Canal maintenance update leaves Longboat Key commissioners confused

Longboat Key is in need of a canal management program, but the system to pay for it is complicated.

The latest presentation of Longboat Key’s canal maintenance program was an attempt to explain an elaborate cost apportionment method, but it left commissioners with more questions than answers.

Public Works Program Manager and Assistant Director Charlie Mopps led the presentation on Nov. 6 alongside Taylor Engineering, Inc. and Anser Advisory, LLC.

The intent of the program is to support future maintenance of Longboat's 81 canals to improve navigability within the canals.

The discussion was meant to explain how funds will be collected, dividing the island into seven groups and three classifications of canals.

But after about two hours of presentation, no consensus was reached and commissioners voted to push the matter to a meeting on Dec. 11. Further delays could put it behind schedule to be included on the 2024 tax roll.