Our Campaign Pillars
Sustainable Tourism
For Local Commerce
For Our Residents
Deepening our community bonds by prioritizing safety, infrastructure, and the preservation of our island’s unique residential heritage.
Empowering Holmes Beach entrepreneurs with sustainable growth policies and a regulatory environment that champions local innovation.
Be an open ear for resident, property and business owner input. While a mayor
manages the city, it is best done listening to those I represent.
Continue as the sole island Tourist Development Council elected official so I can best represent the interests of the island.
Balancing our vibrant tourism economy with environmental protection and amenities that serve both visitors and our permanent community.
Work with the Chief of Police to focus on community policing where patrol officers
routinely interact with residents and tourists outside of their vehicles.
Develop a storm water fee structure that is a more balanced approach. Those
properties that absorb more storm water (pervious) should pay less than those than
those properties that have storm water runoff (impervious).
Develop an island-wide plan to better manage traffic congestion, public transportation
and beach parking.
Meet Dan - A Legacy of Service
A Vision for Holmes Beach
I love this community, and have been invested in our city since the moment my wife and
I came here in 2010. Right now, our biggest priority has to be the quality-of-life for our
residents. I’m running to bring my extensive technical background in transportation,
executive leadership and crisis management to help guide our city through the next
chapter of what will be a challenge during future funding restraints.
I grew up in New Hampshire and majored in engineering and mathematics at the University of Massachusetts. My professional background included serving as a commercial pilot, air traffic controller, and airport/airspace designer for the entire US airspace system. I served as the investigator in charge for major aircraft accidents worldwide, including the events of September 11, 2001, and also the breakup upon re-entry of Space Shuttle Columbia on February 1, 2003. I served as the aviation advisor to both the US military and civilian aviation authorities in Afghanistan from 2010-2014. I began serving on the Holmes Beach City Commission in November 2022 and was re-elected in 2024 to an additional two-year term expiring November 2026. The Commission elected me Chair for the 2024-2025 session and as vice-chair for 2025-2026 session. As a current Commissioner I serve as Liaison for the Island Transportation Planning Organization, and am presently the only island elected official to serve as a voting member on the Manatee County Tourist Development Council (TDC). The TDC makes recommendations to the Manatee Commission on how to best spend the millions of tourist dollars collected each year. I am happily married and have two step-daughters and five grandchildren. Having lived in Holmes Beach since 2011, I own both a primary residence and also a weekly vacation rental. I try to play golf at least twice each week.
"As the aviation advisor to both the US military and the Afghan government, I created a national airspace system in Afghanistan that allowed both military kinetic operations and commercial flights to safely operate in a war environment. My ability to manage complex operations in a very dynamic environment will allow me to properly manage our city through our yet unknown future challenges."
The above attached photo show me watching out for my Afghan colleagues and my exchange of "hats" with a Taliban operative.
We all have to decide in the next few months who is best to lead Holmes Beach for the next 2 years. I have always sought to find practical solutions that best benefit those of us who live on this “sand bar” we call home. A few years ago, I saw a problem at the merge on Manatee Ave. I asked to meet with FDOT engineers and we created a solution to use both lanes to the merge point and encourage a “zipper merge”. After the main fresh water line collapsed on Manatee Ave, I waded into the water to inspect the other pipe hangers and convinced the county to perform detailed inspections on the remaining hangers so we would not experience another failure.
These are the plans on which I am currently working:
• Design and construct a roundabout at Key Royale Drive. It doesn’t have to meet federal standards, just allow those trying to get to and from Marina Drive from the adjacent city streets a fighting chance. A perfect example on how a city can do this is to look at how the City of Bradenton did this on 51st Street. I’m currently working with their engineers for design guidance.
• Explore extending the straight-through / southbound lane on Gulf Drive at the Public Beach intersection. This could relieve congestion at the light and help mitigate flooding at the curve.
• Coordinate with FDOT to extend the right turn lane at Public Beach entrance so those going north on Gulf Drive don’t have to wait as long.
• Work with FDOT to create a better traffic merge point westbound on Cortez Road. Current configuration is neither efficient nor helpful for residents.
• Develop better methods to accommodate wheelchair access to the beach water.
Good leaders are solution oriented, and since these issues affect our island folks daily, I work on improvements that are fairly easy to implement. I’d like to see them executed as soon as possible. Traffic is one of our biggest problems, and hopefully, these changes can make getting around our city easier for all. I also have ideas relating to budget and city government solutions for other items, for which I’ll talk about in subsequent letters. Together, we can make the quality of life on our precious “sand bar” better for us all.
Holmes Beach Storm Water Fees
The commission voted last week to increase the storm water fee from $2.95 to $4.45 per 100 sq feet of property. It sounds like a huge increase. It’s not. The increased fee is a one-time charge of $75-$125 per year for each property owner. Collectively, those funds will be used as matching funds to qualify for future storm water construction improvement grants. We need to upsize our underground pipes (old 18in diameter to new 3-4ft diameter) along with new tide valves to help prevent back flooding during high tide. This is a well proven method to help manage storm water flooding during thunderstorms. The larger underground pipes do two things: they store more water underground because of their size while also allowing a faster flow of water into the bay due to less friction inside of the pipe. Unfortunately, because most of our underground storm pipes are 50+ years old and are grossly undersized coupled with either none, or inoperable tide valves at the outfall point, we need to upgrade the infrastructure a section at a time and then, only incrementally, to properly manage your yearly funding. A comprehensive stormwater master plan for the city is possible grant opportunity. Public works is reviewing both the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) and Resilient Florida Program to determine the most appropriate program to fund this much needed master plan. Estimated cost is $100,000, of which, $50,000 would be the city’s responsibility if we get a matching grant. This is why the additional fee is necessary. In the meantime, we are focused on three future projects.
Flood risk mitigation at:
• 2nd Ave, 47th St. and 50th St. $1.4M total with $26K city funds in 2026-2027
• 55th St. and 56th St. $1.1M total with $35K city funds in 2026-2027
• Marina Dr, 56th St. to 61st St. $4.2M total with $26K city funds in 2026-2027
These are all multiyear projects that require the city to show we have the total funds for each project. We meet this requirement by showing we have the assessment authority to collect storm water fees coupled with unassigned reserves that we use as collateral to get approved for each grant. Each project requires commission approval for funding during budget talks. Historically, we have not used reserves to actually fund planned projects. It’s a delicate balance. We use reserves and anticipated storm water fees to show we can fund the entire project in an effort to gain grant approval for future reimbursement. The use or not of reserves for any purpose is up to the commission. For stormwater projects, if for some reason we are not confident we will receive matching
Tourism Development Tax (TDT)
Florida statute 125.0104 authorizes Manatee County to charge a 6% surcharge for each night’s lodging cost for short term rentals. The “bed tax” is generally for either the promotion of tourism, beach renourishment, operation of the convention center, or specific capital improvement projects in public facilities within the county. Over the last 5 years, Holmes Beach rental bed tax has totaled over $39M. While the residents do not pay the bed tax directly, we certainly pay a different price. We fund our city services (police, public works, code enforcement, etc.) as well as the unmeasurable “payment” of traffic congestion associated with nearly 1,700 short term rentals within our city. As we all have experienced, a simple trip off-island can turn into a multi-hour trek. Historically,
Holmes Beach rentals contribute more total TDT dollars annually that any other city in the county. One would assume our city historically received TDT project dollars commensurate with the amount of bed tax collected over the years. That’s a bad assumption. Other than beach renourishment funds that are county specific, Holmes Beach has only received a tiny fraction in TDT money collected over the last 15 years. Indeed, prior to my position on the Tourism Development Council we received just $144,200! Last year I was successful at acquiring $395,000 for a multi-modal street project to design streets to safely accommodate vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians. Recently I requested an additional $344,500 for storm water tide valves which will be voted on during the August TDC meeting. The tide valves are an integral part of our overall storm water improvement program over the next 10 years. These valves help prevent the backflow of bay water onto our streets during high tide events. As your next Mayor I will continue to represent Holmes Beach at the TDC meetings and provide the residents the experience they are looking for in a leader. With my technical and executive background, I understand the challenges of living on and effectively managing a coastal city. As your TDC representative and next mayor, I have the vote, communication skills and influence to bring a fairer share of TDC funds to our island. I’m asking for your support in November. Please go to my website or call me anytime.
-- Dan Diggins