Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Coastal Resilience topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Dorchester County council approves expanded scope, extensions for two NFWF grants to address Hooper's Island shoreline and causeway
Summary
Council approved revised scope and extended timelines for two National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grants (award #80234 and #84644) to fund design and engineering for shoreline protection and road elevation work on Hooper's Island; staff said an engineer will evaluate the causeway's role in erosion.
The Dorchester County Council voted to revise the scope of two National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) grants to incorporate recommendations from a 2022 Hookersville study and extend project periods so design work can proceed.
Miss Barnes introduced a request from Marilyn Williams (finance) and Susan Williams (planning and zoning director) to expand the grant work. Council documents and staff statements identified the awards as:
- Award #80234: proposed budget $700,000; period extended to Jan. 31, 2027 (current budget cited as roughly $250,000). - Award #84644: current budget cited at $737,000, proposed budget $1,500,000; period extended to Feb. 28, 2029.
Planning staff said match will be provided chiefly through in-kind staff time tracked by payroll codes. Staff explained the bid from the engineering firm came in lower than anticipated, leaving approximately $1.2 million available to broaden the scope. The revised scope would allow shoreline-protection design and road-elevation design to extend to the causeway and extend nourishment and protection design across identified marsh areas.
Council members were also told the engineer will perform borings and a focused evaluation of the causeway and the causeway channel. "They truly believe that the Causeway itself and the Causeway Channel are contributing to the erosion of Middle Hoopers Island," a staff summary of the engineer's findings said; staff said the evaluation will help refine designs.
A member of the public asked whether the funding covered only planning and engineering; staff replied the money is for design and engineering and confirmed the total involved across the grants is about $2.2 million. The council then moved, seconded and approved the scope revisions by voice vote.
The action directs staff to submit scope-modification forms to the grantor and proceed with the planned engineering evaluation; no construction funding was adopted at the meeting.
