Franklin County approves $1.77M CDBG application to extend sewer on SR‑65 to support workforce housing

At a public hearing on April 15, Franklin County authorized submission of a Florida Small Cities CDBG application seeking $1,769,250 to extend sewer infrastructure along State Road 65 in partnership with the Eastpoint Water & Sewer District.

Grant writer Heather Pullen of Langton Consulting told the board the Neighborhood Revitalization proposal would install roughly 3,500 linear feet of new sewer line and provide hookups for existing and new low‑ and moderate‑income households. The project scope includes engineering and design for an initial 42‑acre service area, installation of sewer lines and up to 25 new sewer hookups for newly constructed low/moderate‑income units and service for up to 40 existing low/moderate households, fire hydrants to improve fire protection, and the design of a 30,000‑gallon ground storage tank and a secondary lift station. Phases two and three would fund the tank construction and lift station installation as separate future steps.

Pullen said all deliverables for a related FDEP Vulnerability Assessment had been completed and that the CDBG request remains below the $3 million cap for non-economic development projects. The board voted unanimously to approve the resolution authorizing the chair to sign and the fiscal manager to submit the application; the application will be finalized and any substantive scope changes will be reported to the board before the May 6 meeting.

Board members noted the project would support horizontal infrastructure needed for workforce housing and complement other county strategies to expand housing access. No one in the room registered public objection during the hearing; written comments were invited through April 22.