Sally
Beach Fanatic
Kriss Titus of the Walton County Tourism Development Council suggested to the BCC that the county may want to continue the western beach restoration effort without the cooperation of the City of Destin.
The two agencies had been working together until the project was delayed by excessive turtle takes in May. Titus said the company doing the work, Great Lakes Dredge and Docks, could not commit the same equipment that was utilized originally, but the TDC could move forward with smaller dredges.
Titus indicated that Destin offi cials were uncomfortable with the idea of remaining in a previous interlocal agreement with the TDC, and suggested moving forward without their approval. The BCC concurred, but Commissioner Larry Jones said termination of the agreement should be left up to Destin. If the TDC is able to secure a contract for the smaller dredge, work could be completed as early as March, 2007.
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Beach restoration project could resume this year
By David Magliano
The Walton County Tourist Development Council will begin negotiating with Great Lakes Dredge and Dock and the City of Destin to immediately continue the Western Walton County Beach Restoration Project.
The restoration project will repair 6,500 feet of beach in Walton County, and two miles of beach in Okaloosa County that eroded during Hurricane Opal in 1995 and Hurricane George in 1998. Before its halt, the project reconstructed more than 18,900 feet of Walton County beach.
Following the hurricanes, the TDC began a study on the beaches? ability to continue to act as a first defense against hurricane storm surge. The study found the beaches to be ?critically eroded,? initiating the restoration project.
Beach restoration is accomplished by dredging sand from a separate site and pumping it underwater to the new site, which both lifts and widens the existing beach.
Construction began last February, but the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers stopped the project when they determined that too many turtles were killed during dredging.
Reaching nationally set limits on turtle takes can cause the shutdown of projects all along the Gulf of Mexico, not just in Walton County.
Timing of the restoration is important, said Kriss Titus, executive director of the TDC. If negotiations are quick, the project can resume in December, with construction completed by May 2007, before both the turtle nesting and hurricane seasons begin.
If an agreement cannot be reached, the county may need to use Liberty Island dredge for construction, which is not available for use until March or April of 2007.
?If we do not move quickly, Walton County is in jeopardy of available dredges being assigned to other projects,? said Titus. ?We must restart the project now in order to complete construction of our beaches prior to the water warming and storm season beginning.?
The Florida Supreme Court is also preparing to hear a case brought by four property owners against the county, who feel their property rights have been violated because of the project.
The county is allowed to continue work while the case is heard, but if the court rules against the county, it will need to stop restoration.
With multiple issues looming in the summer, construction needs to begin quickly, said Brad Pickel, Director of Beach Management for the TDC.
?Based on everything, now is a perfect time,? said Pickel, ?and time is of the essence.?
The $6.8 million cost to Walton County is being funded through state grants, bed taxes, and a loan against future bed taxes.
The two agencies had been working together until the project was delayed by excessive turtle takes in May. Titus said the company doing the work, Great Lakes Dredge and Docks, could not commit the same equipment that was utilized originally, but the TDC could move forward with smaller dredges.
Titus indicated that Destin offi cials were uncomfortable with the idea of remaining in a previous interlocal agreement with the TDC, and suggested moving forward without their approval. The BCC concurred, but Commissioner Larry Jones said termination of the agreement should be left up to Destin. If the TDC is able to secure a contract for the smaller dredge, work could be completed as early as March, 2007.
____________________________________________________
Beach restoration project could resume this year
By David Magliano
The Walton County Tourist Development Council will begin negotiating with Great Lakes Dredge and Dock and the City of Destin to immediately continue the Western Walton County Beach Restoration Project.
The restoration project will repair 6,500 feet of beach in Walton County, and two miles of beach in Okaloosa County that eroded during Hurricane Opal in 1995 and Hurricane George in 1998. Before its halt, the project reconstructed more than 18,900 feet of Walton County beach.
Following the hurricanes, the TDC began a study on the beaches? ability to continue to act as a first defense against hurricane storm surge. The study found the beaches to be ?critically eroded,? initiating the restoration project.
Beach restoration is accomplished by dredging sand from a separate site and pumping it underwater to the new site, which both lifts and widens the existing beach.
Construction began last February, but the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers stopped the project when they determined that too many turtles were killed during dredging.
Reaching nationally set limits on turtle takes can cause the shutdown of projects all along the Gulf of Mexico, not just in Walton County.
Timing of the restoration is important, said Kriss Titus, executive director of the TDC. If negotiations are quick, the project can resume in December, with construction completed by May 2007, before both the turtle nesting and hurricane seasons begin.
If an agreement cannot be reached, the county may need to use Liberty Island dredge for construction, which is not available for use until March or April of 2007.
?If we do not move quickly, Walton County is in jeopardy of available dredges being assigned to other projects,? said Titus. ?We must restart the project now in order to complete construction of our beaches prior to the water warming and storm season beginning.?
The Florida Supreme Court is also preparing to hear a case brought by four property owners against the county, who feel their property rights have been violated because of the project.
The county is allowed to continue work while the case is heard, but if the court rules against the county, it will need to stop restoration.
With multiple issues looming in the summer, construction needs to begin quickly, said Brad Pickel, Director of Beach Management for the TDC.
?Based on everything, now is a perfect time,? said Pickel, ?and time is of the essence.?
The $6.8 million cost to Walton County is being funded through state grants, bed taxes, and a loan against future bed taxes.
