Finger dock installation expected soon RED TIDE REPORT

Permit issues have delayed the dock expansion project first contracted in late 2021.

BY JOE HENDRICKS SUN CORRESPONDENT | jhendricks@amisun.com

BRADENTON BEACH – The city’s Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) plans to move forward with the long-delayed installation of nine finger docks that will extend perpendicular to the existing floating dock next to the Bradenton Beach Pier.

On Feb. 1, the CRA members authorized City Attorney Ricinda Perry to move forward with the project even though she and the CRA have thus far been unable to secure an Army Corps of Engineers permit that would also allow the existing floating dock to be expanded to the east, toward the T-end of the pier, to accommodate four additional finger docks.

Perry said the CRA is permitted to install finger docks to the existing floating dock that will extend southward from the floating dock. Perry still hopes to secure the Army Corps permit that would allow for the dock expansion and additional finger docks, but she and the CRA members don’t want to continue delaying the project while waiting for the additional Army Corps permit.

In late 2021, the CRA entered into a $595,905 contract with Duncan Seawall to complete the dock expansion project that also includes the alreadycompleted replacement of the nearby public dinghy dock.

The prefabricated finger docks, built by Golden Marine, have been sitting in storage for several months and Perry said Duncan Seawall hopes to begin the finger dock installations in March.

Using tourist development tax revenues, Manatee County will reimburse the CRA for 50% of the dock project costs. The floating dock is now expected to serve as a landing area for the downtown Bradenton to Anna Maria Island water taxi service that Manatee County hopes to launch in 2023.

High (respiratory irritation, shellfish harvesting closures, fish kills, water discoloration)

Medium (probable respiratory irritation, shellfish harvesting closures, fish kills)

Low (possible respiratory irritation, shellfish harvesting closures, fish kills)

Very low (possible respiratory irritation)

Background (no effects)

None (no red tide present)

Red tide low

The organism that causes red tide, Karenia brevis, was observed at background to low concentrations in Manatee County water samples last week, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).

The Rod and Reel Pier had very low concentrations, which could still cause possible respiratory irritation. No red tide was present at Longboat Pass or near the Palma Sola Bay Bridge, and no fish kills or respiratory irritation were reported at Coquina Beach in Bradenton Beach, according to the Mote Marine Laboratory Beach Reporting System.