MANATEE -- The Manatee County Commission Tuesday OK'd extended use of Bradenton's old City Hall site as a staging area for the next phase of the Wares Creek flood reduction project.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is in charge of the $51.8 million project, requested that the commission approve a temporary easement of the property at 15th Street West and Manatee Avenue West. The property will be used as a temporary work area beginning Feb. 1 and ending Jan. 31, 2014, according to a resolution unanimously approved Tuesday.

There will be no compensation to the county.

The commission granted the Corps the right to borrow and/or deposit fill, spoil and waste material there, and to move, store and remove equipment and supplies, or perform any other work necessary for the next phase of the Cedar Hammock/Ware's Creek flood control project, according to county documents.

After decades of frustration and waiting on the part of Bradenton residents, dredging finally began in January.

The first phase of the project, which involved dredging and removal of about 30,000 cubic yards of sediment from the flood-prone creek, was completed earlier this year.

For months, the lot where Bradenton's former City Hall once stood bristled with equipment designed to process and remove dredge material. It has now been cleared.

The project is designed to reduce flooding along Wares Creek, which begins at State Road 70 and flows north through Bradenton to empty into the Manatee River.

Sara Kennedy, Herald reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7031. Follow her on Twitter@sarawrites.com.