BRIEF

Street South on March 2.

Undergrounding project expanded

The utility line undergrounding project currently underway in Bradenton Beach along Bay Drive South and Third, Fourth and Fifth streets south will be expanded to include the undergrounding of the utility lines along First Street North as well. On March 1, the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) authorized the work order with JM Undergrounding to be amended to include undergrounding the utility lines along First Street North using the remaining $187,000 in CRA funds previously budgeted for the undergrounding project.

Water taxi agreement on Thursday’s agenda

The Anna Maria City Commission will meet on Thursday, March 9 at 2 p.m. According to the meeting agenda, the commission will conduct a public hearing regarding a replatting request for a property located at 828 Bay Drive S. The commission will discuss a proposed interlocal agreement with Manatee County pertaining to the use of the City Pier as a landing area for the county water taxi service that’s expected to run from downtown Bradenton to Anna Maria, Bradenton Beach and back. The commission will be presented with a city resolution that formally expresses the city commission’s opposition to Senate Bill 714, the proposed state legislation that seeks to preempt vacation rental regulation to the state. The commission will also be presented with a Hurricane Ian-related line item budget transfer request. The consent agenda includes a special event permit request for the Sandbar restaurant’s 35th Annual Easter Egg Hunt scheduled on Saturday, April 8.

Resiliency study sought

The city of Bradenton Beach recently received a $50,000 grant that will be used to contract Colliers Engineering to conduct a citywide resiliency study. Last week, City Attorney Ricinda Perry told the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) and the city commission that having the completed study in place would increase the city’s chance of securing a state-issued resiliency grant or grants to fund the construction of an already-designed resiliency project along Bay Drive South. The Bay Drive South project plans include the installation of a rock and sand berm that would help prevent rising tides, king tides and future sea level rise from spilling over onto Bay Drive South. The resiliency study could also assist the city and the CRA with the pursuit of additional funds for future resiliency projects.