Lido Key awaits renourishment project

On Feb. 27, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will review bids from contractors interested in managing a planned Lido Key shoreline renourishment project.

Depending on what those bids say, the City of Sarasota could have to pay more than it anticipated to support the dredging of Big Pass.

According to an item removed from the Monday’s City Commission agenda, the Lido renourishment project is expected to cost $19.6 million.

Under a funding agreement, the city would pay $6.9 million, and the Army Corps would fund the remainder of the project expenses. But if the actual bids come in higher than the budgeted costs, the agenda item states the Army Corps does not have authorization to allocate additional funding toward the project — which means the city would have to cover any extra expenses.