Mister Blankenship, a city staff member, told the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee on Sept. 29 that the city has been awarded a Florida Boater Improvement Grant and a Florida Inland Navigation District (FIND) grant to proceed with dredging at the Main Street boat ramp and shoreline stabilization at Swing and Bench Park.

The grants mean the city has plans and permits in place, Blankenship said, and staff expect to “move forward with this project” soon. He told the committee the work could begin in the first quarter of the fiscal year and that contracts could be in place by Jan. 1 if procurement proceeds on schedule.

The committee asked about how the two nearby projects would interact. Blankenship said the shoreline stabilization and dredging are adjacent and that there will be “some spillover from one project to the other.” He recommended against installing benches or swings in the upland area near the shoreline until stabilization is complete because heavy trucks delivering rock and sand could damage new sidewalk or site improvements if stabilization work requires trucking material in.

Committee members asked whether the dredging contract could pump dredged material to Swing and Bench to avoid trucking; Blankenship said that would depend on the winning bidder. If the dredging contractor does not pump material to the adjacent site, the city would need to truck material, which could affect site finishes.

Blankenship also confirmed that procurement will put the work out to bid. He said timeline expectations are contingent on contracting and the bidder proposals but reiterated his expectation that work could start in the first quarter of the fiscal year.

The committee discussed preliminary equipment and cost-estimating steps so the committee could recommend park equipment choices once shoreline work is finished. Blankenship said staff would obtain price estimates so the committee could make decisions more quickly after stabilization.

The committee did not take a formal vote on this topic during the meeting; the discussion was informational and focused on schedule, procurement, and site-protection measures.