Commission authorizes stormwater reserves to cover Avenida Menendez seawall shortfall

The St. Augustine City Commission on Oct. 13 authorized the use of stormwater reserves to cover a construction budget shortfall for the Avenida Menendez seawall project so that work can proceed and the city can meet federal grant deadlines.

Chief resilience officer Jessica Beach told the commission that the project—initially funded in part by FEMA after Hurricane Irma and by a Florida Inland Navigation District (FIND) grant—reached the construction phase after design and permitting. Three bids were received and the lowest responsible bid plus administration and archaeological costs raised the construction estimate to just over $2,000,000, leaving a budget deficit of $476,937 between available grant funds and the construction cost. Beach said the city has roughly $668,000 in stormwater reserves available and requested commission authorization to apply reserves to float the construction gap while staff pursues additional reimbursement from FEMA and FIND.

Commissioners asked about the project’s timeline and funding history. Beach said the FEMA award and design work date to the post‑Irma recovery process and that closing the financing gap now would allow construction to proceed while staff pursues reimbursement; FEMA grant deadlines require completion steps by December 2026. The mayor and commissioners expressed support for completing the project and for staff’s plan to seek reimbursement and replenish reserves if additional grant funding arrives.

Motion and vote: A commissioner moved to approve the expenditure as described and the motion passed on a roll call with all commissioners voting yes.

What the approval does and does not do: The vote authorizes use of stormwater reserves to cover the present shortfall and does not permanently reallocate stormwater revenue sources; staff recorded intent to seek reimbursements from FIND and FEMA and to restore reserves if reimbursements are secured. The vote does not change FEMA or FIND award terms and is contingent on staff continuing grant discussions.

Financial specifics reported in the presentation: current available project funding (FEMA and FIND grants plus a city stormwater match) totaled a little over $1,500,000; lowest contractor bid was a little over $1,800,000; construction administration and archaeological costs were reported at slightly over $200,000; reported budget deficit: $476,937; available stormwater reserves cited: $668,000.

Next steps: Staff will execute the construction contract, proceed with construction administration and archaeological work, and continue formal requests to FIND and FEMA for additional funding or reimbursement. The commission asked staff to report back on any reimbursements and on reserve replenishment.

Provenance (supporting transcript excerpts): - topicintro: "Good evening, Madam Mayor, Madam Vice Mayor, fellow Commissioners, Jessica Beach, chief resilience officer for the city of Saint Augustine... We received funding through FEMA back in 2017 as a result of hurricane Irma." (tc 00:56:20) - topfinish: "So a team credit to Melissa, Missy, finance, and all of our teams... I'll be happy to offer a motion to approve the expenditure as described." (tc 01:00:16)

Speakers cited in this item: - Jessica Beach — Chief Resilience Officer (government) - City Manager — City Manager (government) - Commissioners: Nancy Sykes Klein; Barbara Blonder; John DePrater; Cynthia Garris; Jim Springfield (government)

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Topics: [{"name":"stormwater_infrastructure","justification":"Covers authorization to use stormwater reserves to complete a seawall project and pursue reimbursement from federal/state grant programs.","scoring":{"topic_relevance":1.00,"depth_score":0.85,"opinionatedness":0.00,"controversy":0.10,"civic_salience":0.80,"impactfulness":0.65,"geo_relevance":1.00}}]

Searchable tags: ["seawall","stormwater_reserves","FEMA","FIND","Avenida_Menendez"],"sections":{"lede":"The City Commission authorized using stormwater reserves to cover a $476,937 construction shortfall on the Avenida Menendez seawall so construction can proceed while staff seeks reimbursement from FEMA and the Florida Inland Navigation District.","nut_graf":"Chief resilience officer Jessica Beach told the commission that bids and additional construction costs pushed the project past available grant funding; the commission voted to apply stormwater reserves to bridge the gap and asked staff to pursue additional federal and state reimbursement to replenish the reserves.","ending":"Staff will execute contract work, continue grant discussions with FEMA and FIND, and report back to the commission on reimbursements and reserve replenishment."}