COCOA BEACH, Fla. – Cocoa Beach is getting out in front of erosion concerns the mayor says could impact at least a thousand residents’ utilities one day.
In some part of Minutemen Causeway, the road and sidewalk are just steps from the water.
Your Cocoa Beach Community Correspondent James Sparvero talked to Mayor Keith Capizzi at city hall where Thursday night the city commission was expected to hire an engineering firm to address erosion on the causeway.
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“It’s needed to protect our infrastructure, for sure,” Capizzi said. “Right now, the problem is the water is about ten feet away from the sidewalk. If that erodes, infrastructure underneath that runs along our piping, and all that, could be compromised.”
Once they’re officially hired, Capizzi said the engineering firm, Kimley-Horn, will consider options like a seawall or coquina rock, whichever has less impact on the environment.
“I don’t think it should be like a metal structure,” resident Marilyn Bollo said. “Maybe a rock revetment, something that would look more natural.”
Bollo, who lives off Minutemen, also said she wouldn’t want to see a new project cut any of the mangroves in her neighborhood.
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Mangroves are legally protected in Florida and, generally, a permit is needed to clear them.
“I remember when we first moved here, you could see the water all the way out to the high school,” Bollo said. “Now, it’s obscured due to the overgrowth of the plants which I think is helping to hold the soil there.”
Just to hire Kimley-Horn to design the erosion project would cost the city $87,000.
Stick with News 6 and ClickOrlando.com for updates on what happens at Thursday night’s city commission meeting.