Marathon, Fla. – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis held a news conference on Crawl Key in Marathon on Friday.
DeSantis discussed the Florida Job Growth Grant Fund at the conference.
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The Florida Job Growth Grant Fund is an economic development program designed to promote public infrastructure and workforce training across the state.
DeSantis said that $1.3 million dollars were awarded to the city of Marathon to improve the roads, buildings and power supply.
“This will allow the city to widen US-1 in Marathon, add a turn lane at the intersection of US1 and Banana Blvd and add utility infrastructure for the area DeSantis said.
A mile of new sewer lines was also added to increase the wastewater capacity in Marathon.
DeSantis hopes that the infrastructure improvements will help create more jobs.
“We think these infrastructures will create 500 new jobs for the city of Marathon,” said DeSantis.
The infrastructure project is expected to support new business development, build workforce housing and fuel economic growth in the City of Marathon.
“Since August 2021, Governor DeSantis has awarded more than $111 million through the Florida Job Growth Grant Fund to prioritize Floridians’ livelihoods and further community development initiatives across the state,” said DEO Secretary Dane Eagle.
Nearly $2 million dollars will be spent on restoring roads and bridges in Marathon after the destruction from Hurricane Ian, DeSantis said.
DeSantis continued to show his support for the fishing communities affected by Hurricane Ian.
Following the DeSantis’ announcement, Founder and CEO of Bass Pro Shops, Johnny Morris, highlighted that Bass Pro Shops plans to build a first-of-its-kind fishing resort in Marathon.
DeSantis said that since he’s been in office, $1.1 billion dollars were spent in water quality improvements, $1.1billion dollars were invested into the resilient Florida Program and $1.7 billion for the Everglades restoration projects.
Desantis also discussed the efforts underway to help residents and business owners within the fishing industry in Monroe County.
According to DeSantis, $50 million dollars was raised for the Florida Disaster Fund in relief of Hurricane Ian.
Desantis said that a deal has been reached with FEMA to remove commercial debris in Fort Myers Beach.