Manatee County drops objection to Greer Island groin
Longboat presses ahead with permitting for five sand-saving structures.
Longboat Key officials are proceeding with plans to build five sand-saving beach structures at the north end of the island after Manatee County officials indicated they would not object to the construction of a third on Greer Island, a county-owned property.
That would bring the project total to five structures, known as groins. Three are planned on the western shore of Greer Island, and two are planned farther to the south, near the Longbeach Condominiums, between North Shore Road and Broadway Street.
How they work
Groins are shoreline structures, usually about 300 feet long, that run into the water perpendicular to the beach. They work by trapping and accumulating sand as it is moved down the beach by the naturally flowing currents.
Manatee County officials also said they would take part in a cooperative effort to take turns dredging Longboat Pass and direct the dredged sand to the overall effort of maintaining the town’s north-end shoreline, Public Works Director Isaac Brownman said in a memo to City Manager Tom Harmer.
Manatee County officials had objected to a third groin on Greer Island but have since dropped their objection. But, the county said it will not help Longboat with funding the $12 million groin project to build all five. Longboat officials have previously said the project would be funded from the town’s capital budget.