TO: Mayor and Commissioners
FROM: Caryn Gardner-Young, Acting Public Works Director
THROUGH: Neal de Jesus, Interim City Manager
DATE: August 20, 2019
Title
RESOLUTION NO. 135-19 BEACH RENOURISHMENT PROGRAM
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Recommended Action:
Recommendation
Motion to Approve Resolution No. 135-19 in support of the City of Delray Beach Renourishment Program. This resolution supports the beach and coastal management programs of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), advising the State of Florida that the City of Delray Beach (City) will consider participation and will provide the local funding share necessary to implement any State beach and coastal management program approved by the City Commission for participation.
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Background:
The City of Delray Beach (City) has one of the most successful beach maintenance and preservation programs in the United States. In 1973, the City embarked on a program, supplemented by Federal, State, and County funding to renourish and maintain the eroded beach. Including the initial construction, a total of eight beach nourishment projects have been constructed to maintain Delray’s beach.
The entire City shoreline is monitored annually as part of the City's comprehensive beach program to track gains and losses of the beach profile. Monitoring of the beach annually allows the City, State and Federal governments to track changes of the beach’s profile from the design template to observe variations due to storm events and plan for future beach nourishment events. Beach renourishment and continued monitoring of the City's shorelines through the long-range management plan fulfills City and State goals to provide storm protection, recreational opportunities and sea turtle nesting habitat along the City's shoreline.
The FDEP provides funding for the City’s Beach program with a 50% cost share of the non-federal cost for eligible tasks. Eligible tasks include annual post construction (beach nourishment) physical monitoring and surveying, engineering, permitting and construction services for beach nourishment events, sea turtle nesting monitoring and an annual beach tilling event as required by the City’s beach permits. The City is required to submit annually a Local Government Funding Request (LGFR) including schedule and budget data for the City’s Beach program to the FDEP for review of potential cost-sharing of the City's eligible beach projects. Grant amounts vary by year based on the FDEP’s guidelines of eligible tasks and approved funding; however for fiscal years 2017 and 2018 we received $51,500 and $299,000 in fiscal year 2019.
Resolution No. 135-19 affirms the City’s support of the funding commitment for the local share of the City’s Renourishment projects.
City Attorney Review:
Approved as to form and legal sufficiency.
Funding Source/Financial Impact:
N/A
Timing of Request:
This is a time sensitive item. The Beach Management Funding Assistance Program is developing the annual prioritized list of beach and inlet management projects for inclusion in the Department’s FY 2020-2021 Local Government Funding Request (LGFR). The deadline for application submittals is August 1, 2019. As part of the LGFR for 2020/2021 a local sponsor resolution is required from the local sponsor’s governing board.