Mayor: Palmetto felt left out of regatta, may not participate in 2016

BRADENTON -- The first Bradenton Area Riverwalk Regatta is over and by most accounts it was a success.

Palmetto Mayor Shirley Groover Bryan, however, said her city was left high and dry.

Regatta organizers are celebrating the outcome of the inaugural event but not everyone feels it was a success.

“We’re waiting to hear back from our vendors and businesses. Some of them were really struggling on Saturday and did not have any appreciatory business. Some I spoke to were very disappointed,” said Bryant.

Bryant said she wants to make sure an event like this helps her businesses -- not hurts them. She said road closures and detours kept many people from coming Saturday to Palmetto.

She also said Palmetto was not included in the event the way she hoped it would.

“The way it started out was we were supposed to have a Christian concert in city of Palmetto, and that did not materialize,” she said.

Executive Director David Gustafson of the Bradenton Downtown Development Authority said they tried everything they could to make the concert happen.

“The sponsor fell through for the concert,” he said. “We did everything in our power to try to bring that back but we were unsuccessful.”

Bryant said other things promised to Palmetto never happened.

“The dry dock that was supposed to be available in the city of Palmetto did not materialize,” she said.

Gustafson said this is not true.

“They had the dry dock. That’s where all the boats and the jet skis, which were quite successful and ran incredibly efficient and that was there. So there was a lot of good stuff for the community to go back and forth between both sides of the river,” Gustafson said.

Event organizers are waiting to hear revenue amounts from the regatta as well as the results from an economic impact report being conducted. Gustafson said he wants Palmetto to feel included in the event and will take all their concerns into consideration.

“We want to have as much as we can have in Palmetto. Sutton Park is an amazing place and I think we have a lot of room to grow on both sides of the river,” Gustafson said.

Bryant said she is waiting to hear back from her citizens before she can decide if Palmetto will take part in the regatta next year.“The jury is still out. It’s got to work for our businesses and our residents for me to say it’s a success,” she said.

There will be a meeting March 2 in Palmetto to discuss the regatta. Bryant asks all Palmetto residents and businesses to contact her and give feedback from the event.

This story was originally published February 10, 2015 at 10:33 PM with the headline "Mayor: Palmetto felt left out of regatta, may not participate in 2016."