Mayor's Message - February 27, 2024

Wow – hard to believe it’s almost Spring!

Let’s talk about our beaches - recently, there has been a lot of activity and questions about the emergency work happening on our beaches. The City continues to address the erosion issues on the north and south ends of the island. Prior to 2023, the south end of the beach had been stable and accretional and only required periodic post-storm emergency berm repairs. The area in question became highly erosional in 2023 due to numerous storm events and abnormally high tides. You may know that our beaches are highly regulated for their protection, and it is important that the City comply with the standards set forth by the appropriate regulatory agencies who have jurisdiction. As soon as the shoreline eroded to the point that it met regulatory standards to allow emergency work, the city began restoring dunes to provide better protection against structural damage. You’ve probably noticed our contractor has been in the Breach Inlet area for the past few months restoring the dune system in the area that meets emergency conditions. At Beachwood East, the City’s contractor is placing sandbags where permitted to protect those properties from further damage due to erosion.

The city is coordinating with the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) on a Beneficial Use Project that is expected to begin in March 2024, where approximately 500,000 cubic yards of sand (with an approximate value of $ 10 million) will be placed along the intertidal zone between Breach Inlet and 10th Avenue. The city plans to leverage this project to use some of this sand to further enhance the dune system along this area. The project is expected to be completed within four months.

The city has assisted with funding major beach renourishment projects in the north end and post-storm emergency protective measures. In 2023, IOP City Council approved spending up to approximately $1.9 million to protect the public beach and property through a combination of emergency sand scraping, trucking in beach-compatible sand and placement of sandbags at Breach Inlet and Beachwood East.

Several years ago, the City established a Beach Preservation Fund funded by a 1% charge to all sleeping accommodations provided to visitors to our island. The current balance of this fund is $8.3M and it grows by an average of $1.3M annually. However, the city is forecasting a total need of almost $30M for beach projects in the next five to six years. These projects will need to be covered between public and private funding efforts so we must be good stewards of these funds for the benefit of all 7 miles of beach.

This year, the city created a Beach Preservation Ad Hoc Committee made up of council members and resident volunteers tasked with developing recommendations on current preservation policies, future projects and funding alternatives. This group has already started meeting and will continue to do so regularly.

The city remains committed to finding solutions for beach erosion that will protect the environment and benefit the overall community.
Maintaining a healthy beach is an ongoing collective effort and is of the utmost importance to city leaders and staff.

We always have exciting, fun-filled community events on the calendar:

Front Beach Fest – March 2, 12:00-4:00. Shopping, restaurants, food trucks, craft and artisan vendors along with free children's & family activities

Native Plants Classes at The Rec Center: Stop by and learn about the importance of gardening with native plants, which provide food and shelter for native butterflies, insects, birds and other animals. This has been a series of classes on different topics. The last class is Tuesday, March 5, 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Easter Egg Hunt – Easter Bunny, Egg Hunt, Jump Castles, Music and Concessions. March 29, 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. at the Rec Center.

Community Yard Sale – Over 50 vendors selling used and like new products. April 13, 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. at the Rec Center.

Updated and additional information can be found at iop.net.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve! See you around the island.

Phillip Pounds, Mayor IOP
843-252-5359
ppounds@iop.net