County pushes forward with Navarre fishing pier
BY FRANKLIN HAYES Gulf Breeze News franklin@gulfbreezenews.com

Franklin Hayes/Gulf Breeze News The Navarre Beach Fishing Pier has been out of commission since Hurricane Ivan in 2004. Santa Rosa County officials are preparing to replace the structure with over $4 million in federal, state and local funding.

The wait to fish off the Navarre Pier may soon be over. Santa Rosa County Commissioners are working to rescue the Navarre Beach Fishing Pier, which has been out of order since the devastating hurricane seasons of 2004 and 2005. The project recently got replacement funding and will probably be constructed in the same place as the current structure, just west of the old state park on Navarre Beach. Initial estimates show the pier would take two and a half years to design and construct.

County officials conducted a workshop to obtain public input for the replacement structure Jan. 29. Suggestions being considered for the new design include lengthening the pier and widening the walkway to 20 feet. Commissioners would like the new structure to be taller and more hurricane resistant than the previous one.

"Our point all along was that it needed to be taller to avoid waves," Commissioner Gordon Goodin said at a Feb. 5 commission meeting.

Goodin, whose district includes Navarre Beach would like to seethe new structure designed with blowout panels to lessen its susceptibility to hurricanes and tropical storms.

"As waves come from underneath they push these panels up and out," Goodin said. "That's what usually causes these piers to fail - There's some part of the structure that can't handle the forces it's under."

According to county officials, the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) will foot a majority of the bill, contributing approximately $4.5 million to the project. The state of Florida and Santa Rosa County will each pay $250,000, county budget director Joel Haniford said.

Commissioner John Broxson of Gulf Breeze expressed concerns about the $250,000 coming from the county's general revenue.

"The reality is we have not developed a plan," Broxson said at the Feb. 8 commission meeting. "We're not going to get any revenue out of that pier until it's in operation. How can we spend dollars we don't have?"

Commissioner Goodin wants to sell sponsorships for the pier and its blowout panels. He suggested the county give residents the opportunity to have their name etched into the blowout panels for a nominal fee. Goodin also estimated the new pier would generate approximately $1,000 per day in tolls. The commissioner said the pier averaged 200 to 400 visitors per day before the storms.

People use the pier," he said. "That revenue stream will generate $250,000 within the first couple of months it's in operation."