By Jake Martin
Posted Mar 4, 2018 at 6:28 AM
Updated at 6:24 AM
St. Augustine Record
St. Johns County’s Public Works Department has been looking into drainage infrastructure and stormwater management projects in communities that have been hit by hurricanes, nor’easters and heavy rains.
The county has worked with residents in problem areas throughout the county to come up with possible solutions, but faced with an abundance of drainage problems in the county, and a shortage of funding, most of those solutions have remained only possibilities.
“In order for these projects to move forward into construction, funding needs to be identified,” a Jan. 25 memo from county engineer Jay Brawley says. “Funds may have to be utilized from Reserves or an alternative funding source may have to be determined.”
Commissioners on Tuesday will hear a presentation on the Countywide Stormwater Initiative, which was launched after Hurricane Irma and the subsequent nor’easters to identify critical areas across the county where existing problems were exacerbated or where new ones were brought to to light.
According to Brawley’s memo, impacts were primarily due to either lack of infrastructure or failure of aged drainage and stormwater assets. The 32 projects vary widely in scope, cost and size of the geographic area they cover, and can be found in every corner of the county.
The memo says the Public Works Department’s engineering team will complete the assessment, preliminary designs and summarized project scopes for most of these projects in the next few months.
Following Irma and subsequent storms, the county tracked and verified resident complaints and concerns related to flooding, drainage and stormwater management. Smaller maintenance-related items such as debris removal and clearing blocked drainage were handed by road and bridge crews “as quickly as resources allowed,” but larger capital repairs or items requiring design or detailed analysis were deferred to engineering.
Projects requiring detailed studies or real estate acquisition, or that are just estimated to be over $200,000, are typically directed into the county’s Capital Improvement Program, rather than burdening county funds that are meant for day-to-day operations, maintenance and smaller repairs.
2018 Countywide Stormwater Initiative
Funding for drainage infrastructure and stormwater management is currently limited to just $1.14 million, of which $1 million is encumbered and only focused on the county’s Asset Management program for replacement of aged and failing culverts and pipes. This program itself already has a backlog of deferred maintenance of about $2.5 million a year (and it’s projected to stay the same for at least the next 10 years).
An initial wave of Countywide Stormwater Initiative projects included four projects that created hazards and safety concerns at the bridges on Roscoe Boulevard and Racy Point as well as at Captain’s Point and Cecelia Court, where culverts failed. The county says these projects required immediate action and were completed using about $1.1 million from the county’s Transportation Trust Fund reserves.
So, while some issues have been resolved with existing funding, others will require help from reserves or alternate sources. Some problems identified as “legacy issues” predating Irma, such as Winton Circle’s lack of drainage infrastructure or Porpoise Point’s lack of positive outflow, have already been analyzed and could move along more quickly than some areas requiring research and data gathering.
Brawley’s memo says although a final report has not yet been completed, combined design and construction costs could be in the range of $6 million to $8 million.
The memo says preliminary design costs to identify the issues and provide initial assessments are anticipated to cost about $400,000, which is about $40,000 beyond what the county budgeted for engineering operations this year. Additionally, engineering of other projects that were previously planned under this category have been deferred.
Funding for drainage infrastructure and stormwater management is currently limited to just $1.14 million, of which $1 million is encumbered and only focused on the county’s Asset Management program for replacement of aged and failing culverts and pipes. This program itself already has a backlog of deferred maintenance of about $2.5 million a year (and it’s projected to stay the same for at least the next 10 years).
An initial wave of Countywide Stormwater Initiative projects included four projects that created hazards and safety concerns at the bridges on Roscoe Boulevard and Racy Point as well as at Captain’s Point and Cecelia Court, where culverts failed. The county says these projects required immediate action and were completed using about $1.1 million from the county’s Transportation Trust Fund reserves.
So, while some issues have been resolved with existing funding, others will require help from reserves or alternate sources. Some problems identified as “legacy issues” predating Irma, such as Winton Circle’s lack of drainage infrastructure or Porpoise Point’s lack of positive outflow, have already been analyzed and could move along more quickly than some areas requiring research and data gathering.
Brawley’s memo says although a final report has not yet been completed, combined design and construction costs could be in the range of $6 million to $8 million.
The memo says preliminary design costs to identify the issues and provide initial assessments are anticipated to cost about $400,000, which is about $40,000 beyond what the county budgeted for engineering operations this year. Additionally, engineering of other projects that were previously planned under this category have been deferred.
At the Feb. 20 commission meeting, several residents speaking during public comment asked for more to be done, providing such anecdotes as schoolchildren having to slog through dirty standing water to illustrate the urgency.
Commissioner Paul Waldron expressed concern for Winton Circle and the need for something to be done as soon as possible. Other commissioners agreed and cited health concerns.
“You can’t have these kids walking home from the school bus in 2 feet of water,” Commissioner Jay Morris said. “I mean, we can’t put it off. We’re going to have to get this done.”
Although Winton Circle was the focus of the brief discussion, commissioners said other areas throughout the county have been suffering as well. Waldron said he’d already requested staff to prepare to present four to five projects that are more or less shovel-ready, in order for the board to consider pulling money out of reserves to get them started.
Commissioner Jimmy Johns asked how much would be needed to fix the issues at Winton Circle to which Brawley said there are a couple options, ranging between $1.4 million to $1.7 million.
Brawley said the flooding issue at Winton Circle is “literally a matter of inches in which way the water is going,” adding the area is really on the cusp of two different drainage basins, Moultrie and Moses creeks.
Johns said he’d be in favor of approving design but that he’d want more details before spending on construction because costs could easily jump over $2 million. He also said the board’s decision not to use reserves to balance the starting budget for 2018 only set aside $5 million, of which $1 million has already been spent on other projects.
He said the county needs to strike a balance one way or another between what’s available and what’s needed. He also said he wasn’t arguing the fixes were needed at Winton Circle but that he didn’t know if there are needs elsewhere that are more severe.
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