Is the pen mightier than the gavel?
A motion filed May 11 in 12th Judicial Circuit Court for a 90-day stay of enforcement on Judge Edward Nicholas’ final order that Raymond “Junior” Guthrie’s stilt-house be removed from the waters of Cortez had not been acted on as of The Islander’s press time June 21.
The motion, filed by Guthrie’s attorney, Robert Schermer, seeks an extension to a 60-day stay of enforcement — which has expired.
Schermer said June 16 that he had communicated with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection — Guthrie’s opposition — about a hearing on the motion.
For now, the DEP is taking no action on the motion, Schermer said, allowing Guthrie to move forward with plans to transfer ownership of the structure to a nonprofit and make the stilt-house appear to be more historic.
The plans were outlined in the motion and in
April letters of support from local officials and state legislators addressed to DEP Secretary Noah Valenstein.
The nonprofit had not been created as of June 16 and information about the organization and its plans to change the house’s appearance could not be obtained.
In 2017, Guthrie built the 1,200-foot structure — complete with electricity, sliding-glass doors and other amenities — on what he maintains are ancestral pilings in the water yards off the A.P. Bell Fishing Co. docks in Cortez.
The DEP successfully sued Guthrie for building the stilt-house on state-owned submerged lands without permits or a lease, prompting Nicholas to issue a demolition order.
Guthrie maintains the structure is a historic net camp and Manatee County commissioners and the state legislators that comprise the Manatee County Delegation agree.
Net camps were barren shacks built over the water in the 19th century to house cotton fishing nets and other gear. They became obsolete with the advent of monofilament nets.
An April 15 letter to the DEP from the Manatee board of commissioners characterizes the structure as a “Net Camp replica” that should be protected to maintain Cortez’s historical legacy.
The fishing village of Cortez — bounded by Cortez Road to the north and the Intracoastal Waterway to the west — has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1995.
“Currently the net camp does not conform to state standards, however, we believe a commitment from Cortez community leaders to establish a non-profit organization pledged to the historical interpretation, facade reconstruction and subsequent maintenance of the structure will restore the net camp to its historical character,” the letter reads.
Guthrie said June 15 he’s grateful for the letters.
“I appreciated everybody that supported me,” he said.