COVER STORY
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do not include separate allocations to
individual cities.
How they intend to spend this windfall
varies from county to county.
St. Lucie County, as the largest Treasure
Coast entity, has taken the long view and
intends to use its $63 million allocation
largely for infrastructure projects that until
now have been cost-prohibitive.
Other counties are
taking a wait-and-see
approach to spending
their funds. Martin
intends to use more
money than St. Lucie on
smaller expenditures,
but will use 75%
of its allocation on
infrastructure. Indian
River County, roughly
the same size and population
as Martin, is taking a different approach.
ST. LUCIE COUNTY
Through a series of informal meetings
and budget workshops, the county commission
reviewed more than 100 separate
projects suggested by county staff.
In August, it set aside:
• $55.1 million to be invested in capital
projects falling under the water, sewer or
broadband infrastructure category;
• $6.1 million to support the public
health response to COVID; and
• $2.4 million to address adverse economic
impacts caused by the pandemic.
“These funds will go a long way in making
up significant infrastructure improvements
within our communities with a
strong emphasis on water-quality projects
and economic development,” Commission
Chairman Chris Dzadovsky said.
He said county staff would, as always, leverage
federal funds with matching grants
to ensure residents get the largest return
on the investment.
The St. Lucie infrastructure expenditures
are intended to address long-standing inadequacies
in several areas in the county:
• $34.1 million for water and sewer lines
expansion in Lakewood Park and along
Midway Road;
• $17.8 million on collecting/treating
stormwater countywide, including
vulnerable areas in White City, Indian River
Estates, Sunland Gardens and Harmony
Heights neighborhoods; and
• Additional work will be done in improving
drainage and water-quality issues
in Ten Mile Creek, Indrio Savannas and
Hog Pen Slough, many of which directly
impact the North Fork of the St. Lucie River
and then the Indian River Lagoon.
The Treasure Coast Regional Planning
Council has long played an advisory role
in economic development throughout
the region. Its COVID Recovery Task Force
has been meeting for several months to
coordinate and align members’ economic
development efforts.
The task force surveyed regional needs
and found a mixed bag. According to
Thomas Lanahan, executive director, the
council wants to share best practices and
fine-tune individual projects, even though
regional planners have no direct financial
control of county budgets.
Lanahan noted there are many costly,
long-neglected projects on the Treasure
Coast that have foundered for primarily
financial constraints. Lanahan said using
ARPA funds might help bring some of these
previously out-of-reach projects to fruition.
“The COVID epidemic has brought so
much suffering,” Lanahan noted. “Wouldn’t
it be great if something good could come
out of it? Frittering away funds on a thousand
small projects would be sad.
“For instance, the WPA Works Progress
Administration after the Great Depression
left us with a legacy of post offices,
bridges and other public works projects
that had a phenomenal effect on people’s
lives,” he said. “Wouldn’t it be good if our
assets lasted long enough to benefit those
who built them?”
Lanahan went on to note that with
today’s interest rates at historical lows, this
would be a great time to invest in costly
infrastructure. While this approach met with
an enthusiastic response from county officials
on the task force, ultimately the spending
decisions come down to local elected
officials, who may have different priorities.
MARTIN COUNTY
George Stokus, Martin
County’s assistant
county administrator,
is taking a cautious
approach to allocating
his county’s ARPA funds.
Stokus had similar
responsibilities with
CARES funding and
noted how federal rules
kept changing over
time. He expects the same thing to occur
with ARPA funds, noting that the rules for
the latter are more restrictive.
Rather than being caught flat-footed
after spending big amounts of money,
Stokus prefers to keep his powder dry and
allocate smaller sums at a time.
In particular, Martin County is working
on addressing the harm COVID inflicted on
low- to moderately-low income residents.
County officials have been mapping
specific areas of need in the county – from
emergency food supplies through the
Salvation Army and House of Hope to expanding
childcare services, which Stokus
sees as a huge” need for many working
parents who cannot afford to take time off
work to look after their children.
The county is working on grant aid
programs to ease the childcare dilemma
for lower income parents.
Martin County does have some bigger
spending priorities. Stokus noted
that “ARPA pushes counties into capital
projects. Seventy-five percent of our $31
million allocation will go to stormwater
and septic-to-sewer and other capital
projects. Yet people are still struggling. It’s
a roughly 70-30 split between capital and
ongoing spending priorities. It’s our job to
put the pipes in the ground.”
So, along with allocating a $13 million
capital sewer systems fund, the county
is also setting aside $2.6 million for small
business needs.
“There’s a strong need for raising capital
to help small businesses,” Stokus explained.
“That’s particularly pressing in the
restaurant industry.”
Martin intends to allocate $3.5 million
toward the REACH Center at the airport
in Stuart, a project done in conjunction
with Indian River State College to provide
continuing education and career guidance
services.
Martin County will also allocate $1
million toward enhancing broadband
communications in specific areas such as
Palm City Ranches. This is a relatively affluent
neighborhood where many residents
formerly drove to Palm Beach County for
work. Many found working from home
during the pandemic problematic because
of poor internet connections.
“ARPA is an infusion of cash into the local
economy,” Stokus said. “The feds have
reset the work cycle. Our commissioners
see value in long-term infrastructure and
in creating conditions that are good for
neighborhoods.”
Yet having $31 million in ARPA funding
is only the beginning, Stokus believes.
“We need to turn that $30 million into
$100 million with matching grants,” he
said. “It’s all about capitalizing on the fed- >>
Chris Dzadovsky,
chairman of the
St. Lucie County
Commission
George Stokus,
Martin County
assistant county
administrator
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