Second survey required for battered shore

By Tom Vaught
sun staff writer

As the storm approached the Island last week, the contractor for the renourishment project here delayed putting any equipment on the beaches or in the water. That proved to be a smart move, as waves from the passing Category 3 hurricane ate away at the beaches and was more beneficial to surfers than anyone else. Monday the contractor said he needed some direction.

"We told the Army Corps of Engineers we needed the beach re-surveyed," said Larry Chapman, safety officer for Goodloe Marine, Inc. "We're going to go ahead and start laying out the pipes, but we won't start on the renourishment until after they look at the beaches."

Ron Rutger, of the Army Corps, verified that Goodloe had put in a survey request. He said a "sizeable portion" of the beach had been eaten away by the weekend storm.

"It looks like a lot of material was pushed up higher onto the beach and some of it is gone," he said. "We'll get someone out this week to start on it and it should take three to four days."

Rutger said the beach engineer would have to survey in a new baseline where the old beach meets the new beach then he would have to see where the erosion was worse. He said once the surveyor gets going, he will be able to stay ahead of the renourishment to minimize any delay in the project.

"I expect them to be able to start renourishing by Friday," he said.

Meanwhile, the renourishment dredge "Millennium" will stay anchored off the north end of the Island, near Bay Front Park, until the company's other boats get the pipes established at the borrow pit where the dredging will start. Chapman said he hopes to get started by the end of the week.

Manatee County Ecosystems Administrator Charlie Hunsicker said Monday that the survey of the erosion would likely change the direction of the project in some areas, but not overall.

"They will probably have to add more sand to some areas and less to others," he said. "You have a 400,000 cubic yard project and you have to figure out where to place it on the beach.

If the survey indicates a need for more sand than what is called for in the Corps' contract with Goodloe, the job might be extended. If they find a need for a lot more sand, Rutger said late last week that they would have to find the funding to cover it. He indicated that there is no money left in the federal budget above what was allocated for the original project's requirements.

Hunsicker held a pre-construction meeting with representatives from Goodloe and the Corps last Thursday morning at Coquina Beach to talk about monitoring the project and maintaining a high quality of sand. The county is not involved in this renourishment, as the federal government under the auspices of the Corps is paying it for. Turtle Watch Permit Holder Suzi Fox was also on hand.

Hunsicker asked if either Goodloe or the corps could provide his office with projects each week on where the project would be. Goodloe will start around 78th Street, in Holmes Beach, and move south to Cortez Beach in Bradenton Beach.

"The majority of the questions my office gets are in regard to where the project will be," Hunsicker said. "Resort owners want to know if it will get in the way of their customers."

Neither Goodloe nor the corps could promise to be able to project where the project would because of variables in the weather, but Chapman and corps engineer Ron Rutger gave him their cell phone numbers and said he could check with them. The Anna Maria Island Sun will publish updates weekly on where the project is expected to be.

Hunsicker asked about monitoring the dredging to make sure they get the best quality sand. The county paid extra money to pinpoint where the best sand is located from the barrow put north of Bean Point, and the corps agreed to let either the county or Coastal Planning and Engineering, the company hired by the county to assist on the project, monitor the project. Goodloe will send information to monitors located in a field office in Bradenton Beach regarding where the cutterhead of the dredge is digging.

Goodloe said they could average between 10,000 and 15,000 cubic yards of sand per day, adding beach to between 500 and 1,000 linear feet of the beach each day. He also warned that there would be restrictions for beachgoers ahead of the project.

"We like to rope off between 1,000 and 1,500 feet of the beach ahead of the job," he said.

Hunsicker emphasized that they want to get the best quality sand possible on the beaches and Goodloe promised they would accommodate that request within reason. He said the dredge operator will keep an eye on the sand coming through the system and will not continue to pump sand with high rock content, even at 3 a.m. when he's trying to finish a section without interruption.

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Hurricane preparation is essential

By Pat Copeland
sun staff writer

Don’t wait until a hurricane is heading our way to finalize your plans and gather your supplies.

Things to do now include:
• Get a hang tag.
• Develop your evacuation plan and a backup plan and make sure family members, including those outside the area, know the plan. Designate a contact person outside of the area that each family member can contact in case you get separated.
• Make your hurricane supply box using a plastic storage tub with a lid.
• Videotape or photograph every room in your home. Get close up on valuable possessions and family heirlooms. Open cabinets and cupboards to show the items inside. Videotape the outside of your house and yard.
• Make a list room by room of what you want to take. If there are files and documents that you can’t pack ahead, get a package of red flag stickies and mark the items so you can grab them at the last minute.
• Freeze jugs of water. If you don’t evacuate but lose electricity, they’ll help keep the freezer and refrigerator cold. If you do evacuate, throw one in the cooler to keep your food cold. Let the others melt for drinking water.

Hurricane supply box
Pack what you can ahead; gather others prior to evacuation.
• Sturdy plastic utensils and foam plates, hot/cold cups, napkins, trash bags, paper towels, toilet paper and disinfecting wipes.
• Single serving canned and packaged foods, water and a manual can opener. Other suggestions include granola bars, crackers, dried fruit and canned or bottled drinks.
• A small charcoal grill, camp stove or a set of propane burners, charcoal and matches or propane, a pot and skillet.
• Bedding
• A first aid kit.
• Flashlights and/or a battery- operated lantern and extra batteries and a battery-operated or crank radio.
• A large cooler to store food.

Personal items
• Small family heirlooms, family photographs, art works and special pieces of jewelry.
• Important documents such as receipts for big ticket items, appraisal documents for antiques, bank and stock statements, insurance policies, medical records, family history, birth certificates, a copy of your will and/or living will and children’s records.
• Back-up computer disks or CDs, credit cards and checkbooks.
• Toiletries, including bug spray, a two-week supply of medications, clothes, shoes and pet medications and care items.
• Cash.

 

City’s taxable value booms

By Tom Vaught
sun staff writer

BRADENTON BEACH - The certificates of taxable value have been released to the cities so they can figure their budgets for the coming year, and Bradenton Beach leads the other two Island cities in added value.

According to figures compiled June 29 by the Manatee County Property Appraiser's Office, the growth of gross taxable value in Bradenton Beach is up 26.7 percent, compared with 20.6 percent in Holmes Beach, 17.4 percent in Anna Maria and 14.6 percent in the Manatee County portion of Longboat Key. The figures were released to the cities in form DR 420, and the elected officials use the real estate taxable value numbers to figure their property tax rates for the fiscal year starting Sept. 1.

Bradenton Beach's real property taxable value was estimated at $547,400,323. That's the number used in the city's budgeting process, although the appraiser's office deducts taxable personal property, $7,242,793, and net new taxable value for new construction, additions, rehabilitation, annexations and deletions to the taxable property report, $1641,942, for a total adjusted value of $553,001,174. Last year's adjusted amount was $436,449,064.

The real property taxable value in Holmes Beach was set at $1,367,294,174 minus personal property of $17,025,311 and new taxable value of $3,878,085 for an adjusted value of $1,380,441,400 compared with last year's adjusted value of $1,144,215,159. Last year marked the first time the taxable value in Holmes Beach or any other Island city surpassed $1 billion.

The real property taxable value for Anna Maria was set at $669,726,187 minus real property of $6,216,348 and new taxable value of $1,319,727 for an adjusted value of $674,622,808 compared with $574,749,753 last year.

Longboat Key was faced with a minus figure for new taxable value, thanks to the trend toward condominiums along the beach. Several older motels and resorts were razed and are being rebuilt as multiple family projects which will be taxable next year, according to Dale Friedley in the property appraiser's office. The real property value there is $1,525,264,291 minus $13,214,208 for personal property and plus $5,191,926, the drop in value of new or deleted properties, for an adjusted value of $1,543,670,425 compared with $1,347,433,280 last year.

Friedley said he expected to see the trend toward condominium ownership along the coast to continue, saying the rise in the value of the land makes that type of ownership the most affordable and the highest use of the land. He said that trend would result in more growth in property values above the normal rate of appreciation for homes and property on the barrier islands.

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Proposed budget reflects higher property values

By Tom Vaught
sun staff writer

BRADENTON BEACH – If you can remember when Bridge Street did not have curbs or gutter, you can probably remember when the city's budget was less than $1 per year. This year, it will likely go past $3 million. That's fewer than a dozen years after it hit the previous benchmark.

Bradenton Beach Mayor John Chappie released a preliminary budget last week at a workshop showing a total of $3,159,917. While some of that money is carried over from long-term projects, it still represents a 15-percent increase over last year's $2,738,119 budget.

The proposed property tax rate, also known as the mill levy, would stay around 2.49, if commissioners don't make a lot of changes between now and when if becomes law.

There are other changes in store. Some items previously carried in the individual departmental budgets, such as new police cars, will become part of the capital improvements budget. Other changes include pay raises for police personnel to get them up to the average for a city the size of Bradenton Beach and less city money for health insurance, thanks to some skillful shopping during the past year for a new insurance carrier.

The first budgets under scrutiny at last week's meeting were the police department and emergency operations. The police department budget of $810,255 is $1,793 lower than the $812,048 for 2004-05. While wages went up approximately four percent, health insurance cropped $2,655 and overall insurance went down $9,905. Other drops were attributed to paying off two new police cars and the interest in that loan. In the future, those items will show up in the capital improvements budget.

The emergency operations budget showed an increase in salary, which will be applied to Lt. John Cosby, who oversees those operations, which brought the total from $22,833 in 2004-05 to a proposed $25,260 for the coming fiscal year beginning Oct. 1. That's an increase of 11 percent.

City budget work sessions will be held at 2 p.m. on alternately on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at city hall. The commission will go over each department's budget before it decides what to keep and what to drop, but a decision will be made soon on the property tax rate, which the city is advised to set at its highest expectation. Once that rate is set, it can only go down, not up, until the next year.

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Property owners continue to blast 30-day rentals

By Pat Copeland
sun staff writer

HOLMES BEACH — Letters continue to pour into the city from property owners opposed to the planning commission’s recommendation for 30-day rentals in the R-1 and R-2 zoning districts.

Planners have also agreed to recommend a five- to 10-year grandfathering period for property owners with rental licenses so they can recoup their investments. The districts currently have a one-week rental period.

"How would this be a positive change for Holmes Beach? Floyd Asbury asked. "Additionally, there was a previous commitment from the (city) commission not to extend this period beyond the seven-day minimum already in force. …it is my belief that the understanding is that the commission would not impose further restrictions unless there was a need and the community requested to do so."

Several writers felt the change would have a negative effect on Island businesses and businesses would either close or lose money.

"What isn’t communicated so well is the high financial burden placed on new owners, who aren’t able to take advantage of the homestead provision and have to pay the appreciated purchase price as well as the dramatically increased taxes," Frank Leggo pointed out.

"We currently live in upstate New York and hate the high taxes and extensive government. We find Florida attractive because we thought it was the opposite of New York. If you start to become overly restrictive with high taxes, you really just become New York with a high air conditioning bill."

He, as well as others, pointed out that with a 30-day minimum stay, only those with leisure time would be able to rent and working people, who have one or two weeks vacation, would be excluded.

Robert and Carolyn Wurzel, of Island Garden Villas, pointed out, "It has been stated by the commission that ‘we’re only talking about 25 properties in the R-1 district and 48 properties in the R-2 district.’ This is not a numbers game per se. One cannot say it is OK to cause people to go out of business because after all, it only affects a few!"

They also asked why no one has seen "all of the complaints the city has been receiving" that led to the planning commission’s decision. They asked that the city grandfather all properties with current rental licenses, allow no further licensing in the two districts and take action against those who are renting without licenses.

Brian Marsh said he is currently building a house on 56th Street and understood that weekly rentals were permitted.

“A modification to the existing zoning text would in fact be a taking of property rights and would require compensation to the property owners," Marsh maintained. "The only way I am able to build a house in Holmes Beach is through the use of weekly rentals to provide an additional income to cover the significant mortgage and pay the significant taxes."

Donna and Joseph Maurio said they own four vacation rental properties and "it is extremely rare when someone inquires about a monthly rental (and we receive inquiries from all over the world). To change the rental period to 30 days would put us out of business."

David and Carol Golder said their summer rentals are almost exclusively weekly and 30-day rentals would hurt families that cannot afford to take a month-long vacation.

"I do not want to see Anna Maria Island go the way of Longboat Key," Tom Stockebrand wrote. "I believe the proposal comes from those few who have a somewhat misguided sense of snobbishness and who perhaps do not appreciate the consequences of the proposal: a diminution of the variety that is here, which keeps this a community instead of a rich person’s cyclic habitat."

The planning commission’s next meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday, July 14, in city hall.

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Hurricane Dennis takes toll on turtles

By Laurie Krosney
sun staff writer

Hurricane Dennis played havoc with the Island's turtles over the weekend.

"It was awful," AMI Turtle Watch Director Suzi Fox said. "The north relocation site was washed over and was underwater for some time. No one could get out on the beach at all Sunday. There was no place to walk the surf was so high, so we simply had no way to monitor."

There are two Island relocation sites — one on the north end and one on the south end. Nests that are laid on the areas of the beach slated for renourishment have to be dug up and relocated.

Fox said because the north relocation area was washed over, she's planning to relocate all nests to the south location from now on.

"We have a couple of nests in the relocation areas that are ready to hatch," Fox said. "I just hope the babies are still in their eggs. If they've come out, or if the eggs have started to open, those babies have drowned."

Fox said that Saturday morning was difficult as well.

"There was thunder and lightening, so I had to call all the walkers and tell them to stay home," she said. "They're so passionate about the turtles that if I don't make them stay off the beach during storms, they'll be right out there."

Meanwhile, Fox said she drove the beach on the ATV and found three nests that had been laid sometime between Friday and Saturday. One was high enough up in the dunes that it didn't have to be relocated. The other two were moved to safety.

"It was hard to find any tracks," she said. "The rain was pretty hard and beat everything down. But one mother turtle left me a sign. She left one egg out on top of the nest, so I was able to find it."

The Turtle Watch phone rang all weekend with reports of nests washed over, eggs tumbling into the surf and other problems, according to Fox.

"I got a call from a man on the north end who had found a nest that was washing out," she said. "He took the eggs in his hands and moved them to safety and then called Turtle Watch."

Fox said it's against the law to handle turtles or their eggs except when eggs are found tossing around in the surf or out of their nests.

A walker at the Manatee Public Beach found one egg. She turned it in to lifeguard Curt McFee who called Fox. Fox added the egg to others that were held for reburial when the weather cleared.

Fox said it would be weeks before anyone knows the final toll the storm took on the Island's nesting population.

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