PUBLIC NOTICE OF PROPOSED CDBG DISASTER RECOVERY MITIGATION INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS FOR THE CITY OF

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE OF PROPOSED CDBG DISASTER RECOVERY MITIGATION INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS FOR THE CITY OF PALATKA

The City of Palatka anticipates applying for Community Development Block Grant - Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funding provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to support long-term restoration, facility hardening and mitigation efforts following the 2023-2024 storms. This program is being administered by the Florida Commerce Department thru the Community Development Block Grant - Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) Program. A total of nine hundred twenty-five Million three hundred ninety-four thousand dollars (925,394,000.00) has been allocated for the State of Florida for the 2023 and 2024 Storm Events. Four Hundred Million Dollars ($400,000,000.00) of that amount has been allocated, by Florida Commerce, to fund infrastructure restoration, hardening and mitigation projects in communities impacted by the 2023 and 2024 storms. The minimum allowable amount a community can request is seven hundred fifty thousand dollars ($750,000.00). Applications are due to Florida Commerce on or before September 29, 2025. Eligible types of projects are those that demonstrate increased community resiliency. Examples of some of the types of projects encouraged by Florida Commerce are as follows:

• Restoration of critical infrastructure (such as water and sewer facilities, streets, removal of debris, drainage, bridges, etc.)
• Re-nourishment of protective coastal dune systems and state beaches
• Building or fortifying buildings that are essential to the health, safety and welfare of a community (this can include shelters, police stations, fire stations, parks and recreational centers, community and senior centers, hospitals, clinics, schools and educational facilities and other public properties)
• Rehabilitation or construction of stormwater management systems
• Improvements to drainage facilities
• Reconstruction of lift stations and sewage treatment plants
• Road repair and improvement and bridge strengthening
• Upgrading of communications, energy, transportation and health and medical resources and systems
• Development of mitigation standards, regulations, policies and programs • Dam safety programs, seawalls and levee systems;
• Acquisition of flood prone and environmentally-sensitive lands;
• Retrofitting/hardening/elevating structures and critical facilities
• Relocation of structures, infrastructure and facilities out of vulnerable areas;
• Permanent relocation of residential housing and businesses located in high-risk areas through voluntary buyback programs and rebuilding in low-risk areas
• Public awareness/education campaigns
• Improvement of warning and evacuation systems

Activities that are typically eligible for funding under the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program as well as specific additional activities as outlined in the State of Florida CDBG-DR Action Plan for the program are eligible projects if no other funding is available to meet the need.

The City of Palatka anticipates submitting five (5) applications for a total of nineteen million six hundred forty-one thousand four hundred forty-four dollars and forty-four cents (19,641,444.44) in funding. The project synopsis and budget for the five (5) applications being submitted are as follows:

Application #1 - Upgrades to Three Separate Sanitary Sewer Lift Stations: The project involves repairing, rebuilding and upgrading three (3) sanitary sewer lift stations which are an integral part of the City of Palatka Sanitary Sewer Collection System. The purpose of this project is to repair damages to the lift stations that were caused by extreme increase in the flow within the system during the hurricanes of 2023 and 2024. The three lift stations included in this application for renovation are as follows:

• The Moody Road Lift Station,
• The 1st and Madison Lift Station, and
• The River Street Lift Station.

The City of Palatka Sanitary Sewer Collection System serves everyone living in the City of Palatka, whose residents or businesses are connected to the City's Sanitary Sewer Collection System. Based upon this city wide usage of the sanitary sewer collection system, the Sanitary Sewer Lift Station project proposed herein, would provide a city-wide benefit. Utilizing data from the 2016-2020 Census, the City of Palatka's population is sixty-five and six tenths' percent (65.60%) Low and Moderate Income. Based upon this fact, while the City certainly has an Urgent Need to have the proposed project carried out, the application is being submitted to Florida Commerce based upon the benefit the project would have on population it will serve, most of whom are members of low-and-moderate income households.

The proposed budget for the work to be carried out at the three sanitary sewer lift stations is as follows is as follows:

Application #2 - Sanitary Sewer Collection System Lining Project: The project involves the lining of portions of the City's sanitary sewer collection system with significant infiltration problems and replacing the areas of the sanitary sewer collection system that have deteriorated to the point where they cannot be lined. The City has identified approximately 22,700 linear feet of force main, 84 manholes and 1,135 sanitary sewer laterals city-wide with this project proposal. The purpose of this project is to repair damages to the Sanitary Sewer Collection System (SSCS) that were caused by heavy inflow and infiltration (I&I) to the system during hurricanes and wet weather events. The results of lining the portions of the SSCS would be to increase sewer capacity and extend the life of the sewer treatment system components. The city-wide areas included in the application to be lined or replaced all have significant Infiltration and Inflow (I & I) damages causing a significant amount of sand, grit, as well as stormwater seepage that occurs during wet weather events.

The proposed work would be carried out as follows:

Sanitary sewer line lining or Cured-in-Place Pipe (CIPP) technology begins with a video inspection to identify the amount of damage. If the pipe can be repaired by lining then then the pipe is cleaned before inserting a flexible, resin-soaked liner into the existing pipe, inflating it to press against the old pipe walls, and then curing the resin using hot air, steam, or LED light to form a new, seamless, durable pipe inside the damaged one, all without significant excavation. A quality assurance inspection of the lined pipe is then performed with a video camera. If any component of the SSCS after the initial video inspection is determined to be too damaged for lining that component will be replaced with a newly constructed force main, lateral or manhole.

The City of Palatka Sanitary Sewer Collection System serves everyone living in the City of Palatka, whose residents or businesses are connected to the City's Sanitary Sewer Collection System. Based upon this city-wide usage of the sanitary sewer collection system, the Sanitary Sewer Collection System Lining project proposed herein, would provide a city-wide benefit. Utilizing data from the 2016-2020 Census, the City of Palatka's population is sixty-five and six tenths' percent (65.60%) Low and Moderate Income. Based upon this fact, while the City certainly has an Urgent Need to have the proposed project carried out, the application is being submitted to Florida Commerce based upon the benefit the project would have on population it will serve, most of whom are members of low-and-moderate income households.

The proposed budget for the Sanitary Sewer Collection System Liming Project application is as follows:

Application #3 - Sanitary Sewer Wastewater Treatment Plant Headworks Project: The proposed project involves upgrading and hardening the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) with needed upgrades and improvements to the system headworks. The headworks is where the sewer effluent enters the plant. It is comprised of an automatic bar screen, and conveyors. The WWTP currently has one bar screen that sits in the effluent channel and as the level of effluent rises it activates a conveyor that pulls the screen up out of the effluent separating out debris captured by the bar screen. This single bar screen cannot handle the level of sand and grit that are entering into the plant with the effluent for treatment. This project would update and increase the capacity of the plant by constructing a new higher capacity effluent channel that includes two automatic bar screens, one following the other in the automated sequence for treatment. Then a grit chamber will be placed in the sequence for incoming effluent. Within this chamber, the grit will settle while the effluent moves further into the treatment plant. The sand and grit that will be effectively removed by the bar screens and within the grit chamber will be pumped to a screw conveyer and removed from the treatment system before it can damage the aeration basin and other equipment within the treatment plant. The sand and grit that are removed prior to treatment are conveyed to a specialized dumpster.

The City of Palatka Wastewater Treatment Plant serves everyone living in the City of Palatka, whose residents or businesses are connected to the City's Sanitary Sewer Collection System. Based upon this city-wide usage of the City's sanitary sewer system, the Wastewater Treatment Plant Headworks project proposed herein, would provide a city-wide benefit. Utilizing data from the 2016-2020 Census, the City of Palatka's population is sixty-five and six tenths' percent (65.60%) Low and Moderate Income. Based upon this fact, while the City certainly has an Urgent Need to have the proposed project carried out, the application is being submitted to Florida Commerce based upon the benefit the project would have on population it will serve, most of whom are members of low-and-moderate income households.

The proposed budget for the Sanitary Sewer Collection System Liming Project application is as follows:

Application #4 - Water Treatment Plant Generators Project: The project involves the hardening of the Water Treatment Plant and the raw water wells used to supply the City of Palatka with potable water. The project includes the replacement of the 6 emergency electrical generators located at the Water Treatment Plant that were damaged during the Hurricanes of 2023 and 2024. The proposed project is needed in order to assure continued potable water service to the community during future storm events. During Hurricane Idalia, the generators experienced excessive start-up and shut-down resulting in the batteries being compromised. During Hurricane Debby the plant lost communication with the wells causing the generators to stall out resulting in power outages. During Hurricane Helene there was loss of communication with the wells due to power outages and the generators failing to operate and the batteries, having been compromised again by the power outages and surges during the storm, not charging. During Hurricane Milton there was excessive start-up and shut down due to power surges and power outages resulting again in dead batteries, a loss of communication with the wells also due to power outages, surges and malfunctioning generators.

WORK TO BE COMPLETED:

The project will include the purchase and installation of 6 permanent emergency electrical generators. One 1,000 kW emergency electrical generator that is proposed for purchase will be utilized for the treatment plant and wells #1, and #7. The 1,000 KW Emergency electrical generator will be installed on the existing concrete pad. The five (5) 80 kW emergency electrical generators will be installed on new concrete pads. The five new 80 KW emergency electrical generators will be located at wells #3, #5, #6, #7 and #8. The 6 emergency electrical generators will all be powered by natural gas. The gas service lines will be installed by the Palatka Gas Authority.

The City of Palatka Water Treatment Plant serves everyone living in the City of Palatka, whose residents or businesses are connected to the City's Potable Water System. Based upon this city-wide usage of the City's potable water system, the Water Treatment Plant Emergency Electrical Generator project proposed herein, would provide a city-wide benefit. Utilizing data from the 2016-2020 Census, the City of Palatka's population is sixty-five and six tenths' percent (65.60%) Low and Moderate Income. Based upon this fact, while the City certainly has an Urgent Need to have the proposed project carried out, the application is being submitted to Florida Commerce based upon the benefit the project would have on population it will serve, most of whom are members of low-and-moderate income households.

The proposed budget for the Water Treatment Plant Emergency Electrical Generator Installation Project application is as follows:

Application #5 Water Treatment Plant SCADA System Project: The project involves the replacement of the Water Treatment Plant Raw Water Wells SCADA control system, which is no longer functioning correctly. This system is an integral part of the City of Palatka's Potable Water System. The SCADA system allows for improved water quality and public health, increased reliability and improved security, resilience and compliance. The purpose of this project is to replace the damaged SCADA system. The damage to the SCADA was caused by multiple power surges and power failures during the hurricanes of 2023 and 2024. During Hurricane Idalia the system suffered multiple crashes due to power surges. During Hurricanes Debby and Helene there was loss of communications to the wells and elevated tank as well as multiple crashes of the SCADA due to power flickers caused by the storms. During Hurricane Milton there was loss of communications with the wells and elevated tank, multiple crashes of the SCADA due to power failure and loss of controls due to excessive resets caused by the power failures.

WORK TO BE COMPLETED: The project will entail the purchase and installation of a new Water Treatment Plant Raw Water Wells SCADA control system, including all necessary hardware and software. All design, installation, hardware, software, and equipment will be procured via a bidding process that is acceptable to Florida Commerce.

The City of Palatka Water Treatment Plant serves everyone living in the City of Palatka, whose residents or businesses are connected to the City's Potable Water System. Based upon this city-wide usage of the City's potable water system, the SCADA System replacement project proposed herein, would provide a city-wide benefit. Utilizing data from the 2016-2020 Census, the City of Palatka's population is sixty-five and six tenths' percent (65.60%) Low and Moderate Income. Based upon this fact, while the City certainly has an Urgent Need to have the proposed project carried out, the application is being submitted to Florida Commerce based upon the benefit the project would have on population it will serve, most of whom are members of low-and-moderate income households.

The proposed budget for the Water Treatment Plant SCADA Replacement Project application is as follows:

Any resident wishing to know more about the proposed project or submit any public comment on the proposed projects should contact Joe Verrechio, Public Works Director , City of Palatka at (386) 329- 0107 or by email at [email protected]. Comments from the public concerning these projects will be received from September 13, 2025, and must be received by the City no later than 5:00 p.m. on Friday, September 26, 2025.All comments will be considered, and proposed changes will be submitted to Florida Commerce. Information relating to the proposed project and application is available for review between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. at the City of Palatka, City Hall located at 201 North 2^nd Street, Palatka, Florida 32177 .

Any non-English speaking person wishing to comment on the proposed project should contact Carlos Dominguez Brito at (386) 329-0100 or by e-mail at [email protected] and a language interpreter will be provided. If you are hearing or speech impaired, please contact the agency using the Florida Relay Service, 1(800)955-8771 (TDD) or 1(800)955-8770 (Voice).

The City of Palatka is a Fair Housing/Equal Opportunity/Handicap Accessible Jurisdiction.

DATE TO RUN: One time no later than Friday, September 13, 2025

ONE TIME ONLY, BLOCK DISPLAY ADVERTISEMENT (AS SMALL AS POSSIBLE)

Bill To: City of Palatka

201 North 2^nd Avenue

Palatka, FL 32177

PLEASE SEND AFFIDAVITS AS PROOF OF PUBLICATION ASAP TO:

Fred Fox Enterprises, Inc. & City of Palatka

P. O. Box 840338 201 North 2^nd Avenue

St. Augustine, FL 32080 Palatka, FL 32177