Collier County secures more than $86.5 million in state budget for local projects, programs
Florida lawmakers approved a budget with more than $86.5 million in funding for the benefit of Collier County, including its three cities.
While some of the local appropriations could still be vetoed by the governor, they include investments in water and sewer upgrades, in healthcare and cultural buildings and programs, and in the environment, public safety and education.
Lawmakers approved a $117 billion state budget on March 8, as this year's Legislative session came to a close.
The proposed budget includes more than $35 million for critical projects in Naples alone, including money to help the city offset the cost for a new coastal stormwater management system, as well as for the rebuild of the iconic Naples Pier, ravaged by Hurricane Ian.
City manager Jay Boodheshwar said in an email he's grateful for the appropriations, pushed by Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, a Naples resident, and other local delegates.
"Although the projects we’ve received appropriations for in the state budget are city-led initiatives, I consider them regional projects that will benefit hundreds of thousands of residents in Southwest Florida and beyond.," he said. "Once completed, these projects will improve water quality in the water bodies of Collier County and the nearshore environment of the Gulf of Mexico, improve the safety of our beaches, and give a significant boost to the economy of our region."
He's hopeful for the governor's approval of the appropriations to make Southwest Florida more sustainable and resilient.
In a statement, Passidomo said representing the people and communities of Southwest Florida in the House, Senate, and now as Senate President has been the "professional honor of a lifetime."
"As I often say, although I am away from my home in Naples for weeks at a time, there is so much I have been able to do to represent my constituents in Tallahassee," she said. "Through investments of funding provided by the state of Florida, our local communities are partnering with the state on key infrastructure solutions that create local jobs, improve our quality of life and ensure the safety of our residents through enhancements to our clean water and transportation infrastructure. These funds also foster partnerships and support local organizations that offer critical services to our youth and our seniors."
More: Naples leaders not scaling back critical stormwater management project. Who will pay for it?
Previously: Cost of critical stormwater project balloons in Naples. Here's what to know
And: Naples faces exponentially higher costs for a new stormwater system. Here's why
The budget includes more than $167 million in funding for projects and programs in Collier, Lee and Hendry counties, fought for by local delegates.
Here's a closer look at the local funding requests from Collier that made the cut, in the proposed budget for next year:
Water treatment and quality
Naples Park Public Utility Renewal, 103rd and 104th Avenue: $4.5 million. This county project includes replacing water mains and fire hydrants, constructing a new wastewater pump station, rehabbing existing wastewater pump stations, and completing sewer clean outs for hundreds of homes. A new stormwater drainage system will be built to improve the quality of the water flowing into the Vanderbilt Lagoon.
Palm River Public Utility Renewal: $3 million. Similarly. this county project includes replacing water mains and fire hydrants, constructing a new wastewater pump station, rehabilitating existing wastewater pump stations, and completing sewer clean outs for hundreds of homes. In this case, a new stormwater drainage system will be built to improve the quality of water flowing into the Cocohatchee River.
West Goodlette Frank Stormwater Improvements – Phase 2: $1 million. This project will address flooding issues and improve water quality by replacing existing septic systems with a centralized wastewater system. It's a joint project between the county and the city of Naples.
Immokalee Water and Sewer District Utility Relocation: $2.5 million. Utility relocations are required for the construction of county stormwater and drainage improvements in Immokalee, and they'd result in rate increases without money from the state to help with the cost.
Stormwater Outfall Pipe Removal & Water Quality Improvements: $25 million. This project would answer the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's directive to remove stormwater outfall pipes from Naples beaches. The city has designed and already permitted a project that improves water quality, flood protection and resiliency to climate change. While the project has been awarded state money, the city requested more financial help after costs ballooned.
Naples Bay Red Tide/Septic Tank Mitigation – Phase 2: $1 million. This joint multiyear project, between the city of Naples and the county, will convert 835 failing septic tanks to a centralized sanitary sewer system, while enhancing the stormwater system to improve water quality and reduce pollutants going into Naples Bay. The city will establish a special district to assess property owners in the area to help pay for the capital cost of the new sewer system, including its design.
River Park East Climate Resiliency/Stormwater Improvements: $3 million. This city project in Naples is designed to improve resiliency against sea level rise and to reduce the threat of storm surge for the River Park East community, including Anthony Park. Improvements would include replacing the stormwater system and the restoration of the roads as part of construction.
Water Quality Treatment Exfiltration Swales: $1.5 million. This project on Marco Island will provide a way to treat stormwater runoff, through swales, before it discharges to the island's waterways.
Stormwater Lake Restoration Improvements: $1.5 million. The city of Naples plans to dredge and treat lakes to remove accumulated pollution and to implement new practices within and around its lakes to improve stormwater treatment over the next decade.
Median Modifications: $750,000. This project on Marco Island would redesign medians, so that they can contain irrigation water, rather than allowing it to flow directly into the city's sewer system and waterways.
Healthcare buildings and programs
State Veterans Nursing Home and Adult Day Health Center: $10 million. The site for the project, including a 120-bed nursing home, is the county-owned Golden Gate Golf Course off Golden Gate Parkway and Collier Boulevard. The money will help cover the cost of adding an adult day care.
David Lawrence Center – Mobile Response Team: $950,000. This would help fund a mobile team, providing 24/7 emergency behavioral health care in the county. The team would meet anyone having a severe emotional or behavioral health crisis in their home, school, or wherever they are in their time of need.
David Lawrence Center's Wraparound Collier (WRAP) Program: $279,112. Funding would help support a program that has been around since 2012, providing specialty mental health services to hundreds of high-risk, uninsured children in the county.
David Lawrence Center Access and Integrated Care Center: $5 million. This new building would include 13,500 square feet of clinical space, with no appointment necessary. It would offer real-time behavioral health intervention and assessment, integrated mental health and physical primary care programming, both on site and via telehealth, among other needed services.
Healthcare Network, Immokalee Renovations: $1.5 million. This would help the nonprofit pay for a major renovation of its Immokalee headquarters, built in 1993. The renovations will greatly increase provider capacity, as well as modernizing the building, which will help support the organization's new family medicine residency program.
Healthcare Network Orangetree Primary Care Center: $6 million. The organization plans to build a 20,000-square-foot primary medical care center in the heart of the Orangetree community. This center would offer the majority of the network's services, including behavioral health, check-ups, dental cleanings, and a drive-thru pharmacy. Services are offered on a sliding fee scale, based on the ability to pay for them. This new location would also support the residency program.
NCH Flood Barriers: $781,614: The hospital system would use the money to purchase and install barriers, protecting its ground floors from storm surge and flooding. The improvements would help it continue operations during and after a disaster, such as a major hurricane.
Youth Resiliency and Mental Well-Being Program Expansion: $4,702,500. The purpose of this project is to expand the capacity and sustainability of Charity for Change, growing it from a regional to a statewide program that will reach students at all elementary schools. The money would help pay for additional staff, curriculum and platform updates, and technology, equipment, marketing and occupancy expenses. The organization is based in North Naples.
Dementia Respite Support: $150,000. Funds would help support a Baker Senior Center program that provides socialization and wellness with a holistic approach to seniors with Alzheimer's, and related disorders, who live at home.
Geriatric Mental Health Services: $110,000. Money to help the Baker Senior Center in Naples provide mental health counseling on an outpatient basis to seniors and their families.
YMCA Healthy Living and Senior Center: $1,475,000. This would support a 17,200-square-foot center that would accommodate many more healthy services to promote positive aging and social inclusion in the county.
Culture and attractions
Gulfshore Playhouse at The Baker Theatre and Education Center: $2.5 million: The playhouse is building a new $72 million state-of-the-art theatre and education center at the gateway to downtown Naples in a community redevelopment area. This money would help offset some of those costs.
Rehabilitation of the Historic Bank of Everglades: $1,559,000. The Everglades Society for Historic Preservation requested the money to help it complete the rehabilitation of the bank, built in 1927 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The building will operate as the Everglades Area Visitor Center, as well as a community resource and cultural center.
Naples Pier Rebuild: $5 million. The city is in the process of rebuilding the iconic pier, damaged by Ian. The city has completed the design process and is ready to bid the project out, but it sought more money for construction after costs ballooned.
Audubon Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary Wetlands Restoration Center of Excellence: $5 million. The proposed site modernization includes updated exhibit space, a new hub for conservation and restoration science, an outdoor classroom to serve more students, housing for interns and visiting researchers, and a new volunteer headquarters. The attraction, in eastern Collier County, is considered a critical component of the Western Everglades, protecting more than 13,000 acres of freshwater marsh and prairie, pine uplands, and the largest remaining old growth bald cypress forest in the country.
More local appropriations and funding
Marco Island Fire Rescue Boat: $345,000. This would offset the capital cost of replacing the city's fireboat to continue offering marine fire rescue services. The city's fire department responds to about 100 marine-related emergencies a year, often involving visitors or tourists. This would cover 30% of the cost of the new vessel.
Big Cypress/Tamiami Trail Emergency Management Support: $877,765. The primary goal of the Miccosukee Police Department is to deliver efficient and prompt public safety services to the community. To do so, it requested money to buy utility vehicles, a watercraft designed for canal navigation, and an airboat.
Junior Achievement of South Florida Youth Workforce Program Expansion: $602,873. The requested money would go toward an expansion of the current pre-apprenticeship program in Broward County and toward launching similar programs in Lee and Collier counties. This includes adding a telecom/broadband track and expanding the current marine, yacht and construction track.
Maintaining Independence for the Blind: $150,000. The Lighthouse of Collier intends to serve 30 or more residents with blindness or vision loss, who want to maintain independence in their homes. The money would go toward hiring instructors to provide one-on-one instruction for daily living. Clients will receive anywhere from three to 15 lessons.
Trailblazer Academy & Employment Readiness: $150,000. The STARability Foundation would use the money to support the outreach program, which offers community-based skill development experiences for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, whether they are on a path to life enrichment or have vocational aspirations. The curriculum centers around the development of eight life skills that are important for social inclusion and greater independence.
Golisano Children's Museum of Naples Early Learning Center: $1.5 million. The museum requested money to support the construction of a new 90-student early learning center for children ages 3-5. Since the pandemic dozens of early learning/childcare programs have closed in the county. The new center would address the gap, while generating revenue for new exhibits and more outreach programs at the museum.
Miccosukee Tribe Invasive Constrictor Control Operation: $200,000. This operation would use multiple strategies to remove as many invasive Burmese pythons as possible from the Everglades ecosystem, including deploying specially trained python K-9 units, surveying likely habitats, and using nighttime spotlighting when the snakes are most active.
Miccosukee Cultural Tree Island Restoration: $250,000. This project aims to protect Miccosukee cultural tree islands in the Everglades. The proposal is to elevate five tree island heads, to support the natural environment and wildlife.
Collier County Public Schools Pre-K Pilot Program: $2 million. This would help fund 10 new modular Pre-K classrooms and other modifications to provide 160 more seats to children where they are needed. The pilot program will put the children close to their home and zoned elementary school, with the goal of establishing strong school-home connections from a young age.
What's next?
The governor has 15 days from the date he receives the budget to sign it and exercise his line-item vetoes, which work to cancel out funding for specific projects and programs.
At a Collier Commission meeting Tuesday, the county's lobbyist Lisa Hurley, told the board to expect cuts to local projects. In deciding whether to fund local projects, she said, the governor gives priority to those that are "shovel ready," and that can be completed with the amount of the appropriation.
She shared her biggest concern is the funding for phase two of the West Goodlette Frank stormwater improvement project, as it's only funded at $1 million.
On that one, Hurley urged Commission Chairman Chris Hall, and the other commissioners, to write the governor to assure him the project can still be completed with that appropriation, to protect against a veto.
Asked about the $10 million appropriated by the Legislature for the veterans nursing home by Commissioner Burt Saunders, Hurley commented that she's heard nothing but positive feedback from the governor, and his team, on that one.
"They are just so thrilled with the county's level of commitment to the nursing home and the veterans," she said. "So, I don't really have any concerns there."
The federal Department of Veterans Affairs covers 65% of the cost of building new nursing homes and the county committed to cover the state’s share of 35%. The cost of the project is estimated at $120 million.
Earlier, the county pledged $30 million from a one-cent infrastructure tax for the project and plans to donate a roughly 13-acre plot to cover the state match.
More recently, the county decided to add another $10 million from the same voter-approved tax to help pay for the cost of adding an adult day care. The state appropriation would match those funds, as the federal government won’t pay for the capital costs involved in this side of the project.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: State budget: More than $86.5 million for projects, programs in Collier
