The first piece of funding for rebuilding the Anna Maria City Pier walkway is locked in.
The city’s $1.25 million appropriation request to fund the walkway rebuild was included in the state’s new $117.4 billion budget that Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law June 30 — only one day before going into effect.
Hurricanes Helene and Milton destroyed the walkway to the pier’s T-end last fall and the structure has been closed since then.
The remainder of the walkway was demolished in June so it can be rebuilt to superior specifications — the same used for the T-end, which remains structurally sound.
Mayor Mark Short has expressed hope to rebuild the walkway by fall 2026 but, until now, the city had yet to secure any outside funding toward the projected $6,862,161-$8,955,000 cost.
The city originally requested $2.5 million in funding from the state to rebuild the walkway but legislators approved half the requested funds in a $117.9 billion budget presented to DeSantis.
While the governor line-item vetoed $567 million from the budget, Anna Maria’s request survived the chopping block.
It is the only appropriation approved for an AMI municipality in fiscal 2025-26.
“We want to thank all those involved in assisting the city in successfully receiving this appropriation and, in particular, state Rep. Will Robinson, for including it in his appropriation request at the state of the budget process, and his and state Senator Jim Boyd’s strong support during the budget process,” Short wrote in a July 3 email to The Islander.
The city will be able to access the appropriation funding Oct. 1.
While the state appropriation is the first piece of outside funding that has fallen into place for the city, other pieces might fall into place soon.
Manatee County Tourist Development Council members unanimously voted in June to recommend county commissioners fund up to $2 million in tourist development tax revenue to rebuild the pier walkway.
The city also is seeking reimbursement funding from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency to complete the rebuild.
Short previously said the number “getting kicked around” with FEMA was $4 million in reimbursement funding, but nothing has been confirmed.