Jacksonville City Council to decide on dune renourishment funding

Jacksonville City Council is expected to decide whether to approve funding for dune re-nourishment on Tuesday.

Atlantic Beach approved an emergency resolution to support rebuilding the dunes on Monday.

Dunes in Atlantic Beach are just one of the areas along our coast that took a beating during Hurricane Matthew.

“We’ve lost a lot of vegetation, a lot of displaced sand and so that’s the concern going forward,” neighbor Patrick Krechowski said.

Jacksonville City Council is expected to decide whether to allow Mayor Lenny Curry to spend up to $7.5 million for dune restoration.

If funding is approved, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will talk with the work crews currently pumping sand back on area beaches about adjusting their current contract to include dune restoration.

Some neighbors said they are worried that their dunes will be missed because the current beach renourishment project doesn’t cover all of Atlantic Beach.

Action News Jax took their concerns to Atlantic Beach Mayor Mitch Reeves.

“The original plan was to stop at 18th Street. We need to extend that all the way down to the park and maybe even past the park,” Reeves said.

Reeves said if money is approved, then he wants the restoration contract to be changed to include all of Atlantic Beach.

A change neighbors said is needed to protect their families and homes.

"Our concern is the dunes did their job but now they’ve been impacted and when we get another storm what kind of job will they be able to do," Krechowski said.

Reeves will read the emergency resolution in support of dune renourishment before the Jacksonville City Council Tuesday night.

Cox Media Group