Nearly two years after Hurricanes Helene and Milton wiped out Treasure Island’s police and fire stations, first responders are still running calls out of trailers parked beside City Hall. Now a fresh shot of state money is finally on the way: officials say Florida has awarded $2.5 million to jump-start an elevated, storm-hardened public safety building that would give police, fire and EMS a permanent home again.
State funding confirmed by local news
According to FOX 13 Tampa Bay, the State of Florida has committed $2.5 million for the project, a pot of cash city leaders say will cover immediate design work and site preparation. The station’s report yesterday casts the award as a long-awaited boost after a drawn-out recovery period that left core public safety services in limbo.
Crews still operating from temporary pods
First responders have been working out of portable trailers and modular pods next to City Hall since the storms, according to Spectrum Bay News 9. Fire and police leaders, along with city commissioners, have repeatedly warned that those “temporary” units would not be safe or habitable in another major storm and have pressed for a hardened, elevated facility that can actually ride out the next big hit.
Plans, price tag and what the building would hold
The city’s Local Funding Initiative Request filed with the Florida Senate pegs the total project cost at $12 million and describes a public safety hub built above the floodplain that would house police administration, fire apparatus and firefighter living quarters. The same filing lists a new fixed-capital request from the state totaling $4.5 million and notes an earlier $1.5 million legislative appropriation already in the bank. The Florida Senate document also lays out design goals focused on mitigation and resilience.
A patchwork of grants and a local debate
Treasure Island formally accepted a ceremonial $1.5 million state appropriation in August 2025, the city’s weekly newsletter reports. Since then, commissioners have split over whether to chase a full combined police-and-fire public safety campus or scale back to a smaller standalone fire station while the police department continues to operate from City Hall. Local budget summaries and meeting notes show officials weighing loans, insurance proceeds and federal grant applications to close the remaining gap. The city’s announcement and related meeting notes are posted by the City of Treasure Island, with additional budget coverage at theLocalLens.
Timeline and next steps
The Senate filing lists the project as not yet permitted and sketches out a tentative construction start date of Oct. 1, 2026, with completion targeted for Dec. 1, 2027. Those dates, officials caution, depend on final design work, permits and landing matching federal grants. City leaders still need to finish site preparation and secure the remaining money before the project becomes truly shovel-ready. The draft schedule and funding breakdown appear in the Florida Senate filing.
What residents will notice
Officials say a raised, storm-hardened station should let first responders get back onto the island and restore full emergency operations far sooner after a hurricane. Local reporting also suggests a modern headquarters could shave precious seconds off some response times once crews are no longer working out of scattered trailers. In the near term, residents are more likely to see permit applications, design updates and community meetings than bulldozers, as the city sorts through costs, tradeoffs and the last pieces of its post-storm public safety rebuild.
