A technical assessment of the Sawfish Bay seawall prompted the Town of Jupiter’s newly appointed engineering director to recommend a scaled rehabilitation approach, paired with nature‑based shoreline work and a DEP resilience grant application, to reduce immediate capital demands.

The issue in brief
Town staff previously programmed a full seawall replacement in the CIP. The engineering director told council a field assessment and coordination with Planning & Zoning show the project could be reclassified as a major rehabilitation (rather than full replacement) paired with living‑shoreline improvements; that approach could qualify for resilience grant funding through the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) that funds nature‑based maintenance measures.

Why it matters: Council and staff had previously budgeted the most‑extreme option (replacement). The director said a combined rehabilitation and resilience grant approach would reduce the town’s near‑term capital need and still address structural concerns, but stressed the town needs a fuller design and geotechnical analysis to define final scope and costs before committing construction dollars.

Technical findings and next steps
The engineering director reported that the seawall shows cracking and areas where concrete delamination and exposed reinforcement were present; those conditions can often be addressed through concrete restoration techniques (removal of delaminated concrete, cleaning and coating reinforcement, and local repairs). Vinyl sheet piles — used in portions of the wall — have known flexing characteristics and shorter design lives than steel sheet piles, the director said; the range of life‑extension from a major rehabilitation combined with nature‑based measures could be roughly 10–25 years depending on performance of those measures.

Staff said the DEP resilience grant application for Sawfish Bay is due next month. The grant application is for a 50% match on a Phase I feasibility/design effort; construction funding would be a Phase II request later. Staff said if the grant is awarded, they expect to combine grant funds with town matching dollars to perform maintenance‑level rehabilitation and living‑shoreline elements rather than a full replacement in FY2026–FY2027.

Council reaction and procurement approach
Council members welcomed the more conservative technical recommendation and stressed the need for a robust design and geotechnical work during the upcoming design phase. The engineering director said FY2026 funding would be focused on design, permitting and procurement and FY2027 funding would be planned for construction, noting that combining this work with other nearby shoreline projects can yield economy of scale and attract qualified contractors. Staff said a DEP grant could reduce the town’s out‑of‑pocket share by roughly half if the 50% match is confirmed, and the director cautioned that final construction costs will depend on the design, permitting outcomes and contractor market conditions.

Ending
Council instructed staff to proceed with design and the DEP resilience grant application, to include the grant assumption in the CIP narrative as TBD, and to return with design‑level cost estimates for council review before construction is authorized.