HOLMES BEACH – About 30 residents attended a neighborhood meeting held at the corner of Holmes Boulevard and 56th Street on Oct. 24.
The meeting pertained to a $1.73 million sea level rise resiliency and drainage project that will begin soon. The project is expected to improve drainage along portions of 55th Street, 56th Street, Holmes Boulevard, Gulf Drive and Marina Drive.
The 45-minute outdoor meeting provided residents and property owners the opportunity to ask questions and share their concerns about the short-term project impacts. Attendees were provided with a one-page handout that includes a project map and a QR code linked to the project webpage.
According to the project overview provided at the stormwater management page of the city website, “The city of Holmes Beach is undertaking a major infrastructure improvement along Gulf Drive to address the growing impacts of sea level rise and frequent flooding. This project focuses on enhancing the city’s stormwater management system in one of its most flood prone corridors, where tidal events and heavy rainfall often overwhelm existing drainage.
“The work includes upgrading stormwater pipes, installing new catch basins and reshaping swales to improve water flow and reduce standing water. These improvements are designed to increase the system’s capacity, improve drainage efficiency and reduce the risk of roadway and property flooding. The Gulf Drive project is part of a broader city-wide strategy to modernize stormwater systems and prepare for future coastal challenges.”
The Tampa-based Harris-McBurney Company is the project contractor and Herb Raybourn, from the RESPEC engineering and consulting firm, is the engineer of record.
Public Works Project Manager Matt Gorman facilitated the Oct. 24 meeting, joined by Interim Public Works Director Anthony Benitez, Raybourn, Detective Brian Hall, Harris-McBurney Vice President Shawn Gilbert, Harris-McBurney Project Manager John Kettell and Harris-McBurney Maintenance of Traffic (MOT) Safety Director Tom Newton.
Gorman said the project is the first phase of a proposed multi-phase resiliency and drainage effort.
“The goal of this project is to improve drainage along 55th and 56th – getting the drainage flowing the correct way, from west to east,” Benitez said, noting the discharge point will be the marina basin along Marina Drive.
“We’re putting 48-inch pipe in,” Kettell added.
Commissioner Dan Diggins asked if residents would see noticeable drainage improvements when the phase 1 project is completed.
“There will be some drainage improvement associated with phase 1,” Raybourn said. “Obviously, when the entire project is developed that improvement will be better, but there will be improvement with phase 1.”
Gilbert anticipates construction starting in about 30 days and the project being completed in about four months.
He said there will be a lot of digging and residents will experience some inconveniences.
Gilbert and Kettell said any portions of brick paver driveways impacted by the project will be removed, stored and reinstalled. Concrete driveways will be replaced and property damage will be repaired.
“There is going to be disruption and we’re going to do our best to work with all the residents and make it a smooth process,” Benitez said.
“You may be parking on the road one night, but it won’t be two nights,” Kettell said. “Hopefully, you can access your driveway every day, but we can’t promise you that.”
“You will still be able to get to your home,” Gorman said.
Hall said short-term streetside parking will be allowed if needed and police officers and code enforcement officers will be informed to not issue parking tickets in those impacted areas. Diggins recommends hanging a reentry tag from the parked vehicle’s rearview mirror so officers know the parked vehicle belongs to a resident.
Gilbert said Newton will be at the job site making sure the rerouted and detoured traffic flows as smoothly as possible. Newton said he used to be a police officer in Hillsborough County and he knows how to manage traffic.
“We’re going to have to close particular roads for a short period of time. As soon as that’s done, we’ll open that up and move to another location,” Newton said, noting some street closures may last a week or longer.
After referencing traffic problems experienced during a previous city project, one attendee said, “Signs alone do not help. You need some kind of enforcement out there. If you lived on this block, you couldn’t get out of your driveway without someone cursing at you about cutting in line.”
Kettell said the construction company will do its own utility location work before construction begins. If there’s a conflict between a drainage pipe and an existing waterline, the water will be turned off for a few hours while an additional waterline is installed to circumvent or accommodate the new drainage pipe. Kettell said residents, property owners and vacation rental management companies will be notified of any anticipated or emergency water shutoffs and his cell phone number will be provided.
Regarding the dewatering pumps that will be used to remove water where digging occurs, Kettell said Harris-McBurney uses pumps that are quieter than those used by some other construction companies and the pumps will be covered with dog house-like temporary structures that further minimize the noise.
“We’d appreciate it if you didn’t turn our pumps off, because people do,” he said.
Raybourn and Benitez said the $1.7 million phase 1 project is being 50% funded by a Resilient Florida grant and 50% funded by the city.
Diggins, Gorman and Kettell told residents to contact them with any concerns that arise during the construction process and several residents thanked the city officials and company representatives for meeting with them.
