Collier County commissioners have approved a no-bid contract to expedite the construction of an emergency berm to protect upland property left vulnerable by Hurricane Ian.
At their last board meeting Dec. 13, commissioners unanimously approved the contract, recognizing the "existence of a valid public emergency."
County staff added the item to the agenda the morning of the meeting, urging county commissioners to act swiftly, to not only ensure the sand berm is in place before the next hurricane season, but it's funded by federal dollars.
To be eligible for reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the project must be completed within six months of the storm. That means it would have to be done by late March, with Ian making landfall on Sept. 28.
With such a tight timeline, Trinity Scott, head of the county's Transportation Management Services Department, told commissioners there wasn't enough time to prepare and execute a request for proposals – or to solicit bids – for design and permitting services.
By declaring a public emergency, she said, the county could "avoid losing critical time."
"We need to get started," Scott said.
She acknowledged it's only a first step, but told commissioners staff is working expeditiously to put contracts out to bid for sand, hauling and construction. A source for the sand has already been identified, with enough capacity to do the job, Scott said.
"We are sprinting," she said.
In reply, Commissioner Burt Saunders said: "Well, we want to sprint with you. So, let us know what you need."
The contract did not go before the usual review committees first, due to the urgency.
The sand for the berm would be trucked in, but just how many cubic yards of it would be needed to build the berm has yet to be determined.
Also, still to be figured out is the size of the berm, including its length, and how private beaches will be handled, Scott said.
While most of the popular beaches in Collier are city- or county-owned, there are privately-owned stretches. The Ritz-Carlton, Naples for example, owns about 750 feet of coastline on Vanderbilt Beach.
South of the Ritz-Carlton, the exclusive Bay Colony community owns about 2,000 feet of coastline.
Generally, the area where the sand is wet below the mean high-water line is considered public under Florida's Constitution.
The need for the emergency berm spans from Marco Island to North Naples, along the Gulf of Mexico, where there's been "heavy dune loss," due to coastal flooding from a record storm surge, in essence countywide, Scott said.
According to FEMA, emergency sand berms are not intended to permanentlyrestore the beach, only to provide protection from immediate threats to improved property.
During board discussions, Commissioner Rick LoCastro asked whether the county could use some of its stockpiled sand pushed on land from Ian to build the berm, or whether it would have to start from scratch.
Some of the sand, swept into large piles in public and private areas after inundating homes, businesses and streets, might be useable, but it would have to be evaluated and cleaned up before it could go back onto the beach, Scott said.
The hope is to start placing sand for the berm on eligible beaches by the end of January, giving the contractor two months to complete the job.
That is a "very aggressive schedule" for the county, and the contractor, Scott said.
Based on that schedule, the completion date would not only meet FEMA's deadline, but precede the turtle nesting season, which starts May 1.
In agreement with staff, county commissioners approved a work order, not to exceed roughly $187,636, for APTIM Environmental and Infrastructure LLC to handle the survey, design, permitting and post-design services for the berm.
New commissioner Chris Hall marveled at the price, but mistakenly thought the amount included the sand.
When told otherwise, he said, "This isn't the sand? I thought it was a good deal."
Chairman Bill McDaniel replied "Jiminy Cricket," no, but defended the cost.
"It is a good deal," he said.
However, McDaniel warned, the more expensive pieces of the project are yet to come.
While it's too soon to estimate how much the berm will cost to build, other areas in Florida and elsewhere have spent millions on such protective projects, following major disasters.
In Florida, FEMA provided more than $15 million to reimburse Gulf County for the protective measures it took following Hurricane Michael.
That money covered costs for emergency berms and temporary levees to prevent further flooding in areas that saw "extensive dune erosion."
"Wait until you see the sand bill," he said.
The bill for the berm would not include the sand needed to rebuild Collier County's beaches ravaged by Ian.
Rebuilding the beaches will take much longer – and a plan has yet to be developed for how and when that will get done across the county.
While FEMA has paid for sand lost to hurricanes in Florida and other coastal states, the funding is not always guaranteed – and it can take years to receive a reimbursement, with counties and cities fronting the money.
Collier County pays for beach-related projects – in whole or part – with a percentage of the money raised from its 5% tax charged on overnight stays of six months or less at hotels and other vacation rentals. There is currently a surplus of funds.