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Manatee County seeks input on newly drafted plan on how to spend $252M in hurricane relief funds

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Published  May 21, 2025 9:33am EDT
Manatee County
FOX 13 News
Manatee County drafts plan for hurricane relief funds

Manatee County drafts plan for hurricane relief funds

Manatee County is asking for community input on how to spend $252M in hurricane relief funds from HUD. Regina Gonzalez reports.

The Brief

    • Manatee County drafted a plan on how to spend $252M in hurricane relief funds and wants community feedback.
    • The county recruited an entire team to put the plan together, and they officially dubbed the program, 'Lasting Manatee.'
    • Public feedback will be accepted through June 20, 2025.

BRADENTON, Fla. - Much of Tampa Bay is still recovering from last year's hurricanes. This includes Manatee County, which is now deciding how to spend $252 million in federal grant funds from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). 

By the numbers:

On Tuesday, county officials did approve and later published a draft plan of how they'd like to split the money up, and now they want you to take a look.

  • $125 million to repair, replace or improve existing infrastructure
  • $75.6 million for a home recovery program that will fund rehabilitation, reconstruction, replacement and/or elevation of residents’ homes.
  • $20 million for a rental recovery program
  • $12 million for a buyout and safe housing program that will allow the county to purchase and demolish homes in areas that have experienced repeated storm damage.
  • Almost another combined 20 million for an infrastructure match program and administrative costs.

READ: Winter Haven man befriends teen at bus stop, promises her cash and alcohol for engaging in lewd acts: WHPD

The county recruited an entire team to put the plan together, and they officially dubbed the program, 'Lasting Manatee.' 

What they're saying:

" We will be holding at least two public hearings with the dates and locations published on our Lasting Manatee Website," Michelle Davis, who handles grand administration for Manatee County. "The public comment will be incorporated into the final action plan, and then submitted to HUD by June 30, we will include our responses to the comments within that action plan. We should receive the HUD agreement in late fall, and we will be ready to begin accepting resident applications in January."

What you can do:

Click here to see the draft action plan and answers to frequently asked questions.

Public feedback will be accepted through June 20, 2025. Feedback is accepted online, email, over the phone or by paper mail. 

The Source: This story was written with information gathered by FOX 13's Regina Gonzalez. 

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