bserver O
LONGBOAT
You. Your neighbors. Your neighborhood.
ANNIVERSARY
NEIGHBORHOOD
+ Mote penguins’ vacation extended If you haven’t hopped over to Mote Marine yet to see the penguins on parade, now is your chance. They were scheduled to leave at the end of February, but Sly, South, Rudy, Coaster, Oswald and Ninja are extending their vacation until April 15. The endangered black-footed penguins will return to their home at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, in Vallejo, Calif.
DIVERSIONS
Fuzión Dance Artists get Education Center students moving. PAGE 1B
Lynches Pub & Grub celebrates its 25th anniversary. PAGE 3A
OUR TOWN
Thursday, JANUARY 12, 2012
new development
Flautist Jane Hoffman plays a familiar tune. INSIDE
by Robin Hartill | City Editor
Publix plans get green light The commission approved three outline development plans for a new Avenue of the Flowers shopping center. The new Publix store is slated to open in April 2013. Publix agent Michael Leeds told the Longboat Key Town Commission Monday about a site plan the Lakeland-based supermarket chain brought to town staff more than two years ago. “Frankly, it was the easy way out,” Leeds said at the commis-
sion’s Jan. 9 regular meeting. “It was just, ‘Replace the old Publix store and leave everything the way it was.’” Publix spent approximately two years revising the plan before officially submitting plans in July for a new Avenue of the Flowers store
that would create a new shopping experience on Longboat Key. Leeds said that throughout the process, Publix representatives heard many suggestions and concerns by those affected by the project. Since July, Publix has made multiple changes to
its plan, including reducing the amount of parking spaces it typically requires from five per 1,000 square feet of store to closer to four per 1,000 square feet and making various adjustments to
SEE PUBLIX / PAGE 2A
FUNDAMENTALS
Island Chapel members to vote on Gill’s future
Photos by Mallory Gnaegy
+ Happy Birthday, Harvey! Harvey Noyes celebrated a big day Monday, Jan. 9. He turned 92. He enjoyed a gourmet birthday breakfast with the Men’s Club of Christ Church of Longboat Key, Presbyterian. To wit: He shares a birthday with singer Joan Baez, guitarist Jimmy Page and author Judith Krantz.
The board of trustees expressed concerns about Gill’s leadership and agenda. Gill says it’s more a matter of deciding the direction for the church.
+ Coin collectors unearth treasures The 1893 Morgan Silver Dollar is no chump change. In fact, the coin can be worth up to $90,000 if it’s in mint condition; but the one THR and Associates, the International Coin Collectors Association, bought Wednesday, Jan. 4 from a Longboater for $6,000, is expected to be worth $10,000. One couple brought in a coffee tin full of silver coins to the Longboat Key Hilton Beachfront Resort and walked out with $8,000. After the company purchases these coins, the coins go to a processing company through which they are graded. The company collected jewelry, knick-knacks and silverware.
by Robin Hartill | City Editor
ARRGH-UMENT SETTLED Mallory Gnaegy
Piracy is no longer an issue at Dream Island Road. The Buccaneer statue and landmark was painted and has been moved to where “X” marked the spot: poolside at Grand Mariner. Grand Mariner Realtor Reid Murphy says, “He is a very happy pirate.” Read the story on page 15A.
The Rev. Kenneth Gill believes that the controversy surrounding his tenure at Longboat Island Chapel boils down to this: What kind of church do we want to be? “For 50 years, we’ve been what we’d call an ‘open-door church,’” Gill told the Longboat Observer. “Some have wanted something more traditional, and we’ve had discussions of affiliating in the past. Gill But what we’ve decided was that we want to be open to all denominations.” On Dec. 21, the chapel’s board of trustees voted 9-2 to hold a congregational vote about whether to retain Gill. The vote will occur after services Sunday, Jan. 29, and will require the approval of twothirds of members present to be approved. In a Dec. 28 letter to members, the board outlined eight basic themes of concern they had with Gill. “Has not demonstrated leadership” and “Not focused
on growing the congregation” were among the concerns. They also addressed multiple financial issues, accusing Gill of using the minister’s discretionary fund to help family members. Gill clarified that with the Longboat Observer, saying he used money from the fund for an outreach program for low-income children in Anderson, Ind., — a program that his daughter is in charge of but that the board has, in the past, voted to support. The letter also outlined a controversy surrounding an interfaith stained-glass symbol proposed for the sanctuary that would have taken the place of the large white cross currently in place. The letter also accuses Gill of pushing his own agenda, not being reachable for pastoral needs and not supporting efforts such as the Aging in Paradise Resource
SEE GILL / PAGE 7A
INDEX Bridge Bites....... 11B Briefs....................4A
Calendar............ 14A Classifieds ........ 13B
Cops Corner....... 12A Crossword.......... 12B
Opinion.................6A Weather............. 12B
Vol. 34, No. 24 | Three sections YourObserver.com