The Anna Maria City Pier is set to be the first island stop for Manatee County’s Gulf Islands Ferry program.
City commissioners unanimously voted Sept. 21 to approve an interlocal agreement and improvement plan to allow the county’s ferry to use the city pier as a ferry station.
The county had already inked interlocal agreements with the cities of Bradenton and Bradenton Beach, so Anna Maria’s signoff wraps up about a year of negotiations.
Over that time, the two sides have whittled down terms and revisions for an agreement that Mayor Dan Murphy endorsed in August.
The endorsed agreement has six terms, which include:
- Requiring any water ferry route to include the city pier for both departure and arrival from downtown Bradenton. Eliminating that route would constitute grounds for terminating the agreement;
- Requiring the county to ensure accessibility under the U.S. Americans with Disabilities Act, which guarantees access to public resources for disabled people, by paying for and constructing necessary improvements to the city pier dock;
- Requiring the county to maintain legal liability of the ferry service, including in the case of negligence or intentional acts by its operator;
- Requiring the county to provide a detailed plan and cost subject to city commission approval for any required ADA-related improvements to the pier;
- Requiring the county to shoulder the cost of creating ADA-compliant dockage and subjecting the city to subsequent maintenance costs;
- Subjecting the annual budget for the ferry service to county commission approval and the annual budget for maintenance of ADA-related improvements to the city.
Despite Murphy’s endorsement of the agreement, city officials were not satisfied with the county’s original plans for improvements to accommodate the ferry service at the pier.
The county’s plans involved installing a floating dock perpendicular to the pier’s existing boat landing and a railing along the edge of the T-end closest to the dock.
The proposed floating dock would have been anchored with wooden piles and blocked off by a locked gate at the pier landing and was estimated to cost $300,000.
Murphy met with county officials in August to provide feedback, calling for a new proposal.
After a month, the county provided new plans, which involve installing two composite pilings along the pier’s existing landing — not driven into the seabed — as bumpers for the ferry.
The plans also involve the use of a 7-foot-long gangway ramp to provide a walkway on and off the ferries.
The improvements are projected to cost about $10,000.
Murphy said the decreased cost was important since the city must pay for the improvements if it decides to terminate its agreement with the county. He called the previous plan’s $300,000 improvements a “ransom payment.”
He added that the installation of bumper pilings along the pier landing was a “pretty good idea for docking” and the use of composite pilings, which are stronger and more durable than wood, would keep maintenance costs low.
“It isn’t exactly what we want. Our discussions have been around a taxi that would bring workers across and relieve congestion and traffic. Is it that? No, it’s really not that. But is it a step in the right direction of us getting to that? Yes. And if they decide not to ever get to that, can we get out of this contract? Yes,” Murphy said.
“They need the city of Anna Maria far more than we need them.”
Commissioner Charlie Salem lauded Murphy for his work with the county to secure improvements at a lower cost but said the city should keep an eye on the ferry’s impact.
“Is this going to really deliver for the people who live here and work here?” Salem asked. “Three days a week service doesn’t get that done now but hopefully it will in the future. If it doesn’t — I’ll speak for myself — this isn’t the kind of thing I think we should be spending any money on.”
Commissioner Jonathan Crane said he’d like the city to have ongoing conversations with the county about increasing the days of service.
“We all believe that the water ferry would be a better vehicle for helping to ease congestion and getting workers out here if it ran seven days a week,” Crane said.
“We need to be steadfast on, ‘This is the long-term goal. We’ll accept this as an interim, short-term taxi, but long-term we want seven days a week. We want to focus on what’s going to help our residents and what’s going to help our workers.’ … That’s the problem I’m hoping this thing can solve,” Murphy agreed. “If they can’t solve it, let them go to Bradenton Beach.”
There was no public comment.
The commission will meet next at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 19, at city hall, 10005 Gulf Drive.
Directions to attend via Zoom can be found on the city’s website, cityofannamaria.com.
More about the upcoming ferry service…
Manatee County’s Gulf Islands Ferry service is the culmination of years of talks about adding multimodal access to the island, which struggles with roadway traffic.
Gulf Islands Ferry service will operate two 50-foot catamarans in an agreement with Clearwater-based Gulf Coast Water Taxi, which will staff each of the 49-passenger vessels with two crew members.
The service will initially operate 10:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Friday-Sunday, ferrying passengers between downtown Bradenton and the Anna Maria City Pier.
Future stops are planned for Bradenton Beach, at Coquina Beach and the Historic Bridge Street Pier.
The initial trip — Bradenton to Anna Maria— is estimated to take 35 minutes. A one-way trip will cost $5 for children ages 3-11 and $6 for seniors aged 55 and up. Children under the age of 3 ride free.
Everyone else will pay $8 for a one-way ticket.
Passengers will be allowed to bring beach gear on the ferries with them, 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 service can also accommodate groups, as long as arrangements are made at least two weeks ahead by emailing kristi@gulfcoastwatertaxi.com.
The ferry was anticipated to launch this summer but had not started service as of Sept. 23.
Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau director Elliott Falcione did not commit to a new timeline in recent communications with The Islander.
— Ryan Paice