Save Our Beach

There was a meeting on the Sargent Breakwater project - it was underwhelming according to those that attended.  Hello Dave Saba, this is Pat Jarrett. Attended the session at the park this morning with county commissioner, GLO & USACOE. Basically it was useless. 1) USACOE is reviewing what the GLO turned over to them. May or may not tweak it. Still in review stage. 2) June/July 2025 May be ready to send out for bids.  3) Will move approx. 900,000 cubic yards of sand from Matagorda area to Sargent after Breakwater/Groin installed. Funds are in place for that according to the individual that handles dredge operations for the USACOE. The only person that I thought was helpful was the guy (named Seth) from the USACOE and the only one that spoke really. Very compartmentalized, so he was limited on giving out info. Only other person from the CORPS that said anything ( as I asked a question asking if the county/Corps has a new lease signed... Was the real estate gentleman. No new ...

So apparently the real problem is that the way the project was designed was not entirely feasible.  So it has now gone out for bid twice without success and now have to modify the project again to get it done.  The GLO commissioner says that they will get started in the next six months.  I have been the most positive cheerleader on this project but this is so discouraging.  I know that Mike Estlinbaum has been all over it and pushing hard but he can't control the GLO and their glacial pace.  So I guess we just have to expect more of this -  From Bay City Tribune if you subscribe -  Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham visited Matagorda County with an $8M check in hand to bolster the county’s drainage and sewer systems in response to Hurricane Beryl damage. The Texas General Land Office awarded over $66M to regional mitigation projects across 10 cities and three counties Thursday. “The GLO is proud to work with Texas communities to strengthen and...

Still no word on the project being awarded - - - sigh.  Matagorda County Emergency Operations Center Press release / For immediate release June 28, 2024 1600 hours Matagorda County officials have been instructed to immediately close West Revetment Road by the United States Corp of Engineers. This road is along the revetment wall and is west of FM 457, in Sargent Texas. An inspection of the road was recently completed because of Tropical Storm Alberto. The storm has undermined the road and left huge holes all along the road. The call came in approximately 215 pm from the Office of Robert J. Buchalski Chief, Management and Disposal Branch Real Estate Division U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Galveston District. He stressed the need to close the road to the public to prevent damage and injuries. He asked the County to close the road out of an abundance of caution. Matagorda County Commissioner Mike Estlinbaum said he would follow the direction of the Corp of Engineers and hopes for a pe...

 No update on the award of the breakwater / jetty project but we knew it would be more like the end of June for the full RFP process to work out.  Nothing new on the opening of the mouth of the San Bernard.  But I went down to the cut on 5/24/2024 and sent up the drone - I brought it back when a big WARNING HIGH WINDS came on my screen.  But the sand bar around the back of the cut goes pretty far now.  Always changing  Some other pics of the day at the cut and one of two Gafftops I caught and released

A great update from Commissioner Estlinbaum - great responsiveness from him and State Rep Candidate Lauderback. This is the visibility we need to make sure the contract is completed.  Note that they still cannot violate bid rules for a project this size - but we have the right people pushing for it.   Yesterday, Commissioner Estlinbaum got a call from State Rep Candidate AJ Lauderback.  He was aware of the most recent delay and was asking me questions about it. He was minutes away from walking into a meeting with Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham. She is state elected and head of the GLO. He wanted to pass along our frustration with the most recent delay. Following that Estlinbaum got a call yesterday afternoon from David Green, Sr Director Coastal Protection with GLO. He assured him that the project is moving forward and he is on top of it. It was unfortunate that the awarded contractor didn't meet financials tests.    This morning, Estlinbaum got a call ...

 GLO must follow very strict guidelines for awarding contracts and that is both good and bad for our project.  Good in that they found an issue with the winning bidder in the final phase of the ward - bad because it means that they have to put it out for rebid. This means the timeline starts all over again.   Commissioner Estlinbaum is just as upset as we are and is staying on GLO to ensure they expedite this process so that the project gets done.  Bid is here (it moved again as of 4/26) -  https://www.txsmartbuy.com/esbd/RFP_1790-LP This is an accelerated timeline compared to the last bid Issue Solicitation March 4, 2024  Deadline for Submitting Questions March 11, 2024 at 2:00 p.m. CT  Anticipated Release Date of Answers to Questions March 15, 2024  Deadline for Submission of Solicitation Responses (including HUB Subcontracting Plan) March 28, 2023 at 2:00 p.m. CT  Evaluation Period April 1, 2024 to April 25 2024  Contractor Selec...

They are getting the dredging of the mouth of the San Bernard back on track with engineering and permitting started. This will help the flow of sand down our way and is a big plus for our beach nourishment.  On November 9th the Army Corp issued a notice concerning the intent to finally open the San Bernard through dredging and put the sand on our side of the mouth.  This will be a much wider dredge to ensure it stays open longer and requires less maintenance.   https://www.swg.usace.army.mil/Media/Public-Notices/Article/3584757/swg-2015-00603-brazoria-county-san-bernard-river-mouth-brazoria-county-texas/