Flagler County presents coastal erosion plan to school board, outlines $120M construction need and local funding options

Flagler County officials told the Flagler County School Board on March 11 that a countywide coastal erosion and beach management plan will require major construction and recurring maintenance funding and that losses in tourism-driven sales tax could reduce school revenue if the coastline is not addressed.

County presenter Katida told the board the full construction needed to rebuild dunes and beach depth along 18.1 miles of coastline is about $120,000,000. She said the county’s share of that construction — after anticipated federal and state contributions — is roughly $42,400,000, though the county has identified $5,000,000 in its fiscal 2025 budget and is pursuing about $15,000,000 in grants, which presenters said would reduce the remaining local need to about $22,400,000 over the next two to three years.

The presentation explained why the county’s Coast remains vulnerable despite a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project in South Flagler Beach, which Katida said used about 1,700,000 cubic yards of offshore sand in a roughly $29,000,000 project. "We used about 1,700,000 cubic yards in that area. It was about a $29,000,000 project," she said, and noted that reach is the only area that is currently less vulnerable than it was before Hurricane Matthew.

Why it matters: presenters tied the beach to countywide tax revenues and…