Stormwater improvements to Alligator Creek
BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
The combined efforts of city staff have helped bring more than $40 million in assistance to fund improvements in the city, and now the city will work closely with its engineer and other local partners to secure some of the billions available to secure communities against natural disasters and climate change.
Professionals with Woodward and Curran have been working with staff and recently presented plans to apply for funding through the EPA’s Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change Grant. The one-time program opened under the Inflation Reduction Act and has just under $2 billion available for climate resiliency and pollution reduction.
Woodward and Curran’s Justin deMello called it an incredible opportunity for the city. According to Starke Operations Director Jimmy Crosby said this national firm recognizing the city as a place to invest a considerable amount of its time and own money in this effort is a significant moment for the city. Competition for these federal funds is high and a small number of projects will be approved. The awards can be significant, however, in the tens of millions of dollars.
Crosby said creating the application will be a heavy lift for the firm and for city staff.
“I didn’t go out looking for work, but I think it’s going to be worth it to us, if we can pull this off. I think it’s going to be substantial,” he said.
“They call it a Community Change Grant, because the idea is that this is a community that that they’re going to help elevate and change.” deMello said, adding it could help turn Alligator Creek from a liability for the city to an asset by addressing stormwater threats.
A successful application will be based on collaboration between the city and other groups. Four reports must be written with a minimum of two projects implemented, one addressing climate action and the other pollution reduction. Projects with broad community impact and benefit for the disadvantaged will be favored, as will those that avoid or mitigate displacement.
The program opened last November and some of the first projects have been awarded. The city has until Nov. 21 to submit its workup. EPA is providing free technical assistance, but Crosby said Woodward and Curran would be investing its time and money on behalf of the city as well. He said it was the commission’s willingness to bring on qualified staff that provides confidence they can take on the challenge.
Vulnerability assessment
Woodward and Curran has also used grant funding to prepare a vulnerability assessment for the city. The report is several hundred pages long and evaluates risk to the assets in the city, both public and private, from major storms.
The report and its recommendations will be used in the city’s application for a $1.1 billion state grant program to make communities more storm resilient against flooding and sea level rise. The report looks at the present and the future, all the way to 2070, offering planning and regulatory solutions in addition to activities like relocating and flood-proofing assets. One focus is Alligator Creek and natural stream restoration measures that will help make the waterway cutting through the city more storm resilient.
City commissioners accepted the report, which will be sent to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection in a request for funds to implement the plan.
City updates capital improvement plan
Starke city commissioners have adopted a new five-year capital improvement plan presented by staff that calls for more than $6 million in repair and maintenance spending on utility infrastructure.
The plan supports the goal of investing utility revenue back into the system instead of spending on general government expenses.
The state requires local governments review their capital improvement plans regularly as they make up a portion of their comprehensive land use plans.
Capital improvements are defined in the implementing resolution as “physical assets constructed or purchased to provide, improve or replace a public facility, typically large scale, high in cost, and may require multi-year financing.”
The city relies on outside funding sources, including state and federal grants and loans, in addition to local revenue to carry out these projects.
Management has encouraged the commission to focus on its infrastructure, which typically took a back seat to paying for other services.
Through Fiscal Year 2028, the city plans to spend $350,000 to $450,000 on its wastewater facilities, including line and equipment replacement, lining and replacing manholes, and repair and replacement of pipes and valves.
The city also plans to spend $519,000 on wastewater treatment, including repair and replacement of pipes and valves, pump installation and replacement, and generator upgrades.
The water distribution system will require greater investment — more than $1.9 million over the next five years on water main and valve replacements, emergency line replacement, and equipment replacements.
The electric department plans the replacement of large and small equipment, poles and transformers with $1.52 million. There will be similar investments in gas infrastructure with around $340,000 set aside.
Additionally, in FY 26 and 27, more $500,000 is included in water treatment, wastewater and gas to implement automated meter reading.
The city also anticipates state grant funding over two years totaling $150,000 in Wainwright Park, Edwards Road Park and City Walk Park, which would include the Downtown Square area.
