The long wait is to be continued.
Anna Maria commissioners voted 4-1 April 22 to extend a contract through March 1, 2023, with Mote Marine Laboratory for an educational outreach center in the vacant 1,800-square-foot building on the pier.
They also directed the city to work with Mote on contract revisions to add intermittent deadlines — or Mote will risk voiding their lease with the city.
Commissioner Mark Short voted “no,” stating frustration with Mote’s lack of production through that point.
This isn’t the first push for the project’s timeline.
Mote first presented its proposal to city commissioners last February and, early in the lease negotiation process, city officials projected a December 2021-January 2022 opening date.
By the time Mote entered a 10-year lease with the city for the installation and operation of the proposed outreach center in September 2021, the opening date had moved to March-April 2022.
However, Mote delayed presenting the final conceptual plans for the outreach center until the April 22 city meeting — much less meet the March 29 lease deadline to complete the interior buildout.
The city met April 22 to hear from Mote and decide to either end or extend the contract.
Kevin Cooper, Mote’s vice president for communications and strategic initiatives, presented finalized conceptual plans he said had been delayed due to third-party limitations and engineering constraints on the pier.
The plans include four live tank exhibits with about 1,000 gallons of recirculating seawater.
The live tanks are to include:
- An invertebrate touch tank where people can touch sea urchins, starfish, crabs and more;
- A mangrove tank displaying plants in local marine ecosystems and small fish and shrimp;
- A seagrass tank containing Gulf killifish and stone crab;
- A tank with local marine life.
Plans also include interactive exhibits, such as a livestream display of waters beneath the pier, microscopes with varying samples, as well as an exhibit where people can draw marine life and view a live animation on a computer screen.
Cooper said the space is fire-rated for a maximum of 24 people and it would be staffed with one to three employees and volunteers depending on the visitor load.
He added that Mote would need 24/7 access to the pier to ensure the safety of the marine life.
Cooper also established a “probable” 26-week timeline for the project.
He said if the commission agreed to move forward with the proposed concept, architect Barron Schimberg could begin fleshing out the design by Aug. 18.
Cooper said the design phase would take eight weeks to complete before submitting permits.
The city would then have two weeks for approval and construction would be 14 weeks, plus two weeks for inspections and occupancy approval.
The timeline would result in a March 1, 2023, opening date for Mote.
Cooper said if city commissioners approved a contract extension, Mote would hire Schimberg and provide verification to the city.
Murphy proposed adding intermittent deadlines, including proof by Aug. 18 that Schimberg had begun work and eight weeks later for completed plans.
He said the city could hammer out those deadlines at a later date and present a contract revision for commission consideration.
Resident Alan Ward voiced frustration with the wait and suggested the city implement financial penalties for future deadline failures since the city was not collecting lease payments.
He also suggested Mote seek a different architect to begin work sooner and the city issue a request for proposals from restaurant operators so it could weigh options.
“I’m as frustrated as all of you should be,” Ward said.
Resident Scott McGregor said during public comment that he and many other residents wanted the city to fill the space with a restaurant instead of the outreach center. He said residents miss the former pier restaurant.
Resident Dan Divine questioned whether Mote could meet its own timeline.
“It’s hard to believe that it’s going to start accelerating at this point,” Divine said.
Short, who attended via Zoom, said he was too concerned with Mote’s lack of production to approve an extension.
“I’m surprised progress isn’t significantly further than where it is,” he said.
Other commissioners also expressed frustration with Mote’s delays but were more forgiving.
Commissioner Robert Kingan said he would support one last extension but if Mote didn’t have an architect signed and engaged by Aug. 18, he would not be willing to grant another.
Commissioner Jonathan Crane said it was not unusual for such projects to take longer than expected.
He supported granting the extension and cautioned placing too many deadlines, saying Mote shouldn’t be penalized if the city causes a delay.
Crane moved to approve the contract extension.
Kingan seconded the motion, which passed.
The commission’s next meeting will be at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 28, at city hall, 10005 Gulf Drive. The meeting will be open to the public. Directions to attend via Zoom can be found at cityofannamaria.com.