Bradenton to decide in early April about regatta's future

BRADENTON -- Bradenton officials will soon decide about whether they want the Bradenton Area Riverwalk Regatta to return next year.

Bradenton City Council was told at its Thursday workshop that they will soon be asked to come back with a decision about the regatta. The council instructed city staff to have the item be added to its meeting in the first week of April.

"There were so many positives to it, you've got to move forward," Ward 2 Councilman Gene Brown said. "Hopefully, the whole community will take that and buy into it and move forward."

The inaugural regatta was held Feb. 7.

City clerk and treasurer Carl Callahan said the regatta promoter was in last week and will want an answer "pretty quickly."

Ward 3 Councilman Patrick Roff expressed his concerns with how the Bradenton Downtown Development Authority Executive Director Dave Gustafson focused on the regatta for the entire year.

"The purpose of the DDA

is to address slum and blight and that was not done," he said.

The city of Palmetto, which has complained about not receiving equal economic benefits, is making its decision about the regatta, Bradenton Mayor Wayne Poston said.

"We need to make ours, too, before not too long," he said.

Poston said there are three or four other communities want to use the boats in a similar event.

"We want to be the first on the circuit," he said. "We need to make that decision."

Ward 4 Councilman Bemis Smith said the city should make its decision soon.

"It is in our interest to decide quickly regardless of how you stand on it," he said.

Claire Aronson, Manatee County reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7024 or at caronson@bradenton.com. Follow her on Twitter @Claire_Aronson.

This story was originally published March 20, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Bradenton to decide in early April about regatta's future ."