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Washington, DC -- Congressmen Alcee Hastings (FL-23), Ron Klein (FL-22), Tim Mahoney (FL-16) and Robert Wexler (FL-19) announced that Palm Beach County will receive over $238 million in federal funding in the recently passed Congressional spending bill.
"We are proud to work together to bring home these much needed federal funds to benefit the people of Palm Beach County and South Florida. The projects that will be funded range from technology for law enforcement, to science education programs, to upgrading our air tower at the Palm Beach International Airport which will improve flight safety,” they said in a joint statement. “It was certainly encouraging to work with one another as well as both Florida Senators to ensure that the people of South Florida get their fair share."
Funded projects include:
Palm Beach International Airport
Palm Beach International Airport will receive $7,438,200 to improve the Air Traffic Control Facility.
Boca Raton
The City of Boca Raton will receive $343,000 to establish a multi-modal transportation program, which would use the new Tri-Rail station as a regional transportation hub, and funding would allow for the acquisition of shuttle vehicles for shuttle service to educational campuses, employment centers, the community hospital, and shopping and entertainment centers helping to reduce traffic, parking demands, and improve economic vitality.
The City of Boca Raton will receive $1,470,000 for modifications to I-95 interchange access points at Yamato Road and construction of a new interchange at Spanish River Boulevard. This will ease congestion on roadways that are currently operating at capacity or overcapacity at the current time.
Boynton Beach
The City of Boynton Beach will receive $294,000 for an educational facility for emergency response teams.
Florida National Scenic Trail
Florida National Scenic Trail will receive $570,952 for trail construction and administration, and management of land.
Town of Jupiter
The Town of Jupiter will receive $399,500 to allow northern Palm Beach County police agencies to tie into a federally developed network to share criminal information across traditional jurisdictional boundaries.
The Town of Jupiter will receive $492,200 to allow the Jupiter Utility System, which provides water to nearly 100,000 area residents, to structurally harden essential facilities at the water treatment facility, including the system control room and emergency power generator facilities.
Palm Beach County Schools
The Palm Beach County School District will receive $564,000 to provide gang prevention training to school police officers.
Port of Palm Beach, Town of Palm Beach, and Palm Beach County
The Army Corps of Engineers will be directed to spend $2,862,456 for annual maintenance dredging and implementation of advanced maintenance of Palm Beach Harbor/Lake Worth Inlet.
The Army Corps of Engineers will use $107,256 for a feasibility study to assess channel deepening at the Lake Worth Inlet.
Palm Beach Community College
Palm Beach Community College will receive $316,000 to integrate a new technology-based method of instruction and interaction into classrooms and labs to improve instructor-to-student and student-to-instructor communication, and provides real-time results on student learning.
PalmTran
Palm Tran will receive $735,000 to expand the fleet of buses in order to provide Palm Beach County residents half hour peak service to meet commuter rail connections
City of Riviera Beach
The City of Riviera Beach will receive $94,000 purchase a broadband wireless data communication system.
City of West Palm Beach
The City of West Palm Beach will receive $365,000 for training programs that empower at-risk youth.
Ruth Rales Jewish Family Service – Youth Mental Health Services
Ruth Rales Jewish Family Service will receive $181,768 to identify at risk students who will then be referred to mental health counselors for treatment.
South Florida Science Museum (Dekelbaum Science Center), West Palm Beach, FL
The South Florida Science Museum (Dekelbaum Science Center) will receive $316,000 for education and outreach programming.
Herbert Hoover Dike – Lake Okeechobee
The Army Corps of Engineers will be directed to spend $54,883,584 to rehabilitate and reinforce the Herbert Hoover Dike surrounding Lake Okeechobee.
South Florida Everglades Ecosystem Restoration
Everglades restoration efforts will receive $130,669,296 for projects to improve the ecosystem and water quality of South Florida.
Intracoastal Waterway
The Florida Inland Navigation District will receive $3,739,200 for maintenance dredging in the Intracoastal Waterway in the vicinities of Ponce de Leon Inlet and Jupiter Inlet.
Citrus Health Response Plan
After devastating hurricane cycles, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) determined eradicating citrus canker from Florida is not feasible and shifted to a management program. The Citrus Health Response Plan, funded at $33 million, will provide a regulatory framework that identifies minimum production standards to enhance the industry’s ability to produce fruit suitable for trade, protect the integrity of the citrus nursery certification program, and a mechanism to prevent the spread of citrus pests and diseases to other states.
FEMA Long-term Recovery Office - Florida
The bill also includes much needed funding for regional FEMA offices to help state and local governments prepare for and respond to disasters. Additionally, the bill directed FEMA to maintain Florida’s critical long-term recovery office as long as necessary in order to respond to issues surrounding the 2004 hurricanes that struck the State.
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