St. Johns considers Summer Haven buyout after dune breach

SAINT AUGUSTINE, Fla. — Millions of dollars in dune enhancement projects in Summer Haven have been washed away during a nor’easter in November. This week’s weather system will bring another round of rough surf and heavy rain.

The dune protects the road and properties along Old A1A, but was breached during the November storm.

Joe Giammanco, St. Johns County’s emergency management director, said the breach would cost more than a million dollars to fill in.

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“There’s no good answer,” he said to county commissioners during a November meeting. Now they are set to discuss buying out five homes to make way for a wildlife refuge.

Commissioner Paul Waldron said in his five years on the board, they’ve replaced the dune in Summer Haven at least four times.

“It’s starting to be a burden on taxpayers,” he said. Another commissioner said it was the “most volatile stretch of beach in the state.”

This week, Summer Haven is set to take another beating as a system with strong wind and heavy rain moves through.

Several areas along St. Johns County are still recovering from November’s nor’easter. In June, St. Johns County approved nearly $34 million for a FEMA dune enhancement project.

Crews finished work in Crescent Beach just one week before the nor’easter swept through. Giammanco said the dune stood up well to the storm, and they only lost about 10%.

Commissioners also recently approved $120,000 to fix damage to the South Ponte Vedra Park Pavilion as a result of the storm.

“How many times do you keep fixing it?” Alwyn Evans, a Palm Coast resident, said. “It’s hard to say — I see both sides.”

St. Johns County isn’t the only one spending millions to protect its shoreline.

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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is working on a $13 million renourishment project in Duval. It started in 2016, just before Hurricane Matthew wreaked havoc.

Nassau is also in the midst of a $32 million project for dredging along U.S. Naval Station Kings Bay and to replace sand along Fernandina Beach.

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