'Tis the Season: Scenes from the St. Pete Beach Holiday Parade

Hazy clouds didn't dampen anyone's spirits in St. Pete Beach today as the city celebrated the Season with its 2010 Holiday Parade.  Here are a few pics from today's festivities:

Upham Beach Geotube Repair Project has Begun!

Upham beach is once again humming with the sound of tractors and backhoes.  Now that the Upham beach renourishment project is completed, workers have now begun working on repairing the damage to the two northernmost Getotube T-Groins on Upham Beach.  I'll post more photos as the work progresses.

2010 Upham Beach Renourishmment Project is Complete!

After a brief, restful hiatus from the blog, I'm back....and very pleased to report that the 2010 Upham Beach Renourishment Project is complete!  Many, many thanks to the Pinellas County Board of Commissioners (especially our own Commissioner John Morroni) for their unanimous approval of the county's share of the funding for this very important project.  Thanks also to St. Pete Beach's Mayor Mike Finnerty and St. Pete Beach's Commissioners Jim Parent, Al Halpern, Bev Garnett and former commissioners Chris Leonard, Harry Metz and Linda Chaney for their support of the project on the local level.  Special thanks as well to former Pinellas County Coastal Coordinator Dr. Nicole Elko and current Pinellas County Assistant Director Andy Squires for their critical expertise and assistance in facilitating this project and all of the County's beach preservation projects!

Here is a brief visual chronology of the Project from beginning to end:

 

Upham Beach Geotube T-Groin Update: The Sand is Still Here!

Here is another status update photograph from the roof of Starlight Tower showing that the Upham Beach Geotube T-Groins are still doing a great job of holding sand on Upham Beach.

Without the T-Groins, most of the sand you see here on Upham Beach would have been gone two years ago.

Thankfully, the 2010 Sand Key beach renourishment project is underway, and will soon be coming to Upham Beach to bring more precious sand and provide a big, wide, sandy beach for the enjoyment of residents and tourists alike!

More Proof that Geotubes Prevent Erosion on Upham Beach

Well, it's the week of July 4 in St. Pete Beach, Florida, and that can mean only one thing (and NO, it doesn't mean fireworks--this year heavy rain soaked our city's fireworks display and they wouldn't light!!!) -- the annual Photographs of the Upham Beach Geotubes!!!

In 2006, Pinellas County installed five temporary geotextile T-Groin structures on Upham Beach in St. Pete Beach as a test to prove that the permanent structures scheduled for 2012 will be effective in preventing St. Pete Beach's chronic erosion.


Despite the fact that the success and effectiveness of the Upham Beach geotubes erosion control program has been well-documented,  the ability of the geotubes to effectively prevent sand erosion has been repeatedly challenged by members of the surfing community, including the Suncoast Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation.  
Pinellas County's engineers have monitored the project continuously since the project began in 2006 and have repeatedly concluded that the project has performed as it was designed to perform.

However, as a resident of Starlight Tower (which has a front row view of the whole Upham Beach erosion drama) I have conducted my own project to document the effectiveness of the Upham geotubes.  Every year during the July 4th week I photograph Upham Beach and the Upham geotubes from the roof of the Starlight Tower building to provide a standardized, annual comparison of the rate of beach erosion on Upham Beach.

As a starting point for comparison, this is what Upham Beach usually looks like (without geotubes) 24 months after a beach renourishment project has put sand on the beach:

And this is what Upham Beach looked like this year, 46 months after the 2006 beach renourishment and after installation of the Upham Geotubes:

Not bad!  And here are the prior years....July 4, 2009....

and July 4, 2008, 22 months after the 2006 beach renourishment and installation of the Upham geotubes:

And, again for comparison, this is what the beach looks like after only 24 or so months after a beach renourishment if there are NO geotubes in place:

The Surfriders seem to be arguing that St. Pete Beach is better off without having the geotubes (or any form of temporary or permanent erosion control structure) on Upham Beach because the there isn't sufficient evidence that the geotubes can effectively hold sand on the beach.

Well, I'll just keep taking my photos from the roof of Starlight Tower on the 4th of July.  It seems pretty clear to me from those photos that the Upham Beach geotubes are working like a champ, but take a look and decide for yourself.

Volunteers Plant 5,000 Sea Oats Seedlings in St. Pete Beach

ST. PETE BEACH, FL - Over 150 volunteers arrived in Pass-a-Grille in the early hours of June 26, 2010 and successfully planted 5,000 sea oats seedlings in the sand dunes between 15th and 22nd Avenues in Pass-a-Grille.

This was the 2nd annual Sea Oats Planting Event organized by the Beach Stewardship Committee of St. Pete Beach.  The sea oats seedlings were donated by Pinellas County and were planted as part of a multi-faceted beach erosion prevention program that utilizes both natural and structural methods to preserve the city's beaches and prevent beach erosion.

As chairman of the Beach Stewardship Committee, I was very pleased with this year's turnout, especially since the vastly popular Hands Across the Sand demonstration was scheduled to occur starting at 11:00 a.m. later that morning.  It was wonderful to see folks who had participated in last year's sea oats planting event, as well as many new faces.

It was also great to receive such wonderful support from our local business community.  The Tradewinds, Sirata and Alden resorts donated bottled water and energy bars for the volunteers, and Bruno Falkenstein from the Hurricane used his shiny new TurtleMobile to help deliver water and supplies to the volunteers on the beach.  Many thanks also to Cleo Robertson (fellow Beach Stewardship Committee member and owner of St. Pete Beach Today website) and the folks at Tampa BayWatch for helping to get word of our event out to the general public.

It's always great to see our city commissioners lending a hand, including SPB District 1 Commissioner Alan Halpern (on the right)...

...SPB District 3 Commissioner Marvin Shavlan...

...District 4 Commissioner Bev Garnett (on the left, with Gene Halpern on the right)

... and fellow Beach Stewardship Committee member and local businessman Marcus Lehtovirta.
 

The St. Pete Beach Fire Department also helped out by providing much-needed water to the freshly-planted sea oats seedlings.

Of course, some of the event organizers couldn't help trying to play with the fire engine controls....(the St. Pete Beach Fire Department personnel were VERY patient!)

Most important, the success of these sea oats planting events could not happen without the skill and dedication of St. Pete Beach Public Works Director Steve Hallock (right) and his staff.  These guys are the City's unsung heroes, and they do an amazing job at at time when the City's budget is shrinking with each passing year.

Thanks again to everyone who helped to make this year's event such a success!  

Photos by Andrea Lypka and Kevin Hing.  (You can tell the ones taken by Andrea...they are the ones that are in focus)

Upham Beach Renourishment Scheduled to Begin by September, 2010

Good news for beachgoers and Upham Beach residents alike!  According to Andrew Squires from Pinellas County's Department of Environmental Management, the Treasure Island / Upham Beach renourishment project is scheduled to commence no later than September 15, 2010!  The project specifications provide that the contractor will have 150 days to complete the project.

More Volunteers Needed for June 26th St. Pete Beach Sea Oats Planting Event!!!

Help !!!!  Many more volunteers are needed for the  Annual St Pete Beach Sea Oats Planting Event on Saturday, June 26, 2010! 

Volunteers are needed to help plant over 5,000 sea oats seedlings in the sand dunes of Pass a Grille beach from 8:00 am til 11:00 am.  Based on RSVP results so far, we do not have enough volunteers to get these wonderful sea oats seedlings planted in time!

Sea oats are a vital part of St. Pete Beach's beach preservation program:  as the sea oats plants grow, they trap sand from being blown away by wind, helping to form dunes that increase the size of the beach and provide habitat and food for beach wildlife.

Volunteers will meet at Hurley Park Pavilion, 1501 Gulf Way in historic Pass a Grille in St. Pete Beach.  Parking passes and bottled water will be provided.   More information can be obtained by downloading the City's Information Sheet for the Sea Oats Planting Event.

If you are interested in participating in this wonderful event, please RSVP at SPB City Hall at 727 367-2735.  Please leave your name, email address and the number of people who will be volunteering with you. 

Volunteers needed on June 26th: St. Pete Beach Sea Oats Planting Event

On Saturday, June 26th, the City of St. Pete Beach will host its Annual St Pete Beach Sea Oats Planting Event, and volunteers are needed to help plant over 5,000 sea oats seedlings in the sand dunes of Pass a Grille beach from 8:00 am til 11:00 am.

Sea oats are a vital part of St. Pete Beach's beach preservation program:  as the sea oats plants grow, they trap sand from being blown away by wind, helping to form dunes that increase the size of the beach and provide habitat and food for beach wildlife.

Volunteers will meet at Hurley Park Pavilion, 1501 Gulf Way in historic Pass a Grille in St. Pete Beach.  Parking passes and bottled water will be provided.   More information can be obtained by downloading the City's Information Sheet for the Sea Oats Planting Event.

If you are interested in participating in this wonderful event, please RSVP at SPB City Hall at 727 367-2735.  Please leave your name, email address and the number of people who will be volunteering with you. 

No Oil on the Pristine Sands of Upham Beach, St. Pete Beach!

The pristine, white sands of Upham Beach in St. Pete Beach, Florida are FREE OF OIL!

I took this photo at 8:00 a.m. this morning, June 12, 2010.  Beautiful!

Come enjoy our beach!

New Blog Covering St. Pete Beach and Amendment 4 / Hometown Democracy

After giving this a lot of thought, I've decided to create a new blog that specifically focuses on St. Pete Beach and Hometown Democracy / Amendment 4 issues.  I'll keep blogging about beach preservation and other St. Pete Beach related issues on this blog, but I thought it better to have a separate blog devoted exclusively to the Amendment 4 debate. 

The new blog is called "St. Pete Beach and Hometown Democracy / Amendment 4" and is located at: http://StPeteBeachandHometownDemocracy.blogspot.com

Check it out!

St. Pete Beach Needs Volunteers to Photograph Beach Conditions Prior to Deepwater Horizon Oil Impact

ST. PETE BEACH, FL -  The Beach Stewardship Committee of St. Pete Beach, in conjunction with the city's Public Services department and the Environmental Public Health Division of the Florida Department of Health, is seeking volunteers to photograph the current condition of St. Pete Beach's beaches to assist the City, County and State in its efforts to monitor the condition of our beaches during the ongoing Deepwater Horizon oil crisis and to enable us to determine the extent to which our pristine white sands are being impaired by the oil and its residue.

Patti Anderson of the Florida Department of Health has released the following request:

Requested Action: 

We request that beach monitoring staff take a picture inventory of their beaches as a “Before” condition of the beaches in advance of the impact of the oil spill for the record.  We expect conditions to change as tar balls, etc,  start arriving – so although qualitative, can still be used as a measure of impact.  

The color of the sand is expected to change as 'hydrocarbons' start washing ashore.   Terms used are 'light, moderate and heavy'.   So getting pictures, in full sunlight of the sand color, will be helpful to document how conditions change.

We may very well ask you to repeat this activity as the beaches become impacted.   We will let you know as this is coordinated with the State Emergency Response Team (SERT).

Decisions to do beach cleanup could very well hinge on the color of the sand and the amount of tar balls.  So we wouldn't ask for this effort unless important.