$2.5 million Anna Maria Island walking path faces scrutiny from Manatee tourism board
A proposed Holmes Beach multi-use path would run the length of the city and give walkers, joggers and cyclists a safer way to get to beach accesses and other points of interest.
The path would be separated from the roadway by a green buffer, said Sage Kamiya, superintendent of public works for the city of Holmes Beach.
Kamiya and Greg Kerchner, Holmes Beach city commissioner, appeared before the Manatee County Tourist Development Council on Monday to request funding for the proposed path.
Kerchner cited several recent accidents on Anna Maria Island where pedestrians or cyclists were hit and killed by motor vehicles.
“Our request is about safe travel,” Kerchner said.
Some sections of the path, which would provide links to about 30 beach access points as well as parks within the city, already exist on the north end of the city along Marina Drive and Gulf Drive, Kamiya said.
Educational signs would be added along the path to provide information on the environment.
Tourism officials question Holmes Beach walkway
The price tag? The total cost is estimated at $2.5 million, Kamiya said.
The cost for phase one, including Gulf Drive (Holmes Boulevard to 66th Street) and Marina Drive (56th Street to 66th Street), mid-block rapid flashing beacons, education signage and beach access, was estimated at $1.1 million.
The City of Holmes Beach would pay about $400,000 of that and requested that the TDC pick up the rest.
The TDC’s requested contribution would come from the local option tourist development tax, also called tourist tax, bed tax or resort tax, which is the fee paid by tourists who visit hotels or short-term rentals in Manatee County.
James Satcher, a county commissioner who serves as chairman of the TDC, brought up the lack of a water taxi docking area in Holmes Beach and the fight over off-beach parking with Holmes Beach city commissioners.
The fight over off-beach parking goes back to 2020 when city officials reduced the amount of on-street parking. Holmes Beach officials cited beach visitors blocking residential driveways, littering and relieving themselves on private property.
County commissioners have denied tourism tax revenue to Holmes Beach before. In 2021, the Manatee County Commission denied almost $300,000 in funding to reimburse Holmes Beach for seawall repairs.
At the time, Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth argued that the city generates most of the county’s tourism revenue and does not receive its fair share.
TDC board member Gene Brown, mayor of Bradenton, noted that the entire project is estimated to cost $2.5 million and wondered when Holmes Beach might be coming back for more money.
Brown, one of several local officials who wrote letters urging Manatee and Holmes Beach to find a beach parking solution, said that he likes the concept but would like to see a timeline for the completion of the project.
“I don’t think the plan is totally laid out yet,” Brown said. “I don’t see a plan I can support without more information.”
Anna Maria Island parking feud
In January, state Rep. Will Robinson proposed a bill to provide additional parking on Anna Maria Island.
“It is fundamental for anyone to be able to visit our public beach, and in my view, parking spaces have been strategically taken away over the last few years — under the guise of COVID — to not allow folks to access the beach,” Robinson, R-Bradenton, said in January.
“Folks are getting frustrated, they can’t access the beach, they’re turning around and they’re going back home,” Robinson said.
In June, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Robinson’s bill, allowing Manatee County Government to circumvent the city of Holmes Beach’s rules to build a beach parking garage on Anna Maria Island.
“We should have been able to work together but had to elevate this to state level,” Satcher said of the dispute over parking.
Palmetto Mayor Shirley Groover Bryant suggested that it might save time over the long term for Holmes Beach officials to gather more information on the path project and return to the TDC at a future meeting.
Satcher wanted assurances in writing that the path project would not take away more parking.
Kamiya and Kerchner agreed to return to the TDC’s Oct. 16 meeting with more information.
“Maybe we can work together to get the whole thing done rather than piecemealing it,” Brown said.
Mote education center
Since opening in May at the end of the city of Anna Maria Pier, the Mote Marine outreach and education center has attracted 56,000 visitors — about 550 a day — Mayor Dan Murphy said.
The center is open to visitors 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week. There is no admission charge.
“It’s a tremendous success story. I can’t thank you enough,” Murphy told members of the TDC.
After Hurricane Irma destroyed the previous pier in 2017 and the pier was rebuilt at a cost of more than $7 million, Murphy led the charge to bring an educational facility to the pier, rather than another restaurant.
“It’s hamburgers versus knowledge. Which one is more important?” Murphy said.
The Manatee County Commission approved a request in 2021 for $500,000 in tourist bed tax funds for the design and installation of the learning center.
This story was originally published August 22, 2023 at 11:00 AM.
