County Manager Taco Pope stated, "Each year, we submit to the Nassau Legislative Delegation and the State Legislature requests for local funding initiatives. You have local projects and the State makes local appropriations. A lot of your local projects are of State concern and interest. This year, working with your staff and individually with each of you, we did our best to aggregate a list of 9 projects with a total request just over $9 million. What we will be seeking today from the Board is two-fold: 1) that this is the list of projects that you would like us to submit for funding; and 2) that you prioritize them". He also added, "Some of the driving factors for naming these projects was the ability to match local dollars with State dollars". So while the County has already allocated funding for these projects, funding from the State would allow the County to maximize their contribution and do more to move the project forward.
Below are the projects as they were approved and ranked:
1) Spring Lake Estates drainage project- $625,000
2) Sundberg Road paving - $750,000
3) Thomas Creek Restoration Project - $1 million
4) Piney Island/America River (ICW) resiliency and development mitigation
5) Nassau County Animal Resources Center and Campus - $1.7 million
6) Sheriff's Work Ethics and Training (SWEAT) Project - $110,000
7) County Road 108 Extension - $3.46 million
8) Amelia Island Trail Phase 5 - $225,000
9) Tourism expansion via ecotourism/water access improvements, Nassau River - $600,000
Now that the projects have been identified, the County will complete all the necessary State forms. Our Lobbyist and our State Legislatures will then advocate in Tallahassee on our behalf during the upcoming Legislative Session.
The Board's discussion regarding the Legislative Priorities can be heard by viewing the video from the January 18th meeting at www.nassauclerk.com/watch-meetings. Legislative Priorities are listed on the agenda under "Tab I".
-Sabrina Robertson
Public Information Officer