Ansley Renke, Flagler County coastal engineering administrator, updated the Tourist Development Council on Jan. 15 about completed and planned beach renourishment projects along four management reaches.

Renke said the federal project in Reach 1 concluded successfully in late August with about 1,700,000 cubic yards of sand placed across 3.5 miles of beach. “They told me they had never seen a project completed that fast,” Renke said, crediting the contractor, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and county staff.

She told the council Reach 2 permitting from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) was expected around Jan. 31; the county will then work through Army Corps permitting and a Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) lease agreement before moving to construction. Renke estimated the combined Reach 2 project cost at about $35,000,000 and said funding will include FDEP and FEMA resources.

Reach 3 presents more complex environmental constraints because of intertidal hard bottom and protected habitat, Renke said. The county has Board approval to hire Moffatt & Nichol as a consultant (transcript spelled differently); Renke said permitting and preliminary design for Reach 3 are expected to cost approximately $1,500,000 and the county is pursuing FDEP funding for that work. She said Reach 3 is not eligible for federal or state construction funds now because it is not designated critically eroded.

Renke also summarized post‑storm sand losses: a preliminary Foth (formerly Olson) assessment of losses from Hurricane Milton estimates about 200,000 cubic yards missing between R‑65 (near the City of Flagler Beach border) and Marineland. Because Reach 2 will include a dredge, sand recovered there would be placed in Reaches 3 and 4; where dredge placement is not feasible, the county is planning truck‑haul dune projects. Renke said FEMA would cover 87.5 percent of a FEMA‑eligible truck‑haul project with the county responsible for 12.5 percent, but the county did not yet have a final budget for that work.

Renke closed by listing near‑term tasks: negotiate a contract with Moffatt & Nichol, continue permitting for Reach 2 and the Army Corps process, and scope design for truck‑haul and dune restoration in Reach 4.

Why it matters: The projects affect shoreline protection, beach access and tourism infrastructure. Reach‑by‑reach permitting, funding sources and environmental constraints will determine timing and the county’s capital obligations.