4/15/2009

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY
CANAL DREDGING PROGRAM
MANUAL

Canal Dredging Program Manual




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Table of Contents




TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................................................... 1
INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................................... 2
PURPOSE AND INTENT.......................................................................................................................... 3
WHAT AREAS ARE ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE .......................................................................... 3
OPERATION AND FUNDING STRUCTURE ....................................................................................... 3
PHASE I: PROJECT DEFINITION AND LETTER OF INTENT....................................................... 4
PHASE II: FEASIBILITY PHASE........................................................................................................... 6
PHASE III: DESIGN, PERMITTING, CONSTRUCTION ................................................................. 10
PRIORITIZATION OF PROJECTS......................................................................................................11
SET BACKS AND PRIVATE BOAT SLIPS ......................................................................................... 12
WHO TO CONTACT............................................................................................................................... 14
CONFLICTING PROVISIONS .............................................................................................................. 14
EFFECTIVE DATE.................................................................................................................................. 14
APPENDIX A: ANTICIPATED TIMELINE ........................................................................................ 15
APPENDIX B: LETTER OF INTENT................................................................................................... 16


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Introduction

n March of 2007, after two years of study including six town hall style meetings and over
twenty monthly meetings, the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners
(BOCC) accepted the finding of the Canal Advisory Committee and their Comprehensive
Canal Dredging and Preventative Measures Study (CCDPM). This study examined the eight
various residential canal communities within the unincorporated portions of Hillsborough
County in order to determine the location and extent of sedimentation as well as the overall cost
of alleviating navigational issues within these canals. One of the primary recommendations from
this study was to enact a Canal Dredging Ordinance in which communities could independently
choose to pay for the necessary improvements.

In January of 2009 the BOCC enacted County Ordinance 09-01, Canal Dredging Municipal
Service Benefit Unit (MSBU) and Assessment Procedure Ordinance. This ordinance creates
a financing mechanism in which local communities can request, the County to create discreet
Municipal Service Benefit Units to finance canal dredging in order to resolve navigational issues
within the their residential saltwater canals. The Public Works Department, with the assistance of
other County organizations, was tasked with implementing the ordinance. This Canal Dredging
Program Manual will outline the County's program, its intent and purpose and lay out
anticipated timelines for projects. It will also outline internal policies within the program so that
applicants are clearly aware of their rights and responsibilities as well as the County's.

A key feature that should be noted in advance is that should a project proceed through fruition,
the total cost of said endeavor will be borne by the residents whose properties directly benefit
from the work.

I
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Purpose and Intent

From the onset of this program, the initial purpose and intent was to address the primary concern
of the residential saltwater canal property residents which is the navigational depths within their
waterways. The majority of these residential canals were created prior to the 1980s and the
advent of comprehensive environmental permitting. The dominant design scheme during those
periods was to maximize the amount of surface area fronting on waterfront in order to maximize
profits. This design scheme resulted in what are commonly referred to as "finger canal"
communities which is the predominant design within Hillsborough County's waterfront
communities. These finger canals resulted in low flush, low energy systems in which sediments
could enter from various means but lacked sufficient energy to flush said sediments. Over the
years these sediments and organic materials have deposited in sufficient quantities to adversely
affect navigation within these communities. This program will establish a reasonable level of
service that will allow recreational boat owners within the canals to affectively navigate from the
center of the canal adjacent to their property to the open waters of Tampa Bay.
What Areas Are Eligible to Participate

Per County Ordinance 09-01, this program is limited to the cleaning, deepening and widening of
navigable salt or brackish water canal-type waterways that are adjacent to properties located in
the unincorporated areas of Hillsborough County. Purely fresh water canals, lakes, historic
drainage ditches or other storm water conveyance structures, whose original intent was purely to
convey storm water are excluded from participating in this program.
Operation and Funding Structure

The program operates under three distinct phases, each of which are funded through various
funding mechanisms. Each phase has certain requirements attached to it and may require some
minor to significant time lags associated with transitioning to the next phase of the program. The
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timeline contained within Appendix A provides an anticipated timeline of each of the individual
phases as well as projected transition times between phases.
Phase I: Project Definition and Letter of Intent

This is the initial organizational
phase of the program. During
Phase I, communities interested
in having their canal dredged
organize and choose a leader or
spokesperson to represent their
community
regarding
the
establishment of the proposed
Canal
Dredging
Improvement Unit "CDIU".
A CDIU is defined as "any
municipal service benefit unit
established by resolution of the
Board pursuant to Article II of County Ordinance 09-01, that specially benefits from Canal
Dredging". The property included in the CDIU is defined by the limits of the project requested
by the community. For instance, if a community is interested in dredging a single dead end
residential canal within a group of canals, then that CDIU would consist of the properties
adjacent to said canal. For assessment purposes, an assessment can only be imposed on those
properties which receive a special benefit from the work performed. In this case, it's the
properties that reside directly on the dead end canal. Conversely, if the project limits were
intended to remove a choke point within a canal system in which several individual residential
canals must flow through in order to gain access to open water, any and all properties upstream
of that choke point which would receive a special benefit from the canal dredging would be
assessed. It is highly recommended that parties interested in requesting that the County create a
CDIU use the preliminary data outlined within the individual Comprehensive Canal Dredging
and Preventative Measures Feasibility Studies. These studies have current bathymetric surveys of
Citizens Organize &
Select Spokesperson
Project Area Defined
Letter of Intent (LOI)
collected/submitted
LOI Verified / Area Refined /
Deemed Viable
Project canceled
Asked to reconsider
scope
< 51%
Signatures
< 51% Signatures
or Not Viable
Page 2
MSBU Phase I

Figure 1: MSBU Phase I flow chart.
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each of the residential canal communities that can be utilized to define their preliminary project
area. These reports can be found at www.hillsborough.wateratlas.org.

Once a canal community has organized, chosen a spokesperson and defined their initial project
area, they must submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) to the Hillsborough County Public Works
Department Director (Director) stating their wish to have the project investigated by staff and
submitted into the program for prioritization. County Ordinance 09-01 requires that the LOI must
be signed by at least fifty
one
percent
(51%)
of
different property owners
within the proposed CDIU
verifying their desire
to
initiate the petition process.
The letter must also contain
a designation of a property
owner spokesperson and the
contact information for the
designated spokesperson, a
map
identifying
the
boundaries of the proposed
CDIU. A sample of the
LOI is attached to this
document as Appendix B.

Upon receipt of the LOI, the Director will instruct staff to verify the submittal and determine the
preliminary viability of the proposed project. The Director at this point may:
Approve the project as requested and submit it to the feasibility phase
Deny the project and request that applicants resubmit a revised LOI.
Refine the project limits to include/exclude parcels from the proposed CDIU.


Figure 2: Possible CDIU based on bathymetric data from the CCDPM
Study. Only properties receiving a special benefit from the work can be
in the CDIU.
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All costs during Phase I, or the Letter of Intent (LOI) Phase, are initially borne primarily by the
Public Works Department in addition to additional ancillary costs borne by other County
Departments. The cost associated with this include: staff time and resources associated with
shepherding applicants through the Phase I process. Should the proposed CDIU proceed through
the entire program any cost associated with this phase can be allocated to the final project cost
and reimbursed, with interest, from assessment proceeds or obligations issued to finance the
canal dredging.
Phase II: Feasibility Phase

Phase II of the program is the analytical phase of the program. The County has contracted with
an engineering and environmental consultant to provide all services within this phase. These
include engineering and environmental services as well as public outreach and grant writing.
During Phase II of the program the County will issue a work order to the consultant to
investigate the proposed CDIU's -project area in order to develop as hard a cost estimate as
possible. The feasibility study will include but not be limited to:

(1)
the boundaries or other description sufficient to identify the territory to be
included in the proposed CDIU as set forth in the LOI;

(2)
recommendations as to any territory within the proposed CDIU that should be
excluded for any reason;

(3)
recommendations as to any additional territory not within the proposed CDIU that
should be included for any reason;

(4)
the general location of the Canal Dredging for the proposed CDIU;

(5)
an estimate of the Capital Cost of the Canal Dredging to be undertaken;

(6)
an estimate of the annual Assessment and the anticipated number of Fiscal Years
for which the Assessment will be imposed; and

(7)
a determination as to whether or not all properties within the proposed CDIU
which are to be specially assessed will be specially benefited by such Canal Dredging,
and whether or not each parcel in such CDIU which is to be specially assessed will be
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specially benefited by such Canal Dredging in excess of the amount of such assessments
to be levied thereon.

The feasibility report will also address the following technical issues:
(1)
Engineering issues including dredging footprint.
(2)
Spoil quantity and quality.
(3)
Environmental issues
(4)
Associated regulatory permits and coordination
Once all of the issues of
the proposed CDIU have
been
sufficiently
investigated,
and
the
feasibility study has been
completed,
the
consultant shall provide
the County with
a
preliminary Capital Cost.
The
consultant,
in
conjunction with
the
County's
Debt
Management
Department and the County's Financial Advisor shall prepare an estimated Transaction Cost for
the project. The estimates will be used to prepare an estimated Project Cost. For this program
"Project Cost" means: (A) the Capital Cost of any Canal Dredging, (B) the Transaction Cost
associated with the Obligations which finance Canal Dredging, (C) interest accruing on such
Obligations for such period of time as the County deems appropriate, (D) the debt service reserve
fund or account, if any, established for the Obligations which finance the Canal Dredging, and
(E) any other costs or expenses related thereto, including Administrative Costs.

Once the project cost estimate has been submitted, the consultant shall prepare an assessment
methodology that includes a method of fairly and reasonably apportioning the Capital Cost and
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Project Cost among the parcels of benefited property within the proposed CDIU. Such
methodology will establish an apportionment unit or criteria referred to in the ordinance as an
Equivalent Canal Dredging Unit (ECDU) to be utilized to determine the assessment for each
parcel of property.

County Ordinance 09-01 provides that an, "ECDU may include, by way of example only and not
limitation, one or a contribution of the following: front or rear footage, land area, improvement
area, permitted land use, property value or any other physical characteristic or reasonably
executed use of the property that is related to the Canal Dredging to be funded from proceeds of
the Assessment". The consultant will determine the monetary value of each ECDU. The
assessment methodology will then be used to allocate ECDUs for each individual parcel within
the proposed CDIU. The number of ECDUs assigned to any one parcel will determine its
assessment for the project. For example, if a parcel has 100 ECDUs allocated to it and the capital
cost is $20 per ECDU, the final assessment associated with that parcel would be $2000.

Upon receipt of the final feasibility report, the property owner spokesperson will be furnished
with a copy of the report, the associated cost, and a Petition Packet. This petition packet is
separate from the LOI and has a higher threshold. This packet, in addition to the names,
signatures and addresses of all of the parcels associated with the proposed CDIU shall contain:

(1)
a request that a CDIU be established under the provisions of the Ordinance,
embracing the territory within specified boundaries;

(2)
the description of the boundaries of the proposed CDIU;

(3)
a description and general location of the type of Canal Dredging to be undertaken;

(4)
an estimate of the Capital Cost of the proposed Canal Dredging;

(5)
an estimate of the annual Assessment and the anticipated number of Fiscal Years
for which the Assessment will be imposed;

(6)
the Signatures and addresses of at least sixty percent (60%) of different Property
Owners within the proposed CDIU verifying their desire to have the proposed CDIU
established;
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(7)
proof that one hundred percent (100%) of the property owners within the
proposed CDIU have been provided a copy of the petition; and.
(8)
such other information that is deemed necessary by the County.
The spokesperson in conjunction with the consultant shall prepare a letter for each of the affected
parcels detailing the above referenced information as well as an affidavit with the names and
address for each of the affected parcels within the CDIU. Both parties will sign said affidavit
stating that opportunity to review the petition packet was made available to the affected parcels.

The project spokesperson is then responsible for preparing the petition, which must include the
signatures and addresses of at least sixty percent (60%) of different Property Owners within the
proposed CDIU verifying their desire to have the proposed CDIU established under the
provisions of County Ordinance 09-01. The spokesperson has ninety (90) calendar days from
receipt of the petition package from the Director to prepare and submit to the Director the
petition for presentation to the Board. Should it be necessary, the spokesperson may request in
writing from the Director, a one time extension of an additional ninety (90) days, provided, that a
written extension request is received by the Director prior to the expiration of the initial 90 days.
Should the community fail to obtain the necessary signatures within the allotted time, or
otherwise fail to submit a petition satisfying the requirements of the Ordinance within the
allotted time, the petition and associated LOI will be deemed null and void and a new LOI will
not be considered for at least eighteen (18) months. Within ninety (90) calendar days of
submission of the petition, the County shall verify whether (i) the signatures of at least sixty
percent (60%) of different property owners within the proposed CDIU are contained in the
petition, and (ii) the Capital Cost contained in the petition is still current. If it is determined that
the Capital Cost contained in the petition is less than the current estimate, the petition shall be
deemed void and the petition process must be re-initiated. If the petition is determined to satisfy
the provisions of the ordinance, it shall be submitted to the BOCC for final approval and
imposition. The BOCC at its discretion can choose to approve or deny the CDIU.

The second phase, the Feasibility Phase is funded through the County's Community Investment
Tax and its Capital Improvement Program. These funds total $500,000 and are anticipated to be
recovered through any projects that proceed through the complete program. Should projects not
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proceed beyond Phase II of the program, those funds are lost and will not be recouped. In the
event that the proposed CDIU is approved by the BOCC, the County will proceed with financing
the cost of the canal dredging through the issuance of obligations secured by special assessments.
Depending on the conditions of the bond market at the time in which the County attempts to
undertake such financing, a significant time lag may be encountered. The County has no control
over existing market conditions at the time of the financing and can only provide reasonable
estimates. The program cannot enter into the next phase until all of the necessary funds have
been procured. The complete assessment process is detailed within Article III of the Ordinance.

Phase III: Design, Permitting, Construction

Phase
III
of
the
program
incorporates
the final design and
permitting of the actual
project.
Once
the
necessary funds have
been obtained through
the County's Debt
Management office, the
County will issue an
additional work order
to
its consultant
to
begin preparing final
design documents and
obtaining final permits. The same contractor will be retained to manage all construction aspects
of the project. The construction contract will be handled through a competitive bid process and
will be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder. It is anticipated that many of the logistical
issues associated with the physical dredging will be left to the discretion of the construction
contractor. Once the project is completed, the County will begin tabulating total cost incurred for
Engineer begins preparing
Design/ Const/Permit Docs
Project is let to construction
Contractor
Project Achieves Substantial
Completion
MSBU members see first
assessment on subsequent
year tax roll
Transferred to Project
Management Section
BOCC Approves
Page 4
MSBU Phase III
Financing Period
Potential time lag of 6 to 12
months assuming the
validation is not appealed

Figure 4: Phase III Flow Chart
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the project through each of the phases to calculate the total cost incurred for the project,
including financing costs. All of this information will be used to prepare the final Assessment
which the affected property owners in the CDIU will see as a non-ad valorem assessment line
item on their annual Property Tax bills commencing in the following year. In accordance with
Section 3.10 of the Ordinance, interested parties can prepay their cost associated with the project.
Prioritization of Projects

Due to the limited funds allocated for this program and with the level of interest displayed by the
various communities, prioritization of projects will obviously become a delicate issue. While a
simple rationale of "first-in / first-out" may seem the most expedient method of prioritizing
projects, experiences in other jurisdictions have shown that this method has some flaws. The
primary concern is that a LOI may be submitted for a distinct project area, which is separated
from open water by some other choke point other than their project area. In this scenario
residents could be paying an annual assessment on their initial project area and still not be able to
access open water due to the downstream choke point. Just such a scenario has occurred in other
governmental jurisdictions and has become a serious point of contention with the residents who
are paying the assessment and the local government that authorized the work.

For this reason, the County will prioritize projects as they are submitted. Staff will prioritize
projects by applying various factors, including but not limited to:
Date of submittal.
Accessibility to open water for the specific project area.
Overall complexity of the project.
Readily available spoil containment areas.
Number of beneficiaries versus the estimated cost of the project.

Each factor will be weighed and assigned a numerical value that correlates to a quantifiable
aggregate score. Each category will be scored on a scale of one (1) to ten (10) with ten carrying
the greatest weight for that specific category. For instance, a project area with direct access to
open water would receive a higher score in that category than a project area with one or more
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other choke points between it and open water. The aggregate scores will be used to prioritize
submitted LOIs.

Table 1: Prioritization Decision Matrix
Criteria
Comments
Score
Date of submittal.


Accessibility to open water.


Overall complexity of the project.


Spoil containment areas.


# Beneficiaries vs. estimated cost.


Total Score



Set Backs and Private Boat Slips

A question that has consistently been asked during this process is, "how wide will the dredging
be and how close will the work be done to my seawall, boat slip or dock?" The purpose of this
program is reestablishing navigability through the center channel of the residential canals. The
project footprints will be developed with the concept of working from the center line of the canal
and moving out equidistant from the center to develop a usable footprint that provides access but
protects adjacent structures. As a general rule each project will establish a minimum setback
from any structures that will be maintained throughout that project. For instance, if the canal is
one hundred (100) feet wide, and the consultant determines that the setback for this project needs
to be fifteen (15) feet wide, the actual dredging footprint would be thirty-five (35) feet on each
side of the center of the channel for a total seventy (70) feet wide dredging footprint. The
dredging would then cease fifteen (15) feet from the edge of any structures.

As stated earlier, this program will only dredge within the center line of the residential canal or
the main navigational channel. Due to the level of additional complexity, cost, permitting and
potential liability, the program will not be dredging within individual boat slips. Should this be
an issue for individual residents, they are encouraged to contract with a private dredging firm to
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have these areas serviced either during or after the CDIU project is completed. At this time, the
County does not foresee prohibiting its construction contractor from contracting privately with
individuals to conduct such services during the construction phase. Any such agreements would
be private contracts entered into between the resident and the contractor and all parties would
have to indemnify the County and its project from any and all damages in order to allow the
contactor to perform such services.

15' Setback 15' Setback Canal Width 100'
Canal Center
Dredging Footprint 70'
Figure 5: Dredging Footprint Schematic
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Who to Contact

Parties interested in entering into the County's Canal Dredging Program should contact the
Public Works Department, Engineering Division, Specialized Services Unit at 744-5671. All
correspondence should be forwarded to:

Attn: Canal Dredging Program
Specialized Services Unit, Public Works Department
2420 Falkenburg Road
Tampa, FL 33619

Conflicting Provisions

The provisions of County Ordinance No. 09-1 shall prevail over any conflicting provisions
contained in this policy.

Effective Date
This policy is effective upon approval by the Hillsborough County Board of County
Commissioners.
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Appendix A: Anticipated Timeline
5/1/2009
5/1/2012
7/1/2009
10/1/2009
1/1/2010
4/1/2010
7/1/2010
10/1/2010
1/1/2011
4/1/2011
7/1/2011
10/1/2011
1/1/2012
4/1/2012
4/6/2009
MSBU Anticipated Timeline
The final petition phase could be
extended one time by and
additional 90 days if requested
by the Spokesperson.
The Financing Phase is
dependent on existing market
conditions at the time. This
phase could be extended
indefinately.
Phase I is dependent on the
applicants and their date of
submittal
9/1/2010 - 3/31/2011
Financing Phase
6/1/2010
Final Petition Packet Due
4/1/2012
Construction Completed
5/1/2009 - 7/1/2009
Phase I: LOI
4/1/2011 - 4/1/2012
Phase III: Design,
Permitting, Construction
2/1/2010
Feasibility Study Completed
5/1/2012
Assessment Appears on
Subsequent Year's Property Tax Bill
3/1/2010
Final Petition Packet Supplied
5/1/2009
LOI Submitted
7/1/2009 - 2/1/2010
Phase II: Feasibilty Stage
4/1/2011
WO Issued for Final Design / Permitting
7/1/2009
LOI Approved /WO Issued
8/1/2010
BOCC Approves CDIU
9/1/2010
Financing Phase
3/1/2010 - 6/1/2010
Final Petition
Signature Collection
10/1/2011
Construction Begins
This phase could be altered
depending on permitting and
weather conditions

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Appendix B: Letter of Intent

This letter of intent (LOI) outlines our community's intent to participate in Hillsborough County's Canal
Dredging Program. We have reviewed the program's Canal Dredging Manual and County Ordinance
09-01, Canal Dredging Municipal Service Benefit Unit (MSBU) and Assessment Procedure
Ordinance and fully understand its intent and purpose. We the undersigned understand that this program
is purely voluntary and that the County, at its discretion, can revise the limits and scope of our proposed
Canal Dredging Improvement Unit (CDIU). Furthermore, we understand that participation in this
program is dependent on the availability of funds and is subject to the prioritization of projects within the
program. We are also aware that there is no cost to us to enter into this program at this stage. This is
merely a request for the County to consider establishing the proposed CDIU, which includes the provision
of a cost estimate to dredge our proposed CDIU. But, should we elect to proceed with the canal dredging
after we have received the cost estimate, and the Board of County Commissioners ultimately establishes
the CDIU, any and all expenses incurred during the course of the program will be included within the cost
to be paid by us through an annual special assessment. We also understand that (i) the scope of the canal
dredging is intended to be limited to a one-time dredge of canals to improve navigability and does not
include a maintenance program, and (ii) the obligation of benefited property owners to pay the entire
amount of their respective assessment after completion of the canal dredging will not be extinguished in
the event that the enhanced navigability of the canal is adversely impacted as a result of a subsequent
weather event or other natural occurrence.

The name of our proposed Canal Dredging Unit shall be:

_____________________________________________________________________________________
CDIU Name
We the undersigned, agree that our designated spokesperson shall be authorized to represent our
community in all contact and negotiations with the County's Canal Dredging Program. Should there be a
need to select a new spokesperson, a revised LOI cover sheet stating the name and contact information of
the spokesperson shall be resubmitted. The designated spokesperson for our community shall be:

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Name (Print)



Address


Contact Phone

Included with this LOI is a map identifying the boundaries of the proposed CDIU.
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Page ___ of ___
My manual signature below indicates that I have read and understand this Letter of Intent and am verifying my
desire to initiate the petition process for the establishment of a Canal Dredging Improvement Unit in accordance
with the provisions of the referenced County ordinance.

______________________________________________________________________________

Name (Print)



Address

Contact Phone

______________________________________________________________________________
Signature(s)
______________________________________________________________________________

Name (Print)



Address

Contact Phone

______________________________________________________________________________
Signature(s)
______________________________________________________________________________

Name (Print)



Address

Contact Phone

______________________________________________________________________________
Signature(s)
______________________________________________________________________________

Name (Print)



Address

Contact Phone

______________________________________________________________________________
Signature(s)
______________________________________________________________________________

Name (Print)



Address

Contact Phone

______________________________________________________________________________
Signature(s)
______________________________________________________________________________

Name (Print)



Address

Contact Phone

______________________________________________________________________________
Signature(s)
______________________________________________________________________________

Name (Print)



Address

Contact Phone

______________________________________________________________________________
Signature(s)