U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan asks for $25.7 million to fund local projects. Here’s the list
As federal lawmakers begin crafting the nation’s budget, U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan has submitted his top 10 requests for community funding projects.
Buchanan, R-Longboat Key, requested $25.7 million in funding for local projects and organizations within Florida’s 16th Congressional District, which includes Manatee County and parts of Sarasota and Hillsborough counties.
The largest appropriations request is $10 million for Mote Marine’s new Science Education Aquarium planned for Nathan Benderson Park. Buchanan also said he wanted to fund a local Jewish organization, a flooding mitigation project in the Town of Longboat Key and local trails projects.
U.S. Rep. Buchanan’s Projects
Total requested: $25.7 million
— Project: PACE Center for Girls
- Request amount: $2,000,000
- Intended recipient: PACE Center for Girls – Bradenton campus
- Explanation: “I am submitting this Community Project Funding request on behalf of PACE Center for Girls. The funding will be used to renovate an existing facility and build a new facility on PACE’s Bradenton campus where the current enrollment exceeds capacity. The funding will be used to build a health care, mental health, and education complex on-site in Bradenton for at-risk young girls in the Manatee County public school system.”
— Project: All Star Children’s Foundation
- Request amount: $1,500,000
- Intended recipient: All Star Children’s Foundation of Florida
- Explanation: “I am submitting this Community Project Funding request on behalf of the All Star Children’s Foundation. The funding will enable the Foundation to design and implement an innovative pilot child welfare program. The pilot program will seek to establish a brand-new, trauma-intervention model and will also help establish a Pediatric Mental Health Treatment and Research Center. If successful, this pilot program could serve as a template for other child welfare programs to follow.”
— Project: Easterseals of Southwest Florida
- Request amount: $1,960,000
- Intended recipient: Easterseals of Southwest Florida
- Explanation: “I am submitting this Community Project Funding request on behalf of the Easterseals of Southwest Florida. The funding will allow Easterseals to expand its current facility in Sarasota to better serve the local community while also enabling it to offer expanded services to children and underserved populations dealing with autism and other disabilities.”
— Project: Town of Longboat Key Flooding Mitigation Request
- Request amount: $350,000
- Intended recipient: Town of Longboat Key
- Explanation: “I am submitting this Community Project Funding request on behalf of the Town of Longboat Key. The funding will allow the town to elevate a roadway to mitigate against flooding that negatively impacts both first responder access and local resident access. The roadway is also adjacent to fringe mangrove forests and a bayou area directly connected to Sarasota Bay. Elevating the roadway is also intended to preclude harmful impacts to the forests and the Bay.”
— Project: City of Sarasota Wetlands Restoration Funding Request
- Request amount: $2,578,000
- Intended recipient: City of Sarasota
- Explanation: “I am submitting this Community Project Funding request on behalf of the City of Sarasota. The funding will allow the city to both restore and create more than 18 acres of wetlands that will significantly improve regional water quality. The successful implementation of this project can serve as a model for all of Southwest Florida and could be used to educate local, regional, national, and international visitors regarding best practice water quality projects. In addition, this project aligns with Governor DeSantis’ executive order 19-12 prioritizing water quality projects. Finally, it has been prioritized as part of the Bobby Jones Master Plan approved by Sarasota City Commission.”
— Project: Bay Park Conservancy Conservation and Environmental Restoration Funding Request
- Request amount: $2,000,000
- Intended recipient: The Bay Park Conservancy
- Explanation: “I am submitting this Community Project Funding request on behalf of the Bay Park Conservancy (BPC). The funding will allow BPC to fund critically-important conservation and environmental restoration. It will help fund the Bay Park, 53-acres of public land on Sarasota Bay that is being conserved and redeveloped to provide the local community and the region with a world-class public park. The project is intended to conserve precious wetlands, including a Mangrove Bayou, restore the natural Sarasota Bay shoreline, its ecology and natural habitat, and improve water quality to a condition and level that has not been seen for 100 years by deploying a range of innovative and proven water treatment technologies and systems on-site.”
— Project: Manatee County Palmetto Trails Funding Request
- Request amount: $2,900,000
- Intended recipient: Manatee County
- Explanation: “I am submitting this Community Project Funding request on behalf of Manatee County. The funding will allow the County to begin the planning and design of the “Safe Routes to Schools Partnership” component of the overall Palmetto Trails Mobility and Connectivity project. This project will support connecting trails beginning in the Washington Park Community, extending south through Lincoln Park, and crossing over into Lincoln Memorial school grounds through an upgraded Florida Department of Transportation tunnel beneath US 41.”
— Project: Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee Security Funding Request
- Request amount: $1,430,000
- Intended recipient: The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee
- Explanation: “I am submitting this Community Project Funding request on behalf of the Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee. The request will provide funding for capital improvements to ensure a safe campus for the Jewish Federation, its staff, members and visitors. It will also help build a community training center for classes and security training. These improvements and enhancements are intended to ensure a safe campus that will protect children, citizens and families who will participate in various activities, such as classes, camps, sports and special events, on-campus.”
— Project: Sarasota County Legacy Trail Funding Request
- Request amount: $990,000
- Intended recipient: Sarasota County
- Explanation: “I am submitting this Community Project Funding request on behalf of Sarasota County. The funding will allow for the design of a pedestrian overpass where the Legacy Trail, a multi-use rail-trail, crosses S. Tuttle Avenue. This project will help greatly enhance the safety of a highly used multi-use trail by separating bicyclists and pedestrians from vehicles where the trail crosses Tuttle Avenue. Given crash data collected by Sarasota County from 2013-2018, it is anticipated that the addition of the overpass along the Legacy Trail will help reduce bicycle and pedestrian crashes and fatalities at this crossing location.”
— Project: Mote Marine Laboratory Education Aquarium Funding Request
- Request amount: $10,000,000
- Intended recipient: Mote Marine Laboratory
- Explanation: “I am submitting this Community Project Funding request on behalf of the Mote Marine Laboratory. The funding will allow Mote Marine to continue moving forward with building the Mote Science Education Aquarium (Mote SEA). Mote SEA will utilize innovative 21st Century technology and engineering to translate and transfer science so tens of millions of visitors can experience the transformative power of discovery and learning. An important, strategic focus of the Mote SEA will be serving at-risk and underprivileged youth who are often deprived of advanced technology opportunities in marine science, technology, engineering and math. To date over $3,000,000 has been spent on design, engineering, permitting and site preparation. This funding request will make an important but small contribution towards the successful completion of Mote SEA.”
This story was originally published May 19, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
Ryan Callihan
Bradenton Herald