Anna Maria officials reset the clock for Mote Marine Laboratory’s educational outreach center at the city pier.
But time is still ticking as the project nears its second-to-last deadline.
City commissioners voted 4-1 March 9 to extend by 14 days a March 10 deadline for Mote to apply for a certificate of occupancy for the outreach center.
Commission Chair Mark Short, who has opposed the outreach center in several previous votes, voted “no.”
Mote reached a contract with the city in September 2021 to lease the 1,800-square-foot empty building on the T-end to house the center.
Plans include live exhibits with about 1,000 gallons of recirculating seawater, as well as several interactive exhibits, such as microscopes and a livestream display of water beneath the pier.
The live tanks will include:
- An invertebrate touch tank where people can touch urchins, sea stars, horseshoe crabs and more;
- A mangrove tank displaying the plants’ importance in local marine ecosystems and containing small fish and shrimp;
- A flats tank, containing gulf killifish and stone crab;
- A tank with marine life from the waters surrounding the island.
Mote failed to meet the lease’s initial March 29, 2022, deadline to complete the interior buildout but commissioners voted in April 2022 to extend Mote’s contract with new deadlines.
Failure by Mote to meet any deadline can result in a vote by city commissioners to dissolve the lease.
Mote met the first two new deadlines and submitted completed plans for the outreach center in October 2022.
While Mote did not submit the required bond documentation until Dec. 16, 2022, the delay did not violate the deadline to begin construction within seven days of the issuance of a building permit — since the city had not issued the permit.
Mote was given 12 weeks from Dec. 16, 2022 — from the issuance of a building permit — to apply for a certificate of occupancy, resulting in the March 10 deadline.
A final deadline requires Mote to open the outreach center within four weeks after the city issues a certificate of occupancy.
Kevin Cooper, Mote’s vice president for communications and strategic initiatives, told commissioners March 9 that Sarasota-based Willis Smith Construction would not meet the March 10 deadline.
He said the delay boiled down to long lead times to obtain electrical fixtures and an air conditioning unit, which led Mote to explore alternative options and resubmit designs for the project.
Cooper asked commissioners for a 14-day extension to March 24 to apply for the certificate.
“We’re on the 1-yard line with this,” he said.
Mote also may ask the city to allow a temporary CO.
Cooper said Mote was working with West Manatee Fire Rescue fire Marshal Rodney Kwiatkowski to finalize plans for fire monitoring systems. Still, they might not be ready by the time Mote applies for occupancy.
He said a temporary certificate would allow Mote to install the live exhibits, which have been constructed off-site, so the marine habitats could acclimate to a new setting while the fire monitoring systems are finalized.
Cooper said he had a “high degree of confidence” that the March 24 deadline could be met. He added that Mote could open the outreach center by the end of April, “if not sooner.”
Commissioner Robert Kingan, who attended the meeting by phone, said he was “delighted” to see Mote within sight of the finish line and wanted to see the project completed.
Commissioner Jonathan Crane moved to approve Cooper’s extension request.
Commissioner Deanie Sebring seconded the motion, which passed.
There was no public comment.
The commission will meet next at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 23, at city hall, 10005 Gulf Drive.
Directions to attend via Zoom can be found at cityofannamaria.com.
In other matters…
Anna Maria commissioners also:
- Unanimously voted to approve a replat application for 828 S. Bay Blvd., subdividing the property into two buildable single-family lots measuring about 50 feet by 200 feet;
- Unanimously voted to take $129,000 from the city’s contingency fund for Hurricane Ian recovery costs. Murphy said the Federal Emergency Management Agency would reimburse about $107,000 of the cost.