Hurricane Matthew pummeled Jacksonville’s beaches, laying siege to the dunes that protect coastline homes and businesses.
Restoring those dunes will be an expensive proposition — but the city could possibly save money if it acts quickly.
City Council member Bill Gulliford wants to do just that.
Gulliford, who represents the beach communities, plans to introduce emergency legislation Tuesday that would authorize the city to borrow up to $7.5 million for dunes restoration.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began a $13.6 million beach renourishment project in September to replenish 650,000 cubic yards of sand along a seven-mile stretch of beaches.
Gulliford would essentially like to piggyback a dunes restoration project to that renourishment effort.
If done separately, he said estimates provided by U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw’s office pegged the restoration project as being at least $4 million more.
“The urgency is here and now,” said Gulliford.
The $7.5 million he is seeking for the project could be reimbursed from state and federal sources.
Estimates for the dunes project aren’t yet known, but Gulliford said it likely would be at least $5.5 million for the sand and construction.
Part of the project would include planting sea oats, which help stabilize dunes.
That expense could end up being lower with a major volunteer effort.
Gulliford said a teacher at Fletcher High School and students have volunteered to plant the coastline plants.
He thinks there could be an expanded, communitywide effort involving all the beaches communities to assist.
Gulliford said he hopes to have the mayors of the three beach communities in attendance Tuesday to help explain why the emergency legislation is critical for those areas.
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