Tavares council approves $21.45 million SRF loan with full principal forgiveness for water-system upgrades

The Tavares City Council voted 5–0 on Jan. 20 to adopt Resolution 2026-02, authorizing the city to enter a State Revolving Fund (SRF) financing package that lists $21,450,000 in project costs and names the same amount as principal forgiveness for upgrades to the municipal drinking-water system.

Laurie Houghton, who presented the SRF item, called the award “very good news” and said the funds will cover planning, design and construction for a package of improvements meant to increase the system’s reliability and resiliency. "This thing is very good news. We're very excited about it," Houghton told the council during the presentation.

According to staff, the project scope includes waterproofing and elevating electrical panels and control systems to reduce flood risk; installing remote monitoring and real‑time control upgrades; looping distribution lines to improve redundancy; adding pressure‑boosting stations and increased storage capacity for operational flexibility; and adding drinking wells to replace aging downtown sources. The staff presentation cited the project identifier FSRF202511 on Florida Department of Environmental Protection funding lists.

City staff explained the disbursement process for the loan-forgiveness award: contractors will submit invoices, the city will pay as usual and then submit reimbursement requests to the SRF program (with limits on reimbursement frequency). Staff said the arrangement should not create long‑term debt service for the city because the award is structured as principal forgiveness and the city will pursue periodic reimbursements during construction.

The council had a brief technical exchange about whether the project would include looped service to the east side of Royal Harbor; project staff said they would investigate right‑of-way and easement constraints. With those clarifications, councilmember motions carried and the resolution passed unanimously.

Votes at a glance from the meeting: the council approved the meeting agenda (5–0); adopted an Arbor Day proclamation (5–0); approved the consent agenda (5–0); approved Resolution 2026‑01 (first budget amendment) (5–0); approved Resolution 2026‑02 (SRF drinking-water project) (5–0); authorized a downtown parcel purchase for future parking garages (5–0); and awarded community grants in a contested 3–2 vote (see separate coverage of the grants debate).

Next steps: staff will finalize application documents and proceed with contracting and reimbursement procedures under the SRF program; the council requested subsequent project renderings, construction schedules and periodic updates as work proceeds.