ANNA MARIA – The hurricane-damaged contents of the city-owned buildings at the T-end of the City Pier have been removed.
The content removal is the first step of cleaning, remediating and repairing the pier spaces leased to The City Pier Grill and the Mote Marine Science Education & Outreach Center.
During the Oct. 23 city commission meeting, Mayor Mark Short provided a recap of the content removal efforts that began on Oct. 21 using a barge, as the pier is otherwise inaccessible without its walkway. Short and city staff provided commissioners with photos of the two interior pier spaces as and after the contents and some of the hurricane-related mud and muck were removed. Short said mold is present in the buildings as well and that will also have to be remediated.
During a previous city commission meeting, Short said Mote Marine had not yet informed him as to whether or not the Mote facility will return to the pier space provided rent-free by the city. Earlier this year, City Pier Grill operator Brian Seymour said he and his business partners hope to return to the pier if an extended lease can be negotiated to include some additional modifications they are requesting.
During the Oct. 23 meeting, Short said the repair and remediation work for the T-end buildings will occur simultaneously with the construction of the new City Pier walkway to be built by Tampa Bay Marine Inc.
Short said he was told the first solid concrete pilings are expected to arrive on Nov. 3, weather permitting, and the first batch of pilings will be installed and then tested upon delivery.
Commissioner Charlie Salem asked if any of the pier building contents were salvageable. Short said that’s up to the pier tenants to determine and the contents were delivered by barge to a nearby marina for the tenants to inspect and relocate or discard.
Salem asked if the pier buildings remain structurally sound. Short said he didn’t see any signs of structural unsoundness but the drywall, ceiling tiles and some of the other interior elements require replacement.
In response to another question from Salem, Short said nothing he saw during his Oct. 21 visit led him to believe the previous estimate of approximately $800,000 to remediate and repair the T-end buildings will increase.
Short recently told commissioners the total City Pier replacement project cost is now expected to be between $6.2 million and $6.9 million, including the $4.64 million walkway replacement contract with Tampa Bay Marine.
