Navarre State Park repairs slated for 2008 completion (12/28/2006)

NAVARRE BEACH — Repairs to the state park following successive hits by two hurricanes are expected to be completed early in the new year.

Just not in the next new year.

The tentative completion date is now set for January 2008, at which time the park will be returned to Santa Rosa County and operate as a free county park.

The Florida Park Service recently hired Baskerville & Donovan engineering firm to design the repairs to Navarre Beach State Park, which sustained massive damages from Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and Hurricane Dennis in 2005. It is expected to take four to five months to finalize the designs for construction bids, said Katie Flanagen, information director for the Park Service.

“We’re hoping to start construction by the summertime,” Flanagen said.

The Park Service and the county agreed earlier this year for the state to return the park to the county after the hurricane damage is repaired.

The Park Service has $4.4 million from insurance reimbursements to spend on the repairs.

Santa Rosa officials sent a letter to the Park Service in August listing which repairs needed to be completed and the priority for each project without exceeding the funds. That order is:

• All water/sewer utility lines and lift stations.
• All roads and parking lots.
• Gulfside dune crossovers, restrooms and pavilions.
• Soundside restrooms, pavilions and boardwalks.
• Campground parking lot and facilities.
• Maintenance shed and living quarters.

Flanagen said the Park Service believes it can complete all of the repairs with the insurance money. It is questionable if enough money will be left over to fund additional jobs the county has requested, such as building a new boat dock on the park’s soundside, Flanagen said.

Northwest Florida Daily News
Dusty Ricketts

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