Janelle Irwin Taylor
Sen. Nick DiCeglie is bringing home more than $52.6 million for projects impacting his community.
With the budget now approved, DiCeglie was successful in drawing down state funds for a variety of projects largely focused on resiliency after the Tampa Bay region suffered devastation from the back-to-back hits from Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
Among his wins are a $10 million appropriation, the full amount requested, for an environmental and oceanographic sciences research and teaching facility at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg. The funding is part of a $45.8 million project, and adds to more than $24 million in previous state funding and $11.4 million from various other sources.
The project will renovate an existing facility on the USF St. Pete campus that was substantially impacted by the hurricanes to ensure longer viability. The project also includes construction of a new storm-hardened research and teaching facility at a location further inland.
DiCeglie also secured $3 million for a living seawall in Clearwater, the full amount requested. The funding will help pay for flood mitigation efforts and water quality improvements by raising seawalls and transitioning some to living seawalls. The project is in response to storms last year that, in some areas, overtopped existing seawalls as a result of tidal surges. A vulnerability assessment identified extensive seawall raising needs.
Also getting $3 million is a Clearwater North Beach stormwater improvement project. The fully funded appropriation request is part of a broader $13 million project, including $10 million in local funding, to mitigate flooding by constructing permanent pump stations and developing a multiyear construction plan.
The Florida Holocaust Museum’s Elie Wiesel Memorial Collection Facility is in line to receive $2.5 million, the full amount requested and half the overall project cost. The funding will help pay for the design, development and construction of a preservation, research and education facility where items from the Wiesel Collection will be preserved when not on exhibit.
The Senator also secured $850,000 for the museum to preserve Elie Wiesel’s legacy. And DiCeglie landed $400,000 for Temple Beth-El St. Petersburg for security initiatives. Funding for security at Jewish facilities or museums has been prevalent in recent years as the Jewish community continues to face acts of antisemitism.
DiCeglie got $1.5 million for Treasure Island for its public safety building, far less than the $6 million requested. Nevertheless, funds will go toward project costs for a new public safety and Emergency Operations Center for the Treasure Island Police and Fire Departments to replace and elevate the previous facility that was destroyed by Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
DiCeglie landed most of what he requested — $1.425 million of $1.775 million — for improvements to Jungle Lake at Walter Fuller Park in St. Pete. The project aims to update public access, regenerate three acres of wetland with native habitats and enhance recreational and educational opportunities on the 10-acre site, which safeguards about 5,000 local residents from flooding.
DiCeglie, along with Rep. Lindsay Cross, also secured $1 million for a flood mitigation project in Shore Acres.
The funding is a third of what DiCeglie and Cross had requested for the nearly $16 million project. But the funding will help pay for infrastructure improvements in the neighborhood to mitigate flooding.
Shore Acres has always been particularly prone to flooding, and impacts have been worse in recent years with flooding occurring even during regular rains if they coincide with high tide. Flooding in the neighborhood was among the worst in the region during Hurricane Helene last year, with some homes that had never flooded before experiencing damaging water intrusion.
The funding wasn’t the pair’s only contribution to mitigation efforts in the Shore Acres neighborhood. Both sponsored bills (SB 35, HB 241) establish a traffic violation for creating wake on flooded streets, which can exacerbate flooding. Neither bill cleared, but the language was included in a larger omnibus transportation package.
Other big wins for DiCeglie include $750,000 for a Pinellas Park citywide lift station, including emergency alternate power; $476,000 for an Aquafence flood prevention project in Indian Rocks Beach; and $100,000 for stormwater resiliency efforts related to tidal flow in Madeira Beach, among others.
All of DiCeglie’s appropriations that were secured in the approved budget are subject to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ line-item veto authority.
