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Emergency BCC Meeting - 8/1/05

For The Health Of It avatar
For The Health Of ItBeach FanaticLocked
29,304 views
After much work today, County Commissioner Ken Pridgen has requested an emergency BCC meeting to take place on Monday, August 1, 2005 at 5:00 p.m. in the South Walton Annex. The sole topic will be the horrendous use of the brown muck that was placed at Blue Mountain Beach.

We need a full house in attendance. If you are concerned over the photo's of Brown Mtn Beach and concerned about the direction our county and the beaches are heading than please make your presence felt monday.

If you have any further questions, please contact ed berry at 267.0558 or ed@shopforthehealthofit.com

Replies

187
SandieBeach Comber
#2
Re: Emergency BCC Meeting

I hope that the house is full for this meeting. What they have done to the beaches is horrible. Hope everyone remembers this when it's time to elect the new officials. There's always a way to show folks how you feel, esp. when they don't seem to listen.
wetwillyBeach Fanatic
#3
Re: Emergency BCC Meeting

Hopefully as a result of the flood of emails and calls and the emergency meeting on the 1st, the commissioners will take action and get the contractors to take this subgrade brown sand off the beaches and bring in the 6.2 grade sand as specified. This brown "dirt" is obviously not what the 7/21 letter issued by the commissioners office specified as acceptable.
saj300Beach Comber
#4
Re: Emergency BCC Meeting

As a frequent visitor to the area, I was shocked by the pictures as well. I emailed the county commissioners today, and quickly received a response from one of them, stating that she was against the brown sand. While many of us visitors won't be able to attend the meeting, I hope that they take into account the letters we sent, and that the locals that are able to attend make all our voices heard. Thanks to those of you in the area who are fighting this fight.
JB avatar
JBBeach Fanatic
#5
Re: Emergency BCC Meeting

That isn't even sand. It's dirt.

Is it too late to remove the sand and replace it with something that falls under the guidelines? Will they do this, or just allow that section of beach (where I happen to spend three weeks a year) to be permanently ruined?

Inquiring minds want to know.
aquaticbiology avatar
aquaticbiologyfishlips
#6
Re: Emergency BCC Meeting

just time for a quick science experiment for the meeting - kurt, you will probably want to take photos of this for documentation with date and time displayed - grab a handful of the dirt and drop it into a mason jar of water. shake well, label and leave overnight to settle - see just how much is 'white' sand in case they say there's more 'white' sand content than there obviously is. bet you 5 bucks it's mostly decomposed peat and its about 5% white sand. also, if you can do it before the meeting, check for radon gas emmission from the dirt - should be a lot more than real beach sand - thus backing up the claim that the soil is 'harmful' as well as just ugly. one more quick exibit for the meeting (with photos for documentation of how it was made) - take a cardboard box top (about 2*3 feet) and place a 1" deep layer of white beach sand on the right side and a 1" deep layer of the dirt on the left (sinister) side. contrast is everything - johnny gloves would have put little cutouts of children playing in the white sand side but that may be a bit overkill for this meeting

marine and aquatic biology lawsuits totally rule and this is really close to the perfect panicked screwup. screw em back, hard!
aquaticbiology avatar
aquaticbiologyfishlips
#7
Re: Emergency BCC Meeting

be the 'sensible' complainant, hustle outside any loudmouths unless the panel just won't listen or appear bought off, and if the latter is the case, then call in the press with suggestive implications and bring the loudmouths back in en masse

rest in peace, johnny gloves, we will miss you
bsullieBeach Comber
#8
Re: Emergency BCC Meeting

This is the most disgusting and disheartening turn of events possible. We can't be at the emergency meeting on Monday, but positive vibes will be coming your way...give 'em helll!!!!! Thanks for the great job in keeping us informed. We're sending emails today...
Smiling JOe avatar
Smiling JOeSoWal Expert
#9
Re: Emergency BCC Meeting

just time for a quick science experiment for the meeting - kurt, you will probably want to take photos of this for documentation with date and time displayed - grab a handful of the dirt and drop it into a mason jar of water. shake well, label and leave overnight to settle - see just how much is 'white' sand in case they say there's more 'white' sand content than there obviously is. bet you 5 bucks it's mostly decomposed peat and its about 5% white sand. also, if you can do it before the meeting, check for radon gas emmission from the dirt - should be a lot more than real beach sand - thus backing up the claim that the soil is 'harmful' as well as just ugly. one more quick exibit for the meeting (with photos for documentation of how it was made) - take a cardboard box top (about 2*3 feet) and place a 1" deep layer of white beach sand on the right side and a 1" deep layer of the dirt on the left (sinister) side. contrast is everything - johnny gloves would have put little cutouts of children playing in the white sand side but that may be a bit overkill for this meeting

marine and aquatic biology lawsuits totally rule and this is really close to the perfect panicked screwup. screw em back, hard!
Perhaps we could even add potting soil beside the dark dirt and white beach sand so that there even a bigger visual to see what that north Florida topsoil comes closest to matching. Unfortunately, I will not have any time to do this exeriment because I will not be rolling into town until just prior to the meeting. Peaboy, will you be able to do this experiment for some evidence? From past experience, I know the County Commissioners will not listen to all of this rage from us all. They will simply ask for people to bring forth new evidence for testimony. (of course emails and mail should be sent, but at the meeting, they will limit the b_tching session.) They want to see evidence. I encourage everyone to bring evidence of the problem to go with their testimony. The color chart for what is acceptable would also be a good instrument for which to compare the topsoil (new beach dirt).
aquaticbiology avatar
aquaticbiologyfishlips
#10
Re: Emergency BCC Meeting

work on the injunction ad nauseum from wherever you are - get a list of local judges phone numbers and call their clerks and try to swear out complaints over the phone, it wont work but it will bring attention to the situation in the judges busy lives who have no clue this is even happening - the law has been set via the ruling allowing the non-white sand to be used and a injunction stopping the dumping gives you the biggest edge ever on getting the bad dirt removed and good sand reapplied, also forces the county officers to notice the dirt was 'bad' because there was an injunction attempted to stop its use.

the same idiots who opposed dredging will probably be at the meeting so dont be baited, just steer them gently toward the press to let them make fools out of themselves

go for it
For The Health Of It avatar
For The Health Of ItBeach FanaticAuthor
#11
Re: Emergency BCC Meeting

As to the experiment offered by marinebiologist, we have a group who are conducting this for presentation on Monday. Thank you for the idea and explaination. lets hammer them on monday.
Paula avatar
PaulaBeach Fanatic
#12
Re: Emergency BCC Meeting

If you go to http://www.drbeach.org you may get information about Dr. Beach's (Dr. Stephen B. Leatherman writes from his laboratory at Florida International University) "national healthy beach campaign" (SoWal beaches are recognized among his list). You may find some data that supports the concern about the dark sand here.

"Beach material" is one of the criteria used for judging the beaches... the categories are "Fine sand Medium sand Coarse sand Cobbles Rocky/Muddy" -- this may be useful information.

For those of you who are more familiar with beach standards, you may want to go to his website to see all of the 60 criteria. It certainly serves SoWal to continue to be on his list of recognized beaches. He's the one who selects the top 10 beaches every year (Grayton was one of them several years ago).

Can't be at the meeting but certainly support the efforts of people who will be there to preserve the beauty and uniqueness of our beaches.
DBOldfordBeach Fanatic
#13
Re: Emergency BCC Meeting

Write letters to your County Commissioners and use your local address, for those of us who reside elsewhere. Their names are listed in one of Kurt's posts to this Board. I recently wrote to Cindy Meadows and received a very well thought out response within a week. I understand that she does not approve of this one, however. I am really sad that the County does not seem to be asking the experts (read: professional biologists and geologists) at our State Parks what should be done about this. When I asked a County official why the County had not hired experts to advise on this important matter, I was told that solution was what "the experts" advised. After a couple of questions, I realized that their idea of "the experts" was contracting companies that would haul the sand-dirt in.

Keep your eye on the ball, follow the money, and never forget how to count to three in the political arena! I am writing five letters today.
Rita avatar
Ritamargarita brocolia
#14
Re: Emergency BCC Meeting

I posted this in another thread, but am posting it here also in case everyone doesn't read all the threads.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My wife (Rita) keeps close tabs on this message board, and she showed me this thread today. Unfortunately, it no longer amazes me what some people think they can get away with. However, we need more than moral outrage to help fight this. So, I'm sharing some information with you that I hope will help you that are close enough fight a better battle (we live in Arlington, TX, but have a house in the Dune Allen area), one based more on science than emotion.

First, a little about myself. I am an agronomist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. We are the agency that helped develop the Munsell Color Chart used to classify soil color (in an earlier post, someone referred to the Soil Conservation Service - that was us before a reorganization and name change about 10 years ago). My B.S. was in Soil Science, so I am familiar with how soil and soil materials are described and classified. That's not my area of expertise now, but I can point you toward links and resources that may be useful.

For more information on the Munsell Color classification scheme for soils, go to:

http://soils.usda.gov/technical/manual/contents/chapter3f.html

Here is a brief explanation, but you really need to follow the link to see some illustrations of the system.

The Munsell color system uses three elements of color?hue, value, and chroma?to make up a color notation. The notation is recorded in the form: hue, value/chroma?for example, 5Y 6/3.

Hue is a measure of the chromatic composition of light that reaches the eye. The Munsell system is based on five principal hues: red (R), yellow (Y), green (G), blue (B), and purple (P). Five intermediate hues representing midpoints between each pair of principal hues complete the 10 major hue names used to describe the notation. The intermediate hues are yellow-red (YR), green-yellow (GY), blue-green (BG), purple-blue (PB), and red-purple (RP).

Value indicates the degree of lightness or darkness of a color in relation to a neutral gray scale. On a neutral gray (achromatic) scale, value extends from pure black (0/) to pure white (10/). Gray is perceived as about halfway between black and white and has a value notation of 5/.

Chroma is the relative purity or strength of the spectral color. Chroma indicates the degree of saturation of neutral gray by the spectral color. The scales of chroma for soils extend from /0 for neutral colors to a chroma of /8 as the strongest expression of color used for soils.

One of the posts mentioned that a Munsell color of 6.2 was the lowest value that was considered acceptable for sand added to the beach. However, the "6.2", which I assume is a Munsell "value", is meaningless without knowing what hue (the basic color) range this value is in.

The NRCS has offices in almost every county in the country, and our employees are always available to help you with questions about our soil resources. Here is contact information for three people who should be able to answer some or all of your questions. I suggest contacting them in the order they are listed:

Terry Smith
USDA-NRCS
239 John Baldwin Road, Suite 2
DeFuniak springs, FL 32433
850-892-3712 EXT. 3
Terry.Smith@fl.usda.gov

Terry is the District Conservationist in Walton Co., and if he can't answer your questions, he can contact:

Jeff Allen
USDA-NRCS
4155 Hollis Drive
Marianna, FL 32448-2708
850-482-2002 EXT. 111
Jeff.Allen@fl.usda.gov

or

Andrew Williams
USDA-NRCS
c/o Santa Rosa Co. Health Department
Environmental Health Services
5840 Gulf Breeze Parkway
Gulf Breeze, FL 32563
850-932-9824
Andrew.Williams@fl.usda.gov

This is probably way too much information for many of you, but for those of you who will be carrying the fight for our beaches, I hope this is helpful.
Miss Kitty avatar
Miss KittyMeow
#15
Re: Emergency BCC Meeting

Fellow sand savers: Please help me understand how this happened. Did the gulf front homeowners request this or was this the county solution? Where do the gulf front homeowners stand on this travesty? Are there any gulf front homeowners on this board? Please speak up and let me know your reaction to this. Someone posted earlier that as sad as it is that these homes are in peril, they are enjoyed by a few. How can anyone save a house over miles of nature's beauty? I would like to think if it was my house in jeopardy, I would do the best thing for the community as a whole and not permanently damage the beaches. This is such a disaster...what will be the damage score at the end of....Hurricanes vs. Man?
CastlesOfSand avatar
CastlesOfSandBeach Fanatic
#16
Re: Emergency BCC Meeting

Just sent my 2 cents worth via email. Good luck! Keep us posted!
Paula avatar
PaulaBeach Fanatic
#17
Re: Emergency BCC Meeting

I just send my email to the commissioner list posted elsewhere expressing my strong disagreement with using the dark sand they are using in Blue Mountain Beach. Even though I can't be at the meeting, I hope my email helps prevent the use of this dark sand in SoWal.

One thing I mentioned is that gulf front property owners may or may not have a long-term investment in this area (in fact, if the dark sand damages the beauty of our beaches, perhaps some gulf front owners will leave and go to prettier beaches). Gulf front property owners will come and go, but the beaches will be here for a long, long time (ideally long after we're all gone), and we need to preserve the beauty of the beaches for the long term.
seaforeverBeach Crab
#18
Re: Emergency BCC Meeting

I attended the emergency meeting that took place immediately after Dennis. Gulf front homes are on the edge of collapse and many were concerned that with even a rain storm their homes would be lost.
I am a beach front owner and I am as concerned as anyone with the color and quality of our beaches but the problem is THERE IS NOT ENOUGH WHITE SAND TO TAKE CARE OF THE NEEDS OF THE BEACH. The decision was made as an emergency measure to allow gulf front home owners (at their expense) to bring in a darker sand to reinforce their homes, rebuild a portion of the dunes and then to cover the darker sand with three feet of white sand.
I know of many gulf front owners that spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on approved white sand after Ivan only to see it taken by Dennis. We are one of them. We have depleted the reserves of white sand and we are left with little alternative.
Before giving our commissoners "hell" recognize that we have no viable options. Please help us with soulutions to this problem but remember there is not enough approved white sand available.
Please recognize that as gulf front owners we love this beach enough to endure the repetitive storms and still keep hangin" in there!
sarawind avatar
sarawindBeach Fanatic
#19
Re: Emergency BCC Meeting

I believe it was a hurricane that damaged the beach and the sand dunes. Not houses. The beach belongs to everyone, whether you are a Gulf front homeowner or not. Everyone uses the beach whether they live on it or not. I live on the Gulf . It is my home and I cherish it, respect it, love it. I want white sand if possible and am in favor of dredging over scraping.
Kim SmithBeach Lover
#20
Re: Emergency BCC Meeting

I don't believe this color of sand should have ever been considered as a viable option. My home is further down the beach but I can tell you one thing, I will fight tooth and nail to get them to stop and to get them to clean up their mess. I have been watching other areas further down the beach that have been bringing in sand, it is not pure white but it looks holy compared to the stuff.

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