The Gadsden County community is asking state lawmakers for approximately $50 million to address water infrastructure, education, and public safety.
County Commissioner Shawn Wood said at a Jan. 16 legislative workshop that water and sewer is a top priority. This comes as parts of Gadsden deal with faulty sewer systems and no fire hydrants for fire rescue.
“If we build water systems, even if its not to all the arteries but the main corridors for now, then it will give us the ability to have infrastructure to I-10 and Chattahoochee," said Wood.
Thursday's workshop also gave Gadsden County school leaders time to draft their legislative requests.
Superintendent Elijah Key told the board on Thursday that he wants approximately $40M in additional funding to continue building up Quincy's new K-8 school.
“We got to have something in order to keep our schools updated," Key said. "We have been putting band aids on things, and somewhere down the line, we have to correct them."
Other legislative priorities include:
- Funding for the county's volunteer fire program
- $2.4M for a new 350-gallon storage wastewater tank in the City of Gretna
- $750,000 for fire truck funding in the City of Gretna
- $1.2M to turn the old Gretna Elementary School to a post-disaster facility
- $880,000 to replace two lift stations in the Town of Havana
- $2M for the City of Midway to improve the Public Safety Facility and address the structural issues at the Midway Fire Stations
State Sen. Corey Simon and House Rep. Gallop Franklin will be in Gadsden on Feb. 10 to take their requests ahead of the 2025 regular legislative session.