Key West secures $3M annual stewardship allocation and $4M resiliency grant for stormwater work

City Manager summarized a string of grant and appropriations wins during the manager’s report on Aug. 6, telling commissioners the city negotiated an interlocal agreement with Monroe County that increases Key West’s annual Florida Keys Stewardship Act allocation to $3 million for each of the next five years (a total of $15 million). The manager said the city obtained a separate $4 million Resiliency Florida grant from the State’s Department of Environmental Protection for stormwater improvements on Harris Avenue and 10th Street designed to reduce flooding in Newtown.

Taken together with $5.5 million in direct legislative appropriations cited by staff, the manager said Key West has approximately $12.5 million in state funding for infrastructure and resiliency projects this year. Commissioners thanked staff and county partners and asked that project priorities be coordinated with the Key West Forward strategic plan and capital budget work to ensure alignment and transparency.

The manager also clarified that $3,000,000 of funding linked to the stewardship allocation will be used to better understand conditions at the Stock Island landfill (known locally as 'Mount Trashmore') through an assessment and that staff is not pursuing private condominium development absent further public procurement and decisions.

Staff said next steps include incorporating community feedback on Higgs Beach and aligning the city’s capital improvement plan with the new funding available.