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CSX Hub Could Benefit 2 Lawmakers
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Published: March 15, 2008
TAMPA - Two state lawmakers could benefit from Florida's multimillion-dollar plan to help CSX Transportation expand its freight operations into a major hub in Winter Haven.
State Sen. JD Alexander, R-Winter Haven, controls a warehouse and distribution business that partners with CSX to serve warehouse customers near the proposed hub. State Rep. Marty Bowen, R-Haines City, owns property a few miles away along the CSX tracks, adjacent to the proposed hub site.
The state plans to spend $491 million to buy 61 miles of CSX tracks in the Orlando area for commuter rail, and help CSX improve its tracks statewide and move to the proposed 1,250-acre hub.
Lawmakers are split over the effects of the Department of Transportation proposal. Some say it will bring unwanted truck and train traffic into their communities; others say it will bring needed jobs and relief for commuters.
Key components of the proposal, including the money the DOT wants to give CSX, will come before state lawmakers this session.
Alexander supports the $491 million deal, in particular the efforts to help CSX move from its rail yard in Orlando to Winter Haven. He thinks it's "a great economic development opportunity for Polk County," said Bud Brewer, spokesman for the land management company Atlantic Blue. Alexander is Atlantic Blue's president and chief executive officer.
In January, Atlantic Blue bought storage and warehouse business Phoenix Industries, which is less than five miles from the proposed hub. Phoenix serves businesses that contract with CSX to ship goods across the country.
On its Web site, Phoenix touts having "developed unique dedicated service offerings with CSX and Union Pacific Distribution Services."
Discussions between the families behind Atlantic Blue and Phoenix "have been going on for years," Brewer said. "It's part of an ongoing strategy to get into other income-producing businesses."
Atlantic Blue also formed a partnership last year with development company Highlands Cassidy to build a 140-home subdivision in Winter Haven. Highlands Cassidy owns property next to the proposed CSX hub and Bowen's property. Though in partnership with Highlands Cassidy, Alexander has no ownership of that property.
Alexander, Bowen Offer Support
Alexander has openly advocated for the Winter Haven hub and the CSX deal, talking at a legislative delegation meeting in December about its economic benefits. "There are lots of jobs surrounding the hub that are in the warehousing and manufacturing business," he said.
He also said he had known for "seven or eight years that there was a general need to streamline some of the rail transportation connecting our port system, and the FDOT was working on that."
A legislative aide to Alexander, Rachel Barnes, said there was no conflict between his company's ownership of Phoenix and his position on the CSX deal. "I did some homework. I'm pretty confident that there is not any conflict of interest at this point."
Bowen is co-owner of 140 acres of pasture and citrus land directly north of the proposed hub. The pasture land runs along the rail line at the proposed hub's eastern edge, according to Polk property records.
Bowen said there is no conflict between her property ownership and her role as a lawmaker. She said she didn't even know where her property was in relation to the proposed CSX hub.
"My brother and I have owned the land for a number of years ... long before I knew of the hub," Bowen said. There is a contract to sell it as part of a sale involving several properties, she said. She wouldn't provide details.
She isn't involved in any talks involving the CSX deal in the Legislature this session, she said. But she supports the hub, saying, "I think it would be a great asset for Winter Haven." At a news conference in Tallahassee on Wednesday, she stood with a group of Orlando-area lawmakers who want commuter rail in their area and gathered to express their support for the deal.
Ben Wilcox, executive director of Common Cause Florida, said state laws dealing with conflicts of interest are quite permissive. "When it comes to the law it's almost nonexistent, because of the citizen lawmaker concept." They serve part-time and deal with issues that often overlap with their jobs back home, he said. Teachers, for instance, vote on the education budget.
"But if they stand to directly benefit from a matter before the Legislature, you would want them to disclose their interest and abstain from lobbying or talking to their colleagues about it," he said.
"It's better to err on the side of being as upfront as possible."
The problem isn't only the existence of a conflict of interest, but also the appearance that there is a conflict, he said.
Cost, Liability Divide Lawmakers
State Sen. Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland, an opponent of the CSX proposal, said that lawmakers who could benefit from the deal should not take part in discussions or activities concerning its fate in the Legislature.
"I think there's a general distrust among citizens of government, and a lot of people think elected officials are involved in deals," she said. "We owe it to constituents to be up here and not be taking part in things that are good for ourselves or family members."
Dockery is married to C.C. "Doc" Dockery, who was the driving force behind the Florida high-speed rail plan, a proposed passenger train system that voters approved in a constitutional amendment in 2000. He helped fund the campaign in support of the measure.
Voters repealed the amendment four years later. CSX gave $50,000 to the opposition effort.
"I'm happy to disclose my relationship," Dockery said. "Doc Dockery never had any financial interest in any entity connected to high-speed rail. ... He was never involved in giving subsidies to for-profit companies, nor did he ever make one dollar from the effort."
Like her husband, she said, she wants more passenger train service in Florida, and she favors the Orlando commuter rail plan. But she and state Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Lakeland, oppose the CSX deal because it will bring more freight trains through downtown Lakeland. Also, hundreds of trucks per day will be going in and out of the Winter Haven hub, carrying a variety of things from cars to building supplies.
Other lawmakers, including state Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, have complained about the cost of the deal, saying that in this tight budget year, the money would be better spent on more critical road projects.
Several lawmakers also are leery of a liability package that CSX wants the state to sign. It would make the state responsible for all accidents on the commuter line, even those caused by CSX while using the line.
Without the Legislature's approval of the liability package, the deal can't go through. Lawmakers also must approve the DOT's budget, which includes money for the deal.
EDITORS NOTE: Research developed by reporter Billy Townsend in pursuit of another story was used in this report. Townsend, the Tribune's Polk County reporter, stopped covering the proposed CSX rail realignment in October to avoid an appearance of a conflict of interest. His wife, executive director of the Downtown Lakeland Partnership, was named then to a Lakeland task force on the realignment. The partnership has criticized the realignment as proposed.
Reporter Billy Townsend contributed to this report. Reporter Lindsay Peterson can be reached at lpeterson@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7834.
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Reader Comments
Posted by ( RobKay ) on March 15, 2008 at 3:23 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
This is a real no brainer. Alexander and Bowen remove themselves from any discussion, lobbying or decision about the proposed action or sell their holdings in the effected property before they participate. Simple as that. If they refuse, they get removed from their prospective governing bodies, fined, and prosecuted if they attempt to effect the outcome in any way.
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Posted by ( fedupwithgovt ) on March 15, 2008 at 1:11 p.m.
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
Posted by ( fedupwithgovt ) on March 15, 2008 at 1:16 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
Friends of Amtrak reports
The White House on Nov. 15 also announced two other intended nominations by the president to the Amtrak board -- Republican Nancy A. Naples of New York, and Republican Denver Stutler Jr. of Florida. Carper is a Democrat.
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Posted by ( frank47 ) on March 15, 2008 at 2:09 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
This is just disgusting. This is a joke right? They are drastically reducing the budget to many critical areas of state governemnt including very needy programs and these idiot legislators are giving $491 million of our tax dollars to a private railroad. If this is true I do not want to pay anymore taxes. If this is true I want the taxes I have paid, back. This is how they reduce our taxes? They give our money away and also make the state responsible for accidents. I have had enough of these lawmakers making money off our backs. Thanks to the Tribune we are getting to know about this. I can only hope that all other media get this information out throughout the state so all the people will become aware of this blatant giveaway of our money to a private company and to be aware of the legislators who stand to benefit from it. They should be thrown out of office.
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Posted by ( frank47 ) on March 15, 2008 at 2:26 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
I must add that I appreciate the other legislators efforts to stop this giveaway. We need more to do the same to get this stopped. My thanks to them
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