River Ridge officials discuss storm‑surge resilience as potential decade‑long effort

Pelican Sound General Manager Eric Long urged the River Ridge Community Development District to participate in a multi‑agency resilience effort at the board’s Oct. 22 meeting, saying community planning will take years and will require coordination with county and state agencies.

Long described an action plan under development that could include an advisory or review panel to guide resilience measures and partnerships. He said a topographic exercise on a hypothetical Hurricane Milton scenario showed a 10‑ to 12‑foot storm surge could have flooded roughly 45% to 55% of the community, and he urged the district to consider both on‑site and off‑site interventions to reduce risk.

"A 10' to 12' storm surge could have caused 45% to 55% of the community to be flooded," Long said. He advised that 3‑foot storm panels would be insufficient for the worst‑case scenarios and that implementing meaningful protections could take a decade and involve multiple agencies and funding sources.

The board agreed to support Mr. Long’s outreach and to designate representatives to assist with coordination; the consensus named Mr. Long and newly appointed supervisor Keith Merrill to assist, and authorized Mr. Krebs to provide technical assistance as necessary. District Counsel noted that some federal ideas presented in nearby Collier County would require funding to advance.

The discussion was framed as planning and coordination rather than adoption of a specific project or funding commitment. Next steps recorded in the meeting included further development of the action plan, identifying appropriate agency partners, and assigning Board and staff representatives to follow up; no formal vote or expenditure was recorded.