BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Telegraph Editor
Starke has applied for state funds to continue upgrading sewer lines in the city.
This latest application for Community Development Block Grant funds requests $700,000 to replace watermains and install fire hydrants in the in northeast Starke. The city will contribute $50,000 of American Recovery Plan Act as a match to the project. The amount covers the cost of construction, engineering, grant administration, etc.
Proposed improvements include the construction of 2,525 linear feet of water main to replace the existing water main that is located on Brownlee Street between Oak Street and Old Lawtey Road and along Old Lawtey Road between Brownlee Street and North Street. Five fire hydrants would also be installed in the area.
Grant writer Andy Easton participated in two public hearings on the CDBG grant application
Starke’s most recent CDBG grant was used to reconstruct a lift station, and the city continues to reconstruct its wastewater system piece by piece as funding becomes available. As Easton pointed out, $700,000 doesn’t go very far.
The city is under multiple consent orders from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection requiring that the city address problems, including the infiltration of stormwater which causes sewage spills and poses a threat to environmental and public safety.
Starke’s Citizen Advisory Task Force met to recommend the city commission move forward with the application.
The city will be competing with hundreds of other cities around the state. Its application received additional points for proposing improvements in a lower income area.
Commissioner Danny Nugent also want to seek grant funding for additional fire hydrants and
Hampton is seeking a $600,000 CDBG grant of its own. The city is proposing improvements to its water plant, including drilling a new well, replacing the well casing, pump, electric system and piping. The local match is $25,000.
