Longboat Key makes progress on beach renourishment project
A $35 million beach renourishment project by the Town of Longboat Key continues to bring more of the soft, powdery white sand that attracts residents and tourists to local beaches, replacing sand lost to natural erosion.
The Town of Longboat Key is a part of both Manatee and Sarasota counties. On Tuesday evening Town Manager Tom Harmer and Project Manager Charlie Mopps presented an update to the Manatee County Council of Governments on the work.
Beach renourishment is a cyclical effort, and this year the town is bringing sand from Longboat Pass and Passage Key, on the southern and northern ends of Anna Maria Island, respectively, to addressed erosion since the town s last renourishment project in 2016.
Wade Vose, representing the city of Anna Maria, attends a March 1 meeting via Zoom, addressing the issue of a charter county government. Islander Photo: Amy V.T. Moriarty
Manatee County Commissioner George Kruse March 3 stood down his fact-finding mission to implement a county charter government.
The move came two days after Kruse attended a meeting hosted by the city of Anna Maria with a city attorney, Wade Vose, via Zoom, who detailed the ramifications for the city of a charter county government.
A charter county is a county with a unique set of laws that forms the legal basis of its government. Resembling state or federal constitutions, charters and amendments must be approved by 50%-plus one of county voters. According to Kruse, 80% of counties in the state are charter county governments.