Upham Beach Shines on July 4, 2012 Despite Damage from Storms and Vandalism

Residents and tourists alike flocked to the beautiful, big, wide sandy beaches of St. Pete Beach this week to enjoy the Fourth of July holiday.  It was wonderful to see so many people swimming and playing on a beach that only a few days before had been pounded by the surging waves of Tropical Storm Debby.

It's a joyful ritual of mine to photograph Upham Beach on the Fourth of July each year.   Aside from the obvious happiness of seeing so many people on our beach, it's also a great way to demonstrate the effectiveness of Pinellas County's Upham Beach Stabilization Project at preserving and protecting our beach against erosion.

In 2005, Pinellas County commenced the project by installing five temporary "T-Groin" erosion control structures on Upham Beach.  These structures are made from durable geotextile material filled with sand, and are designed to hold sand on the beach that would otherwise drift southwards due to normal tidal forces and, of course, the strong erosional force of storms.

Only a few days earlier, Tropical Storm Debby was doing her best to wash away the sands of Upham Beach.  Thankfully, the T-Groins keep a remarkable amount of sand on the beach given the intensity of the storm surge:

 By comparison, this is what Upham Beach looks like without T-Groins several years after a beach renourishment:

The T-Groins also did a great job on the northernmost end of Upham Beach.  Here's what T-1 looked like just before Debby hit:

Upham Beach Geotube T1 before Tropical Storm Debby

Here is Debby in action:

Upham Beach Geotube T1 during Tropical Storm Debby - June 24, 2012

And here is North Upham Beach at T-1 on July 4, 2012, after Debby:

Upham T-Groin #1 after Tropical Storm Debby (July 4, 2012)

While the super-tough geotextile material used to make the Upham Beach T-Groins is durable, it is not entirely impervious to the combined threats of storm surge and vandalism, so periodic inspections of the geotubes are necessary to insure they are properly maintained.  On July 2, 2012, I tagged along with Pinellas County's Coastal Manager Andrew Squires and Thomas Pierro from Coastal Planning & Engineering, Inc. (Pinellas County's engineering contractor for the Project) during their inspection of the Upham Beach geotubes.

Overall, Pierro and Squires were both very pleased with the condition of the beach and the T-Groins.  Pierro noted that the profile of the beach between the northernmost T-Groin (T1) and T2 showed that, given the severity of the storm surge created by Debby, a substantial amount of sand was remaining on the beach that otherwise would have been lost.  He observed the same between T2 -T3 and T3-T4.  He also observed that in the space between T2 - T3 and between T3 -T4 there was evidence that some sand was returning to the shoreline that had been washed away, a pattern of "restoration" that is being aided by the presence of the Geotubes.  

It was clear to Pierro and Squires that while Debby's storm surge had caused a loss of sand on the beach, a substantially larger amount of sand would have been lost if the T-Groins had not been in place.  Squires confirmed that Pinellas County officials are actively pursuing funding for a beach renourishment that would restore sand that was lost during the recent storm. 

Thomas Pierro and Andrew Squires inspect damage to Upham Beach Geotube T1 (July 2, 2012)

Unfortunately, Pierro and Squires also observed damage to the T-Groins, some of which was caused by the force of the storms and some of which was clearly caused by human malice.  In several instances some seams had come loose due to the force of the storm surge.  In other instances, the geotubes had sustained punctures and slashes that Pierro concluded could only have been caused by vandalism.  

Here are some photos of the damage that they observed:

Tom Pierro and Andrew Squires inspect damage to Upham Beach Geotube T2 (July 2, 2012)

Tom Pierro inspects vandalism damage to Upham Beach Geotube T4 (July 2, 2012)

In addition to the efforts of Pinellas County officials to preserve Upham Beach, it was great to see that on June 30th, mere days after Tropical Storm Debby subsided, hundreds of volunteers came to St. Pete Beach as part of a joint effort between the city and the Florida Aquarium for a Sea Oats Planting.  The volunteers planted 5000 sea oat plants that had been donated by Pinellas County.  Once planted, the sea oats plants will help to establish dunes that will help mitigate the erosive effects of storm surge.

It's great to see public officials, non-profit organizations like the Florida Aquarium, and private citizens all coming together to protect our beautiful beach community!

Upham Beach T-Groins Seriously Damaged

It seems that the brief vacation St. Pete Beach enjoyed from drama and hostility is now officially over.

As many SPB residents know, a fresh batch of litigation was recently served on the people of St. Pete 
Beach regarding the city's redevelopment efforts.

Frustrating?  Absolutely.  But there is more.  While walking on Upham Beach this weekend, I was shocked and dismayed to see that the geotextile erosion control structures (the "T-Groins") have already sustained substantial damage, only a few months after their installation and repair by Pinellas County.

As shown in the video and photos I took over the weekend, the nature and extent of this damage is substantial.  The thick, durable outer coating of these Geotubes has been marred by deep incisions, and large sections appear to have been torn away in a manner clearly inconsistent with natural wear and tear.

The geotube T-Groins do a great job of withstanding the waves and holding sand on the beach.  The damaged sections will be patched by Pinellas County, and hopefully there will be no further damage.

At long last, all is well in St. Pete Beach!

Last night, for the first time in years, Edel and I went directly on to Upham Beach from the back gate of Starlight Tower, and went for a pleasant sunset walk on sand that was freshly deposited by the County's beach renourishment program.

But we didn't get far. Only 100 steps later we encountered a crowd of tourists who were happily settling down in a large circle to watch the Fire Dancers, a small band of fire-wielding bellydancers, (sponsored by the proprietors of the local Russian restaurant St. Petersburg Nights), whose appearance on Upham Beach on the first Saturday of each month supplements the exotic and unique beauty of the sunsets of St. Pete Beach. The sun was just beginning to set, and the dancers were teaching a handful of brave beachgoers some dance moves while their assistants were dousing various props with gasoline in preparation for the show.

Then darkness came and the show began. And as I beheld the many faces, young and old, delightedly transfixed by the spectacle of beautiful dancers, whirling flaming scimitars and the glowing, crimson Upham Beach sunset, I realized that this was a perfect ending to what has been a remarkably good week for St. Pete Beach.
























As a beach preservation activist, I was very pleased to be among the many tourists who were walking, playing and enjoying a beach that has been refreshed and preserved by the beach renourishment and geotextile T-groins installed during the recently-completed county/state/federal beach preservation project. But for that hard-fought project, that wonderful place would have had no sand, no beautiful dancers, and no tourists to enjoy them.



The week
also brought the excellent news that funding has been approved for the Pinellas Bayway project, which will replace the old, decaying drawbridge with a shining new bridge that will greatly ease congestion and improve traffic-flow on the south end of our island.
We also learned that Commissioner Bev Garnett was cleared of the last of the many ethics complaints filed against her by her rival/nemesis Harry Metz.

The City also recently filed a motion to dismiss the appeal currently pending with regards to the seemingly endless litigation regarding the City's redevelopment initiatives.

And, finally, we learned this week that the City of Yankeetown has filed a lawsuit to overturn the legislation that was recently passed that bans putting comprehensive plans to a vote.  Imagine that, litigation involving land use regulation and comprehensive plans, and St. Pete Beach isn't involved!


 The past few years have been very rough on the people of St. Pete Beach, but I think the events of this week are a wonderful sign of how far we have come, and how well the efforts of the city have been rewarded.
Because  of the efforts of our Mayors and Commissioners, our beaches are larger and more stable than they were just a few years ago, which draws more tourists and preserves and grows our local economy. Our new comprehensive plan has finally been freed from the shackles and constraints of litigation, so the redevelopment of our city can finally begin to take shape. The divisiveness and contention that once roiled our City Commission has been mercifully replaced with respectful, thoughtful, and responsible deliberation.


And, for the first time since I can remember, the headlines about strife, lawsuits and Comprehensive Plans are not featuring our city.

I never thought I'd have the pleasure of saying this, but if this week is any indication of the times to come, then, at long last, it may be safe to say aloud that all is well in St. Pete Beach.

Red Light Cameras: The Next Lawsuit Nightmare for St. Pete Beach

Like many St. Pete Beach residents, I am pleased and relieved that our city has enjoyed a few months respite from the caustic and divisive rhetoric about condo canyons and the Right to Vote.  We deserve a break.  We need a break.  And with any luck, the present state of relative tranquility will become the New Normal in St. Pete Beach.


The staggering legal costs of the St. Pete Beach development war has taken a huge toll on our city's resources.  The last thing we need is a whole new issue that will cost the city even more legal fees.


That's why I was more than a little disturbed when I saw this morning's May 22, 2011 St. Pete Times Story about the rising number of successful and costly legal challenges to Red Light cameras.  This story reveals that clever lawyers are successfully challenging Red Light Camera fines/tickets, and are causing cities that have installed those cameras to incur substantial legal fees defending those fines/tickets.  As a result, city legal fees relating to red light cameras are increasing, cities are being forced to hire additional personnel to review the camera videos, and the increased number of legal challenges is taxing city resources and causing a backlog of unprocessed tickets, which leads to more tickets subject to legal challenge, which leads to more lawyers and lawsuits, which leads to more legal fees....


It is my understanding that Red light cameras have been marketed to the St. Pete Beach Commission as not only a means to reduce accidents, but also as a source of revenue from the traffic fines the cameras generate, and that the last city commission approved an ordinance allowing the installation of red light cameras in our city.


I was not able to attend the commission meeting when this ordinance was debated.  However, I'd bet my fiddle that the commission wasn't aware of the alarming trend of increased legal challenges and legal costs associated with the implementation of Red Light Cameras.


I think the new commission needs to thoroughly examine the potential for increased legal fees and expenses before taking any action to install and implement Red Light Cameras on St. Pete Beach.  Otherwise, we may be adding Ted Hollander to the list of lawyers who make their living suing our beautiful city.

'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: