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Beach gets spruced up before reopening

Storm-battered Alfred A. McKethan Park receives infusions of fresh sand and other improvements. The park and its beach may be open by Saturday.

PINE ISLAND - For the past three weeks, the beach at Alfred A. McKethan Park has been crowded mostly with pearly-gray and white gulls, their look-alike cousins the web-footed terns, and red-beaked oystercatchers.

The seabirds, huddled by the scores at shoreline, are complaining in muted squawks.

They're having to work for their food: no free and tasty crumbs from picnickers. They have been absent since Hurricane Jeanne roared ashore.

The county-owned park has been closed since Sept. 25 when the surge caused by Hurricane Jeanne swept over the area, washing tons of sand from the beach and dumping it into the gulf.

"Even before the rain (and surge), we had a lot of wind that carried out the sand," said Pat Fagan, director of the Hernando County Parks and Facilities Department.

It was the second time this hurricane season the park had to shut its gates to visitors for safety reasons. After Frances rumbled through in early September, the park was closed for a week, while park and recreation department employees recovered and redistributed sand. The park reopened briefly in time to get hit by Jeanne.

As the water receded, it left "an unbelievable amount of seaweed," he said.

The seaweed on the park property has been removed in the past couple of weeks. Workers have redistributed recoverable sand.

"We saved as much as we could," Fagan said.

As late as last week, depressions a foot or more deep remained behind on the beach side of the seawall. Roots of the stately cabbage palms and Queen Anne palms were exposed down to about 6 inches. Sand was scoured from the concrete bases into which lifeguard stands are set, from the piers on which the observation deck is anchored and from around picnic pavilions, Fagan said.

"We're having to buy sand and bring it in," Fagan said of the restoration effort. Rinker Materials of Davenport submitted the low bid to supply and spread 880 tons of new sand at a cost of $14,850. Two other bids ranged up to $19,057.50, Fagan noted.

The contractor started delivering sand Friday. By Wednesday all the sand should be on site, Fagan said. Crews will spread and level the sand. If all else goes well, Fagan said, by Saturday the park will reopen.

The cost of the reclamation project shouldn't wreck the department's budget. In its annual spending plan is money set aside to replace the usual loss of beach sand.

"A lot of people take sand home in their bathing suits," he said. Because the loss of sand was caused by a natural disaster, the costs will be itemized and forwarded to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is reimbursing local governments for 90 percent of hurricane damage.

"Hopefully, if everything goes well, the federal government will pay for it," Fagan said.

Many are eager for the park's reopening. Calls have come in from Hudson, Homosassa and beyond, Fagan said.

"Pine Island is quite popular," he said.

While waiting for the beach recovery to be completed, last week park department workers were taking advantage of the closure to do maintenance normally put off till later in the year.

Steve Dovcak was stacking sawed-off palm fronds into a truck bed as he followed another worker with a chain saw who was taking down storm-beaten, dying or overhanging branches. It's work that needs to be undertaken about every six months, for safety and aesthetics, Dovcak said.

Also under way was the fresh painting of the observation deck. And lifeguard chairs have been removed from their perches and hauled to the park department's maintenance facility, where they are being rewelded and painted as needed, Dovcak said.

When the park reopens, no lifeguards will be on duty. Swimming season usually ends Labor day. As of Nov. 15, the park will stop charging the $2 admission for cars.