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Council authorizes state appropriation request for $6M airport terminal; members debate adding drainage requests
Summary
City staff recommended, and council authorized, requesting a $6 million state appropriation for a 6,500-square-foot FBO terminal at Zephyrhills Municipal Airport. Council members debated whether to also submit drainage/stormwater projects for state funding and suggested submitting multiple requests to increase chances of receiving funding.
City staff recommended that the City Council pursue a state appropriation of $6 million for a new FBO terminal at Zephyrhills Municipal Airport and the council authorized the request during the Oct. 27 meeting, while members also discussed submitting drainage projects for state funding.
Staff recommendation: The proposal submitted to council asked for funding for a reduced-scope terminal, estimated at approximately 6,500 square feet with an estimated cost near $6 million; staff said schematics and cost estimates are available and the project is shovel-ready. The city previously received state appropriations for runway extension, itinerant parking and taxiway work; earlier appropriations removed the terminal from scope because of cost.
Council discussion: Several council members supported the airport request but expressed concern about not asking for stormwater/drainage projects as well. Members discussed the county's CDBG and stormwater funding rollouts, the uncertain prospect of receiving state funds, and whether to submit multiple appropriation requests (e.g., airport and drainage projects) to hedge chances of receiving some funding. Staff noted upcoming county workshops and a planned stormwater-fee assessment study that could support matching funds for larger drainage projects.
Next steps: Staff will proceed with filing the airport request with the state (representatives indicated sponsorship) and agreed to explore submitting additional projects that are shovel-ready, including stormwater items already in county discussions; staff said they can double-submit projects to increase odds and will prioritize and present candidate projects to council if desired.
