Anna Maria Mayor Mark Short shared in an email to The Islander Sept. 23 his experience when Hurricane Helene sent storm surge and delivered widespread devastation across the island.
“My wife and I were vacationing in Maine when we woke up Friday morning to the news of the devastation that occurred on the island after Helene,” wrote Short, who was a city commissioner in September 2024.
He continued:
“We cut our vacation short and headed to Boston, where we were able to get on an early flight back to Tampa Sunday morning.
“By then, the water had receded for the most part, but the roads and everything else were still in very bad shape.
“I immediately went to city hall and helped where I could on recovery efforts and logistics. City employees rose to the occasion and worked extremely long hours to push recovery efforts forward as fast as possible.
“A special call out to the contractors who provided immediate assistance as well and deployed equipment and personnel to assist in our recovery efforts.
“When it became evident that Milton was heading our way, efforts were increased to clear and clean as much as possible.
“In addition to the recovery work that stood out, and the responses and actions taken by city employees and the contractor community, the community center, in my opinion, re-invented itself with the assistance it provided to the island community.”
Looking forward
Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth emailed The Islander Sept. 26 with news: “My budget passed!!!!”
She also wrote about her response to state Sen. Jim Boyd’s and state Rep. Will Robinson Jr.’s joint letter asking for an update on cooperation with the other cities.
Titsworth said she hopes her detailed response “will address many of their concerns and the steps we are taking to be efficient and keep property taxes down.”
She said she’ll be watching their actions in Tallahassee in the 2026 legislative session with the hope they can improve quality of life for Floridians.
Meanwhile, Titsworth said Kim Charren passed her certification test and the city has another floodplain manager on staff. “She is a great asset to our city,” the mayor said.
Charren is a building department administrator and community rating system coordinator, having moved to building from code compliance last year.
Titsworth also noted:
- The cities of Anna Maria and Holmes Beach have an interlocal agreement for building permit services on an as-needed basis;
- Construction on a third pickleball court will begin in the near future.
City field is undergoing improvements, including new sod, with completion expected in time for the city’s 75th anniversary event on Dec. 5.
Finally, due to a lengthy and interesting response from Titsworth on her personal experience during Hurricane Helene, her reply is posted in its entirety here.