Page 11 - Florida Sentinel 10-21-16 Online Edition

Local
Commissioners Vote To Move Ahead With $600 Million For Roads
BY LEON B. CREWS Sentinel Staff Writer
On September 8, 2016, the Board approved a budget preparation policy to priori- tize funding for future trans- portation projects over a 10-year period at a cost of $600 million. They also di- rected County Administrator, Mike Merrill, to present a list of projects for considera- tion.
The categories of those projects include: Mainte- nance, including right of way, sidewalks and bridges, and resurfacing; safety projects, and congestion relief projects.
On Wednesday, Commis- sioners allowed public com- ment on the project, and added comments of their own.
Among the primary con- cerns was the fact that the City of Tampa would get little or none of the funds, and Merrill, suggested the city appropri- ates funding from their growth funds, the same as they did.
There was a lot of discus- sion on whether the funds were being spread out equally, with some Commissioners feeling some areas would get
plan suggested by Commis- sioner Sandra Murman was rejected. In the end, we agreed to fund the repair of roads bridges sidewalks, sig- nals, safety devices, road resurfacing, and other infra- structure needs.”
Comm. Miller said there are groups out there who are saying they aren’t putting enough into transit.
“The $600 million is not enough to address our transit needs. We felt the need to fix what we can take care of now.
“We will take care of the roadways in the city that are county roads. The others are the responsibility of the city or state.”
Comm. Miller said dollar amounts have been assigned to the individual projects, but
that will probably change. “We’ve had public hearings about these projects, and there was no need to have a public hearing on the $600 million after we didn’t get the
half-cent tax.
“We’ve never hidden any-
thing from anyone. There are some groups out there who want to kill the entire project.”
COMMISSION CHAIR LES MILLER
the bulk of the funds, while other areas would get little or nothing.
Commission Chair, Les Miller, spearheaded an effort to convince his colleagues to allow their request for a half- cent tax to be put on a refer- endum for the voters to decide if they wanted to see the funds go toward public transporta- tion. That effort was defeated.
“What we did Wednesday was vote to put the funds for the project into a Capital Im- provement Fund.
“We got to this point after two hearings on the half-cent sales tax request failed, and a
Tampa Fire Rescue Employee Named ‘Firefighter Of Year’
Mayor Bob Buckhorn, left, and Tampa Fire Chief Thomas For- ward, right, posed with Captain Justin Baxter, who was chosen as the Tampa Fire Rescue Firefighter Of The Year.
On Saturday, October 15th, the City of Tampa Fire Rescue held their annual banquet at the Marriott Waterside. Dur- ing the banquet, the recipient of the “Tampa Fire Rescue Firefighter of the Year” was announced before an audience of employees, family members and friends.
This year, the honoree, ch0sen from a group of em- ployees recognized each quar- ter, is Captain Justin Baxter.
Captain Baxter is a 12- year veteran of the depart- ment. He also holds the distinction of being a veteran of the U. S. Army and the Florida National Guard, where he serves as Battery Com- mander. He has mastered sev- eral department-related specialties and is certified in Advanced Cardiac Life Supp- port, Critical Care Transport,
and Hazardous Materials fire- fighting and mitigation.
Captain Baxter earned his Associate’s Degree as an EMS and his Bachelor of Sci- ence degree in Individualized Studies.
He is a lead paramedic in- structor at Leary Technical College and teaches his fellow firefighters in his position as a Paramedic Field Training Offi- cer.
After the kitchen in the home of a Tampa family was destroyed, Captain Baxter organized a group of volun- teers to help rebuild the kitchen. He also secured a do- nation of cabinets and appli- ances. Then he and his crew purchased the paint and re- modeled the kitchen. The fam- ily had only been in their home two days when the fire oc- curred.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 11-A