Army Corps revisits beach renourishment costs
A Lee County beach renourishment program on Gasparilla Island, initially planned for 2025 and hoped for this year, is still in the works, but the cost has yet to be determined. The Beacon reached out to Lee County officials about the status of the program, which is separate from a completed state-run beach renourishment project at the south end of Gasparilla Island that finished in October.
“Lee County is awaiting a survey, which is expected in the coming weeks,” wrote Betsy Clayton, communications director for Lee County. “The survey would then be used to request easements that must be acquired in order to have a viable project.”
Clayton told the Beacon that it was too soon to answer our questions about cost.
The total shoreline area in the county renourishment is just under three miles. At the time of the enactment of a parking ordinance to the island, there was talk about creating an MSBU or municipal service benefit unit (a tax district) on the island to pay for the shortfall, but there has been no official action on that. Across the state, many islands must pay for much of their own renourishment by tax, rather than having it funded for them. For instance, the Captiva Erosion Prevention District is a state district that pays for that island’s renourishment.
The formula for Army Corps cost share will change because of parking, according to a fall memo from the Army Corps obtained by the Beacon. Army Corps spokesman John Paul Dominic (J.P.) Robello, of the U.S. Army Corps Jacksonville District, confirmed that the new formula and federal percentage was lower for Gasparilla Island after the passage of the ordinance.
“Following implementation of Ordinance 25-16, the new cost apportionment is 26/74 Federal/Non-Federal, a change from the previous 55.94/44.06 Federal/Non-Federal,” Robello wrote.
Last fall, county staff discussed how parking could affect beach renourishment funding, and the number circulating was a loss of around $4 million. Whatever the amount, at the August meeting, County manager Dave Harner confirmed that the amount will be able to be paid no matter the parking ordinance. “We have other avenues of how to pay for that which are around the county which is in an MSBU,” he said. “So there are other alternatives other than just taking it from the General Fund and we could bring that back at a later date.”
There is also a separate issue, an issue of lands. In any renourishment, individual beach parcels are listed.
“Lee County must provide the lands necessary to construct the project by July 2026 in order to award a contract in December 2026,” Robello wrote. “A revised Lands Request was sent to Lee County on October 17, 2025,”
The most important issue in cost is the actual parking available. The Army Corps’ economist Lawton Perret, in October, detailed some of the corrective actions the county could do to increase parking. The memo noted that the only non-permit on-street parking in one section was a small “general parking” pocket on East 11th Street, and wrote that “reasonable public access and sufficient public parking exist within a reasonable distance” were needed to get the full federal credit. They determined that the 11th Street area was not sufficient.
“Lee County is aware of the corrective actions that they can take to improve their cost-share,” Robello wrote on Feb. 6. “Prior to the passage of the Ordinance 25-16, Lee County staff briefed the Board of County Commissioners that the ordinance would affect their cost-share. The USACE is not aware of any recommendations by Lee County to improve their public parking and access following passage of Ordinance 25-16.”
The Lee County beach renourishment is separate from a state funded beach renourishment, which closed the Gasparilla Island State Park at the south end of the island beginning in July 2025. The renourishment had been delayed due to winter storms. Bids for that project initially went out in June 2024 for beach sand replenishment work.
The south end reopened in early October 2025.
