Homestead Reviews Infrastructure, Utility and Budget Items

The Homestead City Council is considering several projects involving transportation, water and sewer funding, electrical reliability and the city’s proposed property-tax rates.

One proposal would move forward with the design of a multiuse path along SW Fourth Street.

The Council recently considered awarding a $199,432 contract to Chen Moore and Associates for professional architectural and engineering services related to the path.

The Miami-Dade Transportation Planning Organization Governing Board approved $1 million for the SW Fourth Street Improvement Project on June 22, 2023.

That funding is restricted to construction and does not cover the design, permitting and post-design services that must be completed before construction can begin, according to city information.

The proposed contract would allow Homestead to complete the required design work while preparing the project for its future construction phase.

Along with the transportation project, the Council discussed amending the Water and Sewer Utility Fund budget to account for more than $2 million in settlement proceeds received by the city.

Homestead received $898,670 through a settlement with 3M, including $568,605 that had not been budgeted or appropriated.

The city also received approximately $1.4 million earlier this year through settlements involving BASF, DuPont and Tyco.

Because the proceeds were not anticipated when the current budget was adopted, the money was deposited into the Water and Sewer Utility Fund but had not been designated for a specific purpose.

The proposed budget amendment would increase the fund’s total revenues and expenditures by $2,003,694, allowing the city to formally account for and appropriate the additional revenue.

The Council is also reviewing a project intended to strengthen the reliability of Homestead’s electrical system through a second connection to Florida Power & Light’s regional transmission network.

Council members discussed awarding a $330,008 purchase order to E.C. Fennell for architectural and engineering services related to the proposed connection at the Renaissance Substation.

Homestead’s electric system currently relies heavily on a single 138-kilovolt interconnection at the Lucy Switching Station to receive power from FPL.

That creates a potential single point of failure. A major equipment failure, transmission-line problem, severe weather event or physical damage at the Lucy station could interrupt service to a large portion of Homestead, according to city information.

The city’s electrical demand is also increasing as HPS Energy adds distribution capacity through new and expanded substations.

Expanding the system at the Renaissance Substation would establish a second transmission path and provide additional protection if service at the Lucy station is interrupted.

City officials said the project would improve grid redundancy and help maintain electrical service for residents and businesses during an outage or equipment failure.

As the city considers those investments, officials are also moving forward with the upcoming budget process.

The Council has granted initial approval to the proposed operating and debt-service millage rates.

The proposed operating rate is 6.3945 mills, while the proposed debt-service rate is 0.2316 mills. One mill represents $1 in property taxes for every $1,000 of taxable property value.

The first public budget hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 8, at 5:30 p.m.

The second public budget hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 23, at 5:01 p.m.

The Council will consider the final budget and millage rates following the public-hearing process.