A.G. Gancarski
St. Johns County was dealt a harsh blow from Hurricane Matthew, with flooding in St. Augustine and its beaches, and devastation countywide.
Recovery has a price tag. And, according to an appropriations request from Rep. Cyndi Stevenson at the request of the St. Johns County Commission, the state share of coastline recovery should be $47 million.
The local match would be $17 million.
The money would go to rehabbing the county’s 42 miles of coastline, a total of $120 million in damage. Recovery would have benefits in employment, tourism, and even physical fitness, according to the appropriations request.
The need for the funds was documented in the DEP’s hurricane recovery plan of 2016, and established via meetings with local stakeholders and the county’s two-man Congressional delegation.
Stevenson’s asks this session are heavy on remediation and prevention for storm and tidal flooding, including a $510,000 ask for flooding mitigation in Davis Shores, a historic St. Augustine enclave that suffered grievously during the October storm.
