Subject:
Title
2022-2023 Florida Job Growth Grant Fund application and resulting grant applications, grant agreements, and documents designated for the St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport.
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Recommended Action:
Recommended Action
Approval of the grant applications and resulting grant agreements that the St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport (PIE) must submit to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity as required by the 2022-2023 Florida Job Growth Grant Fund. The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity is allowing us to use the same application as we used last year.
• The Florida Job Growth Grant Fund is an economic development program designed to promote public infrastructure and workforce training across the state.
• Proposals are reviewed by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity and Enterprise Florida, Inc. and chosen by the Governor to meet the demand for infrastructure needs in the community they are awarded to.
• PIE’s Airco property needs external infrastructure funding to entice developers of aeronautical and non-aeronautical land.
• The estimate of infrastructure funding for the various areas on the north side of the property and at the Stoneybrook Drive entrance is $21,150,000.
• PIE’s request to the State is $9.4M. PIE will match $11.75M towards this project, as that is the amount programmed in PIE’s Capital Improvement Program.
• The types of infrastructure funded would be items such as fill dirt, telecommunications, lift station(s), power, sanitary sewer, improvements to the Stoneybrook Drive entrance and the property’s access road, and stormwater pond(s) on the Airco property.
Authorize the Clerk of the Circuit Court to attest the grant application and resulting grant agreement documents that may follow.
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Strategic Plan:
Foster Continual Economic Growth and Vitality
4.1 Proactively attract and retain businesses with targeted jobs to the county and the region.
Summary:
Summary
The County and PIE applied for funding under this same grant program in Fiscal Years (FY) 2020 and 2021 (Granicus #21-2271A) but did not receive funding. The funding we originally applied for in 2020 was to begin design on the taxiways that serve the Airco site and provide connectivity to the airfield. Now that the design of the taxiways is being planned with Federal Aviation Administration funding, the next immediate need is the infrastructure that will attract developers to the Airco site. There is significant interest in the Airco property, and we need to plan the infrastructure needs for the new tenants.
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Background Information:
The Airco former golf course site lies in the floodplain and in summer 2021, the amount of acreage was reduced to accommodate a “no-fill” condition north of the Limit of Moderate Wave Action (LIMWA) line, a delineation included on the new FEMA maps effective August 24, 2021. This creates other challenges in the development of the site. PIE needs additional help to make the property attractive to prospective developers and tenants.
Fiscal Impact:
The Airco infrastructure elements are included in PIE’s Adopted FY23-FY28 Capital Improvement Program under project 004571A Airco Site Preparation. Funding has been planned for FY25, FY26 and FY27 and totals $11.75M. The grant portion is not currently reflected in the Capital Improvement Program and will need to be added during the FY24 budget cycle.
The estimated costs for development were obtained from the Stantec report that was completed in October 2021.
Staff Member Responsible:
Thomas R. Jewsbury, Director, St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport
Partners:
Florida Department of Economic Opportunity
Pinellas County Economic Development
Attachments:
2022-2023 Florida Job Growth Grant Fund Application - Airco Infrastructure
Intent to Apply approval from OMB