The first piece of the funding puzzle is on deck.
Manatee County Tourist Development Council members unanimously voted June 16 to recommend county commissioners fund up to $2 million in tourist development tax funds to rebuild the Anna Maria City Pier.
The pier has been closed since last fall, when hurricanes Helene and Milton destroyed the walkway to the T-end.
The remainder of the walkway will be demolished so that it can be rebuilt to superior specifications — the same used for the T-end, which remains structurally sound.
While Bradenton-based Quality Marine Construction is slated to begin demo work on the walkway before the end of June, nothing has been set in stone for its reconstruction.
Anna Maria Mayor Mark Short attended the June 16 TDC meeting to request $3.1 million from the county toward the $6,862,161-$8,955,000 estimated cost of a new pier walkway.
Short said the municipality already spent $223,000 on engineering and agreed to a $239,500 contract for the walkway demolition.
He said he hopes to rebuild the pier by fall 2026, but funding for the rebuild remains uncertain.
“It’s a puzzle that we don’t yet have the pieces to put together,” Short said.
So far, the city is in the process of requesting funds from several entities, including the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency, the state and county.
Short said the number “getting kicked around” with FEMA was $4 million in reimbursement funding for the walkway rebuild but that was not yet locked in.
Additionally, he said reimbursement funding created a cash flow challenge for the project, since it would not be received until after completion.
From the state, the city requested $2.5 million in appropriations funding.
State legislators approved a $1.25 million appropriation — half the requested amount — toward the rebuild for inclusion in the $115.1 billion budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year.
However, the fate of the budget now rests in the hands of Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has line-item veto power.
DeSantis has until July 2 to act on the proposed budget, so until then the city’s appropriation remains uncertain.
If the appropriation is approved, the city will be able to access that money by Oct. 1.
Short did not request a specific dollar amount during the presentation, but the $3.1 million request he included is based on estimated expenditures for the rest of the year.
He said the city estimates to spend $1.1 million between the demo and T-end remediation by the end of September and another $2 million between October and December for driving piles.
According to Short’s presentation, the city plans to request an additional $4.9 million from the county and TDC for estimated rebuild costs next year.
Rebuild costs are estimated to include:
- $347,661-$400,000 for inspections, permitting and design work;
- $239,500-$275,000 for demolition;
- $4.7 million-$6.17 million for construction, including pilings, bents, stringers and permit fees;
- $650,000-$900,000 for repairs to the T-end from a barge, including deck, buildings, roofing, lighting and electrical;
- $75,000-$100,000 for pavilion repairs.
TDC member and Bradenton Mayor Gene Brown questioned how much Anna Maria will be able to contribute to the rebuild.
However, Short said he could not provide an answer until the puzzle for external funding from FEMA and the state gets solved.
“We know we’re going to have skin in the game,” he assured.
Elliott Falcione, executive director of the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, suggested the TDC recommend county commissioners approve up to $2 million in tourist tax money toward the rebuild.
He added that any funding agreement would contain a restrictive covenant for the county to build a water ferry landing at the pier.
Brown made the motion to recommend $2 million toward the rebuild. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.
The recommendation will be presented to the county board of commissioners this summer.
The TDC will meet next at 9:30 a.m. Friday, Aug. 18, at the Center of Anna Maria Island, 407 Magnolia Ave., Anna Maria.
Joint meeting
The pier matter also came up during a June 18 joint meeting between city and county officials, who expressed support for funding.
County Commission Chair George Kruse attended the meeting, while Commissioners Tal Siddique and Carol Ann Felts attended via speakerphone.
Short and City Commissioners Charlie Salem, Christopher Arendt and Kathleen Morgan-Johnson attended the meeting in person.
Short gave the same presentation at the joint meeting as he did to the TDC.
Kruse said the county could front the capital needed for the project and voiced his “full support” for the rebuild.
He said the city pier was important for the area and Pine Avenue and the city of Anna Maria as a whole was losing visitors because of its closure.
“This has to be rebuilt,” Kruse said. “We want to get this thing done. … Let’s make sure this pier comes back the way it was but better.”
Siddique said he wanted to meet Short’s proposed timeline for completing the rebuild.
“It is really encouraging to hear your commitment on the county funding and working with us to help make sure this process doesn’t slow down for the indecision around funding that’s just kind of natural around a project of this size,” Salem said.