Town issues Colony requirements

Town Manager Dave Bullock has put the Colony Beach & Tennis Resort Association on notice: The town expects further upgrades to the rundown property to make the outward appearance acceptable by Longboat Key standards.

In a letter sent Nov. 28 to the Colony Association’s treasurer, Robert Erazmus, Bullock explained that town staff had conducted an inspection of the property in response to the commission’s request for an assessment of compliance with a resolution it passed this summer.

Erazmus sent an email to Bullock Nov. 9 indicating the association was in compliance with the resolution and the conditions imposed.

But after the town inspected the property, Bullock responded with a letter to Erazmus.

“Based on those inspections, the town does not find the Colony Beach & Tennis Resort in compliance,” Bullock wrote.

Planning, Zoning and Building Director Robin Meyer noted the following deficiencies the town expects Colony officials to rectify:

• Irrigation that’s not being used throughout the site;
• Flower beds near the entrance are covered in weeds;
• Flower beds in the front of the property need mulch;
• The entrance center island bed needs replacement plants and mulch;
• Turf areas need to be upgraded;
• Beds along the boundaries of the site where neighbors can see them need watering and mulch;
• A shattered glass patio door in a unit needs to be repaired;
• A glass door in the restaurant building that provides access to a door lock is broken;
• Restrooms adjacent to the restaurant are open to the public;
• Eight units that have been broken into need to be repaired;
• One unit has been broken into and needs a beehive removed from a walkway above the door;
• The maintenance area, which contains many chemicals, is not secure;
• Storage closets are open and need to be secured.

Colony Beach & Tennis Resort Association President Jay Yablon said he’s glad the town brought the issues to its attention and said the issues will be resolved.

Yablon said there’s still an internal debate raging among unit owners who are trying to decide whether the 15-acre portion of the resort should be fixed up now without any amenities or if all of the legal matters should be resolved first before the resort is revitalized.

Former building official joins Colony redevelopment group
The MW Group, which is vying to raze and redevelop the Colony Beach & Tennis Resort by soliciting unit owners through emails about its redevelopment plan, announced this week that former Longboat Key building official Randy Fowler has joined its team.

Fowler retired in 2010 as the town's building official after more than 30 years with the Planning, Zoning and Building Department.

In a press release, MW Group principal Manfred Welfonder said Fowler “confirms from his view that MW Group's detailed redevelopment project is the only viable and positive way for the future of the Colony property and doesn't see that a renovation would be feasible or even possible.”