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Ex-Buc Debuts As Chairman Of Transportation Board

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By Anthony McCartney | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 26, 2007

TAMPA - In his first meeting as chairman of a regional transportation authority, former Buccaneers linebacker Shelton Quarles saved the football analogies for the end.

Quarles, appointed by Gov. Charlie Crist to lead the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority, spoke little during his first meeting today. But he stressed the need to stay focused and look for long-term solutions to the transportation problems of the authority's seven-member counties.

Shelton Quarles

He drew upon his football background, telling fellow board members TBARTA's success would come from "not succumbing to pressure, applying it."

Little of substance was resolved during this morning's three-hour meeting, held in downtown Tampa. The board largely worked through procedures and listened to background presentations.

A couple of underlying themes were apparent by the end, though. The authority would be challenged both by the sheer geographic size of communities represented by the board and also a lack of money.

Quarles and other board members said they believe the money for any major projects will have to come from some type of public-private partnership.

TBARTA has until July 2009 to come up with a list of major road or transit projects that should be built throughout its coverage area, which stretches from Citrus County down to Sarasota.

Shawn Harrison, also a Crist appointee, said it's likely TBARTA will support building some toll roads, which will raise money to help pay for other transit projects. The authority has to "help itself before we ask people to pay more in taxes," he said.

In his first meeting, Quarles was thrust between the interests of politicians from cities and counties throughout West Central Florida.

He joked that the panel – which includes Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio, St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker, Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan and numerous other well-known politicos – didn't sport any bigger egos than the players he shared a locker room with for 13 seasons.

Fellow board members showered Quarles with praise, saying he ran an efficient and productive meeting.

Harrison, a former Tampa councilman, credited Quarles with allowing people from across the region to get their viewpoints across.

Quarles confessed that some of the lingo thrown around at this morning's meeting had him peeking at a cheat sheet. He'd studied the night before and has had several meetings with transportation officials but acknowledged that learning about the various modes of transit will require a lot more work.

He wasn't the only one thrust into the spotlight on short notice. Crist appointed another member, Parrish lawyer Hugh McGuire, to the TBARTA board on Friday. McGuire attended this morning's meeting and said he also had a lot of studying to do.

Quarles said his role as chairman is to effectively communicate the board's ideas and make sure early projects succeed. He'll learn the technical jargon, he promised.

"Eventually I'll get up to speed," he said.

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