Council to vote on $3.8M in Volusia ECHO grants, including a living shoreline restoration

The Volusia County Council will decide whether to award more than $3.8 million in Volusia ECHO grants to fund a slate of projects, including a first for the program: a living shoreline restoration project.

The Riverside Conservancy has requested $107,000 to build a kayak launch and craft a living shoreline with an outdoor classroom on their property on the Indian River Lagoon in Edgewater.

"This is innovative and new, especially for ECHO," said ECHO Advisory Board member Pat Northey.

The county's Resource Stewardship Director Brad Burbaugh said living shorelines have been incorporated in bigger ECHO projects in the past, but an ecological restoration of this nature has never before received standalone funding under the program.

All told, eight applicants are vying for awards ranging from $16,000 to $2.5 million.

Volusia ECHO is a property tax-funded program that channels money into protecting the county's environmental, cultural, historical and outdoors resources. Voters first approved the popular program by referendum in 2000, renewing it for another 20 years in the last general election.

Also up for approval: $2.5 million grant for Pictona pickleball complex expansion in Holly Hill

Florida manatees in jeopardy: Researchers predict another long winter, though Blue Spring remains a haven

Does the Indian River Lagoon end at Ponce Inlet? 5 years ago, the answer changed

Seven other projects were recommended by the Volusia ECHO Advisory Board in December and will be decided upon by the council on Tuesday:

• Pictona at Holly Hill: $2.5 million to double the size of the pickleball facilities and add a 1,200-seat arena that the city of Holly Hill will also use for concerts and performances.

• Veterans Memorial Plaza: $600,000 for the county to construct an amphitheater seating, a water feature and military monuments beneath Daytona Beach's newest bridge.

• Marine Science Center: $208,298 toward a new raptor exhibit, including new habitats for six birds of prey.

• Volusia-Flagler YMCA: $112,500 for a playground and pool shade project at the Ormond Beach YMCA.

• Rob Sullivan Park: $150,000 for the city of DeBary to build a shade structure and building to use for concessions, restrooms and storage.

• Mary DeWees Park: $140,892 for the city of Oak Hill to redo the baseball field.

• Enterprise Preservation Society: $15,750 to replace the roof.

• Note: The ECHO Advisory Board did not recommend funding for one project, $29,900 for the Volusia-Flagler YMCA to construct a playground at the YMCA in DeLand.

If granted, Pictona would be the first awardee to receive a single ECHO grant worth $2.5 million. The council upped the maximum "exceptional grant" by nearly 40% to that amount in August.

Spotlight on Riverside Conservancy: Can living shorelines help turn the tide on water quality in the Indian River Lagoon?

More: Could this seagrass restoration method work even before Indian River Lagoon gets clean?

Pictona's ironman: Daytona Beach Shores pickleball player has played for 1,000 days straight (and counting)

Could this pave the way for more environmental projects?

Riverside Conservancy's executive director Kelli McGee noted the "E" for environmental projects under ECHO only accounted for a small portion of program spending in the past 20 years — less than 6% according to the county — and said she hopes this could pave the way for more shoreline habitat restoration along the imperiled Indian River Lagoon.

"It's a proof on concept for restoration going from grey infrastructure to green infrastructure," McGee said. "There's a seawall there now and we are proposing to restore the natural slopes and have natural planted habitat."

It will involve replacing a seawall at the Riverside Conservancy Center in Edgewater with 100 feet of natural shoreline. The conservancy would plant aquatic grasses and mangroves, plus restore oyster and clam beds, which help filter pollutants that would otherwise flow into waterways when it rains.

"Because shoreline plants and oysters are nature’s water filters, living shorelines benefit the overall health of our citizens through cleaning our waterways, creating habitats for wildlife, and protecting upland properties and businesses from storm surge," the conservancy wrote in its application.

The kayak launch would be a spot for the public to put in on the Mosquito Lagoon Blueway paddling trail.

It will require the Volusia County Council sign off on a conservation easement. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of October.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Volusia County Council to vote on ECHO grant applications