ANNA MARIA – The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has officially obligated $3.59 million in federal funds for the reconstruction and repair of the hurricane-damaged Anna Maria City Pier.
Mayor Mark Short announced the long-anticipated FEMA obligation during the Thursday, Feb. 12, city commission meeting.
During the meeting, the mayor and commissioners had a separate discussion about the future use of the City Pier building vacated by Mote Marine and how to accommodate the county’s desire to install and operate a Gulf Islands Ferry landing alongside or near the City Pier when it reopens.
PIER FUNDS
During the Feb. 12 meeting, Short said the city received an official obligation from FEMA the previous week for a $3.59 million reimbursement in response to the damage the City Pier sustained when Hurricane Milton destroyed most of the pier walkway in October 2024. Short said FEMA’s financial obligation required the approval of the United States Congress.
The $3.59 million in FEMA funds, a previously approved $1.25 million state appropriation and a $2 million funding agreement approved by county commissioners on Feb. 10 will provide the city with $6.84 million for the pier construction and repair project that Short estimates will cost between $7.1 million and $7.8 million.
Short said the city must pay the pier-related expenses as they’re incurred and then seek the promised reimbursement from FEMA and the county. The city is also responsible for any project costs that exceed what’s been pledged by the federal, state and county funding sources.
Short said he felt good about the city receiving nearly $5.6 million worth of pier-related financial commitments within the past week.
PIER USE
On Jan. 27, Short and the city commission hosted a town hall meeting to solicit ideas and community input regarding the future use of the City Pier building that will no longer be used by Mote Marine.
During the Feb. 12 meeting, Short said he sought city commission feedback on what they heard during the town hall meeting, but he wasn’t seeking pier-related commission decision-making that day. He said a city commission workshop will be scheduled as the next step in the commission’s ongoing decision-making process.
Commissioner Chris Arendt said the commission needs to decide if the Gulf Islands Ferry landing sought by Manatee County officials will be built alongside the City Pier or as a separate stand-alone structure located between the pier and the Lake La Vista jetty, as previously discussed with county officials last May.
During the town hall meeting, Anna Maria Planning and Zoning Board member Jeff Rodencal encouraged the mayor and commissioners to reconsider the stand-alone ferry landing option.
Commissioner Gary McMullen said he thought the commission decided last year to discard the option for a stand-alone ferry landing near the jetty.
“But we had all the strife at that town hall about the overcrowding on the pier, especially if the general consensus seems to lean towards a restaurant,” Arendt said. “And there was concern about safety and having way too many people on that pier at one time.”
When discussing the future use of the vacant pier building, the mayor and commissioners are factoring in the county’s desire to utilize the City Pier area as a landing spot for the county’s new $3 million enclosed ferry boat that will carry approximately 96 passengers. The new boat offers twice the capacity of the 49-passenger pontoon ferry boats that began landing at the City Pier’s public boat landing in January 2024.
Arendt said the commission also needs to decide if the building formerly occupied by Mote Marine will remain an enclosed structure or be transformed into an open-air structure that provides more open space and possibly more seating for ferry passengers and other pier users.
McMullen said he prefers an open-air restaurant/tiki bar that serves seafood and provides additional seating space for ferry passengers.
Arndt said an open-air restaurant would be more weather-dependent than a fully enclosed structure. McMullen said other Island restaurants use drop-down curtains and space heaters to offset weather conditions.
Business partners Brian Seymour, Vic Mattay and Nick Graham operated their City Pier Grill & Bait Shop in the smaller pier building from December 2020 until Hurricane Milton rendered that pier space unreachable and unusable in October 2024. The grill operations featured window service for food and beverages and provided no indoor seating.
During the town hall meeting, Seymour expressed interest in leasing the larger pier building too. He said it may not make financial sense to resume the City Pier Grill operations in the smaller building only – for which they have 15 months remaining on their original and temporarily suspended five-year lease.
On Feb. 12, Commissioner Charlie Salem said he doesn’t expect the city to have more clarity on the county’s ferry landing plans before the commission decides the future use of the vacant pier building.
“We’re going to have to move forward with what we think is the best use for the pier and take into account as many variables as we can,” he said.
“First and foremost, we have to decide what we do with our pier, irregardless of what the county wants in the ferry landing,” McMullen said. “It’s up to us if they have a big ferry on our pier and how we accommodate that.”
Participating by phone, Commissioner John Lynch said the first priority is to determine what’s best for the city regarding the use of the vacant pier building. He said the second priority is to determine how the city can accommodate a ferry landing
When providing public input, construction company owner Frank Agnelli asked if the new pier walkway is being built to accommodate a larger ferry boat that weighs approximately 100,000 pounds.
Short said the county was told from day one that the ferry landing must be a separate structure that’s connected to the City Pier by a walkway or gangway.
“The (county) commission did approve the $2 million to assist the city with respect to rebuilding the pier. The county commission was not happy that we have not given them an absolute commitment that the water ferry landing will end up somewhere at our pier. They expressed some concern about that being a scenario that may not happen, but we have to do what we believe is the right thing for our pier. A water ferry landing has to accommodate our pier, not the other way around.”
Salem said county officials should be encouraged to attend the city commission workshop to get a better understanding of the city’s ferry landing concerns and considerations.
Related coverage: County commission approves $2 million for City Pier project
