The county is in the process of developing an emergency plan to protect shorelines that were most impacted by the hurricane. This could include reconstructing dunes or temporarily moving sand to areas that were washed away in the storm.
Pinellas spokesman Tony Fabrizio said they're going to focus on the hardest-hit areas, including Sunset Beach and Treasure Island.
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"Those measures could include temporary erosion control structures and dunes," he said. "And the county is cautioning property owners and residents to not do their own work or hire a contractor. Some of these contractors have actually gone out and solicited work. Because this really requires in many cases federal, state and/or local permitting."
He said this is not intended to replace the proposed beach renourishment project, which is on hold as federal environmental regulators are requiring every beachfront land owner to sign a property easement.
"This is something completely different," Fabrizio said. "This is implementing emergency control measures. And the permitting is much quicker, it's just really dotting the I's and crossing the T's and finding out what we're able to do. But the county does have a plan to get out and see what we can do to at least get us through this hurricane season."
He said the county is using its emergency procurement process to fast-track the work. They're looking to start the project in the next couple of weeks.
