By Steve Plunkett
Palm Beach County has rejected Briny Breezes’ request for a $5 million grant to help pay for the town’s ambitious stormwater and sea wall project.
County Commissioner Marci Woodward’s office delivered the bad news Feb. 5.
“Unfortunately, the county is unable to provide funding at this time,” Woodward’s chief of staff, Caitlin Joyce, wrote in an email to Town Manager Bill Thrasher. “The commissioner was very impressed with your dedication and efforts, and asked our resilience team to continue exploring other potential options for the town moving forward.”
The decision did not deter Thrasher in his quest to find full, outside funding for the proposed infrastructure work.
“This does not mean all is lost or the projects are stopped,” he said. “It is my hope that the county would reconsider their abilities to assist with our financial need for these very important projects in part or whole.”
Briny Breezes hopes to build a comprehensive, townwide drainage system and raise its sea walls to fight perennial flooding and expected sea level rise. The total project cost is $14.4 million.
So far the town has qualified for a $7.2 million grant from the state’s Resilient Florida program and a $1.4 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“The rest will come from match-leveraging credit, loan, reserves and other potential sources,” Thrasher said.
Besides asking the county to reconsider a lower grant amount and seeking financial assistance elsewhere, Thrasher said he will look to trim the town’s spending to increase its reserves, re-evaluate how much the town could borrow based on a projected increase in its taxable value, and possibly raising Briny Breezes’ property tax rate 5.3%, from $3.75 per $1,000 of taxable value to $3.95. The town’s agreement on sharing costs with Briny Breezes Inc., its corporate entity, would allow such a raise, he said.
Thrasher will also ask the rest of the barrier island for donations.
“I believe it is important to other barrier communities that the present low density of Briny exist rather than having Briny possibly redeveloped which would materially increase the density along the present A1A evacuation routes,” Thrasher said. “Protecting the Town of Briny Breezes from seawater rise is important to others, not only Briny.”
He’ll also do “whatever else I can think of,” he said.
“I am optimistic and confident that these projects will proceed to completion.”
Meanwhile, the corporation had scheduled a vote at its Feb. 26 annual shareholders meeting, after The Coastal Star’s deadline, on whether to allow the “material alteration” of the town, meaning the drainage and sea wall project, to proceed. The measure needed 51% of shareholders to agree.
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