ANNA MARIA – Mayor Dan Murphy proposes communicating rather than waging war with state legislators over parking garages and the potential consolidation or elimination of Anna Maria Island’s three city governments.
During the Jan. 26 Anna Maria City Commission meeting, Murphy discussed his approach in reaction to State Rep. Will Robinson Jr. and other members of the Manatee County legislative delegation recently expressing a shared desire for state legislation that could allow Manatee County to preempt the city of Holmes Beach’s building regulations in order to build a public parking garage for beachgoers. The local delegation of state legislators also seeks a state-funded study regarding the potential consolidation or dissolution of the three Island cities and city governments.
Murphy referenced headlines that ran on the front pages of local newspapers. One read, “AMI fights back against state representatives.” The other read, “Holmes Beach readies options for counterattack.”
Murphy, who served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, said, “Being a combat veteran, I can tell you that those are fighting terms and they mean war. All you need to do is look at Ukraine and you can see how much is resolved by war. A lot more could be resolved through negotiation.”
Murphy said he already met with Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth and Bradenton Beach Mayor John Chappie to discuss these concerns.
“We discussed these issues, the parking issues, Rep. Robinson’s comments, who might be behind all of this and what the purpose is,” Murphy said.
“I’m a firm believer in ‘Occam’s Razor.’ Occam was a medieval philosopher. Occam came up with this brilliant idea that the most obvious answer to the question is probably the correct solution. I firmly believe that what’s behind all this is Representative Will Robinson. This is the person that made the comments. So, I picked up the phone and called him. Representative Robinson and I discussed his intent. He said he’s had a lot of grief and phone calls and complaints from his constituents about not being able to get a parking place at the beach, and that includes our city,” Murphy said.
Murphy said Robinson mentioned a past meeting in which Robinson, State Sen. Jim Boyd, Titsworth and others discussed the possibility of the county constructing a public parking garage in Holmes Beach. Murphy said Robinson left that meeting with the impression that a parking garage would at least be considered. Murphy said Robinson was then shocked and surprised when the Holmes Beach Commission adopted an ordinance that strengthened the city’s existing parking garage prohibitions.
Murphy said Robinson also told him he gets complaints from Island property owners about their taxes being too high. He said Robinson wonders if taxes could be reduced by consolidating some of the similar services provided by the three cities. Murphy said Robinson told him that he’s not advocating for the consolidation of the three cities.
Murphy asked Robinson if he’d meet with the Island mayors to discuss these issues face-to-face. Murphy then called Boyd, had a similar conversation and asked Boyd if he’d be willing to meet with Robinson and the mayors. Murphy said he, Titsworth, Chappie, Robinson and Boyd agreed to meet on Monday, Jan. 30, in a private, closed-door setting at Anna Maria City Hall.
“We need to sort through the issues and people need to be able to say what they want to say. I don’t know what the outcome of that meeting might be. It might be a miserable failure on my part to try to stop a war from happening between the cities, the Island and the state of Florida. That’s what my intent is,” Murphy said.
“I realize that no good deed goes unpunished, but I think it’s the right thing to do. I wasn’t elected to throw gasoline on the fire. I was elected to get things done. The first step in getting things done is communicating. Having open and honest communications, if for no other reason than there’s no more surprises and we don’t have to worry about Occam’s Razor anymore because we know what the answer is and who’s behind it. That’s what the mission is,” Murphy said.
In response, Commissioner Jon Crane said, “Godspeed.”
Commissioner Deanie Sebring said, “If we can discuss how we all can work together that’s going to go a long way.”
Newly appointed Commissioner Charlie Salem said, “It’s clear that they have a particular point of view and it looks like there could be some room for discussion. They did a lot of this without consulting the Island. Time is short. The legislative session starts in a few weeks. I think it will be important to have some measurable outcomes from this discussion with them, and on their part to signal that they’re interested in two-way communication as well. It’s admirable that you picked up the phone to call them. I encourage you to get something out of that meeting that will make us all more comfortable.”
Past communications
In June 2020, Senate President Bill Galvano and Robinson sent a letter to Titsworth about the on-street parking reductions that occurred in Holmes Beach in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In part, that letter said, “Representative Robinson and I are writing today to share our growing concern with myriad impacts of locally-imposed restrictions on public parking in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. It has come to our attention that on-street parking has recently been reduced by at least 45 percent, impacting the ability of residents and visitors to patronize local businesses and participate in recreational activities on our beaches. Florida’s legislature has invested significant taxpayer dollars to support the long-term health of our local beaches, yet local government is now eliminating parking, effectively restricting public access to public beaches. We respectfully request that you re-evaluate plans to reduce on-street parking.”
In February 2022, Robinson, Boyd and State Rep. Tommy Gregory sent Titsworth a similar letter that said in part, “As members of the Manatee County Legislative Delegation, we are writing today regarding the ongoing locally-imposed public parking restrictions in Holmes Beach. Manatee County residents and visitors should not be turned away from our beaches due to parking restrictions. As a delegation who has secured taxpayer dollars for beach renourishment, we respectfully request you reexamine your decision and approach to reduce on-street parking.”
Related coverage:
AMI fights back against state representatives
Bradenton Beach Commission opposes state attacks on home rule
