayor’s race
Mark Short will be sworn in as mayor on Nov. 19.
BY JOE HENDRICKS SUN CORRESPONDENT | jhendricks@amisun.com
ANNA MARIA – Mark Short will serve as Anna Maria’s next mayor, succeeding five-term mayor Dan Murphy.
Short, the current city commission chairman and vice-mayor, defeated former city commissioner Brian Seymour in the general election that concluded on Nov. 5. Short received 387 votes (60.47%) and Seymour received 253 votes (39.53%), according to the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections website. Running unopposed, incumbent city commissioner Gary McMullen and former charter review committee chairman Chris Arendt also earned two-year terms on the Anna Maria City Commission. Short, McMullen and Arendt will be sworn in on Tuesday, Nov. 19.
This hurricane-damaged home at 110 Ninth St. N. in Bradenton Beach is mentioned in developer Shawn Kaleta's AMI Development Fund prospectus. See the story on Page 3. Bear
HOLMES BEACH –Election night was a tense one for many voters but it was especially a nail-biter in Anna Maria Island’s largest city as the night closed out with just a few votes separating the two candidates for mayor, incumbent Judy Titsworth and newcomer Mike Roth. When all the votes were counted by the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections Office, Titsworth took home the victory with 1,012
votes, 51.03% of the total number of votes cast. This was just enough to claim victory without triggering a mandatory recount per the city’s charter. If candidates are separated by 0.5% or less of the total number of votes, Holmes Beach voters would have to wait for a recount to take place before swearing in a winner. Though Roth received more votes in early and election day voting, Titsworth brought in the most votes by mail. Roth received 971 votes, 48.97% of the total number of votes cast in the mayoral race.
This will be Titsworth’s fourth term as mayor.
SEE HOLMES BEACH, PAGE 19
Scott Bear will be sworn in on Monday, Nov. 18 at 10 a.m. as the new Ward 2 city commissioner.
Bear, who ran unopposed, will take the seat currently held by Marilyn Maro. He will serve a two-year term.
Maro had been absent with excuse from commission and CRA meetings for more than a year for an undisclosed reason. She has telephoned into some of the meetings.
Bear’s swearing in will take place at Bradenton Beach City Hall in the Katie Pierola Commission Chambers, 107 Gulf Drive N.
JOE HENDRICKS
Mayor Judy Titsworth won another two years on the dais in Holmes Beach.
Kaleta solicits post-hurricane redevelopment investors
BY JOE HENDRICKS SUN CORRESPONDENT | jhendricks@amisun.com
ANNA MARIA ISLAND –
At a time when some Anna Maria Island property owners are trying to save their hurricane-damaged homes, developer Shawn Kaleta is seeking investors to help him redevelop Anna Maria Island with a focus on luxury accommodations.
On Nov. 8, The Sun obtained a copy of a prospectus-like document containing the title: “Anna Maria Island Development Fund.”
The seven-page PDF document that references Kaleta and his business endeavors includes the following quote: “Our vision is to revitalize and elevate Anna Maria Island, enhancing its appeal as a premier luxury destination. Similar Destinations: Naples, Florida.”
The document also states, “Outdated homes have been
impacted in the storms, leaving room for only new, safer luxury construction.”
AMI DEVELOPMENT FUND
The second page of the AMI Development Fund document bears the title “Developer Shawn Kaleta and Team” and states: “Leading the Island Development Fund is Shawn Kaleta, a seasoned 20+ year
Anna Maria Island real estate developer who owns over 1 Billion in real estate assets and is Anna Maria’s largest real estate holder. Over the past 20 years, Shawn has owned, developed and constructed over 1000 homes on the island and has played an integral role in building Anna Maria into the luxury vacation destination it is today. On top of his personal holdings and developments, Shawn and his companies own and operate many businesses on Anna Maria including 3 property management companies,
SUBMITTED
3 hotels, 2 restaurants, a real estate brokerage, and a marina as well as many other businesses in Key West, Siesta Key, Lido Key and Casey Key. “Due to Shawn’s insatiable appetite for the continued improvement and growth of Anna Maria Island, property values will continue to rise as they have under his influence for the past 20 years while
he continues to transform the island into one of the top vacation destinations in the country.”
The third page, titled Market Outlook and Future Vision, states in part: “Growth of Real Estate Prices on Anna Maria: The vast improvement of housing quality on the island will lead real estate values to appreciate rapidly.
Projected FED (federal) interest rate reductions will see an increase in property values of real estate at a 15-20% rate. Vacation Rental market provides high rental rates for end users to capitalize on.”
Page 4, titled “Investment Details,” notes that the goal is to raise $50 million in the next 3 to 3.5 years, with 10% of the funding to come from the general partner (Kaleta) and 90% to come from the limited partner investors with a 50-50 general partner/ limited partner profit split. Apparently, in exchange for his 10% investment, Kaleta would receive 50% of the profits and the other investors would share the remaining 50% of the profits.
Page 4 contains the following bullet points:
• “Investment and returns to be distributed upon sale of each home;
The cover of Shawn Kaleta’s prospectus shows the Anna Maria City Pier prior to the walkway being destroyed by Hurricane Milton.
ISLAND NEWS
IN BRIEF
Anna Maria ferry landing to be extended
The currently free Gulf Islands Ferry service continues between the Riverwalk Day Dock in downtown Bradenton and the Bradenton Beach Pier in Bradenton Beach, but service to Anna Maria remains on hold. When contacted on Nov. 8, Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau
Executive Director Elliott Falcione said the county now intends to attach a second barge to the back end of the first barge previously placed between the Lake La Vista jetty and the hurricane-damaged City Pier to serve as a temporary ferry landing. Falcione said the attachment of a second barge will extend the temporary ferry landing out into deeper water where the currents, tides and water depths are expected to be more favorable to ferry landings. Falcione said the second barge is expected to arrive within the next couple weeks and service to Anna Maria is expected to resume at some point around or shortly after the Thanksgiving holiday. For updated ferry schedules and ticket information visit www.bradentongulfislands.com/gulf-islands-ferry/.
Post office open
The Holmes Beach Post Office, 5354 Gulf Drive, is open Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon. Services include stamps, mailing packages and dropping off prepaid packages.
Bradenton Beach has job opening
The City of Bradenton Beach has posted a job opening for Deputy City Clerk to fill an upcoming vacancy. Applicants should have excellent organizational and personal skills and have a basic understanding of receipting and accounting procedures, be computer literate, have the ability to transcribe meeting minutes, have general knowledge of statutes and ordinances and deal effectively with staff and the public.
Qualifications include at least two years of higher education, at least four years of office experience, accurate typing skills of at least 40 words per minute, must work well under pressure and meet deadlines, have excellent judgment and attend educational classes and seminars to obtain certifications.
Work days are Monday through Friday. Hours will vary as dictated by the department head, meetings and disaster situations. Compensation will be discussed at the interview.
Resumes must be mailed to: City Clerk, City of Bradenton Beach, 107 Gulf Drive N., Bradenton Beach, FL 34217. Mark envelope “Deputy Clerk II Application.”
Scan this code with your smartphone to go there.
Cortez mobile home park residents learn what’s next
BY LESLIE LAKE SUN CORRESPONDENT | llake@amisun.com
CORTEZ - Residents of Cortez mobile home parks attended a meeting with Manatee County, FEMA and Florida Department of Emergency Management (FDEM) officials for answers about recovering from hurricanes Helene and Milton.
More than 100 Cortez mobile home owners, many of whose homes suffered substantial damage assessments from Manatee County following water intrusion from Hurricane Helene’s storm surge, attended the Nov. 6 informational meeting at the Bridge Church in Bradenton. They listened to officials outline FEMA guidelines, including the 50% rule, county ordinances and the county’s participation in and adherence to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), and timeframes for inspections and disaster assistance contacts.
“This past month has been difficult for everybody,” Manatee County Building Official and Floodplain Manager Bill Palmer said in opening remarks. “A lot of people lost their homes and a lot of houses were abandoned. Everybody wants to repair their homes and get back as quick as possible and get their lives back as normal as possible.”
50% RULE, VALUATION GUIDELINES
“Manatee County participates in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) so when you rebuild or do repairs to homes, we must have guidelines on how you can rebuild. There are regulations so we want to make sure you have all the knowledge to move forward and be able to rebuild or decide which direction you want to go in,” Palmer said.
Palmer said there has been some misinformation circulated about the process.
“I’ve seen things that say we’re going to go in and condemn all the mobile home parks,” he said. “That’s just not true. We’re not going to do that.”
Manatee County Floodplain
Manager Cheryl Bagby explained floodplain regulations.
“There are federal, state and local regulations that state if a home is damaged 50% of the value of the structure, or if it is improved 50% value of the structure, then the entire structure must be brought to current floodplain compliance,” she said. “This is commonly known as the FEMA 50% rule. What that means is if you sustain damage, and the cost to bring your home back meets or exceeds 50% of the value of the structure, then the entire structure has to come up to current flood compliance, which includes elevating the structure.”
Bagby said the county’s Disaster Assessment Team has gone out to the communities for an initial damage assessment.
“A lot of times they were unable to get inside. They took a look at the buildings and they did a data collection of how much observed damage there was to the building. They took that data and brought it back to us and we’re going to calculate that to see how substantially damaged that is,” she said.
Sunny Shores, Paradise Bay and Cortez trailer parks are all located on a floodplain and all subject to the 50% rule.
Bagby said the county receives the mobile home values from the Manatee County Property Appraiser.
“If you go on the property appraiser website, type in your address, it is currently labeled ‘FEMA market value,’ ” she said. “It’s not a value from FEMA, it’s a value that has been calculated for the structure. If you meet or exceed 50% of that, the entire structure has to come into compliance.”
Bagby said homeowners have the right to hire private appraisers to assess the pre-damage value of the home.
“We will take the higher of the two,” she said. “It should be reproduction value minus physical deterioration.”
RENOVATION AND PERMITS
Bagby said homeowners may remove damaged building materials, but an application is required to make repairs.
“Even if you’re in a mobile home, there’s still an application to build back,” she said. “Take out that drywall, take out those contaminated materials, that’s OK. But before you build back, you have to submit an application, so we know whether or not you need to elevate your home. Don’t go spending money, because you might have something that ultimately has to be elevated and cost you a lot more.”
JOE HENDRICKS | SUN A second barge will be attached to the rear of the first barge.
LESLIE LAKE | SUN
More than 100 Cortez mobile home owners whose homes were flooded during Hurricane Helene attended an informational meeting with Manatee County officials and representatives from FEMA and the FDEM to determine the next steps in rebuilding.
Kruse, Siddique claim county commission seats
Island voters weighed in on several local, county, state and federal races and issues.
BY JOE HENDRICKS SUN CORRESPONDENT | jhendricks@amisun.com
MANATEE COUNTY – Anna Maria Island voters helped elect two Manatee County Commission candidates and one school board candidate.
Island voters also helped adopt a 1% increase of the tourist development tax levied countywide on vacation rental, resort and hotel/motel lodgings.
Republican candidate Tal Siddique won the District 3 Manatee County Commission seat, defeating Democratic candidate Diana Shoemaker. According to the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections website, Siddique received 23,989 votes (60.39%) and Shoemaker received 15,657 votes (39.42%).
Siddique will fill the commission seat being vacated by one-term District 3 commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge. District 3 encompasses all of Anna Maria Island, the northern portion of Longboat Key, the village of
Cortez and portions of unincorporated Manatee County and Bradenton. Incumbent Republican at-large District 7 candidate George Kruse won the countywide District 7 county commission seat, defeating Democratic candidate Sari Lindroos-Valimak. Kruse received 144,683 votes (66.54%)
and Lindroos-Valimak received 72,758 votes (33.46%).
Charlie Kennedy won the nonparty-affiliated District 3 school board race. Kennedy received 21,580 votes (57.73%) and Jonathan Lynch, a client of political consultant Anthony Pedicini, received 15,799 votes (42.27%).
Island voters helped approve a county referendum to increase from 5% to 6% the tourist development tax collected countywide on resort, hotel/motel and short-term vacation rental lodgings. A significant portion of the tourist development tax revenues are generated by lodgings on Anna Maria Island. Countywide, 143,993 voters (68.07%) supported the 1% tourist tax increase and 67,558 voters (31.93%) opposed it. Island voters helped approve the renewal of the school district’s 1-mill property tax assessment that generates additional property tax revenues for the county school system. Countywide, 174,009 voters (82.59%) supported the millage renewal and 36,674 voters (17.41%) opposed it.
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
GEORGE KRUSE | SUBMITTED
From left, George Kruse, Tal Siddique and Scott Farrington celebrated their general election victories.
OPINION
EDITORIAL
Proof of life
There’s a poinciana tree on Anna Maria Island. You know the one – its orange, orchid-like flowers blaze, translucent in the sunlight, while its fern-like leaves flutter gracefully in the breeze.
It is so startlingly stunning that you slow down when driving past it, forgetting the traffic and your troubles and soaking in its beauty.
But the winds blew and the rains came and Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton stripped it bare of its flowers and leaves, leaving it stark and brown and hopeless, the floodwaters sweeping some of the ground out from under it.
For a few weeks, it didn’t look like anything was happening. Maybe it wouldn’t survive.
But something was happening invisibly. The tree was gathering its strength.
Now, a month after Milton nearly blew us to kingdom come, and six short, yet eternally long weeks since Helene pulled the world as we knew it out from under us, the tree’s tiny, new fern-like leaves are glistening and fluttering in the breeze under the sun that has been shining on Anna Maria Island, Florida and the Earth since time immemorial.
Forty days have passed since the flood and we, too, are resurrecting from this catastrophe.
It may not have looked like it at first, but after losing homes, possessions, and even loved ones, we were gathering our Island-strong strength. First, we found our family and friends, discovering who our truest friends are.
Then we found a Christmas sock and saved it, just in case.
Little by little, we are finding our ground, our sanity, ourselves again.
If it hasn’t happened already, it will happen soon – that day when we feel the sun on our face and the breeze in our hair and realize how wise Bob Marley was – everything is gonna be alright. Meanwhile, we know what we have to do, and what we don’t know, we are figuring out as we go. We will never give up.
The insurance companies and FEMA may be denying what happened to us, but we are resubmitting, appealing and persisting.
Our bodies are tired from fleeing storms, from lifting belongings, from cleaning and cleaning some more, but what did not kill us is making us stronger.
And one day, we find the matching Christmas sock, just in time.
Soon, the orange, orchid-like flowers of the poinciana tree will blaze again in the sun.
Today, its fern-like leaves flutter in the gentle breeze.
And while we now know in a very dark place inside that the breeze holds the potential for death and destruction, today is not the day. Today, it’s bright and beautiful.
email: news@amisun.com | ads@amisun.com |
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Commissioner grateful
I want to thank the citizens of Holmes Beach for your overwhelming support and vote on election night.
I will continue to serve my community honestly and transparently.
My door is always open, and you can always pick up the phone or email me.
I look forward to working with the current commissioners and
mayor over the next two years. Thanks again for your vote; it means more to me than you know.
Respectfully,
Owner/CEO
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ANNA MARIA
10005 GULF DRIVE
FOR INFORMATION, CALL 941-708-6130
Please visit www.cityofannamaria.com or contact city hall for more information.
Nov. 14, 2 p.m. – City Commission special meeting
Nov. 19, 2 p.m. – City Commission meeting
Nov. 28, all day – City offices closed, Thanksgiving
Nov. 29, all day – City offices closed, Thanksgiving
BRADENTON BEACH
107 GULF DRIVE N. FOR INFORMATION, CALL 941-778-1005
Please visit www.cityofbradentonbeach.com or contact city hall for more information.
Nov. 13, 9 a.m. – City Commission emergency special meeting
Nov. 20, 1 p.m. – Scenic WAVES meeting
Nov. 21, 9:30 a.m. – Community Redevelopment Agency meeting
Nov. 21, noon – City Commission meeting
Nov. 28, all day – City offices closed, Thanksgiving Nov. 29, all day – City offices closed, Thanksgiving
HOLMES BEACH
5801 MARINA DRIVE
FOR INFORMATION, CALL 941-7085800
Please visit www.holmesbeachfl.org or contact city hall for more information.
Nov. 19, 2 p.m. – City Commission organization meeting
Nov. 22, 11:30 a.m. – Police officer’s pension board meeting
Nov. 28, all day – City offices closed, Thanksgiving
Nov. 29, all day – City offices closed, Thanksgiving
ISLAND-WIDE
Nov. 14, 9:30 a.m. –
ManaSota League of Cities meeting, Town of Longboat Key, 501 Bay Isles Road, Longboat Key
Nov. 19, 6 p.m. – West Manatee Fire Rescue board meeting, administration building, 701 63rd St. W., Bradenton
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 13
Off Stage Ladies meeting, Modern Chop, 1830 59th St. W., Bradenton, 11:30 a.m.
Together We Shine, a boutique pop-up event, Salon Salon, 3612 East Bay Drive, 4-6 p.m.
Booze Cruise to benefit Annie’s Bait and Tackle, Island Hoppers Boat Tours, 752 Manatee Ave., Holmes Beach, 4-6 p.m., $55 per person plus gratuity. Reservations required by calling 863-797-4460
Free cookout, supplies for Cortez residents
A cookout and supply donation for Cortez residents will be held on Friday, Nov. 15 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the open lot behind Fisherman’s Hall, 4515 124th St. W. The free event is sponsored by PepsiCo volunteers and will feature hamburgers, hot dogs, chips and drinks. Additional free items will include water, non-perishable foods, toilet paper, paper towels, diapers, wipes, disposable utensils and clothing for men, women and children.
THURSDAY, NOV. 14
Booze Cruise to benefit Annie’s Bait and Tackle, Island Hoppers Boat Tours, 752 Manatee Ave., Holmes Beach, 4-6 p.m., $55 per person plus gratuity. Reservations required by calling 863-797-4460
SATURDAY, NOV. 16
Benefit for Jimmy Mac, Drift In Cortez, 2709 Cortez Road W., Bradenton, 5 p.m.
SUNDAY, NOV. 17
Fall Plants and More Sale, Palma Sola Botanical Park, 9800 17th Ave. N.W., Bradenton, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wreaths Across America fundraiser, American Legion Post 24, 2000 75th St. W., Bradenton, 11 a.m.
Privateers invade holiday parade
The Anna Maria Island Privateers set sail aboard the Skullywag during the Santa’s Grand Arrival Parade at the University Town Center in Sarasota on Saturday, Nov. 9.
Four charter amendments adopted
Anna Maria’s existing building height restrictions were further strengthened by adoption of a charter amendment.
BY JOE HENDRICKS SUN CORRESPONDENT | jhendricks@amisun.com
ANNA MARIA – Anna Maria voters overwhelmingly supported four proposed amendments to the city charter, including one that strengthens the city’s building height restrictions.
The charter amendments that appeared on the general election ballot were proposed earlier this year by the charter review committee and then supported by the city commission. The city charter can only be amended with the majority support of the city’s registered voters.
Charter amendment 1 appeared on the ballot as: “Shall the Anna Maria City Charter be amended to provide a definition for administrative officers of the city?” A total of 513 voters (82.88%) supported the amendment and 106 voters (17.12%) opposed it.
Charter amendment 2 appeared on the ballot as: “Shall the Anna Maria City Charter be amended to add a height limitation for all structures within the City limits to be no more than two residential/ habitable floors and 37 feet above the crown of the abutting road, and include a provision for obtaining a variance?” A total of 543 voters (84.06%) supported the amendment
Anna Maria voters supported four proposed charter amendments.
and 103 voters (15.94%) opposed it.
The city’s comprehensive plan already contained a similar height restriction but the comp plan can be amended with the simple majority support of the five-member city commission. Any future efforts to change or eliminate the building height restrictions now set forth in the city charter provision could only be done with the support of Anna Maria’s registered voters.
Charter amendment 3 appeared on the ballot as: “Shall the Anna Maria City Charter be amended to add language regarding removal of non-qualifying city commissioners
COMMISSION: Kruse,
claim county seats
FROM PAGE 5
176,517 votes (96.81%) votes, with 5,824 write-in votes (3.19%) also cast. Taking office on Jan. 7, Farrington will serve as Manatee County’s new duly-elected supervisor of elections.
OTHER COUNTY RACES
Republican candidate Carol Ann Felts won the District 1 county commission race. She received 35,960 votes (63.99%) and will fill the county commission seat vacated by Satcher in April when he was appointed to serve as the interim supervisor of elections. Republican candidate Bob McCann won the District 5 county commission race. He received 41,698 votes (72.21%) and he will fill the seat currently held by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ appointee Ray Turner.
JOE HENDRICKS | SUN
and prohibiting city commissioners from holding concurrent municipal or other public office or employment by the city of Anna Maria?” A total of 547 voters (86.14%) supported it and 88 voters (13.86%) opposed it.
Charter amendment 4 appeared on the ballot as: “Shall the Anna Maria City Charter be amended to change the way a special meeting of the city commission may be called, from a call of a single member of the city commission to a call of the majority of the city commission, the chair of the city commission or the city mayor?” A total of 459 voters (73.68%) supported it and 164 voters (26.32%) opposed it.
STATE, FEDERAL RACES
In Manatee County, incumbent Republican District 71 State Rep. Will Robinson Jr. received 44,539 votes (59.57%) as part of his successful reelection bid.
Republican District 16 U.S. Congressman Vern Buchanan received 143,458 votes (63.9%) as part of his successful reelection bid.
Republican incumbent U.S. Senate candidate Rick Scott received 137,902 votes as part of his statewide reelection bid.
In the presidential race, Manatee County voters cast 140,457 votes (61.14%) in support of Donald Trump and 86,624 votes (37.71%) were cast in support of Kamala Harris.
On Election Day, there were 281,798 registered voters in Manatee County and 231,061 of those voters (82%) voted in the general election.
Commissioners consider post-hurricane funding, restoration
The city is advised to budget for high hurricane recovery expenses for at least the next six years.
BY LESLIE LAKE SUN CORRESPONDENT | llake@amisun.com
BRADENTON BEACH –Bradenton Beach Commissioners discussed methods and costs of city storm damage restoration at a Nov. 7 meeting.
Commissioners considered two quotes from Duncan Seawall; one in the amount of $14,609 to repair damage to the police boat lift, and the second to remove debris from the pier riprap area at a cost of $19,553.
Both were approved unanimously by the commission, with funds to come from Hurricane Helene budget line items.
Standing in for Public Works Director and Police Chief John Cosby, City Attorney Ricinda Perry gave commissioners updates on debris and sand removal, a review of condemned properties and an assessment of storm-related road damages.
“We are on a rapid pace for recovery,” Perry said. “We have completed our second sweep and have completed approximately 50,000 cubic yards of debris. We have completed sand debris collection. The county is looking at shutting down the sand sifter (at Coquina Beach) on Sunday.”
As the city has completed its second pass of debris removal, any storm-related debris left out is the responsibility of the homeowner and Perry said code enforcement will issue violations.
“We’ve done ours as a city and we did it quickly,” Perry said.
Cosby and Perry will be going through all the properties that have been red-tagged by the city as slated for condemnation.
“Chief and I are going through all the red-tagged properties that Darin (Building Official Darin Cushing) and Steve (former Building Official Steve Gilbert) have worked really hard to look at. “We’ll look at things like has the property been undermined,” Perry said. “There are about 20 homes on that list and we’re going to look at every single home tomorrow and confirm and come to a final determination.”
A signed right of entry form by the property owner is required by city ordinance for removal of demolition debris from private property.
“I have been tasked to get a right of entry executed by anybody the city will coordinate with FEMA to have it demo’d and hauled off,” Perry said. “I’ve received five right of entry forms. Our number that we are capping ourselves at is 10 of those homes. The first 10 we will be able to provide that financial service to.”
She said an order from FEMA also allows the removal of slabs.
“While we’re doing that final assessment, Chief and I are going to go on every one of our local roads and assess the damage,” Perry said. “Also what has happened to any curbing and sidewalks and we’re going to document that.”
That assessment wasn’t possible previously due to the amount of sand covering the roads and sidewalks, much of which has now been removed. Some sand piles have been intentionally left behind for now because they contain heavy materials such as cinder blocks and slabs.
DOCK REPAIR
“I talked to you at the CRA (Community Redevelopment Association) meeting about getting repairs done to our floating dock and getting the ferry up and
running,” Perry said. “The ferry is up and running. We were the first island city to get the ferry back.”
“I’m grateful that the county followed through. I told you they were going to give us $375,000 toward it so here it is in writing,” she said. “We did have a quote for $455,000 with Duncan to get our pier fixed and the floating dock and you just approved tonight to fix the boat lift and remove the debris, so we do have some exposure on the repairs.”
All of the expenses will be turned into FEMA for reimbursement to the city.
“We think it will be reimbursed but tonight what I need you to do is approve the interlocal agreement with authorization for the mayor to execute that agreement,” she said.
Commissioners unanimously approved the interlocal agreement with Manatee County and the county TDC (Tourist Development Council) to approve execution of the dock repair project.
A sign will be placed on the city pier floating dock designating ferry docking only.
“It’s under our emergency policing powers, we have the right to protect an asset and the only safe slip that’s available and ready is the ferry slip,” Perry said.
Perry said there have been instances where other vessels have been docked in the slip.
“It has caused significant ripple effects whenever that ferry cannot get in here,” she said, noting a charter boat was docked in the slip. “We understand everyone wants to start working. Anyone can use the dinghy dock and the Coquina South boat ramp is open. Our ferry slip needs to be used for the ferry at this time.”
Commissioners unanimously approved the signage.
RFP FOR FUNDING SOURCES APPROVED
“It’s very expensive to clean up after a hurricane and take care of purchases that we need to make,” Perry said. “There’s a period of lag where we may not get the draw down from FEMA and we haven’t gotten one yet to pay for Ashbritt to remove debris, Debris Tech who’s doing the monitoring, the police vehicles we had to buy, the tires we had to get.”
She said City Treasurer Shayne Thompson had found some funding through a bank for $5 million.
“He was able to negotiate very good terms,” Perry said. “I believe it’s for $5 million. If there’s additional need, the bank will work with us to get there.”
Perry said she’s been working with a deputy county attorney in Martin County.
“She’s one of the foremost authorities on post-disaster recovery efforts and her advice to me was get another funding mechanism in place that’s creative,” Perry said. “She gave me her RFP (Request for Proposal). You let people come to you with creative funding options and then you evaluate them.”
“She told me just know this is not quick and you’re going to have a lot of things you don’t know about and you’re going to need a lot of money to get there, and I would suggest you be planning for the next six years for huge expenses,” Perry said.
She asked the commission for a motion authorizing her to procure an RFP for additional funding sources for the City of Bradenton Beach post-Helene and Milton.
That motion was passed unanimously by Mayor John Chappie and Commissioners Ralph Cole and Deborah Scaccianoce. Commissioners Jan Vosburgh and Marilyn Maro were absent with excuse.
Christmas coming to Bradenton Beach
The Christmas tree lighting and Christmas on Bridge Street return this month and next.
BY LESLIE LAKE SUN CORRESPONDENT | llake@amisun.com
BRADENTON BEACH – The kickoff to Christmas on Bridge Street is set for Saturday, Dec. 7 with the Table of Hope, a recognition of the resilience of the Bradenton Beach community following back-to-back hurricanes.
“What I envisioned was shutting down Bridge Street for a day and lining a table the length of the street with a runner that we would turn into a banner,” City Attorney Ricinda Perry said at a Nov. 7 city commission meeting. “You could just write what you want on it, whatever comes to mind, and then that banner will be hung across Bridge Street.”
The event was prompted by two things, she said.
“I’m so proud of Bradenton Beach and a banner across the street shows everybody we are strong and resilient,” Perry said. “Also, our community has been hurt and I want to remind people of what we have gone through. I think a banner like that reminds people to have some grace with those who have suffered and lost a lot.”
Perry said the Bridge Street merchants support the idea and city staff will be working with them to make it happen.
“AME (Anna Maria Elementary) just opened back up, and I’m going to see if those kids want to do some ornaments for our tree,” she said. “We’re going to get a video going for anyone who wants to come in and give a message of hope. Sherman
Baldwin has offered aerial footage he has taken of our city after the hurricanes. I have all the aerials of the SERT team. We’re going to do a documentary of sorts reflecting what the community has been and what we are becoming again.”
Perry said she is hoping one or two bands would be willing to volunteer their time to provide music for the event. There will be canned food and toy donations, along with a Christmas angel tree.
“I foresee around 4 o’clock people can make their way to the beach and watch the sunset and then come back and grab some dinner if they want,” she said.
She said the event will be at no cost to the city.
“This is how we’re going to kick off Christmas, shoulder to shoulder, and remind ourselves we’re here together,” Perry said.
She asked commissioners to authorize the closure of Bridge Street from 1-4 p.m., waive the open container requirement and waive the noise ordinance. The motion passed unanimously.
OTHER EVENTS
The city Christmas tree lighting is scheduled on Thursday, Nov. 21 at the post office on Bridge Street. A time has not yet been announced.
No decision has been made on the annual boat parade, which is typically part of the Christmas on Bridge Street celebration.
“I don’t know if we’ll do the boat parade,” Perry said. “I don’t know if the debris situation will support it, but we may look at adding that back in.”
LESLIE LAKE | SUN
The Christmas tree lighting is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 21 in Bradenton Beach.
Debris pickup complete in Bradenton Beach
The city is done with its portion of the sand removal but the state still has to remove its portion on Gulf Drive.
BY LESLIE LAKE SUN CORRESPONDENT | llake@amisun.com
BRADENTON BEACH – The city’s hurricane-related debris and vegetation pickup is complete, with any further post-storm debris removal being the responsibility of the homeowner; the city’s focus is now on sand removal.
“All debris is done, no more C&D, no more vegetation, no more white goods, everything has been picked up,” Police Chief and Public Works Director John Cosby told city commissioners at a Nov. 4 emergency commission meeting. “We did two passes, we do have a few down on the south end that we’re finishing up today and the only thing we have left is the sand removal and that is starting today.”
Cosby said the speed of the debris removal exceeded his expectations.
“Ashbritt (Debris Removal Company) did an awesome job for us,”
Cosby said. ”We thought it would be mid-January before we were done and they did it in five weeks.”
Cosby said FEMA provided guidance regarding debris removal on private and small commercial property.
“Basically, what they have said now is we can get right of entry to go into the trailer parks and clear the debris from the private roads,” he said. “We are allowed to pick up the debris for small commercial, such as the Moose Lodge and Bridge Street vendors. Under their guidance we still cannot remove any debris from Runaway Bay, that’s considered large commercial and they will not allow us to go in there and do debris removal.”
The city right of entry ordinance pertains to city workers entering private property for the removal of storm-related debris in an emergency situation. Under that ordinance, the city must have written consent from the property owner prior to entering the property. The owner must also sign an affidavit stating they do not have insurance that covers that debris removal.
“We’ve gotten the go-ahead to do right of entry for the structures that have collapsed or have been marked as unsafe,” Cosby said. ”We’ll need the property owner to give us the right to go on the property. Ricinda (City Attorney Ricinda Perry) is working on that, and trying to get as many as we can.”
Cosby said once the sand is removed from city streets, public works will begin street-sweeping.
“The crew is taking the loader and scraping some of the sand off, because there’s still quite a bit of sand on the road, and the street sweeper is going in behind them and will take a few passes,” he said. “Now that I know there’s going to be rain coming potentially Wednesday and Thursday we’re going to do one pass and get as much as we can before things get wet.”
Cosby said the city is in the process of getting contractor bids for stormwater drain clearing.
“There is no sense in doing that until we get all the sand, because the sand is going to wash right back in,” he said.
Anna Maria debris removal winding down
The city of Anna Maria has finished removing landscaping debris placed along several city streets. On Nov. 8, a message posted at the City of Anna Maria Facebook page referenced 24 specific city streets and said, “The following streets are now completed with respects to landscape debris cleanup. Any additional landscape debris should not be placed in the right of way and will be the responsibility of the property owner.” During the Nov. 6 emergency city commission meeting, Mayor Dan Murphy said the city’s landscaping debris removal efforts are supposed to end on
Wednesday, Nov. 13. City officials are also still addressing the removal of additional household debris placed streetside after the city’s Oct. 24 deadline. The post-deadline household debris piles are now the responsibility of the property owner but the city has conducted additional debris removal efforts in order to prevent the unwanted accumulation of streetside debris, some of which is not hurricane-related. At some point soon, the city’s code enforcement department is expected to become involved in the enforcement of the city’s debris removal deadlines.
“When the sand goes this week, then we’ll be in a position to start that.”
Cosby said Florida Department of Transportation will begin sand removal on Gulf Drive - a state road - in Bradenton Beach around mid-November.
“They started north and did their first push going south to the end of Longboat, now they’re turning around and headed back this way,” he said. They’re estimating the week of Thanksgiving they’ll be in the city and starting that.”
Cosby said storm debris remains on the rocks by the city pier.
“We don’t have the equipment to get that close,” he said. “I’m going to reach out to Duncan (Seawall) because they have the correct equipment to get close in shallow water and see if they can help us clear that stuff out of there.”
Mayor John Chappie said Cosby and the public works department have done an amazing job in poststorm cleanup.
AME students return home following hurricanes
After a 42-day absence from their home school due to hurricane damage and closures, students and staff returned to Anna Maria Elementary (AME) School on Nov. 4. Stewart Elementary School had hosted AME students since Sept. 30. Stewart and AME students and teachers shared classrooms in a team-teaching model to continue education for both schools. “Monday, Nov. 4 was officially the third "first day of school" for Anna Maria Elementary families for the 2024-25 school year,” according to an AME Facebook post - AME began the school year on Aug. 10, then resumed learning at Stewart following Hurricane Helene, and finally returned to their home school after Hurricane Milton.
KALETA: Solicits post-hurricane redevelopment investors
• Each home treated as its own individual deal;
• Sale of home for investment and leisure purposes;
• Investments will be redistributed at a first in first out basis;
• No management fee.”
Page 4 also states: “18-22% expected yearly IRR” regarding the internal rate of return on the investment.
TARGETS
Page 5 contains a cash flow analysis for two residential properties located on Anna Maria Island. The cashflow analysis of the first property is for an “Inland Lot - New Build” at 110 Ninth St. N. As of Nov. 4, the 110 9th St LLC was registered as a Florida Limited Liability Company with the Florida Division of Corporations. The LLC lists attorney Louis Najmy as its registered agent and Kaleta as its manager.
According to the Manatee County Property Appraiser’s Office, the only property with that address on Anna Maria Island is located in Bradenton Beach, not Anna Maria, as the prospectus claims. The FEMA market value of that home was $787,128 as of Jan. 1. The owner is listed as the Constance C. Novak Trust.
FEMA market value is the improvement value (the structure or structures on the property) plus 15%, according to Bradenton Beach Building Official Darin Cushing. The cost analysis lists a $900,000 land purchase price, an additional $10,000 in closing costs and $910,000 as the capital required. No MLS listing was available for the Ninth Street North property, which indicates it may be a private sale that has already closed or remains a sale in progress.
Regarding the construction costs, the cashflow analysis lists $50,000 for design and permitting, $1.325 million for hard costs and $325,000 for soft costs, totaling $1.7 million on construction costs.
The cashflow analysis includes an additional $170,000 in construction loan interest expenses, bringing the total estimated construction cost to $2.78 million, with an estimated sale value of $4.5 million. The cashflow analysis does not provide any additional details on the design and permitting costs or the hard costs and soft costs.
The cashflow analysis for the second property is for an “Inland Lot – Renovation” at 709 Fern St., Anna
Maria. As of Nov. 4, the 709 Fern LLC was registered with the Florida Division of Corporations. The LLC lists Najmy as its registered agent and Kaleta as its manager.
According to the Manatee County Property Appraiser’s office, that property contains a ground-level, single-story residential structure with a FEMA market value of $626,678 as of Jan. 1. The owner is listed as the Karen E. Sparks Declaration of Trust.
The cost analysis lists an $800,000 land purchase price, with an additional $10,000 in closing costs totaling $810,000 for the capital required. According to the Stellar MLS listing, the home and property at 709 Fern St. sold on Nov. 8 for $855,000, which is $55,000 more than the purchase price listed on AMI Development Trust document.
The MLS listing includes this note: "Storm damaged selling as is. Options available: remove structure and build new on a beautiful island location or maybe restore this charming beach cottage to its original state adding flood proofing technology."
The cashflow analysis for the 709 Fern St. property lists $5,000 for design and permitting, $50,000 for hard costs and $95,000 for soft costs, totaling $150,000 for projected construction costs. The analysis lists $960,000 as the total project cost, with an estimated sale
value of $1.5 million.
For the 110 Ninth St. property, the “Investor IRR Analysis” lists no anticipated capital return in year one and a $1.202 million capital return in year two. Regarding the 709 Fern St. property, the Investor IRR Analysis lists a $729,000 investment and a $961,500 capital return in year one.
The final page of the seven-page document is a “build gallery” that contains six renderings of interior views and patio and pool views of a non-specified property or properties.
On Friday afternoon, The Sun reached out to Kaleta and Najmy seeking comment on the Anna Maria Island Development Fund.
On Sunday, Najmy provided the following response: “The fund is open only to accredited network partners and it is not a general solicitation. Its primary purpose is to acquire these properties to save real estate values of all owners on the Island while making structures safer and more compliant to current required standards and to the current style of Anna Maria Island as it existed prior to the storms. This is not about capitalizing off of the storm effects but rather to help in the recovery from it to help keep the Island and its job industry vibrant and successful.”
Najmy declined to answer several additional questions posed by the Sun, including whether Kaleta still
owns a real estate brokerage as stated in the development fund document.
ASSET AMENDMENTS
The AMI Development Fund document states that Kaleta owns three property management companies and a real estate brokerage.
According to the Florida Division of Corporations, the Prime Vacations LLC created for that property management company in 2021 still listed Kaleta as its LLCs authorized person and Najmy as its registered agent as of April 25.
On Oct. 30, an amendment to the articles of organization for the Prime Vacations LLC was filed and now lists the Plantation, Floridabased CT Corporation System as LLC’s current registered agent and the New York City/Park Avenuebased GSP Prime Buyer LLC as the LLC’s manager. Kaleta’s managerial status with Prime Vacations LLC is now listed as “removed.”
On April 25, the AMI Locals LLC associated with the AMI Locals real estate company listed Kaleta as its manager and Najmy as its registered agent. On Oct. 30, those articles of organization were amended in a similar manner which now lists CT Corporation System as the LLCs current registered agent and GSP Prime Buyer LLC as the LLC’s manager, with Kaleta’s managerial status “removed.”
It is unclear what, if any, ownership share Kaleta still has in AMI Locals and Prime Vacations.
JOE HENDRICKS | SUN
The home at 709 Fern St. in Anna Maria sold for $855,000.
OUTDOORS
Fishing after hurricanes
ishing, like every phase of life on the barrier islands, was affected by the twin hurricanes Helene and Milton. In order to gauge the conditions post storms, I reached out to several established guides from Sarasota to Anna Maria for their experiences now that conditions have improved. The good news is that reports indicate a rebound in the action and overall health of the bay, at least in the near term. The bad news for local guides is the lack of business as the local infrastructure is rebuilt and repaired and guests and visitors return.
This is an excellent time to support our local guides, and with the lack of pressure, an equally good time to fish local waters as summer transitions to fall.
Capt. Justin Moore reports that fishing has been good but there has been a lack of business for other guides due to a lack of tourists. While there is a notable lack of algae on local grass flats, there is a lot of damage to local mangroves and a need to clean debris from them. Moore has observed “tons of mullet and bird activity,” which he sees as a positive indication of a rebound. He indicates that fishing is normal to good for the seasonal scenario. Lacking has been the seasonal pelagic migration, which he thinks might be due to red tide blooms offshore.
Capt. Rick Grassett warns that fishing can be challenging, and navigation may be hazardous following any hurricane or tropical storm. He has found bay waters tannic, limiting visibility and requiring anglers to be particularly careful when running the bay. Grassett has found that fish on many of the deep grass flats where he usually finds fish this time of the year have moved closer to passes and the Gulf and were on baitfish schools rather than structure (grass flats).
He has found fishing for species that are less affected by salinity changes, such as reds, snook or juvenile tarpon, even more active than usual due to increased tidal flows. The downside according to Grassett is the decreased visibility as fish may be harder to see, but still in their same patterns. Grassett reports that coastal Gulf fishing may
be the least affected, particularly further offshore, due to salinity and visibility. Also, with late season storms there may be some seasonal species such as Spanish mackerel or tripletail in the mix.
Capt. Todd Romine reports that water quality looked good and seagrass was noticeably absent algae growth. However, while the storm surge may have helped cleanse bay waters, the mangroves took a major hit. He also added that while Anna Maria Sound and lower Tampa Bay waters look dark and tannic, they are clearing up every day. Fishing for Romine has been extremely good with all inshore species following the storms. He has been busy with his regular clients but also reports very little tourism. Romine feels that while fishing and tourism take an initial hit from storms, hurricanes also function to cleanse our bays. He’s hopeful that the wind pattern remains east and keeps the red tide southwest of us and away from nearshore and bay waters.
Capt. Scott Moore states that with salinity changes and water temperatures falling, fish are moving. Action has been best for Moore in areas with higher salinities. He’s finding snook scattered redfish schooled up, normal for the fall. Offshore action along the beaches has been slow due to the red tide blooms. That should change any time as waters cool and storms abate. Moore advises anglers to concentrate on shallow flats. He expects wade fishing/fly fishing on the flats to be very productive.
be good, with lots of small redfish around. He reports that nearshore fishing was fair with a few cobia and tripletail as well as Spanish mackerel and a few little tunny. In general conditions and fishing are good but he also has noticed a lot of discoloration in local waters.
This is a time of the year when changing conditions and weather patterns can lead to some excellent fishing, particularly considering lack of pressure. To book a charter, contact these guides:
Capt. Justin Moore: 941-720-6408
Capt. Rick Grassett: 941-350-7799
Capt. Todd Romine: 941-920-5049
Capt. Scott Moore: 941-713-1921
Capt. Tom Stephens: 941-809-5793
From left, Jerry Mayer, Jase Moore and Beny Lazara have good luck.
RUSTY CHINNIS
MOBILE HOME: Park residents learn what’s next
Homeowners wishing to do repairs to the mobile home must apply to the county for a Storm Mobile Home Review.
“You’ll need to submit paperwork with costs,” Bagby said. “If you’re under the 50%, we’re going to sign off, say go ahead, you’re approved for repairs. If you’re over 50% we’ll tell you what your options are from there.”
She noted that because mobile homes are not subject to the Florida Building Code, people may think they don’t need permits to make repairs.
“It is however, subject to floodplain regulations,” Bagby said. “Therefore, that 50% rule still applies.”
For most storm damage repairs, permit fees are being waived.
She said with the 50% rule, there is a one-year cumulative, so if there have been any permits pulled within and closed within the last year, or are older and still open, that counts toward the 50%.
“The whole point of elevating is so you don’t have to go through this again, so you are protected against these storms, because they are happening stronger and more frequently,” Bagby said.
FEMA and Small Business Administration (SBA) representatives attended the meeting via Zoom.
“Manatee County participates in the National Flood Insurance Program,” Tammy Hanson, of FEMA Flood Plain Management, said. “When the community joined the program, they agreed to adopt and enforce floodplain management requirements. What that allows is the ability for flood insurance through the National
“When you apply, you need a contract or a cost breakdown. If you’re doing it yourself we need the material cost so we can get an accurate assessment of what this is going to cost,” Bagby said. “We need documentation validating the values. Labor is counted, for homeowners at $30 (per hour) for labor. You have to assign a value to donated materials.”
FROM THE PREHISTORIC TO THE PRESENT, THERE’S
SOMETHING HERE FOR EVERYONE!
Flood Insurance Program.”
One of the things that is misunderstood is that FEMA or the state is coming in to do assessments and that is not the case, she said.
“That is not how the program works,” Hanson said. “There are federal, state and local requirements, so it’s through the enforcement of local regulations where the determinations of damage assessment are made.”
INSPECTION TIMEFRAME
“Our team is very short-staffed right now,” Bagby said. “We have a lot of applications coming in, plus we’re out in the community doing this disaster recovery work. Make sure any application you do submit, have it clearly state hurricane or storm damage so that it gets prioritized. The turnaround time for storm damage is a few days.”
DISASTER ASSISTANCE: FEMA AND SBA
“The Individual and Household Programs (IHP) provide assistance to eligible individuals and households who have uninsured or
underinsured necessary expenses that are a result of the disaster,” FEMA representative Millie Diaz said. “The IHP is not a substitute for insurance and cannot compensate all those losses.”
IHP has two specific provisions, one is for housing assistance and other is needs assistance.
“We also have displacement assistance for those who cannot return to their house, and childcare assistance,” Diaz said.
Deadlines for assistance applications are: Hurricane Debby, Nov. 12, Hurricane Helene, Nov. 27 and Hurricane Milton, Dec. 11.
For more information:
• FEMA disaster assistance: 800-621-3362;
• FEMA community services program: 833-514-2940;
• Disaster unemployment assistance: 800-385-3920 or www. Floridajobs.org;
• Crisis counseling: 800-9855990; and
• Small Business Administration business and personal loans: 800659-2955, www.lending.sba.gov.
REAL ESTATE
Rate cut not changing narrative
Just like Christmas morning, some times you don’t always get what you want, or if you do, it may not live up to that first red bike when you were 12 years old. Nevertheless, there has been a change, and that change is mostly good. If you were waiting for the world to reset when the Federal Reserve dropped its interest rate by a half percent in September, you may be disappointed. Most economists and this column warned that a drop in rates by the Feds may have already been figured into the Sept. 19 average rate of 6.09% for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage per Freddie Mac. This may also be true for the rate cut last week. September was the lowest level since February 2023 and down from 6.20% the week before. Even though mortgage rates are down more than a percentage point from last year, they are still roughly double what they were before the Fed started to raise them in 2022 to help bring down the rate of inflation.
Castles in the Sand
However, don’t expect rates to significantly keep dropping. Lawrence Yun, the National Association of Realtor’s chief economist, indicates that mortgage rates might not fall further in the coming months. His opinion is any further decline in mortgage rates will be minimal. Most economists agree that the rates will hover between a low of 6% and a high of 6.5% for the fourth quarter of this year. At the Federal Reserve’s meeting on Nov. 7, they dropped their basis point rate by a quarter percent. On the same day, the average national 30-year fixed rate mortgage per Freddie Mac was 6.79%, up from 6.72% last week. We’ll
see if this latest rate cut will have any effect on the average home loan rates. None of the rate cut speculation did anything to help the home prices; in some areas of the country it actually made it worse, and the result of this rate cut will likely also not be significant to the home mortgage and selling market. Many buyers are still priced out of the market because of high price tags on homes and high insurance costs.
Homeowners who purchased when the rates were up may start to consider a refinance at today’s lower rates. In the fall of 2023, the rates were almost 8% per Freddie Mac. This could be a savings of a 0.75 percentage point or more if these homeowners refinanced now if the rates drop to 6%. A refinance can put real money in the monthly pockets of homeowners who plan on staying in their homes for several years or whenever they calculate the number of years they need to hold the mortgage before they reach the break-even point.
Economists recommend that if you can cut your mortgage rate by one-half percentage point or more, refinancing typically makes sense. Again, you need to find that break-even point or how long it will take to recoup the cost of the refinance after adding closing costs. Closing costs can be anywhere between 2% and 6% of your loan’s value, which can also be added into the total amount of the loan rather than an out-of-pocket fee.
Mortgage financing has become more complicated in recent years so getting advice from someone familiar with finance is a smart way to go. Whether you’re considering refinancing or applying for a first mortgage, research the interest rates available at your credit score level and the closing costs. Asking for help is not a sign of defeat. You may not always get what you want but you’ll learn a lot. There’s always another Christmas morning and maybe another red bike.
LOUISE BOLGER
SHORT: Wins Anna Maria mayor’s race
When contacted on election night, Short said, “I would like to thank the voters of the city of Anna Maria for supporting my candidacy for mayor and I look forward to serving the citizens as we go forward.”
Short is a retired former partner of the Ernst & Young financial services and consulting firm. He has been a member of the Anna Maria City Commission for the past five years and he’s served as the commission-elected chairman and vice-mayor for the past two years.
Before being elected mayor, Short, as the city’s vice-mayor, spent the past several weeks assisting Murphy on a daily basis with the city’s hurricane preparations, recovery and cleanup efforts.
When asked what he learned from observing Murphy in action, Short said, “I learned that having that plan and a vision is critical. Having positive relationships with the same
vendors who have been there for the city during past hurricanes is mission critical. And getting things teed up immediately – not waiting, and knowing that on day one things have to be ready to go. And having a city staff that’s been through several of these situations. They know the playbook and they know exactly what they need to do.”
On Nov. 9, Short shared some additional thoughts on being elected mayor.
“I want to thank the residents of Anna Maria for supporting me. The support and the encouraging feedback I got from the people I talked to before the election reaffirmed my decision to run for mayor,” he said.
“Since I’ve been elected, I’ve been there every day at city hall. I’m still focused on our recovery efforts and that is priority one. By the time I take office on the 19th we’ll have made significant progress but there will be some loose ends that have to be tied up. We’ve already started the process of rebuilding the City
Pier and right now we have to focus on that pier; and just as importantly, making sure we get the businesses up and running as quickly as they can to get us back to something that resembles normalcy. I want to do a big debriefing on what went right, what went wrong, what lessons we learned and what can we improve on with respect to how we respond,” he said.
Short noted the city also has to process the damage assessments
the FEMA assessment team provided the city pertaining to nearly 1,200 Anna Maria properties.
“FEMA turned that data over to us earlier this week and now our building department is working on assimilating all that information, property by property,” Short said. “I certainly hope we don’t get in a position of having to declare properties uninhabitable. I hope they are salvageable, but we’ve got to log in all the data and
get it summarized. We’ll look at that information property-byproperty and I don’t yet know who takes the lead on the process after that, and how that process plays out.”
Looking ahead, Short said, “Then we have to go back to where we were before the storms. Pine Avenue was at the top of that list. Once the businesses on Pine Avenue are up and running, we can then turn our attention to finishing the Pine Avenue project that’s been put on hold because of the hurricanes.
“During some of our past meetings, we talked about pursuing resiliency grants. With everything that’s happened with the hurricanes, that has to be another primary focus. How do we improve our drainage situation? We’re not going to prevent flooding, but it’s all about how quickly we can mitigate it. That was always on my list, but it’s near the top of my list now because of what we just went through,” Short said.
JOE HENDRICKS | SUN
Mark Short will serve as Anna Maria's next mayor.
HOLMES BEACH: Titsworth, Diggins, Whitmore election winners
PAGE 1
Commissioner Dan Diggins will serve a second term on the Holmes Beach dais, earning 852 votes in a field of four candidates for two open commission seats.
Former Holmes Beach commis sioner, mayor, and former Manatee County commissioner Carol Whitmore was the night’s runaway winner, bringing 1,121 votes in the Holmes Beach commission race.
Challengers in the city commission race, Steve Oelfke and Bill Romberger, brought in 598 and 322 votes, respec tively.
Diggins, Titsworth and Whitmore are expected to be sworn in during the city’s annual organizational meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 19 at 2 p.m. at city hall, 5801 Marina Drive. The meeting is open to the public and can be viewed on the city’s website at www. holmesbeachfl.org. Anyone wishing to speak must appear in person.
City commission candidate Steve
place in a field of four people vying for two
Out of the city’s 2,452 eligible voters, the Supervisor of Election’s office shows that 83.6% of people came out to vote by mail, participate in early voting, or vote in person on election day, casting a total of 2,050 ballots.
FROM
JOE HENDRICKS | SUN
Holmes Beach city commission candidate Carol Whitmore sits outside of the Island Branch Library where residents cast votes on election day.
JOE HENDRICKS | SUN Mayoral candidate Mike Roth waves signs on election day in Holmes Beach.
JOE HENDRICKS | SUN
Oelfke came in third
open seats.
Solid Rock undefeated midseason
BY MONICA SIMPSON SPECIAL TO THE SUN
ANNA MARIA – Midseason at The Center of Anna Maria Island finds the youth and adult soccer teams working hard as the regular season quickly comes to a close.
Playing twice last week, the teens took to the pitch Monday and Tuesday nights. The Gitt Team earned a big win against Shady Lady Horticultural Services 4-0 on night two.
Two goals scored by Ryk Kesten and singles by Aidan Guess and Lucas Signor gave The Gitt squad their second win of the season on Tuesday night.
The second 11- to 14-year-old league matchup of the night ended in a 1-1 tie between Solid Rock Construction and team Better on Bikes. The tie gave each team one point in the season standings.
Tuesday night, LaCreperie had an easy time against The Fish Guy Aquarium Services winning 6-0. Parker Svoboda led his team in scoring with a hat trick in the 8- to 10-year-old league.
Svoboda’s teammates Sawyer Leibfried and Louis Bacon added three points to the scoreboard, with two by Leibfried.
Moss Builders earned a victory off the boot of Joseph Caballero, scoring all four of the team’s goals against the Gulf Drive Café team. The Gulf Drive squad was held to two goals by Everly Chaplinsky.
CENTER NOTES
Family Night at The Center
Balls, corn hole and other activities will be available on the fields and in the gymnasium at The Center of Anna Maria Island, 407 Magnolia Ave. The Center will provide drinks. Pizza and other concessions will be for sale at the cash-only event. Children must be accompanied by an adult. All are welcome to join Island families on Friday, Nov. 22 from 6-8 p.m.
In the third game of the night for the elementary school aged players, Solid Rock Construction and Adrian Griffin Interiors ended in a stalemate with a 1-1 tie. Ruthie Bell scored the solo goal for Adrian Griffin Interiors, while Evangeline Zupa put the soccer ball past the opponent’s goalie.
In adult co-ed soccer play, team Moss Builders and the Hampton Paintings’ squad each scored three points. Jamal Duzgun, Danny Hampton and Ethan Hampton each scored for Hampton Paintings.
Karri Stephens, Stephen Adair and Erica Nielsen, playing as a substitute, each put one point on the scoreboard for Moss Builders.
Language Services Associates (LSA) put their first win in the record books for the season against the Ross Built Custom Homes team last Thursday night. Ross Built came into the third game of the night with three wins, but only James Noblett could score against the Language Services team.
Alex Quintero, James Rodriguez and Jana Whitehead scored the three goals for LSA.
Holding Gulf Drive Café to one goal by Tyler Brewer, the AMI Dolphin Tours squad won the week 4 game by five goals.
Cody Wright and Robert Fellowes each scored two goals in the game. Teammates Aaron Frech and Selena Gonzalez-Salina each put a shot past the Gulf Drive keeper.
Winning by one goal, the adult
Let’s Give Thanks Together!
Join in nurturing the spirit of our Island community. There will be food, music, a kid zone and more at the free event. Let’s celebrate and give thanks together on Thursday, Nov. 28 from noon to 4 p.m. For more information and to reserve your spot, visit centerami. org/events.
To register for Center programs or for more information, email The Center at hello@centerami. org or call 941-778-1908.
league’s Solid Rock Construction team defeated Bubble Binz by one point. Solid Rock stays on the top of the ranks and undefeated with the big win.
Julio Cantu was the big scorer of the night with four goals for Solid Rock. Alex Landy and Raul Loera each had a goal to make the win possible.
On the other side of the pitch, Gerardo Urbiola Bolanos had a hat trick of his own playing for Bubble Binz. Solo goals were shot by Matt Staggs and James Knowles.
The field lights stayed on for the final game of the night, as fans watched another close one between Pool America and Sato Real Estate. Looking to earn their first win of the season, the Sato team could not hold off their opponents in the 4-3 loss.
At the bottom of the rankings, a place Sato Real Estate is not typically found, Logan O’Brien and Marcello Rubio scored the team’s three points. Murat Akay, Octavious Cole and Eduardo Schlueter each scored for the Pool America one-point win to end another night of fun on the Island field.
AMI Horseshoes back in business
On Nov. 6, Rod Bussey, left, made a triumphant return to the pits for the first time since April. After dropping the first game, he and partner Bob Hawks went on a hot streak, winning four in a row, beating Dom Livedoti and Steve Hooper 22-0 in first round of playoffs. In the final, they took out Gersey Fernandes 22-3 and ended up in the winner's circle. On Nov. 9, two teams met in the final after each went 3-0. Tom Farrington earned the day’s bragging rights after taking out Tim Sofran and
FUN IN THE SUN
CLASSIFIEDS
BOATS
FIRST, I WISH ALL MY ISLAND FRIENDS WELL. This to shall pass. Yes, boats are selling. Yes, we will buy damaged boats. Yes, we need boats as folks are getting insurance checks.
Dave Struber/Owner 24 Years, Islandboatsales. net-941-288-3489
CARE GIVER
ELDER CARE by Longtime resident. Many References. Part time to help with shopping, companionship, cooking etc. Call Cheryl 941-685-0045
COMMERCIAL SALES, RENT & LEASE
HAVE YOU BEEN thinking of selling? We NEED properties to List for SALE!!! Duplexes, multi family, small resorts? Call BIG Alan Galletto of Island Real Estate to get it SOLD 941-232-2216
CLEANING SERVICE
TOTAL HOME SERVICES CLEANING: Residential, Commercial, Rentals, VRBO. Professional and Reliable. Call 941-756-4570 or 941-565-3931
HOME IMPROVEMENTS
RENOVATION SPECALIST ALL carpentry repairs, Wash Family Construction, locally owned and operated CBC 1258250 Call 941-725-0073.
KERN & GILDER CONSTRUCTION, INC New Homes & Remodel. Design/Build. Since 1968. License # CBC 1261150. Call the Office. 941-7781115
GET’R DONE DRYWALL, INC Specializing in Remodels & Repairs. Island Resident for 20+ years. Call Neil. Cell 941-9621194
JSAN CORPORATION
Renovations Construction & Handyman Services 941-243-0995 Lic# CRC1332505 jsancorporation@gmail. com Flooring, Drywall, Painting, Repairs, Kitchen and Bathrooms, Trim & Doors Free Estimates. Credit Cards Accepted.
GORILLA DRYWALL REPAIR, LLC. 15+ years of experience. Free Estimates. Let’s solve your Drywall problems together. Call 941-286-0607.
BMF INTERIORS Home repairs and more, No job too small. Please call 786318-8585
A.R.E. Renovation’s WHOLESALE KITCHEN CABINETS DIRECT., Remodeling, Bathrooms. Trim Flooring and Decks Tile and more Free quote, references available. Lic. # CRC.1334176 941-4653045.
CCS DRYWALL REPAIRS
We are local. Family owned & operated since 1991. Free Estimates. Licensed/Insured/Bonded. License # SCC131149803 Call 941-713-6531.
LANDSCAPING & LAWN CARE
R. GAROFALO’S Interlocking brick pavers, driveways, patios, pool decks. Free estimates. Licensed & Insured. Call Rafael 941-778-4823 or Veronik 941-526-7941
ISLAND RESIDENT. TREE/ BUSH Trimming, removal. Sweeping, blowing, and weeding. Weekly, bimonthly or monthly schedule. Pressure washing. Call Bill Witaszek 941-307-9315
SHORTDOG TREE & LAWN SERVICE Free Estimates. Remove trees; trim palms, yard work, hauling everything. Call 941-746-3373 or 941-730-2694
MOVING & STORAGE
MARTIN’S MOVING YOUR Island movers! Offering dependable, competitive rates. No hidden costs. 941-8095777.
PAINTING & WALLCOVERING
PAINT! PAINT! AND MORE 28 years of experienced interior/exterior custom painting. Pressure cleaning, drywall repairs and texture finishes. Many Island references. Please call Neil for free estimates. 941-812-0507
“WIZARD OF WALLS”
Established 1980 Prompt quality service. Wallpaper installation/ removal. Mary Bell Winegarden 941-794-0455
DONALD PERKINS
ABRACADABRA
PAINTING LLC fully insured. 30 years experience. Many Island references. Call 941705-7096
PROFESSIONAL PAINTING SERVICES. Prompt & Reliable. Island Resident. Quality Workmanship. Interior/Exterior. Minor repairs & carpentry. Free estimates. Bill Witaszek 941-307-9315
POOL SERVICES
FOUR SEASONS POOL SERVICE AND CHEMICAL SERVICES. Certified Pool Operator. 18 + Years Experience. Residential/commercial. Chemical Service Licensed & Insured. Call Dennis Clark 941-7375657
COLE'S TROPICAL POOL SERVICE Call Cole Bowers for all your pool maintenance needs! Affordable and Dependable!! 941-7131893
PRESSURE WASHING & WINDOWS
TOTAL HOME SERVICES CLEANING: Residential, Commercial, Construction, Vacation, VRBO Rentals . Also available Pressure Washing, Roof Cleaning, Paver Sealing and Windows. Call 941-5653931.
REAL ESTATE HOMES & CONDOS FOR SALE
Have you been thinking of selling? We NEED properties to List for SALE!!! GULF FRONT, CANAL FRONT, BAY FRONT CONDOS or HOMES ASK for BIG Alan Galletto of Island Real Estate to get it SOLD 941-232-2216
LOOKING FOR A highly motivated real estate broker to buy or sell your next home? Darcie Duncan, Broker Duncan Real Estate a lifelong island resident bringing success to her customers for 30 years. Proven track record brings you results! 941-725-1589
BRADENTON CONDO FOR SALE end unit 55+ community. Pet friendly. Split 2BR/2BA. Walk in shower in Master, newer paint, laminate flooring, white travertine tile, new blinds, bonus room, W/D, central air with heat, carport, patio. Close to heated pool & community building. 8 miles from AMI. Available now, immediate possession. $179,900. Call 616648-1648 or 616-340-5669
RENTALS: ANNUAL, SEASONAL & VACATION
ON ISLAND CONDO Available immediately for up to one year! Ready to move in. Great Value. Beautiful Upgraded 2BR/2BA Incredible water View! Waterfront Patio, Pool, tennis, pickle, walk to beach. Private carport. Excellent Rental terms. Owner/ renter. Please Call or email for details. drchristines@ yahoo.com or 570-2390431
TRANSPORTATION
ANYTIME TRANSPORTATION to all Airports, Casino, etc. Tampa/St. Pete $85. Sarasota $40. Pets welcome. Very dependable. Reasonable rates. Contact Jeanne. 941-7795095
