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Tag: Anna Maria City Pier

Pier pavilion closing temporarily

Pier pavilion closing temporarily

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News.

ANNA MARIA – The covered pavilion area near the Anna Maria City Pier construction site will be fenced off and closed to the public beginning Monday, April 15.

The pier pavilion area will be closed for approximately 10 days as a safety precaution while the construction of the new pier continues. The pavilion closing information was included in the Friday, April 5 pier project update Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy emailed to Manatee County staff member Monica Luff.

According to Murphy, trolley service at the pier location will not be impacted by the temporary pavilion closure.

“To date, 154 piles have been driven for the pier foundation, leaving 50 more to finish. Two pilings failed thus far, one as a result of being struck by a barge, another as a result of striking an obstruction below the surface. The project remains on schedule, with work being done on most Saturdays, weather permitting,” Murphy wrote in his Friday morning update.

In 2018, the Manatee County Commission committed $1.5 million in tourist tax revenues to the city’s pier project. The county commission also allocated an additional $330,000 in surplus beach concession revenues for the estimated $4.8 million pier project.

Two city pier pilings fail

Two city pier pilings fail

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News.

ANNA MARIA – According to Mayor Dan Murphy, two concrete pier pilings recently fractured and the cause of one of the piling fractures remained unknown at week’s end.

Murphy provided city commissioners with a pier construction update on Thursday, March 28.

“We will have divers on the pier this weekend inspecting the pilings. We had two pilings that failed. One failed because it was hit by a barge and it fractured the piling. The second piling failed during the process of being driven and we don’t really have the root cause of that failure yet. We do have experts looking at it. Was it a faulty piling, was there an obstruction, was there some other event that occurred during the pile driving process that caused that?” the mayor said.

Murphy said both piling failures occurred at the T-end of the pier.

“When we get the divers’ report I’ll be glad to share that and we’ll go from there,” Murphy told the commission.

“There are currently 135 pilings driven in the pier footprint. We have roughly 70 more to go. We expect that effort will be done in the mid-April time frame, assuming fair weather between now and the mid-point in April,” Murphy said.

Another work day lost

The i+iconSoutheast construction crew lost another day’s work due to windy conditions and rough seas on Wednesday, March 27. Prior to that, the mayor and city commission recently denied the construction company’s request to extend its completion deadline by nine days due to previous work days lost for similar weather conditions. City officials said those types of conditions on Tampa Bay should have been anticipated and accounted for when bidding on the project.

Pier change orders requested

Pier change orders requested

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News.

ANNA MARIA – Anna Maria commissioners denied i+iconSoutheast’s request to extend by nine days the completion date for the construction of the new Anna Maria City Pier walkway and T-end platform.

During the Thursday, March 21 emergency meeting, the commission also denied the company’s request to add $9,146 and two additional work days to the completion date. The request was submitted due to delays the barge encountered when trying to pick up more concrete pilings.

The commission did approve a change request order for an additional $12,078 and one extra work day. The approved change order offsets the extra expenses and the lost work day incurred when previously undiscovered remnants of some old pier pilings obstructed new pilings from being driven at six locations. This pushes the completion date back one day, to Aug. 27.

“I believe we’re legally obligated to approve this change order,” City Attorney Becky Vose told the commission.

The initial construction phase does not include the restaurant, bait shop and public restrooms to be built upon the T-end platform. Those buildings will be part of a second construction project Mayor Dan Murphy said would soon be put out for bid.

Each change order presented included a collective recommendation from Murphy, Vose and Jax Saxena. Saxena is the vice president of the Ayres Associates engineering firm that designed the new pier. The city’s contract with i+iconSoutheast allows the contractor to submit change order requests if something unusual or unexpected occurs. Murphy said these requests generally pertain to time, money or both.

Pier change orders requested
These pilings will support the new restaurant, bait shop and public restrooms at the new pier’s T-end. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

Weather delays

“Through March 16, i+icon has been unable to work on the pier for a total of nine days due to inclement weather,” said the change order request submitted by project director Paul Johnson.

“Bad weather days should have been taken into account,” Murphy told the commission. “We haven’t had any unusual weather. We have had days where it was unsafe to work, but that is something that should have been taken into account. They know the weather on Tampa Bay just as well as us and they know when the chop gets up it is in fact unsafe.”

Murphy said some of the lost days could already have been made up by working on Saturdays when the weather was perfect.

Vose said the contract addresses specific delays attributed to unanticipated causes that include severe and unavoidable natural catastrophes and abnormal weather conditions.

“A windy day and a rainy day on the west coast of Florida is nothing abnormal,” she said.

Commissioner Amy Tripp said the construction company still has several Saturdays to make up the lost work days.

Delivery delays

The change order summary memo prepared by Saxena stated three truckloads of concrete pilings could not be delivered to the barge pickup point on Feb. 28 due to heavy rains that flooded the property where the pilings were stored. The truck delivery was delayed until March 1, which delayed the barge delivery from Tampa to Anna Maria until March 3.

“This delay was outside i+icon’s control,” Johnson’s change order request stated.

Saxena’s memo suggested the contractor could have anticipated these delays. Murphy said the truck delivery could have been confirmed before the barge departed.

Additional savings

Murphy also provided the commission with a list of additional cost-saving opportunities available to the city through the direct purchase of construction materials.

The savings are available because the city is exempt from the sales taxes the contractor would pay. The city previously obtained similar savings by directly purchasing the pier pilings. Future purchases of this nature do not require additional commission approval.

The additional tax-free savings include $8,438 for the Ipe wood decking, $3,161 for the wooden support timbers, $5,947 for the concrete deck panels and $13,925 for the concrete piling caps, for a total savings of $31,471.

The commission unanimously supported Murphy’s suggestion that an additional $7,500 could be saved by not staining the Ipe pier decking. Murphy said the manufacturer and the contractor recommend not staining it.

Seymour said not staining the decking would allow it to fade to a natural gray that resembles the old pier. Copeland, a woodworker by trade, said if the pier is stained now, it will need to be stained again every two years to maintain the desired appearance.

Public Works Manager Dean Jones said not staining the pier would spare his department the labor-intensive efforts associated with re-staining an 800-foot pier every couple of years. Carter said re-staining the pier would also require the pier to be closed while that work took place.

County commissioners tour pier construction site

County commissioners tour pier construction site

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News, Manatee County.

ANNA MARIA – Manatee County Commissioners Betsy Benac, Steve Jonsson and Carol Whitmore took a boat tour of the Anna Maria City Pier construction site Friday afternoon.

Using tourist tax and surplus beach concession revenues, the county is contributing more than $1.8 million in county commission-approved funds for the $4.8 million pier replacement project.

“I invited them because they are funding a good portion of this project and I wanted them to be in the know as to what’s going on with the pier construction effort,” Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy said before the commissioners arrived at city hall.

Murphy and Public Works Manager Dean Jones then provided the commissioners with a brief overview of the pier project. Seventy spun concrete pilings, 14 inches in diameter, have already been driven. Those pilings will support the T-end decking, restaurant, bait shop and restrooms – and all but five had been trimmed to their final height as of Friday afternoon.

County commissioners tour pier construction site
From left, Mayor Dan Murphy and Public Works Manager Dean Jones provided commissioners Whitmore, Benac and Jonsson with a project update. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

Murphy said the next 15 pilings driven will support the section of pier walkway that will connect to the T-end platform and provide limited space for boats to dock along the southeast side of the pier.

The final 126 walkway pilings will be driven beginning near the shore and working outward. The piling diagram Murphy referenced listed April 26 as the anticipated pile driving completion date.

Concrete support platforms and wooden support bents will be placed atop the pilings and topped with Ipe wood planking.

Murphy also explained the anticipated, but not finalized, $500,000 contribution that pier tenant Mario Schoenfelder has been asked to make toward the interior buildout of the city-owned pier buildings that will be handled as a separate bidding and construction phase. The new pier is expected to open to the public by the end of 2019.

Boat tour

Departing from the dock at the nearby Historical Park, the commissioners rode aboard the i+iconSoutheast work boat piloted by Project Engineer Kurt Johnson, with Project Director Paul Johnson serving as tour guide.

The commissioners got a close look at the pilings already driven approximately 30 feet into the ground using jet pumps and a diesel hammer. Kurt Johnson said the water at the T-end of the pier was about 10 feet deep.

County commissioners tour pier construction site
These are among the 70 pilings that will support the restaurant, bait shop and restrooms at the pier’s T-end. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

Before returning to shore, the commissioners shared their comments.

“I’m impressed. They’ve got a good team and the city did a good job so far. It looks great,” Whitmore said.

“I think it’s great to finally see it coming to fruition. I look forward to seeing the finished product,” Benac said.

“It’s going to be great for Anna Maria and Manatee County when it’s finished,” Jonsson said. “We all kind of grew up around here coming out to the pier with our kids, and now our grandkids, to show them the beauty of Anna Maria, the Gulf of Mexico and Tampa Bay.”

Whitmore said the pier has historically been Manatee County’s number one tourist attraction and images of the pier are featured in the marketing materials the county distributes worldwide.

“It’s great that it’s being built to all the new design standards. We’re having more storms, so it’s great to have this level of improvement that will hopefully withstand those storms,” Benac said.

The pier funding is a collective effort involving the county, the city, the state Legislature and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

“It’s a partnership. It couldn’t all be built by one entity, but if we all chip in we can get it done,” Benac said.

“It’s a great tourist attraction. We collect that TDC money (the county’s 5 percent tourist tax) from everybody out here and it’s a way of giving it back,” Jonsson said of the county’s contributions.

“It’s part of the history of the county and Anna Maria Island. This is where the original visitors to Anna Maria Island used to arrive on a steamship,” Whitmore said of the original pier built in 1911 and 1912.

Mayor provides pier construction update

Mayor provides pier construction update

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News.

ANNA MARIA – On Friday afternoon, Mayor Dan Murphy provided Manatee County Senior Administrative Specialist Monica Luff with an update on the construction of the new Anna Maria City Pier being built by i+iconSoutheast.

The construction update was requested by Luff, who works with the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Tourist Development Council. Both governmental entities answer to Manatee County’s Board of County Commissioners.

According to Murphy, the pier project’s total anticipated cost is approximately $4.8 million. In 2018, the county commission committed $1.5 million to the project using funds generated by the county’s 5 percent tourist tax. The county commission also allocated an additional $330,000 in surplus beach concession revenues for the project. The county’s funding commitments equate to approximately 37 percent of the total anticipated project costs.

In his Friday, Feb. 22, update to Luff, Murphy wrote, “The status of the Anna Maria City Pier project is as follows:

  • We are in the pile driving phase of construction.
  • As of today, all 70 piles for the T-end of the pier have been driven. The T-end supports both the restaurant and bait shop;
  • The T-end piles are 50’ long by 14” in diameter, each weighing 5,000 lbs.;
  • There are approximately 134 more pilings to go for the walkway leading out to the pier;
  • On average, seven piles are driven each day. Weather permitting, the contractor works six days per week;
  • All piles and equipment are transported by barge from St. Pete. and/or Tampa to Anna Maria so as to alleviate traffic congestion on the Island;
  • The barge will leave Anna Maria this Monday to procure more equipment and piles, returning Thursday (2/28), weather permitting;
  • Next phase will be placing the concrete pre-cast slabs on top of the T-end pilings, building bents (deck supports) for the walk-way out and installing utilities to the pier T-end;
  • In spite of several foul weather days, the project remains on track for platform completion by August 28, 2019,” Murphy wrote.

The construction of the pier buildings will be addressed in a yet-to-be-issued request for proposals (RFP). The selected firm will then begin a subsequent and possibly congruent phase of construction once the T-end platform is completed. It is not yet known when that RFP will be issued or when that construction phase will begin and end. Murphy said previously he expects the pier to be opened to the public by year’s end.

The forthcoming RFP process is partially contingent on the negotiations between Murphy and current pier tenant Mario Schoenfelder regarding the tenant’s contributions to the project.

Murphy has suggested Schoenfelder contribute $500,000 toward the interior buildout of the restaurant and bait shop spaces. In exchange, Schoenfelder would be allowed to provide some input on the interior design and interior components. Schoenfelder’s current lease expires in December 2020.

Mayor provides pier construction update
Due to high winds and choppy seas, no pier construction work took place on Wednesday, Feb. 13. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

On Feb. 14, Murphy provided the city commission with its first update since the construction started. He said the i+iconSoutheast crew lost two days of work that week due to inclement weather and choppy seas. Murphy said the construction company feared for the safety of its employees because of the waves created by the windy conditions. A visit to the pier worksite the previous day indicated no work taking place that day.

New Anna Maria City Pier taking shape

New Anna Maria City Pier taking shape

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News.

ANNA MARIA – The first pilings for the new Anna Maria City Pier are in place and partially driven as of Saturday.

The pilings eventually will support a restaurant, bait shop and public restrooms at the end of the new pier.

On Monday, i+iconSoutheast General Superintendent Larry Thornton and Project Director Paul Johnson took Mayor Dan Murphy and City Commissioners Brian Seymour and Carol Carter on separate tours of the worksite, accompanied by various media members.

“It’s looking good. I’m pleased with the progress.” – Dan Murphy, Anna Maria Mayor

Thornton said the pier project will require 202 50-foot concrete pilings. The pierhead (also known as the T-end) decking and buildings will sit atop 14-inch diameter pilings. The primary pier walkway will sit atop 12-inch diameter pilings.

Starting in water about 10 feet deep at the far end of the pier, all pilings will be driven at least 30 feet into the sand and clay below.

New Anna Maria City Pier taking shape
I+iconSoutheast superintendent Roberto Matos uses a level to ensure the piling is going in straight. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

The pilings are first lowered into a steel template. Once a piling is set in place, a jet pump is turned on and the water pumped through those pipes forces the sand out and creates space for the piling.

A crane-mounted diesel hammer is then used to drive the pilings the rest of the way through the harder clay below.

As the water gets shallower, the pilings will be driven deeper. The concrete pilings will be trimmed at the top to create the level surface for the precast, concrete platform that will serve as the base for the Ipe hardwood decking.

The pilings must be precisely located within 2 inches of their predetermined locations so they line up with the precast platform sections.

Johnson said the first pilings were delivered by barge from Port Manatee. The rest are expected to be delivered in a similar manner and no concrete pilings are expected to pass through the city on a tractor-trailer.

“We are trying to minimize the amount of the material that comes in through the city,” Johnson said.

“I think that’s a great decision,” Carter added.

New Anna Maria City Pier taking shape
City Commissioner Carol Carter visited the pier worksite by boat Monday morning. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

Johnson said the hardwood decking will be trucked to the onshore staging area near the foot of the pier. According to Murphy, those deliveries are supposed to take place between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. whenever possible to minimize any impact on daytime traffic.

Thornton commended city officials for choosing concrete pilings over wood pilings because they resist the waterborne worms that feed on wood pilings.

After returning from his Monday afternoon boat tour, Murphy said, “It’s looking good. I’m pleased with the progress. On a good day, they can drive at least seven or eight pilings per day, so we’re making progress and that’s good news.”

The mayor said he spotted 14 pilings in the water during his boat tour.

Murphy recently predicted the pier construction site would become a point of interest for visitors and residents and that’s coming to fruition.

“I was down there Saturday and Sunday. It’s attracting people and that’s good. I think the more piles we drive, the more people it’s going to attract,” he said.

The city of Anna Maria’s contract with i+iconSoutheast requires the pier platform and decking to be completed by Aug. 26.

The city will issue a separate request for proposals seeking bids for the construction of the city-owned restaurant, bait shop and restroom spaces at the pier’s T-end.

The pier and pier buildings are expected to be opened to the public by year’s end.

New Anna Maria City Pier taking shape
The foot of the pier provides a good view of the work taking place. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
AM Pier Crane

Anna Maria City Pier construction underway

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News.

ANNA MARIA – The time has arrived to begin building the new Anna Maria City Pier.

This week, the barge crane arrived in the Tampa Bay waters offshore from the old pier site. This was preceded by the arrival of the mobile construction office and the setting up of the on-shore staging area the week before.

According to Anna Maria City Commission Chair Brian Seymour, the crew from i+iconSoutheast is expected to begin driving the concrete pier pilings into the bay bottom on Monday, Jan. 28, or soon thereafter. The city has scheduled a media boat tour of the work in progress on Wednesday, Jan. 30.

The surveying work includes this small platform in addition to the surveying equipment located on shore. - Joe Hendricks | Sun

The surveying work includes this small platform in addition to the surveying equipment located on shore. - Joe Hendricks | Sun

The initial work crew was still at it as of 5:15 p.m. Thursday evening. - Joe Hendricks | Sun

The initial work crew was still at it as of 5:15 p.m. Thursday evening. - Joe Hendricks | Sun

- Joe Hendricks | Sun

- Joe Hendricks | Sun

The old Anna Maria City Pier bait shop building was missing its roof on the morning of Sept. 11, 2017, the morning after Hurricane Irma passed through. - Joe Hendricks | Sun

The old Anna Maria City Pier bait shop building was missing its roof on the morning of Sept. 11, 2017, the morning after Hurricane Irma passed through. - Joe Hendricks | Sun

The waves and wind from Hurricane Irma tore loose the decking at the old pier's T-end. - Joe Hendricks | Sun

The waves and wind from Hurricane Irma tore loose the decking at the old pier's T-end. - Joe Hendricks | Sun

The new Anna Maria City Pier and pier building will look like this. - Schimberg Group | Submitted

The new Anna Maria City Pier and pier building will look like this. - Schimberg Group | Submitted

In late November, city commissioners authorized Mayor Dan Murphy to execute the $3.33 million contract with Tampa-based Infrastructure & Industrial Contractors Southeast Inc., also known as i+iconSoutheast.

The contract pertains to the construction of the pier structure, decking and walkway. The contract does not include the restaurant, bait shop and restroom spaces to be built at the pier’s T-end. That part of the pier project will be addressed in a separate request for proposals (RFP) issued later this year.

The issuance of that RFP is partially contingent on Murphy’s pending negotiations with current pier tenant Mario Schoenfelder, whose current lease expires in December 2020. Murphy has proposed that Schoenfelder contribute $500,000 toward the interior buildout of the restaurant and bait shop spaces, and those negotiations are expected to be finalized in the near future.

The city’s contract with i+iconSoutheast provides the company 270 days to complete this portion of the pier project by Aug. 26. The contract includes a $975-per-day penalty the commission can impose at its discretion if any delays are incurred beyond that date.

According to the contract, the Anna Maria City Pier will be approximately 730 feet long and 12 feet wide, with a 111-foot by 88-foot T-end section that will accommodate the restaurant, bait shop and restrooms.

I+icon Operations Director Paul Johnson is in charge of the pier project. Ayres Associates designed and engineered the pier structure, decking and walkway. Sarasota architect Barron Schimberg created the architectural vision for the pier building.

Ipe wood decking will be used for the pier platform and Kebony siding will be used for the exterior of the pier building. The new pier is designed to look like the old and aging pier that was closed due to hurricane damage in September 2017. The old pier was demolished in July.

AM Pier rendering

Pier tenant lease terms being considered

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News.

ANNA MARIA – Mayor Dan Murphy is asking city commissioners to provide their feedback on the lease terms they want for the tenant of the soon-to-be-built Anna Maria City Pier.

Construction of the new pier is expected to begin the third week of January and be completed in August 2019. Current tenant Mario Schoenfelder’s lease expires in December 2020, and he will have the option to sign a new and extended lease.

During the commission’s Thursday, Dec. 13 meeting, Murphy presented a single-page document that provides several lease options for commissioners to consider. Murphy said the list was designed to provoke feedback from each commissioner on the lease terms to be discussed with the Schoenfelder. He wants that feedback by Dec. 31.

Based on that feedback, Murphy will prepare a “straw man contract” to bring back to the commission in January when seeking authorization to negotiate a new lease with Schoenfelder.

According to Murphy’s list of contract considerations, Schoenfelder had been paying the city a flat rate of $11,900 per month (with an annual Cost Price Index escalator). Those monthly payments were suspended at some point after the hurricane-damaged pier was closed in September 2017.

Schoenfelder’s current lease is for the entire pier structure in addition to the restaurant and bait shop spaces at the pier’s T-end. The current lease includes city-owned parking spaces and requires Schoenfelder to pay the county property taxes for the entire pier, the utilities and the liability insurance.

The current lease requires Schoenfelder to maintain the entire pier. Commissioner Dale Woodland is among the commission members who have indicated they want the city to be responsible for the maintenance of the new pier.

Lease considerations

The lease considerations include a proposed $500,000 down payment, or some other contribution, from the pier tenant for the buildout of the restaurant, bait shop and restrooms to be built at the pier’s T-end.

Murphy and Schoenfelder have already engaged in preliminary buildout discussions with architect Barron Schimberg. If satisfactory terms are reached, Schoenfelder will have input on the interior buildout of the city-owned building.

Lease considerations include the length of the new lease and any additional extensions to be granted. Commission input will help determine whether the new lease is based on a flat monthly rate, a percentage of revenues or a combination of both, and will help determine how much of the new pier is leased to the tenant and how the property tax and utility bills are to be handled.

Murphy said he expects the new pier building to be turned over to the pier tenant in December 2019 or January 2020.

It has been stated at previous meetings that if lease terms cannot be reached with Schoenfelder, a new tenant would be sought.

Additional funding

Murphy told commissioners the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has reduced its proposed financial contributions to the pier project from approximately $1.35 million to approximately $800,000. This is due to confusion regarding the use of the word ‘repair’ versus ‘replace’ when the city sought and received $750,000 from the state Legislature during its 2018 session.

Murphy said he planned to attend a Manatee County commission meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 19 at the Patricia M. Glass Commission Chambers, where he and several other local leaders will present their legislative priorities and funding requests to incoming Florida Senate President Bill Galvano and incoming State Representative Will Robinson.

Murphy will ask the state Legislature to help fill the $500,000 pier funding gap created by the FEMA decision. He will also seek Galvano and Robinson’s support regarding any vacation rental or home rule legislation proposed during the 2019 legislative session.

Anna Maria pier contract

Anna Maria City Pier contract finalized

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News.

ANNA MARIA – The $3.33 million contract to build the decking and walkway for the new Anna Maria City Pier is a done deal.

On Thursday, Nov. 29, City Commissioners unanimously authorized Mayor Dan Murphy to execute the construction contract with Tampa-based Infrastructure & Industrial Contractors Southeast Inc. (i+icon).

The contract gives i+icon 270 days to complete the pier project by Aug. 26, 2019. It allows the city to penalize the firm $975 per day for any delays beyond that date but gives the commission the discretion to extend the construction timeline due to a storm, prolonged loss of power or some other unforeseen occurrence.

Murphy said i+icon indicated the first pier pilings will be driven in January.

The contract states the new pier will be approximately 730 feet long and 12 feet wide, with a 111-foot by 88-foot T-end section to accommodate a restaurant, bait shop and restrooms. The scope of work does not include the restaurant, bait shop and restrooms spaces that will be addressed in a separate request for proposals (RFP).

The commission-approved contract is $332,837 lower than the $3.66 million bid i+icon submitted in October as one of five firms responding to the city’s revised RFP. Those bids ranged from $4.78 million to $3.45 million, and the commission then authorized Murphy to discuss contract terms with i+icon as the highest-ranked bidder.

Anna Maria pier contract handshake
Project engineer Jay Saxena, Mayor Dan Murphy and i+icon representatives Greg Thornton and Paul enjoyed a congratulatory moment after last week’s meeting. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

I+icon Operations Manager Paul Johnson and Project Manager Greg Thornton attended last week’s meeting, as did Jay Saxena from Ayres Associates, the city’s contracted pier engineering firm.

“This document marks a major milestone for the city. A lot of people have worked very hard and long to get to this point,” Murphy said when presenting the revised bid and contract for commission approval.

Cost savings

Murphy said the city could save $180,000 by using wooden support bents for the pier decking instead of the concrete bents originally planned.

Commissioner Brian Seymour asked Saxena if wood bents would reduce the new pier’s anticipated 75-year service life. Saxena said the first 63 bents from shore would be wood. The remaining walkway and T-end bents will be concrete and provide additional support where it’s most needed. The commission supported this change.

The commission also supported Murphy’s suggestion to spend $8,863 to purchase concrete pilings that are 14-inches in diameter and already cast to the correct length, rather than spending an additional $30,000 to splice together some of the 12-inch concrete pilings the city recently purchased directly to avoid paying sales tax and to ensure availability.

Murphy said Saxena and i+icon located the longer, larger pilings in the same storage yard where the previously purchased are being stored, and the city will receive a credit for 12-inch pilings returned. Murphy and Saxena noted the 14-inch pilings would support the T-end that is more vulnerable to high winds and waves.

Murphy told the commission i+icon recommended spending an additional $50,000 for IPE wood product pier decking instead of the Kebony wood product decking the commission majority approved in March. Murphy said the IPE product has a longer history of use than the newer Kebony decking. Commissioner Carol Carter noted that Seymour favored the IPE decking in March.

The revised total bid and cost savings document discussed last week lists an additional $181,700 in savings for pilings. Murphy explained later that this is for the pilings already purchased.

“There’s more savings to be had here,” he told the commission regarding the city’s continued ability to purchase construction materials directly to avoid the sales tax.

The final contracted price is approximately $800,000 lower than the original $4.13 bid i+icon submitted in August as one of two firms responding to the original RFP.

Carter commended Murphy, Saxena and i+icon for also reducing the original projected completion date of December 2019.

Related Coverage

Anna Maria City Pier proposals still awaiting approval

Five names entered into Anna Maria City Pier bidding hat

Anna Maria Pier

Pier contract to be discussed Thursday

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News.

An organizational meeting for the Anna Maria City Commission will take place Thursday, Nov. 29 at 9 a.m. Mayor Dan Murphy and commissioners Carol Carter and Brian Seymour will take the oath of office for their next two-year terms after running unopposed in the recent city elections. The commission will then elect a commission chair and a deputy chair. Commission liaison assignments and Sunshine Law and ethics training also will be discussed.

After the organization meeting is adjourned, a special commission meeting will be convened and include discussion on a settlement with Wash Family Construction. The commission will discuss the formation of a Charter Review Commission and the annual Citizen of the Year Committee and then discuss the Anna Maria City Pier construction contract proposal.

The consent agenda includes a special event application and a request to waive the permit fee for the Roser Memorial Community Church Bethlehem Walk on Sunday, Dec. 2.

Anna Maria Pier RFP seagulls

Anna Maria City Pier proposals still awaiting approval

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News.

ANNA MARIA – The city’s plans to rebuild its famous city pier are still being kept confidential.

Mayor Dan Murphy said Oct. 11 he sent requests for more information to the five Florida-based construction companies that applied to the city Oct. 3 with plans to rebuild the pier.

Murphy told the City Commission that he gave the five companies a deadline of Oct. 12 to return with clarification on several questions. Murphy wouldn’t go into detail about what issues needed answers.

Once the answers were received, Murphy said he will release the proposals to the commission for review and possible selection.

The mayor said until then the contents of the packages had to be kept confidential.

The five companies that submitted applications were Cone & Graham, Inc., from Port Saint Lucie; GLF Construction Corporation, from Miami; Speeler & Associates, Inc., from Largo; and i+iconUSA and American Bridge, both from Tampa.

City officials have budgeted approximately $2.5 million for the reconstruction. Murphy also has submitted applications to Florida and federal departments for funding, but the mayor has said they’re still waiting for answers.

A meeting date for the RFP decisions hasn’t been scheduled as of publication.

Related Coverage

Five names entered into Anna Maria City Pier bidding hat

Second pier construction RFP being issued

Pier construction bids rejected

Anna Maria City Pier RFP

Five names entered into Anna Maria City Pier bidding hat

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News.

ANNA MARIA –The latest round request for proposals (RFP) to rebuild the city pier closed Oct. 3. Five Florida-based construction companies entered their names as candidates.

Mayor Dan Murphy said during the Sept. 27 Anna Maria City Commission meeting he hoped 11-12 companies would enter proposals.

The companies: Cone & Graham, Inc. from Port Saint Lucie, GLF Construction Corporation from Miami, Speeler & Associates, Inc. from Largo, and i+iconUSA and American Bridge, both from Tampa, submitted RFPs to the city by the 3 p.m. deadline.

Speeler & Associates, which was hired to demolish the city pier, and i+iconUSA had previously sent in construction proposals during the city’s last RFP round in July.

The last round of proposals were over the city’s expected budget. Speeler & Associates proposed a reconstruction price at $3.72 million and i+iconUSA also had previously given the city a $4.13 million offer. They were the only two companies to send in proposals, and both bids were rejected by the mayor with unanimous City Commission support.

The city has budgeted almost $2.5 million for the reconstruction, which includes only the main pier structure and the T-end located at the end of the pier. The city has not opened RFPs for the buildings at the end of the pier, where the bait shop and Anna Maria City Pier restaurant operated from.

City officials declined to comment on the latest proposals or on further details.

The city has purchased concrete pilings for the pier. Murphy said Sept. 27 he’s laid eyes on the pilings, and they’re “sound and accounted for.”

If all goes according to plan, if a proposal is accepted, officials have said they hope reconstruction work will begin in December.

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Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News.

ANNA MARIA – The City Commission has accepted a $1.37 million staff recommendation from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that would help fund the construction of a new city pier.

During a special commission meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 29, Mayor Dan Murphy presented the FEMA recommendation for the commission to approve or reject. Murphy said the commission could challenge the FEMA offer in hopes of getting an extra $100,000 or $200,000, but he recommended accepting the offer.

Murphy said the city submitted to FEMA a $1.8 million estimate for damages the pier sustained last September during Hurricane Irma – damages that occurred when the aging pier was already slated for rehabilitation within five years.

The damage included the roof being torn off the bait shop and bar building, damage to the restaurant building and significant damage to the pier’s T-end decking.

Murphy said FEMA offered the city 75 percent of what was requested and that was due to questions about the scouring of the pier pilings that could not be definitively attributed to the hurricane. Scouring is erosion caused by moving water.

“I would have difficulty saying there was no scouring of the pilings prior to the hurricane,” Murphy said.

“If we challenge it, we go back to the steps we were in before – negotiating, getting engineers’ estimates and providing more information as to what we’re challenging,” Murphy said.

“If you accept this, they go on and complete the formalized offer. At that point, we could begin our construction. Until we get the formal offer back from FEMA, we can’t start that construction,” he added.

Murphy said it would take approximately 30 days to formalize the FEMA offer.

The state of Florida must also concur with the FEMA recommendation that also has to be presented to the Congressional Budget Committee because the funding request exceeds $1 million.

“They have to allocate the money to give us the resources to start the pier,” Murphy said.

“The bottom line is if you vote today to accept this offer, my estimate is that in the late October-early November time frame we could begin driving piles,” Murphy said, noting this would still keep the pier project on track for a December 2019 completion date.

Murphy originally anticipated construction beginning in September, but he and the commission have not yet selected a pier construction firm. After recently rejecting the first two bids received because the bids were too high, a modified request for proposals is supposed to be issued this week. Murphy said he expects the second round of construction bids to be submitted to the city by the end of September.

Murphy praised City Clerk LeAnne Addy for working on the FEMA funding for the past nine or 10 months.

“They lost all of our paperwork at one point. We’ve been showing records and we’ve been negotiating, and LeAnne has done a sterling job with bringing us to the point where we are today,” Murphy said.

Pier revenue sources

The mayor also presented the commission with a pier funding update. In addition to the FEMA money, the city has already secured $1.5 million in a Tourist Development Council recommendation for County Commission-approved resort tax revenues, $330,000 in County Commission-approved surplus beach concession revenues, $750,000 from the Florida Legislature and $650,000 from the city’s general fund.

Commissioner Brian Seymour noted the pier demolition cost approximately $750,000 and that leaves $4.4 million to build a new pier – a pier that includes a restaurant and bait shop at its T-end.

Murphy said the only amount listed in his revenue projections that has not been secured is the $500,000 he hopes to get from the pier tenant.

“I had always projected $500,000 from the tenant, whether it’s the current tenant or a new tenant,” he said.

The tenant’s contribution will be used for the interior buildout of the restaurant and bait shop.

Current pier tenant Mario Schoenfelder’s lease with the city expires in December 2020. He and Murphy have engaged in productive preliminary discussions but Schoenfelder had not yet committed to assisting with the pier funding and extending his lease. If Schoenfelder and the city cannot come to terms, a new tenant will be sought.

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Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News.

ANNA MARIA – Mayor Dan Murphy expects a new request for proposals (RFP) for the construction of a new city pier to be issued by the end of this week.

During the Aug. 23 City Commission meeting, Murphy said he expected to have those RFPs returned to the city by late September.

The mayor, the contracted pier engineer and some city staff members will review and rank the pier construction proposals received, and Murphy will then present the highest ranked firm for commission consideration. When contacted later, Murphy his goal was to present his recommendation to the commission in early October.

The commission can then direct Murphy to begin negotiations with the highest-ranked firm or it can reject all proposals received – as it did in late July regarding the two proposals received in response to the original construction RFP.

Largo-based Speeler & Associates, the firm that demolished the pier, submitted a bid for $3.72 million and Tampa-based i+iconSOUTHEAST bid $4.13 million to build the new pier platform. The original RFP did not seek bids for the construction of the restaurant and bait shop spaces at the T-end of the pier. Those items were to be addressed later in a separate bid.

The mayor and commission unanimously agreed those bids were higher than anticipated or desired and the decision was made to issue a new RFP based on modified construction specifications. Murphy said he had hoped the bids would be closer to $2.5 million for the construction of the pier platform.

Murphy is optimistic the revised RFP will generate interest from marine construction firms.

“We’ll get plenty of attention. This project is something that any company can put in their portfolio. It’s high-profile because of the age of the pier, the history of the pier and the importance of the pier to our community, our county and to the state for that matter. It’s a feather in anybody’s cap,” Murphy said.

FEMA permit

Murphy also told the commission the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has informed the city that it cannot start construction of the new pier until FEMA has reviewed and authorized all the pier plans.

Murphy said the city is not going to obtain any of the project funding requested from FEMA until FEMA approves the project. The building and decking at the T-end of the pier were damaged last September during Hurricane Irma.

“At this point, it’s around $1.8 million that we’ve requested,” Murphy said of the city’s funding request.

Murphy said he and city staff have sought assistance from the offices of U.S. Senators Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio, and he had a meeting scheduled with Congressman Vern Buchanan this week.

“It’s our understanding that when it comes to FEMA claims in the state of Florida we’re number one; we’re at the top of the list. Rubio’s staff guy called me and assured me that they were on top of it. They were putting on as much pressure as they can. The city clerk has spent a couple hours every day on the phone and using emails putting pressure on these people,” Murphy said.

“I feel comfortable this FEMA thing will come to resolution just about in time with the reception of the bids and we can then get started,” Murphy said.

He also said he hopes he and the commission don’t have to make a decision about proceeding with the pier project without FEMA funding.

“We can get more money from other sources, but I would prefer we do this the right way and we keep going on a straight and narrow. We’re entitled to the FEMA dollars, so we’re going to go after those first,” Murphy said.

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Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News.

ANNA MARIA – The city now has the federal permits needed to build a new city pier.

On Friday, Aug. 3, Mayor Dan Murphy sent an email to city commissioners that said, “We have just received the approved Army Corps of Engineers permit to construct our new pier. This concludes all federal permitting required. We received this permit much sooner than expected. This action clears the way and facilitates our revised RFP (request for proposals) as to specifications and should help in shortening the bid process. Thank you for your confidence during this process.”

The permits for the pier demolition and the pier construction were conducted as separate permitting processes. In July, Murphy told city commissioners he expected to have the construction permit by late August.

Murphy included in his email to commissioners a copy of the notification he and Ayres Associates Vice President Jay Saxena received from Katy Damico. Damico works for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Jacksonville District Tampa Permits Section. Ayres Associates is designing and engineering the new pier.

“The application for a Department of the Army permit has been reviewed and the information and drawings provided shows the proposed work depicted on the enclosed drawings is authorized by Nationwide Permit 3,” Damico wrote.

“A review of the information and drawings provided indicates that the proposed work would result in complete reconstruction of the city of Anna Maria Pier within the exact same footprint as the existing structure including a new 12-foot-wide by 683-foot-long pier with a 58-foot-long by 111-foot-wide T-head which will house a new restaurant and bait and tackle shop and a 5-foot-wide by 50.5-foot-long landing/temporary tie-off dock,” Damico’s email said.

“This NWP verification letter is being issued pursuant to Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 which requires prior authorization for structures and work in, over, under and affecting navigable waters. You are authorized to conduct the following work as described above and as depicted on the enclosed plans. Thank you for your patience as we worked through this permit process,” Damico’s email concluded.

Pier construction

City officials are now seeking a second round of bid proposals from marine construction companies interested in building the new Anna Maria City Pier.

On July 26, Anna Maria city commissioners unanimously supported the mayor’s recommendation to reject the two pier construction bids received in response to the first RFP issued by the city.

Speeler & Associates, the firm that demolished the old pier, submitted an original construction bid for $3.72 million. I+iconSOUTHEAST bid $4.13 million. Those two bids did not include the new restaurant and bait shop buildings to be built at the T-end of the new pier platform. Murphy said he expected the pier platform construction costs to be closer to $2.5 million.

The mayor and commission requested the issuance of a second RFP that includes modified construction material specifications. City officials hope the modified construction requirements will produce bid proposals that are closer to the desired $2.5 million mark.

Construction of the new pier is expected to be completed in late 2020. The already aging pier was closed in September due to damage that Hurricane Irma inflicted did to the T-end buildings and decking.