Last summer our white sand beaches were blessed with a new pier.  The Russell Fields Pier was returned to us after a few years of damaged use.  The pier was open just in time for the Fourth of July celebrations, but it wasn’t done.  There was still something missing.

The arrival experience was still broken.  We had a beautiful pier, but in order to get to it, we had to walk around a chain link fence and crushed rock paths.  Well folks, that was all temporary AND necessary for us to enjoy the finished product that will open at the beginning of summer this year.

We’ve talked about the beach front improvements before, but today the actual structural and architectural components of the amenities are really coming together.  While the contract hasn’t been assigned for who is going to run it all, what’s actually going to be there has.

Here are the main components that the new Pier at Pier Park will have.

• Fixed pier ticket booth – a fixed and architecturally beautiful place to purchase your ticket to gain access to the pier.
• Cafe and concessions – expect a burger and sandwich joint along with soft drinks, chips, candy bars and other concessions.
• Bait and tackle shop – rumored to be Half Hitch Tackle, this will be a full blown tackle shop fit with everything you would expect to find at a Pier tackle shop, including those funky lures that are bringing in all the big ones.
• Restroom facilities – nobody likes it when you pee in the water, now we’ll have restrooms that are beautiful to look at (at least from the outside   )
• Beach services – including beach chair rental, jet skis, and parasailing

The new pier at Pier Park has been a huge revenue generator for the City of Panama City Beach, which comes as an always needed shot in the arm when it comes running a city municipality.  The beach improvement amenities will serve as another dynamic source of revenue for the city.  We’ll discuss that in more detail later.

For now, let’s look forward to walking on the large open boardwalk area and having a blast this summer in the warm summer breeze on the Gulf of Mexico with our families.

Every since the new Dan Russell Pier opened at the beginning of July in Panama City Beach, anglers and spectators alike have flocked down the double fly-away plank path to the end to enjoy being 1500 feet into the Gulf of Mexico.  Under construction for a little more than 12 months, the City Pier (as it is known to some) cost around $8 million and was funded by a FEMA grant that was awarded after it was irreparably damaged during a hurricane a few years ago.

Hit the read more link for pictures and video of the ongoing construction and numbers on how many people have been on the pier.

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The plan all along was to have amenities to accompany the new pier.  At the old pier, the city operated a bait and tackle and gift shop at the foot next to Front Beach Road.  That’s all been torn down, but something new is coming.

On schedule for completion by Memorial Day 2010, the pilings are being pounded for a new bait and tackle shop, snack shop, permanent ticket booth and public restrooms.  I haven’t seen the renderings yet, but I would assume that the architectural design will be beachy, reminiscent of the old structures and complimentary to Pier Park. Talking with Paul Casto with the City of Panama City Beach, he was telling me that, since July, around 125,000 people have walked out on the pier.  Out of that 125,000 approximately 1 out of 6 people are fishing.  To date, they have brought in over $300,000 in fee revenue.

Having been under construction for the better part of 18 months, the new City Pier, Russell-Fields Pier is open for business.  The new 1,500 foot pier, located right across from Pier Park opened at first light yesterday to a line of fisher-persons ready to catch anything from Bonita to King Mackeral to sharks. One onlooker said they spotted a 6 footer lurking around the pilings waiting for a stray crippled fish to gobble up.

I won’t go into too many details on the pier, as we’ve covered that, but I will say that it is long, very awesome, and super great to have it back.  I promise, I won’t neglect you new pier, I promise I’ll visit you often!

If you want to fish, the cost is $6 per person, but if you just want to walk out, the cost is $2 with kids 6 and under getting in for free.  The pier is open today, but will close sometime right after sunset for the fireworks display.

I was out there yesterday and they were getting all the fireworks set up, arranging the firing tubes in neat rowes.  “The layout is perfect and the setup is just right,” said “Yankee” Scot Fischer, one of the “technicians” setting up the array of explosives.  He was commenting on the rows of “blow-out” panels that are unique to this particular design of the pier.  They seemed to be the perfect width.  I’ll have more pictures next week of the setup as I’ll be back out there today.

Right about now all Panama City Beach residents should shout, “Finally!” then collectively sigh. By the 4^th of July, Panama City Beach will have the long-awaited Dan Russell Pier re-construction completed, its platform opened, designed to be light-years better and safer than its predecessor.

For those who don’t know much about the new city pier, here is a quick recap: The 8 million dollar structure (the cost for both the county and city piers) was funded by Fema after the previous pier was severely damaged in a hurricane. Designed by Baskerville Donovan, the city pier will extend out over the gulf a lengthy 1500 feet, 29 feet longer than the old pier. The pier stands 8 feet higher than its predecessor and wider at 17 feet. A super-structure, the pier is built to withstand hurricanes of all kinds. Six hundred pound bolted blowout panels line the platform that, when met with storm surge and winds, relieve the pressure on the structure by releasing the panels to safely drift onshore to later be reset. The previous structure also had a T shape at its head. Baskerville Donovan designed the new pier with a much larger head shaped in a rectangle. The rectangular area has a dual purpose of form and function as it accommodates more gazers and fishermen while providing additional protection during storm surge. What may be surprising to some, the pier is turtle friendly. Track lighting embedded into the stone frame, runs down the pier from end to end, eliminating the need for canopy lighting.

Along the Front Beach Road, the pier’s best asset won’t be open until the spring. At nearly 300 feet wide, a boardwalk will be added that could make the pier, coupled with Pier Park, Panama City Beach’s new downtown area. This boardwalk, conformed to potential new form-based design regulations will make room for a ticket booth, a 62ft wide restaurant, a tackle and bait store, public bathrooms and a large outdoor area with umbrella seating for those seeking stellar views. This area will, most likely, wear the same beachy-guise as Pier Park seeming to extend the popular mall to the shore.

Parking for the new pier will line along the roadside and additional overflow parking will be across the street just west of Pier Park’s entrance. Costs will be $6.00 for entrance for fishing and $2.00 for individuals. Senior citizens, military and disabled will receive 50% discounts. Year long passes will be sold for $180.00.

The pier reopening will be heralded by a stunning 4^th of July fireworks display, the perfect kickoff to welcoming back a pier that’s been sorely missed.

Since apparently I’m all about people having to pay more for stuff, you would think that I would agree with Bay County deciding to charge the same fee as Panama City Beach did (and will in the future) for using the pier – and you would actually be correct.  However, not at first.

I’ll be frank, the only real objection I have to paying a fee at a place like this is because I’m not usually carrying cash.  I don’t remember if they accepted credit cards, but who likes to charge a dollar anyway.  Plus, who wants to pay $6 just to take the wife and kids out to the end of the pier for 10 minutes on the remote chance that we’ll actually see a fish that is radical enough to entertain the kids.  I mean, seriously, $6 for something that I’ve already paid for through being a tax-payer?

But, the reality of the situation is that the tax dollars that I’ve put towards (or actually will put towards in the future as I’m sure this was financed through bonds) our new pier(s) is actually going to the construction, not the upkeep.  An article in the paper this morning quoted Mike Thomas as stating that Bay County has never run a pier, they just built M.B. Miller Pier and let it run down.  This brings up an interesting point.

Why did I never go to the county pier years ago even though there is tons of space and could be a perfect place for families to hang what with all the setting areas, boardwalks and wide open spaces?   *pause*  Because it was scary.  That’s right, I said it – SCARY.  With the fees, the county would be able to pay for running operating expenses, such as security and pay staff to be onsite.  Now, I know what some of you are thinking – Eliminate the fees and  pay for the running costs with other county fees, just reallocate, adjust budgets in other categories or fire a couple unneeded people.  I know, I know, sounds like a great idea, but you know that the county doesn’t work that way, in fact what municipality does?  You can’t expect government to pay for something NOT directly associated with it.

So, with that said, knowing that the money can’t come from anywhere else, I totally agree with the usage fee.  I want both piers to be on an equal playing field and I want to be able to use either one safely.  Do I like paying the fee?  Not really, but it isn’t because I’m always broke, its more of just an inconvenience, but I’ll find a few bucks if I want to go to the pier, as long as there will be tons of other people there enjoying it with their families and not a bunch of punk drunks.

The twin county and city piers, dubbed M.B. Miller and Dan Russell, respectively will be identical, measuring 1.500 feet long.  The cost is a little more than they style pier that was there before, but they are designed to sustain damage in a more efficient way in order to minimize the cost of repair in the future.

The fees for access to the pier are $5 per adult fisherman, $2 per child fisherman and $1 if you just want to watch.

Good news! Construction of the City Pier at Pier Park (also known as the Dan Russell Pier) is on schedule. According to Sheryl Woodcock, with the public works department, the pier is 60% complete.

This is great news for everyone. The pier is beloved by locals because it is a great spot to cast a line and catch cobia, flounder, red fish, pompano, king mackerel (and more), and it is a great tourist attraction. The surrounding Aaron Bessant Park is one of the few areas on Front Beach Road with ample public parking and public access to the beach.

The pier is expected to open to the public in June of 2009.

The concrete pier is the longest pier along the Gulf of Mexico. Businesses at Pier Park will surely benefit from day visitors to the pier, as will area restaurants.

The City Pier, directly across from Pier Park is making progress in leaps and bounds.  In just four short weeks, they have doubled the length at which the pier extended into the Gulf of Mexico.

There is still much work to be done, as the project is expected to wrap up early next summer.  Most of the pilings are in, and much of the pier deck is in place.

Moving along as scheduled, the city pier at Pier Park is still set to open spring 2009. With the main platform going on now and pilings being driven as they move out into the water, the pier is definitely beginning to take shape.

Quoted from my previous post:

Construction is “top-down” construction, meaning there will be no barge with a crane in the water driving piles. The crane will “crawl” across the top of the piles that it puts in in order to put the next series of piles. I thought this was pretty cool, as it allows them to continue work even if they have rough seas. Delays will be less likely.

The final design will be around 1,500 feet long and 26 feet off the water. The super-structure design will be different then the last design and should better survive a hurricane or other severe weather. The platform on top of the piles that will be the walkway will not actually be attached to the piles, rather just resting on top of them. Each platform weighs about 600 lbs and will have a setting that will keep them in place, but if significant force should put pressure on them (i.e. hurricane force winds, storm surge, or very rough seas), they can become displaced or even come off completely. This minimizes the damage to the piles (the expensive part) and preserves the overall super-structure.

This all sounds good in theory, but does it actually work? The short answer, yes, it does. Baskerville Donovan has built this design before, and has had the opportunity to see the results of their design after a hurricane. When Ivan hit Gulf Shores as a category 3 Hurricane in September 2004. The Pensacola Pier (designed and constructed by Baskerville Donovan) sustained only $45,000 in damage. The Dan Russell Pier, 100 miles away sustained over $1 million in damage.

End quote.

The county pier still has yet to begin, I’ll have more information on that soon, but I think it has to do with the EPA and turtle season. Stay tuned.

The city pier is well under way with absolutely no activity at the county pier. The last time I posted, I had mentioned that the county pier was to be a few months behind the city but it looks like that is a little off schedule.

Check after the break for more pictures.

I was also under the impression that there was not going to be a barge in the water driving piles.

I had anticipated getting more information from the engineering firm but my calls and emails have not been returned.

I will continue to keep you updated as I have more information.