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THE SUN
ISLAND NEWS
IN BRIEF
Palma Sola boat ramp open Following a few weeks of work and several months of closure, the Palma Sola boat ramp on the southwest side of the Palma Sola Causeway has reopened. The ramp, used by boaters to launch small watercraft from the causeway, was closed for months due to updates needed for the docks and dredging to clear the launch area. Now the ramp has newly rebuilt docks on either side of the single launch ramp and the area around the ramp has been dredged to allow small watercraft access to the bay. The next Manatee County boat ramp to see improvements will be the Kingfish boat ramp in Holmes Beach. Improvements are in the design phase for that boat ramp and are expected to begin in about three months.
Boat ramp dredging project ending soon The dredging at the 63rd Street boat ramp in Holmes Beach is scheduled to come to an end on Sept. 14. Until then, the boat ramp and adjacent parking lot remain closed. The hydraulic dredging is taking place at the boat ramp, adjacent basin and the 64th Street entrance channel to help clear shoaling impeding navigation. For more information on the project, contact Holmes Beach Director of Developmental Services Eran Wasserman at 941-779-3332.
Holmes Beach hosts first budget hearing Holmes Beach residents will have an opportunity to have their voices heard when the city hosts two budget hearings. The first hearing will be held on Thursday, Sept. 10 at 6 p.m. with the second and final hearing on Tuesday, Sept. 22 at 6 p.m. Mayor Judy Titsworth has said that due to the city’s recent Bert Harris case wins, the millage rate isn’t expected to increase for the coming 2020-21 fiscal year, however, a newly updated budget is anticipated to be presented to commissioners for initial approval during the Sept. 10 hearing. For information on how to join the meetings virtually, visit www.holmesbeachfl.org.
Mandatory masks on Holmes Beach agenda When Holmes Beach city commissioners meet Sept. 10, one of the items on the agenda is an ordinance extending the city’s mandatory mask requirement for an additional 91 days. Currently, the city’s mask ordinance requires everyone, unless exempted by age or a health condition, to wear a mask when indoors at local businesses and public buildings, or when unable to maintain a distance of at least 6 feet from others. After the original June 25 mask ordinance expired on Aug. 25, Mayor Judy Titsworth extended the ordinance for two seven-day periods expiring on Sept. 8. Holmes Beach’s mask ordinance supersedes the Manatee County ordinance within the Island city’s limits.
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SEPTEMBER 9, 2020
Police boat lift project may lose funding
The Community Redevelopment Agency is running out of time to use a previously approved $50,000 grant. BY JOE HENDRICKS SUN CORRESPONDENT | jhendricks@amisun.com
BRADENTON BEACH – The Bradenton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) finds itself in a race against time to complete the long-desired installation of a police department boat lift next to the Bridge Street Pier. The boat lift project must be completed by Sept. 30 in order to take advantage of a $50,000 West Coast Inland Navigation District (WCIND) grant approved by Manatee County commissioners in May 2017. The police boat currently sits on a trailer parked near the police station and must be trailered to a boat ramp to be placed in the water. Complicating matters is the necessity for the boat lift to be connected to the floating dock that must first be repositioned to the east by approximately 8 feet by Hecker Construction Company, which installed the pre-manufactured dock in mid-2019 for $11,600. Further complicating the boat lift installation timetable is the need for contract engineer Joe Foster to separately engineer the dock repositioning and the boat lift installation. During the Wednesday, Sept. 2 CRA meeting, City Attorney Ricinda Perry said Mayor John Chappie had sought an extension for the WCIND grant in vain. “Moments ago, I received the information that we do not get an extension, so it must be completed by the end of the month,” Perry said. Lt. John Cosby, of the Bradenton Beach Police Department, also addressed the growing sense of urgency. “This WCIND money for this boat lift has to be expended by Sept. 30th, which means we have to approve this vendor and they have to get this boat lift installed.
JOE HENDRICKS | SUN
The proposed boat lift would be located at the west end of the floating dock.
JOE HENDRICKS | SUN
Before the boat lift can be installed, the floating dock must be repositioned approximately 8 feet to the east, toward the far end of the pier. It has to be invoiced, it has to be paid and I need a canceled check by Sept. 30th in order for us to receive this money,” Cosby said. If installed as planned, the boat lift will be placed perpendicular to the pier and floating dock in the open space between the west end of the dock and the corner of the pier walkway near the Anna Maria Oyster Bar’s outdoor seating area. Police Chief Sam Speciale and the CRA members originally envisioned installing the boat lift on the north side of the pier. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection would not approve that location because it would infringe on the riparian rights of the neighboring Pines Trailer Park.
On Aug. 27, Duncan Seawall, Dock & Boat Lift General Manager Steve Porter submitted the only response to the city’s request for proposals to install the boat lift. Duncan’s bid response proposed a $41,279 cost to install a 16,000-pound-capacity aluminum and stainless steel boat lift manufactured by Golden Boat Lifts and supported by four pressure-treated, marine-grade pilings driven into the bay bottom. Before Wednesday’s CRA meeting began, Porter emailed Perry an additional quote for a 10,000-pound-capacity lift that would cost $37,813. SEE BOAT LIFT, PAGE 5
