Budget Amendment and Budget Resolution — Approval of Phase 1 Better Future Infrastructure and Mitigation Projects Funded by Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) Funds — $156,162,158.85

3:34:30card. We'll do R forty three. Jack?

3:34:37Now

3:34:37hopefully soon all but

3:34:41Say that ah again.

3:34:48Okay. Chuck Lane. Good evening. Chuck Lane, Director of the Office of Disaster Recovery Resources. This item has uh has been changed a little bit since uh since we published the agenda, so you're gonna get some hard copies with some updated documents. I'll explain that change uh later in my presentation. So this is a pivotal moment for Pasco County's Better Future program. As you know, the Better Future program is to manage a $585 million grant to help our communities recover from Hurricane Sedalia,

3:35:19Helene, and Mill. The funding comes from the United States Department of Housing and Environment Development, and the grant source is C D B G DR, Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery. Today's recommendation is specifically related to our infrastructure mitigation program. More than a year ago, my department started with a kind of a wish list of projects, potential projects, with a cumulative cost of several billion dollars. We put great effort into whittling down the original list into something manageable Considering the uh the available resources. With this agenda item,

3:35:49I'll be presenting a staff recommendation to allocate $147.9 million in C D B G DR funding. to support twenty infrastructure projects. I just want to begin by recognizing the army of people that contributed to this milestone. The coordination with county departments who will be executing these projects has been outstanding. Uh my department team has done yeoman's work to get to this point. Uh our consultant, IEM International, led by Tim Laguti, has put a team of experts into this effort to keep us on the right side of any compliance issues. And

3:36:19we received invaluable guidance from the Office of Management Budget, the County Attorney's Office and the Purchasing Department, and ultimately with direction from the County Administrator and his executive team, I'm proud to present this item today. So

3:36:35So this item is specifically related to our infrastructure mitigation program, which includes projects that are classified as critical critical infrastructure. mitigation and public facilities. Our action plan allocates just over $206 million for to this program. So some quick definitions. Critical infrastructure projects include repairs to infrastructure uh damaged uh by Hurricanes Adalia, Helena, or Milton. It also includes projects addressing inadequate infrastructure needs that were exposed by the storms. Mitigation includes projects that don't necessarily have a storm

3:37:05tie back, but could create resiliency and protect our communities from future storms. The public facilities category includes homeless shelters, hurricane shelters, libraries, senior centers, those types of things. Public facilities projects must have a storm tie back or a mitigation component. You can see in the left text box of the screen the amounts allocated by our action plan to each component. We have to be careful not to exceed these buckets, although we do have some flexibility, and I'll explain that in a moment.

3:37:34The staff recommendation for this item is to approve CDB GDR funding for 20 projects. Uh, and I'll explain that says 21. I'll explain that in a moment. It's now 20. 18 of them are county projects. I'll present the project list in a moment. We're also requesting that you reserve $1 million for the required match for various repairs funded by the FEMA public assistance program. The total project cost, including other other sources. For the 21 projects in the FEMA match is just shy of a quarter of a billion dollars. 147.9

3:38:04million in CDBGR funding will be used to fund these projects, along with $88.7 million from other resources. Those other sources include a variety of external sources and also county funding that was already budgeted for some of these projects.

3:38:21On the screen you can see the breakout among the three categories. One project that you'll see in a moment is for renovation to the Hudson Library. It's the one project pulling from two different buckets. So to avoid confusion, we've just put it under the public facilities bucket. The amounts budgeted in our action plans for critical infrastructure, public facilities, and mitigation are 100 million, 30 million, and 76.4 million, respectively. There are several critical infrastructure and public facilities projects that also qualify as mitigation projects. This

3:38:52we've intentionally left the mitigation bucket light because it's the easiest bucket to spend from. It's important to note because if we get heavy in one bucket with later projects, we have the ability to move money from one bucket to another to free up some flexibility.

3:39:09As I said earlier, we started with a huge list of potential projects more than we could possibly fund. We used the criteria on the screen to determine which projects we would initially recommend to you. Always looming over our heads is the requirement that we spend seventy percent of the funds on low to moderate income people. We also need to be sure the projects we fund will be completed. before the grant expires. It's a six-year grant. The clock started ticking one year ago today, in fact, when HUD signed the grant agreement. So we must plan to have all projects completed and closed out

3:39:39by August 25, 2031. This played a big role in the selection of projects for the staff recommendation. In addition to the low to moderate income benefits and project completion date, we prioritized projects that were ready to go, projects that align with Pasco County's needs, and those we know the HUD will support. These pro the projects uh we are presenting to you today carry a cumulative 84.3% low to moderate income benefit ratio. We didn't expect this high of a ratio.

3:40:09Uh this gives us some flexibility we didn't expect. It'll allow us to help more residents at higher income levels in our individual housing program. Following approval of this item will have the ability to serve residents earning up to one hundred and twenty percent of area median income in the housing program without jeopardizing our ability to spend seventy percent of the funds on low to moderate income residents. This may also give us more flexibility in later phases of of our administration of the grant.

3:40:35Okay, so I'll use the next three slides to introduce the 20 projects to you. As a reminder, these these are projects that are ready now or nearing readiness. The clock is ticking. I won't go into great detail for each of the projects. Various departments will be managing CDBG DR projects. Each department with a project on this list is represented today and will address any questions you have for on individual projects. Discrete This screen shows you the list of critical infrastructure projects. First four on this on the first four on the

3:41:05list are stormwater improvement projects. The hurricanes, particularly Helene for these projects, expose deficiencies in our stormwater systems. Stormwater projects are uniquely aligned with C D B G DR priorities. And these types of projects address needed upgrades to our stormwater systems to help create resiliency. A bridge to access Starkey Wilderness Preserve was damaged by the hurricanes and needs to be replaced. The Opticom MEOVision project will improve capabilities for emergency vehicles to preempt traffic signals to improve response

3:41:36times. This will be critical post-storm. It will also improve response efforts under the blue skies. The Elfers Septic to Sewer Project will help us take 669 properties off of private septic systems that connect them to the public sewer. Mitchell Boulevard will be extended from Little Road to State Road 54 at the Starkey Boulevard Intersection. This will take pressure off of Little Road and Trinity Boulevard during evacuation activities. And the City of Port Ritchie requested funding to elevate 14 lift stations. Proposal, the proposed funding amount is 25% of the total project cost.

3:42:07This slide shows the proposed public facilities projects. We have a project to acquire property on Clock Tower Parkway and renovate an existing building for use as a senior center. Public services proposing to purchase uh additional pallet homes uh to replace the recreational vehicles at the homeless shelters on Grand Boulevard and um and Youth Lane. Improvements to the Go Pasco facility on Gale and Wilson will add hardened space for transit evacuation recovery operations. Improvements to the existing Pasco, uh the existing building at Pasco

3:42:38Hope on Grim Boulevard are also planned. Uh next is the new 50,000 square foot recreation center that will serve as a hurricane shelter for residents on the east side of the county. and funding will allow a long-awaited renovation to Hudson Library to move forward.

3:42:56This slide shows projects that will fall under the mitigation category. These are projects that don't necessarily have a storm tie back, but they will provide um resilience and help protect our residents when facing future storm events. The first project on the list is we're going to be look at putting that towards uh phase two. It won't we're we're gonna r reduce that from this list. More to come on that. The next project is a generator for the Land O' Lakes detention center. This will provide full battery, full backup power for that

3:43:26facility. Uh LaFeed Drive is a stormwater project that will be combined as one large project with Seapines and Seapines Local that you saw on the critical infrastructure slide. The next project is to acquire the former Forest Hills Golf Course property in holiday. This will provide flood storage and also ensure that this pr flood-prone property will not be developed. Details of this project changed uh after the agenda was published. That was the purpose for the handouts today. Um One second. $5.5 million in additional in

3:43:56additional county funds were removed and $700,000 in CDBGDR funding was added. So for the $5.5 million, $4.5 million is for acquisition and $700,000 is for demolition of some existing structures. The next project is to fund the required MAC for hazard mitigation grant program expenses for the purchase of 25 generators to keep lift stations running during power outages. HMGP is a FEMA funded program, and CDBGDR is an eligible source to pay the required local

3:44:26match under that program. And lastly, the final project is to construct a hardened facilities maintenance warehouse in the central part of the county. This will allow county staff to more quickly deliver resources across the county prior to and after a storm event. So that's the list for phase one projects. We are working on a phase two list. Phase two projects will follow the same criteria as phase one, only that they need a little bit more time before we start them. My team will bring phase two projects forward as

3:44:56they become ready and at the direction of the county administrator. So at this time I'll remind you that the leadership from each department with a project being recommended for phase one is available for your questions. This concludes my presentation, and I'll welcome any questions that you may have.

3:45:13I don't have a question, just a comment. Um You guys did a great job putting this together. I know it's a lot of work and you guys are on a timeline and I just appreciate all the work you do and um I know it's a lot. All the things you have to look for and Um all the projects out there, they're all good. So

3:45:33Thank you. Commission WebEx.

3:45:37So back to can you go back to the slide that has the mitig the mitigation buckets, please? And I'll I'll start with this. I I know and to Kathy and your team I'm in no secret how critical and how much uh apprehension I have with uh the monies, especially towards um the housing sector. of this of this um of of

3:46:07the volume of this money. So I appreciate everybody's patience with me and my criticalness of of um this exercise. You weren't

3:46:18yelling, were

3:46:19you? So no, no. I'll let you do that. I'm on cough drops today. Um

3:46:29It's been a long day, folks. So for the mitigation bucket, you say it's the easiest bucket to spin from. So for example, uh, you know, we we learn from real world situations and because uh part one of the examples we talked about uh I talked about with staff was giving a chunk of money uh to HUD for vouchers to help folks get into uh a place to live today versus

3:47:00waiting three to five years to build a project, right? Like the money and we we send this message of we have this money. We have a short period of time to help people, and and if we're going to spend it, I'd like to help people now immediately. So in light of the cobalt fire at the apartment complex in Wesley Chapel, if we were to give, hypothetically, if we were to give money to HUD for vouchers, and we found a complex that had a bunch of empty. units and they were willing to to take in, you

3:47:30know, however many HUD vouchers of folks to live in. And we look at that facility and we deem as a county that okay, we need to add additional fire suppression systems, learning what we learned after this fire after the lightning strike. Could we use some of this money? To improve existing apartment complexes that that that may or may not want to participate in this program, to have people live in, to help

3:48:01them say, okay, yes, I am willing to go through the bureaucratic paperwork process to accept HUD applicants, because that's a that's a challenge, right? What we've learned is is folks are uh certain complexes won't take the vouchers just because of the paperwork and it's a it's pain in the rear for 'em, but they have, you see, one month, two month, three month free rent because they have availability. Could we use that as a carrot, as a stick to help them improve their building? If they take in people, uh

3:48:31folks for a period of time. So

3:48:33all of what you just suggested is eligible. And uh, but it's not under this program. This is the infrastructure program. So with a combination of housing funds, perhaps, and public facilities funds, those are things we can do. I've been talking to internal staff about those types of projects. I've talked with the how uh the Pasco County Housing Authority about maybe standing up something with vouchers. vouchers that you know, they have a process in place and and and it's kind of plug in you know, they're plugged in to do it right away. Um so if they have the capacity to do it, they it would make sense for them to run that program. No meaning

3:49:02conditions. If we use it as an incentive to get an existing complex that ordinarily would have said, No, we don't want to do the HUD vouchers. We have a stick say, hey, we have twenty five folks that we can put in on our list. If Commissioner Starkey's listening, I'll say Pasco folks, uh for the vouchers to go live there and to help them help them say yes, we will take them and on top of that we will give you X amount of money to help if there's a lightning strike that hits the third or fourth

3:49:32floor. to try to prevent what happened a week ago. If if that's a if that's an opportunity if that's an opportunity. I think it it was just, you know, life happened. We learn from it. And if there's a way to make these buildings safer. uh with with these funds by also giving people confidence, right? I think the public needs confidence that hey we're s we feel safe to live uh in one of these apartment complexes that this could be a way

3:50:02to do that. So just a thought out there since we're having this discussion, I'll throw another curveball at you. Why not? I'll keep it top of mind. So I just throw that out there.

3:50:11Okay. I just I just wanna add what he's saying, but the fact of it is this all this money is earmarked for people that had issues during the storms. That came from FEMA for that purpose, right? Uh

3:50:25the the mitigation money not n necessarily. Um the mitigation money can be exclusively to help projects that protect us against future storms. Um but all of the public facilities projects, the critical infrastructure projects, and even several of the mitigation projects, they do have a storm tie back at some level.

3:50:43I'll give you a thought, Commissioner Weightman I was thinking about that as well. I like your approach to try to make it safer because that what what what happened there was devastating for the property. Thank God no one got hurt. But had those sprinklers been in the roof, would have been a situation. I've in my conversation before today is pushing that item back for um multifamily. Family, my thoughts were maybe even we work with the existing ones to give them an incentive through their fire MSTU that they pay, because that was like a hundred people out

3:51:13there working on that fire. That's a lot of money tied up. So there's got to be an incentive for us to kind of maybe work with them to somehow make it advantage for them. The other thing I was thinking. Was as we look at that situation, is maybe we can go rate the ones that have the extra sprinklers for some the extra protections and let put some type of rate rating of bonus system where people can know that this one's extra safe because it's got those extra sprinklers or what are the safety things. So I think you're on the right track uh for something for down the road. But I think if we

3:51:43get a little more information back with what they're gonna study.

3:51:53Um anything else Mr.

3:51:54I'll just add some more. Um Chu the work that y'all done as a team on putting all this together. Thank you very much for all the work y'all did because it's not an easy task and uh I appreciate all y'all have done to make this work out. I mean, this is like the first step in the door because this is when you're starting to really start to deliver. So it's been a lot of work. Real important. It's been a lot of work up to now, but it's not over. The work is just beginning. Yeah. There's

3:52:25a lot of work to come with these projects.

3:52:27I do have one question.

3:52:30Um for all the prop all the projects that require property acquisition, has staff confirmed that they're all willing sellers? Um I just wanna make sure none of these projects require imminent domain. I believe that is correct.

3:52:45Okay. And if there are any departments that have an acquisition project that need to say otherwise, I'd call them up right now. But yes, that to my knowledge that is correct.

3:52:54Okay. So I'd like to go into a couple of different things. And I'll

3:52:57set up it it it's not it it will certain most certainly be a voluntary sale if that's where you get going with.

3:53:03Well I'm asking because I know these need to be expedited projects and they have a timeline to meet. Yes. If any of them require eminent domain, I it's unlikely we could meet that timeline. That's why I'm asking the question.

3:53:15I I know the acquisition projects we have been in communication with the owners. Whether or not there's a we we've landed on a price, I don't know the answer to that. But yes, we have willing sellers and we've been in communications with the owners in the acquisition projects.

3:53:30Okay, and just one small point on the Mitchell Boulevard one. I don't see a um item for acquiring the land. Do we actually have the land for Mitchell Boulevard?

3:53:41There's we own some of the land. Um that would be a partnership with a developer. So that's where we would see

3:53:47investment from the developer.

3:53:50I don't know the answer to

3:53:51that. Mm. Mr.

3:53:52Engel here? Uh see a thumbs up in

3:53:54the back. Okay. Get any guess from

3:53:57Okay. Okay.

3:53:58Thank

3:53:59you. Alright. So I I wanna I just wanna say what you've done putting this together is phenomenal. Absolutely phenomenal. I think you're hidden home where we need to go and you're given this flexibility for later on for the next things to add into it. Um I'm actually hoping for Magnolia Valley later on to be included. I got some ideas for that which I got time to go work on now. Um but I want to say the um the one purchase on the uh on the enclove property. Um I understand the price is high. Like

3:54:29I don't know, we're b paying like four point five million for it, is that a number or is that just Which page is that on? Um it's up there. Old Forest Hills acquisition. You just on the same page. Four point five million dollar

3:54:42is the uh

3:54:43acquisition

3:54:43price.

3:54:44Okay, so I believe that's the appraised value. Alright, so so um let me just say this about the appraised value. And and I want a better negotiation. I'll tell you why. There was a a golf club in the city.

3:54:59Listen, um d don't hurt my negotiation right now because we're still in negotiation. We haven't signed a contract. Let me let me just say I want to see it happen. But there

3:55:08was

3:55:08an eighteen hole golf course up in Hudson that sold for over f right around four million dollars. And it was eighteen holes making money in upland all the way through. I know when we buy ELAMP land, we usually gonna pay a smaller amount of money for it. But I just want to say I want you to really work work that and like that number. I will say this. Elfers, I am very excited about that project too. Septic sewer 600 some odd homes. And I don't know if you already plan to do it, uh, but if we can get some maybe

3:55:38there's some matching state money that's out there. DEP's got a program that ends for the end of the month through part two money that I think now that we've putting this money toward that, you might be able to get the rest of the money for that whole project. And that's a real real deal that's saying right now that you can get ready, you know, within within two days to have that ready to go with what you've done here. So I think you can get the balance of that money could be huge. With everything else that you've got, I wanna say that I and just like we've talked about here, when we we when the county does things and we put

3:56:09bids out, we pay more money because everybody thinks we're at the ceiling. I want you to have the confidence everybody else as we're looking and all the bidders that are coming out there that just because these are number up here, there's contingencies in there, there's cushions in there, that don't think this is the highest number that you that we're gonna pay or the number we're gonna pay. There may be better bids out there, or we're not looking to spend all of it on these projects, but we're putting ourselves in a position to go make these deals happen and get this stuff done. So I just want to give you that to go and then for everyone else out there listening,

3:56:39just because you see nine million here or whatever the numbers are, that we're still looking to be lower and we've got contingency in there for other things just in case something goes, but we want to get the best price we can possibly. possibly get. Absolutely. And I and I I just want to give you the confidence and insurance to know you we're behind you and we we'd hope that you can do that so we can add more things to it. But again I am just thrilled with what you've done here. I think it's a great use of getting this set up to go.

3:57:06Um Commissioner can I say Yes Commissioner Starkey. Um I told him he's like Santa Claus and he's got the best the best job in the county. Um Um on the golf course, just something to remember about it. Um, it is riverfront property with a boat ramp. So the county is now gonna have another access to the Uncle River, so that is very advantageous for us.

3:57:33So let me just so

3:57:34there may be other things similar

3:57:36with this? Commissioner Starkey. So there may be other things coming with this.

3:57:42Yes, there's there's some wonderful things for the county coming with this.

3:57:46Um

3:57:47and And there may be an opportunity for us to carve off a piece and um sell it to the there's a restaurant on the water on this property as well. Um it's closed right now.

3:57:58Um Good. Sorry.

3:58:00So I just I just wanna say I I was so glad to see there's something in everyone's district. Um I am absolutely thrilled that we're getting the bridge uh that connects the parts of the uh uh Starkey preserve together because that that's a safety issue. And um And it's been long overdue and looking at everyone, everyone's projects in their districts, they're just gonna make such a difference in our constituents' lives. So I'm I'm just

3:58:30uh I'm sorry that we had the hurricanes, but this is the uh lemonade out of the lemons, and I think um the impact on all these projects will be felt for a long time.

3:58:41So you ready to make a motion? Can't

3:58:44you

3:58:44do it

3:58:44some more line?

3:58:45I make that must

3:58:47I can

3:58:47it's

3:58:49all Ronnie made it.

3:58:50Alright.

3:58:51Oh sorry.

3:58:52On my

3:58:54first motion. Where y'all been?

3:58:58Captain Commissioner Starkey can be the n second. You're gonna have to second it, Commissioner Starkey. Anyway,

3:59:04phenomenal job,

3:59:05great

3:59:05work.

3:59:07District One, Commissioner Oakley. Now he's

3:59:10slacking.

3:59:12District two, Commissioner Weightman. District three, Commissioner Starkey. Aye. District four, Commissioner Yeager. Aye. District five, Chairman Mariano.

3:59:22Aye. Okay. Great job. Keep up the good work. The whole team's doing phenomenal.

3:59:27Woo! Kill team!