For Anna Maria Mayor Mark Short, the week ending June 6 was “another week of moving various projects forward,” in an email to The Islander.
Progress began on the Anna Maria City Pier, where the walkway to the T-end of the pier was damaged by the September-October 2024 hurricanes, Helene and Milton.
“Our kickoff meeting with the pier demo vendor, Quality Marine, was held and, weather permitting, we expect to see activity by the end of the month,” Short wrote.
Additional meetings were held with an engineering firm, George F. Young, on the design and engineering plans for the new walkway.
Short said recent rain storms revealed drainage challenges and the city is in the process of addressing remediation options.
He noted that Frontier Communication initiated its plan to place fiber-optic cable throughout the city so property owners might see some right-of-way activities.
In Holmes Beach, Mayor Judy Titsworth said June 6 that there had been no response from the seller of Gloria Dei Lutheran Church to the $3 million bid from the city.
She noted the gap between the appraisals for the property — over $9 million for the highest and best use from the church owner, Florida-Bahamas Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, which would require rezoning — and $2.1 million-$2.7 million for two “as is” appraisals for the city.
The property consists of three parcels over 3 acres and is currently zoned for public/semi-public use.
In an email to The Islander June 7, Titsworth said she expects to “get word on our offer next week for Gloria Dei. Fingers crossed they accept our offer.”
She also noted that work on restoring city field is anticipated. “We are working with the debris haulers as it is in their contract.”
She said the city anticipates using the HUD hurricane recovery money for stormwater projects, “as we have identified around $24M in projects covering the next 10 years.”
These will greatly improve our resiliency and we will continue to seek and receive grants as they become available.
On the calendar, Titsworth said she expects the city commission to take up an increase in stormwater fees in the coming weeks.
She also noted the city had a great turnout for its June 6 hurricane preparedness presentation.
City clerk Stacey Johnston emailed The Islander June 6 saying Titsworth and the city emergency operations center team hosted a hurricane preparedness workshop on that day.
The workshop was streamed and is archived for review on the city website, holmesbeachfl.org.
“Staff worked hard to present some great information for our citizens in preparation of this year’s hurricane season,” Johnston said.