PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. –Pinellas County is seeking public input on how to best utilize its $813,783,000 allocation of federal storm recovery funds to help residents rebuild their lives after the 2023 and 2024 hurricanes.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded Pinellas County the largest allocation of Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds of any local government in Florida. These funds are intended to support long-term recovery efforts following Hurricane Idalia in 2023 and Hurricanes Helene and Milton in 2024.
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The funds can be used for various recovery efforts, including rebuilding homes and businesses, providing rental assistance, restoring damaged infrastructure, and addressing other critical community needs.
Pinellas County has launched an online survey and will host a series of public meetings in April and May to gather public input and finalize an Action Plan required by HUD. HUD mandates that the funds be spent on unmet needs caused by the hurricanes, with a majority of funds directed to low-to-moderate-income households.
A new website, recover.pinellas.gov, will serve as a central hub for information about storm recovery programs funded through HUD, the public input process, and other available resources.
Pinellas County’s storm recovery funds will serve residents in all cities countywide, with the exception of the City of St. Petersburg, which received its own HUD CDBG-DR allocation.
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The County plans to prioritize people by focusing initial programs on helping residents, businesses, and workers before addressing public facilities and infrastructure.
Public Meeting Schedule:
- Monday, April 7, 6-8 p.m. (South County) – Lealman Exchange, Ray Neri Room, 5175 45th Street North, St. Petersburg
- Thursday, April 10, 6-8 p.m. (Mid County) – City of Dunedin – City Hall, Commission Chambers, 737 Louden Ave, Dunedin
- Thursday, April 24, 6-8 p.m. (North County) – Harbor Hall/White Chapel, 1190 Georgia Avenue, Palm Harbor
- Tuesday, May 6, 9:30 a.m. (Board of County Commission Meeting) – 333 Chestnut Street, Palm Room, Clearwater, FL 33756
- Zoom Meetings: Links at recover.pinellas.gov/meetings – Tuesday, May 13, 11 a.m. and Thursday, May 15, 6 p.m.
The public meetings are part of an unmet needs assessment being conducted by the County, which involves reviewing data and consulting with cities, community partners, and residents.
By the end of April, the County will publish a draft Action Plan on recover.pinellas.gov for a 30-day comment period, before submitting it to HUD for final approval this summer. Program and project rollout is expected to begin by fall 2025 at the earliest.
HUD is distributing $12 billion through the CDBG-DR program among 47 states, counties, cities, and territories to aid in recovery from federally-declared disasters.
Examples of how the funds may be used include:
- Implementing disaster mitigation measures.
- Repairing and reconstructing damaged homes.
- Supporting economic revitalization.
- Strengthening infrastructure.
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