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Nassau County says American Beach water and sewer construction is near closeout; drainage, connections remain
Summary
County staff reported construction punch-list items largely complete and 64 of 91 REDI grant connections finished, but residents raised concerns about missed connections, yard restoration, drainage and pending road work and fire-hydrant checks.
Nassau County officials told the American Beach Water and Sewer Advisory Board on Jan. 13 that the water and sewer construction is moving into administrative closeout while several site and household issues remain.
Amy Bell, senior management analyst for the Board of County Commissioners, said the contractor has only a few punch-list items left and county staff and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection met on-site for a construction closeout inspection. "What remains is largely administrative: paperwork closeout and making sure we meet all the requirements of the state revolving fund loans," Bell said.
Bell told the board the REDI grant team has made 64 customer connections so far, leaving 27 of 91 properties outstanding, and that crews expect to finish connections by March. She said some properties require revisit work and that crews have faced constrained sites that slowed daily throughput.
County staff and the contractor identified outstanding roadwork and regrading. Bell said the contractor provided quotes for the rework but county public-works staff have identified cost-saving options to fold the work into the county pavement-management project so the sewer project closeout is not delayed. She said design for one set of drainage repairs is complete and county crews expect to begin that work in the spring.
Several residents described yard damage from septic removal and installation work and said they were unclear about who would restore landscaping. Bell and county staff said property owners are responsible for yard restoration if they elected not to use the contractor's restoration quote; the contractor could provide quotes but restoration was not part of the REDI grant payments. Board members and staff advised residents who missed sign-up paperwork that they would need to arrange private connections. Bell said the project team has contacted people who were on a waiting list and has sent quotes to several, but the county has largely exhausted the grant funding for additional connections.
Residents also raised safety checks. Bell said fire hydrants on the project were not bagged and that, by standard procedure, crews remove bags after testing and place hydrants into service; she had not yet seen a final hydrant test report and said she would contact the fire chief to confirm the department's awareness and readiness.
Bell and other county staff said remaining contractor punch-list items include speed-hump installation—expected to be completed the next day or by Tuesday—and final paperwork needed to reconcile state revolving fund loan reimbursements before the county completes project closeout. The county will finalize the SRF loan amounts and then proceed with payoff and other administrative steps.
Board members and residents said they welcomed the new water service but do not want to celebrate until drainage and road restoration are complete. Several speakers noted flooding concerns tied to the digging and new development and urged the county to finish the remaining tasks before a community celebration later in the year.
