Editor’s note: On Sept. 16, Manatee County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge, whose district includes Anna Maria Island and Cortez, sent the following letter to Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth. The letter was edited to include full names and for AP newspaper style.
I am writing you today in hopes of coming to terms on a mutually beneficial agreement between Manatee County and the City of Holmes Beach.
This document is not a formal agreement.
This a letter from one elected official to another meant to start a conversation that will lead to compromise.
Manatee County taxpayers own and maintain all of Manatee County’s beaches.
My goal is to provide fair and equal beach access to all residents of Manatee County
I believe this can be achieved while protecting the property, privacy and quality of life of the residents of Holmes Beach.
I recognize that in the past, island residents have not received the level of service they should expect from their county government.
For that reason, I have in good faith already begun to try to relieve some of the pressure tourism has put on Anna Maria Island residents.
Our board has taken a strong stance in support of the “Love it Like a Local” campaign and I hope to expand this campaign in the future.
Manatee County Commissioner Carol Whitmore and I have worked to alter the timing of traffic signals in Holmes Beach during PM rush hour.
I am told this is helping to clear your streets faster by more efficiently moving cars off the island in the evenings.
Our board also recently unanimously approved Holmes Beach’s request for a West Coast Inland Navigation District grant to fund a new Holmes Beach police patrol boat.
In our budget passed this week, we funded a new patrol boat for the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office that will help to increase patrols of the Holmes Beach shoreline.
I have great confidence that a majority of the board of county commissioners will be agreeable to the terms of this proposal.
I hope that your commission will also find these terms fair to all parties.
If you believe these terms are unfair to Manatee County residents, please, respond to this letter accordingly.
Manatee County desired commitments:
- Manatee County to continue county participation in beach nourishment program via tourist development council funds.
- Pursue construction of a three-level parking garage on county-owned property at Manatee Avenue and Gulf Drive.
- Provide weekend solid waste removal at beach access points.
- Enact a weekly text-messaging system to welcome visitors to our island communities and increase awareness of local rules and ordinances.
- Provide additional law enforcement for beach patrols when requested by Holmes Beach.
- Make code enforcement personnel available when requested by Holmes Beach for parking and beach patrols.
- Work to secure a water taxi service from mainland Manatee County to Anna Maria Island with a stop in Holmes Beach.
- Enter into an interlocal agreement with the School District of Manatee County to provide overflow beach parking at Anna Maria Elementary School.
- Operate the Manatee County Island Library parking lot as a trolley park-and-ride station on weekends and holidays.
- Reconsider the city of Holmes Beach’s request for TDC funding for multimodal transportation enhancements.
Holmes Beach desired commitments:
- Reinstate on-street parking to prepandemic levels.
- Repeal parking permit program.
- Establish a program with reasonable restrictions that allows all churches to use their parking lots for beach parking fundraisers.
- Provide water taxi dockage near the Holmes Beach city center.
- Support all county parking initiatives listed in this agreement.
Manatee County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge