BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Telegraph Editor
STARKE — Bradford County has approved its plans for its remaining $4.98 million in federal relief funding, and most of it will be invested in utility infrastructure.
Commissioners recently reaffirmed their commitment to donate $500,000 of funding from the American Rescue Plan Act to the Concerned Citizens of Bradford County, which is working to save the historic RJE gymnasium.
On Jan. 19, County Manager Scott Kornegay presented a plan that proposed spending $152,000 to digitize old records in the county clerk’s office; $827,560 for the roof, chiller, boiler and other HVAC work at the courthouse; and $4 million to leverage the construction of water and wastewater improvements in partnership with the city of Starke and the state of Florida.
This partnership was discussed at a Legislative Delegation meeting in December, during which the city and county requested $14.8 million to help recover from the traffic lost to the 301 Bypass and create new economic opportunity by running utilities out to the bypass via State Road 16.
The plan includes constructing a new water treatment plant on Market Road to improve water quality and system pressure, as well as new water mains to extend service. Sewer service would be expanded as well down S.R. 16 to the bypass.
It did not include a plan for paving a mile’s worth of roads in the Lawtey area, a request from Commissioner Carolyn Spooner. She was hoping for more discussion among commissioners and staff about how to spend the remaining funds.
Commissioner Chris Dougherty said supporting a project that would encourage development and economic growth would by extension grow the county’s tax base and provide revenue for projects like paving.
“I don’t think we’re leaving anything out. I think we’re just trying to present a project or projects that are going to be beneficial to this whole community, not just the county, not just the city. And when the taxpayers are already maxed out at 10 mills, we’ve got to figure out a way to generate revenue coming into this county,” he said.
Dougherty said they have an opportunity to do something now that has never been done before because the money wasn’t there.
Spooner was supportive of the infrastructure projects, but she wanted to know what portion of the city’s ARPA funding would be contributed to the infrastructure project. She also wanted to know if there were already developers who have committed to come to Bradford County once the water and sewer infrastructure is in place.
Tammy Ross works in finance with engineering firm Woodward and Curan and helps the city achieve funding for its utility projects. She said developers are looking for locations that are ready to go.
“They’re not going to wait a year or two years for water and sewer to be put in place. They’re going to be ready to pull the trigger and move forward within six months to break ground and move forward with construction,” she said. For the city and county to work together and get ahead of the development is a wonderful opportunity, she said.
As for the city’s contribution, she talked about its investments in current and future projects through grants and loans. (Starke’s remaining ARPA funds were committed to the RJE gym renovation project, the downtown City Walk project, accounting software and ADA compliance at city hall.)
The city has worked with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to improve both the water and wastewater systems, including the new wastewater treatment plant and collection system improvements. The city has priority ranking, increasing its potential for future grants and low-interest loans, and DEP has approved a 50/50 grant loan for planning the drinking water system upgrades included in the city-county partnership.
Another $5.3 million grant/loan has been approved for improvements to the wastewater collection system, 10% of which must be repaid, and another $3.2 million has been requested. USDA has approved more than $20 million to rebuild the wastewater treatment plant, around $10 million of which must be repaid over 40 years.
While an economic boost is expected by job creation and expanded tax base, the city will be taking on the future maintenance of the additional infrastructure and the ongoing operational costs, and must service its debts. The initial capital investment might be $14.8 million, but the cost over 20 to 30 years could be $25 million or more, according to Ross.
She encouraged commissioners to consider more than cost, however. She said the return on investment would be $4 to $5 for every $1 spent.
Commissioner Kenny Thompson said, “If it ain’t in the ground, business is not coming around.”
County commissioners agreed and unanimously approved the ARPA spending plan.
