- April 29, 2024
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The Army Corps of Engineers has decided to redesign the beach renourishment project, delaying it an additional 11 months at least before construction can start.
The delay was announced at Flagler Beach’s City Commission meeting on Thursday, Jan. 12 by Bankruptcy Attorney Scott Spradley. Spradley read the report on behalf of Flagler County Attorney Al Hadeed, who was ill but present over the phone to answer questions.
The redesign and delay have nothing to do with the current easement rights, Hadeed's report said, but instead because of how long it has been since the project began. It’s been almost 20 years since the Army Corps first became involved and began studying the erosion loss on Flagler’s beaches.
Since then, there has been a devastating amount of erosion, and much more sand will be needed than was included in the original contract with the Army Corps.
"It's all the extra escarpment and erosion," Spradley said.
Hadeed's report to the commission said that the original 50-year contract with the Corps had set aside a volume of sand to for the renourishment and for additional maintenance every 10 or so years for the duration of the contract.
But the original amount of sand in the contract is no longer enough.
“The entire 50-year volume will be needed now just to do the initial renourishment,” Spradley said, reading Hadeed report.
Hadeed said the Corps will need to do several survey reassessments to calculate how much sand will be needed. Spradley and Hadeed both said the Army Corps is wanting to extend the berm of the beach as well from 40 feet in the original contract to 100 feet for added protection.
"So it's almost doubling morning — more than doubling the sand," Spradley said.
The larger berm — the section of the beach that beach goers enjoy and that extends into the water — will extend the life of the beach, Hadeed said.
At the moment, the supplemental surveys and the design process are expected to take up to six months, Hadeed said — the problem is that they can't start them right away.
The Corps has to wait until two surveys in progress are finished — one on the beach and one on the hard bottom. Those surveys are being held up by ocean conditions preventing divers from going in, Hadeed said.
Once those are finished, the redesign and supplemental surveys should take about six months, Hadeed said; after that, there is a 90-day bidding process and at least 60-day mobilization period, adding up to a 10 to 11 month start time from whenever the Army Corps is able to start.
Commissioners were also concerned about the potential of losing the project because of the redesign, but Hadeed assured commissioners that is not the case.
“The project does not need to be re-approved, it is approved” Hadeed said.
Bankruptcy Attorney Scott Spradley announced in the Flagler Beach City Commission on Thursday that there is a hearing date set in the easement hold up’s bankruptcy case.
The case will be seen in bankruptcy court on Jan. 31, he said. Spradley, reading a report on behalf of Flagler County Attorney Al Hadeed, said the county will be pursuing the case in bankruptcy court instead of through the eminent domain process, if the voluntary
"We will continue to pursue all aspects of the project with great vigor," Spradley said, reading Hadeed's report.
The Army Corps' redesign of the project and subsequent delay will give the county extra time to obtain the easement rights.
