St. Pete Beach commission approves scaled rebuild of Mary Pier bait shack
Loading...
Summary
The St. Pete Beach City Commission voted Dec. 16 to rebuild the Mary Pier bait shack, directing staff to seek a scaled-down design after staff and residents argued the structure is culturally and economically important despite a funding gap and FEMA constraints.
The St. Pete Beach City Commission voted unanimously on Dec. 16 to approve rebuilding the Mary Pier bait shack, with direction to scale back the contractor proposal to reduce costs.
Camden Mills, the city’s public services director, told commissioners the structure had been declared substantially damaged by the city building official and FEMA. An updated appraisal placed the building’s value at $210,000; the lowest bid meeting flood-proofing and building-code requirements was $210,682, not including permitting or engineering. Mills said demolition bids were just under $66,000 and the city currently has $144,650 available in insurance proceeds and capital improvement funds, leaving an estimated funding gap the staff flagged for the commission.
“Based on the bids we received, a full code-compliant rebuild would leave a gap,” Mills said, urging direction on whether to pursue demolition or a downsized rebuild that meets FEMA and building-code elevation and flood-proofing requirements. He also noted the submerged-land lease for the pier structure has expired but staff expect an administrative extension from the Department of Environmental Protection while recovery work continues.
Residents, business owners and the leaseholder of the Merry Pier urged the commission to preserve the structure. John Kavanaugh, the pier’s leaseholder, said he and his family rely on the bait shop for income and that the community “miss[es] the pier” and would prefer a functional, more primitive rebuild that reduces specifications and cost.
Commissioner Maldonado made the motion to approve rebuilding the bait shack while asking staff to “look at scaling down what has been presently presented to the commission and to try to maintain whatever we can from that structure.” The motion passed on a unanimous roll-call vote.
What happens next: staff will prepare revised scope options and cost estimates for the commission, coordinating required permits and state coordination (Florida Department of Environmental Protection) and accounting for FEMA’s 50% substantial-damage rule and insurance offsets. The commission’s direction preserves the option to pursue a less elaborate, lower-cost rebuild that still complies with flood and commercial-code requirements.
Clarifying details: staff reported an insurance actual-cash-value figure of $82,000, a low compliant rebuild bid of $210,682, a demo low bid just under $66,000, and a rebuild planning estimate of roughly $250,000 (including permit/plan contingencies). Those numbers were presented by staff as estimates and the commission asked for scaled alternatives and precise permitting costs before final budget commitments.
The commission’s action directs staff to return with narrowed options and cost paths rather than approving a specific expenditure authorization at this meeting.
