DUNEDIN — Federal permitting delays are pushing back a major overhaul of the Dunedin Marina, frustrating city commissioners who want construction to begin years ahead of the current timeline.
The Army Corps of Engineers has not responded to the city's permit applications since October, and a consultant told commissioners the agency is taking nine months for simplified permits and up to 18 months for more complex ones. Under the current schedule, work on docks A and B would not be completed until 2028-2029, with Dock C following in 2030.
Commissioners made clear during a presentation on the revised marina master plan that those dates are unacceptable.
"It's purely dictated by the permitting through the Army Corps," Clay Watkins, director of utilities and engineering, told Vice Mayor Rob Walker when asked what could be done to speed things up. Watkins said the city has seen no movement on its permits in nearly five months.
Walker said he still wants the city and its consultants to find ways to move the project along faster. Commissioner Steven Sandbergen agreed: "We have to find a way to move this forward."
Mayor Maureen Freaney said she wants construction on the docks to begin in 2027, as originally planned.
Parks and Recreation Director Tony Mulkey reminded commissioners the original master plan had to be revised after two hurricanes severely damaged the facility. He said staff has been working with the engineering firm Kimley-Horn on the redesign, which shifted the plan from fixed docks to floating docks. The focus now is on materials, design elements and budget.
Changes to slip sizes
Casey Long, an engineering consultant with Kimley-Horn, presented proposed changes to slip dimensions at the marina.
The 25-foot slips would widen from 9 to 10 feet, and 35-foot slips from 14 to 15 feet, with 30-foot slips remaining at 11 feet. Finger pier widths — currently 18 to 24 inches across all slips — would be standardized: 24 inches at 25-foot slips, 30 inches at 30- and 35-foot slips, and 30 inches at 45- and 50-foot slips. The 60-foot slips would get 36-inch finger piers for floating docks and 60-inch piers at fixed slips. The main dock width on all three docks would remain at 8 feet.
Long said the proposed widths are at the low end or middle of industry standards for smaller vessels but fall below standard for larger boats.
"However, we're wider than what you currently have," he said. "The sacrifice that comes with that is by increasing the fingers any wider, you stand the potential of losing more slips."
He said the firm is comfortable with the proposed widths, knowing they improve on existing conditions. Handicapped-accessible docks will have 5-foot-wide fingers to meet requirements.
Long also explained that slip sizes don't correspond directly to boat length. A 25-foot slip, for example, is designed for a boat up to 23 feet. A 30-foot slip accommodates boats from 23 to 28 feet, while a 60-foot slip handles vessels up to 55 feet.
The proposed layout would significantly reshape the slip mix. The number of 25-foot slips would drop from 65 to 30 under a fixed-dock design or to 41 under a floating-dock plan, while 30-foot slips would increase from 46 to as many as 65. The number of 40-foot slips would jump from one to 10, and 50-foot slips would decrease from 23 to 16.
Commissioner Tom Dugard raised concerns about the reduction in smaller slips. Harbormaster Laurie Ferguson said the marina has a high number of empty 25-foot slips with no waitlist, while 30-foot slips have a long waitlist the city cannot fill.
"They're not the size slip that is most commonly asked for," Ferguson said of the 25-foot spaces. "The intention was to create more 30-foot slips and fewer 25-foot slips so that we don't have that turnover and those empty slips with no revenue."
Landside improvements
Kimley-Horn consultant James Pankonin said the revised plan scales back some originally proposed improvements to Edgewater Park.
The boat ramp would be shifted north to improve launching access, while trailer parking stays at its current location based on public feedback. The plan also calls for an expanded harbormaster plaza, an extended day dock and fishing pier, a new Captains Walk on the south and west walls, and a continuous Marina Walk with shade trees.
The fishing pier replacement is about to begin construction, Pankonin said, with dock A and B design and permitting next in line.
Funding for all dock replacements — including docks A, B and C and slips on the south, west and commercial walls — is expected to come from the Marina Enterprise Fund, with some FEMA reimbursement. Other improvements, including the fishing pier, harbormaster building repairs, parking and pedestrian circulation, would be funded through the General Fund or Penny Fund.
A final master plan is expected to go before the City Commission for approval after additional workshops and meetings with the Marina Advisory Committee.