Posted by Howard Siegel on October 11, 1999 at 08:33:00:
[Please e-mail info@briland.com for more information]
Dear Homeowners and Friends of the Beach,
On Tuesday, October 5, 1999, a small group of homeowners met with Keith Bishop, an engineer from Nassau, Dr. Kevin Bodge, a coastal engineer from Jacksonville, who specializes in Caribbean beaches, and Robert Myers from Caribbean Landscaping. I apologize to those of you who were not contacted about the meeting but time was of the essence and we tried to get the word out as best we could on short notice. We, of course, had no official standing, and we are not seeking any.
Dr. Bodge walked the beach and is preparing a comprehensive report, which I will forward as soon as I receive it. The recommendations were to begin a uniform approach to the entire beach consisting essentially of shaving the areas where sand has begun to rebuild along the water line and pushing it up against the dune line. The dunes will then, of course need to be revegitated as quickly as possible. A number of artificial construction stabilization alternatives were discussed. (It should be noted that there are people trying to sell everything from seawalls at $1,500.00 per foot to long plastic tubes filled with sand, to huge sandbags.) The engineers felt strongly that the best any of these alternatives will accomplish is to buy an extra hour or two during a severe hurricane. The worst is that they will be completely useless and substantially increase the erosion process.
Obviously, there are certain homes that need to be shored up immediately or they will fall onto the beach. I am not an engineer (however I do make a living by occasionally cross-examining and terrorizing them) and cannot tell you anything more than my impression that these people made sense. Everyone seems to agree that we need to do something now. However, this same sense of urgency is leading some people on the beach to begin projects on their own. In this regard, Mr. Bishop informed us that we are required to obtain a permit from Nassau for anything we do as there are environmental laws in effect that prohibit projects that are not sanctioned by the government. We all groaned simultaneously at the prospect of a long drawn out bureaucratic quagmire and Mr. Bishop informed us that he believed that the Prime Minister is prepared to issue a permit immediately. A meeting was scheduled on Friday with the Prime Minister. I believe that Dr. Bodge's report was to have been presented at that meeting.
Everyone on the island is of course entitled to disagree with Dr. Bodge's conclusions and recommendations. All of us want to act quickly to restore the beach and protect our homes. In this regard I simply do not know what to tell you. Neither I nor anyone else present at the meeting is anxious to take the lead or make it appear like we are trying to force a solution on any of our neighbors. We are open to all suggestions and would like to hear them immediately. This letter is simply an attempt to report to everyone what has transpired to date.
The proposal on the table now would require a payloader and a bulldozer to be brought in from Nassau. The description and cost of the project is outlined in a letter/proposal from Robbie Meyers and a terrific cost estimator done by Don Taylor. I am attaching both to this letter. Please note that if you elect to participate you will be billed based upon the time spent on your property. Everyone's problems are a little different and it would appear to be the only fair way of doing it. The more people that participate, the more effective the restoration will be. That means that any one who wants to sign up should immediately try and convince his neighbors on either side to sign up. A uniformly restored dune is the goal we should all strive for. Nature will restore our beach. It will also restore our dune. Unfortunately, dune restoration is measured in geologic time.
We already have a significant number of commitments from property owners along the beach. Assuming the Prime Minister gives us the permit those of us who agree on the approach outlined above intend to get started immediately. If you want to participate, Mr. Myers has requested a deposit of $2,500.00 per property. I will be setting up an account with the Royal Bank of Canada on Monday to handle these deposits. I would propose that we release the deposit money when the equipment hits the beach. It is imperative that Mr. Myers we receives a sufficient number commitments immediately so that he can mobilize the machinery and get it over to the island.
Please feel free to call or e-mail me (Brilander@aol.com) with your thoughts and positions. Cost questions should be addressed to Robert Myers (242-377-1149). Engineering and Permit questions should be addressed to Keith Bishop (242-394-5544, e-mail eia@bahamas.net.bs) An effective way of communicating with a large number of people is to post you comments on Briland.com. I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely yours,
Howard L. Siegel