Subject:
Title
Grant application with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation National Coastal Resilience Fund for the Old Tampa Bay Philippe Park Seawall Enhancement project.
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Recommended Action:
Recommended Action
Approval of the grant application with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) National Coastal Resilience Fund (NCRF) for the Old Tampa Bay Philippe Park Seawall Enhancement project.
• The grant provides funding of $130,000.00 from NFWF NCRF, with a proposed matching contribution of $196,000.00. Matching contributions are from project 004178B Philippe Park Living Shoreline: $144,000.00 cash match from an agreement with the Tampa Bay Estuary program, a $9,000.00 cash match, and $43,000.00 in-kind services from the Public Works Department.
• The project focus is baseline water quality and wave energy monitoring, site assessment, and a sixty percent preliminary design of approximately 2,850 linear feet of seawall enhancement/living shoreline options at Philippe Park.
• This will be a demonstration project of options to increase coastal resilience, reduce seawall deterioration, expand aquatic habitat, and increase public education and awareness throughout the County.
The proposed grant period is January 1, 2021 through January 31, 2022.
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Strategic Plan:
Ensure Public Health, Safety, and Welfare
2.1 Provide planning, coordination, prevention, and protective services to ensure a safe and secure community
Practice Superior Environmental Stewardship
3.2 Preserve and manage environmental lands, beaches, parks, and historical assets
3.3 Protect and improve the quality of our water, air, and other natural resources
Summary:
Summary
The purpose of this grant is to seek funding assistance for the Philippe Park Seawall Enhancement Project. This project includes site assessment and preliminary design of 2,850 linear feet of seawall enhancement options at Philippe Park in Safety Harbor, baseline monitoring at the site, creation of a decision-support tool and performance matrix to assess future living shoreline projects, and outreach about coastal resilience and living shorelines. The goal is to demonstrate and monitor several treatments to compare resiliency against storm surges and sea level rise, create salt marsh and oyster reef habitat, and assess cost-effectiveness and applicability for implementation along other critical, hardened shorelines in Pinellas County. The immediate outcome of the project will be sixty percent (60%) design of several different living shoreline treatments, baseline data, and signage, brochures, and surveys for public outreach.
A County required match will be in-kind services and cash from components already planned and obligated for the current Philippe Park Living Shoreline project, funded by a TBEP grant, Pollution Recovery funds and Penny. It also includes staff time from Public Works for monitoring, outreach, and managing/participating in a technical workgroup.
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Background Information:
The existing concrete seawall at Philippe Park provides an excellent opportunity to demonstrate and monitor the effectiveness of several different living shoreline enhancement elements. The knowledge gained from this project will be used to increase resiliency and create additional aquatic habitat throughout the County. This project will fund baseline monitoring, which is often lacking but necessary for accurate measurement of effectiveness, and the creation of a decision-support tool and performance matrix to assess future living shoreline projects. The ultimate outcome will be installation of the chosen treatments based on input from a technical working group, increased aquatic habitat, public education, long-term monitoring, and application throughout the region. Educational signage, brochures, and surveys will be included to increase public awareness of coastal resilience issues and living shorelines/seawall enhancement options.
The OMB acknowledgment of the $192,000.00 contribution for the grant application increased to $196,000.00 afterwards due to clarification from the NFWF granting agency.
Fiscal Impact:
The grant application is for project 004178A Philippe Park Seawall Replacement in the Capital Improvement Program, Physical Environment function, funded by the Penny for Pinellas and included in the FY21-26 Capital Improvement Plan in the FY21 Tentative Budget. If awarded, the grant can be built into the project’s funding during the FY22 budget process to offset the existing Penny funding and potentially allow for further enhancements.
Staff Member Responsible:
Kelli Hammer Levy, Director, Public Works
Paul Cozzie, Director, Parks and Conservation Resources
Partners:
NFWF NCRF
TBEP
Attachments:
Grant Application
Public Works Grant Recommendation
OMB Acknowledgement of Grant Application
Project Map
Agreement with TBEP