Hurricane Hermine whipped up winds and surf on Anna Maria Island in September as it passed about 300 miles west in the Gulf of Mexico.
The storm apparently caused two boats to sink in the Bradenton Beach anchorage area south of the Historic Bridge Street Pier.
One boat is registered to former Holmes Beach Mayor Carmel Monti.
Bradenton Beach Lt. John Cosby said he determined Monti owned the partially submerged 46-foot sailboat from the boat’s registration.
Cosby has headed the city’s derelict vessel removal since 2011.
Ownership of the other boat is unknown, BBPD Chief Sam Speciale said Nov. 2, adding an officer will have to dive to determine the registration number.
“Nobody notified me,” Monti said Nov. 3.
“I got rid of it several years ago. It was being rehabbed at the Cortez Cove. It’s not mine and hasn’t been mine for two years,” he added.
Cosby said a boat owner who sells a registered vessel is required to notify the state within 30 days they no longer own the boat.
Meanwhile, work on removing the sunken boats has been delayed by paperwork, Cosby said, but he is now beginning the removal process.
The city partners with Manatee County on a $25,000 per year boat removal program that is funded by the West Coast Inland Navigational District.
Under a new WCIND program, Cosby said the city will be eligible for additional regional funding — a $100,000 program available for Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte and Lee counties — if needed, to remove boats, Cosby said.
But before law enforcement takes possession of the submerged vessels, state law requires notice to be posted on the vessel or in a public place and notification be made to owners and any lien holders. The agency also must allow a reasonable time for owner removal.
A salvage company will be contracted for removal if an owner fails to respond, and the owner can be required to pay for the cost of removal.
Seven vessels were removed south of the pier under the 2015-16 program — at an average cost of $3,000-$5,000 per vessel.
Cosby said the city will add the $1,500 remaining from last year’s budget for 2016-17 projects. The fiscal year began Oct. 1.
WCIND has partnered with Manatee County and Bradenton Beach, providing 100 percent reimbursement, since the late 2000s.