Council awards $4.95 million Central Basin culvert and drainage project amid neighbor concern over communication and park impacts

Jacksonville Beach's City Council unanimously approved an award for the Central Basin culvert improvement and basin desilting project on Sept. 2, approving a base contract of $4,950,424 with AWA Contracting Company Inc. and a construction-administration agreement with Jones Edmunds (listed as Jones Evans in the staff motion) for up to $114,850. Public comment at the meeting focused on neighborhood notice and park impacts. Tony Komarack (533 Eleventh Avenue South) and Martha Backer (410 Thirteenth Avenue South) told the council they had not received adequate advance notice about the work and asked for project details such as expected park closures, fencing, playground relocation and project hours. Komarack asked the council to “pause this until communications go out to the residents.” Perrin (public works director) and staff responded with operational details from the staff addenda and bid documents: the contract includes work across four project areas in the Central Basin and improvements under three roadway intersections (the golf cart path, Ninth Street/South Beach Parkway and Fairway). Perrin said the bid includes a pour-in-place box culvert option that reduced price compared with precast and that the contractor who performed similar work previously provided satisfactory results. Staff described the overall project timeline as up to 18 months, with Fairway and Ninth Street each expected to be impacted for roughly six months. Regarding park access and safety, Perrin said the city anticipates keeping the north-side park adjacent to Twelfth Avenue South open or partially open during construction, with temporary fencing required for safety and security; the small eastern park area previously added as an amenity may be impacted because it will be used for truck access and laydown if needed. He also said the parks and recreation department will remove playground equipment if necessary and replace it after the contractor restores the grounds, per addendum language. Perrin said the work is a stormwater project aimed at returning the Central Basin to original perimeter capacity and restoring drainage, and noted that some existing timber bulkheads (railroad ties) in the basin were unpermitted and will be removed to restore original design. Council members pressed for better public communications and for early notice of major road closures; staff said the contractor must provide electronic message boards and that the city will publish a project page and flyers once a construction date and contractor schedule are known. Council member Wouters raised the fence-removal line item; staff said the bid includes removal and replacement of about 2,824 linear feet of two-rail timber fence at the unit price bid ($65/linear foot) and that payment will be by measured linear feet actually removed and replaced. Multiple council members urged staff to coordinate early outreach with hospitals, schools and neighborhood groups due to detour impacts. The actions approved by the council allow staff to finalize contracts and proceed to pre-construction scheduling; staff said construction is likely to be scheduled outside peak storm season when practical.