Town seeks opinion on sand choice

Town Manager Bruce St. Denis wrote a request to residents stating that he wants them to inform the commission of what type of sand they would like before the commission makes the final sand choice at the Monday, June 7 regular meeting. The following is an excerpt from St. Denis’ request:

The Town Commission will be making decisions regarding the placement and type of sand (color and grain size) to be used in the beach renourishment project scheduled to start construction in November 2011. The costs associated with locating, placing and retaining high quality sand on the beaches are significant. If cost were not a factor most people would likely prefer a white, fine-grained sandy beach. However, the smaller the grain size, the more expensive the beach is to build and maintain. The smaller grains are lighter and more likely to be washed away in a storm event. Because of their greater erosion potential, more fine-grained sand is required to build beaches that will last 8 years than it would take with coarser sands. This, in turn, significantly increases the cost of a fine, white sand beach.

Because the coarse/gray sand is physically heavier than fine/white, less total sand is required to construct the beach. Therefore the cost for a beach project is lower. The coarse gray sand was also closer to Longboat Key, so dredging costs were less due to reduced distance to the sand borrow site.

Because of aesthetic concerns regarding the coarse/gray sand expressed by town residents, the Town Commission decided not to pursue the dual layer approach for the next beach project. At this time, the town is looking for sand options that will be closer to the native fine/white standard.

Currently, the town is considering two types of smaller-grained (finer) sand for the beach project that will start in November of 2011.

The first option is to nourish the beach with fine-grained sand that is slightly off-white in color. It is a 0.21mm grain size with a Munsell color of 7. A Munsell color of 8 is considered the whitest. The second would be to nourish the beach with a fine/white sand. The average grain size is 0.18mm and it is very white. It has a Munsell color of 8.

At this point it appears that if either of these two sand options are selected the upcoming beach nourishment project will cost between $40 and $50 million.

If you would like to see samples of the sand they are available at Town Hall for review.

Town commissioners want to hear from you so they can make a decision that reflects the best interest of the town. Accordingly, they have directed me to share this information with you and to seek your input on this very important subject. You can send an e-mail to the Town Commission, or you can contact me if you have any questions at bstdenis@longboatkey.org.