Anna Maria officials will have a choice between contractors to demolish the destroyed City Pier walkway.
City staff opened a pair of bids May 16 from Washington-based Ballard Marine Construction LLC and Michigan-based Quality Marine Construction Inc. that were submitted in response to the municipality’s request for proposals to complete the demolition.
The pier walkway was destroyed last fall by Hurricane Milton and the city plans to demolish the remainder of it so the walkway can be rebuilt with superior materials. Milton also destroyed the privately owned Rod & Reel Pier to the north.
The city published its RFP on the city pier in April and held an April 23 mandatory pre-bid walkthrough that 10 contractors attended.
In addition to Ballard and Quality’s bids, the city received two bids after deadline — one from Bradenton-based Tangerine Group Inc. and another from Fort Pierce-based Underwater Engineering Services Inc.
Those bids were rejected since they were not submitted on time.
Between the two properly submitted bids, Quality’s total bid price is $239,500 and Ballard’s is $2,197,658.15 — almost 10 times higher than Quality’s bid.
City commissioners will discuss the bids at their next meeting, set for 10 a.m. Thursday, May 22, at city hall, 10005 Gulf Drive.
Directions to attend the meeting via Zoom can be found on the city’s website, cityofannamaria.com.