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Freeport balks at dredging canal for harbor
Published January 18, 2007
FREEPORT — If residents of the Bridge Harbor subdivision want to see their neighborhood canal dredged, they should form a homeowner’s association for the effort, City Council members said Tuesday night.
Several full- and part-time subdivision residents said the canal’s depth is uneven because of debris accumulating from improperly maintained bulkheads — the piling reinforcements property owners are supposed to maintain between the dropoff from their property and the canal.
Residents said there should be a 5-foot depth in the center of the canal at low mean tide. At times, the depth decreases to 3 feet or less.
City representatives said the city should not be involved with any dredging efforts because of possible liability issues if dredging were to spread chemical contaminants that might have accumulated at the base of the canal.
In an ongoing investigation, the Environmental Protection Agency already has found potentially harmful levels of lead, pesticides and other organic compounds at the nearby site of the closed Gulfco Marine Maintenance site.
The EPA has said its next step is to see how far the contamination has spread. Since the northern edge of Bridge Harbor is about a quarter-mile from the site, city officials and residents said it is possible contaminants already might have spread to the canal and dredging could cause them to spread further.
Although the subdivision is within city limits, the city does not control the canal, which courses about a mile through the waterside community. Federal and state agencies control water access, while the private corporation which owns Bridge Harbor also owns the actual canal bottom.
City Attorney Wallace Shaw told the homeowners they should “resurrect a homeowners’ association or some other non-profit group to take ownership of this canal,” and then dredging could ensue.
Jim Pirrung, who has lived in Bridge Harbor for 17 years, disagreed.
“I would like to see the city buy the canal and dredge it and then assess property owners for costs,” he said. “We had a home association before annexation, but afterwards the association died from lack of interest. It was assumed the city would take over the responsibilities of a homeowners’ association.”
Shaw said such an arrangement isn’t possible.
“There’s no way repair of the canal could be assessed by the city like street (repairs),” he said. “There’s no authority from the Legislature for a city to do that.”
Kimmy Wessels, who lives on Dolphin Lane, said she plans to help organize a new homeowners’ association.
“We’re all on the same page here,” City Manager Ron Bottoms said, adding the city would benefit if the canal were dredged because it could increase property values.
Bridge Harbor resident Bobby Jo Casale said the bulkheads of some property owners should be repaired before any dredging is done.
“The city needs to inspect some of these bulkheads from the water side at low tide” Casale said. “Until that’s done, I would not dredge.”
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