9 minute read
NEWS
ISLAND NEWS
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SEPTEMBER 16, 2020
IN BRIEF
Help clean up local beaches
Keep Manatee Beautiful is participating in the International Coastal Cleanup, which this year is holding two different events on Anna Maria Island. On Saturday, Sept. 19 at 9 a.m., volunteers can come out to Coquina Beach in Bradenton Beach and help clear trash and debris from the Island’s beaches. The cleanup continues until 11 a.m. and all volunteers receive a mask, gloves, picker and trash bag. Hand sanitizer and cleaning supplies will be provided for all equipment. For volunteers who can’t make it to the Coquina Beach cleanup, there’s another opportunity to help out from 9 to 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 10 at Manatee Beach in Holmes Beach. For more information, contact Jennifer Hoffman at keep@manateebeautiful.com.
Center releases corrected end-of-year financials
The Center of Anna Maria Island ended its 2019-20 fiscal year July 31 in a better financial position than previously reported. Executive Director Chris Culhane released a corrected end of year financial report which shows the nonprofit ended the year about $9,800 better than initially reported. Rather than ending the year with a net income loss of $45,501, The Center now reports ending the year with a net income loss of $35,701 after all income and expenses were accounted for. The change came in the nonprofit’s fundraising revenue. Previously, fundraising revenue was reported at $23,416 with $17,127 in direct costs, leaving The Center with $6,289 in positive income in that cost center. The updated financial report received by The Sun now shows fundraising income at $33,216. With the direct costs still reported at $17,127, that left the nonprofit with $16,089 in positive income from fundraising.
Volunteers needed for parks committee
The city of Holmes Beach is looking for two volunteers to join the city’s Parks and Beautification Committee. Members serve two-year terms and meet on the first Wednesday of the month at 10 a.m. from October through May. The committee oversees the maintenance of the city’s greenspace and parks, also serving as an advisory committee to the Holmes Beach city commission. To apply, contact the city clerk’s office at 941-708-5800 ext. 221 or email deputyclerk@ holmesbeachfl.org. All applications must be submitted by Sept. 30.
Hurricane relief
supplies received from Cortez and elsewhere were disbursed to Lake Charles residents in 47 minutes Friday afternoon.
BY JOE HENDRICKS
SUN CORRESPONDENT | jhendricks@amisun.com
CORTEZ – Swordfish Grill managers Tom Polch, Adam Sears and Bob Slicker delivered a U-Haul trailer filled with donated hurricane relief supplies to the Water’s Edge Gathering church in Lake Charles, Louisiana last Wednesday morning.
Donated by community members and business owners, the donated supplies were collected at the Swordfish Grill in Cortez and The Blessing Bags Project headquarters in Bradenton.
In Polch’s 2006 Ford 150 diesel pickup, the trio departed from the Swordfish Grill shortly after 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 8 with a cooler full of energy drinks and water and more than enough snacks to make it to west Louisiana. A reporter from The Sun accompanied them on the 53-hour road trip that covered more than 1,700 miles and concluded in Cortez shortly after 9 p.m. on Thursday evening.
Polch and Sears shared the driving duties, and when not driving, Sears helped navigate using the Waze phone app that provides directions and real-time traffic information. Riding shotgun most of the time, Slicker – the Swordfish Grill’s general manager – served as mission leader, co-navigator and travelogue commentator.
At 7:19 p.m. Tuesday evening, Sears proclaimed, “This is going to be a very uneventful trip. We’re in and we’re out.”
At 1:50 a.m. Wednesday, Sears said, “I think today is our lucky day.”
Those predictions held true during the westward leg of the trip but would be tested during the return trip from Lake Charles.
After driving all night, the group stopped for breakfast just before daybreak Wednesday morning at a Waffle House in Lafayette. The
JOE HENDRICKS | SUN This billboard along I-10 was a sign of the hurricane damage to come.
goal was to pull into the uncertain conditions awaiting in Lake Charles after the sun came up.
Twenty-two miles outside of Lake Charles, the first visible signs of hurricane damage appeared along I-10 in the form of tattered and twisted billboards and small trees bent over or snapped off completely by Hurricane Laura’s devastating winds on Thursday, Aug. 27.
As Lake Charles drew closer, the damage got worse and included tipped over trailers, damaged or destroyed structures, larger fallen trees and toppled power lines.
SUPPLIES DELIVERED
Shortly after 8 a.m., Polch pulled the truck and trailer into the Water’s Edge Gathering church parking lot. The large metal building was still standing and mostly intact despite roof damage, water damage and the loss of electricity.
Church volunteer Katy Rozas arrived a short time later, accompanied by her boyfriend and fellow volunteer Jonathan Wilson. The supplies were unloaded and carried into the darkened church auditorium now serving as a makeshift warehouse and staging area.
The donated supplies from Cortez included coolers filled with cleaning supplies, personal hygiene products, lighter fluid, several bags of charcoal, tents, tarps, flashlights, gloves, a used chainsaw, a used hedge trimmer, stuffed animals, pillows, three large plastic barrels that could be used as rain barrels and more.
Slicker also delivered more than $1,500 in donated Walmart gift cards to be used at the nearby Walmart on I-10 that has power and remains operational.
Wednesday’s delivery was preceded by a truckload of donated supplies collected by the Swordfish Grill and The Blessings Bags Project that were delivered to the church Sunday afternoon by Joe Cadmus. The bed of Cadmus’ flatbed truck was filled with charcoal grills, tents, tarps, cleaning supplies and more.
Water’s Edge received additional supplies from other donors in Florida, Texas, Wisconsin and beyond.
While giving a tour of the church, Rozas noted normal church activities include a homeless ministry and a food pantry.
“This is probably the only time this has been empty,” she said of the dark and damp food pantry that was still drying out.
Rozas and Wilson rode out the storm in Lake Charles.
“The sound was terrifying. We lost some shingles, some awning, an entire fence, some shutters, some gutters and my garage door, but we lived. I still have a sound
Settlement proposed in Cortez Bridge lawsuit
The settlement offer pertains to a federal lawsuit regarding the replacement of the Cortez Bridge.
BY JOE HENDRICKS
SUN CORRESPONDENT | jhendricks@amsun.com
CORTEZ – The plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit challenging the Florida Department of Transportation’s (FDOT) decision to replace the Cortez Bridge drawbridge with a higher, fixed-span bridge have proposed a settlement agreement.
Joe McClash, Joe Kane, Linda Molto and Jane von Hahmann are the plaintiffs in the lawsuit that names FDOT, its secretary, Kevin J. Thibault, the U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration (FHA) administrator Nicole R. Nason as defendants.
The plaintiffs offer to refrain from challenging FDOT’s replacement of the bridge if FDOT builds a 35-foot bascule drawbridge instead of its proposed 65-foot, fixed-span bridge, according to a
press release McClash distributed last week.
FDOT claims it made its bridge decision while acting on behalf of the FHA and in accordance with a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the two agencies.
According to a press release McClash distributed last week, “Plaintiffs have discussed a settlement offer proposed herein and would agree collectively to the settlement and offer the settlement to resolve the issues identified in the complaint and refrain from any further challenges.”
The proposed settlement offer notes the plaintiffs are concerned a fixed-span bridge would negatively impact the Cortez community in terms of noise, safety, accessibility and vessel restrictions.
“We still have the appeal we’re waiting on. It hasn’t been decided if they have to give us that administrative hearing at the state level so we’re carrying out with the federal process that’s a more formal and legal process,” McClash said.
“FDOT has to get together all the administrative records and
other stuff they did to reach their decision build a fixed-span bridge. They’ve indicated that once they get those records, they’d be willing to sit down with us. But we want people to know there’s a settlement offer on the table to FDOT,” he said. “When you look at the numbers, more than 60% of the people did not support the decision.”
“The vast majority of people wanted a lower new bridge or to rehabilitate the existing bridge,” von Hahmann said, adding that a vessel whose height exceeds 65 feet would not be able to pass under the fixed-span bridge.
“With the 35-foot bridge, everybody can pass through it because you can raise the bridge,” she said.
As of Monday, the plaintiffs had not received a formal response to their settlement offer and no future mediation sessions or meetings had been scheduled with FDOT.
The lawsuit is filed in the Tampa division of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
The Cortez Bridge proposal specifics
“Plaintiffs offer the following: 1. “Parties will agree that regardless of the decision reached in the appeal currently awaiting a decision within the Second DCA, the settlement offer if agreed to would be: • If in the favor of the plaintiffs, this settlement would be enforceable and all parties would execute any documents to create a settlement under Chapter 120 or another provision of Florida Statutes. • If in favor of the FDOT, the federal settlement would be binding. 2. “The settlement offer is as follows: • “Plaintiffs would be granted standing to provide a remedy for their claims. • “Plaintiffs would not challenge any action for replacing the bridge if consistent with the terms of the settlement. • “Defendants would agree that the LDCA (Location and Design Concept Acceptance) has several viable options that are within the options FDOT assumed under the MOU, consistent with requirements contained in the MOU and federal rules. • “The 65-foot fixed bridge is but one option, compared to the 35-foot bascule (draw) bridge, a bridge concept that was subject to a complaint filed by plaintiffs. • “The 35-foot bascule (draw) bridge would provide the relief plaintiffs seek and would no longer object to the replacement bridge or bring a subsequent challenge to any of the permits required for construction. • “The FDOT will agree to rescind the LDCA for a 65-foot fixed bridge and replace the action with a LDCA for 35-foot bascule bridge; a bridge that also is consistent with the requirements under the MOU and prepare and provide approval of any documents consistent with the requirements for the LDCA. • “FDOT would agree to defend the action of the LDCA for 35-foot bascule bridge if a future challenge is made,” the settlement offer proposed.
