BRADENTON BEACH – The Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) authorized member Jake Spooner’s proposal to spend $12,000 to $32,000 to decorate Bridge Street for the Christmas holidays using decorative elements purchased from Christmas Designers – the firm that decorates University Boulevard and the University Town Center mall in Sarasota.
Christmas Designers has been used in the past by Bridge Street Merchants Association which, in recent years, spent $20,000 to purchase holiday decorations.
When purchased, the decorations will be installed, removed, stored, maintained, insured and reused in future years for approximately $2,400 to $4,400 a year, depending on what is purchased. The most expensive components are the elevated skylines that would hang over Bridge Street.
“We’re in a tight time frame, and they’re super busy right now, so we’re not sure if we’ll get the skylines this year,” Spooner said last week.
The CRA members recently directed Spooner to get three price quotes or, as an alternative, obtain a written partnership agreement from the merchants’ association that serves as a continuation of the merchants’ pre-existing relationship with Christmas Designers.
As of Friday, Spooner was still waiting on an itemized invoice to present to city staff. He and Christmas Designers Joe Campbell were still researching the cost and requirements for the poles needed to mount the elevated skylines. Spooner said if the entire decorative concept can’t be finalized this year, the skylines can be purchased and added next year.
