SUBJECT/RECOMMENDATION:
Title
Authorize a Dollar Amount not to exceed $350,000.00 in funding to Gator Dredging of Clearwater Florida, for dredging Cuts E and D-D of the Federal Project Cut Channel section of the Clearwater Pass Federal Project for Maintenance Dredging from CIP 315-93422, Dredging of City Waterways. (consent)
Body
SUMMARY:
This project is for maintenance dredging of the Clearwater Point portion of the Clearwater Pass Federal Project area approved by the appropriate federal and states agencies and to be executed through a signed contract with Gator Dredging in the amount of $310,752.00 to dredge the sand from the channel bottom and relocated it to an upland storage area for proper drainage and future use for beach nourishment. The Gator Dredge contract will be in accordance with City Code, Exceptions to Bidding, 2.564(1)(d), utilization of another government entity contract, Using the Gator Dredge City of Cape Coral, Florida Contract CON-PW11-11/MT, valid through September 30, 2016. This project will restore safe navigation in the federally marked channel off Clearwater Point. This channel was last dredged in 2012 by the Army Corps of Engineers and is no longer safely navigable by most of our commercial vessels or recreational vessels with a draft over 3 feet.
Pre-dredge sampling results show the dredge material to be beach compatible, and therefore there is no severance fee due to the State of Florida, as long as materials are placed on adjacent eroding beaches permitted to accept such material. City permits allow for dredged material to be placed on a self-contained upland site and used for public purposes at a later date. The Scope of Work identifies the dredge contractor as being responsible for final disposition of dredge materials as outlined in the city permits referenced in the Scope of Work.
Past Army Corps of Engineer projects required taking the sand offshore for “near shore” disposal. This was due to the limitations of the method of dredging using a hopper dredge. A hopper dredge is similar to an open barge which retains the sand within its hull, takes the sand offshore and opens the bottom of the hull to deposit the sand “near shore” to eventually wash up on the beach. This historically used method made it physically impossible to retain any beach quality sand for beach nourishment where needed in Clearwater. This new project/method makes it possible to have the sand retained in Clearwater for use for local beach nourishment. This current project covers only the dredging of the sand from the 3.9 acres of the channel bottom as depicted and depositing the sand on city uplands for future use. The permitting process has taken two years due to the multiple federal and state agency constraints, environmental constraints and the state ownership of the bottom land being dredged.
This contract is to properly dredge (8 foot depth) with an allowed “over dredge” of an additional 2 feet for a maximum dredge depth of 10 feet in the project 3.9 acre area. This contract is a standalone project and is not tied to disposition of the dredged material.
The frequent shoaling of this channel impacts our Charter vessel operators, recreational vessels, numerous visiting boaters who look for the shortest route to and from our Marina and Clearwater Pass. Additionally, City Marine Police using as well as our city fire vessel and other agency LE vessels are forced to use Memorial Causeway Channel and the Intracoastal Water Way. They use more fuel and time to get to and from the Gulf whether for commercial, recreational, Law Enforcement or public safety activity/emergency response due to the recurring shoaling.
As an interim measure in the past, the Coast Guard has moved channel markers to the deeper East side of the channel at Clearwater Point until dredging could be done to restore the existing channel.
Past Army Corps of Engineer dredging projects have required funding them upfront $1 million dollars to be put on their schedule for a future year with no set project date. Past projects have cost between $560,000 and $756,000 dollars with funds refunded months after their project is closed out often crossing fiscal years.
This contract method gives us the ability to do more frequent spot dredging of known trouble areas as local upland properties in the pass work to design and permit more permanent rock groins/jetties to best retain sand and slow future sand loss into Clearwater Harbor which creates our historical shoaling problem.
APPROPRIATION CODE AND AMOUNT:
Funds are available in capital improvement project 315-93422, Dredging of City Waterways, to fund this contract.