ANNA MARIA – Mayor Mark Short estimates it will cost approximately $8 million to repair the damage that Hurricane Milton inflicted on the City Pier in 2024.
During the Feb. 27 Anna Maria City Commission meeting, he said the city recently submitted a funding request to Manatee County that lists $8 million as the anticipated total cost to replace the missing pier walkway and make any additional repairs needed.
Short said the application form submitted to the county notes the city could provide up to $1.5 million (20%) in matching funds.
The funding will come from the $252.7 million Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) grant that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently awarded the county.
According to the HUD website, “CDBG-DR grant funds are appropriated by Congress and allocated by HUD to rebuild disaster-impacted areas and provide crucial seed money to start the long-term recovery process.”
Short said he met with County Administrator Charlie Bishop, County Commissioner Tal Siddique, Manatee County Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Elliott Falcione and three or four other county staff members on Feb. 25.
“It was a meet-and-greet but we spent a lot of time talking about our pier and what’s in front of us,” Short said, “I came out of that feeling very comfortable that the county is helping us any way they can getting this pier rebuilt. I feel very positive.”
During past discussions, it’s been stated that additional pier repair funding sources might include county commission-controlled tourist development tax revenues and funding assistance from the state.
Short said the George F. Young engineering firm has completed its structural and geotechnical inspections and submerged land surveys but the firm has not yet provided the requested analysis of what specific factors caused the pier walkway to fail during Hurricane Milton.
City General Manager Dean Jones told commissioners that solar lights were installed at the T-end of the pier, in part to make it more visible to boaters. The T-end of the pier currently has no electricity and cannot be accessed on foot due to the missing walkway.
No timetable has been provided as to how long the pier repairs will take or when the repairs will begin. The pier will remain closed until the repairs are made.
