The Islander Newspaper E-Edition Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021

Page 1

VOLUME

NO. 49

In case you missed it, welcome to Fall!

SEPT. 29, 2021 Free

the Best news on anna maria island Since 1992 astheworldterns. 6

Q&A 092921

3

Saved from Anna maria Sound

am adopts spending plan, tax increase. 4 island candidates file 1st financials. 4

Meetings. 5 island officials concentrate on golf cart woes. 5

Opinions. 6 10-20 YeARS AGo

Looking back. 7

Cops & Courts. 8

Happenings

announcements. 11

ame Pto readies fall fest at community center. 12

get in the game. 13

Gathering. 14 Obituaries. 14 Good deeds. 15

three manatees — aria, top, and Janus and iclyn — swim Sept. 21 in the Parker manatee rehabilitation Habitat at the Bishop museum of Science and nature in Bradenton. aria arrived to the aquarium Sept. 21. She was found injured by a boat strike and suffering cold stress in anna maria Sound in January. She was taken to Zootampa and then the Bishop. for more, see page 3. islander Photos: courtesy Bishop museum the Bishop’s animal care team and staff from Zootampa take measurements Sept. 21, after aria’s arrival to the aquarium.

NESTING NOTES: under 50 turtle nests remain. 18

Sojourn south begins for snowbirds. 19 championship matchup set in adult football. 20 target species take bait, beef up for fall. 21

Isl Biz: trading up, trading places. 22

CLASSIFIEDS. 24 Property insurance likely to rise. 26

PropertyWatch. 26

NYT puzzle. 27

Hb mixed in parking garage reactions By ryan Paice islander reporter

am seeks commission candidate. 5

Save a date. 10

islander.org

Manatee County’s “war” over parking in Holmes Beach has reignited a familiar discussion on Anna Maria Island. Does the island need a parking garage? “I do not support a parking garage in the city,” Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth wrote Sept. 23 to The Islander, remarking on Manatee County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge’s Sept. 16 letter outlining terms for an agreement with the city. In his letter to Titsworth, Van Ostenbridge listed his “desired commitments” from the city, such as the reinstatement of parking along certain residential streets to pre-pandemic levels and the repeal of the city’s park-by-permit program. The city implemented a program last summer to reduce parking along some residential streets when people flooded its beaches as many other beaches in the state remained closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The system involves selling $15 decals to residents and property owners to allow them to park a vehicle in one of 645 spots along residential roadways where the city prohibits public parking 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Van Ostenbridge also proposed a variety of county enticements, including a water taxi service connecting the mainland to the island with a stop in the city, providing weekend solid waste removal at beach access points and the continuation of tourist tax funding for beach renourishment projects. turn to parking garage, Page 3

Am nixes one-way travel on Pine Ave., residents applaud By amy V.t. moriarty islander reporter

Anna Maria is saying no to going one way. Commissioners voted Sept. 22 to eliminate the possibility of changing traffic on Pine Avenue to one-way and removed another alternative from a slate of five offered by a traffic engineer as part of a project to Reimagine Pine Avenue. Anna Maria residents at a public hearing and meeting breathed audible sighs of relief and applauded as commissioners unanimously voted to take off the table any option for one-way vehicular traffic on Pine Avenue. Since May, when traffic engineer Gerry Traverso of St. Petersburg-based George F. Young Inc. suggested one-way streets was

an option for his traffic study as part of the Reimagine Pine Avenue project, residents on Spring and Magnolia avenues — the streets targeted for opposing one-way traffic — have been concerned about the possible impact. The project to explore safety and traffic flow on the city’s main business road includes Spring and Magnolia avenues —parallel roads south of Pine Avenue — and Gulf Drive to the west and South Bay Boulevard to the east. As anticipated, one of Traverso’s alternatives indeed called for Pine and Magnolia islander graphic: avenues to be opposite-direction one-way Bonner Joy roads, what he called a “one-way pair.” Commissioner Jonathan Crane said he The purpose for one-way pairs is to distribute traffic and reduce stress on motorists thinks Pine Avenue would be better as a oneturn to One Way, Page 2 and roads in an area more evenly.

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