BRADENTON BEACH – Former Bradenton Beach City Clerk Jamie Anderson’s Island homecoming proved bittersweet.

Last week, Commissioners Jack Clarke, Ed Straight and Jan Vosburgh voted to dismiss the city clerk hired in January.

They rejected Mayor Bill Shearon’s recommendation that Anderson be retained and granted the career service status that would have provided full rights and benefits at the completion of her six-month probationary period in July.

During the same meeting, the commission voted unanimously to retain and grant career service status to City Treasurer Sheila Dalton. Dalton was also hired in January, when the commission created the treasurer’s department and made her and Anderson department heads of the restructured administrative offices.

Dalton will receive a previously agreed upon $5,000 raise that increases her annual salary to $55,000. Anderson worked within the same salary structure.

Although mentioned as a factor in Anderson’s dismissal, Deputy Clerk Tammy Johnson will serve as acting clerk and department head until a new clerk is hired or an alternative short-term solution is found.

The commission did not play an active role in the search process that preceded Anderson’s hiring, but will in the search for her replacement. It was agreed that July 7 would be the cut-off date for applicants, and familiarity with Florida Sunshine Laws is mandatory.

Each commissioner will review the applications, provide the mayor with their top three choices and participate in the interview process leading up to his hiring recommendation, which they can accept or reject. Commissioners hope to name a new clerk at the July 17 meeting.

What went wrong?

During the Thursday, June 12 meeting, City Attorney Ricinda Perry provided a summary of the individual evaluations submitted by each commission member.

Basic concerns included whether Anderson had become a Florida notary and a member of the Florida Clerks Association.

Larger concerns included the former Yucca Valley, California clerk’s knowledge of Florida Sunshine Laws, her role in a problematic computer conversion conducted by Friendly IT Management and her inability to supervise Johnson, her deputy clerk.

“One of the biggest points that came across in the evaluations was the management of her subordinate employee,” Perry said.

Johnson’s friendship with the mayor and his girlfriend, Tjet Martin, put Anderson in a difficult position regarding the supervision and discipline of her sole employee.

“Three elected officials recommended dismissal and two recommended retaining her,” Perry concluded.

Before making a motion in support of Shearon’s recommendation to retain Anderson, Vice Mayor Janie Robertson suggested extending her probationary period.

“I think that it’s extremely premature and unfair,” she said of an evaluation based on less than five months’ service.

Perry explained that the career service status is granted automatically six months after the date of hire. The process cannot be extended, and an employee cannot be terminated without cause after that time.

When Robertson’s motion died for the lack of a second, Clarke made the motion to dismiss.

“The city has provided Ms. Anderson with a fair and effective adjustment period. This commission has observed and evaluated Ms. Anderson’s job performance and has determined that she should be dismissed,” he said.

Clerk’s comments

Anderson grew up in Holmes Beach and maintained close ties to the Island during the three decades she and her husband lived in California. The couple relocated to their Longboat Key vacation home when Anderson reported to work in early February.

Anderson addressed the commission before Perry revealed the evaluation results.

“I am a damn good city clerk, given the chance to do my job,” she said.

She reminded commissioners that Friendly recommended the computer upgrades and said her office prepared agenda packages and minutes for 68 meetings in four and a half months.

She also addressed the discord and disharmony she discovered in her new workplace.

“I look forward to the day when the turmoil eases up and everyone can work together as one cohesive group for the good of the residents and visitors of this beautiful little city,” she said.

Anderson also prepared an exit statement. After her dismissal, she handed it to Perry and left without further comment.

“Due to the atmosphere in the city, I don’t feel I was given a fair chance to shine. This office has been unfairly under attack since the day I arrived. I was warned to watch my back from all directions. Who I needed to guard against depended on which direction the advice was coming from,” her statement said.

“What a great place this would be if as much time and energy was devoted strictly for the good of the city as has been devoted to undermining duly elected officials. Frankly, life is too short, and this place is too beautiful and too small for all the animosity that is shown for each other,” she concluded.

BRADENTON BEACH – Officials shared ideas on resolving the parking problem that has plagued the Island’s three cities in recent years at last week’s meeting of the Coalition of Barrier Island Elected Officials.

Anna Maria Mayor SueLynn said her commission has asked the city attorney to draft an ordinance to establish paid parking in residential areas of the city, and Bradenton Beach Mayor Bill Shearon said his commission is in the discussion process.

Carol Soustek, of Holmes Beach’s Island Congestion Committee, presented a proposal made by one of her committee members.

“We have talked about parking for years, but what has changed is that the volume of people coming to visit the Island has tripled and we don’t have any space.

“The proposal is to restrict parking on all residential streets. The only ones we excluded are Key Royale and the beach accesses dedicated to beach renourishment.”

She said an option could be for residents to obtain permits to park in front of their homes, and that lawn maintenance vehicles would not be affected.

She said the plan is simple and cost effective and would be presented to the city commission in July.

Parking for beach renourishment

Holmes Beach Commissioner Jean Peelen asked how the plan would affect beach renourishment, which requires that a certain number of parking spaces be available to the public.

“Each of you are your own experts on parking in your city,” Charlie Hunsicker, director of the Manatee County Parks and Natural Resources Department, replied. “We got $5 million because all the parking locations met the state criteria, which is based on a specific formula.

“If we lose that eligibility, we’ll lose our state funding. If cities take action to reduce public parking to a level below their 100 percent minimum, the loss of funding will be made up by the cities themselves.”

“What is the formula?” Peelen asked.

Hunsicker said the Florida Department of Environmental Protection determines that and whether or not the eligibility is maintained.

“Before the cities take action on any particular parking plan, the board of county commissioners will ask you to provide written confirmation from the DEP that your proposal maintains your eligibility or if not the percent of eligibility reduction you will incur.”

Hunsicker said a parking assessment would be available in July to show the number of spaces county staff has measured for each street and that every city meets the criteria as of now.

He also stressed that cities cannot eliminate parking spaces after the fact and that parking must be portioned along the entire renourished beach and not just counted in one area such as Coquina Beach.

ANNA MARIA – Not all of the property owners agree with the city’s new Living Area Ratio (LAR) restrictions. The owners of seven properties have given notice they will file legal action if arrangements are not made to exclude them from the restrictions or pay them for the loss of use they had anticipated.

The properties include one at 114 Tern Drive, owned by Katherine and Mark McLean; 101 Willow Avenue, owned by KPI 48th Street Development, LLC; 881 North Shore Drive, owned by Gulf View Retreat, LLC; and at 104 Magnolia Avenue, 607 North Bay Boulevard, 857 North Shore Drive and 508 Spring Avenue, owned by Erik Abrahamson.

Peter Mackey represents the McLeans, and he is asking the city to overturn its refusal to grant a variance so the couple can expand their second living story bedroom for a wheelchair, which might be necessary as Katherine McLean’s osteoarthritis worsens. Mackey is also asking for the city to pay for the McLeans’ legal fees.

Sean Kelly, of Najmy|Thompson PL, is the attorney for the owners of 101 Willow and 881 North Shore. He is claiming a loss in value of $342,000 for both properties. Kelly said his clients would accept a variance to keep their development plans the way they are.

Local attorney Scott Rudacille is claiming a loss of $342,000 on 104 Magnolia, $85,000 on 607 North Shore, $196,900 on 857 North Shore and $111,700 on 508 Spring, for a total of $736,100.

“We would ask for the loss of value money or a variance,” Rudacille said. “We look forward to pursuing a remedy.”

The next step, according to City Attorney Jim Dye, is to speak with all the parties to reach a remedy out of court. They have 150 days to try before they go to court.

When the legislation was passed in June 2013, affected parties were given one year to notify the city of their plans to file against the city using the Bert J. Harris Property Rights Act.

BRADENTON BEACH –Police Chief Sam Speciale showed a video of crowds at Coquina Beach during the Memorial Day weekend so Island officials could understand the problems that confront police.

“The county came in and wanted to make the beach look a little more friendly,” Speciale explained at the Coalition of Barrier Island Elected Officials’ meeting last week.

“They took the some of the bollards out, and in our opinion, it was too many.

“As you can see the areas where we didn’t have a parking issue people were basically parking everywhere.”

He said he was not faulting county officials because when alerted to the problems, they returned the bollards.

“This is informational for the other city commissioners,” Speciale continued. “This is what we deal with on holiday weekends. We want to make sure everyone understands.

“We used to have slower season, but that’s not happening anymore. This is what happens every holiday weekend. It also happens at Manatee Beach and when it overflows here and there, they’ll go to Bayfront Park.”

Another issue police confront is people putting up posters and inviting an impromptu party.

“At 4:30 when the lifeguard staff leaves, these groups are coming into the park.” he said. “They say the lifeguards are gone so they don’t have to worry. On Memorial Day weekend, we had two full groups with a van and PA equipment come as the lifeguards were leaving.”

He said all of the no parking signs on the access roads were removed, so they can’t enforce parking regulations and a gate on the east side of the road north of Leffis Key also was removed, allowing people to drive down the access road when Gulf Drive backed up.

“Certain things were put there for certain reasons, and people were starting to return to the areas where we had issues in the past, and especially when we started seeing the posters going up,” Speciale said.

Charlie Bishop, of the Manatee County Property Management Department, said his department returned 98 percent of the bollards and no gates or bollards were removed to allow cruising on the Gulf side.

“I made a judgment call to try and make the beaches more presentable,” Bishop said. “I did keep safety and security in mind, but didn’t realize it would have this big of an impact.

“I apologize. We’ll work closely with the chief on any decisions out there in the future. We’ll learn from this and do a better job.”

Bishop said the county would return the gate near Leffis Key and has ordered new no parking signs. Speciale asked that the lifeguards be allowed to stay on duty longer.

HOLMES BEACH – True to his word, Code Enforcement Officer Dave Forbes began his crack down on offenders by bringing four cases to the code board last week.

The first case involved the failure of Coastline Consulting, 6915 Holmes Blvd. to obtain a business tax receipt (BTR). Forbes said after a series of letters and phone calls to President Jeffrey Hostetler to obtain the BTR, he issued a notice of violation giving Hostetler14 days to comply and set a hearing date.

Forbes said the cost of the action includes taxes, fees and penalties totals $450.81. Board member Renee Ferguson asked if the attorney’s fees are included, and Forbes said he wasn’t sure they applied.

However, Police Chief Bill Tokajer found a section of the code allowing for them, and Attorney Michael Connolly said he spent about an hour and a half at $185 per hour. That and Forbes’ labor totaled $308 for a grand total of $758.81.

The board found Hostetler in violation and ordered him to submit a BTR application and pay $758.81 by June 26. Connolly said if he doesn’t pay, he can be brought back to the board as a repeat offender, and the board can impose a fine of up to $250 per day.

Overgrown unkempt lot

Another case involved an overgrown and unkempt lot at 8 Palm Harbor Drive owned by Larry and Pauline Haley (Living Trust)/Suntrust Bank/Safeguard Properties.

Forbes said the case has dragged out over 14 months as he attempted to get various responsible parties to clean up the lot. He said partial compliance was reached several times, but full compliance was not reached until a new vendor took responsibility in June.

The board found Larry and Pauline Haley (Living Trust)/Suntrust Bank/Safeguard Properties in violation so if they are brought back to the board as a repeat offender, the board can impose a fine of up to $250 per day.

The board also discussed the problem of neighbors having to live next to an unkempt property for a long period of time while it goes through the code enforcement process. Chair Andy Sheridan said there are personal property and trespassing issues to consider.

Human Resource Analyst Mary Buonagura said one suggestion is to publish the names of property owners and mortgage companies that have derelict properties.

Tokajer said he and Forbes are working on ways to speed up the process by bringing cases to the code board sooner.

In a third case, a BTR, Forbes said the owner came into compliance, but he wanted her found in violation so if there were a repeat violation, the board could set a fine. The board did so with Ferguson dissenting.

Forbes asked that a fourth case be continued to next month’s meeting on Thursday, July 17, at 10 a.m.

The 4th Annual Food and Wine on Pine (FWP) was cancelled this year due to weather, but thanks to the generous support of the sponsors, the event was still able to match the 2013 contributions to a number of Island charitable institutions.

A total of $12,500 in proceeds was distributed to seven non-profits, one of which was the Island Community Center. But the story gets better because in true Island style, the generous Island spirit has shown through.

Jeanie Pickwick, executive director of Anna Maria Island Concert Chorus and Orchestra (AMICCO), approached FWP chair Caryn Hodge with the idea of asking the recipients to consider donating their proceeds to the one with an immediate need to remain operating – the Community Center.

All six non-profit representatives took the idea to their boards, and they all voted to donate their proceeds to the Save the Center Campaign. The groups are AMICCO, Cultural Connections of AMI, AMI Historical Society, AMI Preservation Trust, Artists Guild of AMI and the Rotary Club of AMI.

“This is one of the many things that makes this community so special, the fact that everyone rallies to help each other,” Hodge said. “We couldn’t be more proud of how these charities have selflessly given money that they could very well use for their own organizations in order to help one of their own.

“I want to especially thank Jeanie Pickwick, who suggested the idea. I would also like to recognize the board of directors of each of the contributing non-profits. Their generosity speaks to the true spirit of helping those in need.”

Upon being presented with the checks, Dawn Stiles, executive director of the Center said, “I’m touched and thrilled by your bighearted support of the Community Center. What an amazing not-for-profit community we have on Anna Maria Island. The $12,500 completes the $50,000 goal for our matching private donor.

“What a positive message this sends to the community that we are being bolstered by you. It’s a beautiful reminder that we can all continue to stand by each other and work together now and in the future.”

FWP sponsor Ed Chiles stated, “What a great gesture at a critical time. This says so much about our community.”

FWP will take place next year on Saturday, May 2, with two rain dates, Sunday, May 3, and Saturday, May 9 of the trolley sponsorships, said ad revenue is down, but they are still collecting enough to keep the trolley rides free plus donate excess money to non-profits, In fact, he said, they recently made an extra donation.

“We gave $10,000 to the Community Center,” he said, adding they are looking to make space on the trolleys for non-profit agency ads.

Chamber President Mary Ann Brockman said she attended the Barrier Island Elected Officials where they discussed paid parking.

“Holmes Beach wants no parking on the streets,” she said. “They want to make residents pay to park as well.”

Brockman said Manatee County Parks and Natural Resources Director Charlie Hunsicker warned the city officials about repercussions from banning parking.

“He said if they take away too much parking, the cities will have to give up points that qualify the county for state and federal renourishment funding,” she said. “If that happens, not only will the county be out the state and federal money on future projects, they will have to return the grant money from the last renourishment. It’s retroactive.”

Teitelbaum said U.S. Representative Vern Buchannan of Florida is on the House Ways and Means Committee and he has helped make sure the Island’s renourishments are financed so the cities should not jeopardize future projects.

“Those beaches are everything to us,” he said.

The Chamber held a membership drive by telephone Friday, anchored by Membership Chair Eric Cairns, who said they got a number of new members.

“We will end the year with more members than last year,” he promised.

Brockman said the volunteers are excited about going to members’ businesses to observe them so they can more accurately tell visitors to the Chamber about them. She said it had been a long time since they had done that and it is very beneficial for everyone. If you are a current or potential Chamber member and want to show off your business, call the Chamber at 778-1541.

HOLMES BEACH – The Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce has a new board member. Chamber Board Chair Larry Chatt announced last week that Mike Brinson, of Anna Maria Island Accommodations, has been chosen to replace Linda Dickson, who stepped down to attend to family matters.

At the meeting, board member David Teitelbaum, who is in charge of the trolley sponsorships, said ad revenue is down, but they are still collecting enough to keep the trolley rides free plus donate excess money to non-profits, In fact, he said, they recently made an extra donation.

“We gave $10,000 to the Community Center,” he said, adding they are looking to make space on the trolleys for non-profit agency ads.

Chamber President Mary Ann Brockman said she attended the Barrier Island Elected Officials where they discussed paid parking.

“Holmes Beach wants no parking on the streets,” she said. “They want to make residents pay to park as well.”

Brockman said Manatee County Parks and Natural Resources Director Charlie Hunsicker warned the city officials about repercussions from banning parking.

“He said if they take away too much parking, the cities will have to give up points that qualify the county for state and federal renourishment funding,” she said. “If that happens, not only will the county be out the state and federal money on future projects, they will have to return the grant money from the last renourishment. It’s retroactive.”

Teitelbaum said U.S. Representative Vern Buchannan of Florida is on the House Ways and Means Committee and he has helped make sure the Island’s renourishments are financed so the cities should not jeopardize future projects.

“Those beaches are everything to us,” he said. The Chamber held a membership drive by telephone Friday, anchored by Membership Chair Eric Cairns, who said they got a number of new members.

“We will end the year with more members than last year,” he promised.

Brockman said the volunteers are excited about going to members’ businesses to observe them so they can more accurately tell visitors to the Chamber about them. She said it had been a long time since they had done that and it is very beneficial for everyone. If you are a current or potential Chamber member and want to show off your business, call the Chamber at 778-1541.