Harrison County supervisors on Monday authorized the county administrator to sign a commitment letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as the county refines how it will pay the local match for a planned Sand Beach renourishment project.

County leaders heard staff say the federal-state split on the Corps-backed project would be about 65% federal and 35% local, and that the county share is roughly $17 million to $19 million under current estimates. County Administrator Robert told the board he is holding weekly calls with Corps staff and that federal funding is at risk unless the county demonstrates a viable source for the local match.

The motion before the board was to authorize the administrator to sign the Corps financial-commitment paperwork so the Corps can proceed; board members also directed staff to come back next month with concrete bond scenarios and cost estimates. The board approved that motion by voice vote.

Why it matters: the county says it has miles of beachfront that are severely narrowed in places and that renourishment is linked to other infrastructure work, including outfall projects funded with ARPA and storm-recovery funds. Project estimates discussed during the meeting varied; the county presented a project estimate range the board referenced as roughly $30 million to $45 million for the full Corps project, with the county’s 35% share estimated at about $17 million to $19 million.

Board discussion and options: staff identified several funding paths: 1) use of GOMESA (Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act) funds — but staff said GOMESA cannot be used directly for this match in current interpretation; 2) seek state money through a disaster omnibus bill being pursued at the legislature; 3) issue county bonds to fund the match, with examples given from other counties that used 15- or 20-year schedules; and 4) pursue a more limited “hot spot” dredge rather than a full-scale renourishment to reduce the local match.

County staff noted the practical timeline for bonding: issuing a bond would take roughly three months from start to finish, which the staff said would help demonstrate to federal partners that the county is moving forward. Staff said engineering and federal contracting practices help constrain bid pricing — federal dredging jobs use prequalified contractors and fiscal-year price schedules — but acknowledged bid pricing could cause variance from preliminary estimates.

Board members pressed for options that would reduce near-term cost, including targeting worst-hit beach segments rather than undertaking a full-scope dredge. Staff said the Corps’ federal share is substantial but that the county needs a decision on whether to commit matching funds to avoid losing federal funding that is currently “at risk.”

The board’s immediate direction: authorize the county administrator to sign the Corps letter of commitment and return with financing scenarios (bond amortization options, cost-of-issuance estimates, and a target county-match figure) for formal consideration the next month.

Additional details: staff said the county typically loses about 100,000 cubic yards of sand per year and that the current project would place on the order of 2,000,000 cubic yards of dredged material onto the beach — an amount staff described as giving roughly a 20-year benefit under normal conditions. Staff also noted prior renourishment work had occurred after Hurricane Katrina and occasional spot projects in 2018.

The board’s action does not obligate the county to a specific financing vehicle; instead it authorizes the administrator to execute the commitment paperwork requested by the Corps to preserve federal funding while the board evaluates concrete funding options.