Good move by council on beach renourishment at recent meeting
Editor:
Town council invited Steve Boutelle, the project coordinator on beach renourishment, for discussion and questions before contracts are finalized with the county. Mr. Boutelle offered some options to the town that may provide ways to proceed that could go a long way toward satisfying the needs and concerns of all who have been involved in this lengthy process.
Overall, there seems to be a refreshing flexibility that, when combined with forces now in play, may allow this project to happen in more environmentally friendly and lower cost way.
First, there seems to be a newfound openness to allow the project to become less monolithic and more flexible. Instead of an all or nothing situation, it appears it could be downsized to fit the obvious needs. This could be a monumental change toward a true renourishment of what we already have instead of creating the large, artificial beach that has long been considered. A bigger beach for the north commercial area, Lynn Hall Park, and other areas of need could get the go ahead. The rest of the beach could then be handled in a far less intrusive way, requiring far less sand and more closely following the long term historic shoreline. Flexibility may also allow, or even promote, the use of alternative methods for retaining our beach over the long term. Obviously, both costs and the impact would be dramatically less.
Second, Matanzas Pass needs to be dredged and the spoils have to go somewhere very soon. A timely use of this sand could be a huge help in a couple of ways. Unlike scraping sand from other areas for use on our beach, we know the sand quality from Matanzas Pass is the same as we already have on the beach. And, since the dredging barge and pump are already working on the project for the Pass, a simple diversion of the sand to areas where we need it could save millions. Combined with the need for less sand, costs would tumble even more and we would retain our sugar sand beach.
Third, easements from property owners have been a cumbersome issue due to a variety of reasons. Mr. Boutelle acknowledged the project has changed since many easements were signed and expressed a desire to allow those owners who wished to pull out of their agreement to be able to do so. Additionally, he clarified that the permits to do the project could remain intact should the town choose to take over the project without the use of fed funds. There also seems to be a possibility that the town could take over management of the beach if done without the use of fed funds, which could modify the planting and dune requirements that have been of concern to many property owners.
Fourth, at the request of the Mayor, Mr. Boutelle also clarified the situation with FEMA. It appears the only advantage to using federal funds for a managed beach is that the government could replace only the beach sand in the event of a major storm. Property or infrastructure protection is not part of the fed program.
If council moves in the direction Mr. Boutelle seems to have indicated is possible, the path toward a beach renourishment package that can satisfy us all could become a good reality.
Tom Merrill
Fort Myers Beach