John Maguire still wants to do business as a bait seller in Bradenton Beach despite an apparent move to run him out of town.
Relaying information from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, BBPD Chief Sam Speciale told city commissioners and the mayor in an April 19 memo that commercial vessels “could not transact business directly on the dock or within the land lease.”
The city leases the submerged land under and alongside the Historic Bridge Street Pier from the state through the DEP.
Also in mid-April, following Maguire’s arrest for allegedly urinating off the dock and trespass from the 200 Bridge St. property, Maguire was presented with another notice from BBPD.
According to BBPD Officer Tom Ferrara, he handed Maguire a notice, as requested by BBPD Lt. John Cosby, quoting a section of city code at about 11:30 a.m. April 13.
“No one may operate a business from a vessel occupying a mooring without the permission of the city commission and upon receiving permission, shall comply with Chapter 54, governing local business tax,” the paper reads.
Though talked about for years, moorings haven’t been installed on the city waterfront near the pier. Boats informally anchor south of the pier, adjacent to the Intracoastal Waterway.
Speciale said any tie-down of a boat constitutes a mooring.
Early in 2015, Maguire had asked the city commission for permission to sell bait while docked at the pier and “they begged me to start,” Maguire said.
However, once the commission awarded Anna Maria Oyster Bar the restaurant space and the accessory buildings in July 2015, Maguire claims the city and BBPD officers began trying “to run me off.”
Maguire believes he’s been unjustly singled out for doing business on and near the pier.
“They just took away my business. And there’s a guy up there who’s just stolen my business with the help of the police,” Maguire said, referring to the pier bait shop operation leased by Horne to Sherman Baldwin and the BBPD.
“We’re not picking on anyone,” said Speciale, adding that even if he hadn’t been trespassed, the DEP recently made it clear Maguire’s business at the day dock is not allowed.
Maguire says since May 2015 he’s been the unofficial harbor master, operating between 5:30 a.m. and 10 p.m., selling bait and taking care of people and their boats.
BBPD Detective Sgt. Lenard Diaz said several complaints of Maguire harassing people have surfaced in the past year, but none have signed a formal complaint.
BridgeTender Inn & Dockside Bar issued Maguire a trespass warning for bothering patrons in November 2014. Maguire acknowledged the warning, saying the restaurant was protecting its business.
The bait seller says he wants to continue his business and dislikes favoritism shown to others.
Baitmonger battles Bradenton Beach
Bradenton Beach bait seller John Maguire is fighting for his rights after being arrested for indecent exposure and ordered off the Historic Bridge Street Pier.
To defend charges stemming from his 2:30 a.m. April 11 arrest for allegedly urinating off the city-owned pier at 200 Bridge St., Maguire says he’s hired attorney Todd Hunger of Sarasota.
The trespass warning is for the pier property, beginning at the east end of Bridge Street to the end of the pier, including the dingy dock to the south, according to Bradenton Beach Police Chief Sam Speciale.
Maguire pleaded not guilty April 14 and was assigned a May 17 court date before 12th Circuit Judge Charles Sniffen.
According to the arrest report, Maguire was asleep in his boat at the day dock when an officer awakened him and told him to move. The report states the officer then observed him urinating into the water.
The baitmonger denies the alleged act and says he was waiting for a delivery of bait shrimp, as he’s done in the past without a problem.
The state attorney has 90 days to file a misdemeanor exposure charge against Maguire.
According to Hunger, trespass warnings can be contested administratively through the issuing agency, the city or county, and the court system.
Maguire also faces a Manatee County Sheriff’s Office citation for abandoning another boat, a 19-foot vessel, near the Cortez Bridge.
Maguire denies the boat is abandoned, saying it’s tied to the sailboat where he lives.
“I’m popular. People like me. I can tell you where to catch fish,” he said.
Maguire called out as “ridiculous” a recent city position that Paradise Boat Tours — Baldwin’s tour boat that makes regular runs from the day dock — is allowed by the terms of the DEP lease.
But Speciale said Sherman’s business complies with the use of the day dock under the DEP lease and the interpretation provided for the lease by the DEP.
Sherman takes money after the boat leaves the dock, over the Internet or from the upland building he leases from the restaurant operator — not off the dock, as Maguire did, according to Speciale.
Since the recent BBPD run-ins, Maguire says people are visiting his sailboat near the Cortez Bridge to buy shrimp and shiners.