- Named Best Florida Newspaper In Its Class -
VOL 22 No. 48
September 7, 2022
Labor Day fun in the sun ANNE YARBROUGH | SUN
Beachgoers crowd Manatee Beach at the start of the Labor Day weekend on Saturday. More on the weekend on Page 3.
Dispute leads to tolls, traffic lights for canal boaters Tolls will eventually be levied on Cortez Village Marina boaters while other boaters will continue to use the canal for free. BY JOE HENDRICKS SUN CORRESPONDENT | jhendricks@amisun.com
CORTEZ – Boaters can expect one-way navigational patterns in the privatelyowned Hunters Point canal, with some having to pay automated tolls to use it. Canal access will remain free for canalside homeowners, Buttonwood Inlet and Holiday Cove RV resort guests and others, but those who store their boats at the Cortez Village Marina will soon be asked to pay a fee to use the canal that provides marina boaters with their only direct water access to the nearby Intracoastal Waterway. These revelations were made by Hunters Point developer Marshall Gobuty during the rebuttal testimony he gave on Sept. 2
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during a multi-day administrative hearing that began in June, continued in August and resumed on Sept. 1. The hearing is expected to conclude on Tuesday, Sept. 13. Administrative law Judge Bruce Culpepper is being asked to issue a recommended order as to whether the environmental resource permit the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) issued in 2021 to Gobuty and his Cortez Road Investments & Finance Inc. ownership group was properly issued. The permit allows for the construction of 49 canal-side docks as part of the 86-home Hunters Point community being constructed along Cortez Road West east of the Cortez Bridge. The construction of the docks is on hold until the permit dispute is resolved. The MHC Cortez Village LLC group that owns the nearby Cortez Village Marina challenged the SWFWMD permit and claimed the addition of the Hunters Point SEE TOLLS, PAGE 31
Paid parking coming to Bradenton Beach Josh LaRose is proposing paid parking for at least two city-owned parking areas in Bradenton Beach. BY JOE HENDRICKS SUN CORRESPONDENT | jhendricks@amisun.com
BRADENTON BEACH – City officials soon will begin negotiating with Easy Parking Group owner Josh LaRose to create a paid parking program on city-owned lots. The commission unanimously authorized City Attorney Ricinda Perry, Police Chief John Cosby and other members of the city team on Aug. 30 to enter into direct contract negotiations with LaRose to implement a paid parking pilot program that provides the city the ability to evaluate the effectiveness of the initial program before entering into a long-term contract.
JOE HENDRICKS | SUN
Easy Parking Group owner Josh LaRose presented a proposal for paid parking to the city commission. “I figured I’d put it on the agenda and see what everyone else’s thoughts are,” Commissioner Jake Spooner said when initiating the paid parking discussion. “Paid parking can give us a nice stream of revenue without raising SEE PAID PARKING, PAGE 27
GREG LAPENSEE
CIGARETTES, STRAWS to
Bowling Tournament rolls on Saturday at Bowlero. 8-9
be banned in Holmes Beach. 5
Anna Maria Island, Florida
INJURED TURTLE found in
Cortez rehabbed, released. 15
The Island’s award-winning weekly newspaper www.amisun.com