Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Utilities Infrastructure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
County staff: FDEP awards $3.3M for wastewater but water‑main funding still needed
Summary
Assistant County Manager Christopher Sempron told the EDA board that FDEP has committed $3.3 million for wastewater work in the Huachula Hills area but that the award covers only sewer; the county is pursuing additional grants (through CERCCAP and other rural‑infrastructure programs) to cover the water main portion.
Christopher Sempron, assistant county manager, updated the board on five EDA‑funded utility projects and said the county is negotiating a contract with Jacobs Engineering for the utilities and facilities master plan.
Sempron said Phase 6 of a utilities expansion closed with a savings of $161,169 on a $1,100,000 project and that the county received $3,300,000 from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) specifically for the wastewater portion of the Huachula Hills project. "They are funding us for the $3,300,000 for the wastewater portion only for this grant," Sempron said.
Board members pressed on the remaining water‑main funding needed to complete Phase 7 and whether the county could phase construction. Sempron said the county has an engineering proposal and will coordinate with the IDA and other stakeholders to identify amounts and phasing. He said the county is working with CERCCAP (at no cost) to pursue other rural infrastructure funding opportunities for the water side.
Commissioner Flores emphasized the project’s importance to the Highway 17 growth corridor and the potential to run utilities to subdivided lots to support development; development representatives and board members noted housing dollars could be another funding source to extend infrastructure to those parcels.
Sempron also told the board the county will seek amendments to Phase 6 to include paving portions of Cali Lane with hot‑mix asphalt in addition to shell rock and that the county is coordinating construction bid advertising timelines (advertisement expected by late August/early September for some work).
