Anna Maria public works director George McKay apologized to The Islander for a false statement he made during an interview for the newspaper’s Feb. 8 story on sand piles on the north side of the Lake LaVista inlet.
McKay told reporter Rick Catlin the sand came from the “Key Royale canal dredging project.” Key Royale is in Holmes Beach.
McKay said Anna Maria would use the sand to renourish the shore at the city pier, adding the sand was “beach quality.”
On reading the published story, Holmes Beach Mayor Rich Bohnenberger noted there is no such dredging project in Holmes Beach.
After the story published, Catlin again called McKay, seeking clarification. McKay then alleged he told The Islander the sand piles at the inlet were dumped there by swimming pool contractors, and abruptly ended the discussion.
To clear up the matter, The Islander met with McKay and Mayor Mike Selby Feb. 10 and reviewed Catlin’s notes from his Feb. 3 telephone interview with McKay.
After the question-and-answer notes were read, McKay said, “apparently I miss spoke” during that conversation.
“I apologize for what was said,” McKay said.
Catlin asserted it was possible McKay misunderstood his questions, although he twice described the location of the sand piles during the McKay interview.
McKay reiterated his recollection was that he had said the sand was from pool contractors, but publisher Bonner Joy again indicated that Catlin’s notes state McKay said what was reported — that the sand piles came from a Key Royale canal-dredging project.
McKay then recalled he might have been referring in that interview to the West Coast Inland Navigation District project to dredge the “Bimini-Key Royale entrance channel” which was set to begin Feb. 9.
McKay said WCIND often calls the channel the “Key Royale channel” and that WCIND used that term in a recent press release.
However, the sand was photographed by Catlin at the Lake LaVista inlet prior to the startup of the WCIND project.
McKay said he previously gave permission to two contractors to dump excavated “sand” at the Lake LaVista site in the event he needs to provide sand bags to residents during hurricane season or to add sand to the shoreline.
McKay further said he inspects each pool site in the city and determines whether the material is beach quality sand prior to it being dumped at the city site. He also said contractors are allowed to dump only what they excavate in Anna Maria.
Selby said he was unaware that McKay had given permission to private contractors to use city property for dumping, but he approves the practice as well as the possible use of the sand for sandbagging and for nourishment of the inlet rip-rap and along the pier shoreline “in an emergency.”