The fingers are crossed for good luck.
A settlement has been reached and components of the long-awaited Bradenton Beach floating dock are on their way to the Historic Bridge Street Pier.
At a Dec. 6 special meeting, the Bradenton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency voted 6-0 to approve a settlement with Technomarine Construction for delivery of the floating dock components.
Member Ed Chiles was absent with excuse.
According to the settlement, Technomarine will deliver all dock materials, including decking, floats and hardware, to the city within 45 days — amounting to a Jan. 20 deadline.
City attorney Ricinda Perry said the city offered the company 30 days for delivery, but Technomarine representative Julianne Frank asked for 45 days out of concern for a holiday slowdown.
Perry added Technomarine chief executive officer Erik Sanderson still needs to procure the floats, but received assurance they would be delivered on time. She said the city still needs to obtain anchor pilings for the dock.
The settlement reads, “The parties agree not to, directly or indirectly, disparage, discredit or comment upon each other” and states a violation would be enforceable by civil action.
Perry received word from Frank the docks were ready for transportation Dec. 4 and she told CRA members Dec. 5 the settlement terms were acceptable, bringing the dock materials — for which the CRA has paid $83,682 of the $119,980 cost — to the city and allowing the CRA to terminate its relationship with Technomarine.
Technomarine was contracted in April 2017 to build and install the dock, but the project has faced numerous delays on Technomarine’s part. They will not be paid any additional money.
The dock parts, excluding the floats and cleats, were manufactured and shipped from Spain to a laydown yard in Gibsonton in August, where they remained as of Dec. 7.
Bradenton Beach Police Chief Sam Speciale is tasked with coordinating the delivery.
He told CRA members Nov. 7 that Eric Shaffer, a project manager with Hecker Construction, owner of the storage yard, expressed a willingness to work with the city on the installation.
Since Hecker was subcontracted by Technomarine, the CRA is not required to go out for bids for the dock’s installation.
Sanderson emailed Speciale Nov. 9 that the cleats — a component for the finished dock — are at Technomarine’s North Palm Beach warehouse.
The next CRA meeting will be at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 9, at city hall, 107 Gulf Drive N.