CARRABELLE, Fla. — It's hard to believe that it's been almost six months since Hurricane Michael tore through the Big Bend.
And communities in our area still see grim reminders of the devastation. That includes the coastal city of Carrabelle.
Island View Park opened last August. The county invested about $3 million and used money from the BP settlement.
Hurricane Michael destroyed the park, just six weeks later.
"It doesn't take a hurricane to bring the water across the road. That's going to happen when any storm comes into the Gulf," said Susan Lynn, Franklin County resident.
This week, Franklin County commissioners started the process to rebuild the park.
They agreed to spend about $19,000 for the original developers to assess the damage.
For some people, the price tag comes with a bit of sticker shock.
"$19,000 for a study is a lot of money for this little project here," said Larry Lynn, Franklin County resident.
The county says it made sense for the developers to do the study, since they're the ones that built the park, but people we talked to said the developers haven't worked on a project by the coast, and it shows.
"The design was flawed, and I would have a very big problem with rebuilding a flawed design," said Lynn.
The county says the developers will calculate how much it will cost to rebuild the park and then FEMA would have to approve funding.
The county says once FEMA approves the money to rebuild the park, it's possible a local contractor could work on the project.
The money for the study comes from the park's operation and maintenance fund.
