Three Santa Rosa County homeowners whose houses have faced repeated flooding are in line to get their homes elevated courtesy of $520,000 from federal taxpayers.

This morning, the Santa Rosa County Commission is set to discuss accepting three severe repetitive loss grants for the private homes.

The commission meets at 9 a.m. at the Santa Rosa County Administrative Office Complex, located at 6495 U.S. 90, Milton (behind McDonald's). The agenda for the meeting is available at http://www.santarosa.fl.gov//agendas/5-11-15backup.pdf. The meeting is broadcast online at http://www.santarosa.fl.gov//bocc/BOCC_Calendar/.

Sheila Fitzgerald, Santa Rosa County grants manager, said these properties meet the requirements set by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for Severe Repetitive Loss Grants. That means that the subject properties have flooded at least four times with claims of $5,000 or more each time, totaling more than $20,000, or have each had at least two claims that totaled more than the market value of the homes.

"Part of the application process is to evaluate multiple mitigation alternatives," Fitzgerald said. "This was the most cost effective alternative with homeowner support."

The grants would fully fundraising these three homes:

• 6036 Saddle Club Road, Pace, owned by Gerald Vinke. This project is expected to cost $254,684.
• 8120 Glenview Road, Milton, owned by Bobby Andrews. The budget for this home is $174,183.
• 1690 College Parkway, Gulf Breeze, owned by Mark and Wendy Butler. This project has a budget of $91,183.

Since 2008, Santa Rosa has helped six other homeowners in similar situations secure federal funding to elevate their homes.

Other items on the commission's agenda today include:

— Allowing the Santa Rosa County Elections Office to use the Pace and Tiger Point community centers as early voting locations for the presidential preference, primary and general elections in 2016.

That would double the number of early voting locations in Santa Rosa County. In the past, only the elections office locations in Milton and Midway have been open for early voting.

— Constructing a fifth lifeguard tower on Navarre Beach. The new tower would be behind the privately-owned Summerwinds condominium. This would contradict Santa Rosa's current policy of placing lifeguard towers only in public beach areas, but Commissioner Rob Williamson has asked the commission to discuss the idea.

"As I understand it, the plan would be to establish, over several budget years, towers westward along Navarre Beach behind the condominium complexes in the commercial core area to the first public access area just west of the hotel/motel site on the Gulf," County Administrator Hunter Walker wrote in a memo to the commission. Construction, staff and other costs are estimated at $48,000 per stand.

— Purchase of 1,782 feet of property from the estate of Alice Hall to build a sidewalk along West Spencer Field Road.

The proposed sidewalk would start just north of Benny Russell Park and extend north on the west side of West Spencer Field Road. County Engineer Roger Blaylock said the cost of the project is not yet certain.