GSAC Shore-Lines: Learn about our Coastal Resilience & Storm Surge

Dear friends and neighbors,

On Friday morning, July 24, from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., at the suggestion of Collier County Commissioner Penny Taylor, Gary McAlpin, Collier County’s Manager for Coastal Zone Management, will conduct for our membership a very informative and relevant webinar. The subject will be the recently released U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) tentative plan to ensure coastal resilience and storm surge protection for the coastal regions of Collier County, including specifically Park Shore Beach.

At this stage, the USACE Feasibility Study proposes that there be a floodwall and gate constructed at Seagate Drive and a surge berm at Doctors Pass. Perhaps of more interest to our residents, the plan at this time is to create a higher and wider beach and dune. The expectation would be that the dunes will be 10-12 feet high depending on the location, and the dry beach an additional 100 feet wide.

The purpose of Gary’s presentation will be to share with the public, at this very preliminary stage, the direction in which the County is heading. As he will emphasize, the plan is presently a work in progress, and its implementation would take place over the period of a decade or more.

However, given the critical issues (e.g., rising Gulf water levels, protection from back bay flooding, etc.) which this program will address, as well as the criticalness of the beaches to our residents enjoyment of their property, this presentation affords us a very early opportunity to understand what is being contemplated, and perhaps to have some voice in the project as it moves forward.

GSAC would therefore very much encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity and tune in to the Zoom presentation. If you already have, or elect to download, the Zoom application, you can join the Zoom meeting on this link: https://zoom.us/j/92438403553?pwd=bTV5NW9jN3VjV1BOa3dGUmJtcEZXdz09

Regards,

Jim Melican

President, GSAC

president@gsacnaples.com

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