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Naples CRA commits to full‑scale River Park East infrastructure project, reallocates funds and pursues federal disaster grants
Summary
The CRA voted to prioritize a full‑scale River Park East infrastructure demonstration, remove a $2 million/year affordable housing placeholder from the CRA budget for the immediate five‑year period, and authorize staff to use up to $400,000 to pursue EDA and FEMA BRIC grants for 5th Avenue South design work.
The Naples CRA on Tuesday committed to a full‑scale infrastructure demonstration for River Park East, shifting CRA budget priorities and authorizing staff to pursue federal disaster‑resilience grants to offset costs.
Dr. George, presenting the technical concept, described a comprehensive approach — replacing water and sewer mains, upgrading stormwater to a hybrid gravity/pump system with two pump stations, elevating roads, and improving drainage — designed to raise the design standard from a 5‑year, 1‑hour event toward handling 25‑year, multi‑day events. "If this is, let's say, $20,000,000 plus‑minus project, we're looking at quarter‑billion dollar program moving forward," Dr. George told the board.
Finance staff summarized budget implications: the implementation plan for River Park East would have required modest CRA funding, but a fully hardened demonstration could require roughly $24.2 million from CRA plus about $14.0 million from the water/sewer fund (a combined roughly $38.2 million), figures staff said are preliminary and subject to refinement.
To help finance projects, the board voted unanimously to allow staff to use some or all of a $400,000 design allocation to pursue federal grants, including the Economic Development Administration's disaster supplemental program and FEMA's Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) funding. Consultant Tammy Bailey of Kimley Horn told the board that EDA's implementation path can fund design and construction "up to $20,000,000" for projects that clearly demonstrate economic impact and resilience; she noted grants commonly require an 80/20 match and environmental review but can accept preliminary environmental information at application.
After debating tradeoffs, the board then voted to commit to the full‑scale River Park East demonstration and to remove the CRA's previously budgeted $2,000,000 per year in affordable‑housing allocations for the immediate five‑year period, a move members said concentrates limited CRA resources on neighborhood infrastructure and resilience. Board members stressed the decision does not foreclose future housing initiatives but reflects current bandwidth and bonding constraints.
Resident speakers and business representatives urged balance: Meg Stepanian of the 5th Avenue South BID called 5th Avenue "the economic engine" and asked the CRA to preserve that corridor while supporting resilience; Lisa Tzelaya of River Park East described the neighborhood's 74 homes and urged strong investment to protect long‑term residents.
Staff said procurement documents for River Park East design are ready to be issued following the board's direction; the board asked staff to return with refined budgets, grant application timelines and a public‑facing schedule for design and environmental work.
Next steps: staff will seek partial notices to proceed for design work to enable grant applications, prepare procurement for River Park East design, and bring back detailed budgets and project schedules.
