- Nearly six years after Hurricane Michael, repairs along the coast are still in the works.
- Neighbors have been pushing to get the Mashes Sands Beach Park back to what it once was.
- Watch the video above to see what's left to complete.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
It's been almost six years since Hurricane Michael damaged Mashes Sands Beach Park. Over those years, neighbors have been waiting on repairs.
I'm Kenzie Krueger in Panacea where I’ve been following the progress to rebuild.
“It’s a big long complicated drawn out process.”
Over the last year I’ve spoken to Joe Deluca who lives near the beach and has been working towards getting the area cleaned up. I’ve reported on the repair efforts several times and heard Deluca and other neighbors' hopes for this area.
Joe Deluca: “Have the beach replenished make it look like it did in 2018 and have the pier rebuilt.”
Mashes sands beach has developed natural erosion over time and the pier was damaged in Hurricane Michael. Over the past few months Wakulla County has posted updates about the pier on their Facebook page this is the most recent post.
I followed up with the county about the progress and they sent me a statement. For the pier they said the county is in the final is in the final review with FEMA’s Environmental and Historic Preservation (EHP) process, which ensuring protection of environmental, historic, and cultural resources.
After that “The project will go to the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) for review, followed by the Large Project Notification (LPN) process, notifying Congress of projects over $1 million.”
For the beach update they said, “in June, the Wakulla County Board of County Commissioners approved the submission of a Local Government Funding Request to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's (FDEP) Fiscal Year 2025/2026 Beach Management Funding Assistance Program. This request aims to secure $153,915.00 in funding to update the Mashes Sands Feasibility Study and Beach Management Plan, originally developed in 2008."
Deluca and other neighbors have expressed concerns about safety due to the leftover debris from Hurricane Michael.
“It’s like an obstacle course, and not only that is dangerous because children climb on them and could fall off and hurt themselves.”
Deluca says he’s been going to the county for help moving this process along faster and he’s hoping for more transparency.
“What I’d like to see is some open conversation between the county commissioners in the residence and just let us know.”
The county says they’re waiting for FDEP's response to the funding request.
