Two black skimmer chicks were killed, one was injured and five loggerhead sea turtle nests were run over by what witnesses described as a laughing couple in a two- or three-wheeled vehicle with a single headlight and knobby tires around 10:30 p.m. on Saturday night near the Holmes Beach/Bradenton Beach city line.

Loggerheads, a federally threatened species, and black skimmers, a state species of special concern, are protected by local, state and federal laws. The crimes are violations of the U.S. Endangered Species Act and the U.S. Migratory Bird Treaty Act ranging from a first-degree misdemeanor to a third-degree felony, carrying penalties of $500 to $1,500 in fines with jail time of 60 days to five years, FWC Public Information Officer Baryl Martin said.

Police responded as quickly as they could, but had other calls and are short-staffed, a problem which needs to be addressed as Anna Maria Island’s popularity soars, said Suzi Fox, director of Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring.

Investigators tracked the vehicle’s tire marks to Cortez Road, where it left the beach, she said, adding that some witnesses at first thought the vehicle belonged to Turtle Watch, prompting discussion Monday of outfitting the organization’s ATV with special lights. The only vehicles allowed on the beach are law enforcement, lifeguards, beach renourishment crews and Turtle Watch.

Dead ends

Officers from both cities searched unsuccessfully in the nearby Cortez fishing village for the vehicle, which is likely an ATV, Fox said.

Security cameras at Bridgewalk and Silver Surf resorts in Bradenton Beach along the route marked by the tire tracks were not aimed at the beach at that time Saturday night, General Manager Barbara Baker said.

The security camera at Tortuga Inn, also on the route, was not aimed at the beach, owner David Teitelbaum said, adding that the beach webcam at Seaside Inn was not working Saturday night.

The BeachHouse restaurant security camera, near where the vehicle left the beach, was not facing in the direction the vehicle was coming from, a spokeswoman said.

A beach webcam at Cedar Cove, closest to the incident, is offline while a new website is launched, but still runs at night for staff to monitor beach chairs and tents illegally left out at night in violation of turtle laws, a spokesman said, adding that it only runs live streaming video and does not record.

Taking aim

Witnesses to the incident said they saw a white man and white woman in their late 20s laughing, yelling and aiming for the turtle nests, which are marked with bright yellow stakes, Fox said. The bird nesting colony also is marked with stakes, but chicks that cannot yet fly often walk outside the staked area.

People on the beach tried in vain to get the offenders to stop, she said.

“There could have been people hurt on this beach,” Fox said. “I want to protect not only turtles and birds but residents and visitors and our children and grandchildren.”

Two black skimmer chicks that could not yet fly were run over and killed, and a third injured chick is being treated at Wildlife Education and Rehabilitation Inc. in Bradenton Beach.

The chick is eating, a good sign, but is not using its right leg, said Gail Straight, who has experience taking care of black skimmer chicks after storms separate them from parents. If the chick recovers this week, she does not intend to put it back in its colony on the beach “because it’s the Fourth of July and there’s too many wackos.”

The beaches should be closed earlier in the evening, Straight suggested. All the beaches in Bradenton Beach, including Coquina Beach Park, close at midnight, according to the Bradenton Beach Police Department. In Holmes Beach, Manatee Beach Park closes at 10 p.m., Holmes Beach police said.

Trauma in the colony

Turtle Watch volunteer Birgit Kremer e-mailed Fox on Sunday morning that the birds were confused, nervous and aggressive as she made her rounds noting tents and chairs that were illegally left on the beach overnight, then seeing the tire tracks and one of the two dead chicks.

“This was a very sad morning,” she wrote.

Fox asked beachgoers to be especially considerate of the traumatized birds over the busy Fourth of July holiday. State law prohibits fireworks displays with exploding, launching or projectile fireworks on the beach.

The turtle nests contained around 500 eggs, she estimated.

“We won’t know if the turtle eggs were harmed in the nests until after the hatch date,” she said, adding that Turtle Watch volunteers replaced the stakes but could not be 100 percent sure where they originally were. Turtle hatchlings could emerge from outside the staked areas, and beachgoers should steer clear of staked turtle nests north of the pink Anna Maria Island Club, she said.

At least one of the nests had been adopted by contributors to Turtle Watch. Comments on Turtle Watch’s facebook page included several people calling the act “disgusting,” “cruel” and “stupid.”

Anyone with information is asked to call Holmes Beach police at 941-708-5804 or Bradenton Beach police at 941-778-6311. The not-for-profit Turtle Watch is looking into ways to offer a reward.

HOLMES BEACH – The simple statement came during a presentation by Community Center officials when Commissioner Jean Peelen asked about the status of the fitness center, ending months of controversy.

“There is no major fitness center concept,” declared Jim Froeschle, treasurer of the Community Center’s board of directors, at last week’s city commission meeting. “We are not becoming a fitness center; we are a Community Center.”

He and Executive Director Kristin Lessig appeared before the commission to present an update on the status of the Community Center. Commissioners made the request after they voted in May not to release the city’s $22,500 contribution for the Center until they got further information.

At issue was the plan by the Center’s board of directors to build a fitness facility on the second floor of the Center. Residents, some city officials and two Island fitness center owners opposed the plan.

Froeschle said the fitness center idea came in “an early concept drawing that was released that was very premature. It was way in the early stages and actually since then has gone through multiple alterations.

“The intent is to have an open area that we can be flexible in how we use it. it’s a multi-use, open, flexible concept. We’re defining ourselves around the family concept. I don’t see us competing with anyone.”

Financial crisis

Froeschle said he came on when the Center was in the midst of a financial crisis that began in June 2014, when the former executive director announced that the Center could be forced to close due to lack of funds.

Froeschle said the crisis was due to several factors, including debt from the new building without any increase in program activity or fees, a serious decline in donations and the impact of the recession on government budgets, resulting in a decrease in government funding.

“We had a structural deficit of $200,000 a year,” Froeschle said. “In the last six years, we had already lost $1.2 million. Our reserves had dwindled to under $80,000. We knew we had to take bold action.”

Froeschle said the board took emergency steps including changing the board’s makeup, launching a fund-raising campaign, managing expenses, implementing financial controls, tightening revenues, reviewing and restructuring staff and streamlining work areas.

“These steps are already having an impact and are visible in our results, and once we get a full year on these actions we think we can generate a $50,000 to $100,000 improvement in our bottom line,” he said.

The Community Center board asked vice chair Cindy Thompson to act as interim director and then executive director and launched a search and hired Kristin Lessig to become managing director.

On the right track

“We now feel we have ourselves on the right track and as of last night, Cindy Thompson will resign and return to the board as vice chair and Kristin has moved to executive director,” Froeschle told the board.

He said other steps include giving program managers more responsibility to generate new program ideas, making the best use of the building, expanding the fund-raising programs and seeking more government aid.

“We can’t fill the whole gap,” he concluded. “We recognize coming to the cities and asking for help also implies a responsibility on our part.

“We will engage you more often and keep you current and pledge to keep you involved in the Center. We think by re-engaging with the community, we can restore the sense of a community and Community Center partnership, but we need your help and the help of the community.”

Froeschle said if the Center could get back to the funding level of six years go, it would cut the structural deficit in half, prompting Peelen to state that the city’s funding has remained the same. Froeschle said funding from Manatee County and the city of Anna Maria dropped during that period.

Commission questions

Commissioner Marvin Grossman asked about the Center’s debt. Froeschle said the new building cost $5 million to construct six years ago, and the current debt is $1.1 million. He said payments of principal and interest are $8,300 per month.

Grossman asked about the size of the building and if it is larger than the population can support. Froeschle said the building is not too big for the Island and having adequate programs to use the space is key.

Chair Judy Titsworth asked about the resort housing memberships, which were to be used to fund the fitness center.

Froeschle said they represent 14 percent of the memberships, but “they don’t represent 14 percent of the utilization. There aren’t many people who come to a rental property on this Island and go to a building.

“There were a few people that wanted to look at that but the reality is the Community Center is not in a position to do it. We don’t have any means to the authority to do that. We recognize that by focusing on growth of programs rather than growth of membership, our roots are with the Island people.”

Commissioner Carol Soustek asked about building permits for the structure. Froeschle said the Center received one to renovate the childcare area, and local contractors are donating their services.

Expanding services

Lessig then spoke about programs, activities and services and noted, “Our main objective is to embrace the diversity of the community and bring the sense of community back to the Community Center.

“We’re looking at expanding our range of services and adding programs, but also taking a different approach in the way in which we serve the community.

“We want to be a complete provider of services on this Island again. We’re more than just a building.”

For youths and teens that includes reviving the teen program, adding specialty programming, providing family support and expanding the K through fifth-grade out of school programs.

Adult and senior services will provide family support programs, sports leagues and tournaments, health and wellness activities and specialty programs. The Center hopes to become a provider for Medicare’s Silver Sneakers program that that helps older adults by encouraging physical activity and offering social events.

She said they plan to add more community activities and events such as fish fries, BBQs, beach luaus, concerts and movies on the field and sports leagues and tournaments.

The building also provides community services such as functioning as a post hurricane shelter, a landing pad for the trauma helicopter and a site for health and wellness screening, blood drives and CPR/First Aid training.

Commission decision

Titsworth praised Lessig as gracious and compassionate and said, “We all feel very strongly about saving the Community Center. We just don’t want to throw our money away.”

Peelen said Community Center officials referred to their new board members as “having proven community leadership” and cautioned them, “I have been involved in communities where a non-profit was in desperate financial straits and just reached out to anybody who had money.

“When you get somebody that has a lot of money, but is not respected in the community or is not a community leader or a business leader, that can cause great damage within the whole community.”

Mayor Bob Johnson said, “I’m very encouraged by what has happened and pleased with the attitude, sincerity, the openness of the exchanges and the respectful discussions. I think this is the potential for getting back to the principles that grew this thing in the past.”

He recommended releasing the $22,500 in funding in the 2014-15 budget and looking at funding for 2015-16 during budget discussions. The commissioners approved the recommendation unanimously.

HOLMES BEACH – David Levin, attorney for tree house owners Lynn Tran and Richard Hazen, has filed for a written opinion regarding a recent court decision denying an appeal of a judge’s ruling.

The judge’s ruling upheld the Code Enforcement Board’s 2013 order regarding the structure on the beach in front of Angelino’s Sea Lodge. The code board’s order was to remove the violations or demolish the tree house.

In the motion, Levin said, “The undersigned express the belief, based on a reasoned and studied professional judgment, that a written opinion will provide legitimate basis for Supreme Court review for the reasons set forth herein.”

Levin’s reasons are as follows:

• The city’s code prohibits all construction within 50 feet of the erosion control line. However Florida Statute allows certain structures within that line, creating a conflict and making the local law “unconstitutional and invalid.”

• Tran and Hazen relied in good faith upon the opinion of the building official that they did not need a permit for the tree house, incurring “extensive obligations and expenses as a consequence.”

• The code board relied upon a survey of the property “which determined that the tree house was located within the erosion control line 50-foot setback.” Levin maintained that the unsigned, unsealed survey was hearsay because “neither the surveyor, nor anyone acting under his supervision testified at the Code Enforcement Board hearing.”

CORTEZ – She is one of only four people in the historic Cortez fishing village still living in their family home.

With equal skill, she can recite Bible verses, fine details of the relationships among Cortez families at least two generations back, who fished with whom on what boats, and the postmasters and postmistresses of Cortez, in order.

She has protested marinas, condos and other proposed encroachments into the village with her razor-sharp comments, contributed to books about Cortez and founded HOPE Family Services in 1979 to assist victims of domestic violence.

A 90th birthday party for Dr. Mary Fulford Green will be held on Saturday, July 4, at 5:30 p.m. at Fisherman’s Hall. The venue, across from the old Cortez fire station, was chosen “since you never know what will happen when you light that many candles!” according to the invitation.

The matriarch of Cortez is working on her newest projects, establishing the Cortez Village Historical Society’s Cortez Cultural Center in the historic Monroe cottage on the FISH Preserve east of the village, and crocheting a pink blanket for her newest grandchild.

Green was born in the house next door to the one she lives in now, the Walton “Tink” and Edith Wilson Fulford house, which the family moved into when she turned one. She was the valedictorian of her class at Bradenton High School, now Manatee High School, and earned B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. degrees at Florida State College for Women, now Florida State University, in science, chemistry and education.

A commanding personality and a redhead, she taught high school science classes, was a guidance counselor in Florida’s public schools and raised two sons and two daughters with her husband, who retired from the Air Force and brought Green back to her home of Cortez in 1974.

A natural step for a woman with an encyclopedic memory of local history, she was instrumental in establishing the Cortez Village Historical Society in 1984, and in having Cortez listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places.

Often seen serving strawberry shortcake at the annual Cortez Commercial Fishing Festival, Green was involved in the creation of FISH, the Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage, and the 95-acre FISH Preserve, funded by the festival. She was an early supporter in the establishment of the Florida Maritime Museum at Cortez in the former Cortez Rural Graded School and in the preservation and relocation of the historic Bratton store to the museum compound, all of which she was honored for by the Manatee County Commission in 2012 with a proclamation naming April 14 as Dr. Mary Fulford Green Day.

Send birthday greetings to Green at P.O. Box 963, Cortez, FL 34215, or e-mail markfgreen@hotmail.com.

ANNA MARIA – The Sandbar restaurant will host the Island’s lone Fourth of July fireworks show after owner Ed Chiles announced he was cancelling the July 3 BeachHouse fireworks show to protect nearby shore bird nests. The result will be a huge crowd of people on the Island to watch the show. Some will bring their own fireworks, and police agencies on the Island are urging them to forget it.

Sgt. Paul Davis, who heads the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office station in Anna Maria, said additional personnel will be on duty on the Fourth of July, including members of their Special Response Team, to handle the crowds on the beach. He said they would confiscate fireworks and write citations for those they catch with them. The fine is $500. He had a further warning for beach-goers.

“Leave your alcohol at home, too,” he said. “Alcohol is not permitted on the beach.”

Davis said they would still enforce parking regulations.

“Parking is allowed where signs say it is allowed, and remember to park facing the direction of traffic with your tires off the pavement,” he said. “After the fireworks, a lot of people will be leaving, so expect a wait of 40 minutes or more and be patient.”

Davis said it will be a fun night if everyone obeys the rules.

“We want everyone to come out and have a good time,” he said. “Please don’t make me have to spoil your fun.”

Those who pay $125 per adult and $50 per child for the VIP party at the Sandbar will be treated to an extensive menu of seafood and other delicacies plus an open bar, under the shelter of the pavilion. Call 778-8709 to see about availability.

Holmes Beach Police Chief William Tokajer said police expect an increase of people on the beach on the Fourth watching the fireworks show, and they will have a police presence on the beach looking for fireworks. Those who are caught, will have their fireworks confiscated and receive a citation with a $75 fine. Police also will be looking for alcohol on the beach, parking violations and traffic violations. Since those leaving the Sandbar restaurant will travel through Holmes Beach to get off the Island, there would be traffic tie-ups. He also had advice for parents.

“Keep an eye on your children as they handle sparklers or poppers,” he said. “Make sure you know where they are at all times because it will most likely be crowded where you are.”

In Bradenton Beach, police will be working to make sure beachgoers stay safe.

“We’ll be confiscating the dangerous fireworks and making sure everyone is safe,” Police Chief Sam Speciale said. “We probably won’t have nearly as many cars from off the Island as we normally have, although we’ll have as many vacationers out.”

Speciale had advice for those on the beach and driving home.

“Be patient,” he said. “If you’re in a slow moving crowd or stuck in traffic, relax and put yourself on Island time.”

ANNA MARIA – The 17 trees planted in City Pier Park are doomed, Florida certified arborist Lori Ballard concludes in a report filed with the city.

According to her report, the city did not do enough to get the transplanted trees a start. They were hand watered for the first two weeks and then a drip irrigation system was installed and recently replaced with a rotary irrigation system.

“The most crucial time of the establishment period for newly installed trees is the first three months,” the report says. “Trees should be watered … three gallons of water per diameter inch per day the first month, the same amount every other day for the second month and the same amount once or twice a week for the third month.

“Applying three gallons of water per diameter inch more than likely could not be accomplished by hand watering considering the subject trees are about eight to 10 inches in diameter,” the report added.

Ballard also said the trees were planted too deep, which causes them to suffocate because air cannot get to the roots and they cannot break out of the root ball, causing the tree to not grow or develop properly. It also makes the tree susceptible to pests and pathogens.

She recommends the trees be removed and replaced with nursery grown trees. She said the trees came from a reputable grower in the industry, Turner Tree and Landscape, which included a guarantee for labor and materials. She recommended that Turner or another reputable landscaper plant new trees and make sure they have a proper irrigation system.

Twenty-one trees were planted in 2013 by the city after receiving a gift of $50,000 from resident Rex Hagen, who wanted to help the six lots the city had bought become a park. He withdrew his offer after the city commission refused to install bathrooms. The city reimbursed Hagen and then spent money to finish the irrigation system.

Four trees were taken out when the city decided they were dead or dying. One tree blew over two times and was replanted.

Mayor Dan Murphy said he would wait until after the restrooms are installed before addressing the trees. He unveiled plans for the single building with arches over the doors and a tin roof plus an outdoor shower and drinking fountains. He said the county was involved with the planning and he would show the plans to the city commission at their next meeting.

Another point of view

Local native plant expert Mike Miller says the trees that are there look bad because they came from a nursery on the mainland, were planted near the bay and suffered through three salt storms the first year. Also, the timing of the planting was a factor.

“Oaks are deciduous trees that drop leaves in the winter, although not as many here because it’s semi-tropical,” he said. “They immediately lost leaves after they were planted because it was in October, and people said they were dying.”

Miller said oaks can stand salt, but these oaks came from east Manatee County, where there is no salt water.

“When a tree like those comes into this area, leaves drop off because they are not used to the salt,” he said. “When new leaves grow, they become tolerant to the salt and subsequent growths of leaves will look better.”
Miller recommends they keep the trees and let them get accustomed to the “salt life” before declaring them dead.

“We’re dealing with trees,” he said. “They grow slowly so patience is a virtue.”

HOLMES BEACH – Former contractor Chris Arnold has been sentenced to 364 days in jail and will have to make restitution to the city in a case involving grand theft, when he charged the city for curb repair he did not do.

Circuit Judge Deno Economou also sentenced Arnold to 14 years probation when he gets out of jail and 100 hours of community service.

A former employee of Arnold tipped police off in 2013 to his observation that only half of the work was actually done. The city found that Arnold had just painted over some of the curbing instead of repairing or replacing it.

Since his arrest, Arnold claimed he had trouble finding work because of health issues. He said after the sentencing he wished someone had called him instead of having him arrested.

Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer said at one point, Arnold asked if he could perform more work for the city as partial restitution. But Tokajer said that was unacceptable.

Tokajer said he was satisfied with the outcome.

“I think Detective (Sgt. Brian) Hall did a great job in preparing this case and Mr. Arnold pled guilty,” he said. “I feel justice has been served.”