ANNA MARIA – Frank Agnelli’s Mason Martin Builders is the city’s top choice to construct the restaurant and bait shop at the T-end of the new Anna Maria City Pier.
Based on Mayor Dan Murphy’s recommendation, city commissioners voted 5-0 in support of the mayor entering into contract discussions with Mason Martin Builders’ owner Frank Agnelli. That vote occurred during a six-minute emergency commission meeting on Thursday, June 6.
The city received four bids in response to its recent invitation to bid and request for proposals (RFP). Mason Martin Builders submitted the lowest bid at $1.04 million. D.L Porter Constructors’ bid was second lowest at $1.486 million, followed by the Burke Construction Group at $1.609 million and Jon F. Swift Construction at $1.688 million.
City Clerk LeAnne Addy provided the commissioners with sealed copies of the bid proposals during the previous week’s emergency meeting and the bids were made public during Thursday’s meeting.
Before making his recommendation, Murphy said the RFP states the contract will be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder as determined by the city to be in the city’s best interests.
Murphy said he defined the best interests of the city as having the ability to quickly get started, having the ability to complete the project and a reputation for completing projects, having a vested interest in the project and taking into consideration the city’s interests at every step of the way.
“Having taken all that into consideration, I can give you a recommendation. My recommendation is that we go with Mason Martin,” Murphy said.
Commissioner Doug Copeland and commission chair Brian Seymour said they supported the mayor’s recommendation.
“They came up number one in my choices. They’re local, all the subs will be local and it makes sense to me,” Seymour said.
Commissioner Carol Carter said Mason Martin appeared to have the most thoroughly thought out response. Seymour agreed and said that helped him make his decision.
Copeland made the motion to authorize Murphy to attempt to negotiate a contract with Mason Martin and the commission unanimously supported that motion.
The negotiated contract terms must be brought back to the commission for final approval.
If those negotiations prove unsuccessful, Murphy would then seek commission authorization to attempt to negotiate a contract with the commission’s next highest-ranked firm, which was not determined at Thursday’s meeting.
Post-meeting comments
Last summer, Agnelli and his crew removed the engraved wooden planks from the old pier so they could be returned to those who previously purchased them from a third-party. Agnelli did that at no cost to the city. The unclaimed planks will be repurposed as memorial walls or for some other public use.
After Thursday’s meeting, Agnelli commented on the commission’s decision.
“I’m glad I got the job, I’m glad this gets to stay local and we’ll get it done quicker than anyone else. It’ll be great to have my name on it for my kids to see, so I’m pretty happy about that too,” he said.
Murphy congratulated Agnelli and said, “I look forward to working with him. We know each other pretty well and I look forward to a good relationship and a successful conclusion.”
Regarding last year’s plank removals, Murphy said Agnelli did it out of the goodness of his heart.
Murphy said it was too early to know exactly when the construction of the restaurant and bait shop spaces will begin.
I+icon’s construction of the pier structure, decking and T-end deck area is scheduled for completion on Aug. 27. I+icon did not bid on the construction of the restaurant and bait shop spaces to be built according to design plans created by architect Barron Schimberg.
Murphy said he expects to meet soon with current pier tenant Mario Schoenfelder regarding his financial contribution to the interior build-out of the restaurant and bait shop. Schoenfelder’s current pier lease with the city expires in December 2020 and he is being asked to contribute to the pier project if wants to remain on the pier beyond that.
Murphy estimated the final cost of the entire pier project will now exceed $5 million.
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