County staff outlines Resilient SRQ CDBG‑DR rollout; commissioners approve scoring criteria for infrastructure and affordable housing programs

Sarasota County staff on June 4 gave an update on the county’s Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG‑DR) allocation for 2024 storms and secured board approval for application scoring criteria on forthcoming infrastructure and multifamily affordable housing programs.

Steve Hyatt, division manager for Program Management, told commissioners HUD has the county action plan under review and that staff expect approval imminently. The county’s allocation totals $210,000,000; staff reported approximately $147,000,000 of that allocation must benefit households at or below 80% of area median income (AMI) or otherwise meet HUD’s national objectives. Staff said $63,300,000 of the allocation is planned for housing programs and $132,000,000 for infrastructure and public facilities (including a $45,000,000 earmark for Phillippi Creek dredging and $30,000,000 set aside for dredging major waterways).

Hyatt said the county has launched a homeowner rehabilitation and reconstruction/reimbursement survey and that more than 600 homeowners had completed it within a week of launch. He also said HUD’s formal approval of the county action plan could come within days.

Hyatt presented proposed scoring criteria for infrastructure/public facilities and for a new multifamily affordable housing program; the criteria largely mirror the set used for Hurricane Ian with small adjustments. Commissioner Kutzinger moved to approve the scoring criteria as presented; Commissioner Knight seconded and the board voted unanimously.

Commissioners asked staff to ensure targeted outreach to heavily impacted neighborhoods and to broaden initial income eligibility after early rounds: Hyatt said the county will prioritize households at 80% AMI but plans to expand eligibility up to 120% AMI in later program rounds to reach more homeowners.

Commissioners praised staff for faster processing compared with the county’s Hurricane Ian effort; Hyatt said the team has reduced the time to reach this stage from 488 days for Ian to about 241 days for the 2024 storms and has kept setup costs lower. Staff also noted work is underway on environmental reviews, contractor solicitations for construction, and continued coordination with stormwater engineers on the Phillippi Creek dredging project.