They’re voting with their checkbooks.
A group challenging the Florida Department of Transportation’s decision to replace the 17-foot-clearance Cortez drawbridge with a 65-foot-clearance fixed-span bridge in 2026-27 raised $8,855 of its $25,000 goal on gofundme.com as of Aug. 19.
The proceeds will go toward the costs of the group’s legal battle with transportation officials, which began in March 2020 and could conclude next year.
The bridge fighters are advocating construction of a 35-foot-clearance drawbridge.
The group’s page on gofundme.com — “Stop the Mega Bridge from Devastating Cortez” — became active Aug. 9 and listed 86 donors Aug. 19.
The top donor, Cortez Park, a mobile home community on the mainland at the foot of the east side of the bridge, contributed $1,000 Aug. 16.
Joe Adorna, president of the Cortez Park homeowners association, said Aug. 16 the organization’s board voted to donate.
“I believe the majority of the residents of the park are against the high bridge and in favor of the 35-foot bridge,” Adorna said.
Among other features, the high bridge design includes the construction of retaining walls, about 20 feet tall at their peak, that would extend into Cortez about 700 feet.
Cortez Park’s borders include the Intracoastal Waterway to the west and Cortez Road to the north, and the high walls would strip the community of two of its access points and a handful of income-generating RV parking spaces, Adorna said.
Joe McClash, a former Manatee County commissioner who spearheads the anti-megabridge coalition, said Aug. 16 the gofundme.com figure represents about half of the funds the group has raised.
The Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage, a Cortez nonprofit in the process of joining the suit, has collected about an equal amount in donations, he said.
“It’s exciting to see the support of the community. People have really stepped forward,” he said.
The next milestone in the lawsuit is an Aug. 25 mediation hearing, at which third-party attorney Stephen Tabano will attempt to help both sides settle on the height and scale, as well as the type of bridge — a bascule versus a fixed bridge.
McClash is joined by former County Commissioner Jane von Hahmann — a Cortez resident and FISH treasurer — and Cortez residents Linda Molto and Joe Kane, as well as FISH.
McClash and his group have enlisted the services of local attorneys Matthew Farmer and Ralf Brookes, lawyers passionate about environmental causes.
Brookes, a former Bradenton Beach city attorney, said Aug. 16 that Cortez holds a special place in his heart.
“It’s unique. There’s no other place like it and I’ve met many friends there over the years,” Brookes said.
“We feel very deeply about this case. A 65-foot bridge, because of the ramps and approaches, would split the village of Cortez, which is one of the last remaining fishing villages in Florida,” he said.
According to McClash, Farmer and Brookes took the case for a reduced fee.
“The reality is we wouldn’t be able to engage in these challenges on environmental issues without attorneys like Ralf Brookes and Matt Farmer, who provide discounted fees for causes like the Cortez Bridge,” he said.
Brookes said a high bridge would “destroy the fabric of the community” in Cortez.
If the anti-megabridge group and the DOT are unable to compromise at mediation, a federal magistrate will decide the case.