ANNA MARIA – The city and Mote Marine Laboratory have agreed to a lease addendum formally establishing the deadlines for Mote to begin and complete the installation of its Anna Maria City Pier Marine Education Outreach Center.
In a 4-1 vote, the commission approved the requested lease addendum on Thursday, April 28, with Commissioner Mark Short casting the lone dissenting vote.
Mote’s requested project timeline extension was previously discussed and tentatively approved by the commission during a special meeting on Friday, April 22. Short also voted against the project at that time.
During that meeting, it was noted Mote Marine’s preferred architect, Barron Schimberg, had not yet begun the design and engineering work for the interior buildout of the city-owned pier building and the installation of the live marine exhibits, but had committed to starting that work on Aug. 18.
Deadlines established
The one-page lease addendum includes date-specific deadlines and milestones Mote must meet.
According to the approved lease addendum, the formal design and engineering process for the Mote outreach facility must begin on or before Aug. 18. The completed plans must be submitted to the city on or before Oct. 13. The interior buildout of the city-owned pier building and the subsequent installation of the live marine exhibits must begin seven days after the city issues Mote its needed building permits. Mote must apply for a certificate of occupancy no later than 12 weeks after the city permits are issued and the grand opening is to take place no later than four weeks after the city issues Mote Marine a certificate of occupancy.
During the commission’s April 28 meeting, Mayor Dan Murphy said the agreed-upon deadlines are expected to result in a March 1, 2023, grand opening for the Mote Marine outreach center.
According to the lease addendum, “Mote shall comply in all respects with the following schedule as to the design and buildout of the premises. Mote’s timely performance of the above work and schedule is required as a condition of the lease, excluding ‘unavoidable delays’ as defined in Section 28 of the lease signed September 30, 2021.”
Section 28 of the original lease pertains to “impossibility of performance” and states: “For purposes of this lease, the term ‘unavoidable delay’ shall mean any delays due to strikes, lockouts, civil commotion, war or warlike operations, acts of terrorism, acts of a public enemy, acts of bioterrorism, epidemics, quarantines, pandemics, invasion, rebellion, hostilities, military or usurped power, sabotage, government regulations or controls, inability to obtain any material, utility or service because of governmental restrictions, hurricanes, floods or other natural disasters, acts of God or any other cause beyond the direct control of the party delayed.”
The lease addendum notes: “In the event of default on the part of Mote, the Anna Maria City Commission shall have the authority to cancel the lease at the reasonable discretion of such city commission.”
Funding
As approved by the Manatee County Commission in 2021, the county will provide the initial $500,000 for the interior buildout and exhibit installation using money from the county’s 5% tourist tax levied on lodging establishments, including vacation rentals, which operate within the county.
Mote is responsible for any initial buildout and installation costs beyond the county’s initial $500,000 investment. Mote will also provide, at its own expense, the staff members and volunteers needed to operate the outreach center. Mote will occupy the city-owned structure rent-free during the initial five-year lease period which also provides Mote with an option for a five-year extension. The city of Anna Maria will pay the utility expenses associated with Mote Marine’s use of the City Pier and pier building.
Live exhibits
On April 22, the commission majority accepted the conceptual exhibit plans presented by Mote Marine representative Kevin Cooper.
The conceptual plans propose four separate live exhibits that include an invertebrate touch tank, a live mangrove exhibit, a live grass flats exhibit and a fourth live exhibit that will use cameras and an underwater hydrophone allowing visitors to see and hear the marine life and marine environment under the pier.
If and when the Mote Marine outreach center opens in 2023, admission will be free for the public.
Related coverage
