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Cocoa notified of two community project awards; city staff says DEP recommended federal funding for water project
Summary
City staff told the council of successful grant and appropriations notices that could reduce local capital needs, including a Stantec-noted DEP recommendation to the EPA and two community project awards for a multimodal station and septic-to-sewer conversion.
City Manager Witten told the Cocoa City Council that staff recently received notices of success on several grant and congressional appropriation requests that could add federal and state funding to local infrastructure projects.
Witten said the city applied for Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) 319 funds and that DEP recommended a federal EPA award for the homeowner side of an identified project; Witten said the federal portion was reported as $1.8 million. Separately, staff submitted six congressional appropriation (community project) requests and were notified that two requests were awarded: $2,000,000 for a Cocoa multimodal passenger station and $1.25 million toward a septic-to-sewer conversion project, according to Witten. Witten said staff coordinated the requests with congressional staff and department directors and that Samantha (city staff) led much of the letter drafting and coordination.
Witten also said the city applied for a state water-quality grant that staff listed as approximately $5.296 million and that the mix of DEP, state and federal dollars will be folded into capital plans; he asked staff to update grant applications and public materials now that the city has additional potential funding.
Why it matters: city staff said the awards and recommendations—if finalized—would reduce the share of local capital paid by the city for BMAP (Basin Management Action Plan) and other water‑quality projects and would add outside funding for transportation and sewer conversion work.
Caveats and next steps: council members and staff noted that DEP’s recommendation to EPA is not the same as an EPA award and that some grant or appropriation steps remain before funds would be available. Witten said the DEP has historically recommended a high percentage of projects to EPA for funding but that the city will continue required follow-up and grant administration steps. Staff said the city will amend the water-quality application and update the website with confirmed award amounts once formal notices are received.
Ending: staff asked council members to direct any questions to the city manager; no formal council vote was required or taken on the grant notifications during the workshop.
