A tense debate in St. Johns County Tuesday, over a long-planned dune restoration project in Ponte Vedra Beach. About a dozen residents spoke at a commission meeting over how to pay for the plan.
The total cost of the project is $40 million. The state will pick up $30 million, St. Johns County will get $8.4 million. That leaves a shortfall of $1.6 million, plus annual maintenance costs.
The emergency management department is proposing splitting it between two taxing districts, homeowners on the south of the beach would pay more than those on the north side.
Many residents spoke at the commission meeting, asking them to keep it equal.
Further south in Vilano Beach, a beach renourishment project there continues. There’s equipment in the sand and a dredging tube in the ocean. Crews are bringing in off-shore sand and placing it along the beach.
The project is set to be complete in March.