By Ray Christman, Naples City Council
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I want to take this opportunity to share with you my thoughts on what I consider to be the most important challenge – both short-term and long-term – facing our community. That is resiliency planning and implementation of measures to better protect our community against future storm events and flooding. 

The evidence could not be more clear. We have now experienced five hurricanes or Tropical Storm events in the last two years, including two (Helene and Milton) back-to-back just a few months ago. While some, like Ian, were more severe, each had a meaningful impact on Naples, southwest Florida, and other parts of the state. 

As Mike Savarese, a distinguished professor and climate specialist at the Water School at FGCU, states: “The nature of tropical storms and hurricanes is changing. Storms are rapidly fueling… increasing in intensity very quickly. There is growing evidence that these trends can be directly linked to climate change.” 

As a member of City Council, I have done all I can to help lead efforts to allow our community to quickly recover from past storms and better prepare for the future. With respect to the former, we are carrying out a number of important projects: 

  • We are rebuilding the iconic Naples Pier, completely destroyed by Ian, at a cost of approximately $24 million, half of which will be provide through FEMA, state grants and private donations. The new pier should be in place by the end of 2026. 
  • We are rebuilding our 40 beach access ends, also badly damaged by Ian and aggravated by Helene/Milton.  A design and engineering plan is now in place and work should be largely completed by the middle of next year. 
  • We recently broke ground on the long-awaited Gulf Shore Boulevard Beach Outfalls project. At a cost of $100 million (two-thirds of which will be met through state funding and other third-party sources), this project will replace the existing aging, corroded outfalls on Naples Beach with new, larger underground pipes that will discharge water over 1,000 feet out into the Gulf. The project will also use pump stations to gather stormwater more efficiently, significantly reduce flooding risk in the affected area during heavy rainfall events, and treat the water so that it is much cleaner upon discharge. 
  • The City is committed with budgeted funds to completing the $8 million Venetian Village Seawall/Sidewalk replacement project. The first phase was recently completed, and design work is underway for future phases. 

These projects are all enormously important for our city to undertake. But while we must always respond to events and improve our infrastructure, we also need to plan for the future – a future that will likely look quite different from our past in terms of climate and its impacts on us.   

We need to take steps to protect our beaches on a regular annual basis. We need to build berms and dunes with appropriate vegetation ready to plant. We need to be open to hybrid solutions (nature-based and physical infrastructure). And we need to understand that different parts of our beach may need to be managed differently, based on its topography and other characteristics. 

The City of Naples has been a leader in the region and state in resiliency planning. But we need to do more, specifically working with HOAs like GSAC to develop strategies for protecting our beaches. 

For the past several years, I have partnered with GSAC’s board (and other HOAs like Moorings Property Owners Association and the Park Shore Association) to present a “Water Quality and Resiliency Forum” for its members.  We are now working on a Year 3 program to be held the last week in February titled “Restoring Resiliency on Gulf Shore Boulevard North,” which will include a slate of knowledgeable and interesting speakers.  Be on the look-out for more information soon on this event.   

I look forward to seeing you there!  And I look forward to continuing to work closely with GSAC and its residents on these important challenges. 

Best wishes for the holiday season! 

 

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