Does Gulfport Beach Need Renourishment?

City Manager Jim O'Reilly plans to make a request with Pinellas County for beach renourishment on the beach between the Gulfport Casino Ballroom and Williams Fishing Pier.

According to O'Reilly, "nourishment is the process of adding sand to an eroding beach to advance the shoreline seaward."

O'Reilly says the county will evaluate the area, make recommendations and develop the project if it's determined renourishment is needed.

The last time Gulfport Beach received sand was in the mid 1990's, "when sand was trucked in by Pinellas County," O'Reilly writes.

If the project is approved, it would be funded in a three way split, according to O'Reilly.

"The typical split is as follows: 60 percent federal (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers), 20 percent state (Florida Department of Environmental Protection) and 20 percent local (Pinellas County Tourist Development Tax)," O'Reilly writes. 

O'Reilly says the Pinellas County Tourist Development Tax is a 1 percent sales tax, of which, half of that is dedicated to beach projects. The tax generates on average about $2 million a year.

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