Sunset Beach Community Association

I went to the meeting today.(December 4, 2013)  There were only 3-4 of us in attendance.  The project starts Monday, December 9th!  It will be somewhat disruptive for all the folks who live on Bayshore (especially those between 77th and 79th).  However, if the weather cooperates, the project will be completed in 6 months time (or sooner).   The City Engineer emphatically noted that the project will help with storm water flooding/drainage in the area, but not tidal water flooding.   He also noted that the contractor (Keystone) will be staging equipment and parking vehicles in the parking lot between 80th Avenue and 80th Terrace. Hence this parking lot will not be available to the public while the project is underway!  Also, interesting to note, the portion of the pipe that will will be installed between Bayshore and the Pass will be 42″ in diameter and it will extend out into Blind Pass for 25′.  The top of this pipe will be 3′ below the top of the seawall.  Therefore, the pipe will almost always have some amount of seawater in it because there are no plans to try to seal off this pipe from saltwater “backflowing” into the pipe.  Thus, it will be one more thing for the city to keep clean and clear. The City’s cost for this project is $450,000 and if I understood correctly, Swiftwater is kicking in an additional $450,000.  The reason being is that this project includes the installation of a “baffle box” which will catch/trap sand, silt and trash and keep it from being dumped into the Pass (thus cleaning up the water that otherwise would dump unwanted stuff into the Pass/Gulf).  The baffle box will also be one more thing for the City to clean and keep clear.