Majority of funds still dedicated to dredging of waterways
Agreeing with comments that Sarasota County Commissioner Mast made on April 22, her colleagues joined her in voting unanimously to adjust the proposed allocation for the dredging of Phillippi Creek from $60 million to $45 million and divert the difference to “Dredging of Major Waterways” in the Final Action Plan for use of a $210,094,000 federal grant to address unmet county needs in the wake of the 2024 hurricane season.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded the money directly to the county earlier this year. It was the second such grant from HUD, with the first coming in 2023 to respond to the aftermath of Hurricane Ian’s strike on Southwest Florida in September 2022.
The final mix of the latest allocations must get a HUD sign-off before staff can begin accepting applications, Steve Hyatt, manager of what are known as the Resilient SRQ Programs, has told the County Commission. That is expected to take no longer than 45 days, he also has noted.
In fact, to illustrate how fast local action has been in regard to the new funding, Hyatt said on April 22 that Sarasota County will be the second Florida recipient of a HUD grant this year to submit its final plan to the federal department. Lee County, he added, is the only one to have done so prior to April 22.
With the final HUD go-ahead, the county will have six years to spend the money under the guidelines that the department has stipulated. Among those is that 70% of the money — $147,065,800 — must be used to benefit low- to moderate-income persons. Those are defined as individuals making up to 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI) for the North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton Metropolitan Statistical Area. HUD releases the AMI figures each year.
This year, the AMI for North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton is $106,100. For a household with four people, 80% of that AMI is $86,100, the chart shows.
Although the original deadline for submission of the proposals was April 21, HUD delayed that to June 23 for all grantees, Hyatt noted on April 22.
“We’re anticipating launching things a lot faster this go-round,” he told the commissioners, compared to the time it took to start accepting applications for projects related to Hurricane Ian’s destruction.
Trying to make the money go as far as possible
During the discussion last week, Commissioner Mast first reiterated her support for the critically needed dredging of Phillippi Creek, as made clear by county residents, including eight — by count of The Sarasota News Leader — who appeared before the board that morning during the Open to the Public comment period. (Another seven urged the board members to ensure that waterways in the city of Sarasota are dredged, as well, including Hudson Bayou and Whitaker Creek.) However, Mast continued, she wondered whether the commissioners should consider lowering the total dedicated to Phillippi Creek to $40 million from the $75 million they previously had discussed, before staff opened up the draft plan for public comments.
“Sometimes,” she explained, “it seems like when there’s a specific amount allocated,” the applications for the money add up to that amount. She likened that to what she has seen in bids submitted for county initiatives.
“We have so many projects to accomplish,” Mast added. “We’re making this a high, high priority,” she stressed of the Phillippi Creek dredging. Nevertheless, she wanted to hear her colleagues’ thoughts on her proposal.
“I understand where Commissioner Mast is coming from,” Commissioner Ron Cutsinger said. “We could dial that [number] down a little bit,” he added, referring to the $60 million.
“I think that would be a prudent thing to do,” Commissioner Mark Smith responded, with the difference dedicated to the “bucket” titled “Dredging of Major Waterways.”
When Chair Joe Neunder asked his colleagues to settle on a revised figure for Phillippi Creek, Cutsinger suggested $45 million, plus the rounding up the “Dredging of Major Waterways” amount to $30 million.
After all, Cutsinger pointed out, “Phillippi Creek could be considered a major waterway.”
Then Commissioner Smith told project manager Hyatt, “I’ve gotten a good deal of questions on housing [funding in the draft plan].”
In late February, the board members settled on $17,500,000 for homeowner rehabilitation and reconstruction of residences damaged by Tropical Storm Debby and Hurricanes Helene and Milton in 2024; plus reimbursements of $5,810,000 to homeowners for expenses to repair their homes for which they have received no other financial assistance; and, finally, $30 million for new multi-family affordable housing units.
What applications would fall under those [housing] categories, Smith asked.
“Those would be an open application process,” Hyatt replied. Similar to the process that staff set up for the Hurricane Ian HUD grant, Hyatt continued, owners of single-family homes would apply for assistance from the new program’s “buckets.” They will have to provide documentation to prove that they are income-eligible for the help, Hyatt noted.
Then, he continued, if any money were left after applicants with income up to the 80% AMI level had been awarded funds, staff could make the remaining money available for households making up to 120% AMI.
Proof of ownership of the affected homes, along with documents showing applicants’ income and details about their standing with regard to their mortgages, would be among the types of materials they would have to show staff to prove their eligibility, Hyatt said.
“I would like to see us focus on (80%) AMI and lower,” Smith told Hyatt, instead of households making 100% or 120% of the AMI.
Smith also inquired about help for homeowners in submitting applications to the county, as she noted that some of the people who need the financial assistance “may not have the expertise” to handle the applications on their own.
With the Ian application process, Hyatt responded, staff established what he called a “housing recovery lead,” who had case managers assigned to Sarasota County libraries. There, the case managers could meet with homeowners who needed such help, he added.
“I would expect to see the same thing” with this HUD award process, Hyatt said.
The ‘administrative’ and ‘planning’ money
Bringing up a topic about which he has expressed some concern in past discussions of the new HUD grant, Chair Joe Neunder noted the $10,504,700 set aside for “Sarasota County Administration Activities” and the $4.2 million dedicated to “Planning Activities.” What is the difference between those categories, he asked Hyatt.
The Administration Activities “bucket” amount contains 5% of the overall award, Hyatt pointed out. That money would be used in managing the program. The “Planning” bucket funds would be used for any planning studies that must be undertaken, he continued. Some might be necessary in the future, Hyatt said, in regard to certain types of projects.
“There’s naturally unanticipated cost increases,” Hyatt explained. The “Planning” bucket money could be used to cover those, he added.
Neunder also reprised a comment he has made during past discussions about how quickly he wants to see the money allocated: “The ‘burn rate’ on these funds needs to be fast.” He emphasized, “Our community is hurting. Our community has anxiety. The need is desperate.”
When Neunder then asked whether Hyatt thinks some of the money in the Administration Activities and Planning “buckets” will be left over, Hyatt replied, “It certainly could.”
After the application period has been launched, Hyatt indicated, staff will have a better idea about how much money will remain for those two dedicated purposes.
Neunder told Hyatt, “Your team is … very efficient, very well credentialed in your jobs. … Use what you need, but be prudent, if you can.” He would appreciate being able to dedicate leftover money to other needs, Neunder added, and he believes community residents would, as well.
Commissioner Smith asked Hyatt how much money was left from the “Administration” bucket in the county’s Hurricane Ian HUD funding.
“There’s some administrative dollars that have come out of there,” Hyatt replied, adding, “A vast majority of [the set-aside money] hasn’t been used for planning activities.”
“We could always use more [money] in [the] affordable housing [bucket],” Smith told him.
As discussion then ensued about putting more money from the new grant toward affordable housing, Smith said, “I’d hate to change any numbers right now, but I believe we’ll have the opportunity later on … to do that.”
Commissioner Cutsinger ended up making the motion to approve the revised allocations, and Mast seconded it.