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Consultant says Cocoa has pending FEMA, DOJ and Justice grants and is tracking EDA and transportation opportunities
Summary
Merchant McIntyre updated Cocoa City Council on federal grant and advocacy work, saying the city has an $18,000 Byrne JAG allocation pending for cameras, a $2.3 million FEMA SAFER application to hire 12 firefighters, and an active strategy to pursue EDA disaster‑relief and surface‑transportation funds.
Merchant McIntyre, the city's federal funding firm, briefed the Cocoa City Council on July 14 about its first six months of work and the federal opportunities it is tracking for the city.
Katie Peterson, a partner at Merchant McIntyre, said the firm has developed a federal grants grid and conducts biweekly calls with city departments to align projects with federal appropriations. "We're tracking the federal budget making process from start to finish... we call it the lifecycle of the federal dollar," Peterson said.
Fiona McLeod, a senior government relations associate with the firm, outlined grants currently pending and in development. She reported a Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant formula allocation of about $18,000 for which the city applied to purchase security cameras. "That is currently pending; we should know about that later this summer," McLeod said.
McLeod also said the city submitted a FEMA SAFER (staffing for adequate fire and emergency response) application asking for about $2,300,000 to hire 12 additional firefighters, which would reduce overtime pressures if awarded. She added the firm is preparing a Department of Justice Safer Outcomes grant to improve de‑escalation and crisis response training; that opportunity had not been posted yet but Merchant McIntyre said it had advanced early work to position the city ahead of competitors.
On the advocacy side, Peterson said city requests had advanced in House appropriations drafts: the council's wastewater infrastructure expansion request appeared at about $1,000,000 and a fire station project at about $2,000,000 in relevant bills. The firm also noted nascent opportunities with the Economic Development Administration for disaster‑related economic development awards often in the $1–$3 million range.
"Federal grants are onerous and highly competitive," Peterson said. "Sometimes you apply one, two, three times before you're ultimately successful." She asked council members to keep staff informed of changing local priorities so the firm can prioritize applications.
Council members asked whether federal programs could support renovations to the civic center; Peterson said some programs and EDA disaster funds could be options depending on project scope and eligibility. Council members and city staff thanked Merchant McIntyre for the update and discussed next steps for any candidate applications.
The presentation provided the council with a near‑term list of grant deliverables and deadlines that city staff will carry forward with the consultant.
