Re-nourishment fables
To the editor:
Town and County are using fables as scare tactics to get residents to sign easements.
n Fable 1.
“Renourishment is re-named Storm Damage Protection.”
Our Town’s approved Comprehensensive Plan disposes of this false claim. The Comp Plan says all parts of the island are subject to storm surges…”WITH NO PART OF THE TOWN BEING AT NATURAL HEIGHT GREATER THAN EXPECTED STORM SURGES IN MAJOR STORMS.
Please remember that places such as the Red Coconut area has one of our widest beaches, and is growing. Yet, Hurricane Charley inundated it with three feet of water.
Don’t forget that during Hurricane Charley, the Town was flooded from BOTH the Gulf side and the Bay side.
The project manager went on public, recorded messages at two workshops saying
* In the event of a hurricane, all bets are off!”
* “He had NO SCIENTIFIC DATA substantiation storm protection.”
n Fable 2.
“Unless the Town’s beach is artificially widened per the renourishment plan, the town will have no governmental assistance in restoring beach damage.”
Section B of the law gives our current, natural beach assistance. Section B says on ” emergency berm assistance, there is NO PREREQUISITE for qualifying for this sand.” Our beach can be repaired.
n Fable 3.
“There is a fully approved vegetation plan that will allow owners to easily and permanently contain the wide spreading of the planted vegetation.”
There is no firm fixed vegetation plan! The Town’s plan has not been approved by Lee County or the State of Florida. There is no date to approve.
Further the Town’s plan clearly spells out that this vegetation plan is subject to change and WILL be changed.
Is this buying a Pig in the Poke? You do not know what you can get? Hardly.
n Fable 4.
“The renourishment plan had complete outside engineering approvals.”
That could not be more in error.
County’s independent signed engineering report identified only two limited ares of erosion.The Town’s engineering report concurred. Both reports identified all other areas as stable or growing. Those engineering charts, enlarged to five poster boards, were displayed at the Pink Shell Workshop.
The sad fact is that the renourishment plan gave the growing beaches the most sand and gave the skimpiest, eroding two beaches the least sand. That’s what happens when the project manager works without an erosion map. Boutelle admitted he had no erosion map in a Judah meeting when meeting with me and Tom Merrill.
Judah adjourned the meeting, beet red. No erosion map used!
Frank Schilling
239-823-6822