Seminole County authorizes eminent-domain resolution to preserve $3.9 million FEMA grant for Hillview Drive drainage project

Seminole County commissioners on Feb. 25 authorized staff to make binding written offers and adopt a resolution of necessity to acquire property for the Hillview Drive drainage improvement project, a move county staff said is required to preserve roughly $3.9 million in FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program funding. The motion passed unanimously.

County officials say the Hillview Drive project, prompted by resident flooding complaints in 2016, will convert the roadway to curb-and-gutter, add storm inlets and pipes and build sidewalks and a stormwater pond designed to move runoff off the road and treat it rather than allowing it to sit untreated along the roadside.

Public Works project manager Joseph Lofaso told the board the project has been under design and partially under construction since 2019; the stormwater pond portion was completed in July 2023. When construction…