Gone but not forgotten.
A Manatee Public Beach Pier has been gone for years, but that doesn’t mean it’s gone for good.
According to Manatee County Parks and Natural Resources director Charlie Hunsicker, the pier can be replaced, but it must be elevated 15 feet above the shore.
Hunsicker said the county has a permit from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to build a 300-foot-long, 15-foot-high pier at the beach, 4000 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach, but the ADA requirements would necessitate a long ramp from the pier to the beach concession building.
The county also is studying erosion at the beach to determine if an erosion control groin could be installed. If erosion is deemed a problem, then a low-rise erosion-control groin could be built in its place.
Such a structure could be elevated less than the pier.
“Another problem is the view,” Hunsicker said. “Do people want a long pier obstructing their view of the island beaches and skyline?”
Manatee County Commissioner Carol Whitmore said to get a low-rise structure, similar to the pier demolished in 2010, the county needs to prove the old structure acted as an erosion-control groin.
“Since we tore it down, our engineers can’t prove it controlled beach erosion,” Whitmore said.
According to Hunsicker the groin had to be removed because it was structurally unsound and dangerous to the public.
CB&I Engineering — a county contractor — conducted a study April 16 to determine erosion. But CB&I engineer Michelle Pfeiffer said another study must be done in the summer.
The original pier was built about 60 years ago with a concession building and a rooftop deck and stairs that led to the beach and a walkway to the pier.
The rooftop deck was damaged and the stairs were removed before the pier sustained substantial damage from Hurricane Agnes in 1972, but was repaired. It further deteriorated and was closed to the public in 2009. The city commission voted against repairing the pier and recommended having the county rebuild instead.
In 2009, rebuilding the pier was estimated at $1,495,000. Repairing the pier was estimated to cost $1,683,000.
Whitmore said a new pier would cost an estimated $4 million to $5 million.
Hunsicker said funding for rebuilding a recreational pier isn’t in the county’s current capital improvement plans.
“If we can get the permits to build a groin, then we can get money from the tourist development council,” Hunsicker said.
Hunsicker added, “We really need to concentrate on rehabbing the Anna Maria City Pier first.”