Committee reviews escrow agreement with Wild Dunes, easement outreach lags ahead of council review

The Facilities Committee spent the bulk of its meeting on the city’s beach renourishment agreement with Wild Dunes Community Association, reviewing redlines and the implications of a firm construction bid staff says will be incorporated into a final escrow document.

A staff presenter told the committee the draft agreement has been heavily redlined by both sides and that staff and the city attorney have returned edits; staff said the current working assumption is that the project will be sized to the maximum allowed under the BCM permits and that the bid amount will be used to calculate each party’s payment share. The packet references a north‑end estimate that staff said will be updated to reflect a received bid that is likely lower than an earlier $22 million placeholder.

Why it matters: the escrow agreement sets how costs and responsibilities will be split between the city and the community association for a major sand placement project, and the committee flagged several contract terms that could materially affect schedule, cost allocation and contractor control of operations.

Committee members raised several specific concerns. They asked attorneys to reconcile contradictory allocation language that mixes fixed percentages with allocations based on variable sand volumes, and to clarify whether the contract should require a formal written amendment or whether written notice alone will trigger escrow replenishment. Members also requested removal of outdated or inaccurate terms (references to an unused cap, the word "owner," and a mistaken formal‑acceptance clause that appeared to assign obligations to the city rather than the association).

Easements and outreach: Shawn, the staff member who updated the committee on easements, said 18 of the 140 required property easements have been returned and that no addendums have yet been received; staff noted an April 22 target for having sufficient easement responses before council consideration. Shawn said a community meeting on April 2 produced clarifying questions and resulted in revised addendum language but that staff still face difficulty reaching remote property owners and will increase direct outreach ahead of the deadline.

Environmental/cleanup note: committee members also asked whether dumped material seaward of the low‑tide line had been assessed; staff said Sea Weed Construction (working under an Army Corps contract) identified larger deposits or "piles" along the low‑tide line and planned six days of landward cleanup from the low‑tide line upward. Staff committed to photo monitoring during the cleanup window.

Next steps: staff will circulate the committee’s page‑by‑page comments back to the community association for incorporation, clarify the amendment/notice language with attorneys, verify bid math in exhibits, and continue outreach to secure easements before the council deadline. The committee indicated it wants the item in a form suitable for council review by the 28th.

Attribution: Shawn provided the easement update to the committee and staff presenters led the escrow and contract discussion. Subsequent council review and any permit amendments would be required to change the permitted project size or schedule.