ANNA MARIA – Mayor Dan Murphy and the city commission are not yet willing to sign a proposed interlocal agreement that would allow Manatee County to use the City Pier as a water taxi stop.
The county hopes to start its Friday, Saturday and Sunday water taxi service using two covered pontoon boats shuttling between downtown Bradenton and Anna Maria Island this summer. The proposed route for the county-funded service includes multiple stops per service day at the City Pier, the floating dock next to the Bradenton Beach Pier and the Coquina South boat ramp in Bradenton Beach.
During the June 8 city commission meeting, Murphy said he recently received the county’s latest draft of the interlocal agreement, which City Attorney Becky Vose had already briefly analyzed. Murphy said he was sending the proposed agreement to the city commissioners for them to review before accepting, rejecting or revising the agreement at a future meeting.
The original draft agreement the county introduced earlier this year stated the county would pay for any Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or other water taxi-related improvements made to the City Pier.
Murphy and the city commission responded with a revised agreement that proposed the county also be responsible for the ongoing maintenance of any water taxi-related improvements made to the pier.
The agreement Murphy recently received strikes out the city’s recommended revisions and again proposes the city pay for the ongoing maintenance of any water taxi-related pier improvements. The county’s proposed agreement also stipulates the city must reimburse the county for any such improvements if the city signs and later opts out of the water taxi agreement.
Murphy noted the county agreement, as currently written, is supported by the Bradenton Beach and Bradenton city commissions.
“I’m disappointed with what I received. They basically threw our agreement out and now they want us to hurry up and approve this. There’s some things in this agreement that need serious consideration. It doesn’t bear any resemblance to what we sent out,” Murphy told the commission.
“I hate to be obstinate. I’m not trying to be. I want to be cooperative, but this can’t become carte blanche. The pier is the center of our universe here. There’s things in here that don’t make business sense. I’ve got to have a complete understanding of exactly what they have in mind,” Murphy said.
Murphy said he and Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Elliott Falcione have had many discussions about the proposed water taxi agreement, but no one else from the county staff contacted him or Vose when crafting the proposed agreement.
Murphy plans to meet with county staff within the next week or so. He asked the city commissioners to review the agreement on their own and provide him with any feedback they want shared with county staff.
Murphy said he’s not trying to “poison the well” but he doesn’t believe it’s in the city’s best interest to act quickly and enter into the proposed agreement as currently written.
Throughout the ongoing water taxi discussions that the county initiated in February 2022, the mayor and commission have insisted the water taxi service provide transportation for Island employees for free or at a discounted rate. The county agreement does not specify any fare rates for water taxi passengers.
“If we refuse to sign their onerous agreement, we could still get some workers coming up to the city by way of Bradenton Beach and then the trolley,” Commissioner Jon Crane said.
During Thursday’s meeting, the commission took no formal action on the county’s proposed agreement.
Manatee County has not yet provided the city with a plan that details exactly how the City Pier would function as a water taxi stop. – Joe Hendricks | SunDuring past discussions, Murphy noted the City Pier cannot be used as a water taxi stop without a city commission-approved interlocal agreement. He also noted the county must provide the city with a detailed plan that shows exactly where and how the City Pier would be used as a water taxi stop. To date, that plan has not been provided.
