Crestview's increasing population means competing with bigger cities for funds

CRESTVIEW — With more than 23,000 residents, Crestview remains Okaloosa County's biggest city. It's also Northwest Florida’s fourth-biggest city, behind Tallahassee, Pensacola and Panama City.

With room to expand, Crestview continues to increase the population difference between southern neighboring communities constrained by Eglin Air Force Base reservation and the Gulf of Mexico.

But with growth comes challenges when vying for federal and state grant money, city officials say.

“One of the things that is hindering us as a city is that we are in the bottom of population with cities competing for grants,” Public Works Director Wayne Steele said. “We are in the same category as Pensacola. We can't compete with them, especially in the matching funds requirements.”

When he said that during an Aug. 24 City Council meeting, Steele was referencing the Water Pollution Control State Rotating Funds program. It's the city’s primary funding source for wastewater treatment plant upgrades, sewer infrastructure improvements and storm water pollution projects.

“The grant-type loan is available for all size cities, but for those cities having populations smaller than 20,000,  they are entitled to priority use of 15 percent of all available loan funds,” Steele said.

Smaller cities also qualify for loans from the funds' remaining unreserved 85 percent, Steele said. “The remaining available funding — whatever percentage that may be — annually is basically competed for by all of the remaining cities whose populations are larger than 20,000,” he said.

“When we request things like grants, we’re being lumped in with cities of that size,” Mayor David Cadle said. “When it calls for matching funds, the city of Crestview is at a disadvantage because we don’t have that money available."

For example, the city is competing for two $50,000 Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program grants; they would benefit Community Redevelopment Agency projects for which there’s no local match requirements.

However, if the projects were lumped together as part of a larger plan, the city would have had to put up a 25 percent matching grant. For projects over $150,000, the city would have to find 50 percent matching funds.

“It was much easier for us when we were in the small cities target area,” Steele said.

NORTHWEST FLORIDA'S LARGEST CITIES

Rank   City   Population

1. Tallahassee: 185,784

2. Pensacola: 52,758

3. Panama City: 35,773

4. Crestview: 23,209

5. Fort Walton Beach: 20,719

6. Destin: 12,541

7. Panama City Beach: 12,000

Source: Florida League of Cities 2015-16 Municipal Directory

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview's increasing population means competing with bigger cities for funds