Pasco County commissioners have approved roughly $235 million for the Better Future Infrastructure and Mitigation Program. The money is meant to repair damage from Hurricanes Idalia, Helene and Milton and to prepare the county for the next round of storms.
The commitment comes with a hard deadline. Chuck Lane, director of the county’s Office of Disaster Recovery Resources, said Pasco has five years to finish the work. Money spent on projects that never get completed could have to be repaid. Some projects will take four to four and a half years on their own, which leaves little margin for delay. Lane said his team is watching how quickly projects move from approval to completion.
Lane called the spending “money well spent,” pointing to the county’s exposure to flooding. He said 40 to 45 percent of Pasco sits in a floodplain, and he argued the improvements will help during ordinary storm fronts as well as hurricanes.
Stormwater upgrades are planned for the Sea Pines neighborhood in Hudson. Renovation of the Hudson Library is already underway. Lane said the library serves as a community resource during recovery. It is part of the first of what could be three phases of work.
Tim Lagudi, program manager for the Pasco Better Future Program, said first-round projects largely follow the areas that took the worst damage. He added that some, including projects on the county’s west side, will benefit residents countywide. He said the county reviewed storm damage data and met with residents and local leaders as part of an unmet needs assessment before deciding where the money should go.
The hurricane season has been relatively quiet so far, but the countdown on these projects has already started. Later phases are expected to follow once the first-phase window closes.
For residents watching how this money is spent, the questions ahead are which projects move first, what each one costs, and who answers for it if the schedule slips.
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