- March 12, 2025
The Flagler Beach City Commission on Thursday approved a revised contract with Holmberg Technology Inc. for a comprehensive shoreline analysis for restoring Flagler’s coastline.
The $50,000 contract has already been approved by Flagler County’s Tourist Development Council. Now, it’s contingent only on approval from the Flagler County Board of County Commissioners.
The contract will stand before the County Commission at its regular meeting Nov. 5, said Flagler Beach Mayor Linda Provencher.
Dick Holmberg’s plan to preserve the county’s shoreline would place a network of fabric tubes perpendicular to the beach, which, the plan’s proponents say, would collect sand, effectively lengthening the sandbar and, by extension, the beach.
The plan is presented in opposition to a feasibility study currently being conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Critics question its effectiveness, because the study has been ongoing for several years. The Army Corps’ efforts haven’t found success in Volusia County, Provencher said.
The study has an anticipated completion date of February 2013, and could qualify Flagler County for federal funding for preservation efforts, depending on its results.
Provencher said she and the City Commission are behind Holmberg’s plan because it wouldn’t involve pumping sand onto local beaches, dredging or setting up structures to prevent erosion.
“We never wanted to have an armored beach,” Provencher said. “We’ve heard proposals from a lot of people. This was the best one we heard.”
If the County Commission approves the contract, it will require Holmberg to begin his study within 30 days and to complete it within 90.
The results of this study will include a cost estimation for implementing Holmberg’s solution. A preliminary estimate prices the project at $1 million per mile.
However, Holmberg and city commissioners hope they might be able to partner with other coastal cities and counties to implement the plan, which would make it cost less, Provencher said.
