Janelle Irwin Taylor
The Senate held out on state funding for a local project aimed at mitigating future street flooding in the town of Belleair, and with the House accepting the Senate’s most recent offer, it means the project won’t be getting state help this year.
The House included in its budget $1.825 million for road reconstruction and affiliated improvements to Barbara Circle and other local roads. The Senate left funding for the project out of its budget, and did not include any funding in its first bump offer either.
Even the House position, was about half of what was requested.
Sen. Ed Hooper, who is the upper chamber budget chief, and Rep. Kim Berfield each filed appropriations requests (HF 1383, SF 1283) in their respective chambers for $3.65 million.
The requests sought fixed capital outlay dollars for “the complete reconstruction of 0.7 miles of roadway in Belleair, consisting of Barbara Circle, Sunny Lane, and a small segment of Shirley Avenue.”
The funding would have covered the “second phase of a project that was previously completed” and would have included “new roadway, drainage, and waterlines,” as well as new sidewalks and street lighting.
The requested funds would have covered “full engineering and design of roadway reconstruction and inclusion of water and drainage utilities.”
The House request notes that the area “experienced severe flooding during Hurricane Milton” and the improvements would mitigate “potential loss of life or property.”
The project aims to completely reconstruct the covered roadways, including removing the current asphalt and road base, constructing a new sub-base with new pipeline infrastructure, including water, storm water and reclaimed water, and electrical conduits for street lighting. Sidewalks and drainage would also be added, as well as new street lighting.
While transportation and economic development items have been closed out, budget negotiations continue in Tallahassee with offers going back and forth between the chambers ironing out remaining differences. Senate President Ben Albritton and House Speaker Daniel Perez expect to have a budget finalized and ready to send to Gov. Ron DeSantis by June 16, which would require them to reach consensus on all necessary items by June 13 to accommodate the required 72-hour cooling off period.
