BOCC and Beach Council agree on re-nourishment option
Beach re-nourishment was the main focus among the four topics at the scheduled joint meeting of the Lee County Board of County Commissioners and the Fort Myers Beach Town Council Tuesday in downtown Fort Myers. The two groups also discussed environmental issues, Estero Boulevard’s short- and long-term planning and public transportation.
Due to the inability to secure enough easements from FMB beach front property owners, county and town officials agreed with the direction of choosing a different alternative (Option #C) to the original 4.6-mile project, one that would design and construct a modified project without federal funding and center on the primary county coastal infrastructure including Lynn Hall and Bowditch Beach parks and the navigational channel into Matanzas Pass.
Both county and town boards decided Monday -during separate entity meetings- the modified plan was better suited for the current situation before coming to a group consensus Tuesday. The plan now is to try to secure more easements before the third week of January and a possible vote to pass Option #C.
The other two options available to consider would have been to a) terminate the project work or b) construct the project. Option #A would have released the state DEP appropriations for other Florida beach projects and kept the vulnerability of the critically eroded shoreline on the north end of the island. Option #B would have caused the previous project to be more costly, complicated and less effective with gaps and increased county funding. It included finalizing construction plans and hiring a contractor to build the project with whatever obtainable easements.
“There was approximately 12 to 14 parcels that had either rescinded their easement or said no,” said BOCC Chair Tammy Hall. “But recognizing that, we would not engage in a federal project. It would be a state navigation project and Tourist Development Council project. Recognizing that we couldn’t make the whole project work, we had to down size based on the budget we could afford.”
Due to the modified version, the cost of the project will now be cut from more than $10 million to roughly $4 million.
“I think it’s evident that it’s unfortunate that the Fort Myers Beach community will remain vulnerable and exposed to be not eligible for future FEMA funding,” said Lee County Commissioner Ray Judah. “But, we need to protect the public assets such as Bowditch and Lynn Hall parks and the fishing pier.”
There was some unsuccessful discussion on ‘voluntary duning’ which was inconsistent with Lee County’s comprehensive plan that requires dunes and vegetation to be planted. Another discussion centered on the second critically eroded part of the island -the Newton Park property are- but without easement securing in that area, the problem still exists.
“If we don’t find away to protect that area, which is right in the center of the island, a storm can eventually cut our island in half,” said FMB Councilman Tom Babcock.
Even though the previous plan called for beach nourishment efforts as far south as Sterling Avenue, Judah is still optimistic the modified version will help the island’s most eroded area.
“There is certainly a strong likelihood that we will be able to move forward with the beach re-nourishment project from Bowditch to and including the fishing pier and, quite possibly, further south predicated on securing additional easements,” he said.
In late April, the county executed an inter-local agreement (ILA) with the town “to define roles and responsibilities for implementation” of the long-standing original project. Key parcels on Fort Myers Beach were identified and easements were solicited. Since then, three mailings, one workshop, one radio show and more than 24 meetings with individual property owners as well as a easement rescission clause were involved in the project’s scope. As a result, the percentage of easements went from 63.4 to 42.4 to 49.7, according to county records.
Since there was difficulty securing easements and the expiration of a $2 million Department of Environmental Protection state fund for the project at the end of 2009, both groups of officials decided to choose the modified project which would “reduce the dredge frequency requirement of the channel” and “stabilize the northern end of the island by construction of the terminal groin.”
Beach Mayor Larry Kiker said the proposed groin should be considered an important part in the scope of this modified project because of its protection of Matanzas Pass.
“This is an introduction of what I would call new technology,” he said. “I’m hoping there will be money made available to look at and invest in this technology so that we really don’t have to go through this type of program again. We’re looking forward to this being done in a natural process.”