07/05/2022 (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

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County Administrator's Matters July 5, 2022 Legislature to request nonrecurring funding for local :governments, education entities, or privately operated programs to support local initiatives within our communities. After internal discussions with our State Legislative Delegation it was suggested to submit the PD&E for the Medical Examiner's Office for $1 million. With that being said there are few items to take into consideration on this grant: • The grant requires the project to be sponsored and submitted by our state representatives to the local support grant portal • House Rule 5.14 is being used as guidance for determining the qualifications of the projects • A 50% match, while not required, will likely improve the likelihood of receiving funding for such requests. • The application submission deadline is July 15th St. Lucie County has agreed to take lead in ensuring the submission of this grant to their State Delegation as well as serving as the recipient fiscal agent if this grant is to be successful. St. Lucie County has requested a letter of support and completed attestation form from each -county. Funding The funding request of $1 million represents 50% of the total estimated cost for the PD&E Study ($2 million). Senator Harrell and Representative Trabulsy recommended that the counties allocate funding for the total cost of the study in the event that an appropriation is not secured due to the urgent need to move forward with plans for a new facility. County staff plans to recommend an allocation of $500,000 for the PD&E Study in the FY 2022/23 budget to be funded from Optional Sales Tax. This should be sufficient to fund the County's portion of the overall cost.of the project. The current estimated cost of construction for a new facility stand at $16-$20 million. This estimate will be refined as we move through the design process. It is important to note that the County does not have funding for our share of construction costs in the five-year capital improvements program. At this time, total funding of construction will likely be dependent upon securing state or federal grant or appropriation dollars. Staff Recommendation Staff recommends that the Board of County. Commissioners authorize the Chairman submit a letter of support for submission of this grant to St. Lucie County, and also authorize staff to submit the Local Support Grant Attestation Form, signed by the County Administrator. M111