- May 6, 2024
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Flagler Beach is not happy with the analysis Dick Holmberg submitted outlining his plan to save the city’s fast-eroding beach.
Because of that, the city will not pay Holmberg the remaining $5,000 of the $50,000 fee he charged for the study until he answers some questions.
“There was a large expectation gap between your submitted coastal avulsion and resurrection analysis report and what our commission believed they would receive based on our contract,” said Bruce Campbell, city manager for Flagler Beach, in an email to Holmberg.
The email was sent Feb. 18 as a follow-up to a frosty workshop meeting of the Flagler Beach City Commission Feb. 14, at which Holmberg presented the results of his study. Holmberg said he could save the city’s beach using his undercurrent stabilization system at a cost of $10 million.
Campbell said he has not yet received a response from Holmberg. At the Feb. 14 workshop, Holmberg said he had given commissioners all he could.
But at that same meeting, commissioners criticized the report for being incomplete and nonspecific to Flagler Beach. Much of the report included photos of Holmberg’s previous work, all of which are available on the Holmberg Technologies website. Holmberg’s plan for Flagler Beach showed eight undercurrent stabilizers superimposed on a Google Earth satellite image of the city.
Commissioners asked Holmberg how he picked the locations of the stabilizers; why his system, which has only been used in seas and lakes so far, would work on a hurricane-battered Atlantic Coast; and how Holmberg arrived at his $10 million price tag. None of that information was included in his report.
Holmberg contract with the city mandated that he would produce a final report that included “a suggested plan of action based on the vision and expressed concerns made by the city of Flagler Beach.” Funding for the analysis came from Flagler County’s Tourist Development Council funds, out of an account that can only be used for beach restoration efforts.
“In reading your report … there was no mention of a ‘suggested plan of action,’” Campbell wrote.
In his email, Campbell outlined some things his plan of action should have included, such as howthe permitting process for Holmberg’s undercurrent stabilization system would begin, what the cost of permitting would be, whether the city would need to hire a coastal engineer, how the city could engage state and federal agencies for potential funding and the breakdown of overall project costs.
“In the spirit of cooperation, along with moving forward in a positive direction, I would ask that you review your commitment of contract and also determine if you are open to releasing more details,” Campbell wrote. “In the meantime, we plan to withhold the final $5,000 contract progress payment until we receive such further details.”
Holmberg’s technique of beach restoration was explored as a potential alternative to dredging, which is how the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers handles beach erosion.
The Army Corps is scheduled to come before the Flagler County Board of County Commissioners at a workshop Monday to present the findings of a 10-year, $3.5 million feasibility study for dredging in Flagler Beach.
Several Flagler Beach commissioners expressed concern that the county might decide to move forward with the Army Corps without consulting with them first.
Flagler Beach officials are expected to attend the workshop, which is scheduled for 1 p.m. Monday, at the Emergency Operations Center, in Bunnell.
