Beach project stance shifts

The town of Longboat Key’s taxpayers have agreed to pay for their own beach projects for years. And those beach projects were performed island-wide every six to eight years without fail.

But the Longboat Key Town Commission and its town manager are rethinking future projects and how they are funded.

At the Town Commission’s Monday, June 17 workshop, Town Manager Dave Bullock needed and received direction from his seven commissioners to nix a summer beach project that was 40% more than town staff expected and had a price tag of $13,290,525.50.

Bullock explained that the demand to rebuild the Northeast’s coastline from Superstorm Sandy’s destruction in October, among other variables, led to the lack of bids and one overpriced bid.

Commissioners agreed with Bullock’s plan to re-bid a beach project next year that could also use approximately $8 million in federal reimbursement dollars the town received last month from sand losses from Tropical Storm Debby. 

It could end up being a bigger project than the one originally slated for this summer. 

A beach project that was once supposed to put sand at the Broadway beach access to Gulfside Road, and from The Islander condominiums to the Colony Beach & Tennis Resort could also include plans for up to three groin structures that would help hold sand on the sand-starved north end of the Key.

Commissioners are also open to using federal dollars for future beach projects.

For more information, pick up a copy of Thursday's June 20 Longboat Observer.

Contact Kurt Schultheis at [email protected].