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RESOLUTION NO. 2003- 018 A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, FLORIDA, URGING CONTINUED $30 MILLION ANNUAL BEACH MANAGEMENT FUNDING WHEREAS, Florida's number one tourist attraction is its beaches, and WHEREAS, beach-related tourism has a $41.6 billion impact on the state's economy, and WHEREAS, beaches contribute over $1 billion in tourist-related sales tax revenues annually, and WHEREAS, 442,000 jobs are created by beach-related tourism, with an $8 billion payroll resulting from additional spending related to Florida's beaches, and WHEREAS, over half of Florida's 825 miles of sandy beaches are experiencing erosion, with 333 miles designated by the Department of Environmental Protection as critically-eroded, and WHEREAS, the Florida Legislature, pursuant to Chapter 161, Florida Statutes, has declared beach erosion to be a serious threat to the economic and general welfare of the state and its residents; and has further declared it to be a necessary responsibility to preserve Florida's beaches and make provision for beach nourishment projects, and WHEREAS, the Florida Legislature, in 1998, pursuant to Sections 161.091, and 201.15 (11), Florida Statutes, provided that designated funding of $30 million annually shall be deposited in the Ecosystem Management and Restoration Trust Fund, and that documentary stamp tax revenues shall be the source of that funding, and WHEREAS, this $30 million allocation has enabled Florida to develop a consistent, adequately-funded, priority-driven long range management program to address critical erosion, and WHEREAS, this program represents a cost-effective intergovernmental partnership which leverages a dollar for dollar local government match, and up to 65% of the total project cost from federal sources, and WHEREAS, inasmuch as Indian River County has made a commitment to a beach restoration project and spent a great deal of time and revenue to bring such project to fruition, it would be an economic and operational hardship for Indian River County to lose the continuity of a continued dredging plan, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Indian River County Board of County Commissioners: