We have the sand, but where?s the money?
30A beach restoration talk continues to focus on funding.
By David Magliano
Brad Pickel does not like to guess.
?I don?t do hypotheticals,? said the Tourist Development Council?s director of beach management.
But sometimes he has little choice.
The TDC held a final workshop to discuss the technical issues of a planned beach restoration project along County Road 30A, but the conversation quickly turned from science to money.
And when the question was how to fund the $50 to $60 million project, Pickel had few specific answers.
?TDC taxes will always serve as a first funding source,? said Pickel, ?but as far as anything that has or has not been taken off the table, we haven?t gotten to that point.?
That point will be next year.
On Jan. 9, the TDC will make a formal request to the Walton County Board of County Commissioners for approval of 30A beach restoration. The project would rebuild 12.9 miles of beach damaged by Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and Hurricane Dennis in 2005.
The state will share up to 50 percent of the cost of rebuilding the 7.5 miles it has deemed critically eroded. The percentage is based on the quality of beach access in place.
The TDC has currently secured $8 million from the state, but that number will increase if the county adds amenities to the beach, such as public restrooms and parking spaces.
Federal cost sharing could also cover up to 65 percent of costs, and the TDC is pursuing that funding by performing required feasibility studies.
Outside funding will be necessary, as local TDC funding is already behind due to the current Western Walton County Beach Restoration Project, which carries a cost to Walton County of $19.1 million.
?We?re $8 million in the hole because of this beach restoration project going on outside,? Pickel said. ?We more than likely will end up $10 million in the hole.?
The TDC has always used bed tax revenue for beach projects, but Pickel said additional funds will need to be located for a project this size.
But the project hasn?t reached that step yet.
?That?s a step you do after you have a project approved by the County Commission,? Pickel said.
One completed step is preliminary beach quality studies and sand source identification. The abundance of available matching sand makes the longterm prognosis for the area good, said LSU geologist Dr. Greg Stone, who is working with Taylor Engineering on the project.
Taylor Engineering has constructed multiple models for how future hurricanes would impact the area. In a 20-year storm ? a storm with a 5 percent chance of hitting the area in a given year ? more than 50 percent of the beach structures along 30A would be impacted.
With readily available sand, Taylor Engineering?s Michael Trudnak expects they will use a plan that would restore the beaches for protection against 100-year storms ? more powerful hurricanes that have a 1 percent chance of striking the area.
Pickel said the BCC has been supportive of beach restoration work. Commissioner Cindy Meadows said the beach?s connection to tourism makes the project is a high priority.
?It?s up there on the top,? said Meadows. ?It?s something that we need to do.?
The county may look into issuing bonds or securing credit lines to fund the work not covered by outside sources and current TDC taxes. Meadows said she would not support a tax increase.
If approved, construction is still at least a year away. Pickel said work would not begin in 2007, as the year will be spent securing permits and fi nalizing funding. Once construction does start, it will take roughly one year to complete.
We need details! Thanks in advance.
but that's ok. There were two presentations, one regarding the engineering work that has been performed and the other regarding the sand source investigation. We are working to get the presentation on the website now so hopefully that will happen soon. In essence, everyone seemed positive about the project and it will be presented to the BCC on January 9th. It was covered by the Walton Sun and Beach Breeze so be sure and look for the articles when they come out and as always let me know if you have any specific questions.