TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Cautious Or Visionless?

ADVERTISEMENT

By CHRISTIAN M. WADE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 24, 2007

PORT RICHEY - In the spring of 2006, less than two weeks after a contentious election that divided this small waterfront city, a newly elected council faced a difficult choice.

Before the council was a pending real estate contract and a proposal to borrow $1.4 million to buy 10 acres of wetlands. That deal would have crippled the city's nascent community redevelopment fund.

A previous council had envisioned carving out an 80-acre hiking and biking trail by joining several small plots near Pine Hill Road and Washington Street with about 60 acres of city-owned wetlands.

To do that, the city needed to tap into its Community Redevelopment Agency fund, which at the time had $700,000, to acquire the 10 privately owned acres. The fund would be used as collateral for the loan, which would freeze CRA spending until the loan was repaid.

That would have taken years, which the new council wasn't ready to do.

So, after several hours of heated public testimony and a closed-door session, the CRA board, composed of the five council members, voted 4-1 to reject the loan.

With that, they effectively torpedoed the city's first major redevelopment project.

'We're trying to be careful with our CRA spending,' said Dale Massad, one of the new council members who voted against the bond approval. 'We want to get the biggest bang for our buck.'

In 2002, this 2-square-mile city followed the lead of its larger neighbor, New Port Richey, by declaring itself blighted. Port Richey officials did so despite concerns from residents in the more affluent areas that their property values would take a hit.

'We declared the whole city blighted, because the whole city is blighted,' recalled former Vice Mayor Phyllis Grae, who was on the council when the city established the CRA. 'We just didn't want to pick and choose which areas were bad and which ones were not.'

The move allows the city government to keep more than half of the county property taxes its residents pay annually for the next 30 years. But the city also must deposit an equivalent amount of its own taxes into the CRA fund.

While other CRA cities have undertaken aggressive capital improvement programs, Port Richey officials so far have been cautious in their approach to redevelopment.

Not that they haven't spent any of the money.

Where The Money's Gone

Figures provided by the city indicate it has spent more than $2.2 million of the $2.9 million CRA funds collected since the program started.

Most of the money has gone toward salaries and benefits, studies by private consulting firms and budget shortfalls. In the next fiscal year's budget, city finance officials will transfer $250,000 from the CRA fund to the general fund.

One example of the spending is the U.S. 19 beautification project, which added trees and flowers to a section of the highway often referred to as the city's downtown.

Most of the $150,000 for that project came from a state Department of Transportation grant, but the city used CRA funds to cover the cost until the grant came through. Then the CRA board tossed in about $60,000 more.

Although it has been discussed, Port Richey has no paint-up/fix-up grants for property owners to improve their facades, a program that has proven successful in other CRA cities.

And, like New Port Richey, the drain on general operating revenues from the CRA fund means there has been less money for police, fire and other vital municipal services.

Mayor Richard Rober said redeveloping this 82-year-old city will take years.

'Our CRA is still young,' he said. 'We don't have the money yet for big ticket projects.'

Dredging Project Proposed

Massad, for one, wants to use CRA funds for dredging miles of silt-clogged canals and waterways, estimated to cost more than $15 million.

The city already has spent about $500,000 in CRA funds on studies for the project, which is still being reviewed by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

'Dredging will increase investment along the city's waterways, which will, in turn, boost property values and alleviate blighted areas,' Massad said.

Not everyone agrees.

'The intent of the CRA fund was for it to be used for community redevelopment: street paving, sidewalks, water and sewer lines,' said former Vice Mayor Bill Bennett. 'I just don't see it being used properly. Everyone seems to want to use it like a slush fund.

'... It's not a gain for the entire community,' he said of the dredging. 'It only benefits a few residents.'

County officials, too, question committing CRA money for the project.

'Someone would have to explain to me how that helps redevelopment,' said Michael Nurrenbrock, the Pasco County's budget director. 'If they were dredging to allow marine life to develop, for restaurants or commercial fishing, that would be a stronger argument.'

Despite a lack of noticeable redevelopment in Port Richey, residential and commercial property values have skyrocketed. According to the county Property Appraiser's Office, the city's taxable value has more than doubled since the CRA was created.

But county tax officials say that has had little to do with redevelopment.

'It's market forces,' said Property Appraiser Mike Wells.

Jim Priest, a former councilman, said Port Richey appears to suffer from a lack of vision.

He said the resignation of Jerry Calhoun, the former city manager who was in the process of preparing several major redevelopment projects, is a blow to those efforts.

While on the city's Community Advisory Committee, Priest was creating a redevelopment plan that targeted waterfront revitalization and infrastructure projects.

'There is a lot that needs to be done in our city,' he said. 'We had a good foundation.'

But the 2006 elections brought a change of leadership, and a change of direction.

The 80-acre hiking and biking trail, which the advisory committee deemed an important redevelopment effort, was rejected by the new council.

Many of the committee's other recommendations never made it from paper to reality.

'I really can't really say what our direction is right now,' Priest said. 'I just don't know.'

FOLLOW THE MONEY TRAIL

Below is a partial list of Port Richey's Community Redevelopment Agency expenditures since 2002.

Unspecified citywide improvements: $1.5 million

Dredging permits and consulting fees: $473,574

Community policing officers: $380,000

Waterfront Park fishing pier: $113,464 (in 2003)

Stormwater improvements: $166,964

Staff salaries, wages and benefits: $ 75,932 (from 2003-05)

Engineering studies/fees: $ 61,683

U.S. 19 median beautification project: $60,000

Clay Shake Bridge project: $ 8,520

SOURCE: Port Richey's 2007-08 budget

Christian M. Wade

Coming Tuesday: New Port Richey rolls the dice on aggressive redevelopment. Reporter Christian M. Wade can be reached at (727) 815-1082 or cwade@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT