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Tag: Bradenton Beach day dock

Vessels break free, threaten new dock

Vessels break free, threaten new dock

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Bradenton Beach, Community News.

BRADENTON BEACH – Two boats in the unmanaged anchorage near the Bridge Street Pier broke loose Saturday afternoon, one making contact with the new floating dock being installed along the south side of the pier.

Bradenton Beach Police Officer Eric Hill responded to the report of an unmoored sailboat making contact with the pier. He then ensured the vessel was removed from the floating dock area and secured to the nearby dolphin pilings that protect the pier.

Mayor John Chappie said the vessel was tagged and the owner was given five days to retrieve the sailboat. If not retrieved during the allowed time period, the boat will be removed and destroyed.

Later that day, a cabin cruiser broke loose and was redirected to the nearby dinghy dock before it could make contact with the new floating dock.

Hill serves as the city’s primary marine patrol officer and has been at the forefront of the city’s increased enforcement efforts pertaining to the navigable waters near the pier.

State law requires a vessel to be able to move under its own power in order to not be considered a derelict vessel that becomes subject to removal and destruction.

Bradenton Beach day dock settlement

CRA reaches settlement with Technomarine

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Bradenton Beach, Community News.

BRADENTON BEACH – The Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) and Technomarine have negotiated a settlement agreement that if fulfilled should result in the installation of a new floating day dock next to the Bridge Street Pier early next year.

The mutual release and settlement agreement approved by CRA members last week gives Technomarine and CEO Erik Sanderson 45 days to deliver the floating dock decking, hardware and floats needed for installation.

In exchange, Technomarine will be released of any further contractual obligations to the CRA, including the fulfillment of the $119,980 dock project contract the two parties agreed to in early 2017.

“Without any admission of liability, fault or responsibility, the parties desire to settle all their disputes,” the agreement says.

It also includes a provision that says, “The parties agree not to directly or indirectly disparage, discredit or comment upon each other.”

During previous CRA meetings, there was discussion about requesting an Attorney General’s Office investigation into Technomarine’s business practices.

The CRA members approved the proposed settlement agreement during a special CRA meeting that occurred immediately before the Thursday, Dec. 6, City Commission meeting. The agreement was first discussed at the previous day’s CRA meeting. Perry negotiated the agreement with Julianne Frank, the attorney now representing Sanderson and Technomarine.

The agreement requires Technomarine to deliver all dock materials identified in the 2017 contract to the CRA within 45 days of the settlement agreement being executed. Perry said this gives Technomarine until approximately Jan. 20. Pier Team facilitator and Police Chief Sam Speciale is to coordinate the delivery and subsequent installation.

In early November, using GPS data contained in a photograph Technomarine provided the city, Speciale and CRA Chair Ralph Cole found the CRA’s eight, 30-foot dock sections sitting in the storage yard of Hecker Construction Company in Gibsonton. Speciale and Cole were told Hecker had a verbal agreement with Technomarine to install the floating dock, but no installment date had been scheduled. The CRA now intends to use Hecker Construction to install the floating dock, and about $36,000 remains of the funds originally budgeted for the project.

During Thursday’s meeting, Perry said the original settlement proposal called for Technomarine to deliver the docks, hardware and floats within 30 days, but Sanderson requested an extra 15 days to secure delivery of the floats during the holidays. Speciale was recently told the cleats and other hardware were being stored at Technomarine’s warehouse in North Palm Beach.

To date, the CRA has paid Technomarine $83,952. Using resort tax revenues, Manatee County is reimbursing the CRA for half of the contracted project costs.

According to the settlement agreement, no efforts will be made to recoup any money from Technomarine. This includes the $29,961 payment made to Technomarine on July 31, which was supposed to then be resubmitted to Ronautica Marinas, the Spain-based company that manufactured the aluminum-framed, composite decking sections for Technomarine.

The dock sections were shipped to Port Everglades in August, where they sat in limbo for more than two weeks. Ronautica eventually released the dock sections for pickup by Technomarine even though Technomarine still owed Ronautica more than $29,000 for the manufacturing and storage fees. The dock sections were then trucked to Hecker’s storage yard in Gibsonton.

Ronautica Managing Director Oscar Fontan later told The Sun his company intended to file a lawsuit against Technomarine.

In May, the Circuit Court of the 15th Judicial Circuit in Palm Beach County ordered Sanderson and Technomarine to pay contractor Christopher Karch $1.7 million in damages for the $3.8 million lawsuit Karch filed in 2017.

Earlier this year, the city of Pahokee filed a lawsuit against Technomarine seeking the return of $125,000 for an alleged breach of contract regarding the renovation of a municipal marina and campground.

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Digital trail leads to undelivered day dock

CRA declaring Technomarine in default of dock contract

Proof of pending dock shipment received

Bradenton Beach day dock located

Digital trail leads to undelivered day dock

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Bradenton Beach, Community News.

BRADENTON BEACH – City officials have found the undelivered floating day dock and are now cautiously optimistic the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) dock project will be completed.

Police Chief Sam Speciale and CRA chair Ralph Cole found the aluminum-framed dock decking in Gibsonton on Thursday, Nov. 8. This happened one day after the CRA members directed Speciale to use his investigative resources to try to find the undelivered dock sections.

Eight 30-foot aluminum-framed sections of composite dock decking were manufactured in Spain and delivered to Port Everglades in mid-August. On Sept. 25, Technomarine CEO Erik Sanderson sent Speciale an email that said the docks were delivered to a storage yard in Tampa. Sanderson’s email included two photographs of the decking at its undisclosed location and no information on a subcontractor to install the floating dock next to the Bridge Street Pier.

During the Wednesday, Nov. 7, CRA meeting, City Attorney Ricinda Perry noted 10 days had passed since she sent Sanderson and his attorney, Roger Stanton, a letter notifying them the CRA was declaring Technomarine in default of the $119,980 contract agreed to in early 2017.

Perry’s letter gave Technomarine an additional 20 days to cure the contractual concerns before the CRA pursued legal action and/or asked the Florida Attorney General’s Office to investigate Technomarine’s business practices. Sanderson and Technomarine are already named as defendants in multiple lawsuits, including a 2017 suit that resulted in a jury awarding a yet-to-be-paid $1.7 million judgment against Technomarine.

Following a digital trail

During last week’s meeting, some CRA members seemed resigned to the idea that the dock project might be dead in the water and need to be started again from scratch. But member Jake Spooner said he could not accept losing the money, $83,682, the CRA already paid Technomarine.

During public comment, it was suggested that before giving up and pursuing the alternatives, Speciale be asked to call all the marine storage yards in the Tampa area in hopes of finding the undelivered dock components.

Local contractor and marine contractor Billy Cahoon then told The Sun he might know where the dock sections were, based on a photograph he saw in the paper. While the meeting continued, Cahoon was shown the photo Sanderson sent Speciale. Because of the building in the background, Cahoon thought it might have been taken near the Gandy Bridge in Tampa, by Orion Marine Construction and the Hula Bay Club.

City Treasurer Shayne Thompson suggested checking the photograph’s metadata and digital properties for information on where it was taken. The metadata included the longitude and latitude where the photo was taken, which is not always the case with digital photographs.

Using Google Earth, City Planner Alan Garrett retreated to his office and looked up the general longitude and latitude coordinates. Speciale then returned to his own office to research the exact GPS coordinates.

Using Google Earth, Speciale determined the longitude and latitude coordinates were slightly to the east and on the other side of Tampa Bay. When he zoomed in on the exact longitude and latitude, Speciale saw a white cabin cruiser sitting in an outdoor storage yard. When he rotated the view, he saw a building across the street that resembled the building in the photo Sanderson sent him.

That building is home to StorSafeStorage and using that address Speciale and CRA chair Ralph Cole drove to Gibsonton Thursday morning. They found the dock sections across the street sitting next to the cabin cruiser on the grounds of the Hecker Construction Company.

An employee told Speciale the dock sections were delivered two months ago and Hecker Construction has a verbal agreement with Technomarine to install the dock in Bradenton Beach.

While standing next to the dock sections, Speciale called The Sun and said, “We found our dock. We’re standing in front of it and touching it.”

In response to an email Speciale sent Sanderson later that day, Technomarine project manager Vinnie Frega confirmed the storage location – not knowing Speciale had already found it. In another email, Sanderson told Speciale the cleats and other hardware were still at Technomarine’s warehouse in North Palm Beach. Speciale is still awaiting word on where the dock’s pontoon floats are located.

“It was good to see the dock. It’s in good shape. Now we have to go the next step and get it, and I think we will,” Cole said.

Speciale said he’s feeling “cautiously optimistic.”

Perry will prepare for CRA approval a release agreement that if accepted would relieve Technomarine of its remaining contractual obligations. The agreement would assure Sanderson and Technomarine that no additional legal or investigative remedies would be pursued if the dock materials and additional hardware are released to the CRA. Hecker Construction could then install the floating dock as planned, working directly with the CRA.

Related Coverage

CRA declaring Technomarine in default of dock contract

Proof of pending dock shipment received

Day dock project pushed back again

Bradenton Beach day dock shipment

Proof of pending dock shipment received

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Bradenton Beach, Community News.

BRADENTON BEACH – On Monday, July 23, Technomarine Chief Operating Officer Ryan Miller emailed city officials a draft version of a “bill of lading” for the shipment of the premanufactured floating dock sections to be installed alongside the Bridge Street Pier.

Miller’s email was sent to pier team facilitator and Police Chief Sam Speciale, City Treasurer Shayne Thompson and Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) member John Horne.

“Attached you will find the bill of lading for the Trans-Atlantic shipping of the city docks. We anticipate 4 weeks travel time to Florida and will update you if anything happens to change. Please provide payment in accordance with the CRA’s document and let me know when the check will either be mailed to our offices or can be picked up at city hall,” Miller’s email said.

The bill of lading from the Worldwide Container Line is supposed to serve as proof that the dock sections have been shipped by cargo ship from the manufacturer in Spain, but in red letters, the word “draft” appears on the document sent by Miller. The date of issue listed on the bill of lading is July 28 and the “shipped on board” date is also listed as July 28.

This appears to indicate the dock sections are scheduled to be shipped but had not yet been shipped.

This prompted an email from Thompson to Miller that said, “Is this ‘bill of lading’ a preview of the one coming? If not the concerns with this one are:

  • It is marked as DRAFT;
  • It is dated for a time in the future, July 28, 2018;
  • It is NOT signed.”

Within minutes, Thompson received a response from Technomarine representative Anna Bennett that said, “The original bill of ladings get mailed to us international express at the office once they have completed loading/shipped. I always get a copy marked draft until shipment has been completed. This shows the ship, container numbers etc.”

When contacted, Thompson said he still needed input and authorization from the CRA members before he could issue a check to Technomarine. Thompson said he forwarded the draft bill of lading and the email exchanges with Technomarine representatives to CRA chair Ralph Cole.

On June 28, Miller sent city officials an email that said, “The ship will leave Spain on July 7th, I expect to receive the bill of lading by the 12th.”

Ryan had been previously informed that the CRA would not make the requested $29,691 installment payment to Technomarine until a bill of lading was received as proof that the pre-manufactured dock sections were en route to Bradenton Beach.

The CRA entered into the $119,980 contact with Technomarine in early 2017 and the project once anticipated for a possible September 2017 completion has encountered several delays.

Manatee County is reimbursing the CRA for 50 percent of the project costs.

Dated May 25, the most recent project schedule received from Technomarine said the dock shipment would occur between July 16 and Aug. 10; worksite mobilization and delivery of the dock would take place Aug. 13 to Aug 22; installation of the dock sections and support pilings would take place from Aug. 27 to Sept. 7 and project completion and final inspection would occur by Sept. 12.

If the dock sections take four weeks to ship, as stated by Miller, they would arrive in Bradenton Beach on or around Aug. 25 and it is not yet known if the projected timelines can still be met.

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Day dock project pushed back again

Day dock to open in early 2018