Punta Gorda Isles and Burnt Store Isles residents who live along canals will have their seawalls repaired or replaced at no extra cost. Damaged by Hurricane Ian, the seawalls will be funded by the canal maintenance fund, which residents pay into yearly as part of their property taxes.
A salesperson at Marine Contracting Group in Punta Gorda said it would cost between $30,000 and $40,000 to replace an 80-foot-long seawall, which is the size of a standard lot in Punta Gorda Isles.
A single-family residence in Punta Gorda Isles is assessed to have a $1,100 canal maintenance fee. The fee for multifamily properties is assessed by the number of linear feet, said Melissa Reichert, Punta Gorda assistant city manager.
Hurricane Ian caused seawall damage to 630 properties along the city’s 7.25 miles of seawalls, she said.
The city’s public works department is working to make concrete panels ranging in size from 10 feet to 12 feet, said Public Works Director Bryan Clemons.
Mayor Lynne Matthews said she visited the construction site at Public Works where workers mixed the marine grade concrete and saw seawall panels from one end to another. So far, 3,391 panels have been completed, with 3,136 to go, Reichert said.
At its March 20 meeting, the city voted to award a contract for marine grade ready-mix concrete to Lutz-based Preferred Materials Inc.
Julie Rogan Sutter, senior purchasing agent for the city, said 693 solicitations were sent to vendors, 42 viewed them online and the city received two responses. A $789,920 contract was awarded to Preferred Materials to provide approximately 4,000 cubic yards of marine grade ready-mix concrete, amounting to $192 per cubic yard.
Funding for the work is coming from canal maintenance funds, but Federal Emergency Management Agency funding also will be applied, and the city is expected to be reimbursed 95% of the cost.
The timeframe for reimbursement might be long. At that same meeting, Finance Director Kristin Simeone said the city was recently reimbursed $7.3 million for riprap repairs for Hurricane Irma damage, which occurred in September 2017.
