October 7, 2026 - Special Meeting

The Manatee County Board of County Commissioners held a special meeting on October 7, 2026, to allocate the county’s first HUD CDBG-DR funding for the Lasting Manatee Infrastructure Recovery and Resilience Program. The county received approximately $252.7 million in CDBG-DR funds, with $125 million assigned to infrastructure recovery and resilience. Staff described the eligibility and scoring process, including disaster tieback, low- and moderate-income benefit, resilience, readiness, capacity, and cost reasonableness. The Board unanimously approved municipal awards: Bradenton, $15,204,500 for five projects; Palmetto, approximately $3.006 million for its wastewater treatment plant expansion; Holmes Beach, $810,750; Longboat Key, $681,500; Anna Maria, $270,250; and Bradenton Beach, $246,750. Staff will prepare subrecipient agreements for later Board approval.

The Board also unanimously approved a county project package totaling $83,026,147.48. It accepted the recommended Natural Resources and Utilities projects and the recommended Public Safety projects except for the Public Safety Logistics Center; it added the Pierce Drain automated outfall structures project to the Public Works recommendations. Commissioners emphasized stormwater mitigation and flood reduction, debating the Pierce Drain project’s readiness and the risk of needing a HUD grant-period extension. Staff noted that the project mix leaves about $10 million for contingency and that the low- and moderate-income share would be below the 70% grant-wide target, requiring the shortfall to be addressed through the housing program. A proposal to study a separate funding round for nonprofit projects was withdrawn, so no action was taken on it.