2nd workshop on Anna Maria City Pier’s T-end to be determined

The discussion about the future of the Anna Maria City Pier’s T-end is far from over.

Mayor Mark Short announced Feb. 12 that the city will hold another workshop about how to use the T-end building vacated by Mote Marine Laboratory.

The pier closed in 2024, after hurricanes Helene and Milton destroyed its walkway and left the T-end inaccessible.

Last year, the city hired Gibsonton-based Tampa Bay Marine to demolish what remained of the walkway and rebuild it with better materials, including concrete pilings.

So far, the contractor has driven all walkway pilings and is in the process of cutting them down to size so they can be connected with bents and stringers.

When the walkway is rebuilt, the city will turn its focus to repairing the T-end, which also sustained damage from the 2024 storms.

The pier is slated to reopen this fall.

The work is projected to cost $7,139,500-$7,820,000 and will be funded with $3,597,653 from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency, $2,000,000 in tourist development taxes from Manatee County and $1,250,000 in state appropriations.

While the state appropriation is in the books, the other funding sources have taken longer to secure.

The city recently received the FEMA funding, according to Short, but the county money was not confirmed until the Manatee Board of County Commissioners voted 6-1 on Feb. 10 to approve an interlocal agreement to fund up to $2 million of the pier rebuild.

County Commissioner Amanda Ballard voted “no,” citing concerns about the city’s lack of commitment regarding using the rebuilt pier as a stop for the Gulf Islands Ferry service.

While work on the walkway rebuild continues, the city is trying to determine a use for the T-end’s now-vacant building.

The municipality hosted a Jan. 27 workshop to collect public input on the matter and fielded multiple calls to bring back a full-service restaurant to the T-end.

Short said at the Feb. 12 meeting that another workshop would be scheduled to discuss the matter, but he included discussion on the agenda so he could gather commission input following the first workshop.

He added that he was not a “believer” in committees and has not entertained a committee to determine the future of the T-end.

Commissioner Christopher Arendt said the board needed to answer two questions before moving forward:

• Do they want the pier to serve as a landing site for the county’s ferry service?
• Do they want to keep the vacant Mote building enclosed or open it up to allow for more outdoor seating?

Arendt added that there are overcrowding and safety concerns that must be considered if the commission decides to allow the pier to be used as a landing site.

Commissioner John Lynch, who attended via speakerphone, argued they should keep the ferry landing conversation separate from the T-end discussion.

“I think focusing on what we want to do with that pier, and the functional use of the end of that pier, takes precedent over the ferry discussion,” he said. “That is the first order of priority. And then the second order of priority is, given that, what is the best way to handle the ferry discussion?”

Short noted that the county commission expressed concern about the city’s lack of commitment about a ferry landing but he agreed with Lynch.

“We have to do what we believe is the right thing for our pier,” Short said. “The water ferry landing needs to accommodate our pier, not the other way around.”

Commissioner Charlie Salem encouraged the public, including county officials and staff, to attend the city’s next workshop on the matter.