Key West Smathers Beach to get New Sand
Smathers Beach will soon have 11,600 tons of fresh sand for locals and tourists to enjoy with financial assistance from the city of Key West and the Florida Department or Environmental Protection. The city has available $1.32 million approved by the state for Key West beach renourishment projects; $880,000 of that will be used for Smathers. That cost will be split between DEP and the city, each paying $440,000. That leaves the city $420,000 to spend on other beaches: C.B. Harvey Rest Beach near the White Street Pier is possibly the next project, city Engineering Director Roland Flowers said.
Despite Commissioner Dan Kolhage expressing dissatisfaction with the cost of the project, the rest of the commission gave the go-ahead when it met in regular session Wednesday. Commissioner Clayton Lopez pointed out that Thursday was the deadline to approve the contract, otherwise the state money “may not be available in the future,” city documents read.
Consulting firm G.M. Selby has been subcontracted for design, permitting and construction phases of the project, while E.R. Jahna will deliver the sand and Charlie Toppino and Sons will contour and grade the sand all within the year. Besides aesthetic benefits, the Engineering Department said such projects increase the likelihood of receiving post-disaster funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Kolhage doesn’t want the city to pay nearly a half a million dollars for the planning and designing phase of the Smathers project. “I’d want to see more spent on the sand and not the placement of the sand,” he said. Flowers told the commission the state says the design phase is necessary given the sensitive nature of sea grass, adding that particulars like grain size and color are scrutinized by DEP. “We are getting taken for a ride,” Kolhage said. “This is absolutely ridiculous.”
More Florida Keys Beaches.
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