Mayor to ask for help from tourism board for new day dock

Bradenton Beach Mayor William Shearon plans on seeking financial help from the Manatee County Tourist Development Council for replacement of a parallel day dock damaged in June by Tropical Storm Colin.

Elliott Falcione, executive director of the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, said in a Sept. 17 email to Shearon that his office understands that the Bradenton Beach mayor needs to repair the damaged dock and “would like to add a parallel dock in order to be able to service future water taxis.”

“A water taxi program is important to our multimodal transportation initiatives, so our department will consider asking the TDC for a partnership recommendation so you can meet your short-term pier objectives,” Falcione wrote.

Falcione added that he needs to confirm with his legal department that tourism tax monies can be used for a parallel day dock.

“The Bradenton Beach initiative is in its conceptual infancy stage,” Falcione said. “It’s just a conceptual partnership that the mayor and I have discussed and I said, if it’s a legal use of dollars and the city is willing to foot 50 percent equity in it based on the budget price, I would consider recommending to the TDC that we put up to 50 percent of the project costs.”

Shearon said the estimated budget for the replacement of the day dock is $250,000 and he plans on asking the TDC for matching funds to reimburse the city for up to $125,000. If the cost goes to more than $250,000, the mayor said the city would pay the difference. He said he’s been working with Falcione on the city’s mooring field (water just outside the pier), the day dock and the possibility of a parking garage.

“The dock is still there. It was damaged but we had, for lack of a better term, a quick fix to get us by until we can get in something new,” Shearon said. “We are really replacing the day dock and extending it the full length of what was permitted by DEP (Florida Department of Environmental Protection). I believe it was 220 feet before we lost it in a prior storm and never had the funds to replace it because at that time we were doing the pier renovation.”

The floating day dock, which runs parallel to the Historic Bridge Street Pier, was closed for weeks after Tropical Storm Colin due to the damage caused by two boats that crashed into it and sunk.

In late June, it was reopened to the public.

Shearon said he is working on materials to present before the TDC at its next meeting, which is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Oct. 17 at the Manatee County Chambers.

This story was originally published September 30, 2016 at 3:02 PM with the headline "Mayor to ask for help from tourism board for new day dock."