OBITUARIES

BEACH BEAT

BRADENTON BEACH

1/27, 3:05 p.m., driving on a suspended license, Gulf Drive. Police stopped the defendant for an expired registration, a cracked windshield and a broken taillight. Upon further investigation, the driver had two suspensions on her license due to failure to pay previous fines. The defendant was arrested and the vehicle was towed from the scene. 1/19, 12 p.m., information, 2408 Gulf Drive North. A male subject who had reported two guns stolen from his vehicle at Via Roma Resort on Jan. 10 called police to inform them that he found them and they had just been misplaced, there was no theft. The man said he felt sorry about the whole thing and about wasting the time of the police. The case is closed and no further action taken. 1/24, 4:41 p.m., shoplifting, 3900 East Bay Drive. An officer was dispatched to Publix about a report of shoplifting. Video showed the suspect leaving the store with a bag containing about $100 worth of steak he did not pay for. The suspect was identified by police, who contacted him and asked him to come to the police station, saying if he cooperated, he would not be arrested at the time. The suspect admitted to not paying for the steak and was told he was free to leave. The officer completed a capias request, which was submitted to the records division. 1/26, 5:37 p.m., suspicious circumstance, 6006 Gulf Drive. The officer was dispatched in reference to a burglary. Upon arrival, the homeowner told the officer that when she arrived home, her key that was hidden above the door was missing. She said she had a second hidden key in a different location, but when she went to retrieve it, that key was missing, too. The woman was able to climb up to a second-story deck and enter the home through that door. When she entered the home, she noticed her spare car keys and a third spare house key were both missing from a key ring next to the door. Nothing but the keys were missing from the home. The woman said she wasn’t aware of anyone playing a joke on her. No further police action was taken. 1/30, 10:15 a.m., found property, 5406 Marina Drive. The officer responded to The Feast restaurant after the cook called to report he had found a gun behind the restaurant. The gun was a Taurus 9mm handgun that was unloaded and covered in rust, leading the officer to believe it had been there for a long time. The serial number was run through FCIC and NCIC and came back with a possible match out of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The gun was taken back to HBPD and placed in an evidence locker for safekeeping.

OBITUARIES

Webster Cutting, Jr.

Webster Cutting, Jr., 85, of Bradenton, Fla., died Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022, after a long battle with cancer, surrounded by the ones he loved.

Born March 28, 1936, Webster was an avid golfer and overall sportsman. He loved soccer and was a coach for many years. He was a two-time club champion at Key Royale Country Club in Holmes Beach, during which time he recorded two holes in one. He loved spending his time supporting local sports teams, including the Rays. He never met a man he didn't like, which led to many friendships throughout his life.

He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Gail (Brosseau) Cutting; son, Craig Cutting (Lisa, grandson, Nicholas); daughter, Lisa Rivera (Donnie, grandchildren, Lorenzo Rivera (Nicole), Felicia Ionita (Alex)) and great-grandchildren, Bryson, Abby, Maddie and Jensen. He will be missed by many.

Visitation will be 10 -11 a.m. with services to follow at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 12, 2022, at Brown & Sons Funeral Homes & Crematory 43rd Street Chapel. Condolences may be made to www.brownandsonsfuneral.com

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Say hello to your new neighbors

Panel plants community garden plans

With the prototype for a planned community garden in Holmes Beach almost complete, parks members are getting ready to start looking for interested gardeners.

BY KRISTIN SWAIN

SUN STAFF WRITER | kswain@amisun.com

HOLMES BEACH – Parks and Beautification Committee members are taking the final steps before opening the new prototype community garden to the public.

At a Feb. 2 meeting, committee members discussed the progress made at the garden’s prototype area, Veterans Park. Located adjacent to Holmes Beach City Hall, the smaller park space is serving as a trial run for the community garden, which is planned to be installed on a city-owned parcel adjacent to Grassy Point Preserve. Currently, city leaders are undergoing the process to rezone the lot from residential to park/recreation/open space.

At Veterans Park, 10 raised-bed planters have been constructed and placed around the water fountain. Once irrigation is installed, those boxes will serve as the first community gardening spaces.

Committee member Mary Lange added that the fountain is planned to be used as an herb garden.

At their March meeting, committee members will discuss the application process to use one of the community garden planting locations.

In addition to the planter boxes, committee members voted unanimously to accept a plan proposed by a team of Manatee County Master Gardeners to install butterfly-friendly plants at the park.

Veterans Park was once a butterfly garden, however, it fell into disrepair a few years ago and was renamed once the landscaping was redone by public works employees.

Lange estimated it would cost about $500 to buy the plants.

Committee members voted unanimously to have her submit a grant application on the group’s behalf to try and get the cost covered without dipping into the committee’s $10,000 budget with the city of Holmes Beach.

However, about $5,000 will be spent to erect a veterans’ memorial wall in the park. Committee members voted unanimously to approve the expense, with an agreement they would seek input from local veterans on creation of the wall.

The Holmes Beach Parks and Beautification Committee meets on the first Wednesday of each month at 10 a.m. at Holmes Beach City Hall. All meetings are open to the public.

KRISTIN SWAIN | SUN The first raised boxes for a community garden project in Holmes Beach have been placed around the fountain at Veterans Park.

NEWS BRIEFS

Time for the Island Library book sale

Anna Maria Island’s favorite book sale is coming back to the Island Branch Library at 5701 Marina Drive in Holmes Beach. The Friends of the Island Library book sale takes place on Feb. 26 in the library’s parking lot, which will allow for social distancing. Available for purchase will be a large number of books for adults, children and everyone in between, along with DVDs and other media. The sale opens first to Friends members only from 9-10 a.m. It then opens to the general public from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. In case of bad weather, a rain date has been set for Saturday, March 5.

Feed your appetite for books and food

Support a local restaurant and your local Island Branch Library with this year’s Appetite for Books fundraiser.

Kicking off the Friends of the Island Library’s celebration of 40 years at the current library location is a fundraiser sponsored by area restaurants. Visit Ginny and Jane E’s, at 9807 Gulf Drive in Anna Maria, from Jan. 30 through Feb. 5 and your purchase will help raise funds for programs and other community outreach efforts when you mention the Island Library.

One day only on Feb. 10, visit Pizza Social at 308 Pine Ave. in Anna Maria. The restaurant’s owners have pledged to donate 10% of its proceeds to the Island Library on pickup and delivery orders.

From Feb. 13-19, pick up dessert from Hometown Desserts at 507 Pine Ave. in Anna Maria and support the library with a portion of proceeds going to the Island Library.

Head down to the Blue Marlin at 121 Bridge St. in Bradenton Beach for a special night out Feb. 20-26 that helps support the library. Reservations are recommended.

The Friends of the Island Library thank all of their community partners for their support and generosity.

Calling all fitness enthusiasts

Grab your running shoes! The first annual FITFest is coming to Robinson Preserve on March 5.

The day of fitness fun begins at 7:30 a.m. with a sign-in and yoga class at the Mosaic Nest, 10299 Ninth Ave. N.W. in Bradenton, followed by a boot camp class with Anna Neal at 8 a.m. A 5k race beings at 9 a.m. with participants able to walk, run or stroll through the park. Each race participant receives a dri-fit event T-shirt.

At 10:30 a.m., attend a yoga class led by American Yogi and wind down from the race with a rest class by Ria Ray at 11:15 a.m. Take a lunch break and then take a bonus class, shop the marketplace or relax under a banyan tree from noon to 2:30 p.m. Classes involve hooping, HIIT, acro-yoga, paddleboard and more. A DJ will be spinning tunes all day to help keep the energy and festivity up.

Visit www.runsignup.com/manateefitfest to sign up or visit www.mymanatee.org/fitfest for more information.

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BRADENTON

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SARASOTA

1917 Rose Street 3 Beds 2 Baths 1,839 Sq. Ft. Maria Beck PA & Jalina Beck 646-531-4118 A4521547 $1,150,000

BRADENTON

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LAKEWOOD RANCH

7806 Troon Court 2 Beds 2 Baths 1,951 Sq. Ft. Gloria Bracciano 941-229-4000 A4523433 $625,000

ANNA MARIA ISLAND

112 Mangrove Avenue 4 Beds 3/1 Baths 3,577 Sq. Ft. Hannah Hillyard & George Myers 941-744-7358 A4502423 $3,999,000

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LONGBOAT KEY

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BRADENTON

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PALMETTO

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CRA planning third phase of undergrounding

The third phase of undergrounding work is expected to begin in late 2022 and be fully completed in late 2023.

JOE HENDRICKS

SUN CORRESPONDENT | jhendricks@amisun.com

BRADENTON BEACH – The Bradenton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) is moving forward with preliminary plans to underground the utility lines along Third, Fourth and Fifth streets south.

This third phase of the ongoing undergrounding efforts will also include undergrounding the utility lines along Gulf Drive South from Fifth Street South to Bridge Street, and also along Bay Drive South from Fifth Street South to Third Street South.

On Wednesday, Feb. 2, City Attorney and CRA liaison Ricinda Perry told the CRA members she received a preliminary, non-binding cost estimate of $548,100 from Florida Power & Light to remove the existing above-ground lines, poles and equipment associated with this project.

Perry said that figure does not include the boring and installation work to be performed by Wilco Electrical or another contractor. Nor does it include the removal of the additional utility lines and equipment used by Spectrum and Verizon, or the direct connections between the undergrounded utility lines and the impacted residences and structures.

Perry noted FPL’s nonbinding estimate is not the final, agreed-upon price for FPL’s portion of the project. That price will be established in the binding cost estimate that comes later. She said the nonbinding estimate is comparable to the costs associated with the Bridge Street undergrounding project completed in 2020.

When contacted later, Perry estimated the total cost for the third phase of undergrounding would be about $750,000$800,000.

During Wednesday’s meeting, Perry recommended a two-year project timeframe encompassing the current fiscal year and the 2022-23 fiscal year. Perry said CRA members included $550,000 in the current fiscal year budget for additional undergrounding within the CRA district. The remaining funds would be included in the CRA’s 2022-23 fiscal year budget.

Perry recommends again using Mark Porter’s Utility Consultants of Florida for engineering and project oversight and Wilco to do the underground boring and installation work.

She said she would inquire as to whether Wilco can honor the same rates the company offered for the city’s previous two undergrounding projects. Those cost savings were the result of a contract with Wilco that was piggybacked onto a Wilco contract for the town of Longboat Key’s large-scale undergrounding project.

Perry anticipates this next phase of undergrounding work to begin in late fall/early winter of this year and be completed, including the removal of the existing lines and poles, by late 2023.

The CRA members authorized Perry’s request to place a $4,121 deposit on the engineering services and plans needed to place the project in FPL’s project queue.

Perry said she hopes to avoid the “sticker shock,” the city and the CRA experienced with the state-funded Gulf Drive South undergrounding project from Longboat Pass to Sixth Street South and the connecting side streets.

FPL’s initial, nonbinding cost estimates for that project came in between $360,000 and $390,000, but in May 2021 Perry received a binding cost estimate from FPL for $1,187,029. The unexpected increase initially created a $365,000 funding shortfall, but Perry and the city were later able to address the increased costs through additional negotiations with FPL and the use of county funds originally designated for another city project.

The Gulf Drive South undergrounding installation work was completed in 2021, but the existing poles and lines have not yet been removed by FPL. Perry said FPL expects to begin removing their poles, lines and equipment in March, starting at the southern end of the city and working north.

JOE HENDRICKS | SUN The removal of the Gulf Drive South utility lines and equipment is expected to begin in March.

Happy Valentines Day Va lentine S peci a l

February 14th

The easternmost portion of the proposed floating dock expansion project next to the Bridge Street Pier in Bradenton Beach will require some additional permitting.

During the Wednesday, Feb. 2 Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) meeting, City Attorney Ricinda Perry said the Army Corps of Engineers is requiring more permitting before a new section of floating dock and four or five perpendicular finger piers can be installed. Perry said attaching the remaining new finger piers to the existing floating dock will be allowed while the additional permitting for the east end of the expanded dock is pursued.

The finger pier installation is expected to begin in late March or early April. The new section of the floating dock and the remaining finger piers will be installed if and when the Army Corps approves the additional permitting.

JOE HENDRICKS | SUN Perpendicular finger piers will be attached to the existing floating dock by the Bridge Street Pier.

Top real estate producers for January 2022

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AN ISLAND PLACE REALTY Sue Carlson - Listing Tanya McCormick - Selling

DUNCAN REAL ESTATE Cindy Jones – Listing Darcie Duncan - Selling

EDGEWATER REAL ESTATE Lynn Zemmer - Listing & Selling

FRAN MAXON Stephanie Bell – Listing Sharon Villars Foraker - Selling

ISLAND REAL ESTATE Kathleen White and Erin Leathem - Listing Gail Tutewiler and Jennifer Chatt – Selling

MICHAEL SAUNDERS Hannah Hillyard - Selling MIKE NORMAN Marianne Norman-Ellis - Listing Carla Beddow – Selling

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