With committee work set to begin in the Florida Legislature in the coming weeks, and the new session starting in January, the cities of Kissimmee and St. Cloud are locking in their legislative priorities for funding projects.
At the last Kissimmee City Commission meeting, officials approved a list compiled by city staff, topped by stormwater projects in Bermuda Estates and Renee Terrace — two neighborhoods that experienced flooding during Hurricane Ian.
“A lesson we learned last year, we had a flood study that got vetoed by the Governor. He made it clear he doesn’t want to fund studies, he wants to fund construction,” City Manager Mike Steigerwald said. “So, for things like this, we have designs on hand so we can begin construction.”
Those also include a Hill Street sidewalk addition between John Young Parkway and Emory Street, to help neighborhoods on the south side of those streets to safely access Oak Street Park. The city also hopes to get funding for utilities expansion at Kissimmee Gateway Airport, in order to develop an aircraft manufacturing facility on the old Kissimmee Golf Course, and expand Kissimmee Utility Authority capacity and lines to it.
The city has also earmarked funds for Thacker Avenue and Flora Way intersection improvements that would include a traffic signal, and funding for workforce development and recruitment specific to the fire department for training employees.
The city has shifted requests to fund Gateway Airport tower improvements and North Lake Tohopekaliga water improvements to the federal level. Steigerwald said U.S. Rep. Darren Soto has worked with the Army Corps of Engineers, to mitigate hydrilla and muck in the lake.
