Holmes Beach City Hall seats again were filled when commissioners discussed funding for the Anna Maria Island Community Center.
Supporters and opponents of the center’s plan to expand its fitness gym appealed April 28 to commissioners, and while the issue has divided the community, both sides expressed a deep concern for the center’s future.
The dispute is over a proposal to expand the center’s existing fitness facility that opponents say panders to vacationers and would unfairly compete with two privately-owned gyms in Holmes Beach.
“There has been no surveying of the needs of the residents and snowbirds, and there has been no demand from the residents of the island for such a facility,” said Commissioner Jean Peelen.
“To try to shift their fortunes at the cost of small island businesses and to the benefit of the short-term rental industry is not a solution to their problems.”
She added that with the exception of a few, the center board members would benefit from the creation of a “state-of-the-art” fitness center.
Peelen recommended city commissioners not approve $22,500 in funding to the center, an amount the city has paid annually for many years.
“We seriously were asked to do a job by this entire community and that job was to save our center for all the children and the programs we had… .We had to look at the resources available. And like it or not, the tourists are the economy of this island — like it or not. We had to tap into something that was going to save the center for these children and the programs,” said Diana McManaway, a Holmes Beach resident and center board member.
The to-fund or not-to-fund vote landed on commissioners’ agendas amid talks between Holmes Beach Mayor Bob Johnson and center board members.
Johnson exchanged letters with center chair Blair Schlossberg in March and held several meetings with board members in April.
Johnson requested detailed information on the center’s $250,000 structural deficit, previous years’ financial reports, plans to resolve the nonprofit’s financial woes and the alternatives the board considered.
Johnson said he was disappointed with the lack of information he received, but urged commissioners to fund the budgeted amount for 2014-15.
“I think it would be inappropriate at this point to say we’re not going to write this check,” said Johnson.
He added that internal restructuring within the center seemed promising and that future funding should be dependent on transparency.
Center executive director Cindy Thompson also urged commissioners to approve the funding, saying the current board inherited the previous board’s budget, which includes the $22,500 from the city.
“The $22,500 that we count on from Holmes Beach usually comes in March and we certainly felt it when we did not receive it,” said Thompson.
“If you decide not to fund us over something we haven’t even applied for a permit for, in April, when we expected that money in March, I see it as very unfair,” Thompson added.
According to Johnson, Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy also met with center board members, and Murphy indicated he would not sign-off on a permit for the center’s proposal.
Commissioner Carol Soustek moved to deny the center funding until commissioners receive more information and answers. Peelen seconded the motion, which passed 4-0.
Commissioner Marvin Grossman was absent.
Commission Chair Judy Titsworth put another vote on the community center funding on the June 23 meeting agenda.
So for now the center is short $22,500, and its fiscal year ends June 30.