DeSantis vetoes $1 million construction funds for Fernandina Beach seawall to protect downtown

Gov. Ron DeSantis today vetoed Fernandina Beach's $1 million funding request to build a section of seawall to protect the Historic Downtown and surrounding neighborhoods from flooding.

Last January, Fernandina Beach Mayor Bradley Bean told the state legislative delegation that the seawall on the Amelia River waterfront downtown is part of a project to help protect the city and is being done in nine phases and asked state legislators for $1 million to complete one phase of the project. Bean is listed as requesting the money on the funding application.

Reached today by phone, Bean said he knew of the veto and "I have no comment."

The City has been seeking state and federal grants to complete construction of the seawall estimated at between $14 million and $18 million. The City is currently spending $1 million in grant funds to design the next phase of the seawall that was denied construction funding by the governor.

"It is extremely disappointing that the Governor vetoed critical funding for flood protection construction for the historic downtown of Fernandina Beach," said City Commissioner Chip Ross.

Vice Mayor David Sturges as well as Commissioner James Antun did not respond to email or text message requests for comment.

"Having been involved in the legislative process with different organizations, I understand the difficulties in getting legislation passed into law," said Commissioner Darron Ayscue. "Often times, proposed legislation takes many sessions to achieve final passage. I want to thank Arthur "Buddy" Jacobs for all of his hard work this session and all of the he has put forth for the City of Fernandina Beach. He is an invaluable resource and continues to work tirelessly for the citizens of Fernandina Beach. I would also like to thank our legislators Senator Clay Yarborough and Representative Dean Black for their support this legislative session and I look forward to continuing to work with them to improve the quality of life for all of the citizens and visitors of Fernandina Beach."

The city had made some progress on the seawall project last year with the completion of a quarter of a mile stretch of the seawall and riverwalk, which begins near the city boat ramp at the foot of Ash Street and goes south to the limits of the City’s parking lot property.

The funding application stated: Project Goal: In 2023, Fernandina Beach will complete engineering and permitting of a 9-phase construction project to install a protective sea wall along the entirety of Fernandina Beach's 1.1 mile historic downtown riverfront. The City has completed the 1st phase construction of the project. The project goal of this Appropriation, titled the "Historic Downtown Fernandina Beach Resiliency Seawall" will be to complete seawall construction of the 2nd, and a portion of the 3rd, phase seawall.

In April, coastal geomorphologist and civil engineer Dr. Frank Hopf made a presentation to City Commissioners in which he said that Historic downtown Fernandina Beach is highly vulnerable to flooding from storm events. In his presentation, Hopf explained the potential extent of flooding. A recent flood wall constructed along the southern portion of Front Street is useless without extending the flood wall all the way to the north, Hopf said.

The bill forwarded to DeSantis read:

Fernandina Beach is a 200-year old city located on Amelia Island between the Atlantic Ocean and the Amelia Riverfront.

The Fernandina Beach Downtown Historic District consists of a flourishing downtown commercial district, bustling with

stores, restaurants and breweries, and cultural sites, and 60 blocks of expertly-preserved Victorian-era homes. In 2021,

over 513,000, or 77.4%, of Amelia Island's 662,900 overnight visitors, ranked the Historic District as a "Top Activities

Enjoyed," scoring higher than the beaches. To protect this thriving tourist, residential, and business district and economic

engine from future sea-level rise flooding, the Fernandina Beach Historic Downtown Riverfront Resiliency Plan consists of 9

phases of seawall construction, one of which is completed. This funding request is needed to construct an additional

segment of the resiliency seawall toward the goal of preserving Fernandina Beach, one of Florida's top historic gems, into

her second 200 years.

The seawall project has faced numerous challenges in the past four years. In 2022, the City Commission considered placing a $20 million bond referendum on the November ballot in part to fund seawall construction. That proposal failed to materialize when commissioners could not agree on how the $20 million would be spent.

Another stumbling block is the property north of the Fernandina Harbor Marina, commonly referred to as the Simmons O’Steen property. The FBCC had authorized the City to proceed with eminent domain action after years of attempting to purchase the land from an unwilling seller. However, the FBCC abandoned this tactic in 2021 as legal fees mounted and the owner commissioned appraisal exceeded two million dollars. The current City Commission has not addressed the problems not owning the parcel presents to flooding protection.