A month after Manatee County’s Gulf Islands Ferry lost a temporary dock in Anna Maria, concepts of a new pier have surfaced.
City commissioners were set to discuss at a Feb. 27 meeting a county proposal to build a new pier to accommodate a larger ferry, according to Mayor Mark Short.
The ferry docked at the Anna Maria City Pier before the structure’s walkway was destroyed by Hurricane Milton. Following the storm, the ferry docked at a pair of temporary barges provided by the state to aid in hurricane recovery.
The county planned to keep the barges in place until the city pier walkway was rebuilt, but a $500,000 monthly rental cost resulted in the barges’ removal in January.
The ferry service currently consists of two vessels that operate between downtown Bradenton and Bradenton Beach.
Last year, the county commission voted to spend $3 million in tourist tax funding to build a third, larger vessel to carry passengers between downtown Bradenton and Anna Maria. The two smaller vessels then would be used to ferry passengers between island stops.
However, even before Milton damaged the Anna Maria pier, its dock would not accommodate the larger vessel — so the county proposed the new pier on the shore between the city pier and Lake Lavista inlet to the north.
Short told The Islander Feb. 23 that any county proposal would need to be workshopped and would require city commission approval.
The item is on the agenda for the 1 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 27, commission meeting at city hall, 10005 Gulf Drive.
Directions to attend the meeting via Zoom can be found on the city’s website, cityofannamaria.com.