ANNA MARIA – The city now has the federal permits needed to build a new city pier.
On Friday, Aug. 3, Mayor Dan Murphy sent an email to city commissioners that said, “We have just received the approved Army Corps of Engineers permit to construct our new pier. This concludes all federal permitting required. We received this permit much sooner than expected. This action clears the way and facilitates our revised RFP (request for proposals) as to specifications and should help in shortening the bid process. Thank you for your confidence during this process.”
The permits for the pier demolition and the pier construction were conducted as separate permitting processes. In July, Murphy told city commissioners he expected to have the construction permit by late August.
Murphy included in his email to commissioners a copy of the notification he and Ayres Associates Vice President Jay Saxena received from Katy Damico. Damico works for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Jacksonville District Tampa Permits Section. Ayres Associates is designing and engineering the new pier.
“The application for a Department of the Army permit has been reviewed and the information and drawings provided shows the proposed work depicted on the enclosed drawings is authorized by Nationwide Permit 3,” Damico wrote.
“A review of the information and drawings provided indicates that the proposed work would result in complete reconstruction of the city of Anna Maria Pier within the exact same footprint as the existing structure including a new 12-foot-wide by 683-foot-long pier with a 58-foot-long by 111-foot-wide T-head which will house a new restaurant and bait and tackle shop and a 5-foot-wide by 50.5-foot-long landing/temporary tie-off dock,” Damico’s email said.
“This NWP verification letter is being issued pursuant to Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 which requires prior authorization for structures and work in, over, under and affecting navigable waters. You are authorized to conduct the following work as described above and as depicted on the enclosed plans. Thank you for your patience as we worked through this permit process,” Damico’s email concluded.
Pier construction
City officials are now seeking a second round of bid proposals from marine construction companies interested in building the new Anna Maria City Pier.
On July 26, Anna Maria city commissioners unanimously supported the mayor’s recommendation to reject the two pier construction bids received in response to the first RFP issued by the city.
Speeler & Associates, the firm that demolished the old pier, submitted an original construction bid for $3.72 million. I+iconSOUTHEAST bid $4.13 million. Those two bids did not include the new restaurant and bait shop buildings to be built at the T-end of the new pier platform. Murphy said he expected the pier platform construction costs to be closer to $2.5 million.
The mayor and commission requested the issuance of a second RFP that includes modified construction material specifications. City officials hope the modified construction requirements will produce bid proposals that are closer to the desired $2.5 million mark.
Construction of the new pier is expected to be completed in late 2020. The already aging pier was closed in September due to damage that Hurricane Irma inflicted did to the T-end buildings and decking.
