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Pensacola council approves CDBG reallocations for housing buyouts, repairs and port work amid council objections
Summary
The council approved three Florida Department of Commerce CDBG amendments reallocating parts of a $5.8 million disaster-recovery package: $1,061,500 for housing repair/replacement (HS010), $1,000,000 for voluntary home buyouts (HS021), and $2,300,000 for Port of Pensacola road and rail rehabilitation (HS002); votes passed mostly 5-1 amid objections about diverting money from individual homeowners to port projects.
On March 26 the Pensacola City Council voted to accept several amendments to Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) disaster-recovery awards from the Florida Department of Commerce that reallocate portions of a $5.8 million Rebuild Florida package. Council members framed the four items as an intertwined package that staff said was necessary to meet Florida Commerce's execution and timeline requirements.
The council accepted Amendment 1 to the Rebuild Florida housing repair and replacement grant (HS010) in the amount of $1,061,500, and approved a separate voluntary home buyout grant (HS021) for $1,000,000. The council also approved acceptance of an additional $2,300,000 for Port of Pensacola road and rail rehabilitation (HS002), which the administration said would fund paving and stormwater work that supports low- and middle-income regional businesses connected to port activity. Council also adopted supplemental budget resolution 2026-13 to appropriate the reallocations.
Debate centered on whether shifting funds toward port infrastructure was an appropriate use of money intended for hurricane recovery. Council member Baer (Bair) objected that a large share of the original $5.8 million appeared to be redirected away from direct housing relief, calling the approach "the wrong source of funding" for port improvements. Baer said the city had received the funds to help individuals impacted by Hurricane Sally and opposed reducing the housing-available amount. Staff and the mayor responded that Florida Commerce had set program categories and that staff had worked at length with the agency to identify a package that could be executed within the grant administration timeline; they said moving money between categories without Commerce's agreement looked infeasible and risked losing federal/state funds.
Port Director Lance Scott described the port work supported by the $2.3 million amendment as paving and stormwater-management activities tied to resiliency and commerce flow; staff said many of the port-related jobs met low-middle-income criteria required by the grant.
Votes and motions: multiple items were moved by Council member Wiggins and seconded by Council member Jones (motions recorded in the minutes). The HS010, HS021 and HS002 items each passed on recorded voice votes summarized in the meeting as 5-1. Council ultimately adopted the supplemental appropriation and several related resolutions; a separate allocation of about $1.5 million will be administered by the county for eligible in-city activities, staff said.
What's next: Staff said they had provided a February 25 memo to council outlining the approach and would continue working with Florida Commerce to ensure the money can be spent as intended. Some council members said they would withhold support for additional reassignments absent clearer documentation and community-prioritization for housing repairs and buyouts.
