CRAWFORDVILLE, Fla – Wakulla County officials have stopped work on the Mashes Sands Pier at the request of the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM). This measure was taken to ensure that the reconstruction of the Pier meets program standards and would be reimbursable by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

 

The process to design and reconstruct the Mashes Sands Pier began after Hurricane Michael, and with guidance from FEMA, the County utilized FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Program to make the Pier more resilient by replacing the timber pilings with concrete and replacing the portion of the pier that extends over the water with concrete breakaway, floating decking. Currently, this would leave the land portion of the Pier as both timber pilings and decking, however, the County is exploring with both FDEM and FEMA the possibility of using excess funds from the Mashes Sands parking and bathrooms to replace the timber decking with a ThruFlow composite. The more resilient pier design was approved and the funding was obligated by FEMA. After securing both state and federal permits last year, bidding, and awarding the project, the County began construction earlier this year.

 

FDEM recently notified County officials that FEMA reviewed and approved the project incorrectly, and the mitigated, more resilient concrete portion of the Pier was now in jeopardy of not qualifying for FEMA reimbursement. It is expected that several lingering projects from Hurricane Michael throughout the Panhandle that began as Section 428 Alternate Projects (including the Mashes Sands Pier), included Hazard Mitigation, and then reverted to a Standard Project may be in a similar situation and funding for mitigation may be at risk of deobligation by FEMA.

 

The County continues to coordinate with both FDEM and FEMA to get construction back on track and is in the process of submitting an updated plan to FEMA for review and approval. At this time, no information is available to indicate when construction will resume.