More than 300 people have called, written to or stopped by city hall to give Mayor Dan Murphy their recommendation for the future of the engraved Anna Maria City Pier planks.
And that doesn’t account for the people who are contacting pier management directly or The Islander, the engraved plank sponsor.
The project came about as a partnership between the pier and The Islander for the 2011 pier centennial.
The planks that currently line the Anna Maria City Pier will be removed and replaced as part of the city’s efforts to rebuild the pier after it was damaged in Hurricane Irma.
However, what to do with the engraved planks has remained undecided. Murphy created an email address for people to send in their suggestions — piermemorialplanks@cityofannamaria.com — and he says they certainly have done so.
Popular recommendations, Murphy said Nov. 2, include returning the planks to the people who purchased them, building a boardwalk in the city or repurposing the wood inside the City Pier Restaurant when it reopens.
Murphy said that last option appeared to be the most popular.
“I really like that idea,” he agreed, adding that the engraved planks could be used for paneling on the walls or to rebuild the bar.
He said he would bring options to the city commission at its next meeting, set for 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 9, at city hall, 10005 Gulf Drive.
However, Murphy also warned there is a “significant cost” associated with repurposing the planks and some may be too damaged to be reused.
In addition to questions about what to do with the old planks, islanders have raised concerns about what will replace them.
The commission approved a plan Oct. 17 to rebuild the pier to last for 75-100 years, at a cost of approximately $5 million.
In the plan, Ayres Associates, the Tampa-based engineering firm hired for the pier project, recommended using lumberock material instead of wood for the planks, suggesting it has a longer useful lifespan.
However, in an Islander poll conducted on Facebook, a majority of respondents prefer wood planks.
Murphy said Oct. 27 the city had not committed to lumberock.
If the city elects to use wooden planks, he said, the difference would be that the planks would have to be replaced sooner.