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VOL 23 No. 16
January 25, 2023
The Confederate monument was removed in 2017 and damaged in the process. BY JOE HENDRICKS SUN CORRESPONDENT | jhendricks@amisun.com
County commission to discuss reinstalling Confederate monument
BRADENTON – On Tuesday, Jan. 31, the Manatee County Commission will discuss reinstalling a Confederate memorial monument that was removed from its downtown Bradenton location in 2017. The monument stood in front of the Manatee County Historic Courthouse near the Manatee County Judicial Center. The two buildings share a public courtyard. According to the meeting agenda, county commission authorization will be sought for County Administrator Scott Hopes or his designee to reinstall the monument at its previous location on the courthouse property. In August 2017, a large protest and counter-protest took place at the monument location with many sides of the Confederate monument debate represented. Before the scheduled protest occurred, the county commission voted 6-1 to encase the monument in a plywood shell to protect it from vandalism. After the protest, on Aug. 22, the county commission voted 4-3 in favor of removing the monument at an undisclosed time, in part for public safety purposes. The work crew
JOE HENDRICKS | SUN
The Confederate monument previously stood at the old courthouse across the street from the Manatee County administration building.
AMI fights back against state representatives People who live, work and visit the Island are banding together to try and save their slice of paradise. BY KRISTIN SWAIN SUN STAFF WRITER | kswain@amisun.com
ANNA MARIA ISLAND – As state representatives discuss bypassing Holmes Beach codes to build a parking garage and dissolving the three Island cities, locals aren’t taking it lying down. Residents, property owners, business owners, visitors and others who love the Island just the way it is have banded together to get the word out and reach out to Manatee County’s state legislative delegation members in an effort to have their voices heard in Tallahassee.
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Led by Holmes Beach resident Laurel Nevans, 950 people had joined Save AMI Cities as of Jan. 23. The Facebook group is dedicated to making the people’s voices heard at the local and state level on both issues. The battle is focused on a parking garage. Manatee County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge wants to build one at Manatee Beach, a property owned by the county but located in Holmes Beach. Before those plans got off the ground, city commissioners voted to not allow multi-level parking structures in their city, a stance echoed by city leaders in Bradenton Beach and Anna Maria. Van Ostenbridge warned city leaders at a public meeting that there would be consequences to their actions. SEE REPRESENTATIVES, PAGE 11
SEE MONUMENT, PAGE 15
Bradenton Beach Commission opposes state attacks on home rule City officials and their allies hope to defeat state legislators’ efforts to usurp local building codes and dissolve the three Island cities. BY JOE HENDRICKS SUN CORRESPONDENT | jhendricks@amisun.com
BRADENTON BEACH – Protecting home rule rights will be the city commission’s top priority during the state legislative session that convenes on March 5. Home rule rights and the ability to self-govern at the local level were already a top priority before Bradenton-based State Rep. Will Robinson Jr. and the Manatee County legislative
delegation announced their shared desire to preempt home rule rights at the state level so Manatee County can build a public parking garage in Holmes Beach. The delegation, which also includes Republican state senators Jim Boyd and Joe Gruters and state representatives Tommy Gregory and Mike Beltran, are also requesting a state-funded study regarding the potential dissolution or consolidation of the three Island cities. During the Bradenton Beach Commission’s Jan. 19 meeting, commissioners unanimously agreed that fighting the state legislators’ latest efforts to eliminate the city’s home rule rights would be a top priority for SEE COMMISSION, PAGE 5
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