Monroe County Receives Letter of Intent From State for Tavernier Fire Station 22 Hardening

TAVERNIER, FL – Monroe County received a letter of intent from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) to allocate $818,800 for a non-matching Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)-Mitigation funding to replace eight bay doors, the aging generator system and to add flood panels, impact doors, impact windows, and energy efficiency at the Monroe County Fire Rescue Tavernier Fire Station 22.

Station 22 is one of the oldest fire departments in Monroe County constructed prior to the enhanced Florida Building Code and is highly vulnerable to high winds and storm surge.

“Luckily, Station 22 is at a decent elevation, so this grant will allow us to make it more resilient to future storms,” said Monroe County Project Management Director Cary Knight. “This will allow our firefighters the ability to serve the public faster after a disaster by improving response times, which is key to saving lives.”

In addition to the Tavernier Fire Station 22 announcement, on Jan. 22, the DEO announced they intend to fund the Sands Subdivision Road Mitigation Project for $8.1 million, Tavernier Breakwater Repair Project for $2.1 million, and the Rock Harbor Breakwater Repair in Key Largo for $1.3 million through CDBG-Disaster Recovery funds.

The county has other CDBG-Mitigation projects that were not included in this funding announcement. The projects include Twin Lakes Road Mitigation ($7.1 million), Stillwright Point Road Mitigation ($21 million), Big Coppitt Road Mitigation ($8.5 million), Public Works Maintenance Facility Relocation ($13.7 million), and the Stock Island Detention Center ($1.3 million).

More information on the programs can be found at www.monroecounty-fl.gov/rebuildflorida.

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