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City & County Issues
HART Unveils Transit Plan To Push New Tax
BY LEON B. CREWS Sentinel Staff Writer
In the second of a series of open house public hearings, HART is presenting their Transit Development Plan. The Plan is to serve the mobil- ity needs of residents, employ- ees and visitors. It will also guide the allocation of funding to transit services and projects that are most needed.
Key to the plans HART has to improve public transporta- tion in Tampa and Hillsbor- ough County will be whether or not County Commissioners approved a request to put a half-cent tax increase on a ref- erendum for the 2016 ballot.
No one attended the meet- ing Tuesday at the Ragan Park Community Center. When asked about attendance, a HART representatives said no- tification of the meetings was sent to the media via e-mails and the public was notified through notices posted aboard buses. .
HART’s plan is expected to cost $30 million, and is a 10- year plan that will depend on financing through the in- creased sales tax.
HART representatives said by September 2015, they will add 175 buses to their fleet with 22 of them fueled by com- pressed natural gas.
They also are monitoring ridership numbers in certain areas to establish a need to add more buses and change the de- parture and arrival times.
COMMISSIONER LES MILLER
Of vital importance is HART’s plan to extend their service to late hours so people who get off from work after 11 p. m. or midnight can still catch a bus home.
Transit service for seniors will be upgraded and ex- panded, and there are no ex- pectations for HART to increase fares at this time.
Effective July 13th, HART reduced their “Summer Blast Pass” to $15 that includes over 3 months of unlimited rides that come at a cost of less than the cost of one month. This special will run from May 11th through August 31st for ages 5 to 18.
HART Board member and
County Commissioner Les Miller said a committee has been working on this for a long time.
“We have had public meet- ings all over the city and county. At one of those meet- ings, the half-cent sales tax
WALLACE BOWERS HART BOARD MEMBER
was suggested.
“The majority of the people
who attended the meetings said they want better roads. The city is saying they want a light-rail system. First, we have to put it on the ballot. If the city decides they want to use their portion of the half- cent tax on light rail, they can do that. The fact is, the popu- lation in the county has more than doubled.”
Comm. Miller said HART has proposed a thor- ough plan and it’s a great start- ing point that will meet the needs of the people.
“This is a working plan in progress. It will be tweaked and modified as the process goes along.”
Board member Wallace
Bowers said they are trying to do specific things based on their existing funds.
“We’re trying to get funds for capital investments. Rev- enue from property taxes and other sources will create about $70 million annually.
“As we look at the plan we believe the people need better transportation. The outlying areas of the county desperately need better public transporta- tion. We want to see better transportation for people working late hours.”
Bowers said HART’s in- come is tax based. And they’ve tried to cut the fat from waste so they can fund this plan.
“We can’t cut drivers, be- cause we’re already short and that’s a high turnover area.
“Right now, there is no funding in place to start the development plan. We’ll try to contract with private compa- nies to fill the gap.”
Bowers said if the refer- endum is put on a ballot and it passes, they will get close to $30 million in annual revenue.
“With that extra revenue, we will be able to increase the fleet and create more garages in other areas. It’s up to the citizens to make the decision on whether they want better service by voting yes on the
referendum if it makes it on a ballot next year.”
LaGaceta publisher, Patrick Manteiga said he’s not in favor of a tax increase.
“I’m not supporting a tax increase, because it will not get HART where they need to be to fund their plan.
“I think we could do a lot better. We could levy impact fees to generate revenue, along with other areas. We don’t need a special tax for roads. This will not benefit people from doing infills in the city. It will push people out into the underdeveloped areas of the county.”
Manteiga said the people were lied to on the application of the Community Investment Tax (CIT) 30 years ago, and he thinks a road maintenance tax should be consistently in place.
“I think the Board needs to do their job, and they aren’t doing that right now. I know 18 months from now this plan will fail, and this is a way for consultants to make a lot of money.
“There are a lot of other revenue streams that need to be researched. If this makes it on a ballot, voting yes will put us on a 30-year course of the same old, same old.”
City Seeks Members For West Tampa CRA Community Advisory Committee
The Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) of the City of Tampa is seeking three (3) individuals to serve on the newly cre- ated West Tampa CRA Community Advisory Committee (CAC).
The purpose of CAC’s is to insure that the interests of residents, property owners, businesses and other stakeholders in the area are represented in key decisions. CAC’s provide input and make rec- ommendations to city staff and the CRA concerning their respec- tive areas.
Interested parties must live or work in the West Tampa com- munity redevelopment area or have significant interests within the area. Individuals with a background or expertise in the redevelop- ment process, such as neighborhood planning, real estate devel- opment, or real estate finance are also being sought.
These positions are voluntary, and individuals appointed to CAC’s serve without compensation.
The West Tampa CRA CAC will have a total of 11 members: 3 at-large seats and 8 representatives nominated by various West Tampa organizations. All members are appointed by the City of Tampa CRA Board.
Anyone interested in applying is invited to attend an informa- tion session to learn about the roles and responsibilities of CAC members.
Information sessions will be held on Thursday, August 6th, 1 p. m. or 5:30 p. m., Tampa Municipal Office Building, 306 East Jack- son Street, second floor conference room.
Applications became available on July 28th at the City Clerk’s Office. Applications are also available on the City of Tampa CRA web page, www.tampagov.net/CRA. Applications must be received in the City Clerk’s office by 5 p. m. on Tuesday, August 18th.
The CRA will appoint members to the Community Advisory Committees at their meeting on September 10th at 9 a. m. in City Council Chambers, Third Floor, 315 East Kennedy Boulevard. At that meeting, applicants may make brief presentations to the CRA concerning their background and qualifications.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 4, 2015 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 9