Anna Maria is putting clams on the shelf.
The plan to use American Rescue Plan Act funding to seed clams in Anna Maria’s waters is moot.
Commission Chair Carol Carter said March 24 the city received a letter from the Diatom Initiative, one of the contractors that proposed seeding clams on Anna Maria’s shore, withdrawing the project from consideration.
Instead, the funding will go to maintain the city’s stormwater infiltration trenches.
The city received $740,432 from the U.S. American Rescue Plan and earmarked $50,000 to spend on addressing environmental issues, including red tide.
A collection of four contractors, including Diatom, proposed using the money to seed 1 million-2 million southern hard clams along the city’s northern shoreline on Tampa Bay and Bimini Bay.
The project was put forth by Palmetto-based Gulf Shellfish Institute, a nonprofit that would provide collaborative oversight, of which island business owner Ed Chiles is a founding board member.
Chiles was set to make a presentation on the proposed project at the meeting before the offer was withdrawn.
Proponents believe seeding filter feeders such as clams could improve water quality, while detractors say they would have minimal impact.
However, Curtis Hemmel from Diatom wrote in a March 18 letter to city officials that the project was “not suitable” for use of ARPA funds since the city’s “main focus” is red tide mitigation instead of “general environmental improvement.”
The letter also states that Diatom would be interested in “future shellfish projects” with the city “if interest arises.”
With the offer off the table, commissioners discussed other options for the funds.
Commissioner Jonathan Crane supported adding the money to the city’s stormwater budget for filtration trenches, which engineer Quinn Duffy of Melbourne-based Infrastructure Solution Services presented in February as an option to remove excess nutrients from stormwater runoff.
Mayor Dan Murphy said the city had added lengths of trenches over recent years that needed to be better maintained. He suggested using the money to fund the maintenance budget.
“We built so much and we never really took an active approach at maintenance until the last couple years and it’s because we have more and more and more to maintain,” Murphy said.
Crane moved to allocate $50,000 in ARPA funds to maintain the city’s stormdrain trenches.
Commissioner Robert Kingan seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
The commission will meet next at 2 p.m. Thursday, April 14, at city hall, 10005 Gulf Drive N. The meeting will be open to the public. Directions to attend can be found at cityofannamaria.com.