By DOTTY NIST
At their May 3 regular meeting, members of the Walton County Tourist Development Council (TDC) Beach Management Committee viewed pictures of beach erosion and discussed the condition of the beach, along with other beach management issues.
There were also some action items at the committee meeting, which took place in the TDC meeting room.
Matt Trammell, coastal consultant for the TDC and county, explained that recent heavy wave action was to blame for erosion and “scarping” along some areas of the beach as shown in the photographs. He mentioned Inlet Beach, the Alys Beach area, and Blue Mountain Beach as sections of the beach where these impacts have been felt.
TDC Beach Management Director Brian Kellenberger said that the TDC almost lost a beach truck that fell off an escarpment as it tried to navigate a narrow area of the beach south of the vegetation line.
Trammell was of the opinion that a large portion of the recently-eroded sand would return, although he said that sand is being lost from the beach over time.
He touched on the county commission’s March 8 decision to table the Walton County Hurricane & Storm Damage Reduction (WCH&SDR) Project after over an 87-percent negative response to construction easements sent out to beachfront property owners, with about 50 percent of owners responding. Trammell noted that commissioners had few options, considering the replies.
With reference to how well prepared the beaches east of Topsail Hill Preserve State Park to the Bay/Walton County line are for a hurricane or storm, Trammell’s opinion was “not very well.” He described the situation as “between a rock and a hard place.”
Some of his suggestions included surveying the beach and a storm response plan for the beaches such as the one the TDC has in place for the public beach accesses.
Another suggestion was to proceed with pulling a state permit for the WCH&SDR Project so that the county would be able to proceed with large-scale beach restoration after a storm event, with consent of individual property owners, who might alternatively elect to do their own beach restoration on their lots.
The WCH&SDR Project had been planned as a partnership effort of the county and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). Trammell noted that the USACE does not issue USACE permits for its own projects. However, if the county were to proceed with the beach project on its own, a USACE permit would be needed.
Trammell suggested that the county might want to apply for a USACE permit for beach nourishment in the event that the USACE would no longer want to be a partner. This permitting process would take approximately a year, he said.
Trammell explained that, although the cost for the WCH&SDR Project would have been high, the value of the properties in the project area is currently quite high, providing justification for the USACE to provide funding for the project. With increased erosion of properties in the project area, property values may fall, he observed. A reduction in property values in the project area could result in a decision by the USACE not to partner with the county due to a negative cost/benefit ratio, he commented.
Trammell noted that some property owners may view seawalls as an option in the wake of a storm event. Several miles of seawalls were installed along the Walton County coastline after Hurricane Dennis impacted the beaches in 2005. However, Trammell said that criteria for approval of seawalls are now more stringent—and that the only way to do a seawall will be to bury it within a 30 to 40 foot dune, which would be likely put the construction out into the water to a greater extent than the state would allow.
Trammell acknowledged he did not blame the beachfront property owners for their concerns that had led to the tabling of the WCH&SDR Project.
John Henderson, committee chairman, commented that issues with beach vending and property owners’ fear that they would lose control to vendors had seemed to coincide with the decision on the WCH&SDR Project.
“There will be a storm,” committee member Leonard Martin warned. He asked about the “shelf life” of project permits.
Trammell responded five to 10 years for state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and USACE permits.
Trammell emphasized the need to work with beachfront property owners to keep them apprised and obtain their input on the efforts discussed. “No one wants to get involved in litigation,” he said.
Kellenberger summarized what he believed Trammell was asking the committee for as a “workshop on Plan B” to discuss option for dune and beach restoration now that the WCH&SDR Project had been tabled. Plan B could consist of a number of items, among those a survey of the existing beach and a restoration plan to respond to storm impact on the beach, he noted.
In response to a question, Trammell said the county would be able to use work already completed in preparing for and applying for the permit on the WCH&SDR Project. The idea would be to obtain the permit, “close the book” on that project, and put the permit “on the shelf,” he commented. He emphasized that it should be made clear to beachfront property owners that nothing would be done “in the dark.”
Committee member Lisa Boushy said she thought the approach that Trammell had described would be well received by beachfront property owners. She concurred with the previous discussion that beach vending was a concern for the property owners. Currently, per county code, the permission of adjacent upland property owners is necessary in order for vending to occur on the beach south of their lots. However, Boushy recalled recent discussions at public meetings about revoking that code provision. She suggested a firm commitment to providing property owners with this control.
A motion by Martin was approved to recommend the workshop on Plan B and what that plan would involve, with the workshop to involve property owners and everyone who would be affected by the end product of the plan.
The workshop recommendation is to be provided to the TDC at its next meeting, which is scheduled for 9 a.m. on June 7 at the South Walton Annex. With a favorable recommendation from the TDC, the item would be brought before the Walton County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) in future session for final consideration.
Turning to other matters, the committee members heard from Kellenberger on a number of beach operations topics, including retrofit of public dune walkovers with stainless steel screws to prevent “pop-ups” of nail heads on the walkovers. He also requested that the committee members take a look at the multi-use paths in south Walton County, whose maintenance is provided for by the TDC.
Kellenberger reported on the more than 600 trash bags that TDC staff collect along the beach, both at public beach accesses and from resort communities that collect the bed tax. Collection of trash bags at the latter properties is not mandatory but per request of those properties.
While some in the community have suggested that the bags should be collected by hand from the beach side without driving on the beach, Kellenberger said this would not be practical, partly because driving along the beach is the only way to access some of the locations serviced.
He noted that the trash bag holders have now been modified so that not just one but two or three bags can be deployed on the holders as needed.
Following up on his previous mention of beach truck challenges associated with narrow beach areas, particularly along the east end of the beach, Kellenberger told the committee members that small utility task vehicles (UTVs) would be “most helpful” in getting onto the beach in some of these areas to collect trash bags.
A motion was approved to recommend the purchase of two UTVs for this purpose.
Beach Management Committee meetings are open to public attendance and participation. The next meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. on July 5 in the TDC meeting room.
Information on the “Plan B” workshop will be forthcoming.