Manatee County’s proposed Gulf Islands Ferry service might lose a key player before the boats launch.
Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy hinted July 13 at potentially walking away from an interlocal agreement that would allow the county-subsidized service to use the city pier as a water taxi stop.
The county has been working on a water taxi service for years in an attempt to increase multimodal access to the island, which struggles with roadway traffic.
The service will include two 50-foot catamarans operated by Clearwater-based Gulf Coast Water Taxi, which will staff each of the 49-passenger vessels with two crew members.
The ferries comply with the U.S. Americans with Disabilities Act, which ensures accessibility to public accommodations for people with disabilities. Each vessel has a restroom and will provide wireless internet access.
Passengers will be allowed to bring beach gear on the ferries, as well as service animals and “leashed, well-behaved pets … as long as they do not bother other guests,” according to a Gulf Islands Ferry fact sheet.
The county plans for the service to initially operate 10:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Friday-Sunday, ferrying passengers between downtown Bradenton and the Anna Maria City Pier.
Stops are planned in Bradenton Beach, at Coquina Beach and the Historic Bridge Street Pier.
The initial trip — between Anna Maria and Bradenton — is estimated to take 35 minutes.
A one-way trip will cost $5 for children ages 4-12 and $6 for seniors aged 55 and up. Everyone else will pay $8 for a one-way ticket.
The service can accommodate groups, as long as arrangements are made at least two weeks ahead by emailing kristi@gulfcoastwatertaxi.com.
The ferry service is “anticipated to launch later this summer,” according to a July 13 county news release.
Tavares-based Trident Pontoons built and delivered the catamarans, named Miss Anna Maria and Downtown Duchess, to Cortez.
Next a U.S. Coast Guard trial for the service was set to take up to six weeks to complete, after which final run times and ports will be determined.
In the meantime, the county has secured interlocal agreements with the cities of Bradenton and Bradenton Beach but not Anna Maria.
The two sides have been negotiating an agreement for almost a year but may have reached an impasse.
Elliott Falcione, executive director of the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, tasked by the county to lead the ferry service efforts, initially told Anna Maria officials that the fare for island workers would be free.
That item became a central part of city officials’ support for the venture, since they hoped the service would provide a cost-effective alternative for island workers to reach their destinations from the mainland.
When city officials first proposed their terms for an interlocal agreement with the county last September, the terms included a requirement for all fares between Anna Maria and Bradenton to be subject to city commission approval.
Other terms included a requirement for the county to shoulder legal liability for the ferry operation and the cost of any improvements needed at the city pier to accommodate the service, as well as the cost of maintenance for those improvements.
After some back-and-forth, the county revised the proposed agreement and rejected many of the city’s proposed changes, including the provision subjecting fares between Anna Maria and Bradenton to city approval.
In March, the city revised its terms and changed the provision so that only island workers’ fares between Anna Maria and Bradenton would be subject to city approval.
Many of the city’s other terms, such as requiring the county to pay the cost of necessary improvements and maintenance, remained in its revised proposal.
In June, after receiving the county’s response, Murphy said the proposed agreement did not “bear any resemblance to what we sent out.”
Murphy said July 13 that earlier that week the county had sent a newly revised proposal and a proposed landing spot on the pier.
However, he said the proposal was lacking and the county had yet to provide designs or projected costs for improvements needed to accommodate the ferry service.
“There are still some gaps missing,” Murphy said.
City attorney Becky Vose said she had “lengthy discussions” with Falcione and county attorneys about the agreement but was unable to make much headway.
“They unfortunately did not take my requested changes. I won’t say that they didn’t take them seriously, but they didn’t implement my requested changes,” Vose said.
Vose said the city could drop some of its proposed terms but added that she was preparing a “short list” the city should not budge on, including legal liability for the ferry operation.
Murphy said he would bring a “last, best and final proposal” for an interlocal agreement, as well as his recommendation on how to proceed, to the commission’s next meeting. However, he didn’t sound optimistic.
“I have to say, quite frankly, I’m not real satisfied with the terms and conditions,” Murphy said. “I’m hoping that we can successfully do this but, if we can’t, we can’t. There’s some things you need to just walk away from and hope things get better later.”
“There are legal aspects of this contract that, to me and to Becky as well, seem serious and not something that seems to be in the best interest of the city, so those all have to be ironed out,” he added. “But I think we need to get this off the table one way or the other.”
Falcione told The Islander July 14 that he would not address “hypotheticals” such as the city of Anna Maria potentially declining an interlocal agreement with the county.
He also declined to address whether the county would give the city concessions not granted to Bradenton or Bradenton Beach.
“I’m not going to get in the mud with what they want or what we want,” Falcione said. “We’ll get there. … I’m not worried about it.”
The city commission will meet next at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 3, at city hall, 10005 Gulf Drive, for
a third budget meeting followed by a regular meeting.