Manatee County prepares for infrastructure improvements

PARKS AND RECREATION
• Conservatory Park, 8027 Conservatory Drive, Sarasota
Cost: $537,000
Project details: Development of a master site plan and construction documents to include exotic plant removal, stormwater facilities with recreational habitat, utilities, parking lot, fitness trail, site amenities, fishing pier/observation deck, canoe launch, ADA-compliant playground and a picnic pavilion/restroom.
Construction of facilities is slated for future years, with $170,261 budgeted for construction in 2014 and another $31,555 in future years.

• Crane Park, 37655 S.R. 70 E., Myakka City
Cost: $50,000
Project details: Design and construction of an expansion and reconfiguration of parking lot/access road to provide security and restrict vehicular access to vulnerable areas during the rainy season.

•Hidden Harbour Neighborhood
Cost: $967,703
Project details: Development and construction to include restoration of drainage ditches, landscaping and irrigation, utilities, entry and circulation roads, entrance sign, parking, pavilion, fishing/observation pier, interpretive signs, site amenities, nature trail, pavilion/restroom, exotic plant removal and enhancement of wetlands/uplands, site work and stormwater ponds, two lighted softball fields, ADA-compliant playground with safety surfacing, and shade canopy.

•Myakka Community Park, 10060 Wachula Road
Cost: $210,000
Project details: Addition of fencing and lights to two existing softball fields.

POTABLE WATER
• Downstream floodway land acquisition, countywide
Cost: $100,000
Project details: Purchase land that is subject to recurring flooding within the Manatee River floodway. Action will relieve residents who live in the downstream area of recurring flooding conditions by purchasing properties and facilitating relocation.

• Lake Manatee watershed Land purchases, countywide
Cost: $100,000
Project details: Purchase environmentally sensitive lands between Sullivan Bridge and S.R. 64 along the reservoir shore and river banks. Action protects the Lake Manatee watershed, which is Manatee County’s major source of potable water.

• Water supply acquisitions, countywide
Cost: $100,000
Project details: Purchase properties within Manatee County with water permits to supplement the current sources of the Manatee County water system.

SOLID WASTE
• Lena Road Public Restroom Facility, at S.R. 64 and Lena Road
Cost: $150,000
Project details: Construct a 200-square-foot single-story building with a separate men’s and women’s restroom. Building will match existing facilities, and will provide enough electricity to support a vending machine. It will be a place to provide air and water to vehicles, along with an emergency rinse station.

TRANSPORTATION
• Intersection improvements at S.R. 70 at Lockwood Ridge Road
Cost: $750,000
Project details: Cost is for land acquisition. The county is planning phased intersection safety upgrades and enhancements to include turn lanes and signalization at the intersection of S.R. 70 and Lockwood Ridge Road. Improvements should enhance safety and traffic flow. Another $2.08 million is budgeted for fiscal year 2014.

• Intersection of S.R. 70 at Lakewood Ranch Boulevard
Cost: $100,000
Project details: Design for the upgrade of existing span wire signalization to mast arms, which will provide increased safety at intersection location. Construction is planned for 2014, with $364,488 budgeted for the project.

• 45th Street East to 44th Avenue East from S.R. 70
Cost: $1 million
Project details: Design to upgrade 1.5 miles of roadway from two lanes to four lanes. The county has budgeted another $1 million in 2014, for land acquisition and a total of $8.6 million from 2015 to 2017, for construction.

• Fort Hamer Road — U.S. 301 to future Fort Hamer Bridge
Cost: $975,000
Project details: The county plans to widen the existing roadway to 24 feet, install roadside ditch piping and shoulder enhancements, where necessary, and in-fill existing sidewalks.
The project will enhance the utilization of the existing roadway facility and upgrade it to current Florida Department of Transportation design standards.

WASTEWATER
Manatee County has three wastewater-treatment facilities, including one in the East County, off Lena Road. The facility treats wastewater from the county’s sewage system to meet reclaimed water standards, so it can be used for irrigation.
Improvements to the Southeast Water Reclamation Facility on Lena Road are standard, but the county wants to use new technologies to improve processes, Wastewater Division Manager Jeff Goodwin said.
“Most everything we do, we’re going to do something to improve our treatment process,” Goodwin said.

• Southeast Water Reclamation Facility headworks rehabilitation
Cost: $400,000
Project details: Design and rehabilitate the headworks at the Southeast Water Reclamation Facility (SEWRF) to include a new grit system, a structural repair of the concrete channels, including a concrete sealing application, replacement of the existing bar screens with new technology bar screens and rehabilitation of the current piping. Includes the removal and relocation of the existing electrical system to the existing motor control center. Construction is slated for 2014 and 2015, with $1.65 million and $1 million budgeted, respectively, for those years.

• Southeast Water Reclamation Facility internal recycle pumps
Cost: $350,000
Project details: Design for the construction of a new internal recycle pump station and aeration control system. Includes removal of the valve and piping inside the existing oxidation ditches, installation of a new isolation valve outside of the tank, installation of new internal recycle pumps and piping and the addition of dissolved oxygen probes and system programming to control the aerator speed. Construction is planned for 2014, with $1.2 million budgeted for the project.

• Southeast Water Reclamation Facility bio-solids (sludge) holding tank improvements
Cost: $300,000
Project details: Design for the removal of the existing centrifugal aeration system and course bubble diffusers and replacement with jet aeration in both tanks. An additional gravity belt thickener also would be added. Improvements will reduce energy usage and polymer consumption, allowing for greater operational flexibility and control over the sludge holding process. Project construction is slated for 2014, with $1,485,000 dedicated to the project.

• Southeast Water Reclamation Facility dedicated reject line
Cost: $150,000
Project details: Design for the construction of a dedicated reject line to include approximately 1,500 linear feet of 36-inch piping, associated valves, electrical and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) instrumentation and controls. Project construction, slated for 2014, is estimated at $725,000. The reject line allows wastewater management to capture runoff water from the Lena Road landfill and treat it.

• Southeast Water Reclamation Facility septage receiving station
Cost: $600,000
Project details: Design for the construction of an automated septage receiving station. An access terminal would allow customers to deliver septage at an un-manned holding system, using an access card to grant admittance, process charges and record flows. Specific equipment would include septage conditioning tanks, a vacuum drum, dewatering system, ventilation system, piping, electrical, instrumentation and control work.

The current practice is to receive privately transported shipments of septage at the Southeast Water Reclamation Facility, mix the septage with mulch and deposit it in the county landfill. This process is a labor-intensive operation, performed outdoors and is a source of odors. The proposed septage process is fully automated, does not emit odors and will reduce processing labor.

Construction is budgeted for in 2014, with about $3 million designated for the project.