JAN. 26, 2022 Free
VOLUME 30, NO. 14
the Best news on anna maria island Since 1992
islander.org
DOT counters: High bridge lacks impact
Astheworldterns. 6
Q&A 012622.
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BB appoints 4 ScenicWaVeS members. 4
Meetings. 4
By Kane Kaiman islander reporter
BB project review. 5
Opinions. 6
10-20 YEARS AGO
Looking back. 7
garden club colors fashion runway. 8
rescuers recover trapped raccoon. 9
Save a date. 10-12
Happenings community events. 10-13
Gathering. 14 GoodDeeds. 15 Obituaries. 15
the island loses a 70s legend.
the cortez Bridge and Historic Bridge Street Pier looking north in Sarasota Bay. islander Photo: Jack elka Vehicles transit the cortez Bridge Jan. 20. replacing the drawbridge is the center of a legal battle between the florida dot and a group of citizens. islander Photo: Kane Kaiman
$163k running fine ordered for Bali Hai By ryan Paice islander reporter
The city of Holmes Beach and the Bali Hai Beach Resort’s game of tit for tat is escaCops & Courts. 16 lating to new heights. Special magistrate Michael Connolly Streetlife. 16 issued five orders Jan. 19 imposing fines Launching another against the resort, 6900 Gulf Drive, which coquina project. 18 has tangled with the city in recent years over development at the property. Since purchasing Bali Hai in 2019 for about $20 million, developer Shawn Kaleta Plant a tree, or 10. 19 has completed extensive renovations, includfootball returns to center ing the addition of a spa and lounge for field. 20 guests. The city argued the resort did not obtain construction permits or an updated site plan for the accessory uses, resulting in a city stop work order on the property in January 2020. anglers adapt to winter The city then filed a legal complaint conditions. 21 in May 2020 with the 12th Judicial Circuit Isl Biz: 22 Court asking for injunctive relief that would champ eater, new friends, compel the resort to comply with city code farewell t-shirt girl after staff observed that construction on the property had continued despite the order. CLASSIFIEDS. 24-25 The two parties have been mired in a PropertyWatch. 26 legal deadlock since, resulting in nine circuit court cases — five remained open as of Jan. puzzle. 27 22 — plus a $3.125 million federal lawsuit
NYT
DOT: You won’t even notice it. The Florida Department of Transportation responded to a Dec. 1, 2021, motion for summary judgment filed in federal court by four complainants challenging the agency’s decision to replace the 17-foot-clearance Cortez Bridge with a 65-foot-clearance fixed-span bridge in 2026-27. The DOT opted to replace the 65-yearold drawbridge with a megabridge in 2019. The complainants, who advocate compromise with the construction of a 35-foot drawbridge replacement, maintain the megabridge would destroy the character of Cortez, a fishing village at the bridge’s eastern terminus. They filed their challenge in March 2020. On Jan. 10, Tallahassee attorney George Reynolds filed a combined cross-motion for summary judgment and response brief on behalf of the agency that refutes the complainants’ argument that the DOT violated the National Environmental Protection Act during its bridge selection process. According to the Code of Federal Reguturn to Bridge, Page 2
Anna Maria names 2 citizens of the year
filed by Kaleta against the city, claiming it violated the 1983 U.S. Civil Rights Act. Little progress has been made in circuit court for either side and a hearing has yet to By ryan Paice be scheduled in the federal case. islander reporter In the meantime, the city upped the ante Two people will share the honor as Anna by requesting Connolly impose fines against Maria’s 2021 Citizen of the Year award. the resort for seven city code violations. The city’s citizen recognition committee Connolly found the resort in violation met Jan. 18 to select an award winner from in all seven cases and assessed fines, includ- three nominees but couldn’t choose just one, ing: according to the recorded meeting minutes • $5,000 for a repeat violation for con- from city clerk LeAnne Addy. tinuing to work after the city posted a stop The winners are: work order; • Anna Maria Island • $500 per day starting Oct. 12, 2021, Historical Society vice for a repeat violation for operating a bar/ president Barbara Murphy, lounge without an approved site plan; the mayor’s wife, who was • $500 per day starting June 11, 2021, nominated for her work for a repeat violation for construction with- murphy at AMIHS, as well as her out a city-issued permit. involvement with the Anna While a $5,000 fine is splashy, the real Maria Island Chamber of waves come from the two running fines. Commerce and the Anna With a combined 327 days of $500 daily Maria Island Garden Club. fines running through Jan. 22, the resort debt • Joan Voyles, founder stands at $163,500 in accumulated fines. and past president of the Connolly found four more violations: Voyles Artists’ Guild of Anna operating a bar/lounge and spa without busiMaria Island, who was ness tax receipts and completing plumbing nominated for her volunteer work and role and electrical work and installation of a new as a “major community supporter” for island turn to Fines, Page 3
turn to 2 winners, Page 2