Martin County administrator reflects on 30 years overseeing inlet, restoration and neighborhood work

Don Donaldson, Martin County’s county administrator, reflected on three decades of county service in a special edition of the '2 MC' podcast, citing his work on inlet management, beach nourishment and neighborhood-restoration projects.

"30 years is a is a major milestone," Donaldson said, as hosts Mac and Courtney congratulated him on the anniversary. Donaldson said his technical background in coastal engineering and water resources led to his recruitment from Indian River County to help the county address recurring St. Lucie Inlet problems and to support the county’s first beach-nourishment projects in the mid-1990s.

Donaldson described working with an inlet advisory committee and federal and state partners, saying the county coordinated with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the state Department of Environmental Protection on inlet and dredging efforts. He said a March storm early in the beach-nourishment work washed away roughly a third of the initial project at 4-Mile Beach and prompted further response and planning.

He recounted several long-term infrastructure and environmental projects he cited as highlights: an extended Indian Street project (referred to in the recording as "Indian Street Bridal"), oyster-reef creation offshore using material dredged from an impoundment basin, and neighborhood-restoration efforts that combined paving, drainage and sidewalk work. About the offshore structure made from dredged materials, Donaldson said locals often call it "the sand pile."

Donaldson also described the county’s water-quality sampling and project-ranking work that helped target upstream fixes. He highlighted the Salerno Creek retrofit and a Manatee Pocket dredging effort executed during the Great Recession as examples of projects that required cross-agency cooperation and significant resources.

On the county’s character, Donaldson said Martin County has long favored slower growth, wetlands protection and limits on building height, and that sustained public involvement has kept those priorities central to policy choices. "There's always been an engaged community," he said.

The interview also covered personal background: Donaldson recounted attending the local campus of the Florida Institute of Technology (referred to in the conversation as FIT), switching from an original plan in underwater welding to engineering, and later competing for and winning the county-engineer position. Hosts closed the episode by congratulating Donaldson and inviting listeners to subscribe.

The podcast recording alternates informal remarks with technical descriptions of projects; it does not record any formal county votes or motions.