Oelfke, Patel, Schaefer elected
The election winners will be sworn in on Tuesday, Nov. 18.
BY JOE HENDRICKS SUN CORRESPONDENT | jhendricks@amisun.com
HOLMES BEACH – Incumbent Commissioner Steve Oelfke, first-time candidate Jessica Patel and incumbent Commissioner Terry Schaefer won the three city commission seats decided in the city election that concluded with in-person voting at the Island Branch Library on Nov. 4.
Longtime incumbent Commissioner Carol Soustek was not reelected and her final term in office will soon end.
Soustek was appointed to the commission in 2014 and she was elected to serve additional two-year terms in 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2023.
Voters were allowed to vote for up to three candidates and the top three vote-getters earned two-year terms in office. Oelfke, Patel and Schaefer will be sworn in by City Clerk Stacey Johnston when the commission meets on Tuesday, Nov. 18 at 2 p.m.
VOTE TOTALS
According to the official election results posted at the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections Office website on Nov. 7, Oelfke received 753 votes (32.39%), Patel received 635 votes (27.31%), Schaefer received 499 votes (21.46%) and Soustek received 438 votes (18.84%).
Voter turnout was 42.9% and 948 ballots were cast, with 601 ballots cast in person on Election Day and 347 voteby-mail ballots cast. According to Assistant Supervisor of Elections Sharon Stief, there are currently 2,210 registered
Mayor rescinds employment offer to Javed
The search has resumed for a successor to former Public Works Director Sage Kamiya.
BY JOE HENDRICKS
SUN
CORRESPONDENT
| jhendricks@amisun.com
HOLMES BEACH – Mayor Judy Titsworth has rescinded her offer to Addie Javed to serve as the city’s next public works director and city engineer. Titsworth did so after the city received a phone call regarding a past employment reference that Javed provided, and after reading news reports pertaining to Javed’s Oct. 13 resignation as the Indian River County public works director.
During the Oct. 28 city commission meeting, Titsworth told commissioners that she made an offer to Javed. She said he accepted the offer and planned to report to work on Nov. 10. Javed was hired to succeed Public
Works Director and City Engineer Sage Kamiya, who left his Holmes Beach positions in early October to serve as the city engineer for the city of Sarasota.
On Nov. 6, Titsworth told The Sun she rescinded her job offer to Javed the previous day, notified City Commission Chair Dan Diggins of her decision and later notified the other city commissioners.
Titsworth said the public works director position will be readvertised and Development Services Director Chad Minor will assist the public works department as the interim director while the search for a new public works director is conducted.
CITIZEN’S CONCERNS
On Nov. 6, resident Margie Motzer emailed Titsworth and all five city commissioners an online news story published at the VeroNews.com
FACEBOOK/ADDIE JAVED | SUBMITTED
Shown here in 2021, Addie Javed’s time with the city of
website on Oct. 30 that featured the following headline: “Deletion of files by now-former public works boss creates a new headache for Titkanich.”
In her email to city officials, Motzer wrote, “Just wondering if the city’s new hire will be preoccupied,” and she included a link to the online story.
According to the VeroNews.com story, Javed submitted his resignation letter on Oct. 13, and days later, public works department staff members discovered hundreds of county files had been deleted from his computer, including files pertaining to county projects. The story notes that it’s a violation of state law to destroy or alter public records pertaining to the official business of any city or county governmental agency.
On Nov. 5, VeroNews.com reported that Javed alleged he’d been working in a “toxic” workplace and on Oct. 28 returned to the county offices at Titkanich’s request to explain the deleted files and to help recover them. In that story, Titkanich said he believed there was no malicious intent by Javed and no public records had been permanently destroyed.
Anna Maria Island, Florida
JOE HENDRICKS | SUN
Incumbent Steve Oelfke received the most votes; Jessica Patel won a commission seat on her first attempt; Commissioner Terry Schaefer will serve another two-year term in office.
Holmes Beach ended before it began.
City declines to take over maintenance of SR 64 rights of way
The state currently maintains the state-owned rights of way along Manatee Avenue.
BY JOE HENDRICKS SUN CORRESPONDENT | jhendricks@amisun.com
HOLMES BEACH – City commissioners recently voted 4-0 against entering into a maintenance agreement with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) pertaining to the roadside rights of way at the entrance to the city.
The proposed agreement requested by the city would have shifted to the city the responsibility to clean and maintain the state-owned rights of way along Manatee Avenue (SR 64) from the east side of the Anna Maria Island Bridge, on the bridge, along the Kingfish Boat Ramp and along the areas leading to the East Bay Drive and Gulf Drive intersection.
In recent months, the mayor and commissioners have expressed their disappointment with the appearance of the entrance to the city that’s maintained by FDOT. The state’s maintenance responsibilities include mowing the grass and removing litter and debris from those state-owned rights of way.
As directed, Public Works Director Sage Kamiya helped broker the proposed agreement before he took a job with the city of Sarasota in October. Using a standard FDOT memorandum of agreement, the state agency proposed paying the city $3,883 per year for the next three years to maintain those rights of way currently maintained by FDOT.
Commissioner Terry Schaefer was unable to attend the Oct. 28 meeting but he included in the meeting package a memo he submitted in support of the city taking over those maintenance responsibilities.
Thorp would be relieved to not take on the additional right of way maintenance responsibilities.
Titsworth suggested the commissioners, and others, contact FDOT more frequently if they continue to have concerns about the appearance of the entrance to the city.
JOE HENDRICKS | SUN
The state will continue to maintain the Manatee Avenue rights of way along the main entrance to Holmes Beach.
“This issue was originally discussed with Sage and Judy (Titsworth) months ago as an alternative to the inconsistent maintenance provided by FDOT at the threshold to our city,” Schaefer stated in his memo. “The debris collecting on the south walkway of the bridge, and irregular debris pick up and mowing of the right of ways was in my opinion casting a negative
appearance to our city.”
“I’m not in favor of it. It’s a lot of right of way,” Titsworth told the attending commissioners. She said the agreement would subject the city to more storm and hurricane cleanup and debris removal responsibilities and would require city staff to remove litter and debris from the state-owned bridge.
Titsworth said Public Works Maintenance Supervisor Tray
City Attorney Erica Augello said, “I couldn’t support the contract. It’s got a lot of language in it that’s not applicable to a maintenance agreement. It puts a lot of onus on the city and this contract would put a lot of liability on the city if anything were to happen.”
Commissioner Dan Diggins said he didn’t like the proposed agreement.
“It’s a state road,” he added.
Commissioner Carol Soustek said she wasn’t comfortable with the proposed agreement and commissioners Steve Oelfke and Carol Whitmore joined Diggins and Soustek in opposing the proposed agreement.
ISLAND NEWS
IN BRIEF
City Pier pilings arrive
The solid concrete pilings that will support the new Anna Maria City Pier walkway began arriving last week and the pile driving and testing to be done by Tampa Bay Marine Inc. will begin this week. The crane to be used to drive the piles also arrived last week. In late September, Anna Maria city commissioners authorized Mayor Mark Short to execute a $4.64 million contract with Gibsonton-based Tampa Bay Marine Inc. to rebuild the pier walkway that was weakened by Hurricane Helene and mostly destroyed by Hurricane Milton in 2024. City General Manager Dean Jones said some of the delivered pilings are initially being stored underwater near where the walkway will be built. The contents of the still-standing pier buildings were recently removed and the remediation and repair of those city-owned spaces will occur while the new walkway is being built. Mayor Short anticipates the pier fully reopening by the fall of 2026.
Cortez Bridge utility project update
Construction activities are ongoing on the south side of Cortez Road West to the east of the Cortez Bridge with sidewalk closures in place to accommodate construction, according to Manatee County’s Oct. 30 update on the Cortez Bridge utility relocation project.
Pipe installation activities on the north and south sides of Cortez Road West to the west of the Cortez Bridge are expected to resume in early fall and will continue through spring 2026. The work will require temporary/intermittent lane closures and flagging, as well as bike lane and sidewalk closures.
Regular construction will be between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. Drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians are asked to be mindful of construction crews, materials, equipment and traffic patterns.
Correction
Former Holmes Beach resident Wilhelmina Kelly, a Harbour Isle resident since 2017, still visits Anna Maria Island frequently but she was not displaced by the 2024 hurricanes. A story in last week’s Sun stated otherwise.
Scan this code with your smartphone to go there.
Augello sets priorities as new city attorney
BY LESLIE LAKE SUN CORRESPONDENT | llake@amisun.com
BRADENTON BEACH – At her first commission meeting as city attorney of Bradenton Beach on Nov. 6, Erica Augello outlined a list of items based on legislative priorities for the city to act upon.
In an Oct. 31 email sent to Mayor John Chappie, Police Chief John Cosby and City Clerk Terri Sanclemente, Augello summarized six bills that passed in the 2025 legislative session that require cities to take actions that include the passage of resolutions or ordinances.
“I believe the email I sent to Mayor Chappie has been forwarded to all the commissioners with regard to a recap of the 2025 legislative session and the affirmative actions that are required of all the municipalities and all local governments with regard to some of the passage of those bills,” she said.
The recap excluded SB 180, which Augello said is being analyzed separately and would be discussed at a later date.
The first issue, SB 784, concerns administrative platting. The new law requires all local governments presently running plat approvals through the local governing body cease that procedure and develop a purely administrative procedure instead, according to Augello’s email.
“I have not had a chance to look at your code to see if you have an administrative platting process,” she said. “If not, then either staff or I can work up an administrative platting provision. The law passed on July 1, but should be done as quickly as you can get it.”
The next issue, HB 551, concerns fire prevention permitting.
“This is fire prevention legislation which requires
implementation of a simplified permitting process,” Augello said. “That could be done through the building official, the building department. It’s not something that necessarily has to be done via ordinance. It just has to be part of your permitting process.”
Chappie said Building Official Bill Palmer is aware of this.
The third issue, SB 954, pertains to certified recovery residences.
“This is making sure you have specific regulations in place for what are termed “sober houses.” That legislation from the city’s perspective is supposed to be adopted by Jan. 1, 2026,” Augello said. “I will let you know there are plenty of jurisdictions that haven’t even started on this.”
Augello said her Trask Daigneault law firm already has a draft ordinance in place that was enacted in some other jurisdictions that they represent.
“It can be something specific to this city and most of legwork’s been done. We can do that after the first of the year,” she said.
The fourth issue, HB 913, pertains to milestone inspections.
“This is an easy fix. This is basically saying you just need to adopt an ordinance which says exactly what the legislation says, which is that you need to have a schedule for milestone inspections within the second phase of those inspections,” Augello said. “A report is due every year on Dec. 31 through DBPR.”
The fifth issue, SB 1730, is live local reporting.
“It is just a reporting requirement and it is not due until November 2026, so we have some time on that. That has to do with any live local projects that have happened within the city and just letting them know any litigation that has come up with regard to that,” she said.
SUBMITTED
The last issue to be discussed, SB 1080, has to do with minimum reporting requirements that need to be provided within the city to make sure that permitting processes are being adhered to and that specific time requirements are being met, Augello said. That law took effect on Oct. 1, 2025.
“All that being said, the three things I think that need to happen in order of priority in Bradenton Beach are the milestone inspection ordinance followed by the platting ordinance followed by the certified recovery residence ordinance. All three of those are something our firm has already developed for our other municipalities,” Augello said.
“In the past, all of our attorneys have always done the ordinances, that’s what I would ask of you, unless the commission has any concerns,” Chappie said. “We’d like you to go ahead and do that. Whatever needs to come first, let’s move it down the line and take care of these things.”
JOE HENDRICKS | SUN
The square-shaped pilings will support the new City Pier walkway.
Erica Augello is city attorney for Bradenton Beach and Holmes Beach.
Bartizal chosen as Planning and Zoning chair
By LESLIE LAKE SUN CORRESPONDENT | llake@amisun.com
BRADENTON BEACH – Fred Bartizal was chosen as the new chairman of the Planning and Zoning Board at the board’s Nov. 5 meeting.
Bartizal, owner of the Bridge Tender Inn, succeeded former chair Bill Morrow.
“A number of years ago, John Burns suggested we try to rotate the chairmanship of the P&Z. I personally thought it’s a wonderful idea, and we’ve had John, Ken and myself each (having) the privilege and honor of sitting in the chair,” Morrow said at the meeting.
Morrow said he has been chairperson for nearly two years and would like to give someone else the opportunity.
In addition to Bartizal and Morrow, the board consists of members John Burns, Ken McDonough and Dan Morhaus.
Morhaus was named vice-chair.
The city’s Planning and Zoning Board is a citizen board which recommends land use policies to the city commission and conducts
reviews required for the approval of development proposals, according to the city website.
Each member lives in Bradenton Beach, but no member is an employee of or an elected officer of the city. Each member of the five-member board is appointed for a three-year term.
According to the city website, “The Planning and Zoning Board maintains information on population, property values, the economy, land use and other information necessary in determining the amount, direction and kind of development to be expected in the city.”
The board is also designated as the city’s local planning agency.
“The board monitors and oversees the operation, effectiveness and
status of this chapter and recommend amendments to the city commission that are consistent with the comprehensive plan,” according to the city website.
“The board conducts public hearings to gather information necessary for the drafting, establishment, amendment and maintenance of the various elements of the comprehensive plan and to determine if special exceptions are found to be present in any development proposal. The Planning and Zoning Board maintains information on population, property values, the economy, land use and other information necessary in determining the amount, direction and kind of development to be expected in the city,” according to the city website.
City Field resodded
As part of the city’s ongoing hurricane recovery efforts, City Field in Holmes Beach has been resodded and will soon be available again for athletic and recreational activities, festivals, arts and craft shows and more, including the city’s 75th anniversary celebration on Friday, Dec. 5. According to Mayor Judy Titsworth, the resodding and restoration of the adjacent baseball field is also in the works. After the 2024 hurricanes, City Field served as the city’s hurricane debris collection and staging area and the field was covered in the hurricane debris that was collected, initially delivered to City Field and then transported off the Island.
W
LESLIE LAKE | SUN
New Planning and Zoning Chair Fred Bartizal takes the chairman’s seat, center, and is flanked by board members, from left, Bill Morrow, John Burns, Ken McDonough and Dan Morhaus at the Nov. 5 meeting.
JOE HENDRICKS | SUN City Field is covered with grass again.
ON THE AGENDA
ANNA MARIA
10005 GULF DRIVE
FOR INFORMATION, CALL 941-708-6130
Visit www.cityofannamaria. com or contact city hall for more information.
Tuesday, Nov. 11, City offices closed for Veterans Day Thursday, Nov. 13, 1 p.m., City Commission meeting Tuesday, Nov. 18, 9 a.m., Special Magistrate hearing
Wednesday, Nov. 19, 11 a.m., Planning and Zoning Board meeting
BRADENTON BEACH
107 GULF DRIVE N. FOR INFORMATION, CALL 941-778-1005
Visit www.cityofbradentonbeach.com or contact city hall for more information
Tuesday, Nov. 11, City offices closed for Veterans Day
Wednesday, Nov. 19, 1 p.m., Scenic WAVES Committee meeting
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
FROM PAGE 6
city administrator who has professional training in non-partisan municipal government management. With the size of our city government and the scope of our budget, a city manager would have specific training and experience in municipal management, and would provide nonpartisan,
professional leadership for the city's day-to-day operations and staff, including hiring and firing employees. It was recommended by the Form of Government Committee in 2018 that this idea be placed before the voters to decide if Holmes Beach should have a leader based on training rather than residency. Hirings should be vetted through a trans-
HOLMES BEACH
5801 MARINA DRIVE
FOR INFORMATION, CALL 941-708-5800
Visit www.holmesbeachfl.org or contact city hall for more information.
Tuesday, Nov. 11, City offices closed for Veterans Day Wednesday, Nov. 12, 9 a.m., Clean Water Ad Hoc Committee meeting Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2 p.m., City Commission meeting and swearing-in ceremony
parent process, which would include candidates being interviewed by a board or council. A professional administrator would help ensure that hiring and management decisions reflect the best interests of the community as a whole. It's time for our city to take that next step toward responsible, professional governance.
Richard Motzer Holmes Beach
AMI Garden Club hosting annual plant sale
Open to the public, the Anna Maria Island Garden Club Plant Sale is set for Friday, Nov. 14 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. inside the Fellowship Hall at Roser Church, 512 Pine Ave. in Anna Maria.
Garden Club members are donating all the native plants, flowering plants and herbs to be sold that day. The garden club members are also baking the baked goods to be sold during the coinciding fundraising bake sale.
Several items and gift cards donated by Island and off-Island businesses will be raffled off as a third fundraising activity. The money raised will help fund future AMI Garden
Club beautification projects on Anna Maria Island. Plants can be purchased with credit cards, cash or checks. The bake sale and raffles are cash only. There will also be local vendors on hand selling EarthBOX planter boxes, local
honey and more.
The annual plant sale differs from the AMI Garden Club flower show held each spring that provides club members the opportunity to display their flower and plant arrangement skills and creativity.
Volunteer, vendor applications available for 2026 Cortez Commercial Fishing Festival
BY LESLIE LAKE SUN CORRESPONDENT | llake@amisun.com
CORTEZ – Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage (FISH) board members are planning the 2026 Cortez Commercial Fishing Festival and are seeking vendors and volunteers.
The festival planning committee met on Nov. 3 to discuss details for the Feb. 14-15, 2026 festival, which annually attracts thousands of visitors to the historic fishing village and features food, live music, local art and educational talks.
Application information for art vendors, food vendors and sponsorships are available at https://fishcortez.org/
commercial-fishing-festival/
Volunteers to help greet visitors and assist with ticket, beverage sales and T-shirt sales can apply at https://fishcortez.org/ get-involved/
This theme for the 2026 festival is “Boat To Market.”
All the proceeds from the volunteer-run festival will benefit FISH and its mission to preserve the village of Cortez and continue the conservation of the 98-acre FISH Preserve to the east of the village.
The festival will be on 46th Avenue at the end of 123rd Street in front of A.P. Bell Fish Co. and Star Fish Co.
Kiwanis donates to Roser Food Bank
Darrel Shinn, right, on behalf of Kiwanis of Anna Maria Island, presented a $2,000 donation to Rev. Dirk Rodgers of Roser Church for the Roser Food Bank. Donate online at https://roserchurch.com/ ministries/roser-food-pantry/
SUBMITTED
FILE PHOTO
These were some of the plants offered at a previous plant sale.
Commissioners decline settlement agreement
BY LESLIE LAKE SUN CORRESPONDENT | llake@amisun.com
BRADENTON BEACH – City commissioners declined to accept a settlement agreement proposed by attorney Scott Rudacille for his client’s property at 106 23rd St. N. and instead directed City Attorney Erica Augello to work with Rudacille to renegotiate terms.
“This is an issue that I had inherited,” attorney Robert Lincoln said at the Nov. 6 city commission meeting. “You had a meeting in which this came up and there was direction at the end of that meeting to ask Mr. Rudacille to prepare a settlement agreement for your consideration. He has done that. I believe that the settlement agreement that’s in front of you reflects the discussion that occurred at that meeting.”
“I think we addressed all the issues the commission raised at the last meeting when we discussed it,” Rudacille said. “Obviously, my client is very eager to get this wrapped up.”
At issue is a detached two-story addition to the two-bedroom cottage at 106 23rd St. N. where there had formerly been a detached garage and unpermitted apartment when Neil Morse purchased the property in 2021. He was told by the building official that the apartment needed to be removed and he subsequently made an application to demolish the garage and apartment and replace them with the detached addition.
The addition had been permitted by the former city building official and land planner and was nearly completed when current City Building Official Bill Palmer said in August it did not meet city code.
Following discussions that spanned several city commission meetings, com-
missioners reached a consensus on Sept. 18 to have Morse’s attorney, Rudacille, draft a settlement agreement.
The agreement stated in part the city will issue a Certificate of Occupancy and once issued, the addition will be considered a nonconforming structure under the city’s Land Development Code.
Mayor John Chappie expressed concerns with the agreement at the Nov. 6 meeting.
“This is the first time we’ve had a meeting to go over the settlement. I have some concerns, there is really no protection for the city if someone files against the city because we didn’t follow our own land development regulations and there’s no indemnification of any kind,” he said.
“It was written to be enforceable against the owner and future owners in terms of the owner’s obligations,” Lincoln said.
“What it says is that the city will treat this building as though it was nonconforming. I look at it as a forbearance agreement, and really nothing more. You can’t through this process make it non-conforming when it’s illegal. So, what this really is just saying is the city is agreeing that if the owner does these things you’ll allow them to use it and treat it as a nonconforming use.”
Vice Mayor Deborah Scaccianoce said, “We don’t really have a choice at this point, the structure’s built. We went over this repeatedly that he was granted a permit erroneously as it may have occurred, so we have to find a place where we can move forward. Our concern is our protection now that we’ve allowed the structure to be used even though it should never have been built.”
Holmes Beach Publix sells $6.25 million Lotto ticket
According to the Florida Lottery website, 41-year-old Robin Glover claimed the $6.25 million Florida Lotto jackpot from the Oct. 25 drawing at Lottery headquarters in Tallahassee on Oct. 30. Glover purchased her jackpot-winning Florida Lotto ticket at the Publix supermarket in Holmes Beach and she chose to receive her winnings as a one-time, lump-sum payment of $3.52 million. The Florida Lottery website did not disclose which city, county or state Glover resides in.
Celebrate!
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER
Building official updates P&Z board
The building official outlined multiple items to be prioritized and addressed.
BY LESLIE LAKE SUN CORRESPONDENT | llake@amisun.com
BRADENTON BEACH – At the request of the Planning and Zoning Board, Building Official Bill Palmer updated the board on building department activities and outlined multiple items to be prioritized and addressed at a Nov. 5 meeting.
“There are important items that need to be addressed and there are a lot of them,” Palmer said.
At the request of the Planning and Zoning
Bradenton Beach building official Bill
dated the board on building department priorities.
land development regulations.
Palmer said the city’s floodplain ordinance needs to be updated to the minimum required for compliance with the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
“Right now, we’re not even at the minimum compliance that we need to be with the NFIP. We had to do minimum updates that should have been done a year ago or two years ago,” he said. “The issue that we’re having now, and this comes into play when we talk about looking into our pools and impervious surfaces and stormwater mitigation and making changes, is that our governor pushed to have SB 180 and it prohibits governments from putting any more restrictions on regulations during the time period until October 2027. Anything we do, quite honestly, would be more restrictive and we’re not allowed to do that. Our hands are tied with a lot of things.”
SB 180 prohibits local governments from enacting restrictive regulations through comprehensive plans and
Palmer said the reason that is problematic for the city is because there is a major FEMA audit coming up in April 2026.
“That ordinance needed to be done in order for us to meet the minimum requirements,” Palmer said. “FEMA understands that the state’s throwing a wrench in this because we can’t make anything more restrictive, so we’re at a standstill with the floodplain ordinance.” He said the city’s FEMA consultant is waiting to hear from the agency for guidance.
“Until Tallahassee makes changes or until the time runs out in 2027, then we’re allowed to do some of the things that have piled up, but we just can’t do them right now,” Mayor John Chappie said.
Another item that Palmer said needs to be addressed is that the city’s comprehensive plan needs to be updated by a June 16, 2026 deadline.
LESLIE LAKE | SUN
Board,
Palmer up -
BEACH BEAT
BRADENTON BEACH
Nov. 1, 11:35 p.m., Gulf Drive. Probation violation assist. Bradenton Beach police were dispatched to assist a Florida Department of Corrections officer who was remotely tracking a man released from prison that day who is a registered sexual offender and had reportedly violated his probation status by not remaining at his residence and violating his curfew. He was being tracked by an ankle monitor and a pocket remote device. The tracking device reportedly placed the man at the intersection of Gulf Drive and Cortez Road but he was not located there. The police located him at Coquina Park near the concession stand, where he was reportedly sleeping on a bus stop bench. He was transported to the Bradenton Beach Police Department and taken into custody by a Manatee County Sheriff’s Office deputy who transported him to the Manatee County Jail.
HOLMES BEACH
Nov. 3, 12 p.m., 7300 block Gulf Drive. Grand theft. A Holmes Beach property owner who resides in Tennessee reported to police that after hiring a contrac-
tor to demolish and reconstruct his property and wiring him $295,000, the work was not done. According to police reports, the property owner signed a contract on May 22 to begin demolition and reconstruction that was set to begin on June 2. The property owner showed proof that there were multiple transactions in which he had wired money to the contractor. The property owner told police he was satisfied with the demolition but when he asked the contractor for updates and proof the construction was underway, the contractor reportedly “made excuses” for why the work was not completed. Appliances that were going to be reused were also reportedly missing. The property owner filed a civil lawsuit against the contractor in August for fraud. The case was forwarded to Holmes Beach detectives.
Nov. 3, 10:13 a.m., 3000 block Gulf Drive. Improper disposal. A city employee made a report for illegal disposal of fuel after reportedly observing an unknown subject dumping a gas canister into a storm drain in the parking lot of a gas station. When confronted by the employee, the man said he had dumped water and continued to pump gas into the gas can. Photos of the subject’s vehicle, the subject fueling and the storm drain were filed and the city employee completed a sworn affidavit.
WHERE‛S YOUR COMFORT ZONE?
