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VOL 24 No. 49
July 31, 2024
Guthrie net camp being demolished under court order
The demolition in progress is the end of a six-year battle to keep the net camp. BY LESLIE LAKE SUN CORRESPONDENT | llake@amisun.com
CORTEZ - After a six-year legal battle between Raymond “Junior” Guthrie and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), the net camp he built in 2017 in Sarasota Bay is being dismantled. FDEP filed a civil suit against Guthrie in 2018 claiming that he had constructed an enclosed docking structure over sovereign submerged lands in Sarasota Bay without a permit. The FDEP prevailed and on May 7, 12th Judicial Circuit Court Judge Edward Nicholas ordered the structure to be removed in 120 days, making the deadline Sept. 4. Guthrie maintained that his family had a net camp in that location since his grandfather built one in the 1940s. CINDY LANE | SUN
SEE GUTHRIE, PAGE 25
The roof was removed from Junior Guthrie’s net camp last week, the first step in its demolition.
Anna Maria property owners getting tax break
The Anna Maria mayor and city commissioners are lowering the city’s property taxes. BY JOE HENDRICKS SUN CORRESPONDENT | jhendricks@amisun.com
ANNA MARIA – City property owners will see their property taxes reduced in the coming year. On July 25, the Anna Maria City Commission voted 3-2 to adopt a tentative 1.65 millage rate for the coming 2024-25 fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. The adopted tentative millage rate can be further reduced before the budget is finalized in September, but it cannot be increased. Anna Maria’s current 2.05 millage rate has long been the lowest millage rate on Anna
Maria Island and in Manatee County, joined last year by Holmes Beach. On June 27, Mayor Dan Murphy proposed lowering the millage rate to 1.82 mills, with the possibility of bringing it even lower. When presenting his proposed $10.4 million capital project plan on July 25, Murphy proposed setting the tentative millage rate at 1.75 mills. “My goal is to reduce the taxes in this city for the first time in history. It’s not a huge cut, but it is a cut. It’s a step in the right direction,” Murphy said, noting the proposed rate would result in Anna Maria property owners paying a lower city tax bill next year. Murphy said lowering the millage rate to 1.75 mills would
leave the city with a $1.21 contingency fund for the new fiscal year. The contingency fund for the current budget year is $981,851. The non-earmarked contingency fund can be used to cover unexpected expenditures, including hurricane clean up and recovery efforts.
The treehouse owners have fought to keep the structure aloft since it was built in 2011. BY KRISTIN SWAIN SUN STAFF WRITER | kswain@amisun.com
During the lengthy discussion that followed, commissioners Gary McMullen and Charlie Salem lobbied for a 1.65 tentative millage rate and Commissioner Kathleen Morgan later joined them in adopting that tentative millage rate. Commissioners Jon Crane and Mark Short expressed support
HOLMES BEACH – A controversial treehouse is scheduled to be dismantled by July 31 under a court order from the 12th Judicial Circuit Court for Manatee County. Treehouse owner Lynn Tran said the city’s building department issued a demolition permit on July 23. During a June hearing, an attorney for Tran and co-owner Richard Hazen, the owners of Angelinos Sea Lodge, said that a demolition permit from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) expires on July 31, creating the demolition deadline. The couple has defended the treehouse against claims that it was built illegally since it was built
SEE TAXES, PAGE 26
SEE TREEHOUSE, PAGE 28
COMMISSION DISCUSSION
IF RHUBARB reminds you of summer, this recipe will be a treat. 20 Page 25 Anna Maria Island, Florida
Treehouse demolition imminent
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