Punta Gorda advisers back study to map downtown flood options; construction needs unknown

The Punta Gorda 1% Local Sales Tax Advisory Committee on Sept. 9 reviewed a proposed Downtown Flooding Phase 2 study and a preliminary funding request the city has listed at $2,250,000 for long-term drainage and infrastructure improvements in the downtown area.

Committee members were told the city recently awarded a contract to Kimberly Horn to perform a professional engineering and surveying study of the downtown drainage system, and that construction needs will depend on the study's recommendations.

The study is meant to diagnose recurring flooding the city says results from high tides compounded by rainfall and wind-driven surge into the Charlotte Harbor–Peace River system; recent tropical storms caused “significant flooding on the streets, homes, businesses, and city properties,” the staff memo said.

Public Works Director Ron Everett told the committee the study will take “approximately 18 months,” and that the city council will decide which projects to pursue after the study delivers cost estimates and scenario options. Everett said the council already approved an initial general-fund allocation for the effort but that the full scope and construction cost remain undetermined.

Finance Director Kristen Simeon explained the $2.25 million figure shown on the project sheet is preliminary and presently unfunded for FY26–27; the form lists $0 under those fiscal years for confirmed funding. “Those two years are not funded,” she said, adding the study will determine long-term costs and the timing of construction.

Committee members pressed staff on whether the $1.3 million already referenced on planning documents had been approved by council. Staff said the council had approved some general-fund dollars to start work on the program, but that larger construction funding could come later and may combine sales tax, general funds and potential grants depending on priorities.

Because the engineering study will inform both scope and cost, staff asked the committee to treat the current dollar figures as estimates. The committee agreed to receive the study results before making final funding recommendations. The panel plans to continue ranking capital projects at subsequent meetings.

The meeting did not include a vote to fund construction; the discussion was advisory and procedural only.