On Saturday, the result of the Wild Dunes Community vote was announced at our annual meeting concerning the referendum to renourish the beach.

Here are the results: 88% of the eligible voters voted – an outstanding turnout.
77% voted YES!!
(Even without the resort’s vote it would have been 71%)

That is an overwhelming vote of support for the WDCA board, its efforts and direction. There were plenty of accolades to go around and all received enthusiastic applause for a job well done.

This vote locks in the support that the city of Isle of Palms had committed – 2.0M, the county’s share of .9M, the resorts matching contribution of approximately 2.5M, the ‘voluntary’ contribution of $2000 per beachfront property owner of .8M and all property owners in Wild Dunes at $1500 each for approximately another 2.5M. We are still awaiting the OCRM state’s fund recommendation of 1.0M approval but hopefully this landslide vote will show them we’re behind this measure so they should be too. The community will be asking homeowners outside the gates that will benefit from this action for financial help.

The supplementary assessment bill will be sent soon for each of us. It is expected that the actual beginning of the project (pumping sand onto the beach) will be on or about May 1st. It could take as little as two months to complete and as long as three months depending on weather, equipment, etc.

When completed (by August for sure) we will have at least a 200′ ribbon of beach from Dewees Inlet down to 47th Avenue which has been identified as the beginning and end of the “erosion zone”. Most likely this project will begin at the northern part of W.D. where the erosion is most significant. A large pipe will be brought in from the offshore “borrow site” approximately 2 1/2 miles out and sand will be sent along the beach by a divided pipeline. They expect to be able to cover between 400 to 800 feet per week in both directions.

The resort has committed to the repair of the 18th hole when this renourishment is completed. And, as the beach is building up and those affected properties secured, the sand bags will be removed. The disruption as the sand is being pumped in will affect the immediate area but only for a short while as the sand slurry does come in very rapidly and they move on. There will be sand walkways installed over the pipe and the turtle patrol will be on the watch for nests.

This renourishment action and our watchful surveys for signs of ‘hot spots’ will allow us to repair any future signs of erosion before they get too serious to handle. Funding for these repairs has been considered and will be taken care of from future revenues and is being budgeted for so that it should not be necessary to ask for another assessment down the road. And, if a major storm does damage our properly repaired beach (which will meet all state and federal guidelines) we will be eligible for federal FEMA funding to pay for these repairs.

I hope you find this note informative and if you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to call me.