Anna Maria is on a fishing expedition.
And funding to set the line for a Mote Marine Laboratory outreach center on the Anna Maria City Pier could come from tourist development funds.
Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy is set to present the pier-Mote project along with a request for $500,000 to fund the buildout when the Manatee County Tourist Development Council meets at 9 a.m. Monday, April 19, at the Bradenton Area Convention Center, 1 Haben Blvd., Palmetto.
Murphy and Mote president Dr. Michael Crosby signed a memorandum of understanding March 19 for the project.
The memorandum stipulates the city is responsible for funding for the $500,000 buildout of the 1,800-square-foot space at the T-end of the Anna Maria City Pier, 100 S. Bay Blvd.
The memorandum also stipulates funding would come from tourist development tax dollars or sources other than property taxes, Murphy said.
When the Mote project emerged in February as a clear favorite of six suggested uses for the vacant building on the pier, Murphy reached out to Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau executive director Elliott Falcione to get the city’s request for project funding in front of the TDC.
The TDC usually meets in alternate months and makes recommendations to the Manatee Board of County Commissioners regarding projects in the tourist development plan and bed tax revenue spending.
The tourist development funds come from the 5% tax on accommodations of six months or less.
After Hurricane Irma in 2017 damaged the historic pier, the TDC allocated funding toward the new pier construction.
Mote also has received tourist development funds and TDC chair Misty Servia, a county commissioner, said she is a supporter of Mote projects.
Sourcing funding for the buildout is the only financial responsibility the city has for the outreach center as the estimated $400,000 annual overhead cost would be funded by Mote, which also is building a new science and education aquarium in Sarasota.
Mote opened its aquarium on City Island in Sarasota in 1980 and already operates two satellite education and outreach centers — at the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary’s Eco-Discovery Center in Key West and at the Florida Keys History Discovery Center in Islamorada.
Admission to the Anna Maria-Mote center would be free, though Crosby said March 19 there could be charges for programs and classes.