by SC Reporter Emilie Alfino
City Recreation Director Andrea Miller presented a program for proposed robotic mowing at Sanibel ball fields. The benefits are undeniable:
• They can mow six hours on a single charge, or three acres.
• It will take them nine hours to mow all the fields at one time, three to four times per week.
• They can be run off solar if an outlet is not available.
• The mowing patterns are healthier for the grass.
• They emit no noise pollution.
The contract with JSM Services, Inc. would piggyback off the Lee County-approved project at a cost that will be $10,000 to $15,000 less annually that the current cost. That savings will be shared across the City, County, and School District.
The $14 million beach nourishment project continues with the possibility of completing it ahead of schedule. But work remains to be done.
On Reach 1, Bowman’s Beach to 4323 West Gulf Drive, escarpments exceeding 12 inches in height (on average) and over 100 feet in continuous length must be leveled or smoothed to eliminate the escarpment. Since Reach 1 was accepted as complete, the contractor is not responsible for the cost of this work. The exact cause of these escarpments is unknown but likely due to frontal storms on March 22 and 23, with onshore winds and rough wave conditions the following week, and potential interactions with near-shore ebb shoal.
Change orders to be determined include Clam Bayou/Silver Key Recovery dredging of over-washed sand from Clam Bayou to restore the dune, requiring approximately 8,500 cubic yards of sand. A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit is in review.
Additionally, a change order to be determined for Lighthouse Beach Park would require additional sand placement of approximately 75,000 tons. For this the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has issued a permit. The tentative schedule for the work is November 2024.
During public comment, several residents identified that the sand coming through Blind Pass is getting worse and that the Wulfert channel is essentially a sand bar. As mentioned previously, the Clam Bayou/Silver Key Recovery dredging of over washed sand from Clam Bayou to restore the dune would address this.
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