Letters to the editor: A waste of money

Letter to the Editor

A waste of money

It appears we are back into politics as usual in Florida again ("USF Poly bill could mean loss of accreditation," front page, Feb. 11). This reminds me of Abbott and Costello's famous "Who's on first?" routine. It also points to the possibility that state Sen. JD Alexander is looking at kingdom-building — not in Disney but in Lakeland.

For some time now the senator has been looking for a reason to separate USF Polytechnic from USF. He got three-fourths of the way there convincing the Florida Board of Governors to map out a plan to set up Polytechnic as a stand-alone university. To coin a phrase of an Air Force commander I served under: "It does not pass the common sense test." But the powerful got their way.

Think of the cost per student for Polytechnic to be a stand-alone university if they do not enroll significant numbers of students. Think of the amount of infrastructure — library, housing, classrooms, etc. — that will be required. And all this is being done in a down economy.

What a waste of money. I can just imagine what will happen if they do pass the bill and Polytechnic loses accreditation. Think of the loss of federal dollars, and students not being able, in most cases, to transfer credits. Right now they have the best of both worlds — they are away from the larger campus of USF but attached for accreditation purposes. They are looking to kill the golden goose, so to speak, at taxpayer expense.

Frank Popeleski

Seffner

Working with partners

Let's get to the facts about the Florida Department of Transportation and the transportation bill regarding expressway authorities. The bill does not eliminate expressway authorities or even take control of the local boards. The bill simply says FDOT would collect the tolls on behalf of the Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority (THEA) and the Orlando Orange County Expressway Authority. All revenues collected would still be controlled by the local expressway authorities for local projects.

FDOT already processes 80 percent of the transactions for THEA through SunPass. A comparison of the costs to collect tolls through an all-electronic system shows it costs FDOT 6 cents per transaction for the I-95 Express system in Southeast Florida while it costs 10 cents per transaction for the Selmon Expressway. FDOT can do the job more efficiently and at a greater savings for taxpayers.

FDOT's district office understands and responds to local transportation priorities in the Tampa Bay region. FDOT is responsible for more than 1,000 miles of roads on 57 different state routes in Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco, Hernando and Citrus counties. The FDOT oversees a far greater system within the region than any other governmental entity. Investments by FDOT have a great impact and will continue to serve the best interests of the region in moving forward. We work with our local transportation partners, including metropolitan planning organizations, counties, cities, seaports, airports, transit organizations and the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority to address transportation needs throughout the region. It is myth that FDOT projects are selected by Tallahassee.

Through innovative financing we were able to advance the $395 million I-4/Selmon Expressway Connector project to begin three years before it was programmed. We also are in the process of developing a plan for a system of managed lanes throughout the region that can incorporate concepts such as bus-rapid transit as part of the system. FDOT will continue to work with THEA and all of our transportation partners to develop and deliver transportation solutions for the region.

Don Skelton

Tampa