If the Anna Maria City Pier could talk, it might say, “Woe is me.”
Construction of the new pier was almost ready to pick up where builders left off before a couple of setbacks.
Contractor i+iconSOUTHEAST was making repairs the week of Sept. 16 after its barge crashed into the walkway Sept. 10.
The crash destroyed two pilings, connecting beams, stringers and utility conduits on the 800-foot-long walkway about two-thirds of the way out to the T-end of the pier.
Divers investigated the damage Sept. 13 and reported the crash displaced the seabed around the two damaged piles, but there was no damage to the surrounding pilings.
I+icon removed the broken pilings Sept. 19 but, as that work proceeded, i+icon project director Paul Johnson emailed Mayor Dan Murphy the next day, stating the crane’s boom line was damaged and would need to be repaired before work could continue.
Johnson wrote that the barge would be taken out of service and off-site Sept. 21, and was to return to the pier by Sept. 23.
Murphy wrote in a Sept. 20 text message to The Islander that he was awaiting a new completion date for the walkway repairs, saying the damaged crane threw off the original Sept. 27 estimate for the repairs.
I+icon must cover the cost of the repairs, which are planned for the week of Sept. 23.
A Manatee County Sheriff’s Office-Anna Maria substation incident report estimates the crash resulted in $20,000 in damages to the pier.
The startup of construction of the restaurant and bait shop at the T-end has been delayed by the walkway repairs, according to Murphy. He said Mason Martin, the contractor hired to construct the T-end buildings, must wait to get some of its equipment to the T-end.
Materials and some heavy equipment were brought to the pier the week of Sept. 16 in an arrangement with i+icon to use the barge for delivery.
Murphy said the pier’s opening to the public also has been delayed from the first of the year to mid- to late-January 2020.
The city demolished and removed the original 1911-built pier due to damages sustained during Hurricane Irma in September 2017. The pier was deemed destroyed based on terms of the city’s insurance.
The city contracted i+icon in November 2018 to construct the new pier structure, including the T-end.
Lease negotiations
While progress on construction is delayed, lease negotiations with Mario Schoenfelder, the pier tenant since 2000, continue to develop.
The current lease expires in December 2020.
Murphy sent Schoenfelder an email Sept. 13 proposing terms for parking, insurance coverage and the length of the agreement.
Schoenfelder, who splits his time between Holmes Beach and Germany, originally signed on for 10 years with two five-year options and a $5,000 monthly lease payment, subject to periodic increases of $500.
The monthly lease payments, which had escalated to $11,900, were discontinued after the city closed the pier in September 2017.
Murphy proposed the same length for the new lease, and Schoenfelder agreed in a Sept. 15 reply to the mayor.
Murphy’s email to Schoenfelder also proposed the tenant pay for liability and contents insurance for the T-end restaurant and bait shop, while the city would cover the pier’s common areas.
Schoenfelder wrote that he agreed to Murphy’s proposed insurance plan, but asked the city to provide wind, storm and hurricane coverage — which wasn’t included in the existing lease.
Murphy also emailed Schoenfelder about parking for the restaurant, offering to include 40 parking spaces to the north and south of the pier on Bay Boulevard and to create12 more spaces near City Pier Park, across from the pier.
Schoenfelder agreed to the mayor’s parking proposal, but asked if the number of parking spaces is limited. He also asked if the city would consider “gated parking” to enforce restaurant-only parking.
Murphy had not responded to Schoenfelder’s parking inquiry as of Sept. 19.