VOLUME
Think pink in October
NO. 50
the Best news on anna maria island Since 1992 astheworldterns. 6
Q&A 100621
3
OCT. 6, 2021 Free
islander.org
Anna Maria says
In the pink, in the house
‘Yes’ …
Meetings. 4 Voting begins on ami. 5
Opinions. 6 10-20 YEARS AGO
Looking back. 7
Cops & Courts. 8 StreetLife. 9 Happenings announcements. 10-11
Save a date. 12-13
Plotting and planting. 13 Plaza site plans under review in HB. 14 HB clean water committee appointed. 15
Gathering. 16 Obituaries. 16 Good deeds. 16
mitigating dredging. 17
NESTING NOTES. Beach days. 18
nature’s tempest. 19 center football champs crowned. 20 Snook, redfish, trout! 21
Isl Biz: creating new space. 22
get in the game. 23
CLASSIFIEDS. 24-25 flood insurance hike: Low impact for ami. 26
PropertyWatch. 26
NYT puzzle. 27
West manatee fire rescue Lt. derek Bill, left, and firefighters andrew Powers and William thomas wear pink shirts Sept. 29 in advance of October — Breast cancer awareness month. the shirts feature the district’s logo with a pink ribbon and text, “Join the fight.” islander Photo: courtesy Wmfr
HB commissioner, chief spar over budget By ryan Paice islander reporter
The Holmes Beach City Commission’s final review of the 2021-22 municipal budget produced some fireworks. Sparks were flying Sept. 28 when Commissioner Jayne Christenson moved to exclude from the proposed city budget funds for a new police officer and any ancillary costs that would come from the hire. The Holmes Beach Police Department wants to hire an officer lost to shifting positions — Detective Sgt. Brian Hall was set to become lieutenant and second-in-command with a pay raise — Oct. 1, when the new 2021-22 budget went into effect. Christenson, at the Sept. 28 meeting, said many of the city’s crimes are caused by nonresidents so the city should push for Manatee County to pay for some increases to the police budget instead of budgeting to expand the HBPD using city taxpayer funds. “Where is the threshold?” she asked. Commissioner Kim Rash seconded Christenson’s motion and the chair opened the matter for conversation. Police Chief Bill Tokajer, who sits alongside Mayor Judy Titsworth on the dais during commission meetings, read a statement he had prepared in opposition to
Christenson’s motion. “To drop this bomb at the final hour is wrong and a slap in the face to the entire department,” Tokajer said. “I had one-onone meetings with each commissioner, where I explained the department plans in detail without a single commissioner telling me you opposed the plan.” He said the budgeted promotion would provide HBPD a second-in-command for the first time since he became chief, when he chose to forfeit a lieutenant in favor of an additional officer and more boots on the ground. The promotion also establishes a succession plan for the chief position, according to Tokajer. “I am always proud when talking to our citizens to say that we may not always agree but I always have the support from the commission when I show them a true need,” Tokajer said. “If the budget request is not approved, I will no longer be able to say that.” “For this to happen at the last minute is not responsible governing,” he added. Christenson called Tokajer’s statement “pushy,” “bullying” and “intimidation,” adding that the police chief should not be on the dais since he is not an elected official. turn tO spar, Page 3
the anna maria city Pier. islander Photo: chrisann allen
Yes to Mote pier lease By chrisann allen islander reporter
It’s official. Anna Maria commissioners voted 4-1 at their Sept. 30 meeting to approve the lease for a Mote Marine Laboratory education center on the city pier, 100 S. Bay Blvd. Commissioner Mark Short voted “nay.” Mayor Dan Murphy said he worked with Mote CEO Michael Crosby and Kevin Cooper, Mote’s vice president of communications and strategic initiatives, to negotiate the lease and build-out for the 1,800 squarefoot building at the T-end of the pier. The Mote concept for an education center began at a meeting on the pier in February. The city had planned all during construction of the pier to provide space for a full-service restaurant, as it had done before a run-in with Hurricane Irma in 2017 that led to damages beyond the historic pier’s replacement value. After a meeting that included presentations from interested restaurant operators turn tO pier, Page 2
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