The last City Council meeting left residents wondering what the status of their bridge truly will be, because Council decided to get more information before making a decision. Well, a meeting has been called for July 16th, at 4:00 PM, with one of the Agenda Items being that update requested so long ago. I want to go over what the City Employees have returned with, and what this could mean for us. Lets start with the hard numbers that is provided to us and the City Council on their agenda. 

1. Repair Option -
   1. Under the original plan assuming the damage was before Hurricanes Helene and Milton, it would cost the Federal Highway Administration $404,321.08 and it would cost the City a total of $101,080.27 for a grand total cost estimate analysis of $505,401.35. 
   2. Under the revised plans if their amendment to the deal is denied the cost to FHWA stays the same at $404,321.08 however the costs to the city shoot up to $1,483,719.34 for a grand total of $1,888,040.42. This represents the new damage with option 1 being the old damage and original deal. 
   3. Under the revised plans if their amendment to the deal is approved FHWA pays $1,510,432.34, the city pays $377,608.08 and the total remains the same as option 2. 
2. Permanent Removal (This Option only has 1 Cost Contribution, The Cities)
   1. Removal Option with no outside help will cost the City $1,473,771
3. Replacement Option
   1. If no outside contributions are received it will cost the City a grand total of $3,338,798.40
   2. If they can get contributions under the old agreement with no amendment they estimate FHWA would pay $404,321.08, and the City would pay $2,934,477.32 for a total that aligns with the above amount as well!
   3. If the contributions they get are also amended to reflect a better deal FHWA would pay $1,510,432.34, and the City would pay $1,828,366.06 for a total reflecting the above amounts! 

This is a breakdown of the proposal that the City Employees will be presenting at Wednesdays meeting, and it is critical we attend. There are a few things to note for yourselves, 

1. The city has yet to announce when a decision will be made about the Sands Bridge, so do not assume a decision is being made at this meeting 
2. The Cost estimates are estimates because deals are still being made and some issues are arising as FDOT and a few other entities are at the end of their fiscal years and cannot at the moment spare money
3. The City has moved all public comment to the end of every meeting, so if you do not want to sit through the entire meeting please note this, and also note on the Agenda the Sands Blvd Bridge update happens roughly in the middle of the meeting

But what does this mean for us? Well it means that the City Council now has some hard facts in front of it, and they could be swayed to make a decision very soon so we need to ramp up our support for the bridge. I urge as many of you to once more show up at this meeting and continue delivering pressure to the Councilors because it is well needed. Along with that, the costs have ballooned up due to the damage that the City was to slow to deal with, this creates a situation that now all of the residents who rely on this bridge are forced to face. If you have any questions, or ideas feel free to reach out to me at simon.monteleone@gmail.com, because it is critical we stand up for our Bridge as the City begins coming back from their break. 

And for those that wish, the Agenda link and link to the City Employee breakdown can be found at the highlighted text. HTML Agenda Breakdown & City Employee Presentation