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River Ridge board discusses storm-surge risks, plans advisory panel and coordination
Summary
District and Pelican Sound representatives discussed a multi-year resilience plan, including creating an advisory panel and coordinating with agencies; Mr. Long said a 10–12-foot surge could flood 45–55% of the community in a hypothetical storm.
District staff and Pelican Sound representatives told the board on Oct. 22 that storm-surge resilience planning should be a multi-year effort requiring coordination with county, state and possibly federal agencies.
Eric Long described an action plan aimed at building community resilience to storms and climate impacts, recommending an advisory/review panel and a district representative to coordinate when needed. Using a hypothetical scenario (“Hurricane Milton”), Mr. Long said a 10- to 12-foot storm surge could have flooded an estimated 45% to 55% of the community and urged proactive planning rather than reactive responses.
District Counsel Tony Pires noted that some ideas presented by the Army Corps of Engineers in Collier County could be options if funding becomes available, but that multi-agency coordination will be required. The board agreed to have Mr. Long and newly appointed Mr. Keith Merrill assist on the initiative and authorized District Engineer Charlie Krebs to support as necessary.
Board members discussed that addressing storm-surge risk could take a decade and will require clarifying what actions lie inside CDD authority and what requires external support. No formal funding allocation or ordinance was adopted at the meeting; the discussion was framed as planning and coordination.
