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Public Comment Liz Yongue From: Ballard-Lindsey <Ballard-Lindsey@ Mon roeCounty-FL.Gov> Sent: Friday, December 8, 2023 3:11 PM To: Liz Yongue Subject: FW: Comments for Monroe County Resilience and Roads Adaptation Workshop Attachments: Intersection of Shaw and Crane.docx Follow Up Flag: Follow up Flag Status: Flagged FYI L%vuL .yy Ballard, Aide to Roman Gastesi, County Administrator Business Manager-Administration 1100 Simonton Street, Suite 2-205 Key West, FL 33040 (305)292-4443 (Office) (305)393-4442 (Cell Phone) (305)292-4544 (Fax) Courier Stop#1 Ballard-Lindsey@monroecounty-fl.gov www.monroecounty-fl.gov Monroe County, Florida "The Florida Keys" "We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated." Maya Angelou PLEASE NOTE: FLORIDA HAS A VERY BROAD RECORDS LAW. MOST WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS TO OR FROM T}EE COUNTY 2E(�ARDIN COUNTY BUSINESS ARE PUBLIC RECORDS AVAILABLE TO 7WE PUBLIC AND MEDIA UPON REQUEST. YOUR EMAIL COMMUNICATION MAY BE SUBJECT'TO PUBLIC DISCLOSURE. 0 Please c.on,idor the ervironrrront when 4�0 deciding hotl'aor to print this oma:aiL From: David Smail <dsmail118@gmail.com> Sent: Friday, December 8, 2023 12:11 AM To: Ballard-Lindsey<Ballard-Lindsey@ Mon roeCounty-FL.Gov> Cc: Cates-Craig<Cates-Craig@ Mon roeCounty-FL.Gov>; BOCCDIS2<boccdis2@monroecounty-fl.gov>; BOCCDIS3 <BOCCDIS3@ Mon roeCounty-FL.Gov>; BOCCDIS4<BOCCDIS4@ Mon roeCounty-FL.Gov>; BOCCDIS5 <BOCCDIS5@ Mon roeCounty-FL.Gov>; Nicholas Mulick<nmulick@fkaa.com> Subject: Comments for Monroe County Resilience and Roads Adaptation Workshop 1 Some people who received this message don't often get email from cismaill 1 8 @grnail.com. Learn why this is important CAUTION:This email originated from outside of the County. Whether you know the sender or not, do not click links or open attachments you were not expecting. Lindsey Ballard: I have attached comments to be considered in the TWIN LAKES ROADS ADAPTATION UPDATE section of the December 12, 2023 Monroe County Resilience and Roads Adaptation Workshop. My address is 1505 Shaw Dr, Key Largo, FL 33037. Phone number: (786)459 3965 email address:Dsmaill (C mail.com The letter and photos may be shared. David Smail 2 Monroe County, FL 1505 Shaw Drive Board of Commissioners Key Largo, FL 33037 December 7, 2023 Subject: Comments for the Monroe County Resilience and Road Adaption Workshop Scheduled for December 12, 2023 1 want to start by thanking Monroe County for its efforts to deal with ongoing effects of"Climate Change" and protecting our sensitive environment that we live in. That being said, I believe that the county and authorities working within the county have lost focus on supporting the residents. I would like to address the Twin Lakes Roads Adaptation Update. Shaw Drive, Crane Street, and Adams Drive have been experiencing flooding for more than a decade. This flooding has been linked to sea level rise and the county has been working to deal with the issue without impacting the environment. The county has developed a pilot project for Twin Lakes Roads if successful,the methods may be used at other locations. The county's efforts remind me of the homeowner whose house was hit by a windstorm that damaged the roof and blew out a large window. The homeowner became focused on submitting an insurance claim, and finding contractors to do the work, but he failed to put up tarps and board up the window to prevent further damage. If he had taken action to prevent further damage, he may have prevented damage to the walls and electrical system. An example of what I am talking about is the intersection of Shaw Drive and Crane Street. This corner has sunk more than a foot over the years.The residence of Twin Lakes must drive through the intersection. During periods of king tides flood waters reach over 18 inches deep and causes damage to our vehicles. During these periods of flooding the USPS does not make mail delivery and the county does not pick up garbage, recyclables, or lawn waste. Why is the intersection of Shaw and Crane so low? I have pondered this question for years. Last spring, I discovered the answer. On my property at 1505 Shaw Drive, I have a wetland depression that covers approximately 2000 square feet. During the wet season the area normally has a foot or more of water. During the dry season the water evaporates. During the winters of 2020—2023 the wetland never dried up. In the spring of 2023, 1 discovered a leak in the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority(FKAA) distribution line that ran through the wetland. After the Aqueduct Authority repaired the leak,the wetland dried up withing two days. Apparently,the leak had gone undiscovered for more than two years. After this discovery, I questioned why the intersection of Shaw and Crane always had water in the potholes. I suggested to members of the Aqueduct Authority repair crew that the intersection should be checked for possible leaks. About two months later the distribution line was found to be leaking and the intersection was dug up to make needed repairs.To make the repair,the blacktop was cut with a saw. After completion of the repair, the hole was refilled, and several inches of black top was used to repair the roadway. I understand that the patch was either rolled or compacted. My neighbors tell me that within days of the repair, water started coming out through the cracks in the blacktop. Today the area where the roadway was dug up has sunken about a foot or more below the level of the road that had previously sunken.The photo on the next page shows more than six inches of water in the pothole. I have been working with Nicholas Mulick, District 5 FKAA Representative to get the authority to identify and repair leaks in the system. The FKAA may be losing as much as 20%of the water they send to the Keys. We should not be waiting for a sinkhole to form to identify the leaks. What should the County do about the intersection of Shaw and Crane? Pothole at Intersection of Shaw and Crane on December 7, 2023. Note ' that the pothole has more than six t•'�i «�w�!�r�t4�j,r „� ��t xrS"xry�' 4 ,i ,, inches of water. The roadway needs to be dug up to determine if the pipe has failed again and the cause of failure of the water main or the roadway. The shoulder of Shaw Drive at the r intersection is higher than the road surface, as a result the stormwater does not drain from the road for days after a storm. The method of draining the puddles is to have traffic drive through the puddle which spreads the water several yards down the road. I suggest that the county work with the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority to determine if the water main has failed and develop a method of raising the surface of the road to the original level. This will not prevent the flooding during king tides; however, it will reduce the depth of the flood water and provide better access to the neighborhood. Any fill that needs to be added would be required during the construction of the pilot project. David Smail sauV1................ ;mauV.com (786)459-3965