Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Monday that Green Cove Springs will be receiving $700,000 in state infrastructure funding.
The funding comes from the Florida Small Cities Community Development Block Grant Program, a state program that provides funding to cities with under 50,000 people that have infrastructure needs. Green Cove Springs is one of 42 communities receiving a total of $29 million from the program this year, DeSantis said.
The city began applying for the grant in Sept. 2020, said Green Cove Springs Planning and Zoning Director Michael Daniels. The application had to identify infrastructure projects that would predominantly benefit low to moderate income households within the city limits.
Daniels said the money is going to support three projects. He said the most important one is a flood and drainage project on West Street from Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and Bonaventure Avenue, an area that frequently floods when storms hit.
“Much of the existing stormwater infrastructure within the city limits is very old. The city has been playing catch up to try to upgrade our stormwater system,” Daniels said.
The other projects, sidewalk improvements near Charles E Bennett Elementary and Green Cove Strings Jr. High, and Francis Hall park renovations, were selected because of public interest during community outreach meetings, Daniels said.
“One of the concerns we heard from our residents is the lack of, you know, sidewalks and pedestrian facilities within the city,” he said.
The projects will begin construction by October, Daniels said. The city expects the sidewalk and park projects to be completed by January 2021. The drainage project’s estimated completion is next summer.
Tristan Wood can be reached at newsteam@wjct.org or on Twitter at @TristanDWood.
