TALLAHASSEE, Fla. —  Today, Governor Ron DeSantis announced more than $24 million in awards to sixteen rural communities through the Rural Infrastructure Fund (RIF) program. Today’s announcement includes five awards for communities impacted by Hurricane Michael. These funds support community economic development projects that will strengthen public infrastructure and expand job opportunities for employers and families in rural communities.

Additionally, the Governor announced $5 million in available RIF funding for Hurricane Idalia impacted communities. Applications will be accepted through Monday, February 5, 2024 by 5pm., Eastern Time, and more information is available here.

“We are committed to providing Florida’s rural communities with the resources they need to support long-term economic growth,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “These investments will improve infrastructure, attract new businesses and accelerate Florida’s unprecedented growth.”

“Under Governor DeSantis’ leadership, Florida’s rural communities are flourishing and continue to receive valuable funding for infrastructure and workforce projects,” said Secretary of Commerce J. Alex Kelly. “Today’s awards build off more than $20 million awarded this calendar year through the Rural Infrastructure Fund. We look forward to working alongside the Governor to continue growing Florida’s rural communities.”

The following Hurricane Michael-impacted communities will receive awards through the RIF program:

• Holmes County Board of County Commissioners ($4,633,000) – for water and roadway infrastructure improvements.
• City of Bonifay ($1,469,500) – to upgrade the city’s wastewater treatment plant and potable water supply, creating 120 new jobs and providing more than $20 million in capital investments.
• City of Quincy ($909,810) – to extend S. Springs Road, including water, sewer, and existing utilities by 1,200 feet.
• City of Quincy ($278,000) – to study the current capacity of the wastewater treatment plant and to determine the needs of future planned developments.
• City of Blountstown ($217,943)– to provide improvements and expand existing waterlines to allow an increase in operational efficiency and to increase reliability in an effort to prevent significant downtime.

Additional communities receiving awards through the RIF program: 

• Columbia County ($5,000,000) – to create traffic flow and safety improvements in the unincorporated area of Ellisville at the interchange of I-75 and US 41 to create 200 jobs and provide more than $30 million in capital investments.
• City of Perry ($4,737,809) – to upgrade the City’s Water Treatment Plant furthering the new line providing water availability to a 200-acre commercial/industrial site that is being marketed for growth and development.
• Baker County ($3,005,671) – to extend the paved road, water, wastewater, and natural gas infrastructure into Enterprise East Industrial Park, where a new manufacturing facility will be operating, creating up to 60 jobs and more than $19 million in capital investment.
• City of Arcadia ($1,756,545) – to construct 8” water main lines to service the Municipal Airport and the surrounding properties.
• Hamilton County Development Authority ($400,000) – to help facilitate redeveloping an extremely blighted area at the first exit visitors and tourist experience on 1-75 as you enter Florida.
• Waccasassa Water and Wastewater Cooperative ($300,000) – to complete a facility plan that will determine the necessary components to implement a regional project to provide water service and wastewater collection and treatment for the communities of Bronson, Otter Creek, and Cedar Key.
• Village of Indiantown ($300,000) – for the future construction of a new water treatment plant that will greatly impact the community in terms of supply capacity and supply quality.
• Okeechobee County ($300,000) – to expand the Okeechobee County Airport (OBE) through a Project Planning and Preparation Grant for final design, engineering activities, regulatory approval, and bid specifications to develop the infrastructure for constructing two 6-bay box hangars and two 10-bay T-hangars and improving the taxiways and associated infrastructure at the airport.
• Taylor County Board of County Commissioners ($300,000) – to develop a 61-acre parcel of land that will be known as Steinhatchee Coastal Park which is located on the Gulf and the mouth of the Steinhatchee River.
• City of Live Oak ($295,000) – to reevaluate the City’s potable water demands and develop estimates for potable water demand to serve future development around US 129/I-10 interchange the existing water distribution mains along US 129 from south of 72nd Trace to north of I-10 and will result in a water and sewer master plan to ensure that water and sewer infrastructure is adequate to support anticipated private development over a 20-year forecast period.
• City of Live Oak ($285,000) –   to perform engineering evaluations of the existing public infrastructure (water, sewer, and stormwater) to support the proposed redevelopment of Heritage Square.
• City of Wauchula ($278,500) – to conduct a study of its jurisdiction and the areas directly surrounding it to determine the feasibility of bringing inland port commerce to their residents.
• Town of Jasper ($200,000) – to address critical water infrastructure needs and provide adequate storage and pumping capacity to support economic development and growth.

WEBINAR

FloridaCommerce will host a Technical Assistance Webinar on Tuesday, January 9, 2024, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., Eastern Time to provide technical assistance and an overview of the application process.

To learn more about the RIF program, click here.

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