Is Cortez ready for another net camp?
Manatee County commissioners unanimously voted Jan. 11 to increase U.S. RESTORE Act funding for a project at the Florida Maritime Museum in Cortez that calls for the construction of a net camp replica on Lake Minnie, a pond on the museum grounds.
The net camp will be constructed on the northeastern shore of the pond and serve as a classroom for the museum’s folk school, a program that teaches visitors the fishing history of Cortez through heritage crafts, such as net mending and net casting.
The project also calls for improvements to Lake Minnie, including a shoreline adjustment, aeration system upgrade and the addition of a dock to the western shore of the pond.
Phaedra Dolan, director of the historical resources department at the Manatee County Clerk of
Circuit Court and Comptroller office, oversees the project.
The department also is considering the formation of an underground connection between Lake Minnie and the tidal waters of the Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage nature preserve to the east of the museum, Dolan said Feb. 2.
The project “is really supposed to bring in more of our natural wildlife and just create a more natural environment for that lake so that it’s not just a stagnant body of water,” Dolan said.
“There are fish in there now, but this would really increase the variety and health of what’s in there — the flora, the fauna, everything,” she added.
At the Jan. 11 meeting, the commissioners voted to increase the project’s initial $225,000 budget by $166,170 and extend its deadline to 2025.
The initiative, almost 10 years in the making, was delayed due to construction on Cortez Road and 119th Street and material shortages.
The budget needed to be increased due to rising material costs and a change of plans.
The additional project funds came in the form of uncommitted grants from the RESTORE Act, 2012 legislation aimed at helping coastal communities recover from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010.
The project was the brainchild of 38-year Manatee County Clerk of Court R.B. “Chips” Shore, who grew up in Cortez, along with Dolan’s predecessor, Cathy Slusser, and museum staff.
Shore, who died in 2015, championed the application to secure RESTORE Act funds for museum projects in 2012.
The project initially called for the expansion of the Pillsbury Boat Shop building on the museum grounds until Slusser and former museum supervisor Kristin Sweeting settled on the idea of a net camp replica.
Dolan took over for Slusser in February 2020.
“The project is important to me because I grew up on Anna Maria Island. So I crossed through Cortez every day on my way to school and it’s just home to me,” Dolan said.
Museum happenings
The Florida Maritime Museum, 4415 119th St. W., Cortez, is seeking greeters, supervisor Tori Chasey told The Islander in a Feb. 3 email.
The volunteer role is perfect for people interested in sharing Cortez’s maritime heritage, she said.
The museum is hosting a special interactive Music on the Porch event at 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 12.
In addition to enjoying live music, visitors can play instruments provided by the Island Library and craft their own instruments to take home.
The performances, crafts and activities are free, and Kona Ice will be on-site selling frozen desserts.
The museum offers a variety of ways for visitors to interact — plein-air watercolor kits are offered at the front desk, as well as instructions for a scavenger hunt.
For more information, visit floridamaritimemuseum.org or call 941-708-6120.
