Pasco presents $585 million CDBG‑DR draft plan; housing and infrastructure lead proposed allocations

Pasco County staff on June 3 presented an abbreviated version of the draft action plan that would govern $585 million in Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grant‑Disaster Recovery (CDBG‑DR) funds awarded for damage from Hurricanes Idalia, Helene and Milton.

Joanna Cheshire, chief of staff, introduced the Office of Disaster Recovery Resources (ODER) presentation. Connor Donovan, ODER program administrator, said the grant is a six‑year cost‑reimbursement award and that county staff must submit an action plan to HUD and complete pre‑grant requirements to access funds. Donovan said HUD had provided a favorable preliminary review of the draft.

Staff proposed program allocations that sum to $585,000,000: $305,000,000 for housing; $130,000,000 for infrastructure (including $30,000,000 for public facilities); $76,000,000 set aside for mitigation; $25,000,000 for small business and nonprofit economic recovery; $10,000,000 for public services; $10,000,000 for planning; and $29,000,000 for administration (5 percent). Donovan noted $509,000,000 was identified as unmet needs and that $76,000,000 is a mitigation set‑aside that is initially fixed.

Marcy Espert, senior program administrator, described the housing component as three programs totaling $305,000,000: a repair, reconstruction and elevation (RRE) program ($155,000,000) for owner‑occupied units and small rental properties; a manufactured‑housing program ($50,050,000) to repair or replace single‑family manufactured homes (including park units); and an affordable housing construction program ($100,000,000) for acquisition and new construction of smaller rental or single‑family ownership development, including potential demonstration projects on destroyed mobile‑home park sites.

Donovan and Espert reviewed HUD requirements: 70 percent of total grant funding must benefit low‑ and moderate‑income (LMI) persons or areas; most categories must tie directly or indirectly to the three named storms (mitigation need not); and funds are reimbursement‑based. The unmet‑needs methodology uses FEMA/insurance estimates minus funds already paid plus a 30 percent adjustment for inflation and federal project cost differentials.

Timelines and process: staff said the draft action plan was published May 12 and is open for 30 days of public comment through June 12. The plan will return to the board on June 17 for requested approval and must be submitted to HUD by June 20; HUD has up to 45 days to review. Solicitations for an implementation consultant were due June 17, and staff emphasized the procurement process will follow county rules and typically use a staff selection committee and shortlist; commissioners asked whether shortlisted firms could present to the full board.

Commissioner questions and discussion: Commissioners expressed support for rapid use of funds but raised operational priorities and cautions. Commissioner Mariano and others pressed that affordable housing dollars not be used to create new unaffordable units in flood zones; Commissioner Jager and others suggested prioritizing homeownership and leveraging nonprofit builders (Habitat), and advocated for quick, interim housing solutions. Commissioners also discussed using existing apartment inventory as a short‑term option and asked staff to watch administrative costs and procurement transparency.

Next steps: Staff will collect public comments through June 12, return the action plan to the board June 17 for hoped‑for approval and then submit it to HUD for review; program rollout would start with individual housing assistance once the grant agreement is executed.

Ending: The presentation was informational; Commissioners provided direction and questions but took no final action on the draft at the June 3 meeting.