Longboat Key applies for federal funding to upgrade Country Club Shores utilities

The town of Longboat Key has applied to receive federal funding to help pay for upgraded utilities in the Country Club Shores neighborhood.

If the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grant is approved, the town would put the money toward replacing cement pipes in the Country Club Shores neighborhood that contain asbestos.

“It’s (an asbestos-cement) pipe that’s in there now, so we’re trying to change it to C900 (to) upsize the pipes a little bit for flows, and upgrade the hydrants for fire protection,” Longboat Key Utilities Manager Bert Warner said.

The Longboat Key Town Commission is set to review the fiscal year 2022 budget on Sept. 13 and Sept. 27. Town Manager Tom Harmer’s recommended budget includes the first phase of a multi-year $7.2 million construction project to replace cement pipes in Country Club Shores that contain asbestos. Including carryover from FY 21, the town is budgeting $2,829,944 for the project in the upcoming fiscal year.

Funding for the project then continues in fiscal years 2023 and 2024.

In Longboat Key’s grant application, the town requested $13 million in Rebuild Florida General Infrastructure Program funding provided by HUD.

Warner wasn’t sure when HUD would decide on the grant application, or how much of the $13 million requested the town could receive. The town hired Sarasota-based engineering consultant Kimley-Horn to write the grant application, according to Warner.

“(Kimley-Horn is) saying it was a pretty good possibility for us to receive the grant,” Warner said.

The total allocation for the Community Development Block Grant Mitigation General Infrastructure Program Round II funding is $175,000,000 with a minimum funding request of $2,000,000 per application. No local match is required to apply for the funding.

“It just all depends what kind of money they have and how many people have applied, and (there are) all kinds of criteria that (have) to be met,” Warner said.

Warner said the town has designed phases one and two of the cement pipe replacement, which spans from Spinnaker Lane to Channel Lane.

“The asbestos cement pipe, there’s nothing wrong with it, but it’s old infrastructure,” Warner said. “(The) pipe size is small, so we’re just trying to upgrade it for that community over there.”