BRADENTON BEACH – Commissioners unanimously approved an agreement with Manatee County on April 8 for tourist tax money to be used to repair and modify the city’s floating dock structures.
“This is for repairs to the floating dock system so the ferry can continue to operate,” City Attorney Ricinda Perry said. “Elliott (Falcione, executive director of the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau) had agreed to $35,000 and then after discussions with him and some discussions with the boat captain and Duncan (Duncan Seawall) we agreed to $100,000 for the city to make modifications to the floating dock system post-Hurricane Helene.”
The repairs for damage sustained from Hurricanes Helene and Milton include replacing pilings, decking and handrails, repairing the pier’s adjacent dinghy dock and replacing or repairing floating docks on the south side of the pier.
“To accommodate the addition of a third larger ferry, enhancements to the current docking area are needed, ” according to the agreement. The project includes upgrading and extending the fire suppression system on the main fishing pier, adding aluminum reinforcements to all finger piers, adding moor ing piles to the water taxi slip and adding heavy duty waste receptacles and benches. The county will reimburse the city up to $100,000, which is not subject to the FEMA insurance reimbursement requirement.
According to the agreement, the city’s project costs to be reimbursed by the county are not to exceed $375,000. If the city receives insurance or FEMA payments for any pier repair project costs, the city must reimburse the county up to $375,000.
BRADENTON BEACH – The Manatee County Commission is providing up to $850,000 in matching funds for Bradenton Beach’s dock expansion project.
The county commission approved the city’s funding request on Tuesday, June 8. The county funds will be provided using county tourist tax revenues generated by the 5% tourist tax levied on hotel, motel and vacation rental stays in Manatee County. The Bradenton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) will pay the city’s share of the dock expansion project costs.
In anticipation of the county’s support, the CRA members recently selected Duncan Seawall, Dock and Boat Lift to install the fingers docks to be purchased from Golden Marine Systems.
The finger docks will extend perpendicular to the existing floating dock that will be extended to the east. – City of Bradenton Beach | Submitted
The finger docks will extend perpendicular to the floating dock installed in 2019, and the floating dock will be extended to the east to accommodate additional finger docks. Duncan will also construct the new dinghy dock that will replace the aging dinghy dock near the entrance to the Bridge Street Pier.
Duncan’s bid came in at approximately $616,000 to $624,000, depending on some additional piling options included in the proposal. Duncan’s bid does not include any additional work on the showers or restrooms.
The aging dinghy dock used by liveaboard and transient boaters will be replaced with a new dock. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
When presenting the funding request to county commissioners, Mayor John Chappie said the finger docks would increase public dockage near the Bridge Street Pier from seven spaces to 26 or 27 spaces. The existing and soon-to-be-expanded docking facilities are free to the public on a first-come, first-served basis and overnight docking is not allowed.
Chappie said the matching funds would also be used to renovate the existing public shower facilities and increase the size of the public restrooms, and to create a terminal-like area at the entrance to the pier for the Old Town Tram parking shuttles that service the CRA district.
Chappie also mentioned the possibility of a water taxi service one day running from downtown Bradenton to Bradenton Beach.
“There’s been a lot of discussion over the years with regards to a water taxi. Bradenton Beach could be a stop for the water taxi. There will be a space available for that as well,” he said.
County support
“This project is exactly what the county needs because it’s beneficial to all residents of the county,” District 3 County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge said. “You’re inviting day trippers to come by boat to dock at Bridge Street. They can patronize the businesses on Bridge Street, and the Island is thin there, so people will easily be able to access the beach from that point. It’s a great way to bring additional visitors into your city without having a major impact on your residents. I’m very pleased with the relationship we have with Bradenton Beach and their efforts to try and be as inclusive as they can, knowing they’re a destination city.”
County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge emphatically supports the dock expansion project. – YouTube/Manatee County | Submitted
Commissioner George Kruse then said, “I love this. This is such a great idea and I’m 100% in support of this. This is needed and I appreciate it.”
Commissioner Carol Whitmore noted the county also provided matching funds for the installation of the floating dock.
“This all ties in, we’re just adding more capacity. This is what the tourist tax is about. If we do a water taxi and people are staying in Bradenton they can hop on the (water) taxi at Pier 22 and come on out,” Whitmore said.
“The water taxi would start in downtown Bradenton, utilizing the parking garage,” Chappie said, expressing hope that this might help reduce the number of cars coming to Anna Maria Island.
Regarding the long-desired water taxi service, Commission Chairwoman Vanessa Baugh said, “That should have been done years ago.”
Regarding the dock expansion project, Baugh said, “It’s a great project – and what makes it so great is that the county and the city are working together to make this happen.”
Commissioner Misty Servia chairs the TDC board that serves as a recommending body to the county commission. She noted the TDC board supports the project and the funding request, as does she.
Commissioner James Satcher liked the project so much that he proposed increasing the county funding.
“We should increase it by $282,000. He’s got other things he’s planning on doing, plus he’s got the water taxi,” Satcher said.
Satcher did not provide any documentation to support his proposed $282,000 funding increase.
“That’s not how this works,” Kruse emphatically said of Satcher’s suggestion.
County Attorney Bill Clague advised the commission to simply approve or reject each funding request cited in the proposed county ordinance that also included separate funding requests from the cities of Anna Maria and Holmes Beach.
“I have to advise you against trying to move dollars around. I would ask that you just vote each of these up or down,” Clague said.
Van Ostenbridge made a motion to approve the Bradenton Beach funding request as presented and he rejected Satcher’s efforts to amend the motion to increase it by $282,000. The commission unanimously supported Van Ostenbridge’s motion.
BRADENTON BEACH – The Manatee County Tourist Development Council (TDC) is supporting the city’s funding request for the expansion of the public dock near the Bridge Street Pier.
The request, from the Bradenton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA), received unanimous support on Monday, April 19, when TDC members recommended that the county commission approve up to $850,000 in matching tourist tax funds for the improvements. The money would go toward lengthening the floating dock, attaching more perpendicular finger docks and replacing the aging dinghy dock near the foot of the pier boardwalk.
No date has been set yet as to when the CRA’s request will be presented to county commissioners.
When addressing the TDC members, City Attorney Ricinda Perry said the CRA has already issued a request for proposals (RFP) seeking a contractor to take the lead on the project. The RFP does not address the restroom improvements to be pursued as a separate phase of the project.
Perry said the floating dock currently provides enough space for about seven vessels and the expanded dock and new fingers docks would provide temporary dockage for about 26 vessels.
Perry noted that in addition to recreational boaters, the existing floating dock is used by local tour boats, fishing charters and other commercial operators to pick up and drop off passengers. Perry said the hope is to someday have a water taxi service at the dock as well.
“We have stood ready, willing and able to support a water taxi if that would, in fact, come to fruition in Manatee County,” Perry told the TDC members.
As is the case with the floating dock, the additional finger docks would be available free of charge on a first-come, first-served basis, with no overnight mooring allowed.
The finger docks were originally proposed by City Commissioner and CRA member Jake Spooner in 2016 to accommodate more boats and encourage alternative means of transportation to the pier and the nearby Bridge Street business district.
Perry said the additional dockage would help support the pier-based businesses that include the Anna Maria Oyster Bar, Paradise Boat Tours and the Tide & Moon Jewelry store, and would also benefit other businesses in the Bridge Street area.
Serving as a replacement to the existing dinghy dock, the new dinghy dock will provide temporary dinghy dockage for liveaboard and transient boaters who anchor in the waters south of the pier.
The existing dinghy dock near the Bridge Tender would be replaced with a new one. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
CRA and TDC member Ed Chiles said the dock expansion project falls right in line with the purpose of the Bradenton Beach CRA and the allowed use of the Tourist Development Tax revenues. Chiles also stressed the need to finally implement a water taxi program.
TDC member and Bradenton Mayor Gene Brown agreed and said, “It brings opportunity for the water taxi that we’ve been talking about for so long.”
TDC member and Island resort manager Eric Cairns said, “A few years ago, when I got on the TDC, I brought up a water taxi and it just wasn’t the right time. I totally feel it is the right time now. It would be a great opportunity for all the cities on the Island.”
TDC member Rahul Patel asked Perry about the anticipated service life of the new docks. Perry said the materials used for the dock expansion project are expected to last 30 to 50 years. She said this was also a concern with the existing floating dock that was installed in 2019 using matching Tourist Development Tax funds.
“This particular area of water has a lot of wake action. I believe it was designed to withstand category 3 hurricane wave action and we would require the same standards for the installation of the additional floating dock segments,” Perry said.
“With the last tropical storm that went through, we had a number of vessels that broke loose from their moorings and crashed into our floating dock and did damage to some of the pier and the dock. That is a hazard we anticipate,” Perry said.
She noted the Bradenton Beach Police Department conducts regular marine patrols of the waters south of the pier in an attempt to ensure those vessels comply with state boating regulations.
Bradenton Beach Mayor John Chappie said the city’s partnership with the county and the West Coast Inland Navigation District has resulted in 56 derelict, abandoned or non-compliant vessels being removed from those waters since 2012.
TDC Chair and County Commissioner Misty Servia expressed support for the funding request and also for a potential water taxi service that would originate in Bradenton.
“Any way that we can remove cars from the roadway going to the Island is such an exciting thing, and I look forward to the city of Bradenton developing a water taxi from their end,” Servia said.
