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Federal lobbyist tells Riviera Beach council: over $1 million pending for water treatment plant, outlines funding options
Summary
At a presentation to the Riviera Beach City Council, federal lobbying firm Alcalde & Faye reported more than $1 million in community project funding pending for the city’s water treatment plant and described federal financing options including WIFIA and the state revolving loan fund.
A federal lobbyist told Riviera Beach officials on Sept. 17 that Congress currently has more than $1 million in community project funding earmarked for the city’s water treatment plant and described federal financing and grant opportunities the city could pursue.
Maurice Kurland of Alcalde & Faye, the city’s Washington, D.C., lobbyist, briefed the City Council on federal appropriations, competitive grants and financing tools and answered council questions about next steps.
"You have over $1,000,000 earmarked community project funding for your water treatment plant and also $250,000 for housing, elderly housing," Kurland said. He added that appropriations are still subject to congressional action.
Kurland summarized federal and federal‑adjacent funding sources that could help a large utility project: the Environmental Protection Agency’s State Revolving Fund programs; WIFIA (Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act) loans, which can finance a significant portion of large projects over extended terms; and community project funding requests from members of Congress. He also described recent grant wins the firm helped secure, including competitive HUD funding and prior appropriations for public safety and transportation planning.
Council members raised practical questions: staff and councilors asked how to position the water treatment plant to be competitive, whether local matching funds would be required, and how to make project sites and constraints visible to members of Congress and regional staff.
Kurland recommended preparing detailed project descriptions, securing local match where required and inviting regional congressional staff to visit project sites so they could better understand the city’s needs. He noted that some grants require a local match (for example, transportation and water projects often require approximately 20% local match) and that different federal tools cover different shares of a project’s cost.
City Manager Jonathan Evans told the council staff and consultants have been coordinating with the lobbyist on submissions and that the city should continue refining project scopes so applications and funding requests are competitive.
The briefing also covered other federal opportunities the firm is tracking, from public safety appropriations to large competitive programs for housing and transportation.
No formal action or vote was taken; staff retained direction to continue working with the firm, compile detailed project materials and pursue appropriate federal and state funding channels.
