Bill Koch
Staff Writer
THE VILLAGES - Sunshine State residents will get burned by rapid growth if they don't approve a proposed amendment to the Florida Constitution, the president of a New Smyrna Beach-based political action committee told Villagers on Wednesday evening.
Florida Hometown Democracy is working to get 611,000 signatures of Florida voters to put a question on the November 2008 election ballot.
The amendment would ask voters whether they want to require developers to get local voter approval to amend county comprehensive plans. County commissions have the authority to amend their comprehensive plans to allow for large development.
Comprehensive plan amendments would be "put to the electorate for final approval," said Lesley Blackner, president of Florida Hometown Democracy.
She said commissioners routinely ignore requirements in Florida's growth management act enacted in the 1980s and are easily influenced by big money from developers.
"County commissions just can't say 'no' to wealthy developers," she said. "I've realized the growth industry controls everything. Florida voters don't understand land-use laws, and we've been kept in the dark."
Blackner spoke to nearly 200 people at The Villages Property Owners' Association monthly meeting. Her presentation began with a 20-minute video show on the dangers of rapid growth to communities.
She said growth has strained roads, schools and other infrastructure needs and caused a $100 billion shortfall in public services. "Over development ravages infrastructure."
Blackner said the state's growth management act, which was devised to curtail and manage growth, "has been subverted, perverted and twisted and the rest of us be damned."
The constitutional amendment would force developers and local governments to rethink their decisions by subjecting development plans to voter scrutiny, she said.
It would "restore to the public the rightful place in making land-use decisions," Blackner said. "The process has been corrupted because there's so much money at stake."
Blackner said local officials, county commissioners and state representatives and senators are unqualified to make complex development decisions. She said her state senator, Republican Ken Pruitt, never graduated from high school and will oversee development decisions.
A local comprehensive-plan amendment, which is the first step for a residential development, would go on the next the regular election following the development application. Local governments would incur no additional expense. Developers may pay to hold a special election.
Association president Joe Gorman said his group would support the constitutional amendment.
"It would make developers more conscientious in dealing with these issues," he said. "I think that helps everyone."
Villager Sue Michelson said voters need to remember that the constitutional amendment would not halt growth. "Hometown Democracy is not against growth. It's for managed growth."
Conservation group has secured only 2 deals to avoid farm development.
|
Since the inception of the not-for-profit group in 1999, it has persuaded only two landowners in a six-county region to sign over some of their property rights to local or state governments, said Busy Kislig-Shires Byerly, the organization's executive director.
One landowner was a former Marion County resident and the other a lumber company with land in Alachua County. Byerly said she is perplexed how to get more participants but hopes to get the word out about the program.
Here's how it works:
The Department of Agriculture buys farmland that has historic, scenic, scientific, recreational or open-land uses. It also will buy easement rights that would still allow farmers to use their land for farming or raising livestock but at the same time prevent the land from ever being developed.
Byerly and her conservation group help farmers fill out the program's applications and make the necessary contacts with state or federal officials needed to close the deal. In addition, the Internal Revenue Service doles out tax breaks for landowners who participate.
But finding participants is difficult, Byerly said.
The two participants since 1999 sold 5,000 acres through the conservancy to local and state governments - but the results are still frustrating because there are likely hundreds of eligible farmers in Marion County alone that would qualify for the program, she said.
Byerly focuses on trying to bring smaller farms into the conservation program - they often are overlooked by other land conservation groups - and landowners owning greenland property between the Ocala National Forest and the Osceola National Forest.
"I'm not really sure . . . why more haven't participated," she said, "but many landowners really don't know what their options are."
The conservation group services Alachua, Marion, Levy, Gilchrist, Columbia and Putnam counties. The Micanopy-based conservation group's telephone number is (352) 466-1178.
The answer to why most farmers want nothing to do with Byerly's program could be found with University of Florida Extension Service professor Nick Place.
Place traded his farm overalls and tractor for the college lecture podium after growing up on a 380-acre, third-generation dairy farm in Pennsylvania.
"When I was a boy, I did chores in the morning, went to school and then did chores when I came home," he said.
Farm work was hard and profits were often low and unreliable, so many parents owning farms persuaded their children not to join the family business, he said. As a result, many farm owners now have no one to leave their farms to and want no strings attached to their property when it's time to sell.
"And many farmers don't have significant savings or retirement plans," Place said. "Their farms are their retirement plan."
And selling off their development rights to the government undermines farmers' hopes to one day cash in, he said.
In Alachua County, Byerly cites Rayonier Inc., a timber company, as a success story for the Conservation Trust after the group targeted 2,300 acres owned by the firm. Byerly then contacted the Nature Conservancy and urged it to try to work with Alachua County to buy Barr Hammock. Rayonier spokesman Mike Bell said selling Alachua County the land for $10 million was a good deal for both sides.
"We're committed to maximizing profits, but we're also committed to working with conservation groups," Bell said.
Fred Hiers may be contacted at fred.hiers@starbanner.com and (352) 867-4157
Levels of area water resources monitored
| What it means |
|
Joshua Davidovich
Staff Writer
Lake County will become home to the state's largest collection of Blueways trails today as the scenic water trails open to the public.
Blueways trails are similar to hiking trails, but guide people through waterways rather than overland. The county Parks and Recreation department installed 49 markers to guide canoes and kayaks through eight different trails around 130 miles of waterways.
"It's more recreation for the county, everybody is looking for things to do," Tom Eicher, who runs the county's alternative transportation, said. "It's Lake County. We might as well take advantage of the lakes."
Eicher said the trails were set up to maximize scenic beauty and exposure to wildlife. He said those who paddle the trails will find alligators, various wild birds and possibly river otters, which tend to shy away from humans.
"The Dora Canal is like a canyon of cypress trees. We've certainly got natural beauty," Eicher said.
With the opening of the Blueways, Lake County joins a slew of other areas around the nation with Blueways systems. The trails will be registered for accreditation with the state and be put on a national registry.
Greg Mihalic, director of tourism and business relations for the county, said the Blueways were an integral part of selling the area's ecotourism assets.
"We'll promote it very heavily," he said. "There has been, and will continue to be, a commitment to ecotourism."
Three of the trails run along stretches of the St. Johns river in the northeast wedge of the county. One trail runs along the north shore of Lake Dora, and another trail runs along the whole of Lake Harris. A trail in South Lake connects Lake Louisa to Lake Minnehaha and Lake Minneola. The last trail skirts the southern half of Lake Griffin.
The trails have been in planning for two years. After mapping out the trails, county staff set about putting up the markers and gaining certification from the state.
Though primarily designed for manually propelled watercrafts, Eicher said all boaters were welcome on the trails.
He also said the Blueways system may still grow in the future.
"There's room for expansion," he said "Lake County's got plenty of water."
Meeting on Gulf drilling faces boycott
TALLAHASSEE - Environmentalists boycotted a federal public hearing Wednesday on plans to open a new area off the Florida Panhandle to oil and natural gas drilling as a protest against what they said were efforts to unfairly squelch opposition.The U.S. Minerals Management Service held the hearing in Panama City on plans to open more areas around the country to drilling, including about 2 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico south of Pensacola.
Representatives of four environmental groups said they believe voicing opposition at the hearing would do little good.
"This administration has shown time and time again that even when they do hear from a lot of citizens on an issue, especially an environmental issue, that hasn't really made an impact on decisions that they make," said Holly Binns, field director for Environment Florida.
The hearing is among the last three of 19 such discussions on a draft environmental impact statement for the next proposed five-year outer continental shelf leasing plan, which would go into effect next year.
The meeting was the only one held in Florida. Most, including 14 in Alaska, were held in states supportive of offshore drilling.
"We are a little miffed with the MMS for insisting on holding their scant hearings . . . in places and at times that are really not accessible to the people who would be most impacted," said Clean Water Network of Florida director Linda Young.
She said the most affected place in Florida would be Pensacola, where about 1,000 people once turned out to oppose an earlier drilling plan. Panama City is about 100 miles east of Pensacola.
A Minerals Management spokesman did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
About 20 people spoke at the hearing and nearly all supported the drilling plan. They included representatives of the oil and gas, agribusiness and shipbuilding industries and the James Madison Institute, a conservative think tank based in Tallahassee, according to The News-Herald of Panama City.
Barney Bishop, president and CEO of Associated Industries of Florida, a statewide trade association, also spoke in support of the proposal that would still keep rigs at least 100 miles off the Florida coast.
"Despite the recent decrease in gas prices, sticking our head in the ocean mud and unilaterally denying ourselves access is not going to help us decrease our foreign dependence on oil nor is it going to deliver us to the promised land of renewable energy," Bishop said in a statement.
Opponents say drilling would be a pollution threat to beaches and estuaries that are vital to Florida's environment and tourism industry. They cite oil spills and toxic material used even for gas-producing wells and the danger of hurricanes that were responsible for 124 spills totaling 741,000 gallons of petroleum from offshore rigs last year, according to federal statistics. A tanker also spilled 3 million gallons of fuel when it hit a toppled rig in the Gulf.
The environmentalists also urged that Governor-elect Charlie Crist and Florida's congressional delegation oppose any efforts to reach a compromise on offshore drilling legislation in Congress before the new Democratic majority takes over in January.
The Republican-controlled House and Senate have passed conflicting proposals to open more offshore areas to drilling but so far have been unable to resolve their differences. President Bush has urged congressional leaders to pass a drilling bill before the current session ends.
"We are convinced that if we can hold out and make it through this lame duck session of Congress without any drilling legislation passing we're going to be much better situated to win real protections for Florida's coasts for the long term," Binns said.
A staunch drilling opponent, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is slated to be the next House speaker.
Crist, a Republican who voiced opposition to offshore drilling during his campaign, was invited to the news conference, but he was out of town and unable to attend.
County Panel Denies Subdivision Proposal
Commissioners voted 5-2 Tuesday to deny plans for a six-lot subdivision on a 4.5-acre tract on Canal Road at the entrance to Cherry Pocket Fish Camp.
County planners recommended approval, arguing the proposed subdivision wouldn't conflict with the fish camp because the proposed development's lots were larger than the fish camp's.
But Commissioner John Langford said that misses the point.
"It's not compatible with the neighborhood; you're not comparing apples to apples,'' he said. "This is the kind of thing the Planning Commission exists for, because this change doesn't represent the public interest."
Cherry Pocket owner Richard Eten said he thinks it's important to maintain a feel of old, natural FIorida.
"There needs to be places that aren't a concrete jungle," he said.
In addition to thinking the subdivision would clash with the 1940s-era fish camp, commissioners were uncomfortable with approving a plan that contained so many unresolved questions.
Eten said the septic drain field for the fish camp is near Canal Road on what now appears to be part of the property proposed for the subdivision and partly in an unopened road right of way.
Commissioner Augie Fragala said that was a problem, saying he was reluctant to approve any development that would simply set up conditions for a legal dispute.
Kendal Phillips, the Lakeland engineer representing property owners Earl Starnes, Ellen Cotrell and Linda Belisle, said those issues would have to be resolved before the subdivision is platted anyway.
In addition to Fragala and Langford, those voting to deny the request were Ellis Hunt, John Ryan and John Webb. Voting against denial were Barbara Douglas and Jim Urick.
In other action Tuesday, planning commissioners:
Voted 4-3 to deny a revised site plan by Sun Holdings of Orlando to put 211 homes and 327 townhouses on a 307-acre parcel near Walk-in-the-Water Creek east of Lake Wales because of possible traffic conflicts with nearby retirement communities, such as Fedhaven and Village Green.
Voted 6-1 to approve a permit by Michael Stenger of Bartow to allow a grass airstrip for a crop-dusting operation off Stenger Road east of Bartow.
Voted 7-0 to approve a permit modification requested by C.C. Calhoun Inc. for a 58-acre sand mine near Haines City off Detour Road.
Voted 7-0 to approve a change in the Polk portion of the Champions Gate development of regional impact to allow 593 dwelling units, 400 hotel rooms, 70,000 square feet of retail and 160,000 square feet of office space on a 170-acre site on Ronald Reagan Parkway.
Tom Palmer can be reached at tom.palmer@theledger.com or 863-802-7535.
3 Builders Plan Subdivision On Site Of Former K-Bar Ranch
Published: Nov 16, 2006
NEW TAMPA - Mobley Homes has partnered with M/I Homes and Taylor Woodrow Homes to build a 300-lot subdivision in the former K-Bar Ranch.
M/I and Mobley already are working together in Easton Park, a 600-lot subdivision just off Morris Bridge Road. Mobley is building 100 homes in that community.
Bassett Creek will be in the western portion of the former 2,280-acre cattle ranch, with access from Kinnan Street.
Each of the three builders has 100 lots ranging from 60 feet to 75 feet wide. All of the houses will back up to lakes or conservation areas, Vice President Marc Mobley said.
"We're going to start building the first homes in December," Mobley said.
The neighborhood will not be gated, but Mobley said it would be "a little more upscale than what we're offering in Easton Park." Home prices will start in the mid-$300,000s and go up to $600,000. The least expensive homes in Easton Park start at $230,000.
Mobley will offer homes with the same floor plans available in other communities, but the homes will look different.
"There's more brick and stone," Mobley said. "We've done total makeovers on the elevations so people can have the choice of a French Colonial style or a Craftsman."
Shad Tome, president of Taylor Woodrow Homes' Central Florida division, said his company will introduce floor plans specifically designed for the smaller lots.
"Most of the plans have a courtyard-style garage instead of a front-entry," Tome said.
"We think that gives it more curb appeal, but it's something you typically see on 80-foot lots."
Tampa annexed K-Bar in 2001. Mobley Homes owns development rights for 999 homes and is building 78 town houses near Pride Elementary.
The builder is seeking development rights for another 900 homes and a 200,000-square-foot town center, but it must get permission to connect its roads to Pasco County's Meadow Pointe subdivision for the expansion.
Mobley bought its entitlements in 2004, but transportation and environmental issues have delayed construction. The Tampa City Council last week approved the developer's upland habitat plan.
"Some of the delays have turned out to be a blessing," Tome said.
"All three of the builders - M/I, Mobley and us - have worked well together. We've used that time to make sure our architecture complements each other."
Another benefit of the delay is that construction will coincide with the widening of Cross Creek Boulevard.
"It's getting easier to sell homes up there," Mobley said.
Reporter Laura Kinsler can be reached at (813) 865-4844 or lkinsler@tampatrib.com.
Project to transform downtown Tavares
Approvals are nearly complete for town homes, condos, offices and retail on the waterfront.
Nin-Hai TsengSentinel Staff Writer
November 16, 2006
TAVARES -- This city's downtown for years has been dominated by government offices, while drawing few eateries, homes or businesses.
That will soon change.
A Fort Lauderdale-based developer promised Wednesday to turn this sleepy county seat known for its small-town charm into a vibrant community with luxury town homes, a marina and a high-rise condo tower.
Ideal Florida Homes representatives presented the City Council detailed plans for Tavares Station, a mixed-use residential and commercial development on Lake Dora. The project would be built on an old citrus plant, which was sold last year to the developer.
The project has been approved in large part with a few minor engineering details yet to be cleared by council members.
"A lot of people are concerned about the face of Tavares, and we're doing our best to make it look good," said Rick Gonzalez, sales manager for R&S Realty Group, a partner of Ideal Florida Homes.
Plans for Tavares Station include 25 luxury town homes and a 175-unit condo tower rising up to 15 stories high. They also call for a parking garage and space for retail shops and offices. With lakefront views, the residential units will be priced from the high $200,000s to more than $1 million, Gonzalez said.
"We're trying to attract all kinds of people -- from families who don't care to cut grass to judges who work at the courthouse to retirees," he said.
The project also will include a 99-slip boat marina and a two-story office building. Gonzalez said two unnamed restaurants will go up near Wooton Park.
Playing on its name, Tavares Station will feature an excursion train chugging through the development and, eventually, Eustis and Mount Dora. The developer has proposed a bike and walking trail along the lakefront that could connect to the existing Tav-Lee Trail nearby.
"Tavares Station is going to be a big improvement," City Council member Robert Speaks said during Wednesday's meeting. "It's going to be better than an old packinghouse."
Mayor Nancy Clutts said the development could give the city an edge in luring more businesses.
"It becomes an anchor for other things," Clutts said.
Although council members embraced the project, the developer acknowledged residents' concerns that the changes may spoil downtown's historic look. Representatives said architects have studied the area and will incorporate the look into their designs, including adding a clock tower as one of the development's focal points. The buildings also will reflect some of the same brick work seen at City Hall and the historic courthouse.
Tavares resident Denise Laratta wasn't impressed. The retiree said she moved to Tavares from Atlanta to get away from the bustle of an urban center.
"I moved to Tavares and not to Orlando to get away from tall buildings," Laratta said.
The highest point of the condo tower will stretch to about 170 feet, as high as some downtown Orlando buildings, but not as tall as the 226-foot Citrus Tower in Clermont.
Development of Tavares Station coincides with other major projects expected to transform this relatively quiet downtown.
Lake County officials are expected to more than triple the size of the Judicial Center. Gonzalez said the expansion could create the need for more legal offices and other related businesses, which could move into office space at Tavares Station.
City officials recently completed a streetscaping project to improve the look of a half-mile stretch of Main Street. The $1.2 million beautification project brought wider sidewalks, improved roadway and drainage, and decorative plants.
Construction for Tavares Station is expected to begin in February, Gonzalez said. He said it could take four years to complete.
Nin-Hai Tseng can be reached at nhtseng@orlandosentinel.com or 352-742-5919.
Proposed
15-story tower raises eyebrows
Joshua
Davidovich
Staff
Writer
TAVARES
- Ideal Florida Homes on Wednesday presented plans for a 15-story
tower to be built in downtown Tavares.
Some members of the Tavares City Council expressed concern over the
tower's height - though there isn't much they can do about it.
Because Tavares has no restrictions on how tall a building can be,
the developer has virtually free reign to design what it wants. The
only stipulation is that any plans fall within the planned
development regulations that applied to the old Lake Region Packing
Association plant, which sat on the land until a few years ago.
"It looks great. My concern is heights," said Councilman
Sandy Gamble.
The tower will have a mix of retail, office and condominium space
and will be part of a larger development, which will also include
townhomes and restaurants. The project is slated for Ruby Street
between Sinclair Avenue and Wooton Park, along the shore of Lake
Dora.
Although it is mostly unfettered by building restrictions, Ideal
Florida Homes has worked closely with the city to ensure its project
represents the history of Tavares. Various facade features planned
for the development are meant to evoke the historic courthouse and
city hall, as well as the railroad that will run through the
development.
"It has been designed as a total center to live, work and play,
incorporating all of the architectural styles that have helped to
shape the history of the city of Tavares," said Rodger Kooser,
president of Ideal Florida Homes.
The building will include 22,000 square feet of street-front retail
space, 70,000 square feet of office space, 175 condominiums and a
seven-story parking garage.
The roofline will be mostly between seven and 11 stories, reaching
15 stories only at a clock tower in the center. Clock towers will be
incorporated into each building of the development.
Councilwoman Nancy Clutts - who stepped down as mayor later in the
meeting - expressed reservation over whether a potential sale could
alter the building's design.
"Our intention is to follow through on the entire
project," said John Dunkin, who is heading construction.
"There is no intention to sell off any part of it."
Audience member Denise Laratta spoke out against both the height of
the tower and the cost of the units in it. Dunkin said the costs
would range from $200,000 for a studio to more than $1 million for a
penthouse.
"As I looked at that 15-story building, my heart dropped,"
Laratta said. "I moved here from Atlanta, Georgia to get away
from tall buildings. It's going to overpower downtown Tavares."
"For most of the people concerned," she added, "those
are not the types of prices those people can afford."
There had been considerable backlash earlier in the year from city
officials about the height of a six-story parking garage for county
workers. Dunkin said, though, that the design of his firm's building
would make up for any height-related concerns.
Council member Robert Speaks, participating in his last council
meeting, agreed.
"Give your number to the county so they can come in to see how
to build a parking garage," he said.
Fire Chief Richard Keith said new equipment would be needed to
service the large building, though he said the city needs a new
truck anyway.
He said most fire truck ladders do not reach above 10 stories,
meaning many residents will have to rely on interior safety design
features, like sprinklers and emergency stairwells.
City Panel OKs Residential Development, Says No
to Shops
The residents plan to carry their opposition to the City Commission in an attempt to block Highland Cassidy LLC's plan to build 308 single family homes and 128 multiple-family homes on 91 acres, plus another 3 acres of commercial development between Camellia Drive and Cooley Road.
The city's Planning Commission approved the residential plan, but deadlocked on the commercial proposal after a lengthy debate during a public hearing Monday night.
After changing motions several times, the board voted 4-2 in favor of the residential plan and tied 3-3 on the commercial development. That means the Planning Commission is recommending the City Commission approve the residential development but is not making a recommendation on the commercial proposal.
Bill Roe, a resident of Lake Shipp Drive for about 53 years, said the homeowners' group will continue the fight before the City Commission.
"That was a slap in the face last (Monday) night; it was a very disingenuous presentation by city staff,'' Roe said. "We recognize this is not a flat denial and that the commission's chair (James Joner) railroaded the agenda in favor of the developer."
The homeowners' major concern is that the development would bring more traffic hassles to the area and a string of "clustered" homes that are not compatible to the neighborhood's character and density.
The developer wants to build about five houses per acre. Existing houses in the neighborhood are two per acre.
Representatives for the development company told the Planning Commission that the city staff first suggested that commercial property be included in the plan because it "makes sense" and the property would be used for convenience-type stores.
If the commercial development is allowed retail shopping, restaurants and personal services would be allowed but tattoo parlors and lounges would be banned.
Board member Steven Lockhart said he agreed with the homeowners that commercialization would bring traffic hazards to the area. He said he did not approve of the commercial aspect of the plan.
Some homeowners sitting in the audience shook their heads in disagreement.
Before the planning meeting, homeowners, city staff and the developer had talks to try to come to an agreement.
Some homeowners said they were misled into thinking the commercial area was going to be removed from the plan before the hearing, but the city's Senior Planner Sean Byers denied that claim.
"We discussed possible scenarios, but nothing was definite," Byers said.
A recommendation will be presented to the City Commission for final approval.
Joe Burke, another Lake Shipp Drive resident who moved to the area 23 years ago, said he thought the planning commission would deny the developer's proposal.
"I am very disappointed," said Burke. "The commission is feeding into the developers desires instead of listening to the voice of the people."
Iza Montalvo can be reached at iza.montalvo@theledger or 863-401-6967.
County consultant on Mecca Farms withdraws
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Thursday, November 16, 2006
WEST PALM BEACH — The private consulting firm the county chose to review development plans on Mecca Farms has bowed out of that job to avoid any "perceived conflict of interest" while it represents other private landowners in the vicinity.
Partners with West Palm Beach-based Kilday & Associates, run by former county zoning director Kieran Kilday, said the decision was triggered by a county commission vote two months ago to build more than 3,800 homes at Mecca Farms.
The Mecca vote effectively increased the number of homes allowed on surrounding farmland, including Callery-Judge, a citrus grove Kilday represents as it seeks development approvals.
The firm mentioned its involvement with other western landowners and addressed "potential conflicts" before a meeting last month to discuss the effects of traffic in the area.
Last week, Kilday agreed to forgo any county representation and only work with private landowners in relation to western county development, while firm partner Collene Walter would work with the county on Mecca Farms.
The firm withdrew that suggestion in a letter this week. "Public acceptance of the new program for Mecca Farms will be key to obtaining the necessary development approvals, and any perceived conflict could detract from that task and undermine public confidence," Walter wrote.
Change delays development
The firm's decision will delay the county's attempts to recoup the $60 million spent on Mecca Farms, as a new consultant will need to be hired and get up to speed on the 1,919-acre site's features.
County officials staunchly defended the firm's work as both hired consultant and representative of private interests that regularly pitched developments before commissioners, saying any conflicts that could have arisen would have been handled.
"We never had any question over how they represented us," County Administrator Bob Weisman said. "Staff is fully supportive of their doing our work."
Weisman touted the 28-year-old firm's expertise in land use and other issues, adding that it is hard to avoid working with a local consultant that had no ties to private landowners or developers.
The county couldn't do the work, Weisman said, because "we don't have the staff capability. We had to have a consultant do it."
Several commissioners touted Kilday's technical proficiency. But some agreed with the move in light of the controversy created by land deals that resulted in former Commissioner Tony Masilotti's arrest last month on fraud charges.
"How we handle perceptions is pretty important right now in Palm Beach County," Commissioner Jeff Koons said. "We've got to watch out on that stuff."
And Commissioner Karen Marcus said, "If nothing else, it doesn't look good."
The county contracted with Kilday & Associates in 2001 to provide development and evaluation services, tasks that include studying environmental impacts, researching land and creating plans for county developments. The firm has worked on Scripps since early 2004.
The county has paid the firm $2.37 million for its work, according to county finance records. Kilday & Associates earned nearly $1.6 million for work related to Scripps. Of that amount, some went to a group of about 10 sub-consultants.
Aside from Mecca Farms, the firm has worked on county plans related to fire stations, libraries, airports and roads, and the development of the county's Vista Center, a government building that opened this year.
Firm has many ties
Kilday and the firm's employees also have worked with some of Palm Beach County's biggest players, including Palm Beach Aggregates, GL Homes, Lion Country Safari, and a group of landowners who own about 1,500 acres on Lox Road on the Broward-Palm Beach County line.
Kilday and his firm have contributed thousands of dollars to county commission and statewide candidates of both political parties.
The firm has spent the past two weeks clarifying its role with the county following Masilotti's arrest.
A one-time Kilday employee, Wes Blackman, reviewed submittals on bids to sell the county-owned Posse property in 2003, a 10-acre piece of land federal prosecutors mentioned in their criminal information charge against Masilotti. Developer Bruce Rendina was awarded the bid to buy the land around the same time he gave Masilotti gifts and free access to a plane Rendina had rented.
Kilday said last week that Blackman "had no direct contact with any of the submitters" and had no input on the bidders' rankings.
Ross Hering, the county's head of real estate, submitted a review of the Posse property bid Tuesday to Weisman and said, "Blackman was not personally involved in the representation of Rendina Companies."
Some residents have been critical of Kilday's dual role, particularly out west.
"You can't serve two masters," Loxahatchee resident Nancy Gribble said.
Commissioner Burt Aaronson said the firm "was right" to halt its involvement with Mecca Farms, but that the situation was not unusual.
"Almost everybody represents somebody who is going to go before the county commission," he said.
Staff writer Mitra Malek contributed to this story.
Sponsored Links
Deadline pushed back for tracking fishing vessels
By STEPHEN NOHLGREN, Times Staff Writer
Published November 16, 2006
GALVESTON, Texas - Commercial fishermen in Florida will get a 90-day reprieve from an order to install a controversial tracking device that can pinpoint their location far out into the Gulf of Mexico.
The digital device, called a "vessel monitoring system," bounces a signal off satellites and is designed to alert authorities when a boat is fishing in forbidden waters. It also allows fishing police to check for undersized and out-of-season fish by meeting boats when they return to the dock.
Federal regulators had ordered fishermen to install the devices by Dec. 7, but Wednesday the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council pushed the deadline back to March 7. The postponement came after several fishermen complained they needed more time to buy the devices and arrange for installation by certified vendors.
Many fishermen who target grouper and other bottom fish are part-timers with small boats that they keep on trailers next to their homes, Martin Fischer of the Fishermen's Advocacy Organization told the council.
Because the devices must operate 24 hours a day, fishermen will have to install antennae on their garages to send out a clear signal, Fischer said. They also need to enclose parts of their boats to keep the device's computer keyboard dry.
In October, the National Marine Fisheries Service announced it would reimburse fishermen for the cost of the devices. But fishermen still must pay monitoring fees of $40 to $50 a month and shoulder repair costs, said William Ward of the Gulf Fishermen's Association. Ward's organization has sued the government in federal court alleging that the devices violate fishermen's constitutional rights to privacy.
They are offensive, he told the council, because most fishermen have not broken any fishing regulations. Ward unsuccessfully urged the council to suspend the tracking requirement altogether, comparing the devices to ankle bracelets that convicted criminals sometimes wear on parole.
Sorry, Mickey D 's , fee must stay on menu
Times editorialPublished November 15, 2006
Pasco shouldn't shy away from supersizing its road-building fees just because a fast-food giant threatens to boycott the county. Borrowing a line from one of their competitors, the people at McDonald's Corp. want to have it their way.
They told Pasco County they will open no new restaurants here if the commission raises the fees it charges new businesses and homeowners for road improvements. Diners apparently will have to make do with the 13 McDonald's restaurants already operating in the county.
McDonald's isn't the first to grumble, but it is the first to go public with a boycott threat. The commission, after hearing building industry gripes about its plan to quadruple its commercial road-building fees, appointed a developer-dominated citizens panel to offer alternatives. It is reasonable to explore other options, and balancing a gasoline tax increase with higher fees is an appropriate consideration.
But the reality of increased road-construction costs and meeting the demands of concurrency - ensuring roads, schools and other infrastructure are in place to handle the demands from new growth - is a phenomenon not exclusive to Pasco. Polk County, for instance, recently raised its road impact fee to $91,786 per 1,000 square feet.
In a Nov. 9 letter to Commissioner Ann Hildebrand, Susan Kurchinski, McDonald's area real estate manager, called on Pasco "to lead the state in looking for alternative resources and create a business-friendly environment instead of the deafening silence of a moratorium."
Fine, but additional road congestion shouldn't be one of the alternatives.
McDonald's said the proposed road fee, if adopted, is higher than its cost to build a restaurant, but it declined to reveal its construction costs or how many restaurants it had planned for Pasco. Part of this may be posturing. The building slowdown started long before the county began these discussions. Some high-profile developments, like the Cannon Ranch, are stalled. Wal-Mart just announced plans to delay a planned supercenter store in Dade City because residential growth was slower than expected.
Under the county's proposal, the fee for a single-family home could jump from $3,900 to as much $13,000.
The county also charges impact fees for schools, parks, libraries and public safety.
Rather than worrying about a fast-food chain's bottom line, the commission would be wise to focus on how its proposed impact fees will affect affordable housing options.
After all, those McDonald's workers will need a place to live.
The size of the road fee is worthy of discussion, but the intent is not: Development has to pay for the services it demands.
Orange big-box panel inspires ire
The committee's recommended restrictions on store locations and hours anger Wal-Mart officials.
Jeannette Rivera-LylesSentinel Staff Writer
November 14, 2006
After months of deliberations, the Orange County Commission's big-box task force has come up with a set of rules to govern stores such as Wal-Mart -- and the retail giant is not happy.
County Commissioner Linda Stewart, who headed the task force, said she's bracing for the possibility of a lawsuit.
"But certainly they can go in and file a lawsuit no matter what we did," Stewart said. "We had to address these things in the manner the community wanted us to deal with them."
The proposed ordinance will be presented for the first time today to Orange County's local planning agency. The agency will then incorporate its recommendations and send the ordinance to commissioners early next year.
If the ordinance is approved in its current form, any new store larger than 75,000 square feet that is within 1,500 feet of a residential neighborhood would not be able to run a 24-hour operation. Those stores also would not be allowed within 2,500 feet of any public school.
The ordinance also would mandate that the County Commission review all big-box development plans.
Currently, they are reviewed by planning and zoning boards, which then issue recommendations to the County Commission on how to proceed.
"We address every issue that was brought before us and more," Stewart said.
In a three-page letter to Stewart, Wal-Mart's local legal team -- the law firm of Lowndes, Drosdick, Doster, Kantor and Reed -- objected to many of the proposed ordinance provisions, especially those regulating the location of big-box stores and the hours of operation.
Attorney Rebecca Furman, who signed the letter, argued in it that these prohibitions are not supported by facts.
"This restriction creates an unfair competitive advantage to non-big-box retailers who sell the same merchandise and are allowed to operate longer hours," Furman said of the 24-hour restriction. "The notion that the big-box development should 'go to sleep with the community' is not justification to create such a restriction. The idea that our community goes to sleep at 11 p.m. is unrealistic."
Wal-Mart is eyeing two Orange County properties for new stores. One is in east Orange County near Chickasaw Trail and Curry Ford Road, and the other is in south Orange County at John Young and Central Florida parkways.
Residents in both those areas have complained that nonstop commercial activity on a large scale does not belong next to their homes.
"This is a different kind of phenomenon, a different kind of retail," said Greg Mellow, a northwest Orange County resident and a member of the Wal-Mart Alliance Reform Network, a national group that lobbies against the retail giant.
"For them to compare what they do to other stores that sell some of the same products, such as a 7-Eleven selling milk, is ludicrous."
The Wal-Mart spokesman for Central Florida, Eric Brewer, said the company's concern is that the proposed ordinance's restrictions on distance and hours of operation are arbitrary.
"There's no methodology as for why it should be 2,500 feet as opposed to any other distance," Brewer said. "We would like to see some points of fact."
The proposed ordinance also would mandate that big-box stores have a security guard on duty at all times, a shopping-cart retention and recovery system -- such as carts with wheels that lock in place when taken off the property -- and better lighting in the parking lots.
The County Commission created the big-box task force earlier this year amid resident opposition to the two proposed Wal-Mart stores in Orange County.
Jeannette Rivera-Lyles can be reached at jrivera@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5471.
Land Accord Is Reached
Published: Nov 15, 2006
An attorney for the east Pasco landowners group challenging the county's comprehensive growth plan says a settlement reached Monday will give northeast Pasco property owners more flexibility to develop their land in the future.
Tampa lawyer Clarke Hobby said his group thought the proposed comprehensive plan, revamped as part of a periodic review process, held property owners there to a different standard than others in the county.
The main objection was to a provision requiring large landowners seeking to build more houses than currently allowed to create so-called conservation subdivisions, with clustered development and half of the land set aside as open space.
The settlement changes the guidelines to allow "master planned unit developments," which also increase densities but are not as restrictive on the layout of open space.
"The best way to put it is the county offered us another alternative, which is really what we were looking for," Hobby said. "Open space is open space. It doesn't matter who owns it, who manages it."
One intervener in the mediation on the county's side, environmental activist Jennifer Seney, said the spirit of the plan remains intact.
"Yes, we gave something up," she said Tuesday. "However, 'conservation subdivision' was never even in the last comp plan. We have things in this plan that we never had, like rural character areas and neighborhood protection areas. When I looked at the overall picture, I felt like I could live with it."
Seney said she feared that if the landowners group proceeded with litigation, the county would stand to lose more.
"If we went forward to trial, … it's clear to me that there is not the political fortitude to say, 'Fine, we go with a full moratorium until this is resolved,'" she said. "It would be business as usual under the old comp plan, which is unacceptable to me."
The group Northeast Pasco Concerned Citizens, which also intervened in the mediation, still has questions and is holding out on approving the deal until later this week, group representative Paul Boetcher said Tuesday.
The agreement, reached after 13 hours of mediation, must be reviewed by the Pasco Citizens Advisory Committee and signed by the county commission. The state Department of Community Affairs has agreed to the terms.
Hobby said his clients still may opt for conservation subdivisions because they offer more building density, but master planned developments allow for scattering the open spaces.
"I just don't believe one size fits all," Hobby said. "All we wanted to do was have some flexibility with design. From a lawyer's perspective, it drives me crazy that these people have a different standard."
Hobby cited the recently approved Trilby Estates off Power Line Road as a development where open spaces are spread throughout the development and along surrounding roads.
The plan also was amended to change the rules that restricted road expansions. The settlement says projects may not be denied solely on the basis that they trigger the need for widening roads. The change was intended to comply with a new concurrency law requiring that the developments have adequate infrastructure.
Hobby predicted that with the downturn in the real estate market, development will remain slow.
"I think some people were worried that growth would just mushroom right out from Wesley Chapel up here without any regard," he said. "Now that the market has collapsed, there may be nothing happening for the next five to 10 years, so it may give people a chance to take a breather.
"My clients weren't so concerned about what they can do tomorrow and liquidating their property right away. They were just worried about what they can do in the future," he said.
"There is not going to be a lot of demand for big-lot subdivisions," Hobby said. "I think there are going to be some really creative designs."
Reporter Julia Ferrante can be reached at (813) 948-4220 or jferrante@tampatrib.com.
County-OK'd growth plans contested
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Residents and their attorneys have lined up to challenge county commission-approved growth plans that state planners said fly in the face of growth-management laws.
A group of suburban West Palm Beach residents, the growth management group 1000 Friends of Florida and environmental activist Rosa Durando filed paperwork with the state this week to participate in negotiations to settle the fate of four county comprehensive plan changes approved by commissioners in August.
The state's Department of Community Affairs last month ruled that the four comprehensive plan changes, as well as a fifth one, were out of compliance with county and state growth laws.
Five residents of the West Gun Club Road Property Owners Association are opposing commission-approved changes that would have increased the number of homes, from 20 to 104, on more than 20 acres at the southeast corner of Southern Boulevard and Jog Road.
Throughout meetings this year, the residents said that project was too dense, compared with the one-acre lots in their community. The city of Greenacres also opposed the project, and county planners had recommended that commissioners deny it approval.
The commissioners "need to review what the professionals in planning have done," resident Jim Harangody said. The association hired environmental and land-use attorney Jane West to represent them.
Durando and 1000 Friends of Florida are intervening in three comprehensive plan changes: a tenfold increase in homes on 97 acres at Northlake and Coconut boulevards; approval for 26 homes at Lantana Road and State Road 7, where two are now allowed; and a funeral home on Heritage Road and State Road 7. Attorney Lisa Interlandi of the Everglades Law Center is representing Durando and 1000 Friends.
County and state planners are set to try to negotiate the comprehensive plan changes, perhaps with an alternative plan that would require county commission approval. If negotiations stall, an administrative law judge will hear testimony from the parties involved and make a ruling.
Cabinet okays expanding fishing ban in Dry Tortugas; Crist dissents
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published November 15, 2006
TALLAHASSEE - The final element needed to complete the largest marine reserve in North America off Florida's southwest coast won approval Tuesday from Gov. Jeb Bush and the state Cabinet.
The panel voted 3-1 for a management plan banning fishing in a 61-square-mile section of Dry Tortugas National Park in the Gulf of Mexico and Florida Straits about 75 miles west of Key West.
The new Research Natural Area will be added to the existing Tortugas Ecological Reserve, where fishing has been prohibited since 2001. Combined, the two areas will prohibit fishing in 261 square miles.
The area is designed to help overfished species such as grouper and red snapper recover. It also will provide scientists with a living laboratory and divers and other visitors with recreational and educational opportunities.
"It's good for the fish; it's good for the ecosystem; it's good for fishermen," said University of Miami marine biologist Jerald Ault.
The only dissenting vote was cast by Attorney General Charlie Crist, Florida governor-elect.
"I am reluctant to restrict a freedom from individual recreational fishermen and fisherwomen," Crist said. He spoke fondly of growing up fishing with his father and how that helped cement their bond.
Bush and the Cabinet added a provision that would restore fishing after five years without another vote.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Chairman Rodney Barreto said the research area is so far from shore that few recreational fishermen go there. Most of the park - 71.5 square miles - will remain open to fishing, including the area immediately surrounding Fort Jefferson, where most anglers congregate.
State to acquire more land at Silver Springs
The Cabinet unanimously approved a land purchase that will prevent construction of about 11,000 new homes that would have contributed to pollution problems at Silver Springs near Ocala, one of the state's most storied tourist attractions.
The panel agreed to spend about $77-million, including $2.5-million being contributed by Marion County, to buy 4,471 acres owned by Avatar Properties of Coral Gables for the Florida First Magnitude Springs project.
Avatar will sell the land, a mix of forest, swamp and prairie inhabited by several rare species, including the Florida black bear, bald eagle, red-cockaded woodpecker and eastern indigo snake, to an intermediary, the Nature Conservancy. It then will be resold to the state in two phases, in December and in July 2007.
The state has targeted 13,980 acres for the project, and 1,721 acres have been acquired or are under agreement for purchase. Tuesday's deal leaves 7,787 acres remaining to be acquired.
Silver Springs, Florida's third-largest springs, in recent years has been clouded by brownish algae, the result of rising nitrate levels blamed on runoff from residential, agricultural and other development. Environmentalists feared the pollution would worsen if the state failed to acquire the Avatar property that was platted as an 11,000-home subdivision.
Silver Springs is one of Florida's oldest tourist attractions featuring glass-bottom boats, rides, botanical gardens and animal shows. It also was the setting for six Tarzan movies and the Sea Hunt television series.
Real estate chill cuts into state tax income
By JENNIFER LIBERTO, Times Staff Writer
Published November 15, 2006
TALLAHASSEE - Florida's slowing real estate market means fewer than expected tax dollars will flow to Tallahassee next year, making it harder for Governor-elect Charlie Crist and other state leaders to fulfill campaign promises.
Lawmakers will have an estimated $2.3-billion in additional revenue to work with in 2007-08; roughly $466-million less than economists had thought would be available.
The change constitutes a fraction of the state's overall budget, which totaled $73.9-billion this year.
The chief culprit is the nationwide real estate slump that has hit Florida even harder because of skyrocketing property insurance rates. That slowdown will put a dent in the taxes from called documentary stamps, on all real estate transactions.
State economists predicted Tuesday that Florida would collect just $920-million in documentary stamps in 2007-08, down from $1.24-billion in 2005-06. Nonetheless, the projection is still more optimistic than the $660.1-million in documentary stamp collections projected for the current year.
"We've been talking about this for several meetings now," said Amy Baker, the chief analyst for the Legislature's joint Office of Economic and Demographic Research. "It's just more intense than we anticipated."
Crist, who must quickly write a budget proposal when he takes office in January, campaigned heavily on populist issues like raising teacher salaries and increasing prison sentences, both of which would require new spending. His "antimurder" bill, which would require more prison beds, would cost another $118-million a year, by 2010, according to one legislative analysis.
Crist has contended that steady growth in tax receipts, fed in part by population growth, could help him deliver his promises. But state economists warned Tuesday that Florida's recent flush days, fueled in part by Florida's second-home market, are gone.
Crist wasn't deterred Tuesday by the new projections. He said he'll need just $700-million for his new priorities, less than the $2.3-billion in additional revenue state economists still expect.
But the governor-elect also has to compete with other pressures: growing costs for current state services, voter mandates in the constitution and the priorities of other state leaders.
For example, lawmakers want to throw millions more at the state's new hurricane mitigation program that provides grants to homeowners who harden their homes. That program received $250-million this year.
Lawmakers must fund a 2002 voter mandate to shrink public school class sizes. And thanks to a voter mandate approved last week, they must spend $57-million on antitobacco education, a program that currently receives almost no state money.
Times staff writer Jennifer Liberto can be reached at jliberto@sptimes.com or (850) 224-7263.
Revenue helps counties keep pace with growth
Rising property values will fund roads and services, but critics say property owners deserve relief from taxes.
Denise-Marie BalonaSentinel Staff Writer
November 13, 2006
New roads, new buildings, acres of environmentally sensitive land and a fresh group of deputies.
Counties across Central Florida are cashing in on what might turn out to be record growth in property-tax revenue to help buy things they have long wanted but couldn't afford.
The extra $270 million rolling in this year because of soaring property values on homes, businesses and vacant land is enough to run a small country. And that amount doesn't include tens of millions of dollars the region will bring in through taxes on new buildings.
The extra cash is allowing county leaders across the region to pay for overdue renovations at the Seminole County Jail and a contribution of up to $46 million toward an incentive package to lure the Burnham Institute for Medical Research to Orlando.
County leaders argue they need to take advantage of a chance to bring in the kind of money they might not see again next year, when property values might not grow as much. Also, government leaders statewide are looking at ways to reform Florida's tax system, which could lead to less revenue, too.
Critics complain the new money comes on the backs of business owners, investors and people who just moved.
Florida TaxWatch -- a nonpartisan, business-backed oversight group -- is frustrated to see county governments boast they have gotten the money while maintaining tax rates or dropping them slightly. By state law, a county is raising taxes if it brings in more money than in the previous year.
Volusia is thought to be one of, at most, a few Florida counties that adopted a tax rate expected to generate the same amount of money as last year, referred to as the roll-back rate. It did so after hundreds of residents protested at budget hearings.
As a result, Volusia will forgo about $49 million in property taxes that it initially had hoped to help cover the rising costs of such things as employee health insurance and utilities. Not all of the property taxes levied by the county went to roll-back, so Volusia will still see a small increase in revenue from rising property values.
Other counties will get tens of millions of bonus bucks. Officials mostly held off on cutting tax rates -- or cutting much -- because they say the money is needed to keep up with rising costs, and they fear the revenue boom might not last. Home sales could slump, and the state's property-tax system might change as leaders across Florida bounce around ideas for reform.
In Orange County, authorities had predicted property-tax proceeds would increase about 5 percent. They were thrilled to learn the taxes will actually bring in several times as much.
"We're talking about the largest percentage increase in tax revenue for as far back as we've been tracking it," said Randy Singh, manager of Orange County's Office of Management and Budget. "We've never seen this type of increase before, ever."
In nearby Seminole, county commissioners decided to wait to drop their tax rate. Seminole could lose more than $12.5 million if the homestead exemption is doubled, one of the ideas being batted around in Tallahassee.
Across Florida, property values are projected to rise an average of 25 percent this year, according to the Legislature's Office of Economic & Demographic Research. It's hard to say how high revenues will climb, though, officials said. But TaxWatch senior analyst Kurt Wenner said it looks to be a record year.
Wenner called the additional income "excessive."
"The thing we find most troubling about this is the attitude about it," he said. "Most governments are viewing it as a windfall, or money they are entitled to."
Tom Long, president of the Osceola County Landlords Association, said he's losing money because he won't pass along his tax-bill increases to the families who rent from him.
Bob McKee, fiscal-policy director for the Florida Association of Counties, argued the extra revenue is sorely needed because counties need to replenish reserves depleted by recent hurricanes. Building costs, particularly for roads, have risen, too.
"You have to look at both sides of the ledger to see what has happened -- on the cost side as well as what has happened at the revenue side," McKee said.
David Damron, Daphne Sashin, Nin-Hai Tseng and Gary Taylor of the Sentinel staff contributed to this report. Denise-Marie Balona can be reached at dbalona@orlandosentinel.com or 386-851-7916.
Land buy shelters Silver Springs
TALLAHASSEE - In an effort to protect one of Florida's most significant natural wonders, state officials agreed Tuesday to spend more than $76 million to buy 4,500 acres near Silver Springs to prevent the property from being developed into homes and businesses.State environmental regulators and local officials said the purchase represents a major advance in the long-term protection of the Marion County site, which is the third-largest natural springs site in the state and yields some 530,000 gallons of water per day.
"This is a huge step forward in the protection of our first magnitude springs that are truly a national and international treasure," said state Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala.
The purchase agreement, unanimously approved by Gov. Jeb Bush and the Cabinet, is the third most expensive environmental land project in state history and comes in the same year when the state agreed to spend $350 million to buy the Babcock Ranch in Southwest Florida.
To accomplish the task, the state had to form a partnership with Marion County and the nonprofit group The Nature Conservancy in order to buy the property over the next two years from a Coral Gables-based developer, Avatar Properties Inc.
Under the agreement, The Nature Conservancy will buy the land from Avatar and then sell it back to the state, beginning with the purchase of 2,678 acres next month and followed by the final purchase of another 1,794 acres in July. The total purchase price will be $76.35 million, with Marion County contributing $2.5 million.
If the state hadn't purchased the property, Avatar could have pushed forward with development plans that were approved years ago that could have allowed some 11,000 homes to be built on the site as well as 860,000 square feet of retail activity and a golf course.
The site is considered a major water recharge area for the springs and includes a number of threatened species, including bald eagles, black bears and eastern indigo snakes.
Marion County Commission Chairman Jim Payton said such intense development would have been "devastating" for the future of the springs, which like other springs around the state has seen declining water quality in recent years because of the impact of population growth.
Payton said the county gladly provided $2.5 million for the purchase, knowing the importance of acquiring the land.
"It's a banner day for not only the Marion County budget but also the citizens of Florida," Payton said.
Avatar officials said they also concluded the land should be preserved for conservation and recreational purposes.
"It's something we wanted to do," said Dennis Getman, a vice president and general counsel for Avatar. He said the company, which has made other environmental land sales in Florida, Arizona and California, is in the development business but also tries to be "environmentally conscientious."
Getman said when the company decided to try to work with the state and county about three years ago to preserve the land, he began collecting information in a file labeled "Do the Right Thing."
"I think under the circumstances that is exactly what we're doing," Getman said.
Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Colleen Castille said one of the prime motivators behind the land purchase was Guy Marwick, a former Marion County teacher who is a member of the Silver River Basin Working Group and who has been a longtime advocate for protecting the springs.
Marwick was "tireless in his efforts to get community support for this acquisition," Castille said. Marwick had a simple message for the governor and Cabinet members. "Please buy it," he told them.
In a statement, Bush said the land purchase "protects a part of Florida's history in perpetuity."
"Through this public-private partnership, the state is acquiring a critical piece of property near Silver Springs, protecting water quality in one of the largest artesian springs in the world," he said.
The purchase was made possible by the willingness of The Nature Conservancy to buy the land and then sell it back to the state over the next two years.
With state land conservation funds largely depleted this year, in part because of the massive Babcock purchase, the state will only have to come up with about $45 million next month for the initial phase of the purchase.
Then in July, when a new budget year begins, the state will need another $31 million to complete the purchase. In the meantime, the nonprofit conservation group will hold the remaining property, waiting for the second transaction.
Baxley, a House leader, said he didn't think lawmakers would balk at coming up with new land conservation funds for projects like the Avatar tract.
"I think this is the kind of purchase that makes a lot of sense to people," Baxley said. "This is the kind of thing we need to be buying."
Once fully acquired, the property will be managed by the Division of Forestry as a new state forest.
Volusia, state eye land buy
Volusia
County and state officials could move to fill what they say is a
hole in a crucial conservation corridor with a $10.8 million land
buy.
At its regular meeting in DeLand on Thursday, the County Council
will decide whether to ante up $6.4 million from the Volusia Forever
program to help buy roughly 2,251 acres north of State Road 44 in
the center of Volusia County.
In December, the St. Johns River Water Management District board
will decide whether to put in another $4.3 million.
It would be the second-largest single purchase in the five-year
history of the program, created when voters agreed to tax themselves
20 cents per $1,000 of taxable value for 20 years to protect Volusia
County's natural resources. It would also be only the second time
program money has been used to pay more than a property's appraised
value.
"It's really important for us to get it," said County
Chairman Frank Bruno. "Once it's developed, it's gone."
The land, owned by Orlando-based Volusia 44 Properties, is
bordered on three sides by publicly owned land.
Buying it would secure the largest remaining privately owned
portion of the county's designated 55,000-acre conservation corridor
between S.R. 44 and State Road 40 near the Flagler County line, said
Rob Walsh, Volusia Forever program coordinator.
Most of the designated conservation land immediately south of
S.R. 44 is privately owned, he said. Another 15,000 acres of
conservation land in Flagler County is publicly owned.
"This was the last large piece to fill in the hole in the
puzzle to bring the corridor down to State Road 44," Walsh
said.
If the council signs off Thursday, it will close the deal on the
vast majority of an about 2,800-acre collection of parcels sought
since 2003, when the Volusia Forever Advisory Committee made it a
top priority.
The price has escalated steadily since.
In 2004, county officials made a $3.85 million offer for the
2,800 acres, but the owner wanted $9 million, Walsh said.
A year later, the county got two appraisals of $7 million and
$7.3 million, but Volusia 44 Properties -- which lists Orlando
time-share magnate David A. Siegel as a managing member -- moved in
and bought it for $8.9 million.
"We got it appraised, and by the time we got it appraised it
was sold," said Doug Weaver, the county's land acquisition and
management director.
Volusia 44 Properties then agreed to sell 2,251 acres of the
land, for which new appraisals set a value of $8.4 million and $9
million.
Because the asking price is greater than the average of the two
appraisals, the council must approve the purchase by a supermajority
vote of five of the seven members.
cm end optional trim
The attorney for Volusia 44 Properties could not be reached for
comment Tuesday.
Council members said the county can't afford to wait.
"If the goal is to connect the corridor, I don't see we have
any other chance,"said Councilman Art Giles. "It is a lot
of money, but that is the fact of today."
filed Tuesday by conservation groups.
The Natural Resources Defense Council, The Defenders of Wildlife and Friends of PFN (Panama City Airport) filed the action to review the FAA decision in New York's 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
"Ultimately what we are going to request is that they throw out the FAA decision because the law requires the agency choose the alternative that would cause the least amount of damage to the environment," said Melanie Shepherdson, a Natural Resources Defense Council lawyer.
The FAA gave the go-ahead in September for construction of what is expected to be the nation's first new airport since Sept. 11, 2001. County leaders want to move the airport from St. Andrews Bay, where it is confined by water and residential development.
Land developer St. Joe Co. owns about 800,000 acres in the Panhandle, including 78,000 surrounding the 4,000 acres it donated for the new airport. The company, the state's largest private land owner, was founded by the duPont family in the 1930s as a paper company.
Advocates for the relocation have said it is a better alternative than extending the existing runways into the bay. Randy Curtis, executive director of the Bay County International Airport and a supporter of the move, said the lawsuit was expected.
"The FAA has gone to great care to follow the various laws," he said.
The lawsuit claims the FAA ignored the Endangered Species Act, National Environmental Policy Act and the Airport and Airways Improvement Act.
In September, scientists said they had seen the rare ivory-billed woodpecker, a bird once thought extinct, in the nearby Choctawhatchee River basin - a claim that makes conservation all the more urgent, the lawsuit said.
Shepherdson said her organization has already asked the FAA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which still has permit approvals pending, to review the project because of the ivory-billed sightings.
"It is a significant development," she said.
But Curtis said planners have researched the ivory-billed's habitat and do not think the bird is in the area.
"We don't think that is going to be an issue for us. It is something we have looked at quite extensively. Where it was seen was quite a distance from the airport site," he said.
The initial design for the
$331 million Bay County International Airport calls for it to encompass about 1,300 acres, it will have room to expand throughout the 4,000 acres - an area roughly the size of the Atlanta airport. Construction is expected to begin in March with the airport opening in late 2009 - a timeline Curtis said shouldn't change because of the legal action.
Environmentalists
file suit over global warming report
SAN
FRANCISCO -- Environmentalists sued the Bush administration Tuesday
for failing to produce a report on global warming's impact on the
country's environment, economy and public health.
The plaintiffs claim the government must complete such a report
every four years under the Global Change Research Act of 1990. The
plaintiffs say the last report was due in November 2004.
The lawsuit seeks to compel the U.S. Climate Change Science
Program to issue the national assessment, which should contain the
most recent scientific data on global warming and projections for
its future impacts.
Without the report, decision makers and the public "are
without one of the most important tools to grapple with this
complex, potentially overwhelming and yet all important issue,"
the complaint said.
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, which
was named in the lawsuit, had not received the complaint Tuesday and
could not comment on it, said spokesman Ben Fallon.
But Fallon defended the administration's record on combating
global warming, pointing to increased funding for alternative energy
research, for example. He said, "The president has been focused
on results-driven research and looking for practical ways to address
climate change in ways that aren't damaging to the economy."
Officials at the Climate Change Science Program, also named in
the complaint, did not immediately respond to calls seeking comment.
The lawsuit was filed in federal court in San Francisco by the
Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace.
The assessment is the "first step in crafting solutions to
the devastating consequences of climate change if we don't act
now," said Julie Teel, an attorney for the plaintiffs.
Environmentalists have accused the administration of trying to
suppress dissemination of the previous assessment, issued in 2000,
which predicted a dramatic rise in catastrophic storms, floods,
droughts and heat-related deaths.
The lawsuit comes as experts from around the world meet in
Nairobi for the two-week U.N. climate conference, where they have
been trying to set a course for future controls on global greenhouse
gas emissions.
Scientists attribute at least some of the past century's 1-degree
rise in global temperatures to the accumulation in the atmosphere of
carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases, byproducts of power
plants, automobiles and other fossil fuel-burning sources.
------
On the Net:
U.S. Climate Change Science Program: http://www.climatescience.gov/
Center for Biological Diversity: http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/programs/policy/energy/nati
onal-ass essment.html
County seeks another east-west highway
By MICHAEL D. BATESmbates@hernandotoday.com
BROOKSVILLE — People headed to Ridge Manor or Interstate 75 have no choice but to take State Road 50 if they want a straight shot to their destination.
There are a few other roads leading to the county’s east side, but they are hard to find and they tend to wind through rural patches.
And that, county transportation officials say, must change. Especially as the east side grows and more traffic piles onto busy S.R. 50.
County transportation officials estimate that, in the next 20 years, about 12,000 new homes are expected to be built in Hernando County, with another 30,000 people moving into the area.
With those kinds of numbers, it’s imperative the county prepare now to build new roads and make the infrastructure improvements to accommodate that growth, according to planning and transportation staffers.
Probably the biggest area of concern is making sure the county has another major east-west connector road to alleviate traffic on S.R. 50, especially around the congested intersection of I-75 and S.R. 50.
But where to put that new road?
One option that has been well-received by developers is to extend Ayers Road all the way to I-75. That road now winds through mostly rural tracts, an idea that hasn’t endeared the proposal to those living in the path of the proposed road.
A number of other road improvements are suggested within the planned development districts, including improvements to Kettering, Powerline and Lockhart roads in eastern Hernando County, where the 1,750-home Hickory Hill development is proposed.
Staffers believe impact fees will pay for construction and expansion of those roads. But because of the high cost of constructing state roads and interstate overpasses and ramps, more money must be found to six-lane S.R. 50 and I-75.
Of course, the biggest stumbling block to all these infrastructure improvements is funding.
Currently, no money is scheduled for those improvements. The county hopes the Florida Department of Transportation will kick in with some. But FDOT has not addressed the issue yet. And with Hernando County vying with other counties in the state for money to fund road improvement projects, it becomes a shell game.
The Ayers Road extension is an idea that had been floating around for about 25 years and earlier transportation models consistently show that the route would not alleviate much traffic from S.R. 50.
And, while developers footing some of the bill for right of way improvements would help, the county is looking at a huge price tag to extend Ayers Road. None of that was funded in the county’s long-range transportation plan.
The proposed east-west corridor is not the only road network the county has to be concerned with.
According to the transportation plan, the county will have to spend about $400 million in the next 20 years to improve roads throughout the county.
With county commissioners now shying away from a gas or sales tax increase, the problem is funding.
Reporter Michael D. Bates can be contacted at 352-544-5290.
Swiftmud Declines Bear Path Oversight
Published: Nov 15, 2006
ARIPEKA - The developers of Aripeka Heights worked for three years on a plan to build 235 houses in this coastal community and still leave room for Florida black bears thought to inhabit the area.
Those plans fell through when the partners discovered that the regional agency they were counting on to manage the "bear corridor" bisecting the development was unwilling to sign on as manager. A top Southwest Florida Water Management District official said this week his agency was not informed of the plan until it was a done deal.
"It was never made clear to us that we would be the managers until it was done," said Fritz Musselmann, director of the land resources department at Swiftmud, as the agency is known.
Developer Steve Thompson of Dunedin gained county approval last year to build houses on 210 acres off Aripeka Road west of U.S. 19 on the condition that a bear corridor be established through it and that the corridor be managed by a state or federal agency. Thompson, representing the Berdeaux family, apparently agreed to those terms on the assumption that Swiftmud would manage the land.
According to county property records, the Berdeauxes sold the property in December to Aripeka of Pasco LLC, a partnership involving Inland Homes Inc. and LandBuilder of Tampa. The partnership now is trying to sell the land to Pasco County's Environmental Lands Acquisition Program. The county commission is slated to consider the purchase this month.
The Berdeauxes sold an adjacent 20 acres to another group of developers led by New Port Richey lawyer Chuck Kalogianis. That project is slated for 25 homes.
Swiftmud officials were involved in informal talks with Aripeka Heights developers, but the agency was not informed it would be expected to manage the bear habitat, Musselmann said. Swiftmud owns land next to Aripeka Heights, but the agency had serious questions about how development would fit in with plans to encourage bear migration. Agency officials also wondered how they would perform prescribed burns and other management practices so close to homes.
Proximity Of Homes Problematic
"Given its size and nature, it would have been difficult to manage," Musselmann said. "When we took a look at the corridor and its width, based on what we saw, there was difficulty with No. 1: access and No. 2: How would we be able to preserve and burn anything when you have development adjacent to it? It is difficult to burn near homes without any buffers."
The Aripeka Heights developers worked closely with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission on plans for a bear corridor. Agency spokesman Gary Morse said such discussions are common, but the conservation commission is not a permitting agency, so the county would have the final say.
Musselmann said Swiftmud officials thought it might make sense for the county to manage the bear corridor, but county officials also have been unwilling. The preservation program seeks to partner with state and local agencies to leverage funds. Management would cut into the limited funds.
Wildlife, Wetlands Habitat
The county's preservation selection committee evaluated the Aripeka Heights property last month and gave it high scores for wildlife and wetlands habitat. The committee has recommended the purchase, but County Administrator John Gallagher said last week he wants to make sure the property fits in with plans to acquire "critical linkages" for wetlands and wildlife.
Gallagher said the county must stick to plans spelled out in a pitch for the Penny for Pasco, a 1-cent sales tax increase that partially funds the preservation program. Voters approved the tax increase in March 2004 with the understanding that it would help pay for road projects, new schools, fire stations and land preservation in certain corridors.
Preservation Program Manager Rene Brown said the land is not in one of the linkages, but it is part of an ecologically significant area identified by Pasco's new long-range comprehensive growth plan.
The Aripeka Heights project has been a point of contention for many nearby residents. A group called the Gulf Coast Conservancy opposed the project on the grounds that it would disrupt a bear corridor stretching from Citrus and Levy counties to the Sea Pines neighborhood in Hudson.
Thompson sought to build 600 houses, but after neighbors objected he modified his plans and started working with the conservation commission to protect the bears. A study conducted from 1997 to 2002 by the University of Kentucky found one female bear living in Aripeka and several males traveling through the area.
The Gulf Coast Conservancy also tried to get Swiftmud to buy the Aripeka Heights property, but a deal was never reached. "They came back with some ridiculous amount of money," Musselmann said. "We couldn't even appraise it at that."
The conservancy made one final attempt to preserve the land last year, nominating Aripeka Heights to the county preservation program, but the property was dropped from consideration because the Berdeauxes had not been informed, and the land was under contract for sale.
John Buehler of LandBuilder, who nominated the property this time, and other Aripeka of Pasco partners could not be reached for comment.
Reporter Julia Ferrante can be reached at (813) 948-4220 or jferrante@tampatrib.com.
Village land-use change snags, lags
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
WELLINGTON — A land-use change expected to bring an assisted living facility and roughly 50,000 square feet of office and commercial space to Pierson Road and South Shore Boulevard, the gateway to the equestrian preserve, was delayed for the second time Tuesday night.
Village council members decided to continue their discussions on the topic because it looked like, no matter what and even after three hours of public debate, the land-use change was going to die.
Councilwoman Lizbeth Benacquisto recused herself and left the dais.
Councilwoman Laurie Cohen made a motion to kill the land-use change but was not supported. Developers needed at least four council votes to send the application to the Department of Community Affairs.
The topic is expected to return before the council in January.
The land-use change was on the council's agenda in early October but was tabled at the developer's request. This time, developers added an assisted living facility to its plans to drum up support.
"This allows us to keep our elderly, our not so elderly, our children and our grandchildren together," said Michael Hebron, a village resident since 1990.
Hospitality Shoppes is planned to go where the old Palm Beach Polo Stadium is crumbling. Village planners said the project is a mixed-use development with a 90-bed assisted living facility, with 50,000 feet of commercial and office space.
The project is north of another, similar-sized project called Equestrian Shoppes.
Both are legally separate entities backed by roughly the same investors, notably longtime Wellington veterinarian Scott Swerdlin, with adjoining parking lots.
Splitting the projects was expected to help avoid state review, but lawyers found the village's own comprehensive plan makes it so these projects must go to the Department of Community Affairs.
Dean Turney, executive director of the Wellington Equestrian Alliance, called the project a Trojan horse in a letter to council members last week.
"There has been an effort to have this project considered as two small-scale comprehensive plan amendments rather than the more rigorous amendment process," Turney wrote. "Even more disturbing is the recent effort to have the two parcels considered at separate hearings. One can assume that this is a tactic to avoid an analysis of the combined impacts of the two parcels."
Hospitality Shoppes and Equestrian Shoppes, mixed-use developments, would be across the street from the Palm Beach Equestrian Center, home of the National Horse Show and Winter Equestrian Festival. Another larger development, billed as the largest equestrian center in the world, would be built around the show grounds.
County to discuss zoning changes
By TONY
BRITT tbritt@lakecityreporter.com
County officials are set to hear another request
from the Westfield Group and Harris Lake Investors regarding a
proposed condominium development near the Southern Oaks Golf Club.
Representatives for the Westfield Group, with Charlie Sparks, and
Harris Lake Investors, with Daniel Crapps as its principal, are
scheduled to request zoning amendments for the proposed development
during Thursday's county commissioners meeting at the Columbia School
Board Administrative Complex Auditorium, 372 W. Duval St. The
discussion is scheduled to take place during a public hearing.
“These are the zoning amendments that coincide with the land use
amendments that were done over the summer,” said Brian Kepner,
Columbia County planner.
The proposed requests are that zoning for the properties go from
residential-single family and commercial
highway interchange to Residential/multi-family I.
The change to Residential/multi-family I would allow for less-than or
equal-to eight dwelling units per acre.
Earlier this year, both groups went before the county commission and
were allowed land use amendment changes, where both groups requested
residential medium density of less-than or equal-to eight dwelling
units per acre.
“It's necessary for them to come back before the board because of
the comprehensive planning laws. State statutes require that the
county not only have zoning, but also have land use requirements,”
Kepner said. “The land use is in association with the (county)
comprehensive plan, and the zoning is in relationship to the county
land development regulations. The two of them must coincide and there
must be compatible land use and zoning in order for development to
occur.”
In June, the Columbia County Planning and Zoning board recommended a
land use change that could bring $200,000-$400,000 condominium units
to the Southern Oaks Golf Club area.
The development, The Residence at Harris Lake, will be a group of 12,
eight-unit condominium buildings.
There will be 48, three-bedroom/three-bath, 2,580-square-foot units,
and 48, two-bedroom/two-bath, 1,900-square-foot units.
The property is approximately 15 acres.
The planning and zoning board made a recommendation to the board of
county commissioners for the requested changes.
In other business, the commission:
n Is scheduled to discuss county signs in front of the courthouse and
annex.
Survey: Miami-Dade businesses unwilling to tackle affordable housing issues
A new study shows that while businesses see housing as a major problem, they still feel others should pay to build affordable housing.
BY NIALA BOODHOO
nboodhoo@MiamiHerald.com
While Miami-Dade business owners believe affordable housing is spawning a crisis for workers here, many think it's not up to them to provide the solution.
That's according to a new study released Tuesday by the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, which commissioned Florida International University's Metropolitan Center to do the research.
Sixty percent of those surveyed said the rising cost of housing in Miami-Dade County had affected their ability to recruit employees. Three-quarters said that as a direct result they have increased salaries or offered more relocation assistance because of the affordable housing crisis.
But 80 percent said it's up to others -- mostly local, state and federal governments, but also nonprofit agencies -- to take responsibility for providing housing assistance for workers here.
That's almost 20 percent higher than in Palm Beach County, said Metropolitan Center director Dario Moreno, who conducted the study and a similar study for Palm Beach County this spring. He thinks the level of awareness among Palm Beach employers is higher because the housing boom hit that area earlier and harder than it did Miami.
''They're just a little bit ahead,'' said Moreno.
Ten percent of the Miami chamber's members, or 158 companies, responded to the survey, which was conducted online and via fax in September.
Tuesday morning, several dozen business and community leaders gathered at the Greater Miami Chamber to discuss the study and learn about housing benefits already being offered by the area's largest private employers, Baptist Health South Florida and the University of Miami.
UM is funding a mortgage-sharing program out of its short-term capital and offering it as a recruitment tool for faculty and senior staff positions.
The program allows the university to fund up to $300,000 of an incoming employee's mortgage. UM plans to take a share of the gain or loss on the property if it's sold.
Baptist Health is offering signing bonuses and forgivable loans -- as high as $10,000 in the Keys -- for workers who are buying a first home.
Early next year, the chamber plans to sponsor an event where employers of any size can learn more about what types of help it can offer workers, as simple as brown bag lunches on home ownership to more complex benefits including loans. Chamber members stressed that solutions can only be found through partnerships between business, government and real estate developers.
The survey underscores, however, that Miami's business community still has a ''long way to go'' toward helping solve the problems workers face owning or renting here, said Moreno, who thinks that in Miami-Dade much of the problem-solving on affordable housing has been done solely at the county level.
The median price of an existing home in Miami was $371,700 in September, according to the most recent data from the Florida Association of Realtors. The median price for condos was $270,800.
But the average wage in Miami-Dade County last year was $40,610, effectively pricing out many workers, including many teachers, police officers and even young professionals from home ownership.
The usual federal benchmark is that a maximum of 30 percent of a worker's pretax income should go toward housing to keep it affordable. Costs are so high here, however, that six out of 10 Miami renters and at least half Miami homeowners are paying more than that, according to Census data released last month.
Ransom Everglades' Critt Butler attended Tuesday's event in hopes of learning more about what the private school can do to combat its biggest recruiting problem.
The school's starting salaries for teaching is just above $39,000. Its median salary is about $56,000, but the school says that its No. 1 recruiting problem is Miami's housing costs.
''If we're going to [continue to] attract a national level of teacher, we have to address these issues,'' he said.
Homeowners can comment on policy plan
DAVID DeCAMPCitizens Property Insurance wants to let residents drop sinkhole coverage to lower their premiums.
Published November 15, 2006
Pasco County homeowners will get a chance next month to air their thoughts on a proposal to make sinkhole insurance optional by state-run Citizens Property Insurance Corp.
Citizens, which writes a third of the homeowners policies in Pasco, wants approval from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation to allow non-high risk account customers to drop sinkhole coverage. Sinkhole claims have driven rate increases up by as much as 139 percent in parts of Pasco this year, and caused spikes in Hernando and north Pinellas counties, too.
For customers who drop sinkhole coverage, cracks and other smaller damages would no longer be covered. But a home destroyed by a sinkhole would be covered by Citizens' catastrophic loss provision.
Customers who opt to keep sinkhole coverage would have to pay more than they do now. A 10 percent deductible would be required, too.
State regulators plan a three-hour public hearing at 5 p.m. Dec. 18 at Spartan Manor. And some of the most vocal critics - the Pasco-based Homeowners Against Citizens Florida - will come out in large numbers, president Ginny Stevans said Tuesday.
One issue will be whether Citizens' proposal meets a state mandate that requires insurers to offer sinkhole coverage. State Rep. John Legg said the proposal appears to do so by offering optional coverage and providing coverage for "catastrophic" losses. It is also unclear whether mortgage companies will allow homeowners to drop the sinkhole coverage.
While area lawmakers such as Legg, R-Port Richey, applaud Citizens' proposal, Stevans said it's not a long-term solution, but "it's something."
Citizens estimates rates without sinkhole coverage could be up to 56 percent lower in Pasco when the new coverage takes effect March 1. For a home now paying $2,505, the premium would be $1,090.
"What would be the first step?" Legg asked, responding to critics. "I think it's a big first step."
Legg said lawmakers will push for more changes if there is a special session this year, and if not, in next year's regular session.
David DeCamp can be reached at 727 869-6232 or ddecamp@sptimes.com
Outlook bleak for local roads
By MICHAEL D. BATESmbates@hernandotoday.com
Last year the county formed a 25-member citizens’ advisory committee and asked them to look at ways to fund infrastructure improvements.
High on the list was transportation. Specifically, how can the county find money to solve its road capacity problems and widen highways?
County statistics show we will need $292 million in the next 10 years to pay for those road improvements.
But those same statistics show that the county only expects to get $139.8 million — from impact fees, county funding and gas taxes — to pay for roadway projects. That leaves a $152.2 million shortfall.
Enacting a 3-cent ELMS gas tax would provide an additional $23 million toward reducing the shortfall, according to county-supplied numbers.
Either way you crunch the numbers, the scenario is bleak.
The second part of our transportation series deals with key county roads, including two of the most traveled: County Line Road and Barclay Avenue.
County Commissioner-elect and former state representative David Russell, past member and interim chairman of the House Transportation and Economic Appropriations committee, told Hernando Today that the state has allocated tens of millions of dollars for County Line Road. Other funding programs could be tapped as well, Russell said.
However, Russell’s comments appear to be at odds with the state’s five-year adopted work schedule program which shows that — except for a brief section of County Line Road — no funding has been adopted for the majority of the road.
Len Tria, who served as Hernando County’s liaison for the county commission to the Florida Department of Transportation, has been involved with the County Line Road project since the mid-1980s and has supplied us with an expert analysis of the situation.
Also included in this second part of the series is a detailed look at what the state and county has in store for other county roads.
Reporter Michael D. Bates can be contacted at 352-544-5290.
East-West Road proposals both come with major flaws
Reviews continue despite the Expressway Authority's recent troubles.
By EMILY NIPPS, Times Staff Writer
Published November 15, 2006
TAMPA - A lot has gone wrong since the Tampa-Hillsborough County Expressway Authority took on New Tampa's groundbreaking East-West Road project.
The toll road agency's legal counsel, one of its most knowledgeable sources on the public-private partnership New Tampa project, was fired. Federal and state officials launched a series of investigations looking into the agency. Last week, the agency's executive director resigned after his link to a gay pornographic film company was discovered.
Yet the East-West Road, which is tied to all this controversy, is still breathing. The remaining Expressway Authority officials and advisory committee members met Tuesday as planned to discuss the two bids on the project, which could become Florida's first road to be designed, built, operated and maintained by a private company.
A lot of negotiating lies ahead. Both bidding firms appeared to have very different ideas from the Expressway Authority about the feasibility of the 3.1-mile road, which would connect Interstate 275 to Bruce B. Downs Boulevard near Interstate 75.
"This is going to be a lot of hard work to get one of the proposals down to what is acceptable," said Marty Stone, the agency's planning director. "But I don't think we would be here if we didn't think we could do it."
For nearly five hours, the committee weighed the pros and cons of each firm's proposal. Both seemed to have major flaws. Spanish firm OHL, which has built 12 toll projects in Latin America and Spain, would rely on government subsidy of $956-million over 40 years, or $806-million if two lanes are built, then two added later.
The Expressway Authority and the city of Tampa specifically asked that no subsidies be used in the project. Some in the meeting wondered if they should all but disqualify OHL.
"We gave them the opportunity to give alternative responses, but they chose not to submit one," Stone said. The committee agreed to question OHL about the subsidies at a Dec. 12 interview day.
The other firm, a subsidiary of a consortium from Australia, Canada and New Zealand called Plenary Roads Tampa, detailed a longer-term contract of as much as 60 years and used toll estimates of $2.75 just five years after the road's 2009 opening, which seemed exorbitant to some committee members.
"Higher tolls means less drivers," said Chris Warren of Florida Turnpike Enterprise, who sat on the committee. "Which doesn't help (alleviate traffic on) Bruce B. Downs Boulevard."
Still, Plenary's proposal was "in the ballpark," Stone said. "It might be the furthest seat in right field, but it's in the ballpark."
Emily Nipps can be reached at (813) 269-5313 or nipps@sptimes.com.
Area may also be picking up Kohl's store, cinema
CHUIN-WEI YAPA site plan shows the department store as a tenant at Cypress Creek Town Center.
Published November 15, 2006
WESLEY CHAPEL - Kohl's department store is joining the Cypress Creek Town Center mall, according to a site plan filed with the county Tuesday.
The filing, titled "Kohl's Wesley Chapel" on county records, did not specify the store's dimensions. The plan shows Kohl's sitting in a larger mall of 969,989 square feet, including a 2,556-seat cinema. Kohl's was the only retail outlet named on the plan.
Brokers and developers have long speculated that a Kohl's would settle in the area. Earlier plans for a competing mall, the Grove At Wesley Chapel, also had shown a Kohl's, but the Grove's developer later said the plans were outdated.
The developer, Richard E. Jacobs Group, filed the site plan for Cypress Creek Town Center, but spokesman Bill Fullington was on vacation Tuesday and unavailable for comment. Fullington had earlier confirmed only that an 18-screen AMC cinema was joining the proposed mall, which is still going through the environmental permitting process.
A Tampa-based spokeswoman, Deanne Roberts, said the company could neither confirm nor deny the Kohl's deal, "due to confidentiality agreements."
With doubts still swirling on the giant mall's ability to launch even by spring 2008, there is still no confirmation that Kohl's tenancy is a given.
"I don't know for sure," said Patrick Berman, a Tampa-based broker with extensive contacts in the Wesley Chapel area. "But knowing the Cypress Creek folks, they wouldn't name the store in the site plan unless it's pretty sure. They're very careful about these things."
Berman said a typical Kohl's store is about 88,000 square feet.
Pasco's first Kohl's will be built at Little and Ridge roads in the west. If the Cypress Creek Town Center plan goes through, Wesley Chapel will be its second location in the county.
The Wisconsin retailer appears to be on an expansion romp in the Tampa Bay market, where it opened stores in Lutz, Brandon and Countryside last month. Kohl's has 817 stores nationwide.
The chain, which specializes in mid-priced apparel and home decor, also has plans for a store in St. Petersburg.
Chuin-Wei Yap covers growth and development. He can be reached at cyap@sptimes.com.
Brandon Bungalow Becomes Landmark
Published: Nov 15, 2006
TAMPA - A bungalow that once was part of the Kingsway Poultry Colony in Brandon became unincorporated Hillsborough County's 25th historic landmark Tuesday.
County commissioners approved historic landmark protection for the house, which was built in the 1920s as part of a cooperative effort in which residents kept chickens in long sheds behind their homes and pooled their resources to raise and market the fowl and their eggs. The eggs were sold under the Kingsway label.
The colony fizzled during the Great Depression, but a few houses remain in the area on the north side of State Road 60, between Pinewood and Oakwood avenues.
The house, built in 1926, and a cottage built in 1925 received the designation, which protects them from demolition or detrimental exterior alterations. The owners also can qualify for property tax discounts and county grants for restoration or maintenance that enhances the historic value.
Susan M. Green
County, Owners Strike Deal
Published: Nov 14, 2006
County attorneys and a group of agricultural landowners have reached a settlement that could end the landowners' legal challenge to the Pasco's long-range comprehensive growth plan.
After more than 13 hours of mediation Thursday, the parties gave preliminary approval to the settlement Monday afternoon, Chief Assistant County Attorney Barbara Wilhite said. The county commission and various intervening parties still must sign off on the agreement. The state Department of Community Affairs, which engaged in mediation on the county's side, has approved the deal.
"I think overall this is a good resolution to the matter," Wilhite said. "I think we accomplished a lot for northeast Pasco. The rural boundary is still in place."
The biggest change to the plan would be the removal of requirements for so-called conservation subdivisions on parcels larger than 100 acres in northeast Pasco, Wilhite said. The landowners' group has argued that the guidelines, which would offer increased densities in exchange for setting aside about half the property as open space, are too restrictive and inconsistent with rules for other parts of the county.
As an alternative, the settlement says, owners of the larger parcels may build master-planned unit developments with 50 percent open space, with the open spaces scattered throughout individual parcels. Those opting for this type of development would receive no additional density credits.
"The conservation subdivisions are very strict on open space," Wilhite explained. "It was not allowed to be in individual lots. The open space had to be either owned by a homeowners association or an agricultural landowner."
The group Northeast Pasco Concerned Citizens, which was in on the mediation and for several years has pushed for rural restrictions in its largely undeveloped area, is still reviewing the changes, Wilhite said. Another intervener, environmental activist Jennifer Seney, has agreed to the terms.
Wilhite said the proposed changes still require developers to cluster houses, a technique intended to discourage sprawl.
The parties also agreed to change language in other policies, which Wilhite said "did not change the intent." Policies regarding rural roads, for example, were modified to say that the county will discourage road expansions for at least two years unless required to widen roads by law.
Wilhite will brief commissioners on the settlement next week. She will ask the board to forward the agreement to the Citizens Advisory Committee for review and set public hearings on the matter for December. The agreement must be sent to the committee under the terms of a previous settlement on the current comprehensive plan.
County Attorney Robert Sumner and Wilhite initially were skeptical about mediation, but Wilhite said the parties were ordered by an administrative judge to mediate in good faith, "so we did that."
The area in question is about 10,000 acres bounded by Bellamy Brothers Boulevard, State Road 52, the Pasco-Hernando county line and the Green Swamp.
The landowners group is composed mostly of farmers and ranchers who say they are struggling because of citrus diseases, greater expenses and lower demand for their products. Their attorney, Clarke Hobby of Tampa, could not be reached for comment Monday night.
Reporter Julia Ferrante can be reached at (813) 948-4220.
Open space rules made optional
CHUIN-WEI YAPThe county backs off a mandatory approach to development in settling with landowners .
Published November 14, 2006
NEW PORT RICHEY - County attorneys reached a settlement Monday with 19 northeast Pasco landowners who had sued over the county's stronger open space requirements for new developments.
Pasco effectively backed down from making the "conservation subdivision" a mandatory policy. A key component of the plan to retain northeast Pasco's rural feel, conservation subdivisions would cluster homes on half the property, leaving the rest as open space.
Under the settlement, the policy would now be optional, said Assistant County Attorney Barbara Wilhite.
The settlement followed a 13-hour marathon mediation hearing Thursday, and both sides said they came to the agreement Monday afternoon.
"We're pleased," said David Smolker, the lead attorney for the landowners. "We got the major objective achieved. Our objection was the involuntary nature of it. ... It runs counter to a lot of fundamental precepts of private property. The objective was worthy, but the way they went about it was the problem."
The settlement comes on the heels of the county beating back a broader challenge by the Pasco Building Association.
The association threatened to sue the county on an array of policies, including the conservation subdivision, but backed down after Pasco vowed to fight the lawsuit and hinted at imposing a ban on new developments.
This time, the county opted not to drag out the fight.
At stake was a law embedded in the county's new comprehensive plan that would have required those seeking rezoning for developments of 100 acres or more to set half the property aside as conservation space.
In exchange, the county would have given landowners incentives on increasing densities in their developments.
The law would have applied to owners of large northeastern properties, where homes sit on 5- or 10-acre tracts. Its intent was to preserve the last remnants of Pasco's rolling green landscape.
But the landowners sued on Sept. 7, saying the law was unclear, not based on sound analysis and imposed unfair demands on developments, because they would have to provide additional utilities if forced to cluster the homes.
County attorneys say the settlement preserves the policy intent because it retains existing laws that still require 50 percent set aside as open space, dubbed "open space master plan." The difference is that developers now have a freer hand in how they cobble together "open space."
Under current laws, open space would include areas set aside by individual lot owners, and could include buffers and easements.
It is less stringent than the proposed law, which would have required the developer to put half of the property under some form of common ownership, such as a homeowners association.
The downside for potential developers is that they can now no longer get the additional density - more homes per acre - that the "conservation subdivision" promised. But the landowners never found the incentive all that appealing.
Pasco's existing growth management policies, called "master-planned unit development," also give the county some control on how large-scale developments are structured, Wilhite said.
The lawsuit averts some $100,000 in expert fees for Pasco, said Wilhite. The settlement has not yet received the County Commission's blessing.
"I think it's a good resolution for the county," Wilhite said.
Sharon Hanna-West, a member of Northeast Pasco Concerned Citizens, a group that had pushed the "conservation subdivision" and joined the lawsuit on the county's side, had not been informed of the development Monday night. She declined to comment until she learned more.
The landowners that sued the county include big players like Evans Properties, with 3,481 acres in northeast Pasco holdings; the Al-Bar Family Limited Partnership, with 1,305 acres; Southsee Corp., Tampa Farm Service, with 820 acres; Massey Partners, with 207 acres; and Lake Placid Groves LLC, with 230 acres.
Their lead lawyer said Monday that he had hoped to get more concessions from Pasco on "employment centers," another comprehensive plan change that targets how developers structure business and industrial land uses on their properties.
With the key objective on "conservation subdivisions" accomplished, Smolker said he now hopes the county would consider tweaking "employment center" rules in the future, he said.
The county hopes to have the comprehensive plan in effect by end of January, Wilhite said.
Chuin-Wei Yap covers growth and development. He can be reached at 813 909-4613 or cyap@sptimes.com.
Planning board denies Masaryktown zoning change
By MICHAEL D. BATESmbates@hernandotoday.com
MASARYKTOWN – Malia Ondrejka said she moved to Masaryktown for its rural tranquility, not for the bright lights of shopping centers.
Ondrejka and several of her neighbors showed up at Monday’s planning and zoning meeting to oppose the rezoning of a 3.58-acre residential swath of land on the west side of U.S. 41 near Roosevelt Avenue and Palacky Street.
”Development always stops somewhere and we want it to stop west of U.S. 41,” she told the P&Z board.
Neighbor JoAnne Flynn concurred, saying that nobody wants to live next to a retail complex, especially people who moved to this quiet hamlet to escape urban areas.
Planning commissioners agreed that changing the 3.58-acre parcel from residential to commercial would be too jarring and voted 3-2 to deny the developer’s request.
Commissioner Anthony Palmieri said 21,000 square feet of proposed commercial activity on such small acreage was too intense, especially since the property was surrounded on three sides by homes.
Project engineer Nicholas Nicholson said while he understood residents’ reasons, they did not provide expert testimony.
“The people who own the property have rights to develop the property,” Nicholson said.
This was the developer’s second rezoning denial.
Last year, the project got as far as the land use hearing, where county commissioners voted 3-2 to deny it because they deemed it too intense and inconsistent with the county’s comprehensive plan that sets out parameters for growth.
The developer fired off a revised master plan that showed a mix of commercial and professional office buildings. This latest plan showed a 2,800-square-foot restaurant, retail food stores, a deli and bank.
Planning Commissioner Lisa Hammond said she couldn’t support the project because the property is located within a residential land use classification on the county’s adopted future land use map.
She also defended residents’ rights to comment, although they weren’t experts in planning matters. They do provide fact-based testimony about the area where they live, she said.
“I think the residents should have some standing here,” Hammond said.
Nicholson and his client have one more chance next month when it goes before county commissioners again at their land use hearing.
Reporter Michael D. Bates can be contacted at 352-544-5290.
County backs off plans for rural area
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
WEST PALM BEACH — In a swift about-face, county commissioners Monday voted down plans to put grocery stores, offices, banks and a pharmacy along Northlake Boulevard.
Residents of The Acreage and nearby neighborhoods for months shook their heads at the prospect of thousands of cars clogging surrounding roads. They told Palm Beach County leaders that they did not need more shops or businesses in their rural area, but in July the commission preliminarily approved changes to put 250,000 square feet of commercial and office space on three parcels where just a few houses are permitted now.
Shortly afterward, state planners shot down the commission's July preliminary approval, saying the changes did not fit with the area.
On Monday, leaders of the newly elected board of the Indian Trail Improvement District asked county leaders to take a step back. Revamp an old study mapping out the future of the Northlake corridor, which includes the 4,700-acre Vavrus Ranch, and get input from neighboring communities, they said. And wait for newly elected Commissioner Jess Santamaria to be sworn in before adopting changes in his district, they added.
County commissioners unanimously agreed.
It was a small but meaningful victory for residents and environmental groups that have complained that their elected leaders tune them out.
"Do developers run this county or do citizens?" asked Drew Martin, conservation chairman of the Loxahatchee group of the Sierra Club.
Parcels of 35-acres and 30 acres, at 140th Avenue and Coconut Boulevard, respectively, will remain zoned for large-lot homes.
George Elmore owns the 35-acre lot, which William Boose's law firm helped represent during the application process. Federal authorities last week charged Boose, who has left the firm, with a felony for allegedly helping disgraced former county Commissioner Tony Masilotti hide his interest in a land deal. Masilotti, whose seat Santamaria won, was absent during the July votes.
In Monday's first vote on the three parcels, Commissioner Jeff Koons suggested approvals that would allow 45,000 square feet of office space on 10 acres at 112th street in Rustic Lakes.
The commission voted 4-2 in favor.
Staff writer Hector Florin contributed to this story
Glen Lakes: P&Z sidestep legal issues
By MICHAEL D. BATESmbates@hernandotoday.com
BROOKSVILLE — A hot debate has been waging for months over a developer’s plans to build a shopping center at Glen Lakes.
The main sticking point revolves around whether the developer can use Glen Lakes Boulevard – the subdivision’s main entrance off U.S. 19 – to access the center.
The issue has morphed from a simple zoning issue into a sticky legal battle that could stall the development in the future.
But at Monday’s planning and zoning meeting, commissioners decided to sidestep those legal issues and voted 4-1 to approve a master plan for Glen Lakes that meets all county commercial land development regulations. They agreed their job was to look at the matter from a land use perspective and not get involved in possible legal entanglements.
“Let the attorneys fight it out,” Planning Commissioner Kenneth Smith said.
Smith said he was confident the developer will work out any legal problems before proceeding with the project.
Monday’s vote sets the stage for commercial development at the subdivision, located about two miles north of U.S. 19 and State Road 50.
The development would front U.S. 19 and the developer will be required to build a frontage road through the project connecting Outer Banks Drive, ultimately hooking up with Glen Lakes Boulevard.
However, planning staffers question whether people would be able to use the Glen Lakes Boulevard entrance to access Outer Banks Drive because the site has limited access.
To get around that problem, planning commissioners stipulated that final development permits will not be issued until the developer has demonstrated to the county’s satisfaction the right to access Glen Lakes Boulevard and the planned frontage road.
Planning commissioners stipulated that the retail hours of operation of the planned commercial complex be limited to 6 a.m. to midnight. The developer will also be responsible for paying his fair share of the cost for a traffic signal at the U.S. 19 and Glen Lakes Boulevard intersection when it becomes necessary.
About 10 Glen Lakes residents showed up Monday to protest the project because they feared it would add congestion to the road systems around the entrance to their subdivision.
However, Commissioner Anna Liisa Covell said she found it strange that so many people objected to this recent project when only two residents showed up at last month’s P&Z meeting where the board considered yet another development request at Glen Lakes.
At that meeting, the board voted 4-1 to approve another revision to the community’s master plan to allow for a 65,000-square-foot commercial development, probably a Publix.
The shopping center would be located on the north side of Glen Lakes Boulevard, west of U.S. 19, A portion of that site has already been developed with the Glen Lakes welcome center and a storage area for RVs and boats.
The developer is proposing to develop the commercial parcel in two phases, the first phase including 101,550 square feet on 13.23 acres. The shopping center would be built in the first phase and include several outparcels.
The second phase will include the remaining acreage to be developed with 70,450 square feet of commercial space.
To accommodate the project, commissioners approved extending Outer Banks Drive to U.S. 19 on the north side, which will give people two separate entrances into the center.
Reporter Michael D. Bates can be contacted at 352-544-5290.
Fruit Restrictions Leave Bitter Taste
Published: Nov 14, 2006
ST. JOSEPH - Greg Gude's family has grown kumquats in Pasco County for decades.
Never has citrus canker invaded their crops.
Neither that fact, though, nor that scientific research that has shown the kumquat to be canker-resistant has stopped the U.S. Department of Agriculture from restricting shipments of the tiny fruit that is a hallmark of this area.
A USDA rule enacted this year prohibits Florida citrus growers from shipping to other citrus-producing states. More damaging to the local kumquat industry, though, is a prohibition against shipping citrus leaves or stems north of the Suwannee River.
"It's taking away our leaf industry, which is about 40 percent of our sales," said Gude, manager of Kumquat Growers Inc., the state's largest packer and shipper of the miniature fruit. "Christmas, Thanksgiving and Chinese New Year are the biggest uses of the leaves themselves."
Kumquat Growers, owned by Gude's father, Frank, and his partner, Joe Neuhofer, ships about 17 million kumquats a year from its facility in the small community of St. Joseph. Each season's crop is picked from nearby groves owned by the Gudes, Neuhofers and seven other growers.
The company normally sells about $500,000 in kumquats each year. The USDA rule could cost the company as much as 20 percent of that, Frank Gude said.
"I just had a man who normally orders 200 boxes place an order for less than 100 boxes," Gude said Friday. "He's experimenting because he doesn't know what kind of demand he's going to have [for kumquats without leaves and stems]. So there are a lot of unknowns.
"We know it's going to hurt us. We just don't know how bad."
The Florida Department of Agriculture has asked the USDA for a variance that would allow for the shipment of kumquat stems and leaves.
Even if the variance is granted, it might not help growers right away. Craig Meyer, a deputy agriculture commissioner with the state, said he is unsure whether anything would be done in time to help this year's kumquat crop.
"We don't think there's any risk whatsoever of canker transmission to anywhere, let alone to a citrus-producing state," Meyer said. "We think it's perfectly acceptable to allow these guys to ship their stuff."
The success of Kumquat Growers and local growers has given Pasco the unofficial title of "kumquat capital of the world." Local residents celebrate the tart fruit every January at the Kumquat Festival in Dade City.
Kumquats are harvested between November and March and used during the holidays as a garnish or as an ingredient in pies, cakes, jams, jellies and cookies. They also can be eaten as a snack, peel and all.
People who celebrate Chinese New Year buy kumquats with their stems and leaves and give them to friends. Giving or receiving kumquats on Chinese New Year is said to bring good luck to both the giver and receiver.
Ironically, the kumquat is not a member of the citrus genus but the Fortunella genus, something the Gudes are quick to point out. Frank Gude said kumquats generally are ignored by the citrus industry, except when it comes to canker.
Florida Citrus Mutual, the state's citrus marketing agency, makes little mention of kumquats on its Web site, listing only oranges, grapefruit, tangerines and tangelos.
"Their job is to market citrus of all kinds, except kumquats," Frank Gude said. "The only time we're considered a citrus, as far as they're concerned, is when there's a problem."
Reporter Todd Leskanic can be reached at (352) 521-3156 or tleskanic@tampatrib.com.
Pasco told fees take too big a bite
CHUIN-WEI YAPA McDonald's official tells the county proposed impact fees could mean no new restaurants.
Published November 14, 2006
Its golden arches are among the world's most familiar symbols of economic growth. And in development-heavy Pasco County, McDonald's has become an advance signal for the onslaught of new rooftops and roads.
So it comes as a surprise that the fast-food giant is now threatening to stop opening new restaurants in a growth-driven county.
The reason? Pasco is considering plans that could quadruple its road-building tax on businesses. The new transportation impact fees would be higher than the cost of building one of its restaurants, a McDonald's official said Monday.
Impact fees are a common device used by local governments throughout the Tampa Bay area to raise money for new services, but the rates vary widely depending on the service and how built-out a county is.
In a letter Thursday to county Commissioner Ann Hildebrand, McDonald's Florida Region real estate manager Susan Kurchinski said her expansion plans would hinge on Pasco's impact fees.
"McDonald's would not be able to open any restaurants (in Pasco) unless a landowner was going to devalue his/her land by the amount of the increase in transportation impact fees," she wrote. "I urge you to reject all the proposed new fee schedules."
Kurchinski's letter is the first instance of a major corporation threatening to effectively halt expansion in Pasco because of the tax change.
In a 22-year career as county commissioner, Hildebrand said she cannot remember McDonald's being moved to such threats.
Kurchinski would not disclose how many restaurants it had planned in the year ahead for Pasco.
But in neighboring Polk County, where McDonald's has already made good on a similar threat, it had three restaurants planned next year. Polk recently raised road impact fees from $91,786 to $367,144 per 1,000 square feet.
The proposed rates, if approved, would make Pasco the costliest county for Kurchinski in Florida. She would not say if the chain had a policy on impact fees beyond which it would refuse to open any more stores.
Kurchinski's role is critical because her decision on locating restaurants results in the corporation awarding franchises to owner-operators. In Pasco, there are currently five owner-operators and 13 McDonald's restaurants.
While none plans to close, Pasco stands to lose 50 potential jobs for every restaurant not built. Kurchinski said McDonald's currently accounts for more than 750 jobs in the county.
In McDonald's case, a 3,500-square-foot restaurant would pay $180,000 in Pasco today, real estate agents say. Under the new rules, it could be paying more than $750,000.
Kurchinski would not disclose the average cost of building a McDonald's restaurant, but those in the industry say it takes about $600,000 for a 4,200-square-foot joint, according to Renee Dyer of Trinity's Prudential Tropical Realty.
Other businesses, including Wachovia Bank, have also warned that higher impact fees could affect expansion plans in Pasco, said state Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey.
"I'm a little concerned," Fasano said. "I don't want to tell the county what to do, but I hope they will look at what impact these impact fees would have for economic development."
So far, Pasco commissioners are responding to the issue.
Under marching orders from the County Commission, county staff last week set up a private-sector Transportation Impact Fee Fact-Finding Committee, which could effectively rewrite the staff's current proposal.
The committee, dominated by developers, will almost certainly recommend slashing the proposed fee hike and may press the county to raise the gas tax instead, developers told the St. Petersburg Times. "Obviously there is sticker shock to the impact fee price," Hildebrand said.
Chuin-Wei Yap covers growth and development. He can be reached at (813)909-4613 or cyap@sptimes.com.
I have an idea. Maybe we should all write to Scullen and tell him that open space and kumquats make Pasco great, not McDonalds.
What Makes Pasco Great?
Published: Nov 14, 2006
Maybe it's the tart taste of a freshly picked kumquat eaten whole - peel and all.
Maybe it's the thrill of jumping out of an airplane at 13,000 feet or of watching the daredevils at Skydive City.
Maybe it's that feeling of freedom that comes over you when you're cutting loose at the Chasco Fiesta Boat Parade.
Whatever makes your slice of Pasco County special to you, we want to hear about it.
E-mail editor Jeff Scullin at jscullin@tampatrib.comor call (813) 779-4614. Please include your name and contact information.
Look for a story this month celebrating some of what makes this a great place to live, work and play.
Florida's Natural Growers' Profits Fall Short of AverageLAKE WALES - Faced with the choice of selling more orange juice or
increasing profits to its members, Florida's Natural Growers opted to
benefit the growers.
That would be a surprising choice for Coca Cola Inc., which owns the
Minute Maid juice brand, or PepsiCo Inc., which owns Tropicana, but it's
characteristic of Florida's Natural, the Lake Wales juice processor
owned by a cooperative of almost 1,100 growers with about 60,000 acres.
Despite that choice, which resulted in a 9 percent decline in sales
volume during the 2005-2006 citrus season, Florida's Natural growers got
below-average prices for their fruit.
The cooperative could not compete with the rapidly increasing spot
market for the state's oranges and grapefruit following a second
consecutive season of short crops because of hurricanes, Florida's
Natural officials told several hundred members Monday at its 73rd annual
meeting at the Lake Wales Country Club.
"We recognize the two large soda companies will create a David vs.
two Goliaths situation," said Joe Davis Jr., the cooperative's
retiring chairman of the board. "Normally, participation plans
don't keep pace with rapid increases in the cash price."
In a participation plan, growers sell their fruit to a cooperative, such
as Florida's Natural, which makes and sells juice products. The profit
from sales is divided proportionately among the grower members.
Under that arrangement in the 2005-2006 season that concluded in July,
growers with Florida's Natural received 99 cents per pound solids for
their early and mid-season oranges and $1.23 for late-season Valencia
oranges. Both represented roughly a 38 percent increase from the
cooperative's returns for the 2004-2005 season.
Pound solids is an industry standard measuring how much juice with a
certain sugar content is squeezed from the fruit. It's the standard by
which juice processors pay citrus growers.
Florida's Natural returns fell short of the average grower returns for
the 2005-2006 season as reported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
It reported preliminary returns last season of $1.12 per pound solids
for early-mids and $1.34 for Valencias.
Grapefruit growers got a return of $1.37 per pound solids from Florida's
Natural in 2005-2006, down 25 percent from the return from the
cooperative in the previous season. It also fell short of the USDA's
average return of $2.07 for all grapefruit varieties used for juice.
The USDA figures represent the average price juice processors paid
growers for their fruit in 2005-2006. Other than a participation plan,
growers sell their fruit either through a multi-year contract with a
processor or on the spot (cash) market, in which growers get paid for
fruit on delivery at that day's market price.
In a season of citrus fruit shortages, such as the past two seasons and
the current one, a grower will make more profit on the cash market
because processors are competing for a limited supply. In a
participation plan or long-term contract, the grower and processor give
up the risk of big gains or losses in any given year for a stable price.
Florida's Natural officials reminded growers that trade off worked to
their advantage in previous years, when the cooperative was paid
above-average prices for their fruit.
In a season driven by rapid increases in the cash market, cooperatives
like Florida's Natural can't raise the retail price on juice products
fast enough to match those returns, said Bob Behr, an economist and the
cooperative's vice president of planning and product services.
"If cash prices go up rapidly, it may take a couple seasons to
balance out," said Behr, also a member of the Florida Citrus
Commission.
Behr also said the USDA figures would not include a large amount of
fruit in participation plans, which are late to report on returns.
Florida's Natural did increase prices during 2005-2006 by about 5
percent to 7 percent in an effort to boost growers' returns, said Walt
Lincer, the vice president of sales and marketing.
That was more aggressive than its competitors, Tropicana and Minute
Maid, the top two sellers, respectively, in the orange category, he
said. Florida's Natural is the nation's third-biggest seller of OJ
products.
Florida's Natural increased the price on its flagship product, its
64-ounce carton of not-from-concentrate (NFC) orange juice by 7.4
percent last year while Tropicana imposed only a 1.8 percent hike on its
NFC juice products and Minute Maid a 0.8 percent increase for its Simply
Orange NFC juice.
Lincer announced Florida's Natural would increase its NFC orange juice
prices by another 11 percent in January. That follows previous
announcements from Tropicana and Minute Maid of retail price increases
up to 25 percent.
"All these increases will not go without some reaction from
consumers," said Lincer, who did not elaborate on the kind of
volume sales declines expected.
"I'm not going to suggest we will not see a significant decline in
volume with these price increases, but I think it will be not as bad as
you might expect."
Lincer was a bit more specific on the impact of the pro-grower marketing
strategy being pursued by Florida's Natural.
"Returns this season will be the highest in the history of the
cooperative. I promise it," he said.
Kevin Bouffard can be reached at kevin.bouffard@theledger.com
or at 863-802-7591.
Volusia leaders meet for candid discussion
DAYTONA
BEACH -- In their first get-together since a bruising city-led campaign
against proposed county charter amendments, local leaders pledged Monday
to work together to protect environmentally sensitive lands.
"The sun came up the day after the election, and it was a new
day, and it was time to move forward," said DeLand Mayor Bob Apgar
after a luncheon at Daytona Beach International Airport.
Leaders from 10 cities joined County Chairman Frank Bruno and county
administrators there. Reporters were kept out to encourage free
discussion, county officials said.
A week ago, voters shot down six of seven proposed amendments,
including two that would have given the County Council more control over
growth in the unincorporated area.
Officials said no apologies were offered Monday for the amendments --
most of which were proposed by a council-appointed charter commission --
or the hardball campaign that cast them as a county power grab.
What was put on the table was a plan to revisit a "smart
growth" proposal put together almost two years ago by a broad-based
committee that included such groups as elected officials, builders and
environmentalists. Most environmentalists eventually mutinied, calling
the plan too soft.
Among its recommendations, the group that met Monday identified
sensitive lands to be targeted for preservation through such things as
public purchase and less sensitive lands suited for such things as
clustering, where developments preserve green space, often in exchange
for added density.
Daytona Beach Shores Mayor Greg Northrup, who chairs the Volusia
Council of Governments, said the plan presented to county leaders
involves creating a new committee to look at those proposals.
It will include 10 city leaders evenly split between mayors and city
managers with an emphasis on cities with sensitive lands. Two county
representatives could also join. The proposal would go before the
council.
Northrup said he plans to present a possible membership in January at
a meeting like the one Monday, which Bruno set up prior to the election.
The proposal had already gone before Volusia Council of Governments
leaders.
Bruno said the message of the election and the meeting was that
county leaders don't have all the answers, but they would have to be at
the table for any plan to manage growth.
North Port weighs swap
After defending his project to city and county leaders Monday morning, he was at North Port City Hall on Monday night to propose a land swap that would help his project.
The West Palm Beach-based developer wants the city to trade land it owns near his planned Interstate 75 interchange for a piece of his land at the edge of the city. The trade would keep the city from building a planned sewer treatment plant in view of people as they enter Isles of Athena from the interstate near mile marker 176.
The commission told city planners to look into the deal even as the county continues to try to convince the city to put the brakes on Tuttle's plans.
"I bought the property with certain investment expectations," Tuttle said. "Every time they bring up my name, I'm going to stand up and say, 'You can't take away my due process rights.'"
Isles of Athena would include 13,000 homes and millions of square feet of commercial space on 5,800 acres in the northeastern corner of the city, an area Sarasota County once tried to purchase and which conservationists say is the most environmentally sensitive piece of unprotected land left in the county.
Tuttle paid $61.5 million for the land last year.
North Port's aggressive annexations and rapid growth have long been a sore spot for county leaders. County commissioners say the city's 30 square miles of annexations in the past decade have allowed land they planned to have remain rural to be rezoned for dense urban development, making it hard -- and expensive -- to provide roads, water lines and schools.
It was a long day for Tuttle, who spent the morning watching leaders from Sarasota County, Venice and North Port continue to work on a joint planning agreement, which could function as a road map for where and when future annexations and development will take place in the southern half of the county.
Tuttle needs the city to more than double the current density allowed on the property to build what he wants on the sprawling tract that has no roads or water lines -- exactly the sort of development that county leaders want a hand in controlling.
The city and county have been sparring for months over the issue of future annexations. North Port has offered a list of properties it might annex in the next seven years, but county commissioners have been cold to the idea of North Port growing any more than its current 104 square miles.
"I like the (North Port) map the way that it's drawn today," said County Commissioner Jon Thaxton, who has made no secret of the fact that he thinks the county should have a hand in the planning of large-scale developments inside North Port.
If the city and county can't come to a planning agreement by January, the county is threatening a referendum that, if passed, would give it control over future annexations in the cities of North Port and Venice.
Regulators may scale back some Gulf fishing
These may be the worst of times for Gulf of Mexico fishing.Red tide has created a wasteland over large swatches of bottom. The grouper catch has rarely been worse. And now federal regulators are crafting tough restrictions that could bedevil fishermen and diners for years.
The American red snapper catch should drop by a third, regulators say. Amberjack faces a 10 percent to 30 percent cutback.
And gag grouper, prized by recreational anglers and restaurant chefs, might undergo a 39 percent reduction, which could drive domestic grouper off restaurant menus for months at a time.
Federal studies have declared all three species "overfished" or "undergoing overfishing," technical labels that require regulators to crack down.
Public hearings and final rules will take up to a year to complete, starting with this week's Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council meeting in Texas.
But unless something changes, everyone with a stake in fresh, local fish will feel the pinch.
"A lot of people will just stop going fishing. It won't be worth it," says St. Petersburg lawyer Joe Saunders, who runs his 32-foot Cabo 50 miles out in the Gulf to hunt grouper. The restrictions "will kill it for everybody."
Commercial fishermen say a tight gag grouper quota would cripple their industry, too.
"I don't think we can survive ," says Bobby Spaeth, a Madeira Beach fish house owner who also owns five grouper boats.
Regulating Gulf of Mexico fishing has never been easy.
More and more people want to eat fresh fish. Retirees flock to Florida and buy boats. Counting fish is spectacularly difficult. They move around. They breed like crazy one year and take a break the next. They even change sex.
Nevertheless, federal law requires the Gulf management council to restrict fishing from Key West to Texas once a "stock assessment" decides that a species is in trouble.
American red snapper stocks have flirted with collapse since 1990, regulators say, largely because shrimp trawlers scoop up snapper babies.
Under a proposal for 2007, regulators would cut the commercial quota from 4.5 million pounds to about 3 million.
Recreational anglers would see their daily bag limit drop from four red snapper to two.
Regulators are less clear about amberjack cutbacks, but early documents suggest that recreational anglers might face a new closed season and a bigger size minimum.
Commercial boats may face additional closed seasons and tighter limits on how many pounds they can bring back in a single trip.
Gag grouper cutback
But none of these cutbacks would affect fishing like the possible changes brewing for gag grouper, the favored bottom fish of recreational anglers.
Gag is one of two cornerstones propping up Florida's shaky commercial grouper fleet. Gag and red grouper are the two domestic species most commonly found on restaurant menus, though gag is often called black grouper.
Because reds and gags frequently hang out together, fishermen can't target one without killing the other. Regulators simply halt grouper fishing when a commercial quota is broken on either fish.
That happened for two months in 2004 and three months in 2005 when the fleet busted its red grouper quota.
Gag restrictions aren't expected to kick in before 2008, but one preliminary document leans toward a 39 percent cutback that would drop recent gag catches of about 3 million pounds a year to about 1.8 million.
"We may be looking at a June or July shutdown" if a good gag bite returns, Spaeth says.
Recreational anglers have caught about 4 million pounds of gag in recent years, more than any other bottom fish.
They can keep five gags a day, or one red and four gags.
Dennis O'Hern, director of the Fishing Rights Alliance, a recreational advocacy group, monitors regulators carefully. Nothing has been put in writing yet, but O'Hern expects the Gulf management council to drop the bag limit to two gags or to one gag and one red.
"That is certainly an alternative," council director Wayne Swingle said. "It's one logical way to go."
Saunders, the lawyer, spends about $500 on gas for a day of grouper fishing. Two fish won't justify the cost, he says.
"I'm not what you would call a meat fisherman. But I do like to bring home a couple of meals for a family of four."
Madeira Beach charter boat captain Travis Palladino estimates that new restrictions will cost him half his business.
Like most charter captains, Palladino typically takes out four clients. They can now catch 40 grouper, red snapper and amberjack combined.
Proposed restrictions could drop that count to 14 fish for a day that can cost more than $1,500 with tips.
"Some of my clients would go anyway, just for the chance to catch a trophy fish," Palladino says. "But a lot of people want more fish than that."
The squeeze on gags is bound to aggravate tension between commercial and recreational advocates.
Data collected for the gag stock assessment indicate that recreational anglers throw back tons of undersized gag and that almost one-third are dying. One chart indicates that anglers leave 8 million pounds of discards dying in the Gulf, compared with 4 million pounds they bring ashore.
The chart also indicates that recreational gag catch has doubled in 10 years.
"There is a huge discard mortality problem in the recreational sector, but not in the commercial sector," says Martin Fisher, a St. Petersburg commercial fisherman who helps run the Fishermen's Advocacy Organization. "It's patently unfair to use that to cut our catch by 40 percent."
"If the story were reversed, and we had a 5-to-1 catch-to-land ratio, they wouldn't even let us in the door of the council meeting," Fisher says.
Fishermen and regulators alike acknowledge that no one has a good handle on how many fish recreational anglers catch and discard.
Estimates are based on boat ramp interviews and a telephone survey the National Research Council criticized as fundamentally flawed.
Last year, regulators imposed red grouper restrictions after the recreational survey indicated that the catch doubled in 2004, then dropped way back down in 2005.
"The numbers they are coming up with on this stuff are just hard to believe," says Ted Forsgren, director of the Coastal Conservation Association, a recreational lobbying group. "I'm a longtime grouper fisherman. We are fishing in 60 feet of water, and we simply do not have a problem of fish not zipping back down to the bottom."
Tom Wheatley, Gulf organizer for the Marine Fish Conservation Network, agrees that recreational surveys need refining. But stock assessments are based on broad trends, not specific numbers, he says. Even if recreational mortality "is one-third of what the chart shows, it's still a big problem."
A few years of restrictions should replenish the Gulf so everyone can catch what they need, Wheatley says.
"Fish breed and they breed pretty quickly. This isn't a lost cause."
Stephen Nohlgren can be reached at nohlgrensptimes.com or (727) 893-8442. Times staff writer Terry Tomalin contributed to this report.
Mote aquaculture project aims to keep seafood chefs working
SARASOTA -- In the world of aquaculture, Kevan Main might as well be Dr. Love.Walking with famous Chef Roy Yamaguchi around her fish farming operation 12 miles due east of downtown Sarasota, Main, a biologist with two decades of work in aquaculture, talks as much about the ambience fish need to reproduce as she does about Mote Marine Laboratory's effort to promote fish farming.
They don't pipe in Barry White tunes or crack open a decent red.
But the 75,000 square feet of indoor tanks, lighting, heating, cooling and water filters are all about fish love.
And the research at Mote's Aquaculture Park is about making sure there are enough fish for the people who love to eat them.
Its aim is to find and promote the best and most cost effective way to breed fish far from the ocean in environmentally sustainable ways. It will take the guesswork out of aquaculture by giving would-be fish farmers tested technology.
And it could help answer the growing demand for seafood while taking pressure off wild species.
"Our goal is to come up with an alternative to wild caught fish," Main said.
Except in a few places, fish stocks worldwide are in decline due to overfishing, poor water quality and habitat loss. A recent report said unless people act to preserve wild fish, there will be little left to catch by 2048.
And this week, federal regulators are considering tough limits on catches of Gulf of Mexico fish stocks -- red snapper, gag grouper and amberjack -- wrecked by red tide and overfishing.
By contrast, at Mote's Aquaculture Park, fish are coddled -- at least until they're ready for harvest.
Siberian sturgeons live in buildings that stay cool year-round. The pompano get sunrise and moon phases.
Snook have whole seasons, six months of fall and winter temperatures before each spawning. The picky eaters of the bunch, they also have a diet of fresh fish instead of pellet feed.
Yamaguchi, who is in Sarasota to open his 32nd Roy's restaurant, invented Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine that uses local ingredients, European sauces and Asian species.
The focus is seafood, explaining Yamaguchi's interest in Mote's fish farm.
The 200-acre Aquaculture Park breeds pompano, bait shrimp and snook. The biggest part of the operation is dedicated to the sturgeon, a freshwater fish from the Caspian Sea that is easy to catch and brings big money for its caviar -- tiny black beads that taste of fresh ocean air before melting like butter on the tongue.
"We are very interested in what aquaculture has to provide for us in the future," Yamaguchi said.
He dipped a small spoonful of the caviar collected that morning and rolls it around in his mouth.
"It has a good mouth feel," he says.
Jim Michaels, who heads the sturgeon program, explains the caviar needs a month in a freezer for the flavor to fully develop.
Yamaguchi said farmed fish that he has used in his restaurants taste as good or better then wild. The moi that are farmed in Hawaii, he said, are less oily than wild.
The Hawaiian farms are open-water operations that hold fish in cages offshore and use the swift ocean currents to clear the waste water that is a massive problem with near shore aquaculture.
Mote's center reuses all but 5 percent of its water, filtering it through small plastic beads that capture bacteria and running it under ultraviolet light to kill what's left.
What waste it does produce goes to man-made wetlands that remove nutrients.
The research seeks to keep costs low as well, so cooling for the sturgeon buildings is done with large two-horsepower fans.
The Aquaculture Park had a setback in July, when a fire took out a 25,000-square-foot building and 54,000 pounds of mature sturgeon.
"It set us back three years," Main said.
But she said Mote plans to replace the building when it can raise the money. Until then, they'll keep working with what they have.
Yamaguchi, who is concerned about the plight of fish for more reasons than most people, said that's promising.
"What I see today is reassuring," he said. "There will be a lot more fish in the future."
U.S. wildlife refuges to lose jobs to budget cuts
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
The federal refuge that oversees the northernmost remnants of the Everglades will have to do without the receptionist who answers the phone and greets visitors at its headquarters west of Boynton Beach.
Also on the chopping block: The only mechanic on duty at the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge. And the guy who mows the grass. And the ecologist who helps oversee pollution cleanup in the 147,000-acre sanctuary.
Similarly, the Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge on Jupiter Island will lose its lone law-enforcement officer, who watches for trespassers, vandals and speeding boats.
The planned cuts, set to take place in the next three years, are part of a wave of belt-tightening at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's 545 refuges nationwide. And they will hurt, the manager of the Loxahatchee and Hobe Sound refuges says.
Four positions will be cut from the 21-person full-time staff at the Loxahatchee refuge, which extends from west of Wellington to west of Boca Raton. The Hobe Sound refuge would lose one of its three employees.
"It's going to be difficult," said Mark Musaus, who took the helm at the refuges in 1998. In a news release, he said the results will include "accelerated degradation of essential boats and heavy equipment," as well as harm to the refuge's ability to take part in restoration efforts.
"The public is going to suffer," said Mitch Rosenheim, president of the volunteer group Friends of the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge.
Earlier this month, the watchdog group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility denounced reductions in refuge budgets nationwide as "the first stage in dismantling the National Wildlife Refuge System."
The cuts are a response to President Bush's warnings that programs unrelated to national security should expect flat or declining budgets, said Tom MacKenzie, spokesman for the service's regional headquarters in Atlanta.
"We're just running out of options," he said. After years of doing more work with fewer resources, "we're at the point where we have to say we're going to do less with less."
The cuts could have an especially dramatic effect on the Loxahatchee refuge: Its landlord, the South Florida Water Management District, might take a second look at continuing the refuge's 50-year lease, district Chairman Kevin McCarty said Monday.
Board members raised the prospect of ending the lease last year after complaining about poor maintenance, especially in efforts to slow the spread of invasive pest plants.
"It looks like it's going to be coming up again," McCarty said Monday after learning of the cuts. "I'm troubled to hear that. ... That doesn't make me feel all warm and fuzzy."
The lease expires in 2052, but the district can end it early if the feds don't meet their obligations. It's too soon to say if that will happen, district policy director Ernie Barnett said. "We're just watching very cautiously."
Musaus said the cuts won't affect the jobs of the two biologists working on plant eradication. But they might have to pick up some of the slack for the lost ecologist.
The wildlife service has proposed eliminating 88 of its 748 refuge jobs throughout its 10-state Southeast region. Counting future cuts and jobs already eliminated, Florida's refuges will have lost nearly one in five positions since 2004 - from 182 to 147.
In its budget for 2006-7, the service has proposed spending $381.7 million to operate and maintain refuges, a drop of $763,000 from last year. The budget is awaiting action from Congress, even though the financial year began Oct. 1.
Incoming tax estimate may go down for first time in years
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- State economists were expected Tuesday to lower their forecast for how much money the state has coming in for the first time in several years because of a slowdown in the housing boom that has fueled the state's economy.
Economists update the state's incoming tax estimate twice a year, projecting how much the state can expect to collect so lawmakers know how much they have to work with when writing the budget.
For the last several years it's been the same good news each time economists have issued their forecast, giving state budget writers the equivalent of unexpectedly finding money in the pocket of a new pair of pants.
Since the housing boom started a few years ago and Florida began its recovery from the slowdown after the 2001 terrorist attacks, economists kept having to revise their incoming tax forecast every time they got together, with predictions for more money.
Just last April - the last time the state revenue estimating conference was held - economists said the state would have nearly $1 billion more coming in than previous projections had forecast.
But this time, collection of the tax on real estate transaction documents is expected to be much slower as fewer people buy houses. Sales of existing homes have declined in every month this year compared to 2005, the Florida Association of Realtors' statistics show.
There is expected to be some good news as corporate income taxes have continued to come in strong, blunting the impact of the bad news in the housing market.
And Gov. Jeb Bush and the Legislature over the last few years have made it a priority to sock away a lot of money for just the rainy day that economists now fear is coming. The state has more than $6 billion in cash reserves built up to avoid having to cut deeply into programs when the economy takes a downturn. Lawmakers held $2.5 billion in reserve this year.
Still, legislative leaders already know Tuesday's forecast may be the worst in the last few years.
"I would expect to hear that it's not 2003 or 2004," incoming House Speaker Marco Rubio, R-Miami, said earlier this week.
Fortunately, economists say Florida typically is insulated from the depths of economic downturns felt more acutely in other parts of the country. As Rubio put it this week, "I'd rather be Florida than anyone else."
The state has continued to create jobs well ahead of the national pace and unemployment. At 3.2 percent statewide, the unemployment rate remains below the national rate of 4.6 percent. That means purchasing should remain adequate to keep sales tax revenue from dropping too much.
Much of the state's sales tax collection power, however, relies on tourism, and that's dependent in large part on the state of the national economy.
Despite the long-running boom, state economists began cautioning back in the spring that the economy was coming in for a landing. Even as they said current year collections were going to be higher than expected, they projected much slower growth next year than they have been seeing in recent years. Still, the economists said that a slow down would only put Florida's economy back to normal growth after a few years of expansion.
When forecasters told lawmakers in April that tax collections would be nearly $1 billion higher than previously expected, it allowed the use of more than $700 million to bail out Citizens Property Insurance, the state's last resort property insurance company, which was running a deficit. That avoided big assessments on homeowners that otherwise would have been used to make up the shortfall.
Another big driver of the economy last year won't likely be seen this year: hurricanes.
Despite the disruption to the economy that storms cause, they are good in one way: When they're big or numerous as they were in 2004 and 2005, they spur massive rebuilding, which leads to higher sales tax collections and more employment.
Consultant: Utility Costs Must Rise
Published: Nov 14, 2006
ZEPHYRHILLS - It's happening.
The long-discussed water and sewer rate increase moved closer to implementation Monday night.
A consultant told city officials that to accommodate growth and encourage water conservation, Zephyrhills must boost its utility rates.
A recent multimillion-dollar expansion of the wastewater treatment plant lends urgency to such a move.
"The rates are not going to be adequate in the near future," said Henry Thomas of Public Resources Management Group.
The consulting firm recommended the city increase water rates by 3 percent each year for the next four years; and raise sewer rates by 25 percent for the next two years, then 3 percent for every year thereafter.
For most residents - the average utility customer uses 4,000 gallons of water and pays $23 per month - bills would go up to about $26 per month, Thomas told the city council.
It's been a decade since Zephyrhills raised its rates. Even with a boost, those charges still would be among the lowest in the area, he said.
Among Tampa Bay area cities, the average is $40.22, with Oldsmar the most expensive at about $55 a month.
Zephyrhills is the least expensive, followed by Tampa, Thomas' research shows.
The council decided to hold a workshop on the rate issue at 5 p.m. Nov. 27 at city hall, 5335 Eighth St.
Reporter Nicola M. White can be reached at (813) 779-4613 or nwhite1@tampatrib.com.
Water usage may be curbed
JANET ZINK AND AARON SHAROCKMANTampa Bay Water asks for a watering limit of once a week.
Published November 14, 2006
TAMPA - People in St. Petersburg and Hillsborough County might again face one-day-a-week watering restrictions.
Officials at Tampa Bay Water said rainfall has averaged 10 inches below normal for six months, meaning that jurisdictions getting water from the utility must restrict use.
"At this time of year, you generally don't need to irrigate more than once a week at the most," said Dave Bracciano of Tampa Bay Water. "At this point in time, it's not a very harsh burden."
The Hillsborough River is 68 percent lower than normal for this time of year. The Alafia River is 53 percent lower. Withdrawals will continue only through the end of the week.
Meanwhile, demand is up 11 percent from October 2005.
Hillsborough County and St. Petersburg are the only Tampa Bay Water members that allow twice-a-week irrigation.
St. Petersburg has allowed it since October 2003. The City Council would need to approve a change.
Council Chairman Bill Foster said a discussion is not expected. "We are water wise. We are water pinchers," said Foster. "If there's waste, they need to look over there," he said, referring to Hillsborough County.
In Hillsborough, attorneys are preparing an ordinance to put restrictions before the County Commission on Wednesday, said Pam Greene, conservation manager for the water department.
If commissioners approve the ordinance, a public hearing will be set for Dec. 6.
Janet Zink can be reached at jzink@sptimes.com or 813 226-3401.
Coral Bay owner surrenders
JONATHAN ABELThe builder is accused of defrauding customers.
Published November 14, 2006
BROOKSVILLE - This spring, Steve Bartlett was up to his eyeballs building houses.
But on Monday, the president of now-bankrupt Coral Bay Construction Inc. turned himself in at the Hernando County Jail.
The transition from building boom to criminal bust played out rapidly and involved hundreds of victims in Hernando, Pasco, Citrus and Sumter counties. At one point, Bartlett was building as many as 170 homes and garages in Hernando alone.
Rising costs and mismanagement caught up to him, however, and in May he filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
A criminal investigation began soon after, ending up in one charge of grand theft of $100,000 or more.
At a news conference Monday, prosecutor Phil Hanson didn't want to talk about the specifics of the case, which involves 138 houses, eight garages and 10,000 to 15,000 pages of records.
The basic problem, he said, is that Bartlett was using one customer's deposit to cover the expenses of building another customer's house. Add onto that the charge that Bartlett was using business funds to buy motorcycles, take out personal credit cards and write checks "willy-nilly," and you've got the makings of a criminal case.
"I want to see that business funds weren't commingled with personal funds," Hanson said in explaining how the State Attorney's Office decided to bring criminal charges instead of just sending it to a civil court. "If the builder is not making a profit and is taking personal money out of the account, in essence what the builder is doing is spending customers' deposits."
In all, $1 million was misused, according to Hanson and Hernando detective Harold Varvel, who spent 750 hours working full time on the case.
"A lot of the stories are the same," Varvel said. "We paid a lot of money and didn't get what we contracted for."
The maximum penalty Bartlett faces is 30 years in prison, but Hanson, the prosecutor, said it was "too early to tell" whether Bartlett deserved prison time.
Former customers, many of whom were left without their promised homes, were pleased to hear of his arrest.
"We're happy about that," said Anna Martino, whose son lost $72,000. "He deserved what he's getting, I tell you. He hurt so many people he shouldn't get away with that. I'm glad that they finally did something."
"I don't like the word revenge," said Ann Marie Galea, 60, another unsatisfied customer. But she does want Bartlett to get a "severe" penalty. "If you can't do the time, don't do the crime," she said.
Some were more forgiving.
"He's not really a bad guy. He's just a bad businessman," said Ken Jardine, 63, who lost $60,000. "They're saying he may have siphoned some of the money out. That is wrong. If that is wrong, he will pay for it. Other than that, he is just a bad businessman."
Hanson said this was the largest builder prosecution his office has handled and he was told it is also the largest one the Florida Homeowners' Construction Recovery Fund had dealt with.
For many buyers, a criminal case against Bartlett isn't just a sentimental matter; it could also help their claims to get partially reimbursed by the recovery fund.
Bartlett did not return a message left on his cell phone on Monday. In the past, he has said he never bilked his customers and rather was overwhelmed by too many jobs and escalating costs.
Monday night, he was being held at the Hernando County Jail in lieu of $10,000 bail.
Times staff writer Dan DeWitt contributed to this report. Jonathan Abel can be reached at jabel@sptimes.com or 352 754-6114.
Builder Proposes 3rd Condo Tower
Published: Nov 14, 2006
TAMPA - Undeterred by the cooling housing market, a Tampa developer wants to build his third condo project in the growing Channel District.
Ken Stoltenberg of Mercury Advisors has proposed a 120-unit condo tower at 858 Channelside Drive, in the heart of the Channel District.
The two-bedroom, 1,170-square-foot units could cost between $400,000 and $700,000.
The 33-story project would include about 1,500 square feet of retail space, and about 6,100 square feet of office space, according to papers filed at city hall.
The project would feature an automated parking garage.
Called Del Villar, the condo complex would join two other Stoltenberg projects in the area.
Grand Central at Kennedy, a 392-unit condo building, is almost complete.
Groundbreaking on the Martin at Meridian, a 328-unit tower, is expected next year, and the model home center will open in a few weeks.
Stoltenberg said he is optimistic that people will continue to move into the Channel District.
"You have to look out into the future," Stoltenberg said. "We still believe people are going to move out to Florida, and the Channel District will be a popular place to live. You can't look at what's happening over the past three months and extrapolate what's going to happen for years."
The project is scheduled for Tampa City Council consideration March 8.
Reporter Ellen Gedalius can be reached at egedalius@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7679.
Groups have petition against concrete plant
STAFF REPORT
The signatures come from members of the East County Citizens for a Healthy Environment and the East Manatee County Coalition, who are opposed to Cemex's plans to build a concrete plant on Lena Road south of State Road 64. They say other sites that already have industrial facilities would be more appropriate for the project.
The two groups say they intend to work with the county to find an alternate site. Cemex has also indicated it may be willing to find another suitable site for the plant.
Neighbors, many in Heritage Harbour and Rosedale, worry the plant will bring noise, traffic and dust to their subdivisions near the proposed plant location. They have been aggressively fighting the plant for several months
Expressway Authority Discusses Leadership
Published: Nov 14, 2006
TAMPA - Former state Sen. Jim Sebesta doesn't want the job, and now the Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway Authority has to look for other applicants to lead the struggling agency.
Sebesta's name emerged during a board meeting Monday morning to replace Ralph Mervine, who quit Wednesday as head of the authority. Mervine resigned amid revelations that he owned a gay pornographic video company in San Diego.
Board members, meeting for the first time since Mervine quit, were silent about the nature of his resignation. Instead, the talk was about what to do next.
Authority Chairman J. Thomas Gibbs said he wanted Sebesta to lead the agency until a permanent replacement could be found.
Board members overruled him, however, saying the board should consider more than one applicant, temporary or not.
"I think every decision we make here after ought to be transparent," said board member James T. Hargrett, also a former state senator.
Hargrett explained he couldn't back Sebesta, who sat 15 feet away, because the public might perceive the board's decision as hasty if it considered only one applicant.
That's fine, said Gibbs, who added that he looked at nearly a half-dozen potential applicants but none wanted the job. Some cited other commitments, he said.
Rhea Law, the authority's interim general counsel, agreed to help the authority identify some possible candidates and then report back Monday with a list of prospects.
It could be a year before Mervine's permanent successor is found, and just finding a consultant to lead the job search could take three months.
In the meantime, Mervine won't get another dime from the authority, which makes its money from tolls. He tried to negotiate a severance package this past summer during salary talks, but Gibbs derailed that idea.
"I'm just personally against them," he said.
Sebesta, who left the Senate because of term limits, is a longtime transportation booster and once chaired the powerful Senate Transportation Committee.
Gibbs said he and Sebesta talked briefly Friday about the job and then talked in detail Sunday. Sebesta would lend clout during any talks with the Florida Legislature, which created the authority in 1963.
They agreed to a $150,000 salary, or $58,000 less than what Mervine was paid.
"We need someone well-versed in transportation," Gibbs said before board members shot down his idea.
Not Interested Now
Even if the board drafts a list of interim candidates, Sebesta's name won't be on it. Not now.
"I'm not interested," the Republican said after the meeting.
Given the opposition to his appointment, he said it might be tough to work with the board.
"You could sense a negative vibe," he said.
Mervine, the authority's executive director for the past two years, resigned after Tampa Tribune reporters asked about his ownership of Coast Productions, a pornographic video company.
Documents on file in San Diego County list Mervine as the sole owner of the company.
Coast is affiliated with at least two Web sites, coastguys.com and coast productions.com, that sell DVDs made by Coast Productions. On Monday, the Web sites were not active.
Both sites cater to customers seeking men ages 18 to 21, called Twinks, who the Web sites say have never been in films before. Among the titles of its DVDs are "Twink Town" and "Forever Boys."
Mervine refused to discuss his affiliation with Coast Productions last week. Efforts to reach him Monday were unsuccessful.
At the meeting, board members did not discuss the reason he quit or the San Diego porn company.
Mervine had worked at the authority as an interim director since November 2004. He replaced Pat McCue who resigned a month earlier after a portion of the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway's elevated lanes collapsed during construction.
Resignation Accepted
Mervine's resignation was accepted unanimously soon after the meeting convened at 9 a.m.
A while later, Gibbs suggested appointing Sebesta to Mervine's job until a national search committee can identify a permanent replacement.
"We have a tremendous staff. They have done a yeoman's job, but I don't know how we can ask one of them to step up and do two jobs," he said.
Vice Chairwoman Alba Lopez-Isa backed Gibbs, but four other board members in attendance urged the authority to wait another week until more than one job applicant can be brought forward.
Board member Robert J. Clark, who was in Texas on business, did not attend the meeting.
Reached by phone, Clark said that had he been there he would have backed Sebesta because of his general knowledge about transportation projects and his contacts in the Florida Legislature.
The authority is fighting to stay alive after several state legislators this summer proposed disbanding the authority to create an eight-county transportation agency to push through regionwide projects.
State Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, and state Rep. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, said they have lost faith in the authority amid allegations that officials tried to influence a competitive bidding process for outside legal services.
The allegations sparked several investigations.
A bill to create a new regional authority might be introduced this fall.
"Jim Sebesta would have been the ideal candidate," Clark said. "He knows where the money is and where the votes are. We need his support to stay in business."
But board member Tom Scott, a Democrat, said Sebesta's political background, and lack of direct engineering experience, was a problem for him.
"It appears what we're trying to do is find a political answer to a management problem," said Scott, a Hillsborough County commissioner.
Gibbs said he doesn't doubt an interim administrator will be found and suggested a retired chief executive officer or transportation administrator might be a good fit.
"We need an administrator, not an engineer," he said. "Ralph was an engineer. He was a hell of a construction guy, but he wasn't an administrator.
"Jim [Sebesta] is an administrator," Gibbs said. "He knows transportation. He's been around a long time. He understands the needs of the authority and how things work in politics. But now Sebesta is gone and we've got to get someone else."
Reporter Rich Shopes can be reached at (813) 259-7633 or rshopes@tampatrib.com.
Bureau will close in December to move into building next to library.
The bureau's workers will relocate into their new digs, a 55,000-square-foot building next to the county library on East Silver Springs Boulevard, between Dec. 22 and Dec. 29. The bureau will be shut down during that period and open for business again on Jan. 2.
County Building Director John O'Connor said the switch from the cramped confines of the current bureau - only about 20,000 square feet - on Southeast Third Street will significantly streamline the process for those who need to apply for a construction permit, submit a building plan or complain about code violations. It's a process that could now shuttle a customer from building to building. Now every service will be under one roof, he said.
"It's a whole lot more customer friendly, easier for them to use," O'Connor said. said. "The work will flow better behind the scenes as well."
The new bureau was previously the home of Scotty's home improvement.
There are some 450,000 building plans now on file with the Growth Management Bureau, so many that the county has moved many of the files to other buildings - including the old county jail. But employees have had to play musical chairs to make room for the files as well.
"We have four people in an office where there used to be one," said Tracy Gale, spokeswoman for the Building Department, one of the Growth Management Bureau's divisions, about the current space crunch.
Gale said roughly 4,000 people walk through the doors of the Growth Management Bureau each month. As a result of that traffic, 1,000 building plans are submitted to the county each month and some 2,000 files are created monthly.
"To say that we're on top of each other with files is an understatement," Gale said.
The new Growth Management Bureau will house all 147 employees in four departments: Building, Zoning, Planning and Municipal Service Taxing Unit/Assessment.
Gale said employees who don't deal with walk-in customers - namely those who process data and investigate code complaints - will be moved to back offices in the new building once the move is complete. Because the current facility is bursting at the seams, those employees now have to be stationed in the same cramped open room with customers.
The new building will offer more privacy for customers as well as provide space to add an additional cashier, Gale said.
"It will just be a much more pleasant experience for the customers," Gale said. "It will be smoother on the front end because everything will run more smoothly on the back end."
O'Connor said he hopes that the bureau will be able to stay in the East Silver Springs Boulevard location for at least several years, but just how long will depend on what the county can do to lower the number of walk-in customers the bureau sees each month. Implementing an online process for applying and receiving building permits by next spring could go a long way toward making that happen, he said.
"We're trying to push a lot of our business to Internet and e-business," he said.
Richard Conn may be reached at richard.conn@starbanner.com or at 867-4045.
In the market for a new patch of earth
St. Petersburg's Saturday Morning Market's success has it competing for space.
By JON WILSON, Times Staff Writer
Published November 14, 2006
Back in the dinosaur days a decade or so ago, a few open air markets sprouted downtown.
People said phooey. The ventures perished like paupers. No one wept.
Then came something called the Saturday Morning Market. It, too, seemed puny at first and it nearly froze to death in January '03.
But it survived, thrived and, at the beginning of its fifth year, is setting attendance records, bringing in more money and attracting more vendors to sell food, produce and clever crafts.
Mark Johnson, one of the organizers, said 4,000 people showed up for the 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. season-opener Oct. 7.
The next Saturday, 5,000 packed the Central Avenue block between First and Second streets. In past years, 2,000 was good attendance, Johnson said.
Vendor receipts are playing in the $50,000 to $60,000 range, he said. A $40,000 Saturday has been more the norm.
So the market is on the move.
Perhaps literally so.
It is getting big enough to need a larger spread and sometimes it bumps against other events.
For example, parades and the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg have competed for room a few times between October and May, the market's season.
Said Johnson last week: "We are very actively involved in attempting to analyze where alternative locations are that will satisfy our growth as well as minimize our conflict with other activities.
"Right now we're considering that there's a real possibility it would be sensible to move at the beginning of next year."
But not out of downtown or too far from the waterfront, said Johnson, who is well aware the combination gives the market an appealing sense of place.
So where? Unknown. The homework continues. But a couple of elements suggest the need.
The traditional Santa Claus parade has been a discussion spark.
If it marches down Central, as the mayor's office recently suggested, the market would have to close or move. Either option disrupts vendors and patrons.
This year, the parade will take the same route it did last year and won't affect the market. But some, including Mayor Rick Baker, see Central Avenue as the historically appropriate parade pipeline.
Then there is the basic question of space.
Last year, the market edged into property just north of Central, a piece of land known as the Tropicana block, the name deriving from the ownership group and also from a hotel formerly on the site.
"They know eventually that the Tropicana block will be built on," Baker said. "It's probably the most valuable block in the city."
Baker said he has never asked the market to move, and Johnson said market organizers never have heard directly from the mayor about moving for a parade.
The market is not city-sponsored, but Baker is a fan. He frequently shows up to play guitar. One of City Hall's telephone messages boosts the market.
Baker said he has no ideas for a new location, but suggested that he likes it downtown and "around buildings."
Such ambience works. The market regularly draws out-of-town, even out-of-county visitors. Tourists from other states mention it as a highlight of their visit.
"What we're about is building a sense of community," Johnson said. "I believe the market is the one regular place you can come and bump into strangers and break into conversation with them."
Secret agents slither into Everglades
With the python invasion of the Everglades showing no signs of stopping, scientists and agencies launched a plan to step up eradication efforts.
BY CURTIS MORGAN
cmorgan@MiamiHerald.com
Scientists battling to eradicate the giant pythons that have invaded the Everglades unleashed an experimental weapon Monday -- another giant python.
The 10-foot female, equipped with twin radio transmitters implanted under its iridescent skin, will become part of an expanded troop of ''Judas animals'' -- wired pythons set free to lead scientists to other snakes in the sawgrass, tree islands and other spots where they are showing up in record numbers.
''They sort of rat out their own kind,'' said Everglades National Park biologist Skip Snow.
By next year, researchers could even be concocting chemical weaponry -- a synthetic python love potion enticing enough to lure lust-driven constrictors into traps.
They're all part of a growing arsenal in a campaign by the park, federal and state wildlife agencies and regional water managers to control the spread of the Burmese python -- an exotic predator big, bad and voracious enough to potentially upset the natural balance of the Everglades.
Researchers have found the remains of a menagerie of native wildlife, from birds to bobcats, in the guts of captured snakes. Photographs of one bizarre encounter last year made the invasion worldwide news when a 13-footer exploded after swallowing more than it could digest -- a six-foot alligator.
''We know one thing, there is no silver bullet for controlling this problem,'' said Everglades superintendent Dan Kimball at a news conference at park headquarters near Homestead.
Beyond targeting snakes in the wild, a handful of agencies are taking aim at importers, who ship in thousands of the Southeast Asian constrictors annually, and snake owners.
By February, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will consider new rules requiring owners of Burmese pythons and four other large constrictors to acquire state permits and put the snakes in locked cages. Another rule would require inserting microchips -- similar to the IDs routinely implanted in many furry pets -- to make it easier to track scofflaws.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the South Florida Water Management District -- which has thrown $50,000 into research and started rounding up snakes on its vast land holdings -- also are pushing to add Burmese pythons to a list of ''injurious'' species, which would make it more difficult to both import and buy them.
It's increasingly clear that pythons, which can top 20 feet in length and rank among the world's largest snakes, aren't likely to slither away on their own, said Snow.
RECORD NUMBERS
With nearly two months left in the year, the number of captures in Everglades National Park has jumped to 142 -- a 50 percent increase over all of 2005. While that may not sound like a lot of snakes in a vast park, annual captures represent only a fraction of the actual population.
There are even more showing up outside the park. Bob Hill, who wrangles snakes on state lands owned by the South Florida Water Management District, said he's handled ''hundreds'' of calls in the last few years. In the winter, Hill said, the snakes particularly seem to enjoy sunning themselves on the L-67 East levee.
Until 2000, only about a dozen pythons had ever been documented in the park. For reasons not yet understood, it's been a steady and disturbing climb since.
The python problem was initially caused by pet owners no longer able or willing to care for a critter that is capable, potentially, of crushing the life out of them. A few owners have been strangled by overgrown pets.
While dumping is still considered a major source of snakes, the larger concern is that a foreign species has not only managed to survive but thrive.
The Burmese are breeding, producing offspring that eat just about anything -- and a lot of anything. Snow and Stephen Secor, a University of Alabama biologist, have estimated for a python to reach an adult breeding size of about 70 pounds, it would have to gulp some 210 pounds of assorted mice, birds, rabbits, raccoons and gators.
Even controlling the snakes already out there will be a daunting challenge.
Snow, who has tracked the proliferation of pythons for years and now is in charge of finding ways to wipe them out, said researchers are only now developing good ways to track and trap creatures that can live in just about any Everglades habitat, wet or dry.
They're also virtually invisible, except when they choose to sunbathe along roads or swim in a creek. Some dozen news photographers struggled to locate a barely moving 10-footer freed in a dry sawgrass prairie -- right in front of their lenses.
EARLY SUCCESS
Radio-tracking has proved a promising first step. Last year, scientists released four snakes, each surgically implanted with two $250 radio transmitters about the size of a lipstick tube with a foot-long wire antenna.
Scientists recovered all four snakes and captured a dozen others, successful enough to up the high-tech squad to seven for this breeding season.
The radio tracks also revealed some fascinating facts about the big snakes' movement through the Everglades. During wet season, one was recorded moving an astounding 20 miles or so from the east side of the park all the way to Big Cypress National Preserve.
Snow speculates big snakes are capable of covering long distances quickly, their heavy bodies apparently buoyed by the rising water -- a trait that also would allow them to easily cruise South Florida's network of canals.
During the drier winter, they tend to stay in smaller areas, such as tree islands, which can be prey-rich wildlife havens but also may be important breeding grounds.
Because pythons are wily hunters, patiently waiting to pounce on passing prey, a trap baited with a rodent or rabbit may not be all that effective. So researchers are looking for an alternative and possibly more enticing lure -- sexual attraction.
They're studying the scent trails snakes leave behind as chemical signals to others of their species. Isolating and synthesizing sexual scents, called pheromones, could become a critical tool for attracting wily pythons into traps.
Snow has just finished an application for $102,000 in federal funding to launch the study.
''Snakes have some kind of way to find each other,'' he said. ``If we can get a clue to what that is, it will certainly help.''
Original town hall, jail
sold
South Florida couple
promise to preserve Rockledge neighborhood feel
BY REBECCA ADAMUS
FLORIDA TODAY
A South Florida couple beat the city to buy the original town hall and jail.
Nancy and Guy Bonomo paid $150,000 for the property, which is in the Barton Avenue Residential Historic District. They plan to retire there and restore the town hall to its original condition.
"We found a diamond in the rough," Guy Bonomo said.
The house-like building and a small, bunker-like jail in the back were built in 1890. When Rockledge incorporated in 1915, the city bought the property and used it as a town hall. Council meetings were held there until a municipal building at the foot of Orange Avenue was built in 1925.
The Rockledge Heritage Foundation, a nonprofit branch of the city, and city officials had not yet come up with a use for the property. They also realized restoration of the battered building would be a costly undertaking.
"It was a bigger project than we could handle," said Rene Lamarr, a city employee and foundation board member. "The foundation was just not interested in this piece of property at this time."
But with the city's blessings, the foundation has made a strong push in the past couple of years to preserve two other historic sites.
The foundation is overseeing restoration of the Rockledge Municipal Building, constructed in 1926. The restoration should be finished by February, and the building will be used as a cultural and community center, Lamarr said.
The foundation also recently was awarded a $350,000 grant to restore the 88-year-old St. Mary's Church that was purchased in April. It is the only church in the district. That restoration should kick off sometime next year. Once complete, weddings and receptions will take place there, Lamarr said.
All three sites are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, along with several other private properties in the district.
Neighborhood charm
Previous owners Jeff and Amanda Mitskevich sold the town-hall property to the Bonomos on the condition they restore it and keep true to its historic nature.
"That's the ambiance and the charm," Bonomo said. "That's one of the reasons we bought it. You can walk to the church. I grew up in New Jersey in an Italian neighborhood. A lot of that's missing in Florida -- that neighborhood feel. We wouldn't do anything to change that."
Bonomo estimated it will cost about $200,000 to restore the town hall. He said he also will build on to the house, and the jail might become a wine cellar. As long as the jail is not uprooted or torn down, the state will consider it a historic site.
If the Bonomos do not retain the property's historic nature, it likely would be taken off the register, said Barbara Mattick, chief of the state's bureau of historic preservation.
"A lot of communities lost buildings like that in the 1920s building boom," Mattick said of the unique quality of the town hall. "It's unusual to have something like a late 19th-century town hall."
In addition to a property losing its historic status, "de-listing" is a process that can result in the loss of tax breaks for owners of properties that are used for commercial reasons.
Titusville ponders
riverfront land buy
City set to vote tonight
on parcel near Olmstead Drive
BY JESSICA RAYNOR
FLORIDA TODAY
The city might purchase more land as part of its riverfront acquisition program if the council approves the $55,000 cost tonight.
The small parcel just north of Olmstead Drive will add less than an acre to more than eight acres of riverfront land purchased since a voter-approved $10.3 million referendum in 2004.
The city recently gained control of the three-acre River's Edge property near Harrison Street and U.S. 1, which cost the city $4.5 million this spring. The city also owns the six-acre Molitor property, across from the El Leoncito Mexican Restaurant on U.S. 1., which cost $1.5 million in 2005.
A Florida Communities Trust grant will reimburse the city about $900,000 for the Molitor property purchase -- freeing more funds for riverfront purchase and improvement and reducing some of the debt.
The council likely will sign papers formalizing the grant tonight, with money being received within six months, said Tom Abbate, executive director of support services for the city.
The riverfront acquisition program aims to preserve the narrow strip of land east of U.S. 1 for river access and recreation. A committee designated 16 properties as ideal purchases, including the latest parcel up for review.
Initially, the property owner wanted $75,000 for the property he bought for $42,500 in 2004.
The lease between Gatto's Tires and city ended Nov. 1. The business building likely will be demolished after an environmental assessment of the River's Edge property.
Lowell Gray, the referendum committee chairman, said he generally was pleased with the progress of the riverfront acquisition, although he wished it would move more quickly. He was disappointed that condominium development hiked up the price of the Molitor and River's Edge properties and landowners and businesses didn't donate land.
Gray said he didn't think some people understood the point of the project.
"Riverfront (acquisition) isn't simply about owning the land, it's about land we could use for recreational purposes."
Contact Raynor at 360-1016 or jraynor@brevard.gannett.com.
Developer transformed Miami-Dade
Real estate developer Lowell Swilling Dunn, who transformed much of Northwest Miami-Dade County from swamp land to bustling suburbia, has died at age 72.
BY MONICA HATCHER
mhatcher@MiamiHerald.com
Lowell Swilling Dunn, a real estate developer who spent more than 50 years transforming much of Northwest Miami-Dade County from swamp land to bustling suburbia while building a vast land and oil empire, died of lung cancer at his home in Georgia early Monday morning. He was 72.
Known for his tough negotiating skills and irascible public persona, Dunn, the son of a Georgia sawmiller, dropped out of school when he was in his early teens to find his place in the world, first as a sawmiller in the forests of Georgia and later as pet-shop owner, insurance salesman and automobile assembly line worker in Detroit.
Fiercely independent and fueled by ambition, he was enticed to the burgeoning retirement Mecca of South Florida by a co-worker who told him there were fortunes to be made in the undertaking business.
''He came down in the 1950s with hardly any money, pennies really, got a job with an undertaker on the Beach,'' said son Lowell Dunn II. ``The guy pulled out the corpse, and Dad fainted. He realized that that was not going to be a career he was going to excel in.''
With money he earned delivering milk, Dunn bought a single dump truck in 1957 and started The Lowell Dunn Co., again spotting a promising business opportunity in real estate development.
''Back then, they were building gas stations on every corner, and they were building houses. He was hauling dirt. Everything he made he put back into the business,'' Dunn said.
Dunn slowly purchased equipment and eventually land, amassing great swaths of property in Northwest Miami-Dade County.
''At the high point, we had hundreds of pieces of equipment, 300 people that were working for us, around when Hurricane Andrew came into town,'' recalled Dunn II, who worked alongside his father as an adult and now heads the company.
''We did everything. We built everything. Metrozoo; we did all the overpasses; we did several overpasses on the Palmetto Expressway when it was just a road. The Sawgrass Expressway. We dug all the lakes in Miami Lakes. We did a lot in Hialeah -- we moved the cows off the pasture, which is now Westland Mall,'' Dunn said.
The company expanded into oil, landfills and rock mining, supplying mounds of lime stone aggregate to the county.
In the midst of his frenetic business life, Dunn made time for a family. He met his wife, Betty, in 1961, while she was working in Miami for Eastern Airlines. The couple had five children together.
Dunn was modest about his accomplishments, tight lipped throughout his life about his success and the extent of his holdings. He lived in the same house in Miami Springs for nearly 40 years.
But as he grew in wealth and power, the feisty developer frequently butted heads with public officials on land development issues and also made potent foes among leaders in the rock-mining industry.
He famously feuded with Miami Lakes officials over the fate of an ancient Tequesta Indian burial mound. The town wanted to build a park but could never meet Dunn's asking price.
Miami Lakes Councilman Michael Pizzi had his fair share of political battles with Dunn -- over the Hammock -- but their relations improved in recent years. ''He began to compromise and extend some olive branches,'' Pizzi said. ``At the end of the day, we came to respect each other.''
Ramon Rodriguez, mayor of Medley since 2004, worked closely with Dunn, who owned land in the mostly industrial municipality. He said that Dunn did a lot to improve the community by leasing land cheaply to the town to help subsidize housing for the elderly.
``He was an extraordinary business person who always stepped forward to help us out.''
Dunn is survived by his wife, Betty; five children, Cynthia Grace Clohessy, Greta Lynn Dunn-Delgado, Susi Dunn, Lowell Dunn II, Lizbeth Arencibia; 12 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Memorial services to be held in Miami have yet to be finalized.
Miami Herald writer Michael Vasquez contributed to this report
For Troubled Citrus Industry, He Has 'What's Needed'
When David Wheeler talks, people listen.
Given his soft-spoken style, Wheeler almost demands one's attention. More importantly, said his friends and business associates, people listen because they know the 44-year-old citrus grower speaks only after he has studied an issue and can render an informed opinion.
"I think people respect his opinion because he doesn't shoot off the cuff," said John Smoak III, a friend, neighbor and fellow Lake Placid-based citrus grower. "David takes time to think about things."
Wheeler has brought his deliberative leadership style to the Florida Citrus Commission, the governing body of the Florida Department of Citrus in Lakeland. Gov. Jeb Bush appointed him to a three-year term that began June 1.
"I'm really glad he's taken on leadership roles," said Les Dunson III, a Winter Haven grower and harvester and a childhood friend. "His quiet demeanor is what's needed in this industry. He thinks things through."
As a third-generation citrus grower, Wheeler's leadership in the industry would seem inevitable. With his brother, Mark, he runs Wheeler Farms Inc., a grove-holding company with more than 3,000 acres, and Wheeler Brothers Inc., a harvesting company, both based in Lake Placid.
Twenty years ago, however, leadership in the citrus industry seemed far from inevitable. He wasn't even sure he wanted a career in citrus.
After graduating from the University of Florida in 1986 with a bachelor's degree in agriculture and food resource economics "even then I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life."
born into Citrus
David Paul Wheeler was born Oct. 18, 1962, in Lakeland to Irving and Carolyn (Paul) Wheeler of Winter Haven. His mother is the daughter of Bob Paul, one of the post-World War II "citrus barons" who started in Winter Haven but moved to the LaBelle area after the 1980 freezes.
Wheeler grew up in Winter Haven and graduated from the local high school in 1980.
His father described his second-eldest son as "quiet and retiring - never an outspoken person but extremely honest, conscientious and straightforward."
David stood apart from his older brother, Wes, and younger siblings, Sally and Mark, all markedly more outgoing, Irving Wheeler said. But that doesn't mean he couldn't be riled.
"David is a very strong-minded person. That's a veneer - being easygoing," he said.
The father recalled an incident when his son became upset with Wes over one of his many arguments with their mother.
"He said, 'Quit arguing with Mom, Wes. Do what she tells you,'" Irving Wheeler said. "David hates controversy."
Still, Dunson and other friends and business associates agree that quiet, low-key and reserved best describe Wheeler's typical demeanor.
""A lot of folks just want to talk to be heard, and he's not that kind of person. That's a leader in my eyes - when he talks, he says something," said Steve Callaham, executive vice president of Dundee Citrus Growers Association, the state's largest packinghouse, where Wheeler is serving a second year as director.
After hearing the remarks about the respect citrus people hold for his acumen, Wheeler surprises with his modest account of his brain power. He describes himself as an average student who didn't like the classroom or book learning.
Although David was an A-B student through college, "he was more a doer than a thinker, more a doer than a reader," Irving Wheeler said.
But he also agreed it was characteristic of David Wheeler's deep-seated modesty.
"That's a product of the way my Mom raised us," said Mark Wheeler. "Mom's always been one who says, 'Let people judge you by your actions.'"
David Wheeler clearly took Mom's words to heart.
"I lead by example. I don't lead by words. When people see how I live, how I do business and how I spend time with my family, that's more important than words," he said.
What to do in life
Despite his strong citrus background, David Wheeler wasn't immediately drawn to the industry.
"I always wanted to be in agriculture," he said, but he was initially drawn toward the family's cattle ranch, where he worked almost daily after his high school classes.
"He loved working on that ranch," Irving Wheeler said.
That was true, David Wheeler said, but he saw greater economic opportunities in citrus as the industry was transitioning into South Florida after freezes during the 1980s destroyed groves in Polk County and northward. Polk growers rebuilt, but groves virtually disappeared in Lake and other North-Central Florida counties.
Wheeler's first two ventures into citrus weren't encouraging.
In 1983, following his graduation from Polk Community College, Wheeler worked as a caretaker in one of the family's LaBelle groves. That lasted six months until he enrolled at the University of Florida in Gainesville.
"I still didn't know what I wanted to do in life, but I knew it wasn't manual labor," he said.
Wheeler and his father recalled he faced the same what-to-do-in-life question three years later.
"I asked him if he knew what he wanted to do," Irving Wheeler said, "and he said, 'No, but I know what I don't want to do - work for you.'"
David Wheeler said he needed the opportunity to prove to himself, his family and others that he could successfully run a citrus business outside the shadow of his father and grandfather.
He saw an opportunity in a small packinghouse and gift fruit retailer in Lake Placid, which he purchased in January 1987 with help from his family but otherwise ran independently.
Placid Gold Fruit Co. gave him valuable experience in many aspects of the citrus business, particularly buying and selling fruit, David Wheeler said, but he also found he didn't like the retail end.
"I promised the good Lord that, if he helped me get out of retail, I wouldn't go back," Wheeler said.
The Lord answered in 1990, when Irving Wheeler ended his partnership with his father-in-law, Bob Paul, to strike out on his own, creating Wheeler Farms with about 1,000 grove acres. David Wheeler said he felt competent and comfortable enough to get back into the family business.
The father said he was glad to have David, and later Mark, come into the business. Under their leadership, Wheeler Farms operated as many as 4,000 grove acres before trimming back to its present size of about 3,000 acres in groves from Brevard to Polk to Hendry counties, David Wheeler said.
"I was kind of surprised David has been such a success in business because of his low-key nature," Irving Wheeler said.
The father learned that David was an excellent manager because his honesty and fair dealing with employees and associates earned their loyalty and inspired them to work hard, he said.
"It's what makes Mark and me successful. When we go into a grove and meet a $7- to $8-an-hour guy, we don't treat him as a $7- to $8-an-hour guy. We treat him as one of us," David Wheeler said.
A Public life
In that first decade, Wheeler confined his citrus activities to the family business. That, family and church filled his hours, he said.
His first industry leadership role came in June 2002, when he was elected treasurer of the Gulf Citrus Growers Association, a regional group that represents about 130 growers with more than 89,000 acres in Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry and Lee counties.
Ron Hamel, the association's chief executive, said Wheeler dove enthusiastically into all aspects of the group's finances and helped put Gulf Citrus on a more sound financial footing.
Hamel also recalled that, while Wheeler worked effectively with colleagues one-on-one, he avoided participating in large group activities.
"I've definitely tried to push David to be more out front," he said. "He's definitely worked to be more comfortable in front of groups. He's made strides."
Apparently so. Last season, Gulf Citrus Growers elected Wheeler president and re-elected him this season.
That's in part because he's more comfortable working in public, said Wheeler, who acknowledged he can make more progress.
"I'm very uncomfortable being the center of attention. I like being in the background," he said.
Wheeler expressed initial reluctance when the Smoaks and other growers encouraged him to apply with the governor for a Citrus Commission seat.
He changed his mind because "you've got to get outside your comfort zone," Wheeler said. "I'd like to see better communication between the Department of Citrus and the grower community, particularly the small and medium growers."
While Wheeler reluctantly accepts praise for his work in the industry, he takes pride in a compliment his father paid him.
"I said something to him one time that pleased him. I said, 'If I ever come back in another life, I would want to be one of David's children.' He's a loving, conscientious father," Irving Wheeler said.
David Wheeler acknowledged he's shared that with others: "It was a great thing to say."
Kevin Bouffard can be reached at kevin.bouffard@theledger.com or at 863-802-7591.
Pressure Mounts For Gulf Oil Drilling
A compromise on expansion of drilling leases may land on the lame-duck Congress's agenda.But to their dismay, the tune now sounds familiar.
Pombo's re-election defeat, which a constellation of environment groups spent millions to engineer, and the Democratic takeover of both chambers of Congress might actually dislodge offshore drilling from congressional stalemate in a postelection stab at bipartisanship.
Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, the presumptive majority leader, and President Bush both put final passage of a compromise for drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico on their short lists of goals for the lame-duck session that begins this week.
Now Florida lawmakers are under pressure from the Sierra Club, Environment Florida and other drilling foes to revoke support for deals they had negotiated when pro-drilling forces seemed sure of approving rigs within eyeshot of Florida beaches.
Drilling opponents argue the threat is remote, especially given Pombo's defeat, that a Democratic Congress would end 25 years of drilling bans covering most U.S. waters. That threat was, after all, the reason Florida lawmakers gave over the last year for negotiating deals.
"It's going to show people's true colors," said Mark Ferrulo, executive director of Environment Florida. "Now that the compromise will no longer be a necessity, we're going to see where these members really stand when it comes to protecting Florida's Gulf waters from drilling."
Drilling opponents say a united Florida could fight for highly protective legislation and to block the Bush administration from unilaterally opening waters south of the Panhandle, which it is in the process of doing.
Reid called on the House to pass the Senate bill, which environmental groups oppose even though they consider it more protective of Florida than a House version.
"It's important for the American people" Reid said.
Republican House members and the energy industry, who opposed the Senate bill as too limited, are eager to take what they can get before the power shift is official in January. Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, the incoming House speaker, has said she is open to acting on the Senate bill or something like it.
Florida lawmakers who voted for the House or Senate bills are not snapping back to the anti-drilling position that a nearly united delegation wielded for years to keep drilling east of the Alabama state line. The delegation began to split when Hurricane Katrina wrecked gulf production, sent energy prices upward and heaped pressure on Florida to get out of the way of domestic supplies.
"The bottom line here is that America is importing oil from dangerous places," said John Hambel, chief of staff for Rep. Adam Putnam of Bartow, a Republican who negotiated the House bill with Pombo.
ONE FOR THE MONEY
In June, 14 of Florida's 25 House members, including one Democrat, voted for the Pombo bill. That legislation is dead now, but environmental groups are surprised to find the Senate-passed version alive.
Aides to Sen. Bill Nelson and Mel Martinez, a Florida Democrat and a Republican, said that their bosses would stick with the Senate bill they have supported. Martinez negotiated it with the chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Sen. Pete Domenici of New Mexico, to gain a buffer zone for Florida that would last until 2022.
"He thinks that Florida does well in that bill," said Bridget Walsh, an aide to Nelson. "If that doesn't go through, he will do what he can to protect Florida."
With Pombo gone, a Democrat has stepped in as the driving force behind a deal.
Sen. Mary Landrieu, a moderate Democrat from Louisiana, is pressing the issue. She faces a tough 2008 re-election and could make trouble for the 51-49 Democratic majority. Her state would reap hundreds of millions of dollars from offshore royalties under the Senate bill, which Louisiana would use for wetlands restoration.
Richard Charter, head of an anti-drilling environmental coalition, asked why Florida lawmakers would commit "unilateral surrender" now.
"As long as Louisiana needs money," Charter said, "then in a reconfigured Congress, it would be possible to gain true protection not only for Florida but other states."
The Senate bill would open 8.3 million acres beginning 125 miles south of the Panhandle and 234 miles west of Tampa Bay. Unlike the House bill, it does not apply to other coasts, including Florida's east coast, and does not give other states the ability to opt out of the drilling bans.
Landrieu said the odds of passing a bill could plummet when the new Democratic Congress convenes, but her state would continue to suffer from lost wetlands that protect against storm surges.
"The reason that there is some urgency to pass this bill is that the images of people drowning in New Orleans and St. Bernard were very gruesome visuals to people in the country," she said of Hurricane Katrina.
"This is much bigger than my re-election or the petty politics of Washington."
'JUST SAYING NO'
Several Florida Republicans are not convinced that circumstances have changed enough to abandon a plan that would give the state some long-term protections near shore while showing Florida is willing to do its part for energy supplies.
For one thing, the U.S. Minerals Management Service is moving forward with plans to open a large part of a zone called Lease Sale Area 181, which is not covered by drilling bans.
The proposed drilling would begin 100 miles south of Pensacola and 234 miles west of Tampa Bay.
"If nothing passes," said a statement from Martinez's office, "drilling could begin next year with no additional protections for Florida."
The Senate bill would open most of that same area but also would allow drilling in another large tract south of Area 181, which is currently covered by drilling bans.
Environmental groups want Florida lawmakers and governor-elect Charlie Crist to fight the MMS plan - in Congress and if necessary the courts - while holding out for better legislation.
"There's no reason to compromise," said Melinda Pierce, a Sierra Club lobbyist, "and Sierra Club would expect them to realize that."
Some lawmakers say it is too soon to tell how far the pendulum has swung in Congress.
Many of the new House Democrats are moderates, and Sen. Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico, the likely chairman of the Senate energy panel next year, supports drilling.
"We don't know for sure the threat of something closer isn't going to be there anymore," said Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite, R-Brooksville. "That remains to be seen."
She added: "I don't think just saying no is a good environmental policy."
City
officials to search for water
Alternative
sources for growing populations will be focus of meeting
Joshua
Davidovich
Staff
Writer
TAVARES
- Several city leaders will convene in Tavares today to take part in a
discussion of alternative water sources.
The Taylor Creek Reservoir Project is designed to store water from the St.
Johns River. Cities from Clermont to Cocoa are hoping the project will
lessen some of the area's water woes, which are expected to seriously
worsen by 2013.
An engineer on the project will talk about bringing the reservoir project
from concept to funding to reality.
Matthew Alvarez, an engineer with CH2M Hill, the lead engineering firm on
the project, will speak before the public meeting at Tavares City Hall at
1:30 p.m. today.
"We are going to listen to some of the obstacles that they had to
overcome and to get some tips from them," said Tavares Mayor Nancy
Clutts, who also sits on the Water Alliance. "We are all having to
come together to analyze what we can do."
A major obstacle to the creation of alternative water sources is funding.
Florida Senate Bill 444 outlines state fund matching programs, a topic
State Sen. Carey Baker will address at the meeting.
"We are moving into an area we're not familiar with," Clutts
said. "It's going to cost us a whole lot more to bring (water) here
to the central part of the state. What can we do to offset some of those
expenses?"
Recently, several area public administrators met to discuss options for
alternative water sources. Two things they all agreed on were the high
cost and the need to work together.
"You need to join economies of scale, so you're collectively trying
to offset the cost. Our issue is one issue," she said. "Can we
afford this? I know we can't afford not to."
Revenue helps counties keep pace with growth
Rising property values will fund roads and services, but critics say property owners deserve relief from taxes.
Denise-Marie BalonaSentinel Staff Writer
November 13, 2006
New roads, new buildings, acres of environmentally sensitive land and a fresh group of deputies.
Counties across Central Florida are cashing in on what might turn out to be record growth in property-tax revenue to help buy things they have long wanted but couldn't afford.
The extra $270 million rolling in this year because of soaring property values on homes, businesses and vacant land is enough to run a small country. And that amount doesn't include tens of millions of dollars the region will bring in through taxes on new buildings.
The extra cash is allowing county leaders across the region to pay for overdue renovations at the Seminole County Jail and a contribution of up to $46 million toward an incentive package to lure the Burnham Institute for Medical Research to Orlando.
County leaders argue they need to take advantage of a chance to bring in the kind of money they might not see again next year, when property values might not grow as much. Also, government leaders statewide are looking at ways to reform Florida's tax system, which could lead to less revenue, too.
Critics complain the new money comes on the backs of business owners, investors and people who just moved.
Florida TaxWatch -- a nonpartisan, business-backed oversight group -- is frustrated to see county governments boast they have gotten the money while maintaining tax rates or dropping them slightly. By state law, a county is raising taxes if it brings in more money than in the previous year.
Volusia is thought to be one of, at most, a few Florida counties that adopted a tax rate expected to generate the same amount of money as last year, referred to as the roll-back rate. It did so after hundreds of residents protested at budget hearings.
As a result, Volusia will forgo about $49 million in property taxes that it initially had hoped to help cover the rising costs of such things as employee health insurance and utilities. Not all of the property taxes levied by the county went to roll-back, so Volusia will still see a small increase in revenue from rising property values.
Other counties will get tens of millions of bonus bucks. Officials mostly held off on cutting tax rates -- or cutting much -- because they say the money is needed to keep up with rising costs, and they fear the revenue boom might not last. Home sales could slump, and the state's property-tax system might change as leaders across Florida bounce around ideas for reform.
In Orange County, authorities had predicted property-tax proceeds would increase about 5 percent. They were thrilled to learn the taxes will actually bring in several times as much.
"We're talking about the largest percentage increase in tax revenue for as far back as we've been tracking it," said Randy Singh, manager of Orange County's Office of Management and Budget. "We've never seen this type of increase before, ever."
In nearby Seminole, county commissioners decided to wait to drop their tax rate. Seminole could lose more than $12.5 million if the homestead exemption is doubled, one of the ideas being batted around in Tallahassee.
Across Florida, property values are projected to rise an average of 25 percent this year, according to the Legislature's Office of Economic & Demographic Research. It's hard to say how high revenues will climb, though, officials said. But TaxWatch senior analyst Kurt Wenner said it looks to be a record year.
Wenner called the additional income "excessive."
"The thing we find most troubling about this is the attitude about it," he said. "Most governments are viewing it as a windfall, or money they are entitled to."
Tom Long, president of the Osceola County Landlords Association, said he's losing money because he won't pass along his tax-bill increases to the families who rent from him.
Bob McKee, fiscal-policy director for the Florida Association of Counties, argued the extra revenue is sorely needed because counties need to replenish reserves depleted by recent hurricanes. Building costs, particularly for roads, have risen, too.
"You have to look at both sides of the ledger to see what has happened -- on the cost side as well as what has happened at the revenue side," McKee said.
David Damron, Daphne Sashin, Nin-Hai Tseng and Gary Taylor of the Sentinel staff contributed to this report. Denise-Marie Balona can be reached at dbalona@orlandosentinel.com or 386-851-7916.
Town Center Developer Plans A 'Grand Entrance'
Published: Nov 12, 2006
SAN ANTONIO - An Atlanta-based development group secured preliminary approval last week for a giant retail center, office park, hotel and condominiums at the southeast corner of Interstate 75 and State Road 52.
The county commission unanimously approved a land-use change this week that would allow for 2 million square feet of retail development, 1.7 million square feet each of office and industrial space, a 640-room hotel and 1,999 multifamily housing units on 945.2 acres off McKendree Road.
The project is one of four major retail centers planned for central Pasco in response to rapid growth. Pasco Town Center would join the Cypress Creek Town Center at State Road 56 and I-75, The Grove at Wesley Chapel at County Road 54 and I-75 and The Shops at Wiregrass at S.R. 56 and I-75, all within a 10-mile radius.
Ron Weaver, a land-use lawyer for the developer Shailendra Group LLC called Pasco Town Center a future "gateway" to the county. He said the center's retail, residential, industrial and office components will distinguish it from the other projects.
"We've worked very hard to make the grand entrance to Pasco County," Weaver told the county commission at a public hearing Wednesday night. "This will serve tens of fifteen-thousands of homes."
Shi Shailendra, president and chief executive officer of the Shailendra Group, approached county officials six years ago with plans for a mall and other retail development, but county officials, in their continuing efforts to attract clean industry and create more jobs for residents, pushed for industrial and office space.
"They expanded the amount of office and industrial," Weaver said during an interview last week. "We pushed hard that if we had large office and industrial areas then we would have to have strong retail as well."
The Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council has signed off on the preliminary plans. The state Department of Community Affairs also must review the project before county officials have a look at more specific plans.
Seeking Shoppers
The developers expect to create many jobs and draw shoppers from emerging communities nearby, such as Connerton and Cannon Ranch. They also hope to capture those who would otherwise travel to outlet stores near Bradenton.
"It really is in the direct center of the north half of the Tampa Bay region," Weaver said. "We will have outlet and nonoutlet offerings, modern brands, the styles of lifestyle and other centers."
Shailendra has contracts with several retail companies, including the Chelsea Property Group, which owns Prime Outlets Orlando off Interstate 4. That complex features Dior, Versace, Tommy Hilfiger, Brooks Brothers, Banana Republic, Barney's and Nike outlets, along with restaurants and a food court. Weaver said a similar outlet component is planned in Pasco, along with "every other kind of retail." One possibility is a Dave & Buster's, which offers games, restaurants and other entertainment.
The developers promise to work with residents to ensure the town center is compatible with surrounding areas, including Dade City, Weaver said. He said he is not worried about competition from Cypress Creek, The Grove or Wiregrass, noting that there are about 75,000 houses approved for construction in the area. Cypress Creek, which is to compete with malls in Hillsborough County, may be affected most.
"Some of the retail offering and the scale of the retail offerings will be different," Weaver said. "We have much less competition."
Pasco Growth Manager Sam Steffey said Shailendra wanted to put off the industrial and office components for up to 10 years, until the retail portions are established, but the county imposed a five-year deadline, promising to help fill the parks.
The Pasco Economic Development Council also has pledged to help Pasco Town Center attract tenants to the industrial and office complexes, but no contracts have been drafted, Weaver said. He estimated it would take another year to secure permits. Construction has begun. The entire project is to be phased in within 14 years.
County Commissioner Ted Schrader noted that the property already was approved for some dense residential development before the land-use change was proposed. Schrader said he thinks there is ample demand for industrial and office space. The center will be a stone's throw from One Pasco Center, a 25-year-old park that is full.
"That is probably the intersection that makes the most sense at this point in time," Schrader said. "Hopefully, we'll get enough industrial space set aside."
The developers of Wiregrass wanted to delay construction of office space but found they had demand right away, Schrader said.
"They thought the demand for office would be in the future," he said. "They found it's in there. I think the demand will be there when they go through the permitting process."
Schrader surmised that the center also is different enough from other retail developments, noting that The Grove at Wesley Chapel is more focused on big box stores such as Michael's, Dick's Sporting Goods and Best Buy. The Shops at Wiregrass is an outdoor mall or "lifestyle center."
"They may actually complement one another," Schrader said.
William Krahe, a managing partner in Echo Real Estate Services Co., which is developing The Grove, agreed the town center will fit in with other developments. His project is the furthest along of the four.
"This will help the region continue to grow and get businesses more established in Pasco County," Krahe said. "This just helps residents of that area have services local to them rather than commuting. It's good. It helps put Pasco County further on the map. - This isn't about what's there today. It's about what will be there in five or 10 years."
Reporter Julia Ferrante can be reached at (813) 948-4220 or jferrante@tampatrib.com.
Commercial developers targeting county
By MORGAN C. MOELLERmmoeller@hernandotoday.com
Mike McHugh finally has the answer he needs — industrial property in digestible chunks.
The director of the office of business development has always said the county needs more shovel-ready building sites and spec buildings to attract industrial companies. While the county has plenty of land zoned for industrial and commercial use, it’s typically offered up in huge pieces — as large as 50 to 175 acres. And for most companies, that’s just too much land.
“What’s important for us is not just to have big pieces of land for industry,” McHugh said. “What’s important is getting bite-sized chunks … You need (commercial) developers much like you need housing developers.”
When those big pieces of land are left unused for too long, they become prey to residential developers, he said. To most, that doesn’t sound like such a bad thing. But industrial companies and other businesses mean jobs for Hernando County residents. They also mean a more balanced tax base — something mostly everyone can appreciate in the wake of the rising cost of homeownership.
“We’ve got to preserve what we have so our people have places to work and also to balance the tax base,” McHugh said.
A recent wave of commercial developers has swept Hernando County with plans to develop four different parcels of land for industrial and corporate purposes. They’ve started breaking up commercial land into “bite-sized chunks” with the type of infrastructure businesses are looking for.
In McHugh’s words, “It’s a boom. It’s a real collaboration of private developers, which is something that we’ve needed.”
There are currently five new industrial-corporate parks in the works in Hernando County, each of them a little different than the next. Four of the five are private developments; the fifth is an extension of the county’s Corporate Air Park. All of them exist in the county’s planned development areas.
Several factors play into the recent interest in industrial development in Hernando County. Availability of sites, in-place zoning and the cost of industrial land is attractive to many developers, McHugh said. In addition, Hernando County has the workforce, road network and housing prices that appeal to businesses.
On the west side of Anderson Snow Road, just north of the soccer fields, a private developer is working on paperwork and utilities for a 52-acre park. The property is zoned as a corporate park, which allows for a mixed use of commercial, professional offices and industrial areas. The developer will essentially create what McHugh terms “shovel-ready” sites — pieces of land that have the infrastructure in place so all business owners have to do is create a building. It’s one of the things outlined as a critical need in Hernando County’s economic development plan.
“Shovel-ready, to me, is the minimum standard we have to be at,” McHugh said.
On the opposite side of Anderson Snow Road between Anderson Snow and the Suncoast Parkway, another 62-acre parcel is under development by a private company. The developer is in the process of getting a road installed on the mixed-use property.
McHugh said one corner of the land, which butts up to the soccer field, may be used for a restaurant. He’s heard rumors of a Dairy Queen. The Veterans of Foreign War post on Spring Hill Drive will also be relocated to the mixed-use park.
The land was broken up and will be sold in chunks. Two big hunks of that property are already sold, one to a developer who is creating the much-desired speculative buildings.
McHugh said more often than not, companies are looking to get into a new space more quickly than a shovel-ready site may allow. So spec space is a huge asset when businesses come shopping in Hernando for a new home. Even if the building is still under construction, it can be more attractive than a build-ready lot.
“That’s the biggest market, is the existing building, or the near-to-be existing building,” McHugh said. “That’s why the spec piece really is important.”
A quarter- to a half-mile north of the intersection of Spring Hill Drive and U.S. 41, there’s about 10 acres that are currently going through the zoning process. It’s another development that would offer move-in ready space, if approved. The property is unique in that its design will offer a condo-like setup for businesses. Several large buildings will be erected and divided up into smaller spaces that could either be purchased individually or a few at a time.
At the front of the acreage, commercial space will be up for grabs, while in the rear industrial and warehouse buildings will be available. In all, there’s expected to be about 26,000 square feet of commercial space and about 100,000 square feet of industrial space.
But not all development is in the already-bustling western half of the county.
“Were also starting to see more activity out near I-75,” McHugh said.
There’s a couple of projects in the works near the intersection of State Road 50 and Interstate 75. One that’s already sold most of its industrial properties and has only commercial space available, and another that’s still in the planning phases.
North of the Wal-Mart Distribution Center, there’s 175 acres in the preliminary phases of development. The developer is looking at breaking the property into smaller parcels.
“To us it’s encouraging because ... what it does is it gets us down to a marketable size,” McHugh said. “This would be bigger than the whole Airport Industrial Park that’s along Spring Hill Drive.”
Hernando County is the process of developing a sizable industrial park all its own. The Southwest Airport Industrial Park, bordered on the east by Corporate Boulevard and on the north by Airport Boulevard in the county’s existing industrial park, is under design. The property totals about 175 acres and has about 140 acres of land that can be leased, according to Don Silvernell, director of the county’s Airport and Industrial Parks.
The county commission recently approved a task order to complete the design work. When that’s finished in about three to four months, Silvernell will line up the funding for construction.
Essentially, it will be about a year before he breaks ground on the much-needed space. Virtually all the land at the Airport Industrial Park, the Corporate Air Park and the Airport Rail Park is taken. Now there’s a rush to make more land available as more and more businesses move into the county.
For McHugh, it’s a good problem to have.
In the midst of all the private and public development of larger properties, there are also smaller projects going on around the county including a professional center near the intersection of County Line Road and the Suncoast Parkway. There are also “emerging areas” like the area surrounding Cobb Road in Brooksville, McHugh said. As mines close up, that land will also be ideal industrial properties because of the infrastructure and zoning already in place, he added.
In all, between the private development and the county’s continued development of the airport, we’re headed in the right direction, he said.
“These are the answers we need,” he said. “I don’t know how we could ask for anything more.”
Reporter Morgan Moeller can be contacted at 352-544-5229.
County's airport an asset as business community grows
By MORGAN C. MOELLERmmoeller@hernandotoday.com
For Barry Stem, easy access to his plane is a must.
In the last couple of weeks Stem, who owns concrete wall pre-cast company Duratek, has flown to Dallas, Savannah, Chicago, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. On a weekly basis, he flies around the state for business meetings.
So when Stem was looking for a new location for his business, Brooksville seemed like the place to be. From the Brooksville airport, he can be anywhere in the state within an hour. If he gets a call at 9 a.m. to be in Tallahassee for lunch, he doesn’t have to leave until 10:30.
“I can have the hangar open and be out of here in 10 minutes,” Stem said.
Add to that the fact that running a business here is more cost-effective and Brooksville is in the path of progress, and Stem was sold.
He moved his corporate headquarters to the Rail Park about two years ago and now he can walk across the street to his hangar. Stem’s currently in the process of building a 75,000-square-foot state-of-the-art manufacturing facility. And he predicts that when it is completed, other businesses will fly into Brooksville’s airport to marvel at this creation.
It seems that there’s a growing trend in executives flying themselves rather than hitching a ride with Delta or some other commercial airliner. The National Business Aviation Association reports the number of companies using business aircraft increased by more than 60 percent between 1991 and 2003.
For business development in Hernando County, that’s a good thing.
“I know a lot of businesses either came here with planes or added planes,” said Mike McHugh, director of the Office of Business Development. “Either it can be a transport method for you to use for your company or an asset for vendors or clients to see you.”
It’s also an asset to McHugh as he courts businesses that are looking toward Hernando’s central location. One potential client literally left his jet running on the runway while McHugh showed him a nearby property.
“When we tell people this airport can handle this type of aircraft, it’s always a plus,” McHugh said.
Right now there’s 167 aircraft based at Brooksville’s airport and about 10 to 12 percent of that is corporate usage, said Don Silvernell, director of Hernando County Airport and Industrial Parks.
“As new businesses come into the county, we see more interest in corporate aviation here,” Silvernell said. “I do get inquiries on a fairly regular basis about more hangars.”
Silvernell’s trying to keep up with the increasing demand at the airport. Two more corporate hangars and two t-hangars, which will hold about 26 planes each, are in the design phases.
Despite growing interest in the airport, Silvernell doesn’t think a commuter jet will be stationed at Hernando’s airport any time soon. It’s more likely that air cargo usage would come first. A study completed back in the late ’90s showed that it could be feasible in 2009 or 2010. But that’s really dependent on the population, Silvernell said.
“It’s something that we look at,” Silvernell said. “Right at the moment, we are not actively pursuing it, but we do listen and look and talk to folks.”
Reporter Morgan Moeller can be contacted at 352-544-5229.
Palmetto Beach Residents To Discuss Development
Published: Nov 12, 2006
TAMPA - Palmetto Beach residents are worried a waterfront property owner will repeat history by building another houseboat on McKay Bay.
So the Palmetto Beach Community Association plans a meeting at 7 p.m. Dec. 5 at the DeSoto Park pavilion, 2601 Stuart St.
Association President Darlene Guzman said the meeting also is to discuss the future of the small community's waterfront as developers begin buying property. Representatives from Tampa code enforcement, the Tampa Port Authority and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission have been invited.
The 902-acre McKay Bay estuary is considered an important bird-nesting habitat.
Residents are concerned about the waterfront property at 1022 Bermuda Blvd. owned by Robert G. Lofley Sr. because his two-story houseboat bobbed in the bay for five years in a mostly rundown condition. A fire destroyed the partially submerged structure this spring.
Lofley has placed a few boards on a makeshift dock at the property but said he doesn't plan to do anything more before selling it.
Guzman said residents are concerned about redevelopment and how it would affect mangroves.
Janis D. Froelich
School officials face test on growth
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Monday, November 13, 2006
Lorie Shekailo, who chairs the Martin County School Board, has always thought her job was to educate children. But she's beginning to think it soon will include something else: growth management.
On Tuesday, the school board meets to start hammering out a plan for concurrency, an agreement with the county and Stuart to ensure that there will be enough classrooms to keep up with housing developments and Florida's booming population.
Once a voluntary concept, concurrency soon will be required by state law.
The three boards have until June 2008 to finalize their concurrency plan, which is supposed to kick in when other sources of money, such as taxes and impact fees, are not enough to keep up with the need for schools.
"Concurrency is the safety valve," school board attorney Doug Griffin said.
Essentially, concurrency will provide developers with a formula to determine how much they may have to contribute for a new school, on top of existing impact fees, which are the one-time charges on new construction. But devising that formula has been anything but simple, and Shekailo worries about what it may mean for members of the school board.
"I don't think any one of us want to be in the job of saying yea or nay to development," she said.
School district staffers have been meeting for about a year with their counterparts at the county and Stuart, trying to figure out things such as how many students are ideal at elementary schools versus high schools, how to predict the number of students who may live in a new development, and what sorts of credits developers should receive for donations of land vs. money.
"There are a lot of tricky pieces to this, a lot of things that really have to be well-thought-out and well-planned," Shekailo said.
Since 2005, when state lawmakers decided to mandate concurrency, school board members have attended workshops and seminars on the issue. But Tuesday will be the first time they will address it as a board, and Shekailo said she has plenty of questions.
For instance, the state generally requires schools to be at 120 percent capacity before a new school can be built in the area.
But what if the district decides under concurrency that schools cannot exceed 100 percent capacity?
"The devil is always in the details," said Nancy Offutt, governmental affairs specialist for the Treasure Coast Builders Association.
Offutt, who plans to attend Tuesday's workshop, has many of her own questions, such as how the district will decide the number of students predicted to live in a new development.
"Some of that gets pretty convoluted," she said. "Maybe crystal balls should go along with it."
Offutt's main concern, however, is that home builders don't get saddled with more than their fair share of costs.
"Home building and development is still a product," she said. "If it gets to be too costly, it won't happen."
Griffin said district staffers are just as concerned about devising a fair formula, and he said it's unlikely home builders will face excessive fees. In fact, some developers won't face any extra costs, so long as they build in an area where schools have excess capacity, such as around the new Dr. David L. Anderson Middle School on Cove Road.
"It's all a matter of timing," Griffin said. "If you're applying at a time when there's excess capacity, you don't pay concurrency."
Even when capacity is reached, the draft plan calls for fees of about $2,000 per home around Anderson Middle, he said.
The school board will discuss concurrency during a workshop at 2 p.m. Tuesday at the district's instructional center, board meeting room, 500 E. Ocean Blvd., Stuart.
Black Creek work involves moving road
Work is set to begin after Thanksgiving to restore the Black Creek in northeast Leon County by moving a stretch of McCracken Road north away from the body of water.
Right now, McCracken Road crosses the creek. County commissioners will vote Tuesday on whether to contract with Allen's Excavation to complete the $1.8 million project. The work would take about a year, said David Ward, an estimator with Allen's Excavation.
"All of that (area) will be put back into its natural state," Ward said. "And Black Creek will be allowed to flow like it did in the past."
A section of McCracken Road east of Miccosukee Road will be moved and paved. The area where the road currently is located will be restored to wetlands. And three stormwater ponds will be built.
The company was the lowest of three bidders; the county invited more than 500 companies to bid.
Once the project's done, a volunteer day will be scheduled for county workers and local residents to remove sediment around the creek and downstream
Satellite Beach gets $885,000
EPA grant
Money will go to Cassia
ditch
BY KAUSTUV BASU
FLORIDA TODAY
An $885,000 federal grant will help the city with a drainage project on Cassia Boulevard that should improve water quality in the Banana River.
The project will reconfigure an open ditch that runs along Cassia Boulevard from east of Temple Street to near Surfside Elementary. The new shape will prevent erosion and ensure pollutants are trapped before they reach the Banana River.
The grant, received for Phase III of the project, will be bolstered by a 40 percent matching grant from the city. The city also received grants for Phases I and II of the project, which is expected to begin in September 2008. Phase III will not start until 2011.
"The project will rework the ditch, put in some small control structures and control the dirt going into the lagoon," city public works director Allen Potter said.
Potter said the first two phases of the project also will ensure that water seeps back into a nearby aquifer to be used for irrigation purposes.
The $885,000 grant was awarded by the Environmental Protection Agency and administered through the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
The improvements in the drainage system on Cassia were first recommended in a master plan produced in 2001.
The state agency administering the grants uses a ranking system based on the amount of pollutants that can be prevented from going into the water for every dollar spent, city grant writer John Fergus said.
Contact Basu at 242-3724 or kbasu@flatoday.net.
Coal plant small issue in Taylor electionsNew board may have no impact
Last week's elections signaled a new day in Taylor County, but it's not clear what - if anything - that will mean for the proposed coal plant there.
That's because the county's two new commissioners will be sworn in Nov. 21, the day after the current board is set to vote on a preliminary approval for the plant to be built near Perry.
Whatever happens on Nov. 20, the coal-plant backers say they're ready to make their case. The proposed coal plant is a project by utilities that serve Jacksonville, Walt Disney World and a group of small Florida municipalities, with Tallahassee city commissioners still to make up their minds about the city's involvement.
"We'll be prepared for the county commissioners to take action that evening," said Mark McCain, a spokesman for the partnership. "We're ready to support that application to whomever we need to."
The application refers to a 3,000-acre site four miles outside Perry, which is currently reserved for agriculture. The county must change the allowed land-use and forward that decision to the state before the plant can be built.
Diane Whitfield, a coal-plant opponent, pointed out that the new commissioners would get to vote when the state sends the application back to the county for final approval.
"I'm certainly hopeful that they're going to look at this independently," she said.
Neither of the commissioners-elect immediately returned phone calls. One is Mark Wiggins, the owner of a tire and automotive-repair business and a member of the Taylor County Development Authority. The other is Rudolph Parker, a retiree who largely self-financed his campaign.
In contrast to Tallahassee, where three unsuccessful commission candidates made opposition to the coal plant a centerpiece of their campaigns, the Taylor County races kept that issue low-key, Whitfield said
Dry cleaner goes clean and green
Oxxo Care cleaners, a boutique-style dry cleaner, is using safer cleaning products.
BY ELIAS E. LOPEZ
elopez@MiamiHerald.com
Dry cleaning can be a dirty business. And now an industry that has relied heavily on contaminating chemicals and solvents is facing an ominous edict from shopping center landlords and developers: Clean up your act or leave.
But not all dry cleaners are environmentally unfriendly. OXXO Care Cleaners, a boutique-style cleaner that opened its first South Florida store in 2003, is the newest addition to a wave of green dry cleaners that use a biodegradable cleaning agent called GreenEarth.
''Landlords, they're in panic. They don't want their land contaminated,'' said Salomón Mishaan, 53, president and owner of Hollywood-based MUSA LLC, which franchises OXXO. ``But we found a way to distinguish ourselves.''
Instead of using the more common solvent perchloroethylene, or perc, OXXO and companies such as Dryclean USA and Dry Cleaning Station use the silicone-based solvent developed by General Electric.
''I was looking for something safe that wouldn't damage your clothes,'' said Mishaan. ``So in our first meeting with GE, I dipped my finger in a sample glass of GreenEarth and asked if it was toxic. I tasted it and nothing happened. It had a very neutral taste.''
GreenEarth, he said, has the same stain-removing power of perc but breaks down into sand when spilled. Even Treehugger.com, an online magazine for environmentalists, gives OXXO Care Cleaners high marks for using the solution.
Using GreenEarth isn't the only way that OXXO tries to distinguish itself.
Mishaan, an industrial executive with packaging companies in Venezuela and Colombia, got the idea for OXXO Care Cleaners while traveling in Europe.
In 2000, he met an entrepreneur in Spain who owned a dry cleaner called OXXO. The store had a refreshing vibe and put an emphasis on personal service, offering hand ironing instead of steam pressing, for example.
Mishaan created MUSA LLC to bring the concept to the United States and made Jean Paul Aziza, the owner of the Spanish store, a minority partner in the venture.
DRY-CLEANING EMPIRE
From the first store, which opened in Hollywood three years ago, OXXO has grown to more than 20 franchises, including 14 in South Florida and stores in New Jersey, California and Washington, D.C. Last year MUSA revenue totaled $2.6 million and Mishaan expects revenue of $5 million in 2006.
The air-conditioned interiors of OXXO stores are quiet and inviting and there are no pungent odors. With a prepaid card, customers can drop off or pick up pieces 24/7 at an ATM-style service window.
''That's what sets us apart: personal service, quality and convenience,'' says Mishaan. ``I knew the American consumer was ready for an upscale dry cleaner that was socially and environmentally responsible.''
PRICING STRUCTURE
Prices at OXXO are also a bit on the upscale side. Laundering costs $1.95 to $2.75 per shirt and dry cleaning generally starts at $4.95 per item -- about $1 more than the average price in each case. But Mishaan says the prices fit his target demographic, ``white-collar, high-to-middle class.''
''It's part of a lifestyle,'' he said. ``Our clients need to get their clothes dry-cleaned but also enjoy the service and the environment.''
Mishaan and his team are putting a lot of effort into marketing franchises. A new TV commercial touting the OXXO experience also will air soon.
For now, there are no plans of going public or expanding internationally. ''I've got my hands full in the United States,'' Mishaan said.
But his goal in the U.S. market is ambitious.
''We want to be the Starbucks of the dry-cleaning industry,'' he said
Construction vacancies buildTwo years of devastating hurricane seasons saw billions of dollars in damage to homes and businesses.
At the same time, the state is experiencing unprecedented growth.
The result: There's just not enough skilled trades people to do what needs to be done to fix or build Florida.
To remedy that, the state and other agencies are actively recruiting and training people to fill that void.
A forecast by McGraw-Hill Construction Research & Analytics said in the next 25 years, more than 11 million people - through birth and migration - will come to live within Florida's borders, bringing its total population to 28.7 million people. That would represent an average annual increase of 2.37 percent, well above the projected national average of 1.03 percent annual growth.
The report also notes Florida's share of the nation's construction market began to grow dramatically as of 2000, and quickly reached an unprecedented 10.6 percent of the nation's construction starts by 2005.
The report forecasts that new residential construction in 2006 will reach $49 billion. Further, this year nonresidential construction will account for more than $13 billion in new projects such as hospitals, schools, highways, bridges, homes and office buildings. One out of every 10 new jobs created in Florida in 2005 was in the construction industry.
It is forecast by the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation that the I-10 corridor in North Florida will soon be as developed as I-95.
A survey by the agency in 2005 found there is a shortage of more than 13,712 workers in the state's second largest industry - behind tourism - that is growing at 11 percent a year.
A 2006 job vacancy/hiring needs survey showed an even larger deficit - 24,000 job vacancies in 165 occupations.
Warren May, spokesman for the agency said "other states are experience similar shortages, but not to the degree Florida has" because of the hurricanes and explosive growth.
Local training
Last year, a state initiative called Florida reBuilds was funded with $6 million in existing Workforce Florida funds. This money was used to provide short-term, entry-level training for up to 4,000 people, enabling them to enter into the construction trades.
Training is in 40 fields, including roofing, masonry, carpentry, concrete finishing, plumbing, HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning), electricity and heavy equipment operations.
The money also provided advanced training for up to 1,000 existing workers in the industry, giving them the opportunity to acquire additional skills and certifications to advance in the industry, freeing up entry-level jobs.
Another $12 million was budgeted for 2006-2007 to continue the program, providing the funding necessary to train an additional 6,000 individuals.
Angela Pate, the director of the local Alachua/Bradford Regional Workforce Board - now called FloridaWorks - said locally, many training classes are being offered, including those at prisons for inmates due to be released within 90 days.
"We want to make sure they have skills, and we have jobs for them when they get out," she said.
Radha Selvester, community outreach specialist for FloridaWorks and administrator for Florida reBuilds, said state funding had provided training for 128 inmates at Gainesville and Lawtey correctional institutions. When they complete the training and are released, they are provided a full set of tools necessary for their particular craft.
In all, 121 students are enrolled in the entry level training of Florida reBuilds in Alachua and Bradford counties.
Linda South, director of the Agency for Workforce Innovation in Tallahassee, said Gainesville is home to the National Center for Construction Education and Research, which was created by the construction industry and provides curriculum for certification in trades that can be used globally. It is also closely involved with construction training programs at Santa Fe Community College.
Jim Painter, owner of Painter Masonry and current president of the Builders Association of North Central Florida, is credited with bringing the center to Gainesville when he was mayor of Gainesville.
Painter has long championed the training of young men and women in the trades, and is often frustrated by the continued shortages.
"We need to start targeting the kids in high school and beyond, showing them there is value and longevity to these jobs," he said.
The agency surveys of the Florida labor shortage - which telephoned 9,400 employers between February and March - showed the average salary of a freshly trained tradesmen, journeyman and beyond, was nearly $15 an hour. It also showed entry-level construction jobs can offer an average salary of more than $30,000 a year.
The survey showed more than 60 percent of vacancies offered some type of benefit, and 18 percent offered a full package of sick leave, paid vacation, retirement and savings plans.
Shawn Graves, training director for the Gainesville Academy of Electrical Technology, sponsored by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, said the introductory "construction wireman" classes open doors for students to go beyond the apprenticeship stage and on to journeyman and master status.
"But while they are in these classes, which are three hours two nights a week for seven weeks, students can continue working during the day. We often place them immediately after they complete what I call 'boot camp.' "
Of the 40 students in a recent class, 31 are employed as apprentices. And of those 22 are working toward journeyman status, which takes five years.
The advantage to these classes is during their subsequent apprenticeship, workers are accruing Social Security, getting health coverage and all the other benefits of a union electrical worker.
"Most college kids come out of their 'training' in debt; these graduates come out ahead," Graves said.
Coming together
A key to getting potential workers together with potential employers is both of them signing up with their local One-Stop Career Centers, which are 96 employment offices distributed throughout Florida, South said.
"Every day an employer does not have a qualified worker is a day he isn't contributing to the economy. Every day a family does not have a wage-earner bringing cash home is a day without prosperity. They are sitting on the sidelines. We want to shorten that cycle for both, helping both families and businesses," she added.
Employers should post every job opening on the EmployFlorida Web site, South said, and job-seekers should post their availability.
South is touring the state's newspapers to get the word out about the employment possibilities of the Web site, which until now didn't seem to be widely known.
Steve Kropp, research associate with Agency for Workforce Innovation's Labor Market Statistics in Tallahassee said it is projected that in Alachua County, between 2006 and 2014, there will be an average annual employment increase of 100 in the specialty trade contractors industry, three in the heavy and civil engineering construction industry and 24 in the general contracting business.
Marina Blomberg can be reached at (352) 374-5025 or blombem@gvillesun.com.
Manatees may be smarter than perceived, researchers say
SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) -- A scientist in 1902 examining a smooth, grapefruit-sized manatee brain remarked that the organ's unwrinkled surface resembled "the brains of idiots." Manatees have generally been considered incapable of doing anything more complicated than munching sea grass ever since.
But Hugh doesn't seem stupid. When a buzzer sounds, the speed bump-shaped mammal slowly flips his 1,300 pounds and aims a whiskered snout toward one of eight speakers dropped into his tank at the Mote Marine Laboratory. Nosing the correct speaker earns him treats.
The buzzing tones gradually grow shorter and softer. It's a hearing test to determine real-water consequences: At what distance could Hugh hear a boat's propeller churning in the water? Could Hugh determine where the sound is coming from?
Hugh is no manatee prodigy. Such sensory tests, along with other recent studies, are revealing a complex brain at work in Florida's coastal waters. Researchers now argue that the so-called "sea cows" aren't small-brained - it's just that Florida manatees grew so big and adapted well as a massive herbivore that had no predators before propellers.
"They're not under any selection pressure to evolve the rapid type behavior we've associated with hawks, a predator, or antelopes, a prey. They look like very contented animals that don't have very much to do all day," said Roger Reep, a neuroscientist at the University of Florida's College of Veterinary Medicine.
Scientists have long assumed brains with many layers of folds - such as those belonging to dolphins and humans - were a sign of intelligence. But Reep argues the cause behind those brain folds is unknown, and smooth-brained manatees don't seem to be missing anything important.
"The brain looks just as complex internally as any other mammalian brain. It doesn't look like it's odd or lacking certain things," Reep says. With Bob Bonde, a Gainesville-based biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, he explores the curiosities of manatee physiology in "The Florida Manatee: Biology and Conservation" (University Press of Florida), which was published this year.
"All the cells are in the right places. It's not like arrested development," Reep says.
Hugh and his half brother Buffett, both born in captivity, have spent many days since 1998 showing researchers what they can learn. The manatees have been trained to respond to unique whistles and stop at underwater targets.
Scientists want to determine how well manatees distinguish colors and objects, the sensitivity of their hearing, if they can locate a sound's source, and their sense of touch.
In the vision tests, Buffett and Hugh have not shown they can see particularly well out of the tiny eyes that squint behind their muzzles - although it appears they see color, an unusual trait for marine mammals. Even by manatee standards, Hugh seems to be visually impaired.
In manatee brains, the regions that process sight are quite small when compared to auditory and tactile regions, write Reep and Bonde.
"Having a well-developed visual system means having lots of brain tissue devoted to processing visual information. So reduction potentially frees up that tissue for other functions," they write.
Despite recent findings that suggest the endangered animals hear well enough to detect and avoid boats, researchers aren't sure why manatees in the wild continue getting hit. Between Jan. 1 and Oct. 27, 75 manatees have been killed by watercraft collisions, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The manatees could be surfacing to breathe while sleeping, or they've grown too accustomed to the sound of boats, Bonde says.
Some tests are periodically repeated, and Hugh's and Buffett's memory indicates how manatees remember migration routes or freshwater sources, says Joe Gaspard, who coordinates manatee research and training at Mote.
"Two years later, they can pick up right where they left off. Not at that high a threshold, but the whole procedure was right in place from the initial setup," Gaspard says. "When you think about those warm water refuges, that's almost a full year that they're remembering those sites."
Gaspard says researchers are also learning about each manatee's distinct personality. Given a tubular puzzle that contains food behind a sliding plastic barrier, Hugh will barrel into it, as he will other objects of frustration. Buffett patiently figures out how to release the food without a body blow, but also tends to sulk.
Motivating Hugh and Buffett to train has been more challenging than conducting most of the tests. Dolphins will work for food, but the manatees already consume 72 heads of romaine lettuce and 12 bunches of kale per day.
Hugh and Buffett are rewarded with handfuls of sliced apples, carrots and beets for correct test responses. The manatees pull the food into their mouths with dexterous lips that can also untie knots, Gaspard says.
Researchers have discovered that manatee muzzles and bodies are covered with sensitive hairs, called vibrissae, that possibly help them monitor their surroundings by detecting underwater objects and current changes.
"They have characteristics that are associated with sensory processes as opposed to things like keeping you warm or keeping you dry," says Gordon Bauer, a biological psychologist at New College in Sarasota.
Understanding how manatees adapt to environmental challenges could help make better conservation laws, Bonde says. Manatees are creatures of habit, but will adjust their behavior if they learn something new.
"If we make a sanctuary, manatees will come," Bonde says. "They will choose to go where boats and people can't go."