Escambia County adds 7 new projects to RESTORE Act plan. Here's what they will do:
Jim LittleRestoring Little Sabine Bay and building a new Brownsville retail business incubator are just two of the seven projects being added to Escambia County's RESTORE Act plan.
The Escambia County Commission on Monday approved an amendment to its RESTORE Act implementation plan that adds seven new projects and changes four others under the federal program that resulted from the 2010 BP oil spill.
The new projects and changes carry a total price tag of $12.14 million.
Under the RESTORE Act, 80% of fees and fines BP paid the federal government are allocated to the Gulf Coast region, and Escambia County is set to receive $70.9 million by the year 2031.
Grants received:Escambia County receives three RESTORE ACT grant awards
Environmental restoration:Cleanup of Bayou Chico, Santa Rosa Sound expected with new RESTORE Act funding
Escambia County is seeking a $2 million RESTORE Act grant aimed at improving the water quality of Little Sabine Bay.
The county approved a plan for 10 projects in 2017 that totaled $8.6 million. Progress on the projects has been slow, with some in the design phase and others at a standstill.
One of the projects with no progress so far is the SOAR with RESTORE project, which aims to create a workforce development program to train under-served communities focusing on cybersecurity and environmental hazard remediation.
Under the amended plan passed Monday, the scope of the SOAR with RESTORE project was changed to include more career training fields based off current workforce shortages.
Commissioner Lumon May, who sponsored the project, said the scope was expanded to ensure that money would be spend on the best proposals. He added that he wished the process could move faster.
"I wish we could put a little more gas to it," May said.
One of the other 10 original projects that saw a change was the Perdido Key Multi-Use Path, which originally sought $960,000 for the first mile of the 3.44-mile bicycle and walking path along the island.
With the vote Monday, the bike path is fully funded, with $3.5 million coming from the RESTORE Act for the project.
Commissioner Doug Underhill said funding the project with federal dollars frees up county funding to pay for a lighting and sidewalk project on West Jackson Street in Myrtle Grove.
A new project proposed in the RESTORE Act plan is a $350,000 request to renovate the Brownsville Community Center and build an incubator retail space next to the center.
The project is modeled after a similar one in Charleston, South Carolina.
Another new project is the restoration of Little Sabine Bay, a popular anchorage spot at Pensacola Beach for boaters.
The $2 million restoration project will improve the stormwater systems that drain into the bay, add buoys for boats to avoid damaging seagrass beds, install boat anchorage moorings and a bilge pump system for boats.
The seven new projects added to the plan are:
- Perdido Bay Boat Ramp: $2.5 million to fund construction of a new public boat ramp on Perdido Bay in Heron Bayou.
- Beulah Master Plan: $300,000 to fund the development of a master plan for the Beulah area.
- Brownsville Commercial Incubator and Community Center renovations: $350,000
- CRA Community Center: $500,000 to fund the design and permitting of a new community center in a county community redevelopment area. The site hasn't been chosen yet, but it will most likely be in the Palafox Redevelopment Area.
- CRA Infrastructure Economic Development Program: $1.5 million to fund a projected aimed at bringing "Complete Streets" concepts to the county's redevelopment areas.
- Little Sabine Bay Restoration: $2 million
- Town of Century Waste Water Improvements: $500,000 to help Century design and permit repairs to its failing sewage treatment facility.
Jim Little can be reached at jwlittle@pnj.com and 850-208-9827.