SEBASTIAN — The Sebastian City Council has decided to bite the bullet and take responsibility for the City’s failing seawall problems, but there is some disagreement among Council members as to where the estimated $50,000 project engineering costs should come from.
In January, Council had directed staff to prepare an action plan, including options for solutions. It was agreed that a unified plan, rather than piecemeal fixes, was the logical, albeit expensive, way to go.
All parties – City staff, City Council and affected residents – agree that a plan is needed, and needed soon, and staff’s recommendation to enlist an engineering firm with “specialized education and experience” was considered a wise move, as well.
At the Feb. 11 Council meeting, City Engineer Frank Watanabe presented a Unified Seawall Plan for the Sebastian’s Southern Canal System, which includes the South Collier Canal, the George Street Canal, the Schumann Waterway and the Elkcam Waterway, in the face of growing concerns about several sections along the 7-mile system, with 14 miles of embankment, where seawalls are failing.
An in-house investigation, Watanabe explained, showed several different bank stabilization methods – corrugated metal, concrete/stone and sloping grass embankment.
He said the engineering study would help figure out the best way to proceed, determining soil conditions, drainage capacities and phasing for interim and long-term canal repair solutions.
Options include: replacing the existing failing seawalls; sloping the banks; or a hybrid – wall and slope, all of which could require permitting from the St. John’s River Water Management District.
Funding is expected to come in the form of a 50 percent match from the District, with whom the city and the engineers will work closely throughout the project.
City Manager Joe Griffin recommended that the $50,000 engineering cost come out of the General Fund Reserve, and asked for the OK from Council so he could put out an RFQ as soon as possible.
Council member Jim Hill disagreed with using the reserve fund.
“In the budget process, we were told [vigorously, by the Budget Advisory Board] ‘Don’t tap into the Reserve!’”
Hill suggested using the “undesignated” lagoon funds instead.
Council member Andrea Coy was quick to counter that the lagoon funds were not undesignated, pointing to the two baffle boxes that have already been placed, and five others that should go in this year.
The lagoon issues are separate from the seawall situation, she added.
Mayor Richard Gillmor agreed with Coy, adding, “This is an extraordinary, unplanned circumstance. That’s what the Reserve Fund is for.”
A motion to proceed was passed 4-1, with Hill in opposition.
