Isle of Palms wants to patch beach

ISLE OF PALMS -- Score one for Mother Nature in the never-ending battle against wind and tide.

The $10 million beach restoration project from 53rd Avenue to Dewees Inlet has held up pretty well since it was done in 2008. But at the east end of the island in part of Wild Dunes near the inlet, it's a different story.

There, the high tide on Friday lapped against the base of stairs leading to the Ocean Club Villas. Trucked-in sand had been piled high to create a temporary sea wall to protect dunes fronting the 18th hole of the golf course.

City Hall has responded with a call for contractors to scrape 60,000 cubic yards of sand from a nearby wide, healthy section of the beach. It will be used to shore up 450 yards of erosion-scarred shoreline that also includes the Seascape Villas and Port O' Call condominiums.

Thirteen firms expressed an interest in the job during a pre-bid conference last week, said City Manager Linda Tucker.

"It's basically anyone that has experience with earth-moving equipment," Tucker said.

Consideration must also be given to the fact that the area of work is environmentally sensitive, she said.

Bids for the work will be received next Friday.

The state Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management has already OK'd the beach fix, which is under review at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, she said.

"Much of the schedule is contingent upon the corps coming through with the permit," she said.

Timing is key because spring and fall are the best times for the work. If this spring is not an option, it may delay restoring the beach for another year, she said.

A spokesman for the Corps of Engineers Charleston District could not be reached for comment on when a decision on the city application for a beach nourishment permit might be made.

Dave Kynoski, chief executive officer of the Wild Dunes Community Association, said the current erosion problem is a "hot spot" in a beach restoration project that has been a success.

"Our beach is very healthy since the 2008 renourishment with the exception of this one little area," he said.

The city has about $500,000 to fix the problem. It is leftover private funds from Wild Dunes property owners who paid some $7 million of the costs for the beach renourishment project three years ago, Tucker said.

"We don't expect it to cost more money that we've got available," she said.

In 2008, before the beach was renourished, tens of thousands of sandbags used on an emergency basis to protect property from the sea washed away in storm tides, littering the coast and marshes for miles.

Although Wild Dunes is a gated community, the project is considered in the public interest because the beach to that section of the island is accessible from 53rd and 57th avenues, she said.

And there is the issue of accommodations tax money generated for the city budget, which relies heavily on tourist dollars.

"It is our only industry," she said.

City Council will decide the winning bidder for the work, she said.