Our View: Fed beach funding a gamble

Living in paradise with beaches comes with a cost called renourishment. As Longboaters know, it’s a steep cost, but a necessary oxygen for the Key’s survival.

Money is tight in these times. So it was reasonable for the Longboat Town Commission to hire a consultant to determine the odds of getting federal funding for another round of beach renourishments along the Key. The consultant reported back and, in a relatively surprising move, recommended against pursuing the funding for reasons we’ll lay out below — and to which we’ll add.

But commissioners decided to make a small wager on the chance that our congressional delegation might be able to work some D.C. magic and get federal funding. It is a long shot and not worth the time and resources the commission is asking its staff to expend.

Besides, Longboat shouldn’t take federal money.

In the end, it’s entirely possible, even likely, that pursuing this course would cost the town millions of dollars for nothing, plus lose several years in delays.

Beau Suthard, a director and marine geophysicist at Coastal Planning and Engineering Inc., in St. Petersburg, spelled out in excruciating detail why his firm recommended not pursuing federal money, which probably meant turning away work for his firm. That suggests the strength of the case against pursuing elusive and dwindling federal funds.

Here are the main reasons why the town needs to let go of the hope of getting federal financial help:
• The cost for the town to gain eligibility from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is estimated to be between $2 million and $6 million and takes from two to eight years. These costs could be reimbursed up to 50% if the project is eventually approved, which, as we will see, is a remote possibility.

• And even if the Corps approves Longboat for eligibility, the money for the construction is completely dependent on Congress approving the cost-sharing funds. That process is usually done through earmarks, which we know have become politically unpalatable. There is even a ban on them right now. Some beach communities are 10 years into their process and have Corps approval but cannot get the federal funding for their dwindling strips of sand. Congressional approval for funding alone is a long shot, but getting to that point is another long shot.

• Using a complicated set of data to determine what the town could expect from the feds in cost sharing, CPE estimates the Key as a whole would be eligible for the feds to share 23% of the costs. Some areas would be eligible for 0% and some perhaps eligible for the maximum of 65%.

Here is the kicker, though: The federal and state help are not combined. If the town eventually were deemed to be eligible by the Corps, the state immediately would reduce its share of a project. CPE figures that the state, which has helped with Longboat renourishment projects with 22.5% of the cost, would reduce that to 15.1%. And that reduction is the case even if the town never receives the money from Congress.
More risk.

• A second kicker is that the Corps by rule chooses the closest, and therefore cheapest, available sand source. In this case, that would be the gray sand that sits right off Longboat Key. To get the white sand that is near Anna Maria Island would cost many millions more, and the town would have to pay for 100% of that — further reducing the actual percentage shared by the feds.

• The estimated time frame for federal construction funding is eight to 20 years from the date of the request for studies. There is no reason for optimism that it would be on the short end of that. Considering the changing political dynamics, it is always possible that the pessimistic end may not be pessimistic enough.

Of course, this entire analysis depends on Congress not changing the rules on federal funding for these projects, which almost assuredly needs to happen given the enormity of the spending irresponsibility in recent years. Rest assured, any rule changes will not be more generous to beach communities.

It would not be shocking to see Congress try to get the feds entirely out of the program. There is really no good philosophic justification for requiring store clerks in Bismarck, N.D., and steel workers in Dayton, Ohio, to help pay for renourishing Florida beaches.

And, finally, given the longer delays associated with seeking federal funds, costs of the projects theoretically could rise to the point of wiping out the extra federal help. And, of course, if the federal help did not come through, which seems most likely, then increased construction costs would just be added on to the money that had been fruitlessly spent to try to obtain the federal funds. That all would add up to a huge financial loss for Longboat.

If the town decided to gamble on getting federal money — and the risk-reward ratio does not support that — Suthard recommends several steps to improve the odds some. And some are steps the town is not likely to take.

For instance, one step that would improve chances for Corps approval would be to increase the public beaches, access and parking. That is not a resoundingly popular idea among residents, and it would do little to affect the funding climate in Congress. Plus, it would cost more money.

There is minimal cost in resources for the town to meet with the congressional representatives. But even that is probably wasted. Considering everything, the town would do better to invest its money in Vegas.

At least the rules stay the same there.