ANNA MARIA – City commissioners support Mayor Dan Murphy’s request to pursue a proposed $331,992 contract with the George F. Young engineering firm to assist with the repair of the hurricane-damaged City Pier.
On Oct. 9, hurricane force winds and/or a tornado or waterspout associated with Hurricane Milton destroyed 75-100 yards of the City Pier walkway, leaving the city-owned buildings at the T-end of the pier stranded in Tampa Bay with no pedestrian access.
During the Nov. 1 emergency city commission meeting, Murphy and the commission discussed the proposal received from George F. Young Project Manager Jeremy Lunsford the previous day.
The proposal includes assessing the damage to the pier and what remains of the pier walkway and concrete pilings, locating the submerged remains of the pilings that snapped off during the hurricane, engineering the pier repairs, handling the extensive permitting process and providing project management and oversight for the yet-to-be-selected marine construction firm that will repair the pier.
After acknowledging the commissioners hadn’t had much time to review the proposal, Murphy sought commission census to accept the bid, study the bid for another week or issue a more time-consuming request for proposals (RFP) that would extend the repair project permitting process beyond the 180-day emergency permitting period currently allowed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Murphy stressed the importance of completing the expedited emergency permitting process during the 180-day time frame if the desire is to get the pier reopened as soon as possible. He and former commissioner Brian Seymour noted the standard permitting process for the construction of the current pier took about a year and half to complete.
Participating by phone, Commissioner Jon Crane said he was “underwhelmed” by the initial engineering and design work the George F. Young firm did on the Reimagining Pine Avenue safety improvement project and he was reluctant to use the same firm for the pier repair project.
In response, Commission Chair Mark Short noted that he, Murphy and Seymour, the City Pier Grill tenant, were impressed with the George F. Young engineer who recently accompanied them on a boat trip to the T-end of the pier.
“This guy knew his business,” Murphy said.
Crane later joined the rest of the commission in supporting the use of the George F. Young firm for the pier repair project if a contract can be successfully negotiated. Murphy said the city can seek reimbursement for the expenses associated with the engineering firm’s services.
As he did on Oct. 24, Murphy again recommended replacing the missing portion of the pier walkway with concrete support components similar to those used at the T-end of the pier that sustained very little damage.
The new City Pier completed in 2020 replaced the old City Pier damaged by Hurricane Irma in 2017. The current pier walkway is supported by wooden bents and beams placed atop concrete pilings.
Murphy said the engineering firm will help determine the status and stability of the remaining pier walkway that still connects to the shoreline. Murphy, who leaves office on Nov. 19, said replacing the still-standing portion of the walkway with a new and stronger walkway would likely fall outside of the hurricane-related reimbursement allowances. He noted that’s a decision the new mayor and newly-configured city commission will have to make. What remains of the pier walkway will remain closed until the pier is fully repaired.
On Oct. 24, Murphy estimated it might cost $3 million to repair the City Pier and he’s not yet able to estimate how long those repairs might take.
The George F. Young proposal will be discussed again during the Wednesday, Nov. 6 emergency city commission meeting that starts at 10 a.m.
Related coverage: City Pier badly damaged, temporary ferry landing installed
