TPO takes area growth in stride
BY FRANKLIN HAYES Gulf Breeze News franklin@gulfbreezenews.com

Santa Rosa County looks to make improvements to local infrastructure with several new networking, partnership and development programs. The Northwest Florida Alabama Transportation Planning Organization met Jan. 18 in the Santa Rosa County Commission Board Room for a transportation-funding workshop. Transportation planners discussed the Waterfronts Florida Partnership Program, Florida’s Strategic Intermodal System, and public/private partnerships.

The Waterfronts Florida Partnership Program was developed as a response to the general decline of waterfront areas and promises collaboration of the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, Department of Environmental Protection Florida Coastal Management program, and Florida Department of Community Affairs. Benefits of the program include tourism trade and economic development from the Governor’s Office, the Florida Department of Community Affairs, the Department of State, as well as the Florida Redevelopment Association. Nearby Bagdad has applied for the program, and has already begun planning their revitalization, identifying community needs such as engineering services, planning and architectural services as critical elements.

“Importantly, the program provides a framework of public forums to foster community participation in the revitalization of waterfront communities,” District 5 Santa Rosa County Commissioner John Broxson said. The Waterfronts Florida Partnership Program offers two years of limited funding, and technical assistance to help Bagdad reach their goal.

In 2003, the Florida Legislature created the Florida Strategic Intermodal System to help the state allocate funds to critical transportation facilities. This program also includes $749 million transportation dollars in the SB 360 State Transportation Trust Fund, $35 million of which is set aside for the Small County Outreach Program. Since not every project can be assisted with the finite funding, the SIS is in place to make sure that high priority projects with heavy traffic will receive as much funding as possible.

In addition to the SIS and the WFPP, the TPO looked at implementing more public/private partnerships. Such partnerships would free county employees from overseeing minute details of extensive traffic projects. The system is best described as the County outsourcing financial planning and execution of projects to a Community Development District. This special district is an organization made up of board members who are elected by the affected area’s homeowners. The CDD would possess all governmental powers associated with issuing debt and financing. Additionally, the debt of the CDD does not show up on the balance sheet of the municipality or county. Impact fees, or development charges, allow the county and CDD to charge developers the capitol required to build necessary utilities as opposed to using existing tax dollars. After the work is completed, the public utilities are turned over to the governing municipality or county for upkeep. Such partnerships are a growing trend in and Florida, especially in Central and South Florida where development is more prevalent.

“It will be interesting to see the development of public-private partnerships in the state. It might be an answer to some of our ever-increasing transportation needs,” Broxson said.

As Northwest Florida continues to grow, the effort to secure as many funding sources as possible will continue to be the first priority of the TPO. The TPO will meet again in Feb. to further discuss pursuing many of the funding options discussed above.