TREES SAVED at Kingfish Boat Ramp

County leaders play blame game over Kingfish funding

The cancellation of planned renovations at Kingfish Boat Ramp means that the shady picnic area will be saved.

BY KRISTIN SWAIN

SUN STAFF WRITER | kswain@amisun.com

MANATEE COUNTY – A proposed project at Kingfish Boat Ramp won’t be happening and county leaders are placing the blame for it squarely on the shoulders of city officials in Holmes Beach.

County staff members, with County Administrator Scott Hopes adding his voice to the group, said they are prepared to cancel grant funding of $4,500,000 from the Gulf Coast Consortium for planned renovations at the boat ramp, including paving, adding launch lanes, bathrooms, new dock facilities and other changes.

Two of the proposed changes that garnered the most public attention were the planned removal of dozens of trees along with the removal of a popular treeshaded picnic area and the elimination of parking spaces to serve as a stormwater retention area until the Anna Maria Bridge is one day replaced. Though it’s designed, construction on a new bridge is not yet funded through the Florida Department of Transportation.

During a Sept. 13 county commission meeting, Hopes and other members of staff said that the reason the grant funding was being canceled is that a permit for construction from the city could not be obtained in time to complete construction before the November 2023 expiration of a Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) permit. As that permit had already been granted multiple extensions by the department, staff members said it couldn’t be extended again. In addition to the outstanding construction permit from the city, other permits also were mentioned as still needed for the project, including one from Manatee County.

Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge said he would like to see if there’s some way to recoup the funds that the county has already spent on the project in staff time, engineering fees and other costs. He suggested suing the city, but was cautioned against that action by the county attorney, who stated that the permit application hadn’t been denied by city leaders.

In an Aug. 25 email to Hopes, Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth said that the permit application was progressing through the city’s approval process for site plan changes. She said she was told by city staff that the changes planned for the boat ramp required site plan approval by the city commission to comply with Manatee County codes under the annexation agreement for the boat ramp. Titsworth said that city staff notified the county’s representative for the project, Michael D’Angelo, of the site plan approval requirement on June 7 and 22. She added that building department staff was notified by the county’s project engineer on July 6 that the Kingfish project was put on hold. With no further communication from county representatives, Titsworth said she instructed city staff to continue with the internal site plan review, which was almost complete as of Aug. 25.

She added that she believes some of the delay with the project was due to county leadership signing a lease for the Kingfish property with the Florida Department of Transportation instead of FDEP.

In a Sept. 15 email to The Sun, Titsworth said that city leaders only had two points of contention concerning the Kingfish project, the removal of Australian pine trees

KRISTIN SWAIN | SUN Kingfish Boat Ramp in Holmes Beach will not be undergoing a planned expansion that was anticipated to include paving, the addition of a new launch lane, removal of a tree-shaded picnic area and changes in parking.

SEE KINGFISH, PAGE 12

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6THE SUN OPINION The Anna Maria Island Sun Staff

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SEPTEMBER 21, 2022

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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. Sept. 21, 9 a.m. – Special Magistrate meeting Sept. 22, 5:30 p.m. – City Commission meeting

BRADENTON BEACH

107 GULF DRIVE N. FOR INFORMATION, CALL 941-778-1005 Please visit www. cityofbradentonbeach.com or contact city hall for more information. Sept. 21, 1 p.m. – Planning and Zoning Board meeting

HOLMES BEACH

5801 MARINA DRIVE FOR INFORMATION, CALL 941-708-5800 Please visit www.holmesbeachfl. org or contact city hall for more information. Sept. 27, 10 a.m. – Code Compliance special magistrate hearing Sept. 27, 5 p.m. – City Commission meeting with work session to follow

EVENTS

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 21

Coloring Club, Island Branch Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, noon. Marine Heritage of Manatee County, Island Branch Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, 11 a.m. Sunshine Stitchers knit and crochet, Island Branch Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, 2 p.m. Thursdays in Paradise Stroll featuring local art, music and food, Bridge Street, Bradenton Beach, 5-8 p.m. AMI Business Card Exchange, Beach House Waterfront Restaurant, 200 Gulf Drive, Bradenton Beach, 5-7 p.m., $5 for members or $10 for members. Reserve to 941-778-1541. Teen yoga, Island Branch Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, 6 p.m.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 23

Forty Carrots, Island Branch Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, 10 a.m. Mahjong Club – Experienced Players, Island Branch Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, 11:30 a.m.

SATURDAY, SEPT. 24

Robinson Runners, Robinson Preserve, 1704 99th St. N.W., Bradenton, 7 a.m. Saturday mornings at the NEST, Robinson Preserve Mosaic Nest, 840 Ninth Ave. N.W., Bradenton, 9 a.m. to noon. Music on the Porch, Florida Maritime Museum, 4415 119th St. W., Cortez, 2-4 p.m. Preschool yoga, Island Branch Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, 10 a.m. Rotary Club of Anna Maria Island meeting, Slicker’s Eatery, 12012 Cortez Road W., Bradenton, 11:30 a.m. Mahjong for Beginners, Island Branch Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, 11:30 a.m. One-on-one tech help, Island Branch Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, 2-3:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 28

Aging Series: Disaster planning for older adults, Island Branch Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, 10 a.m. Turtle Watch Wednesday benefiting Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring, Hurricane Hanks, 5346 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach, 4-6 p.m.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 29

Seashell shore walk, Coquina Beach, 2650 Gulf Drive S., Bradenton Beach, 9 a.m. Seaside Quilters, Island Branch Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, 10 a.m. Sunshine Stitchers Knit and Crochet, Island Branch Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, 2 p.m. Thursdays in Paradise Stroll featuring local art, music and food, Bridge Street, Bradenton Beach, 5-8 p.m.

Hunters Point canal hearing concludes

The multi-day Hunters Point environmental resource permit hearing has ended and the parties involved now await a recommended order from administrative law Judge Bruce Culpepper as to whether the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) properly issued the permit that allows for the construction of 49 residential docks along the Hunters Point-owned canal. The owners of the nearby Cortez Village Marina challenged the permit issued in 2021 and claimed the construction of the Hunters Point docks would impede navigation on the canal used by marina clients. The hearing concluded on Sept. 13 with the testimony and cross-examination of Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) staff member Hannah Westervelt. Most of Westervelt’s testimony pertained to the Hunters Point ownership group’s allegations that the marina is operating in excess of its allowed storage capacity and without currently updated FDEP permits. Culpepper accepted Westervelt’s testimony but said FDEP’s ongoing investigation of the marina would have no bearing on his ruling as to whether SWFWMD properly issued the permit that would allow the docks to be built. Culpepper said he will issue his recommended order within 30 days of receiving the hearing transcripts. His recommended order will then be provided to the 13-member SWFWMD governing board that will issue a final ruling.

BIEO members reject TDC funding change

Her fellow island mayors shot down Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth’s idea to explore changing how tourist tax funds are allocated.

BY KRISTIN SWAIN

SUN STAFF WRITER | kswain@amisun.com

ANNA MARIA – Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth hasn’t gained a lot of support from leadership in local barrier island cities for her idea to change how tourist development taxes are distributed in Manatee County.

Titsworth brought up the topic during a Coalition of Barrier Island Elected Officials meeting where she was joined by Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy, Longboat Key Mayor Ken Schneier and Longboat Key Town Manager Tom Harmer. She said that although vacation rentals bring in about 30% of the total Manatee County tourist development tax revenues, her city doesn’t see a lot of it returned.

“Tourist development funding is hard for Holmes Beach to qualify for,” she said, noting that the city has only seen about $100,000 of the millions of dollars earned come back to help fund city projects. Titsworth said she’s expecting about $30,000 from the tax this year for Grassy Point Preserve improvements.

The funds are assigned to projects by Manatee County commissioners with advice from the county’s Tourist Development Council. By state law, the funds can only be used for specified projects related to tourism. Titsworth said she’d like to see those funds available for infrastructure improvements or redistributed to local municipalities based on the percentage of the total funds earned by that city. She also said she’d prefer it if the funds could be distributed without the requirement of county commission approval.

In the current fiscal year, Titsworth requested funds for bicycle and sidewalk path improvements and reimbursement for seawall repairs necessary to prevent part of Marina Drive in the city’s commercial district from collapsing. While the project was approved by the members of the TDC, county commissioners voted it down, although they did approve the funds for Grassy Point Preserve. Some county commissioners stated that they didn’t see how the paths and seawall repairs tied into tourism-related spending while others stated that they wouldn’t approve the project because of an ongoing clash between city and county leaders over beach parking in residential neighborhoods. During the BIEO meeting, Titsworth said she doesn’t appreciate how some county leaders are “weaponizing” funding in an attempt to force city officials to meet their demands.

Though Murphy said he understands Titsworth’s predicament, he feels that his city has been getting its fair share of the tax funds. Rather than depend on tourist development tax funds for infrastructure repairs, he suggested making an effort to get a larger cut of sales tax revenue, which is currently disbursed based on population.

Harmer and Schneier agreed that they also don’t have an issue with the way the funding is currently distributed. Harmer said that their city’s tourist development tax dollars were primarily used for beach renourishment and maintenance. Unlike on Anna Maria Island, the small number of public beach accesses on Longboat Key means that beach renourishment and maintenance is funded by that city rather than through outside government funding.

KRISTIN SWAIN | SUN Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy discusses his ideas for alternative infrastructure funding with Longboat Key Mayor Ken Schneier and Town Manager Tom Harmer.