SEBASTIAN – Sebastian city leaders are expected to discuss the fate of some 35 docks that were removed during the dredging of Collier Creek Canal at tonight’s city council meeting.
Of the 35 or so docks the city removed for the project, only three were properly permitted, according to City Manager Al Minner, while the rest were questionable in their permitting.
The city council will be asked to provide direction to the city’s staff with regards to replacing – or not – the docks. Minner has provided three options for the council to consider but no specific recommendation.
Those options include:
Prohibit any replacement of docks
City replaces docks – decide if the city should replace only the three or all 35; Cost estimate ranges from $3,000 to $4,500 per dock depending on the size.
Homeowners replace their own docks – Will be required to receive a building permit through the City, replace existing docks with new docks less than 1000 square feet with no more than one dock per lot
Work is wrapping up on the $4.6 million dredging project of the Collier Creek Canal between County Road 512 and the Barber Street Bridge near Hardee Park. The canal’s water flows into Collier Creek and travels to the St. Sebastian River before dumping into the Indian River Lagoon.
Approximately 30,000 cubic yards of material will be dredged from the canal and recycled to use as fill for Henry Fishcher and Sons in Sebastian.
The project includes installing seawalls along the canal, which required the removal of the docks.
The city has said the project would help to improve stormwater quality by providing more capacity for the water to stay in the canal to filter before winding up in the creek.
The Sebastian public works project got its start in the early 2000s with plans and engineering. In 2003, the city issued storm water bonds, which will be used to fund the Collier canal project. S.E. Cline Construction Co., of Palm Coast, began the work in March 2009 and is expected to wrap up soon.
While the canal is not navigable for boats, canoes and kayaks have been known to traverse the waterway.
