Anna Maria Island’s three cities will be spared from state-led consolidation — at least, for now.
Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy said Feb. 9 that state Rep. Will Robinson Jr., R-Bradenton, agreed to kill a bill he proposed in January for a study into island governance that could have led to the consolidation or dissolution of the AMI municipalities.
Robinson proposed the study at a Jan. 12 Manatee County Legislative Delegation meeting, when he questioned the number of municipalities needed to govern the island.
He motioned to commission an Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability study on AMI’s governing structure and to present options to the delegation for the 2024 legislative session.
OPPAGA is a research arm of the Legislature that provides data, research and analysis to assist in budgeting and policy deliberations.
The delegation unanimously approved Robinson’s motion.
Robinson also proposed a bill that would preempt Holmes Beach regulation of parking for state and county properties. The bill would override a city ordinance that prohibits multilevel parking facilities within city limits.
Robinson’s actions sparked an outcry from elected officials and islanders, who called his proposals attacks on municipal home rule.
Murphy organized a Jan. 30 meeting between Robinson, state Sen. Jim Boyd, R-Bradenton, and the island mayors to resolve the issues that was closed to the public.
Murphy also visited Tallahassee Feb. 6-8 to meet with legislators, including Robinson and Boyd, which is how he learned the consolidation study would be dropped.
Nevertheless, the mayor said legislators want the island mayors to have formal discussions about limited consolidation between themselves.
Murphy then met Feb. 9 with Bradenton Beach Mayor John Chappie and Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth to discuss potential plans moving forward for consolidating some services.
“What’s the low-hanging fruit?” Murphy said. “What can we do with the idea of saving taxpayer money?”
The island mayors plan to meet every two-three weeks for discussions, depending on availability, and report to their city commissions about potential actions, according to Murphy.
“I think it’s a good formula. I felt comfortable that my fellow mayors would give it a fair and honest shot to get it done — and to get it done thoughtfully,” Murphy said.
He said the mayors had yet to identify services the cities could consolidate and did not want to concern staffs by prematurely discussing such options.
“I am very pleased that the delegation has decided to move away from the consolidation study of our cities,” Titsworth wrote in a Feb. 10 email to The Islander. “They would like us to keep an open mind to determine if there are some services that could benefit the three cities if these services were consolidated and we have agreed to work together on this determination.”
“I’m pleased, of course, that Will Robinson and Jim Boyd are working with the island cities to come up with a positive solution,” Chappie told The Islander Feb. 10. “There is opportunity in this. … We’re already off and running on our discussions and I look forward to moving in a positive direction for everybody.”
“There’s always room for improvement and I’m sure we’re going to come up with some good solutions,” he added.
Island parking
On the other hand, Murphy said Robinson had not agreed to drop his proposed parking preemption bill — but that it also was not an issue for Anna Maria.
“That’s an issue between Holmes Beach and the state,” he said.
The matter stems from the city’s implementation of a park-by-permit system in 2020 that included the removal of about 500 streetside spaces along residential streets in an effort to protect the quality of life.
Manatee County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge, who was elected in November 2020 and now serves as chair, has threatened to withhold beach renourishment funding from the city if the municipality did not reverse course.
Van Ostenbridge also proposed the construction of a multilevel parking facility at the Manatee Public Beach, 4000 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach, to make up for the lost parking.
However, Holmes Beach commissioners adopted an ordinance prohibiting multilevel parking facilities, effectively curbing the proposal.
Robinson’s proposed parking preemption bill could nullify the city ordinance.
Titsworth wrote that the city is working with churches, including the Episcopal Church of the Annunciation and St. Bernard Catholic Church, to recoup the parking-by-permit lost spaces.
“Although they were not available before, this additional parking, along with the parking at the school, city hall and Hancock Bank comes very close to replacing the 480 spaces that Holmes Beach had to remove from residential streets due to safety and public health concerns,” Titsworth wrote.
Regardless, Titsworth urged state leaders to consider an off-island parking garage with a shuttle to and from the beaches, or submit plans for a parking garage for the city’s consideration.
“I am hopeful that this information will be taken into consideration prior to representative Robinson moving forward on the bill for mandating a parking garage in our city and giving the authority of the county to permit and develop their lands without consideration of the codes and ordinances of the city,” Titsworth wrote.