Public access to Humphris Park will have to wait until the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers rebuilds the South Jetty as part of its overall plan to modernize both jetty structures that were built when the Venice Inlet — in south Sarasota County — was created in 1937.
Access to the park and the South Jetty — considered a prime spot for surfing, fishing and watching the sunset — has been closed since the 2024 hurricane season.
The city owns and carries the responsibility for maintaining the parking area, while the federal government controls both jetties and the bulkheads that protect Humphris Park and North Jetty Park.
Last December, the Venice City Council directed staff to explore the feasibility of restoring access to the parking area so people could watch the sunset.
City staff took individual council members out to tour Humphris Park and the South Jetty prior to the Feb. 24 meeting.
Those trips may have been enough to inspire council members to abandon an effort that carried an estimated cost of more than $4 million to elevate and repair the parking area for public access.
“The damage that we currently have at the Jetty is far greater than we have ever experienced,” Venice Public Works Director Ricky Simpson said during a presentation on the project along with City Engineer Jon Kramer.
Vice Mayor Jim Boldt, who also examined the South Jetty and the bulkhead that stabilizes Humphris Park by boat, said the damage was 100 times worse than what he first thought.
“Basically, in my estimation, it’s out of our hands,” Boldt said.
Just securing a permit from the Army Corps could have taken up to two years.
It also didn’t sit well with council members that all the patchwork efforts that would be made by city staff would have to be torn up by the Army Corps when it started its project.
City of Venice will throw support behind U.S. Rep. Steube’s effort to secure funding
The Army Corps has accepted responsibility for repairing the jetties and the north and south bulkheads that make up the entire Venice Inlet.
There is no timeline for when the Corps will repair the Venice Inlet and no concrete budget, though a $100 million figure has been floated.
U.S. Rep. Greg Steube wrote a letter last November to Army Corps Assistant Secretary Adam Telle requesting $100 million for the project.
Kramer told council members that the Corps is preparing a major maintenance report on repairing the bulkheads for the Venice Inlet, with an anticipated cost of $10 million to replace the south bulkhead.
The West Coast Inland Navigation District is working with Steube on a $15 million appropriation to replace the south bulkhead, with an expectation that a major maintenance report will be finished by November.
In a unanimous vote, the city council gave Mayor Nick Pachota authority to write letters, emails and other forms of communication to support that funding effort.
How bad was the hurricane damage?
When the Venice Inlet was built in 1937, the twin 650-foot-long structures were constructed with 19 sheet pile cylinders and wood sheet pile bulkheads protected by creosote.
Over the years, steel, concrete and riprap were added to the bulkheads and the 10-foot-wide walking path was added to the top of each jetty.
Those paths became ideal fishing spots.
Because hurricanes typically travel north, the South Jetty has suffered from more storm impact than the North Jetty.
That includes major damage from Hurricane Ian in 2022, Hurricane Idalia in 2023, Tropical Storm Debby in 2024 and then it was severely damaged by hurricanes Helene and Milton in 2024.
Those two hurricanes demolished both Jetty Jack’s in Humphris Park and the North Jetty Fish Camp/Trolley, which dated back to 1946, at North Jetty Beach Park.
The more modern concession stand, North Jetty Grille, survived the storms.
Access to the North Jetty reopened in March 2025, though with reduced parking.
What must be done to repair the Venice Inlet?
Even before the catastrophic damage that occurred from the 2024 hurricane season, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and its local partner, the West Coast Inland Navigation District, had started conducting a study that will lead to reconstruction of both jetties.
Kramer noted that the new bulkhead would likely be steel or composite sheet pilings.
The overall project, which may carry a price tag upwards of $100 million, will likely be accomplished in phases, with reconstruction of the South Jetty bulkhead the top priority.
A better sense of the cost should be available after the major maintenance report is finished in November.
Once the jetty is fixed, the city of Venice can improve Humphris Park.
It’s likely that the city would install concrete pads for food trucks and a portable restroom facility that can be moved out of harm’s way for future storms.
Earle Kimel primarily covers south Sarasota County as well as land development and environmental issues for the Herald-Tribune. Follow him on Facebook, and X. He can be reached by email at earle.kimel@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism by subscribing.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Beloved waterfront Sarasota County park may stay closed
Reporting by Earle Kimel, Sarasota Herald-Tribune / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
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