It’s official.
Anna Maria commissioners voted 4-1 at their Sept. 30 meeting to approve the lease for a Mote Marine Laboratory education center on the city pier, 100 S. Bay Blvd.
Commissioner Mark Short voted “nay.”
Mayor Dan Murphy said he worked with Mote CEO Michael Crosby and Kevin Cooper, Mote’s vice president of communications and strategic initiatives, to negotiate the lease and build-out for the 1,800 square-foot building at the T-end of the pier.
The Mote concept for an education center began at a meeting on the pier in February.
The city had planned all during the construction of the pier to provide space for a full-service restaurant, as it had done before a run-in with Hurricane Irma in 2017 that led to damages beyond the historic pier’s replacement value.
After a meeting that included presentations from interested restaurant operators and Mote, commissioners voted to work with Mote to develop the center for environmental, marine life learning on the pier.
Following discussions with city commissioners and Mote representatives, Murphy and Crosby signed a memorandum of understanding in March.
Murphy then requested $500,000 from the Manatee County Tourist Development Council, which recommends spending for the 5% resort tax on accommodations of six months or less. The request was approved in June by the Manatee County Board of Commissioners and an agreement with all parties is expected this month.
Murphy signed an interlocal agreement for the funding in July.
“So, it’s been a long time for us to get to this point,” he said on Sept. 30. “We’ve had just an incredible amount of public input over this entire issue of what should be out on the pier and I believe that this is for the city, the residents and the visitors as well, the very best choice of what we could put on that pier.”
Short thanked the county for approving the funding, as well as Mote representatives, the mayor and city staff for their work on the contract.
However, he said it will cost Mote $200,000-$400,000 annually to run the operation.
“I want to state that I don’t think having Mote on the pier is a bad thing, although, to be honest, I’m not necessarily convinced it’s the best thing,” Short said.
He continued to say, based on the lease, Mote will not pay rent and the city will handle maintenance and utilities for up to 10 years. The agreement also provides the option to extend the lease for 60 months without further city approval.
Short said he is concerned the city could get hit with extra costs in the case of another catastrophic event.
There was no response from officials or the public.
Commission Chair Carol Carter called for a motion to accept the agreement, which was made by Commissioner Jonathan Crane and seconded by Commissioner Deanie Sebring.
According to Cooper, construction on the educational center will take place over the next six months.
The next step will be for Mote to develop its building plan, to be reviewed by city staff and approved by the city commission, according to Murphy.