SoWalSally

By Daniel Carson Florida Freedom News




PANAMA CITY — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers immediately will begin a limited re-evaluation report to determine if Carillon Beach and Pinnacle Port’s properties should be included in Panama City Beach’s federal renourishment project, the Bay County Tourist Development Council’s beach management coordinator said Tuesday.
Lisa Armbruster told the TDC board that the two properties have requested help in gaining inclusion to the project. She said both have agreed to offer 10 public parking spaces as well as public access to their beach areas in hopes that the corps would include them in the federal project.
Armbruster cautioned there still are several details that needed to be worked out.
“I think we’ve made significant progress. I’m very pleased with this,” Armbruster said, although she emphasized that the limited re-evaluation report, or LRR, was a first step in the process.
TDC Chairman Lee Sullivan echoed Armbruster’s comments and said the council did not want to be in the position of abandoning Carillon Beach and Pinnacle Port’s beach areas.
“I think long term, we would be penny wise and pound foolish not to approach this,” Sullivan said.
Any current work to shore up Carillon Beach and Pinnacle Port’s beaches will be put on hold until the Corps of Engineers completes the LRR, Armbruster said.
She estimated it would take three to six months to complete the re-evaluation.
The LRR will determine the cost benefit, federal cost-sharing eligibility and actual design project - if the corps deems it as justifiable - she said. Armbruster added that the LRR will not determine project costs or time frame.
Project manager John Crane said if it is determined the benefits of inclusion to the properties exceeds the costs, then the corps will recommend including Carillon Beach and Pinnacle Port in the federal project.
Carillon Beach and Pinnacle Port were not included in the federal project because property owners rejected the county’s initial nourishment project in 1998.
Both properties suffered severe erosion from storm surge generated by Hurricane Dennis last summer.