Residents on Holiday Isle in Destin are taking a different approach to restore their severely eroded beach.

They're trying to amend the current dredging permit that widens the east pass along the Destin Harbor for fishing fleets, allowing the use of the dredged sand to rebuild their beach. Fisherman say the delay may cause them to lose the funding for the project altogether.

The current dredging permit that's in place by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Inlet Management Plan deposits the acquired sand from dredging projects to the west end of the pass benefiting Okaloosa Island.

Holiday isle residents want to use it to rebuild their beach which was wiped-out last week by Tropical Storm Ida. Jerry Stalnaker is the General Manager for the Jetty East Condominiums on Holiday Isle and says amending the dredging permit is their only option.

"They forced us into this situation because our backs are against the wall literally and figuratively. Here we have no beach and we're right up against our building.”

Charter boat Captain George Eller says he'll support this new proposal, but only if it can be done in a timely manner.

"I have every sympathy for the folks out there, but timing right now is crucial. We can't let the mouth of the harbor close up, we can't let the pass get any shallower than it is right now; There are boats that bump bottom on a rough day.”

Destin's City Council met Monday night to discuss the issue.
City manager Greg Kisela thinks Holiday Isle should focus their efforts on the Beach Re-nourishment act which would provide them with greater quantities of sand.

"It's frustrating because you have the differences of people who use the harbor day-in and day-out to get in and get their boats in. You have condominium owners who depend on that to pay their mortgage payments to sustain themselves. You see the issues, but the real focus needs to be on the permanent beach restoration project."
But Holiday Isle owners say they're tired of waiting for the drawn-out re-nourishment process and are getting desperate.

Stalnaker says their beach needs every single grain of sand they can get.

"We need sand right now, they're getting ready to dredge 300,000 cubic yards out of the pass and any sane thinking individual should know it should come over here.”

Eller thinks the dilemma is going to be really difficult to compromise on.
"It's just not a good situation for anybody."

The Destin City Council is scheduled to meet again on Thursday at 9 A.M. in hopes of resolving this conflict.