Updated June 18 at 11:45 p.m. ANNA MARIA – The new Anna Maria City Pier will reopen at 8 a.m. on Friday, June 19, and Mayor Dan Murphy and city Commissioners Carol Carter and Amy Tripp will be among those on hand to greet the first pier visitors.
Because of the ongoing COVID-19 concerns, Friday’s pier opening will be a soft opening with no ribbon-cutting ceremony and no invited special guests. A more celebratory grand opening ceremony will take place at a future date.
For starters, the new City Pier will be open on a limited basis on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. The pier will remain closed Monday through Thursday and signs will be posted near the pier regarding the limited visitation hours.
“It’s a nice-looking pier and you’re going to be proud of it when you go out there,” Murphy said during the Thursday, June 11 city commission meeting.
“We can expand the hours. This is just temporary,” he said of the initial pier visitation restrictions.
Murphy said the limited visitation hours take into account three factors: the COVID-19 pandemic, the final touch-up work still taking place on the pier and the possibility that the future restaurant and bait shop tenant may soon want to begin the interior buildouts of those city-owned pier buildings.
“It’s a nice-looking pier and you’re going to be proud of it when you go out there.” – Dan Murphy, Anna Maria Mayor
Murphy said there will be one sheriff’s deputy stationed on the pier and another deputy stationed on shore while the pier is open. He said the deputies will use their best judgment as to how many people are allowed on the pier at a time.
Pier lease negotiations
During last week’s meeting, Murphy told the commission his ongoing fact-finding discussions with Ugly Grouper restaurant co-owner Mike Ross are going well.
“We’re to the point now where we’re discussing the maintenance options, who’s going to do what,” Murphy said.
Murphy said he expects Ross to come before the commission in late June or early July with a formal lease proposal.
Pier lease settlement
During last week’s meeting, City Attorney Becky Vose said the settlement discussions with current and soon-to-be former pier tenant Mario Schoenfelder and his attorney have been cordial and remain ongoing, but a proposed settlement figure has not yet been reached.
Schoenfelder recently requested a $65,000 settlement to terminate early his current lease for the old City Pier that expires on Dec. 15. Vose was recently authorized to try to negotiate a lower settlement figure. She told the commission she does not yet have a revised settlement figure to present for commission consideration.
