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VOL 19 No. 35
June 12, 2019
County Commission authorizes removal of six Australian pines The fate of more than 90 additional Australian pines will be decided after the comprehensive report is presented in June. BY JOE HENDRICKS SUN CORRESPONDENT | jhendricks@amisun.com
JOE HENDRICKS | SUN
I+iconSoutheast continues its construction of the primary pier structure, decking and T-end deck area.
Mason Martin Builders selected to build restaurant and bait shop Mason Martin Builders’ $1.04 million bid was the lowest of the four proposals received. BY JOE HENDRICKS SUN CORRESPONDENT | jhendricks@amisun.com
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 $1.48 million, followed by the Burke Construction Group at $1.6 million and Jon F. Swift Construction at $1.68 million. City Clerk LeAnne Addy provided the commissioners with sealed cop-
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famous redfish recipe in Food and Wine. 14
Anna Maria Island, Florida
BRADENTON – Six Australian pines will be removed from the Coquina Beach parking lot for now. County Administrator Cheri Coryea will provide Manatee County Commissioners with a comprehensive project report on Tuesday, June 18. After being presented with the report, County Commissioners will decide how many additional Australian pines will be removed. Coryea provided this information during the commission’s Thursday, June 6, land use meeting. Her update pertained to the 102 Australian pines slated for removal as part of the county’s Coquina Beach parking and stormwater drainage project. “We have an urgent matter we need to address. As you know, we’re reviewing the project of the Coquina drainage. We have received a recent update on some additional trees we may need to remove but we don’t have all of those details. I’m here this morning to ask the board if we can move forward with removing six trees,” Coryea said. “In the original plan, there were 30 trees in that area to be removed. We’re just asking for six at this moment. The six trees in question are in the path of the next area of the stormwater drainage that must be put in,” Coryea said. Five of the six pines being removed are located near the open space and playground at the south end of the beach park. The sixth tree is located further to the north. SEE PINES, PAGE 21
ies 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 SEE PIER, PAGE 23
JOE HENDRICKS | SUN
Five of the six Australian pines being removed are along the left side of this Coquina Beach entrance road.
AUTHOR Peter Kageyama speaks at The Center. 4 BOOGIE-WOOGIE legend
resides in Holmes Beach. 11 The Island’s award-winning weekly newspaper www.amisun.com