HIGHLANDS COUNTY, Fla. – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis held a news conference Thursday morning at an airport in Highlands County, announcing some $311 million in awards for statewide infrastructure projects.
DeSantis was joined at Sebring Regional Airport by Florida Commerce Secretary Alex Kelly.
Among the awards are $3 million for the Sebring Airport Authority, $22 million for the city of Avon Park, $16.4 million for Citrus County, $38 million for Suwanee County and $20 million for the Jacksonville Electric Authority, just to name several.
The full list is below:
- Bradford County Board of County Commissioners ($5,951,403) - to structurally reinforce the roadway by adding base, pavement and re-establish the roadside swales by regrading and adding erosion protection.
- Citrus County Board of County Commissioners ($16,435,400) – to support the replacement of a sanitary sewer system following stormwater intrusion and increased flows caused by the 2023 and 2024 storms. Upgrading these systems will expand capacity and help alleviate long-standing constraints on the county’s ability to grow, supporting future business development.
- City of Arcadia - $14,233,044 – to widen the main stormwater channel in the city, providing additional storage during storms. - $8,514,000 – to construct and expand the wastewater treatment plant.
- City of Live Oak ($3,895,500) – to construct a 100,000-gallon water storage tank and support a water line loop project.
- City of Macclenny ($7,028,700) – to harden and modernize the Ohio Street Water Treatment Plant by upgrading and improving software and equipment.
- City of Palatka ($4,932,396) - to harden and expand the capacity of the city’s wastewater treatment plant to handle future wet weather surges.
- City of Wauchula ($2,386,500) – to support wastewater system repairs, rehabilitation and floodwater mitigation.
- Columbia County Board of County Commissioners ($4,000,000) – to upgrade and harden community shelters in Columbia County.
- DeSoto County Board of County Commissioners ($8,000,000) – to construct and install wells and a pumping system to connect the wastewater treatment plant to the disposal wells—providing a more secure, underground disposal method for treated wastewater.
- Hardee County Board of County Commissioners ($1,900,000) – to remove vegetative debris from the Peace River Waterway system.
- Jacksonville Electric Authority ($20,000,000) – to redirect all wastewater flows to Jacksonville Electric Authority’s existing, reliable wastewater treatment facility.
- Okeechobee County Board of County Commissioners ($2,720,000) – to rehabilitate, preserve and harden five critical county-owned bridges.
- Peace River Watershed Project ($70,000,000) – to support the water infrastructure repair project in Polk County—ensuring restoration and resiliency that manages flood risk and water quality impairment through habitat restoration.
- Santa Fe College ($5,000,000) – to repair and upgrade the campus gymnasium due to significant roof damage from the 2023 and 2024 Storms.
- Sebring Airport Authority ($3,044,630) – to demolish and replace the existing stormwater system and associated infrastructure at Sebring Regional Airport and Multimodal Logistics Center.
- Suwannee County Board of County Commissioners ($38,044,115) – to construct the North Florida Regional Special Needs Emergency Shelter.
- Town of Glen St. Mary ($1,339,500) – to harden the wastewater collection system by installing permanent standby generators for the sanitary sewer lift stations.
- Town of St. Lucie Village ($12,124,812) – to construct a resilient, centralized potable water supply system for the town’s public use.
- Union County Board of County Commissioners ($1,401,750) – to construct a hardened public safety communications tower and upgrade the county’s current emergency dispatch system.
- Village of Indiantown - $9,300,000 – to construct a new Reverse Osmosis water treatment plant, replacing existing outdated systems. - $7,900,000 – to replace 13,000 linear feet of the main water transmission main for the Village.
Watch the news conference again in the video player below or by clicking here: