ANNA MARIA – About 200 people gathered in the Anna Maria Island Community Center gymnasium Wednesday evening to discuss potential solutions that might help the Center escape the dire financial straits it has sailed into.

During the June 4 town hall meeting, Executive Director Dawn Stiles and board Chairman Scott Rudacille stood before the assembled citizenry and presented a blunt assessment of the Center’s operations.

“We are at a crossroads and we have to make some tough decisions about what’s going to happen to this place,” Rudacille said.

He said the Center had about $60,000 in remaining cash assets. Earlier that day, Stiles said operating expenses range from $80,000 to $90,000 per month. Her research indicates the Center operated at a surplus from 2000 to 2007 and the losses began in 2008.

Approximately $1.1 million is owed on the facility, completed in 2007 at a cost of roughly $4.5 million. The monthly mortgage payment is $8,667.

The community speaks

Many who spoke Wednesday night said the Center was top heavy and needed to get costs under control.

Stiles received some criticism for her first-year performance, and Darrren Horesh questioned the board’s decision to hire an out of state resident to succeed longtime director Peirrette Kelly.

Stiles was also praised for accepting the job last year despite the looming financial challenges.

The board was criticized for allowing the financial situation to reach a state of crisis, and it was suggested that an influx of retirees and older board members would help offset demands placed on younger board members, who are still working and raising families.

Rudacille said the crisis was triggered in part by an unexpected spike in construction costs, followed by a recession. This year’s Island Affaire fundraiser fell far short of expectations, and it was suggested the Center is being impacted by the Island’s demographic shift from residents to visitors.

Business consultant Beth Skidmore offered some free advice: “The real problem is not the mortgage; the problem is your programs,” she said, noting that non-profit organizations rely on their programs to help cover costs.

“You can’t take those kind of losses,” she said of the $400,000 in program scholarships provided this year and $172,000 the previous year.

Former board treasurer Randy Langley said scholarships climbed from 68 to 250 during his time on the board, and one of the reasons he stepped down last year was because it angered him to see parents taking advantage of free programs while driving luxury automobiles.

Stiles said greater proof of income and need requirements have been put in place.

One audience member said too much talk focused on donors and scholarships and not enough on middle class families that live on the Island and pay for recreational programs.

Jennifer Cascardo said, “Your social media is dismal.”

She pleaded for an upgraded website and suggested an Island-wide point of sale fundraiser.

Holmes Beach Commissioner David Zaccagnino produced a $10,000 check from an unnamed donor and encouraged the community to continue supporting the center during the financial and philosophical restructuring.

Rudacille said $500,000 to $700,000 would sustain the center for the next two or three years, but former board Chairman Greg Ross suggested the focus be narrowed to $250,000 to $350,000 in order to survive the next few months.

The after effect

Thursday morning, Stiles and the board created an action plan based on what they heard.

“The board members all committed their own financial resources and voted on several items that will have an immediate impact on cash flow,” Stiles said in a Friday afternoon press release.

The board directed Stiles to cut operating costs by $50,000 to $100,000 in the coming fiscal year and to discontinue mortgage payments while refinancing options are explored. She was also told to access any funds available in an existing endowment trust.

Further evaluation will be made of the programs offered, the population served and how the Center is used. The to-do list includes increased revenues, decreased costs and an examination of staffing needs that may result in cutbacks and a greater reliance on volunteers.

Stiles said the meeting did result in a “generous financial challenge” provided by a donor closely affiliated with the Center who will match up to $50,000 in new donations.

“This is an opportunity to double your contribution to the Center at a time of desperate need,” Stiles said.

To donate, volunteer, or assist, contact Stiles at 941-778-1908, ext. 9201.

 

BRADENTON BEACH – It is back to the drawing board for the Bradenton Beach City Pier reconstruction project.

Based on recommendations made by City Attorney Ricinda Perry during Thursday’s special commission meeting, commissioners unanimously agreed to rescind the pier reconstruction contract previously awarded to Duncan Seawall, and to discard all bids previously received.

On May 22, the commission selected Duncan Seawall by a 3-2 margin as the firm that would rebuild the city’s historic fishing pier. The decision was based in part on the Pier Team advisory board recommendation that the contract be awarded to Duncan or Tampa Bay Marine, with no preference given between those two.

When the commission selected Duncan, a third bidder, Pac Comm, presented Perry with a bid protest saying they should have been given the job because they submitted the lowest bid, ranked highest in the bid evaluation matrix and promised to do the job in the shortest amount of time.

Tampa Bay Marine later joined Pac Comm in protesting the bid awarded to Duncan.

All three firms sent representatives to the June 5 meeting and each were given a chance to address the commission.

Before any decisions were made, Perry told commissioners they could also stick with their original choice and let the bid protest process play out.

Pac Comm attorney Walter Sowa argued for that alternative and contended the city did not have the legal right to withdraw the existing bids.

Perry countered that argument, saying the original bid documents clearly state that the city has the right to accept or discard all bids.

Apples to oranges

When the new request for proposal (RFP) is issued, interested bidders will have two weeks to submit their proposals. The original RFP asked bidders to provide secondary bids for additional options such as double-coated pier pilings. Those alternate bids varied greatly and contributed to the commission’s indecision when making its selection. The new RFP will call for baseline bids only, so commissioners are not asked to compare apples to oranges the next time around.

The new RFP will also require bidders to provide and install all electrical and lighting components associated with the job. In an effort to cut costs, the previous approach called for the city to purchase the pier lights directly and have them installed by a subcontractor.

Reactions

After the meeting, Sowa remained displeased. He repeated an earlier statement about “arbitrary and capricious cancellation,” but said he needed to confer with his client before issuing further comment.

Tampa Bay Marine’s Chris Theriot said he supported the commission’s decision and looked forward to submitting a new bid.

Duncan representative Steve Liebel said he respected the commission’s position and had no issues with being asked to submit a new bid. He was confident Duncan would submit another winning bid, but said there would be no hard feelings or legal action if the city chose another firm.

The additional work required of ZNS Engineering to oversee a second round of bids will cost the city approximately $7,500, and commissioners hope to select a pier contractor later this month.

BRADENTON BEACH – The city lost a dear friend when former City Clerk Nora Idso passed away early Monday morning after a tough battle with brain and breast cancer.

Idso served the city as deputy clerk, clerk and treasurer for nearly 15 years. Last week, prior to her passing, she was honored by those who knew and loved her.

During Thursday’s commission meeting, Commissioner Jan Vosburgh proposed that a commemorative plaque bearing Idso’s name be placed on a pier bench when the pier renovations are complete. The commission unanimously supported her request.

“I had the opportunity to meet and work with a very special individual. This lady devoted herself to the city, putting her own needs last, even up to her last months of service to this city while fighting two forms of cancer,” Vosburgh said.

“No matter the question, no matter the need, Nora was always ready willing and able to provide assistance and answers. She treated each and every individual she encountered with respect and the utmost courtesy,” Vosburgh added.

“Because of her, this city was a better place. She made things happen and was essential to the success of so many projects. Nora is greatly missed and will always be a member of the Bradenton Beach family,” she concluded.

With Idso’s husband Terry in attendance, Vosburgh read letters written by former Commissioner Ric Gatehouse and former Mayor Bob Bartelt before former Commissioner Gay Breuler began an emotional procession to the speaker’s podium.

“What a fantastic privilege it was to work with Nora. She loved Bradenton Beach and she worked so hard. The last year was difficult, and I want you all to remember that with compassion,” Breuler said.

With tears welling up in his eyes, Police Chief Sam Speciale, said, “I’m not in uniform today because I’m here as Nora’s friend. I miss coming in every day, sitting down and talking about food. I did that every day for 15 years or so. That’s what I’m going to remember, and that’s what I’m going to miss.”

Choked up with emotion, County Commissioner and former Bradenton Beach Mayor John Chappie spoke last.

“Nora would say she learned from me, but let this fact be clear: I learned so much from Nora. She made me a better mayor and a better person. She would calm me down and tell me not to overthink it. She was always open, honest and straightforward. That’s why I love her, and I’m blessed to have her as a friend.”

Sunday morning, City Attorney Ricinda Perry said, “Nora served the city with utmost integrity and a strong work ethic. To me, she was the heartbeat of the city. She was a treasured friend to all she served.”

Idso’s son, Jason Beko, said, “Nora was a loving mother and grandmother, always putting friends and family first. Her grandchildren loved visiting her at the Bradenton Beach offices. They especially enjoyed looking at the newest members of her pig collection and stealing a chocolate when grandma wasn’t looking. Everyone could sense how passionate she was about her work and how deeply she cared about her adopted city.”

Sunday evening, during the final hours of his beloved wife’s life, Nora’s husband, Terry, shared his thoughts: “Nora was my wife of over 37 years, my best friend and my soul-mate. I will miss her dearly, but I know she's in God's hands and will feel no more pain. She suffered so much in the last couple of years, but rarely complained. Nora was the bravest woman I have ever known. Other than her family and close friends, Bradenton Beach was her first love.”

Soon, 25 new changing stations and 13 new bike racks may be installed at Manatee Public Beach, Coquina Beach and Bayfront Park with $75,000 from tourism resort tax funds.

The Manatee County Tourist Development Council (TDC) voted unanimously on Friday to recommend that the Manatee County Commission spend $50,000 on the changing stations and $25,000 on the bike racks, which will be shaped like sea turtles, fish and other marine life.

The changing stations will be built by county staff and the bike racks will be purchased from a manufacturer, according to Elliott Falcione, director of the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The county attorney’s office will help revise the county’s tourism ordinance to allow the expenditure, he told the TDC.

Assistant Manatee County Attorney Bill Clague told the TDC that the county can only spend its tourism resort tax funds for capital costs of specified infrastructure, operation and maintenance of infrastructure and tourism promotion.

Resort tax funds have been allocated to the Bridge Street Pier in Bradenton Beach, $1 million; McKechnie Field, $400,000; the Manatee Performing Arts Center, $250,000; and the Manatee Pubic Beach café, $45,000, among others.

Tourism report

April tourism was up 5.9 percent from April 2013, and up 6.1 percent for the first quarter of the 2014 over the same period in 2013, according to Walter Klages, the county’s tourism consultant, adding that the recession is over.

“But we will see a recession or depression again in this country, and we need to prepare for that now,” by keeping the county’s brand positioned in the minds of consumers, Falcione said.

Part of the recent local tourism increase is due to an increase in marketing funds for Visit Florida, the state’s tourism agency, Falcione said, adding that the state nearly doubled its investment in marketing from 2010 to 2013 to $53 million.

Locally, niche markets of ecotourism, agritourism, culinary tourism, arts and culture tourism and wedding tourism have bolstered the industry, he said.

But the beach is still the biggest reason people visit, according to Klages’ report.

BRADENTON BEACH – The debate over the use of the Microsoft Office 365 software suite has been resolved at an additional cost of $4,000.

This will be in addition to the $25,000 in computer upgrades approved by the city commission in February and overseen by Friendly IT Management.

During a June 2 emergency meeting called by Mayor Bill Shearon, commissioners voted 4-1 to spend $4,000 on the outright purchase of the software needed to make staff’s new computers and existing e-mail system operational. Attorney’s fees and a request to purchase additional monitors will result in a total expenditure not to exceed $6,000.

Shearon opposed the decision because it ends his hopes of using the $4,070 cloud-based 365 suite purchased by City Clerk Jamie Anderson in April with his blessing, but without the commission’s consent.

Purchasing the additional software means the city likely will absorb the cost of the previous purchase, in part, because the 365 software licenses were activated two months before the new computers were installed. Because of that, City Attorney Ricinda Perry believes it is unlikely the city can get a refund from Microsoft or Friendly IT.

“If it’s not activated, it’s not used, and it’s a lot easier to return,” she said.

Anderson and Shearon believe the original software purchase was legitimate because it was paid for using savings incurred when the new computers were purchased through a county-approved vendor.

Commissioners Jack Clarke, Ed Straight and Jan Vosburgh never supported that premise.

“When I purchased the computers, I fully thought that purchasing the Office product with it was part of the deal, so I apologize,” Anderson told commissioners last week.

With the 365 option no longer on the table, any hopes Shearon and Anderson had of replacing longtime city e-mail administrator Ric Gatehouse are also gone because the 365 suite contained an e-mail platform that could have served as an alternative.

In making their decision, commissioners were faced with two options: use the 365 software for the 10 months remaining on the one-year use license and address long-term software solutions in next year’s budget; or “bite the bullet” on the 365 purchase and buy the new software directly.

Straight doubted there would be any more money in next year’s budget. He preferred to purchase 10 copies of Microsoft Office at $399 per copy because it eliminates the cost of annual software renewals and provides the city with at least five years of uninterrupted software use.

Vice Mayor Janie Robertson agreed with her fellow commissioners in this regard, but Shearon remained steadfast in his opposition.

“This is the problem when we start micromanaging,” he said of Clarke, Straight and Vosburgh’s refusal to embrace the 365 option.

“I personally don’t feel like we’re micromanaging when we’re talking about money like this,” Straight said in response.

Perry asked commissioners if they wanted her to be more aggressive in her pursuit of a refund, based on the possibility that entering into the 365 contract without the commission’s consent violated the city charter.

“I would chalk it up to lessons learned and not proceed with the letter to Microsoft,” Clarke said.

He also questioned whether Friendly took on more than it could handle with the upgrades.

Straight and Robertson agreed that lessons were learned in regard to following purchasing procedures, but Vosburgh was more critical.

“I think there were a lot of bad decisions made,” she said.

The numbers are in from the Manatee County Property Appraiser’s office for the upcoming fiscal year, and they confirm what many have noticed – real estate is becoming a profitable investment again.

The taxable property value for all the property in Manatee County rose 6.76 percent from $24,130,431,399 to $25,762,257,122, but the rise in property values was higher in Anna Maria, which went from $646,400,029 to $717,081,702, a jump of 10.9 percent. Holmes Beach values rose 8.07 percent from $1,320,420,947 to $1,427,001,947. Bradenton Beach values went from $407,289,387 to $426,490,360, a 4.71 percent increase.

With a push on the Island to develop rental properties from owner-occupied homes, one might think the value of homesteaded properties might be dropping, but two of them increased slightly. Anna Maria’s value of homesteaded properties went from $278,640,436 in last year’s report to $280,794,809 for this year’s estimate. That’s an increase of .773 percent, not on par with the city’s 10.9 overall jump in property values.

Bradenton Beach’s homestead property went from 67,293,323 to $67,782,757, an increase of .727 percent, compared with the 4.71 increase in all the taxable property values.

In Holmes Beach, homestead values went from $518,440,281 to $513,951,095, a drop of slightly more than 1 percent compared with the city’s 8.07 rise in overall taxable values.

Those values indicate a slower growth rate in homesteaded properties than properties overall.

Over the next few weeks, all three cities will use the data supplied by the property appraiser to figure out how much they will collect from property owners to spend in next year’s budget. The budget year begins on Oct. 1.

The $527 million 2014-2015 fiscal year spending plan Manatee County Administrator Ed Hunzeker delivered to county commissioners last week contains no proposed property tax increases, but homeowner’s tax bills may still increase due to property values rising by more than 6 percent.

The county budget will increase by almost $8 million next year, and the higher property values will help the county fund employee compensation increases, a new public safety radio system, a computer-aided dispatch infrastructure and other technology upgrades.

Most program funding levels will remain unchanged and no county programs are facing elimination. Despite the good news, Hunzeker remains cautious.

“It is important to remember that we are operating at a deficit, which means that the budget for programs supported by property taxes and general revenue is spending more money than we are taking in,” he said.

Last week’s budget rollout was the first in a series of public budget meetings. A budget-related public hearing will take place Thursday, June 12 at 6 p.m. at the County Administration Building in Bradenton, followed by a special meeting on budget reconciliation and the adoption of a tentative millage on July 30.

Two additional public hearings will take place in September before the final budget is adopted by county commissioners.

For more information on the proposed budget, visit www.mymanatee.org.

The partners of the Be Floridian fertilizer education campaign remind residents of Manatee County that they can’t apply nitrogen or phosphorous to lawn and landscape plants from June 1-Sept. 30.

But that doesn’t mean your grass will turn brown, shrivel up and die – garden centers offer a variety of summer-safe yard products that will help keep landscapes green and growing throughout the long, hot summer. Look for fertilizers with 0 as the first two numbers on the label, as in 0-0-6. These do not contain either nitrogen or phosphorous.

Summer rains don’t water fertilizer in, they wash it away – right into ponds, bays, rivers and the Gulf of Mexico. Too much fertilizer can cause algae blooms including red tide and fish kills, spoiling the waterways that are our major source of recreation.

Follow these Florida-friendly lawn care practices this summer:

• Pump some iron. An application of iron, readily available at most garden centers, will keep your lawn green during the summer without excessive growth.
• Micro-size it. Apply micronutrients such as zinc and manganese to keep your grass healthy.
• Get better dirt. Mix in composted cow or chicken manure, or your own home compost, to enrich your soil.
• Pick better plants. Buy plants adapted to Florida’s hot, humid climate and plant them in the right place according to their sun and water needs. They’ll need less water, fertilizer and chemicals year-round.

For more tips on “Gardening Like a Floridian,” visit www.BeFloridian.org.