The intergovernmental debate over streetside parking in Holmes Beach moved behind closed doors.
After months of trading blows on the public stage, city commissioners and Manatee County officials met over the past few weeks to discuss the issue on a personal level.
Florida’s Sunshine Laws mandate public access to governmental proceedings and prohibit members of the same board from discussing government issues privately. However, it doesn’t prohibit members of different boards from meeting — allowing city and county officials to hold one-on-one discussions.
City commissioners detailed their “shade” meetings with the county at a June 22 meeting.
Commissioner Jayne Christenson said her June 15 meetings with County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge and county administrator Scott Hopes were productive. She said she took a presentation to give them a better look at the issue from the city’s perspective.
“Overall, I think it went really well,” Christenson said. “I encourage my fellow commissioners to (meet with county officials) … and show them we’re willing to work with them.”
Last summer, the city implemented a park-by-permit system to reduce parking along some residential streets when people flooded the beaches, and many other beaches in the state remained closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The system involves $15 decals for residents and property owners, allowing them to park a vehicle in one of 645 spots along residential roadways where the city prohibits daytime public parking 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Minutes of Christenson’s meetings, taken by Holmes Beach deputy clerk Kristin Cook instead of recordings, state that Van Ostenbridge suggested the city create a new parking permit for county residents to access more beach parking.
Christenson and Van Ostenbridge also discussed ways the county could assist the city with its parking and traffic issues, such as the county funding a water taxi, increased law enforcement at the beach on weekends and holidays, as well as trash collection on weekends, according to the minutes.
However, the minutes also state: “In closing, KVO said there would be no funding for Holmes Beach until this parking dilemma is resolved. He does not want to cut off beach renourishment but will if Holmes Beach does not add more on-street parking.”
During his meeting with Christenson, Hopes said that the city “needs a different spokesperson” with a “more analytical approach,” according to the minutes.
Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth, the city’s administrator, also is its spokesperson. Titsworth previously met with Van Ostenbridge and Hopes to discuss the issue — a meeting referred to by the parties as having mixed results.
Holmes Beach Commission Chair Jim Kihm said he also met with Van Ostenbridge June 15 to discuss the issue and heard many of the same talking points presented to Christenson.
“We’re working on it, so we’ll see what happens with that,” Kihm said.
Commissioner Terry Schaefer said he was forced to cancel a meeting with Van Ostenbridge but plans to reschedule.
Commissioner Carol Soustek, on the other hand, said Van Ostenbridge ignored a meeting with her.
“The commissioner did not show,” Soustek said of a meeting scheduled earlier that day with Van Ostenbridge. “And I haven’t heard any word from his office about why he was a no-show. No one’s contacted me, so you can take what you will from that.”
Public reaction
Response from the public — once again — was mixed.
County resident Andrea Griffin — a local activist who organized a small protest outside Holmes Beach City Hall before the June 22 meeting — said she opposes the city’s parking limitations. She said the city’s claims about excessive waste left behind by people parking streetside is its own fault.
“I’m really upset about this situation,” Griffin said. “You are responsible for enforcing your laws out here on this beach. Trash is your problem. Urination in people’s yards — that’s your failure to enforce your laws.”
She said she was organizing a larger protest outside city hall before the commission’s July 13 meeting.
“You do not understand the community resources that I will bring to the table to make your lives hell,” Griffin said.
Holmes Beach resident Deborah Sneddon said she supports the city’s parking limitations, which she said helped mitigate traffic issues.
“Regarding the issue of parking, there is a direct and obvious correlation between more parking spaces and more traffic,” Sneddon said. “Safety — that trumps everything. A day at the beach, even.”
Sneddon thanked the city for holding firm on the parking issue.
“I know that you’re working on our behalf, and I think you’re getting a bad rap,” she said.
County officials respond
Van Ostenbridge wrote in a June 24 email to The Islander that he had not intended to “ghost” Soustek.
“Soustek was difficult to accommodate as well since she refused to meet me in Bradenton. …Last week I directed my assistant circle back with Soustek and Schaefer to set up consecutive meetings at HB city hall after our summer recess,” Van Ostenbridge wrote.
He added that his assistant was on vacation.
Despite the miscommunication, Van Ostenbridge called his meeting with Christenson “very productive.”
Hopes, who met with Christenson after she met with Van Ostenbridge, said, “I think we have a much more open dialogue. The commissioner coming here … was quite refreshing. We had a good conversation.”