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Sarasota Engineer Alexandrea DavisShaw that the materials would not be ready until late February or early March. The plan originally called for up to 1.2 million cubic yards of sand to be removed from Big Pass for the first renourishment of a 1.6-mile stretch of Lido Beach — from just north of John Ringling Boulevard to Lido Key Park. Subsequent renourishments would be under- taken every five years over the 50-year life of the project, Mora has explained, with each of those projects utilizing about 615,000 cubic yards of sand. New Pass and Big Pass would be dredged alternately for the sand, Mora has said. However, in January, Wreford, the county's coastal resources manager, told the News Leader that building opposition to the pro- posed dredging of Big Pass had led the Corps staff to rethink the first renourishment, with a portion of the sand to come from New Pass. Big Pass never has been dredged, and Siesta residents have voiced alarm over the poten- tial that such action could damage the island's beaches as well as the channel in the pass. DavisShaw told the News Leader on Feb. 25 that Mora had informed her of "a few steps yet to be accomplished" before the reports and models would be ready, including the com- pletion of the internal review by Corps staff. THE FIFTH GROUP IN OPPOSITION In the meantime, the Siesta Key Condominium Council has joined the Siesta Key Association, the Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce, the Siesta Key Village Association and the Bay Island-Siesta Association in announcing its opposition to any dredging of Big Pass and the shoal in the pass. In a Feb. 10 letter sent to each of the county commissioners, the council's board of direc- tors wrote that it had held a vote on Feb. 4 on the issue. The board approved the follow- ing resolution: "Whereas Big Pass has never been dredged and the shoal provides both protection and natural re-nourishment of Siesta beaches, the Siesta Key Condominium Council Board, on behalf of the 81 members and 7000 Siesta Key property owners and based on documentation currently available, states its grave concerns and opposition to any form of dredging in Big Pass channel and shoal." SOME GOOD NEWS FOR LIDO At least DavisShaw, the city engineer, received some good news this week about a separate initiative to repair storm damage on Lido Beach. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) finally signed off on funding to help the city add 120,000 cubic yards of sand to the area of the beach most critically eroded by Tropical Storm Debby in 2012. The primary location is in the vicinity of the Lido Pool, she added, which is located at 400 Benjamin Franklin Drive. The total amount of the FEMA grant, DavisShaw told the N e w s L e a d e r , is $1,971,811.67, covering 75 percent of the expense. The city and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will split the remaining 25 percent of the cost, with the city paying approximately $300,000. The sand for that project will come from a shoal just south of New Pass, DavisShaw said. The work will not begin until after turtle nest- ing season ends in late fall, she pointed out. The city has submitted permit modifications to DEP for that undertaking, DavisShaw noted. % Sarasota News Leader February 28, 2014 Page 40