from staff
Gov. Charlie Crist Tuesday awarded more than $867,000 in a supplemental round of defense grants for six projects focused on improving Florida’s position as a host state for military installations and activities.
Administered by the Governor’s Office of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development in coordination with Enterprise Florida Inc., supplemental 2009-10 Defense Reinvestment Grants were awarded to the Clay County Development Authority, the City of Jacksonville, the Bay County Board of County Commissioners, Miami-Dade County, Okaloosa County and the Pensacola Bay-Area Chamber of Commerce for a total $867,325.
The latest grants include $100,000 for Jacksonville to handle encroachment protection for NAS Jacksonville’s Whitehouse Naval Outlying Field.
A $150,000 grant was awarded to the Clay County Development Authority for the completion of a Camp Blanding Joint Training Center. It is part of a continuation of its Disaster Response Joint Operations Center Training Facility, which was awarded $50,000 in the initial round of awards in August 2009.
The Defense Infrastructure Program addresses the infrastructure needs of Florida’s military installations. Grants are provided to economic development organizations for projects associated with encroachment, transportation and access, utilities, communications, housing, environment and security.