study - News - The Coastal Star2024-03-29T02:07:43Zhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/studyDelray Beach: Consultant still compiling report on reclaimed waterhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/delray-beach-no-new-deadline-revealed-for-reclaimed-water-forensi2020-10-05T15:30:00.000Z2020-10-05T15:30:00.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong>By Jane Smith</strong></p>
<p>A long-awaited forensic study of the reclaimed water system in Delray Beach was not turned in as expected on Sept. 30. The new target date has not been set.</p>
<p>"As a result of difficulties we have encountered with obtaining the email files, the report will take me a little longer to complete," wrote Fred Bloetscher in a Sept. 30 email to the city's Public Works director. "I estimate I will need about 10 days after I get the emails to complete the report."</p>
<p>In late April the city hired Public Utility Management Planning Services Inc. of Hollywood for $20,000. Missie Barletto, the Public Works Director, is assigned to monitor the contract.</p>
<p>The Public Utility Management firm is run by Fred Bloetscher, an associate dean at Florida Atlantic University's College of Engineering in Boca Raton. Bloetscher did not return phone calls or texts seeking comment on where his company was in the process of the forensic review.</p>
<p>The firm requested many documents that Delray Beach held on its more-than-a-decade-long reclaimed water program. The requests included: complete list of the backflow devices with columns of each address, photo, size and age; who did the work, whether an outside contractor was hired; who inspected the work; names of city employees involved in the project; and any emails between city staff and the contractors that may shed light on why were so many reclaimed water installations missing backflow preventers.</p>
<p>Public Utility Management “will attempt to engage in a conversation with the Florida Department of Health administrator for Palm Beach County to seek an acceptable solution,” Bloetscher wrote in the firm’s scope of services.</p>
<p>The Department of Health became involved on Jan. 2 when a South Ocean Boulevard resident called in to say she was not adequately informed of a cross-connection issue in December 2018. Cross connections happen when reclaimed water pipes are mistakenly connected to drinking water pipes.</p>
<p>That phone complaint led to the city shutting down its entire reclaimed water system on Feb. 4 to avoid a citywide boil water order. The city staff and outside contractors have visited each reclaimed water installation to verify that it has a backflow preventer device. Backflow preventers are a stopgap to prevent the drinking water from mixing with the reclaimed water.</p>
<p>The Department of Health sent the city a list of 13 possible violations in a July 1 warning letter. On July 22, city leaders including the new utilities director and the interim city manager met with Department of Health staff to review the possible violations and Delray Beach’s response.</p>
<p>The city is still waiting to hear from the state agency.</p>
<p>Reclaimed water is treated wastewater that is suitable only for lawn irrigation. Most residents of the barrier island, city parks, golf courses and master-planned communities west of the interstate use reclaimed water.</p>
<p>The lines were installed as part of a settlement that Delray Beach reached with state and federal regulators to stop sending raw sewage into the ocean. The city must stop its ocean discharges by the end of 2025.</p></div>Highland Beach: Public can weigh in on A1A improvements studyhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/highland-beach-public-can-weigh-in-on-a1a-improvements-study2018-11-28T18:34:51.000Z2018-11-28T18:34:51.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Rich Pollack</strong></p>
<p>Could Highland Beach have designated bike lanes and lighted crosswalks along State Road A1A in the not-too-distant future? <br /> Would it be possible and financially feasible to have underground utility lines instead of unsightly power poles and wires along the roadway, as well as improved drainage facilities to minimize street flooding?<br /> These questions and many more related to improvements along A1A are expected to be addressed in a $147,000 “Complete Streets” study the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council is conducting for the town.<br /> Focused on providing design plans for a multitude of improvements along the roadway as well as cost estimates, the study is being fast-tracked to meet several deadlines.<br /> Commissioners and representatives from the planning council are hoping to have enough information available in time to bring plans before voters in March during the municipal elections and in time to commit to improvements by a mid-March state deadline.<br /> This month, residents will have a chance to hear more about the project — and have some say in how it is developed — during a public design workshop set for 6 p.m. Dec. 5 at the Highland Beach Public Library. <br /> “This is an opportunity for the community to address many of the issues residents have expressed concerns about through public forums,” Town Manager Marshall Labadie said. “Those include crosswalks, flooding, sidewalk improvements and bike lanes.” <br /> The workshop will include an opening presentation, a discussion of opportunities and challenges and “table sessions” with facilitators designed to generate ideas, according to a proposal Kim DeLaney, director of strategic development and policy for the planning council, presented to the town. <br /> “We’re asking people to sit at a table and tell us how they want the corridor to look,” DeLaney said during one of several presentations she made to town commissioners.<br /> The driving force behind the discussion of major improvements to A1A throughout the town is a Florida Department of Transportation “Three R” project that essentially includes repaving the roadway through the 3 miles of Highland Beach. <br /> A five-year process, the project includes refurbishing, replacement and repair along A1A and is an opportunity for the town to ask for any improvements residents would like to see along the roadway. <br /> Because the state has overall authority for the roadway and final say for any improvements, any plans presented by the town would require FDOT approval. <br /> In the past, the state has been slow to grant the town permission to make changes, especially in the area of crosswalk improvements, but Labadie said he recently met with Gerry O’Reilly, who oversees the region for FDOT, and came away optimistic. <br /> “They were not only very welcoming to us, but they were also welcoming to the ideas we were presenting,” Labadie said. <br /> Labadie said the town hopes to implement some interim crosswalk improvements, including improved signage and possible pedestrian-activated signals. <br /> “FDOT said they are willing to work with us,” he said.<br /> How much of the funding for the overall improvements for the project will come from the state and how much will come from the town is still to be worked out, but should residents approve all or part of the project, chances are they will see an impact on their municipal taxes, Labadie said. <br /> He said the town will probably need to borrow money to implement the improvements and that it is exploring financing options. <br /> “At the end of the day, it will likely cost residents,” he said. <br /> DeLaney said that through the study, her organization will present the town with costs of individual items and present the Town Commission with “a range of options.” <br /> How the project will be presented to residents in the referendum is still up in the air, but Labadie said the commission appears to be willing to break the overall project into logical categories, which are likely to be the streetscape project, drainage improvements and underground utilities. <br />Although commissioners have shown support for developing plans, some want to be sure the town is following the wishes of its residents and is being fiscally responsible. <br /> “This really depends on what the town wants,” Commissioner Peggy Gossett-Seidman said. “The worst-case scenario is that we can’t come to a consensus as a community and everything goes to hell in a handbasket.”<br /> Commissioner Elyse Riesa said she is concerned that the overall project could be a drain on town finances. <br /> “I’m not in favor of going into debt to where we don’t have funds to do anything but work on the road,” she said. “If we do, we might as well be known as Highland Road instead of Highland Beach.”</p></div>Along the Coast: County planners devise U.S. 1 fixeshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/along-the-coast-county-planners-devise-u-s-1-fixes2018-05-02T16:20:08.000Z2018-05-02T16:20:08.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960784069,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960784069,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="600" alt="7960784069?profile=original" /></a><em>As part of its research of U.S. 1, the Transportation Planning Agency held walking workshops in Boca Raton and other cities. <strong>File photo by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star</strong></em></p>
<p><strong>By Rich Pollack</strong></p>
<p>After more than a year of study and hours of research, the Palm Beach Transportation Planning Agency has come up with a draft report for improvements to 42 miles of U.S. Highway 1 in Palm Beach County.<br /> The 176-page report focuses on roadway improvements that can make travel along the corridor safer for pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists. It also focuses on creating a branded express bus service that would be safe and convenient for people using public transportation. <br /> “Our core goal was to improve the corridor for all users and make it safer,” said Valerie Neilson, the Transportation Planning Agency’s deputy director for multimodal development and the project manager. <br /> The draft of the U.S.-1 Multimodal Corridor Study, scheduled to be presented to the agency’s board this month, includes dozens of recommendations for improvements that could be implemented by the Florida Department of Transportation. The agency also makes improvement recommendations to municipalities along the route.<br /> A blueprint of sorts, the plan is just one of the first steps in a long process that would include reviews by other agencies and could take several years before many of the most extensive recommendations could be implemented. <br /> “We need to do further analysis,” Neilson said. <br /> In looking at roadway improvements along the corridor, the staff members and consultants behind the report recommend changes such as connecting sidewalks in areas where there are gaps and creating bike lanes where they don’t exist. The report also looked at areas where landscaping could provide shade for pedestrians as well as those using public transportation. <br /> In some cases, the study recommends reducing speed limits to enhance safety and in other instances recommends reconfiguring roads to make room for bike paths and walkways. <br /> On the stretch of U.S. 1 from Camino Real to Southeast Mizner Boulevard in south Boca Raton, for example, the study’s authors recommend the roadway be narrowed from six lanes to four lanes to make room for on-street parking and a protected bike lane. In coming up with the recommendation, the team considered many factors, including projected traffic volumes along the roadway in 2040. <br /> In some areas, the team does not recommend lane changes but does suggest narrowing landscaped or green areas to add two-way bike paths on either side of the roadway.<br /> In some cases, the report recommends that bike paths be buffered from traffic by a structure or barrier. <br /> In areas where lanes would be reduced — including sections of U.S. 1 in Hypoluxo and Lantana — approval from local municipalities would be required, in addition to consent from FDOT. <br /> Neilson said while the study was being conducted, the team found areas where improvements could be made that were outside the FDOT right of way, which is the area under study. In those cases the FDOT is making recommendations to the local municipality. <br /> For example, one recommendation to the city of Delray Beach for a portion of the road near Linton Boulevard would be to add trees and landscaping for additional pedestrian comfort. <br /> In looking at public transportation, the report’s authors took comfort and health factors and convenience into consideration when recommending where bus stops along the rapid transit system’s line would be. <br /> Locating a bus stop near a grocery store, for example, would add convenience and perhaps safety for those who use public transportation. <br /> The report also concluded that well-connected bicycle, walking, and transit safety and comfort features can contribute to increased rates of physical activity, which has multiple benefits. <br /> Neilson said after the report is presented to the board, coordination with other government agencies and organizations will continue, as will additional analysis. <br /> To view the report or find out more, visit <a href="http://www.palmbeachtpa.org/us1">www.palmbeachtpa.org/us1</a></p></div>Ocean Ridge: Ocean Ridge approves money for flooding studyhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/ocean-ridge-ocean-ridge-approves-money-for-flooding-study2017-11-29T20:12:45.000Z2017-11-29T20:12:45.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p>Ocean Ridge Commissioners unanimously approved hiring Higgins Engineering Inc. to study the chronic drainage problems in parts of the Inlet Cay island neighborhood.<br /> Robert Higgins, president of the West Palm Beach company, has 30 years’ experience dealing with drainage issues in South Florida and was the only qualified applicant to bid on the study. He told commissioners he would charge an hourly rate and provide as much analysis as they requested.<br /> Residents in the Spanish River Drive area have complained for years about street and driveway flooding during seasonal king tides and storms. The town has been able to relieve recent episodes by repairing damaged and blocked outflow pipes.<br /> Higgins told the commission he would take a comprehensive look at the problem area and advise the town on possible long-term solutions.</p>
<p style="text-align:right;"><br /><em>— Dan Moffett</em></p></div>Boca Raton: Study: Making Federal, Dixie one-way would save motorists timehttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/study-making-federal-dixie-one-way-would-save-motorists-time2017-11-01T16:00:00.000Z2017-11-01T16:00:00.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong>By Steve Plunkett</strong><br /> <br /> Turning Federal and Dixie highways into a pair of one-way roads downtown could shave two minutes off each southbound trip and almost four minutes off northbound travel, consultants say.<br /> But such changes will not come quickly, consultants Jim Sumislaski and Chris Heggen told the Boca Raton Community Redevelopment Agency last month. A typical timeline would show the project finishing in 2031, they said.<br /> “I’d still love to find the magic rabbit out of a hat that gets us some answers quicker and faster,” CRA Chairman and City Council member Scott Singer said. “When I look at this timeline and I see construction going to 2031 it doesn’t make me feel as warm and fuzzy as something that says at least ’20-something on it.”<br /> Sumislaski and Heggen, of Kimley-Horn and Associates, did a traffic count at peak morning and evening rush hours and midday in January, then forecast what traffic would be in the year 2040 at Federal/Dixie and Northeast Second Street, Palmetto Park Road, Camino Real and Southwest 18th Street. <br /> At each intersection except Palmetto Park, the level of service improved and wait times were shorter if the north-south roads were converted to one-way.<br /> At Palmetto Park Road, the changes would be “neutral to marginally improved,” Heggen said.<br /> Changing the highways to a one-way pair would also allow for a more efficient use of the right of way, the consultants said. Federal and Dixie today are divided roadways with four 12-foot-wide travel lanes, turn lanes, 6-foot-wide sidewalks and 4-foot-wide undesignated shoulders for bicyclists. Making them one-way would mean three 11-foot-wide travel lanes, a 5-foot-wide bike path with a 2-foot-wide buffer, and 10 feet on both sides of each road for sidewalks, green space and “sidewalk furniture.”<br /> The consultants estimated the construction cost at $48.8 million with money coming from the Palm Beach Metropolitan Planning Organization, the state and the federal government.<br /> CRA members liked one benefit in particular of going one-way: making the downtown more friendly to pedestrians who would walk on wider sidewalks and contend with only one direction of traffic.<br /> But member Andrea O’Rourke asked why she did not see more people walking on Delray Beach’s one-way pair of avenues making up U.S. 1. <br /> Heggen said Delray Beach’s downtown with its restaurants, shops and nightlife is oriented east-west along Atlantic Avenue. Boca Raton’s downtown is more north-south, he said. <br /> CRA members told the consultants to formally request the MPO and the state to pay for a more in-depth study of downtown traffic.<br /> Mayor Susan Haynie, who also chairs the MPO, predicted a favorable response.<br /> “I’ll speak on behalf of the Palm Beach MPO that we will streamline it as quickly as we can,” Haynie said.</p></div>Boca Raton: Potential for 2nd Tri-Rail station topic of new studyhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-potential-for-2nd-tri-rail-station-topic-of-new-study2017-10-04T14:52:14.000Z2017-10-04T14:52:14.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960747093,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960747093,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" width="416" alt="7960747093?profile=original" /></a></strong></p>
<p><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong><br /><br /> Tri-Rail officials are launching a new study to evaluate a proposed second Tri-Rail station in Boca Raton, a step forward in station planning that started in 2007 when the commuter rail identified a possible location near Glades Road and Military Trail.<br /> The South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, which operates Tri-Rail, held “kickoff” meetings on Aug. 29 and 30 at the Spanish River Library to let the public and elected officials know about the study, possible station locations and a schedule for next steps.<br /> Developer Crocker Partners wants the new station, which would benefit its desire to create a large “live, work, play” development on a large area west of Interstate 95 and east of the Town Center at Boca Raton.<br /> Crocker envisions adding 2,500 residential units in an area where none now exists in a development where new residents would walk or take a shuttle to their jobs at nearby office buildings or retail stores, and head out after work to restaurants and nightlife.<br /> Tri-Rail could transport them around South Florida, while people who live elsewhere could ride the commuter train to the area to work, eat or shop.<br /> At the meetings, SFRTA officials showed seven possible station locations along the CSX railroad tracks from just north of Glades Road to just north of Palmetto Park Road. One parcel is owned by the city, another by the Florida Department of Transportation, and five are privately owned.<br /> Crocker owns four of those parcels, including the site of the former King’s Deli at Northwest 19th Street.<br /> SFRTA’s tentative timetable shows a project development and environment study taking place this year, followed by station design in 2018-19, right of way acquisition in 2018-21 and construction in 2022.<br /> A 2016 study determined that a new “kiss and ride” station with no parking lot is feasible and the approximately 1,000 weekday riders who are projected to use it is a sufficient number to support construction. The number of riders is expected to increase if Crocker builds new residential units.<br /> SFRTA, though, is not yet committed to building it. <br /> County Commissioner Steve Abrams, who chairs SFRTA’s governing board, said before the meetings that the station “probably would not be as high a priority” if Crocker doesn’t get approval to build.<br /> City Council member Andrea O’Rourke outlined a number of concerns at the Aug. 30 meeting. The biggest, or the “elephant in the room,” she said, was the perception of some residents that SFRTA is considering a station largely because Crocker wants it and new residential units would boost ridership.<br /> “The perception is Midtown depends on the Tri-Rail station being built,” she said after the meeting. “Which came first, the chicken or the egg? That is the question in the community.”<br /> SFRTA officials said that the station was under consideration before Crocker first proposed Midtown about four years ago. Its possible location was first identified in 2007 and included in a long-range plan in 2008, SFRTA deputy executive director C. Mikel Oglesby said after the meeting.<br /> That led to funding by the state DOT and the county’s Metropolitan Planning organization. Those two agencies have made available $18.5 million so far.<br /> That amount wouldn’t cover all the costs of planning and building a station, Oglesby said. SFRTA is updating cost estimates and will have a better idea of how much more it will need next summer.<br /> Crocker Partners has floated the idea of donating land for the station. SFRTA officials confirm they were approached about this, but it was premature at the time to discuss the matter. They said they will do so when they have a firmer idea of where the station should be located.<br /> The busiest Tri-Rail station along its 72-mile line is the existing Boca Raton station at Yamato Road.</p></div>Boca Raton: Consultant identifies possible fixes for Wildflower cornerhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-consultant-identifies-possible-fixes-for-wildflower-co2016-03-30T17:03:30.000Z2016-03-30T17:03:30.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong>By Steve Plunkett</strong><br /> <br />The intersection of East Palmetto Park Road and Fifth Avenue may get one, two or three changes to improve traffic flow.<br /> Eric Czerniejewski, a project manager for consultant Calvin, Giordano and Associates, suggests restoring a left-turn lane for eastbound vehicles on Palmetto Park, taking property on the northeast corner through eminent domain, and adding a left-turn lane for northbound Fifth Avenue drivers who want to go west.<br /> If the city were to choose all three possibilities, Czerniejewski said at a public hearing March 23, average wait times at the sometimes-clogged intersection would drop by a cumulative 37.5 seconds. <br /> The consultant based his analysis on traffic figures the city collected in September and also got peak-season numbers through observations on March 11.<br /> “We also had aerial drones flown,” he said.<br /> Czerniejewski analyzed the traffic flow based on current demands as well as anticipated demands from projects that have been approved but not built, including Palmetto Promenade (Archstone), Boca Lofts, Chabad of East Boca, Hyatt Place Hotel, Tower One Fifty Five and a restaurant at the Wildflower site. He also added projections for 1.2 million square feet of space remaining in the downtown Development of Regional Impact area.<br /> By 2040, he said, drivers at the Palmetto Park/Fifth Avenue intersection will wait an average of 57.7 seconds. Not building a restaurant at the Wildflower site would cut the wait only one-tenth of a second, he said. <br /> By comparison, the current average wait at Palmetto Park Road and A1A is 19.4 seconds; at Palmetto Park Road and Federal Highway it’s 131.2 seconds.<br /> Residents at a hearing in November gave their highest priorities to having wider sidewalks and more, safer bicycle lanes at Palmetto Park and Fifth, examining the valet operation at the Trattoria Romano restaurant on the northwest corner, and taking some land on the northeast corner by eminent domain to make right turns from westbound Palmetto easier.<br /> Czerniejewski recommended that Boca Raton enforce the valet parking agreement it has with Trattoria Romano. He said he observed the valet parkers putting cones on the public sidewalk on the west side of Northeast Fifth and also saw “conflicts” at its southernmost driveway.<br /> Restoring the left-turn lane from eastbound Palmetto to northbound Fifth Avenue saved the most money — $3.8 million a year — as calculated by drivers’ time spent waiting, Czerniejewski said. The option would also cut the queue of vehicles at the intersection from almost 21 to nine for through traffic and 11 for those turning left.<br /> An option many neighborhood residents favored, adding a right-turn lane from southbound Fifth Avenue onto westbound Palmetto Park, would save only $89,435 in drivers’ time spent waiting, he said. <br /> Czerniejewski plans to bring a final report to the City Council sometime in May.</p></div>Along the Coast: Towns agree to split cost of fire district studyhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/along-the-coast-towns-agree-to-split-cost-of-fire-district-study2015-12-02T21:30:00.000Z2015-12-02T21:30:00.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Related story: Highland Beach <a href="http://thecoastalstar.ning.com/profiles/blogs/highland-beach-negotiations-underway-for-fire-truck-rescue">negotiations</a> underway for fire truck, rescue vehicle and staffing</strong></p>
<p></p>
<p><strong>By Dan Moffett</strong><br /> <br /> Five coastal municipalities have joined to pay for a study to explore the feasibility of forming a barrier island fire district.<br /> The first formal vote on the idea came on Nov. 13 in Gulf Stream, when the Town Commission unanimously approved putting up $39,000 to hire Matrix Consulting Group of Keller, Texas, the low bidder among four companies that submitted study proposals.<br /> The other four towns in the group have agreed to share in the expense: Gulf Stream, after reimbursements from its neighbors, hopes to end up paying $9,677, as will Manalapan and Ocean Ridge. <br /> Briny Breezes and South Palm Beach will contribute $5,000 each. Highland Beach, which was considering participating, has decided to pull out and continue contracting for fire and emergency medical services with Delray Beach.<br /> “Briny Breezes at the very front end told us they could not equally share in the cost,” said Gulf Stream Town Manager William Thrasher. “We felt they were an important component and to bolster good will between the communities we recognized their inability to fund such a project.”<br /> Briny Breezes’ importance to the plan is available real estate — several parcels on the west side of A1A that could become the site for building a fire station that would serve the southern end of the proposed district. The maintenance building behind Ocean Ridge’s Town Hall likely also would require an overhaul for use as another station.<br /> If the sites in Briny don’t work out, Thrasher says it might be possible to find space in his town. The problem with moving to Gulf Stream, however, is that there would be no chance of obtaining federal or state grant money to pay for the station’s construction.<br /> The district movement comes after years of frustration with fire service providers on the mainland whose fees have been increasing and whose response times seem to have been, too.<br /> Gulf Stream Mayor Scott Morgan said that, if the plan proves viable, it could mean self-sufficiency and that the towns “would not be at the contractual whims of Delray Beach or Boynton Beach, or anyone else that would have to provide that service to us.”<br /> Gulf Stream Vice Mayor Robert Ganger said the town had been setting money aside for a feasibility study for three years. “It’s money well spent,” Ganger said. “This is a really important project.”<br /> Matrix Consulting is expected to begin the study with visits to the coastal towns beginning in December and will have 90 days to file a report. Representatives of the towns said they chose Matrix not because it was the lowest bidder but because its proposal was the most detailed.<br /> Fitch and Associates of Platte City, Mo., was the group’s second choice with a bid of $48,600, and Thrasher said the company would be the alternate if one is needed going forward.</p></div>Along the Coast: Area removed from inlet-to-inlet plan as environmental study revivedhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/along-the-coast-area-removed-from-inlet-to-inlet-plan-as-environm2012-08-01T19:39:23.000Z2012-08-01T19:39:23.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong>By Tim O’Meilia</strong><br /><br /> It’s the old “good news/bad news” cliché. <br /> The good news is that the elusive environmental impact study for the perhaps illusory plan to save South Palm Beach’s eroding beach and maintain Lantana’s seawall is being revived.<br /> The bad news is that the project has been removed from the list of beach projects to be included in the new inlet-to-inlet beach management plan being written by state, county and municipal officials to guide future work. <br /> The not-so-bad-after-all news is that the project likely will be placed back on the list once engineers and biologists decide the newest approach to save South Palm Beach condos from falling into the sea. <br /> “We’re going ahead with the environmental impact study with the idea that there will be no structures,” meaning breakwaters or groins, said Dan Bates, deputy director of Palm Beach County’s Department of Environmental Resource Management.<br /> The original 1.3-mile project from southern Palm Beach to Manalapan included a series of off-shore concrete breakwaters and several groins, but the plan stalled after county commissioners rejected a similar plan for Singer Island. Commissioners were concerned about the effects on sea turtle nesting and sea grasses.<br /> South Palm Beach Town Manager Rex Taylor was pleased that the environmental study had been revived, although he blamed county commissioners for the delay.<br /> In June, county commissioners made clear that the environmental study should emphasize solutions that do not include hard structures. The difficulty is that extensive hardbottom off the South Palm Beach shoreline makes a simple sand restoration project nearly impossible to be permitted. <br /> Scientists concluded that sand renourishment would result in the hardbottom being covered, destroying the habitat of near-shore marine life. Bates said a scaled-back sand restoration project may be possible, depending on the results of the environmental study. <br /> However, the county already has indicated the area would not be eligible for any more sand dune restoration because the sand is too quickly washed away in the next storm. <br /> The study is being combined with a similar study of Reach 8 in Palm Beach, from the Lake Worth beach to the northern boundary of South Palm Beach. A restoration project there had been previously denied because of similar environmental concerns. <br /> The regional plan would allow a regional approach to beach management resulting in more effective projects and quicker state approvals for individual projects. The proposed plan includes seven projects that have been approved or will be renewed between the Lake Worth and Boynton inlets. <br /> “We can’t include a project that the Corps of Engineers may not approve,” said Danielle Fondren, director of the state Bureau of Beaches and Coastal Systems, referring to the South Palm Beach and Reach 8 projects. <br /> A first draft of the regional plan will be considered at a Sept. 18 meeting in Palm Beach. State organizers hope five municipalities — including Lantana, South Palm Beach and Manalapan — will sign on, as well as Palm Beach County, the primary source of money. <br /> Included is an annual inlet-to-inlet shoreline monitoring program that would be paid for by all five towns, even if they have no projects imminent. Each would be assessed based on its amount of shoreline: a half mile (3.2 percent) for South Palm Beach, 0.2 miles (1.3 percent) for Lantana and 2.7 miles (17.2 percent) for Manalapan. <br /> The town of Palm Beach would pay more than 75 percent of the cost. The annual cost has not been determined. <br /> Lantana Town Manager Deborah Manzo said that signing the agreement will be the council’s decision. She urged that the agreement have an endpoint, such as five years, so partners could decide whether to continue. </p></div>Report highlights flood threats to coastal communitieshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/report-highlights-flood-threats-to-coastal-communities2012-04-05T14:00:00.000Z2012-04-05T14:00:00.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960387471,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960387471,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="170" alt="7960387471?profile=original" /></a><strong>By Antigone Barton</strong><br /> <br /> If the rewards of life by the sea are immeasurable, a report released last month showed the risks, at least, are calculable. <br /> Global warming, rising sea levels and storms all add up to odds of flooding that will redraw the map of Florida from the bottom up, according to the report, impacting mainland as well as barrier island communities. And while Palm Beach County may stay drier longer, data from the report show the odds that flooding will affect residents from South Palm Beach to Boca Raton in next two decades.<br /> Interactive maps released with the Surging Seas report by Climate Central, a nonprofit research and education group, show the estimated effects of rising sea levels to more than 3,000 coastal towns, cities, counties and states in the contiguous United States during the next century, with storms bringing flooding from 1 to 10 feet above mean high tide level.<br /> More than half of the population in the line of floodwaters live in Florida. Miami Dade is most at risk for flooding, with Broward County right behind it. The next neighbor up, Palm Beach County, however, is not even among the top 10 most flood-prone counties.<br /> “A small amount of elevation makes a big difference when it’s so flat,” said Ben Strauss, Climate Center director on the Surging Seas project. <br /> According to the maps, at <a href="http://sealevel.climatecentral.org/">http://sealevel.climatecentral.org/</a>, Boca Raton, the county’s southernmost coastal town, would feel the greatest impact from storm surges in this area. The reports data predict 1,212 Boca Raton homes would be vulnerable to flooding from a 3-foot storm surge that has a 1-in-6 chance of occurring by 2030. The area faces 1-in-2 odds of such a surge by 2050. <br /> That is just one factor determining the numbers of people and homes that would be affected — with population density, building height and nearness to the shoreline adding to, or ameliorating, risks.<br /> A climb up the interactive map illustrates the risks, with 525 homes in Highland Beach — or 15 percent of its housing — threatened with flooding in a 3-foot surge. Delray would have the second highest number of homes facing flooding, with 1,081 homes 3 feet or less above the mean high tide line. Low-density Gulf Stream would have 73 homes in the line of flood waters, while the more crowded neighboring town of Briny Breezes would see flooding 294 homes, or 37 percent of its housing.<br /> While 150, or 10 percent, of Ocean Ridge homes would be affected by a 3-foot surge, life on the mainland has its own risks, the maps show, with 649 homes in the way of waters rising from canals and the Intracoastal in Boynton Beach within the next two decades. Maps for Lantana and Manalapan show Hypoluxo Island vulnerable on all sides. In Lantana, 290 homes are less than 3 feet above mean high tide, and in Manalapan 21 homes would be affected, according to the maps.<br /> And while sea walls, such as those that line the entire oceanfront side of South Palm Beach, may offer protection, they present a problem as well, Strauss said.<br /> “It’s impossible to build a sea wall that will work in the long term.” And, he added, “New Orleans and Katrina showed us, once that is breached, it is harder to move water out.”<br /> Surging Seas data predict 113 South Palm Beach homes, or 8 percent of the town’s housing, would be affected by a 3-foot storm surge.<br /> “In the long term, the map of Florida is going to be redrawn,” Strauss said. “In the near term, we’re going to see more and more floods go higher and higher.”<br /> The response, he said, “It’s a question of what our tolerance for risk is.”<br /> Homeowners can respond by literally raising their properties with higher foundations, an expensive but not impossible proposition. They also can consider moving their valuables elsewhere, and keeping a pump handy.<br /> Communities can consider the report’s findings and other data, when planning, he said. <br /> In principle, Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council already does, said Michael Busha, the council’s executive director, discouraging further development of barrier islands, investments in new infrastructure that encourages development in barrier islands, and encouraging public beach access. <br /> On a larger scale, the report may cause individuals and communities to take an active interest in environmental policies that may slow climate change, and sea level rise, Strauss said.<br /> “But a lot of increase is already baked in the cake,” he added. “We won’t be able to avoid it.” </p></div>Along the Coast: Mayors find consolidation consultant’s price steephttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/along-the-coast-mayors-find-consolidation-consultant-s-price-stee2011-11-03T15:38:10.000Z2011-11-03T15:38:10.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div>By Steve Plunkett<br /><br /> When coastal mayors next meet to discuss ways to consolidate services and reduce costs, they’ll have a big price tag to digest: $71,500.<br /> That’s how much consultant Willdan Homeland Solutions wants to study the possibility of making one fire-rescue department to serve Gulf Stream, Ocean Ridge, Briny Breezes, Manalapan and Lantana. <br /> The cost estimate surprised at least one mayor.<br /> “I don’t think that’s too accurate,” said Ken Kaleel of Ocean Ridge, who set up the mayors’ initial meeting in June.<br /> Gulf Stream Town Manager William Thrasher asked for the estimate after his town was hit with a $38,000-a-year surcharge for fire-rescue from Delray Beach, after Gulf Stream annexed a 16.6-acre pocket.<br /> Joseph De Ladurantey, former police chief in Irwindale and Torrance, Calif., and onetime captain in the Los Angeles Police Department, would head the study, according to the Willdan proposal. Willdan also developed the assessment methodology for Gulf Stream’s underground utility project.<br /> Helping De Ladurantey would be five other consultants: a retired Deltona fire chief, a retired Orange County Fire Rescue division chief and two retired battalion chiefs and a retired New Port Richey fire chief, Willdan’s proposal says. De Ladurantey says he would provide 10 hard copies and one CD of his final report within 90 days of being awarded the contract.<br /> The proposal notes two of the five communities are served by the county, two by Boynton Beach and one by Delray Beach.<br /> “With three separate organizations, there are three separate legal arrangements and three separate approaches to providing modern fire and rescue services,” it says.<br /> The proposed price is more than the mayors have committed so far to hiring a consultant. Gulf Stream and Lantana chipped in $5,000 apiece. Ocean Ridge and Manalapan were waiting to see what the cost might be. <br /> Briny Breezes mostly sits in on the meetings. South Palm Beach’s mayor did not want to pay for a consultant.<br /> Kaleel said his secretary was calling around the last week <br />of October to coordinate a time for the mayors’ second meeting. <br /></div>