Decisions › County Commission meeting of Feb 24, 2026
Approved a resolution declaring the Empire Church Road collapse an emergency event and raising the emergency repair contract limit from $250,000 to $3,000,000.
The result is from the Clerk's Board ActionThe Clerk's same-week record of what the County Commission decided on each agenda tab. Vote tallies and discussion come later in the Board Minutes. Clerk of Court, Board Action and Board Minutes on Municode. The vote by name appears here when the official minutes are posted, usually a few weeks after the meeting.
In plain words
A request to declare the Empire Church Road sinkhole collapse a qualifying emergency event under Florida law, which exempts the road repair from competitive bidding, and to raise the spending limit on three on-call emergency repair contracts.
What changes The emergency spending limit on Contracts 25-743A-C increases from $250,000 to a not to exceed $3,000,000, allowing the county to use those existing contracts to rebuild Empire Church Road without competitive bidding.
Who and the money Applies to on-call emergency infrastructure repair services under Contracts 25-743A-C; the Board Action lists a fiscal impact of $250,000, while the cover sheet states the fiscal impact is unknown at this time.
Stated reason (staff, quoted): "Staff recommends increasing the contract maximum to $3,000,000 so that Empire Church Road can be reconstructed under the exception set forth in Section 255.20(1)(c)1., Florida Statutes."
Where Empire Church Road
Why (staff, quoted) "On February 2, 2026, Empire Church Road in the Groveland area, experienced a catastrophic failure when a portion of the road collapsed as a result of a sinkhole."
Backup in the packet: Agenda 40478 (p. 1134), Resolution (p. 1134), Pictures (p. 1134)
Written from the Board Action and the staff cover sheet, checked by script: every number appears in the record. Staff memo
From the record
Request from Public Works to recommend approval: 1. Of Resolution 2026-25 declaring the collapse of Empire Church Road as a qualifying event under Section 255.20(1)(c)1, Florida Statutes, which exempts the repair and reconstruction of the road from the competitive bidding requirements otherwise required; 2. To increase the emergency expenditure limits of Contracts 25-743A-C for on-call emergency infrastructure repair services from $250,000 to a not to exceed $3,000,000; and 3. To authorize the Office of Procurement Services to execute all supporting documentation. The estimated fiscal impact is unknown at this time as expenditures are emergency event related. Most projects shall not exceed the FEMA acceptable funding limits per project. Expenditures will not exceed available funding in each fiscal year's budget.Clerk of Court, Board Action, Feb 24, 2026, page 5. Open the official document
The rest of this meeting
- Previous item: Approved awarding the Sun Eden Water Quality Retrofits construction project to Estep Construction Inc. for $938,625.
- Next item: Approved a resolution letting the Mosquito Management Division program manager sign state grant agreements and naming Justin Walker as the new program manager.
- All 27 items from Feb 24, 2026
More on roads and transportation
- Oct 27, 2026 Approved a $174,233 agreement with the Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority (LYNX) to continue providing weekend and holiday Link 55 fixed route bus service in South Lake County.
- Oct 13, 2026 Approved proceeding to closing on a deeded right-of-way for US Highway 441 - Sleepy Hollow Racetrac in the City of Leesburg.
- Oct 13, 2026 Approved a $22,739.03 change order to OM Engineering Services, Inc. for engineering and design services for Villa City Road turn lanes.
- Oct 13, 2026 Approved a plan to repair the collapsed Cherry Lake Road shoulder for $400,496.45 without competitive bidding so the county can fix it quickly.
- Sep 22, 2026 Approved a $1,120,546.24 contract for construction, engineering, and inspection services for Hartwood Marsh from US27 to Majestic Isle Drive.