FELLSMERE — Money could be coming to the City of Fellsmere to pave and improve North and South Myrtle Street and add picnic space to Pennsylvania Park.
The Fellsmere City Council unanimously approved moving forward with an application for the Community Development Block Grant from the Florida Department of Community Affairs. The move came after two public hearings, during which no one from the public spoke up.
If the funds are approved, the city plans to allocated $5,000 to Pennsylvania Park and the rest to Myrtle.
The park project would add a concrete slab for a picnic table in an effort to draw more activity to the park. Pennsylvania Park is located at the corner of N. Oleander Street and County Road 512.
As for the road project, the plan is to increase the radius of the Myrtle-County Road 507 intersection as much as possible to better improve truck traffic flow and safety.
Myrtle would also be paved and sidewalks added.
City Councilman Daniel Naranjo raised concerns about drainage along Myrtle, explaining that he feared the swales would be too deep.
George Simons, the project’s designer, assured the council that the swales would be only as deep as needed and would depend on the elevation of the roadway.
He told the council that with the sidewalks and narrow right of way for the project, the drainage might have to go deeper than what would be considered normal.
City Manager Jason Nunemaker suggested that once the funds are approved and the plans are finalized, the city could review the drainage depth.
Simons said that he would make sure that the drainage does not go deeper than it absolutely must.
