Homestead council expands utility relief for furloughed federal workers, adopts 2026 priorities and awards infrastructure contracts
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Summary
In a single special meeting the Homestead council expanded utility-relief eligibility for furloughed federal employees, approved legislative priorities focusing on water and east‑side police presence, awarded pump‑station contracts totaling about $3.2 million, approved a CRA stormwater survey, adopted a Vision Zero safety plan, and approved two claim settlements.
At its Nov. 12 special meeting the Homestead City Council approved multiple resolutions and contracts intended to aid residents, advance infrastructure projects and improve public‑safety planning.
Utility relief for furloughed federal workers: Council adopted a resolution directing the city manager to suspend disconnection or interruption of water, sewer, electric and solid‑waste services for furloughed federal employees during a federal shutdown and for 60 days after such a shutdown, with no late fees accruing during the suspension period. Council amended the language to make the policy apply to any federal shutdown rather than only the current one, and staff said the city will add a Paymentus web notice and billing inserts and use existing CARES program mechanisms when appropriate. Staff clarified that the Homestead CARES program has different income‑verification criteria than this federal‑worker relief program and that documentation/verification will be required.
2026 legislative priorities: Council reviewed and adopted its proposed 2026 legislative priorities, with staff and directors urging the council to prioritize a drinking‑water storage tank and pressurization project on the city’s east side near the Homestead Miami Speedway, undersized water‑main upgrades by district, select bridge widening projects and support for a joint operations center with a police presence on the east side. Council designated the vice mayor to help craft social‑service language (senior programming) for the package and discussed aligning bond and matching funds with state grants.
Infrastructure contracts and surveys: The council approved two companion procurement items for Pump Station 22 upgrades: CMG Pipelines Inc. was awarded a construction contract for $2,898,256.75 (ITB 2025‑35) and Hydro Service Inc. was awarded $316,616.49 to supply submersible pumps and controls (ITB 2025‑36). Staff explained a phased approach and use of owner‑furnished equipment to shorten long equipment lead times and said the Pump Station 11 project will follow the same template. Separately, council approved a contract with KCI Technologies (assigned by Keith & Schnarz, PA) to conduct a stormwater infrastructure survey within the Community Redevelopment Area to meet a county GIS/survey deadline of Dec. 31, 2026.
Vision Zero and settlements: Council approved a citywide Vision Zero traffic‑safety action plan aiming for zero traffic fatalities and serious injuries and also approved resolutions authorizing settlements for claims by Oriole Zamore and Zeta Colero.
Votes at a glance: Tab 2 (utility-connection suspension for furloughed federal workers) — approved; Tab 3 (2026 legislative priorities) — approved; Tab 4 (federal-worker program funding/implementation clarifications) — approved; Tab 5 (CMG Pipelines contract) — approved; Tab 6 (Hydro Service pumps contract) — approved; Tab 7 (KCI stormwater survey) — approved; Tab 8 (Vision Zero plan) — approved; Tabs 9–10 (claim settlements) — both approved.
Next steps: Staff will formalize Paymentus/customer‑service notifications for the federal‑worker relief program, pursue the prioritized legislative requests with lobbyists, procure and schedule pump‑station work with the awarded contractors and finalize the stormwater survey by the county deadline.
