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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHouse Jobs Bill Minutes 01-11-2010BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ST. LUCIE COUNTY, FLORIDA HOUSE JOBS BILL WORKSESSION Date: January 11, 2010 Convened: 2:30 p.m. Adjourned: 4:32 p.m. Commissioners Present: Chairman, Charles Grande, Doug Coward, Paula A. Lewis, Chris Craft, Chris Dzadovsky Others Present: Faye Outlaw, County Administrator, Lee Ann Lowery, Asst. County Administrator, Dan McIntyre, County Attorney, Diana Lewis, Airport Director, Beth Ryder, Community Services Director, Bill Hoeffner, Grants Resources and Disaster Project Manager, Millie Delgado-Feliciano, Deputy Clerk The County Administrator made opening remarks and turned the discussion over to Mr. Greg Burns from VanScoyoc Associates. Mr. Burns advised the Board the Jobs Bill will be passed by Congress within the next month and provided an outline for discussion purposes. He requested direction from the Board and stated they needed to decide where their priorities lie. Last Year's Requests Treasure Coast Education and Research Park $3,000,000 Ft. Pierce Beach Restoration $5,000,000 South County Beach Re-nourishment study $ 500,000 Kings Highway/Orange Avenue intersection $11,000,000 Midway Road Widening $13,000,000 Twelve Buses and Multimodal Facility (Selvitz Road) $7,500,000 Runway 9/27 Rehabilitation $3,800,000 He stated they have taken the same approach the last few years and felt they needed a new approach. Mr. Burns advised the Board the Kings Highway/Orange Avenue intersection and the Midway Road widening projects will not be part of the appropriations discussion. He believes these types of transportation requests will be put through the Transportation Re-authorization Program which is presently ongoing and are unlikely to be funded at this time since they have less money for transportation than they wish to spend. These projects will remain on the drawing board. In terms of 2011 he believes with St. Lucie County's unemployment rate, they should go to Congress and focus on data, demographics and move directly towards reducing the unemployment rate. He stated in the past they have placed the Research and Education Park on one account, this year he would like to be more specific and have specific appropriations for road improvements within the park and water infrastructure improvements also within the park. He would like to request targeted funding for both of these projects. Mr. Burns stated they have an opportunity to work with State Representative Rooney on the Army Corps projects. He also has made a pledge with citizens against government waste. He has also heard the District would not pay cost share on repairing the Army Corps problems. Com. Craft stated asking the Army Corps to fix the problems should not even be a discussion, and suggested they have an obligation to fix the problem. 1 Com. Coward commented on the C-23 and C-24 Canal projects. He believes the funds appropriated for the Save our Everglades and there was a question if it should be earmarked towards the Smith Ranch or should be directed towards the C-23, C-24 reservoir, he believes it should be the latter. The South Water Management District was looking for some input from the County. If they could finalize the footprint for the south reservoir that will enable the county to secure Federal dollars to move forward with the Everglades restoration program. Com. Craft stated there may be more funds available where they may be able to do both projects. He believes they should discuss this at a future meeting. Mr. Burns requested he be given the opportunity to speak to the Water Management District. He would like to figure out where they are and attempt to speed it up. He stated it was difficult if they were not in the cue. Com. Coward addressed solar energy research bill however he is not sure if there were any appropriations made for the bill. He felt it may be something that would an ideal fit for the Research Park. Mr. Burns stated he believed it was a DOE Research item and he believed it did not allow for any type of building of a new research building. Mr. Burns addressed the following FY 2011 Potential Requests (in no particular order) 1. TCRP -suggest making two specific requests for road and water infrastructure funds; needs specific projects from TCERDA; also need a proposed tenant to get Economic Development Administration funding Funds would be requested from Transportation, HUD and Interior Appropriations bills 2. Fort Pierce beach project - still a request Funds from Energy & Water Appropriations bill 3. South County feasibility study- the county will not be making a request this budget cycle due to the fact the Corps has plenty of funds for this project. a. Funds from Energy & Water Appropriations bill 4. Fort Pierce Inlet Maintenance Dredging a. Funds from Energy& Water Appropriations bill 5. Buses and multimodal facility- requested many times; may be time to shift emphasis; what can be done to get this ready for Jobs Bill funding? a. Funds from Transportation, HUD Appropriations bill 6. Airport appropriations- discussion needed on whether to request appropriations or simply go through the grant program, which has proven tremendously successful over the years a. Funds from Transportation, HUD Appropriations bill; what can be done to get this ready for Jobs Bill funding? Mr. Burns questioned if they needed to go through appropriations or work with the FAA. 2 The Airport Director advised the Board the FAA stated we are not in the cue for discretionary funding this year. They had applied for some money for design to take advantage of the jobs bill in the future. They were told they were not eligible for grant funding this fiscal year, but perhaps for 2011. Mr. Burns stated without the 300,000 + for the design they could not go for the jobs bill. If they request 373,000 in 2011, the jobs bill may be in the rear view mirror. Com. Dzadovsky questioned if there would be TPO funds available. Mr. Burns stated Congress had passed a full appropriations bill for EFA for 2010 which would put them through the end of September. Com. Coward addressed TPO funds and stated he would not dismiss it and he would like to ask if there were available funds set aside for planning. Mr. Darrell Drummond, Chair for the TPO addressed Com. Coward's question. He stated at one of the last meetings they were asked if they would allow for some FAA improvements to be part of the discussion. This is going to be brought back. The jobs bill is proposing $500 million for AIP (Airport Improvement Projects) funds, grants and projects. Mr. Burns stated it is almost a guarantee the Senate will pass the bill after the Health Care bill especially with the unemployment numbers as they are. They do not know what the final bill will have. It will happen immediately after the Health Care and he believes the Health Care bill will be passed by the end of January. He believes 4 months after the bill passes Congress, the grants will be awarded for roads, airports, transit projects and he believes they need to be ready for these types of grants within the 4 months. Com. Coward asked if the intersection projects were being finalized. The County Engineer stated they were already under design for Orange Ave. /Kings Highway. FDOT is waiting for the design traffic memorandum as part of the PF&E which needs to be completed and released before they can move forward. Mr. Burns stated the emphasis is jobs. He requested information in cost numbers between a local project and a NEPA compliance project. 7. Harbor Branch Wetland Restoration a. Funds from Interior Appropriations bill, same account as water infrastructure funds for TCRP; two Federal grant requests will be pending as of March, 2010 (Mr. Burns advised the Board they would more likely request the funds for TCRP due to the fact they would be competing against each other. 8. Others? - Green jobs training program; would be funded via Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations bill Mr. Burns also added the following general comments Ideal number of Federal requests for the County would be between 3 and 4. In the recent past, we have made as many as 7. Too much for the delegation to focus on. Choices need to be made. ~~ ~~ ~~~ Limiting requests is difficult because of the two ongoing Federal beach projects. Great that the County is represented by two members of Congress, but neither really derives his base of support from the County. Rooney also limits the number of project requests he will submit. Securing funding for the dredging (or even a permit) of the Fort Pierce Inlet will be extremely difficult. If we want to succeed in this endeavor, I suggest making this the County's top priority. Too many request from too few appropriations bills For example, if we pursue three Corps of Engineers projects, we'd have three requests from the Energy & Water bill If we pursue transportation funding for the TCRP, buses and a multimodal facility, and the airport, we'd have three requests from the Transportation, HUD Bill. If we pursue water infrastructure funding for the TCRP and wetland restoration funding for Harbor Branch project, we'd have two requests from the ultra- competitive State Tribal Assistance Grant Program of the EPA. Might suggest targeting appropriations requests to specific members of Congress Request Corps of Engineers project(s) from Rep. Rooney because they are generally in his Congressional district and he will request "authorized" projects. Request other projects (TCRP for example) from Rep. Hastings. Problem is that TCRP is in Rooney's district. In Mr. Burns' comments he provided the following information regarding the Details of Initial Public Draft of House of Representatives "Jobs for Main Street Act, 2010". Title 1-Infrastructure and Jobs Investment Chapter 1-Justice $1.179 billion for Community Oriented Policing Services grant program to hire and rehire police officer Chapter 2- Energy & Water Development $715 million for Corps of Engineers construction activities, including no less than $30 million for authorized Section 219, or water infrastructure, project $100 million for Bureau of Reclamation "Water and Related Resources," not less than $26 million for Title XVI projects $2 billion for the Title 17 Innovative Technology Loan Guarantee Program Chapter 3- Homeland Security $500 million for Firefighter Assistance Grants to hire firefighters Chapter 4- Interior and Environment $1 billion for capitalization grants for the Clean Water State Revolving Funds (not subject to cost share requirements) $1 billion for capitalization grants for the Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (not subject to cost share requirements) $120 million for the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Department of Interior Wildland Fire Management Program for activities using term employment $150 million for the US Forest Service activities using term employment 4 Chapter 5- Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education $1.25 billion for training and employment services for activities under the Workforce Investment Act, including $500 million for grant s to states for "youth activities" and $750 million for a competitive grant program for worker training and placement in high growth and emerging industry sectors. Of this $750 million, $275 million will be for job training projects in energy efficiency and renewable energy sectors and $225 million will be for Pathways out of Poverty projects. $23 billion for an Education Jobs Fund to retain or create education jobs $132 million for AmeriCorps $68 million for the National Service Trust Chapter 6- Transportation and Housing and Urban Development $500 million for airport grants $27.5 billion for highway infrastructure investments, including passenger and freight rail Transportation and port infrastructure projects. Essentially all of these funds will be Apportioned to the states, 30 percent of which then must be sub-allocated within the State. $800 million for Amtrak $6.15 billion for transit grants $1.75 billion for fixed guide way infrastructure investments $500 million for capital investment discretionary grants $100 million for the Maritime Guaranteed Loan Program $1 billion for the Public Housing Capital Fund $1.065 billion for the Housing Trust Fund Title 2- Surface Transportation Extension Reauthorizes surface transportation law until September 30, 2010 Title 3-Unemployment and Other Emergency Needs Funds for small business loans, extension of unemployment and COBRA benefits, repeal of earned income threshold for determining refundable portion of the Child Tax Credit. Reduces TARP funding by $150 billion, effectively allowing that funding to be used to pay for this legislation. Com. Craft stated his concern with requesting funds and not being able to accept them. He does not want to lose the sponsor confidence. Com. Grande concurred and stated it's clear they might see we are not ready. Com. Coward addressed the housing issue and the affordable housing program. Mr. Burns stated he was not familiar with any of the two i.e. Trust Fund or Public housing items. Com. Coward stated they were pushing staff to transform the affordable housing program and integrate to green building technology. This would tie in with the green collar task force. The Board would like to advance this to the next level. Mr. Burns stated he would need more specifics as to what they were trying to do and he would let them know. However, he advised the Board he believes these two programs are not for pre- qualified homebuyers and existing needs. There are funds for the green jobs training program and maybe they can pursue expanding it. The funds can be pursued for solar retrofitting, thermal water heaters on public housing etc. 5 He addressed Harbor Branch Wetland Restoration request and stated this request would be competing against TCRP for water infrastructure. He recommended pursuing the funds for TCRP. Com. Dzadovsky addressed the Amtrak proposed funding. He believes the city of Ft. Pierce has a lead on this and he also believes they have worked very hard to get other stops considered from Jacksonville to Miami, i.e. Ft. Pierce and Stuart. Mr. Burns stated Amtrak has their own list on what they will spend the funds on. The approach may be to meet with them the next time the Board is in Washington. Com. Coward stated they would need to identify what the cities have on their wish list and if there are any overlaps. Com. Craft stated they need to have those conversations with the region to identify their needs and not only the cities. Com. Dzadovsky stated he was present at a summit meeting and creating regional transportation was a topic of discussion. Com. Craft stated that is one committee as opposed to each individual County Commission. Com. Coward addressed bike paths and if they would fall into any category. He addressed the area having a high fatality rate due to the lack of sidewalks and bike paths. Mr. Burns stated he would need to look into this and get back to the Board on this issue. Com. Grande stated it will be important to talk to Amtrak and work as a group to figure out how many stops are needed. He is aware the city of Port St. Lucie was interested in having a station located in the city. Com. Coward asked about the High Speed Rail and he had heard the State Legislators were considering certain financial commitments that would be needed for the federal government to step forward to provide funds including for design on high speed rail. He does not wish to see it built outside our urban areas. Mr. Burns stated the stimulus bill has 8 billion dollars for high speed rail across the county and he believes Florida has put in an application for that funding and there have been several discussions and he believed the line was going to be from Orlando to Tampa. Com. Coward stated he believed the article stated there was a linkage being considered from Orlando to Miami. Mr. Burns stated the grants have not been approved as yet by the DOT. He believes the county's involvement with the state will be most useful. Com. Craft suggested sending a resolution to the state legislature indicating our thoughts. Com. Dzadovsky addressed the storm water retrofit and placing baffle boxes at the Indian River Lagoon where the water would get treated before it gets into the river. Mr. Burns stated the state has two revolving loan programs and he encouraged the county having the projects ready and making sure the people in Tallahassee who administer those programs and he is not sure who administers the programs know about them. Com. Coward addressed low-moderate income housing program assistance 6 Mr. Burns requested more information from staff, there may be an energy improvement angle somewhere. Mr. Burns advised the Board Mr. Hastings has a limited portion of the district and has shown reluctance into the past to go beyond. However he does have a very long district as opposed to Mr. Rooney who has a wide district. Mr. Burns stated it will be difficult to secure funds for the maintenance dredging, much more difficult than the beach request due to what they call operations and maintenance money. The Congress is more inclined to keep what they deem important ports open i.e. Miami, New Jersey for example. He advised the Board if they wish to move forward with the request, they will need to make it top priority. Mr. Rooney can be asked for that project and the beach projects and Mr. Hastings not burden him with either of the Corps of Engineers project, but ask for the Research and Education Park and whatever else can be worked on. Mr. Rooney represents the coast and they can ask him for the two projects because they are in his district. Mr. Burns stated if the Board was to ask him what the project request list would be, he would place them as follows: 1. Inlet maintenance dredging- Mr. Rooney 2. Ft. Pierce Beach project - Mr. Rooney 1. TCRP funding both (transportation and water infrastructure) would need to decide which one of the funding sources they needed more - Mr. Hastings -would be one and two under Hastings Would need help as to Green jobs training, airport request need to balance and know where they fall in on line and need to go back and look at the housing Com. Coward stated the unemployment and housing are acute issues in Mr. Hastings district. Mr. DeVries, Executive Director TCRP stated he believed the water infrastructure is the best way to go. Com. Coward stated the road funding for the park would be Kings Highway. This is where he believes the transportation dollars should be utilized. Mr. Burns recommended a water infrastructure request for Mr. Hastings for the park as first priority and he will get back to the Board if they could do some sort of low income building. Com. Coward stated this was the most important one for him. Mr. Burns questioned placement of the airport request. Com. Craft stated the Research Park for him is number one priority. Com. Coward concurred and stated he did not want the housing issue to fall off the list. Mr. Burns stated he would do some research and keep it at a number 2 place holder on the list until he receives more information. Com. Coward questioned if they could do affordable housing request that could be done county wide (working with the city of Port St. Lucie and the City of Ft. Pierce requesting a lump sum) or a regional approach with affordable housing since the green jobs training facility is regional. Mr. Burns stated he would look into it and give the Board some idea of what they could do. 7 Mr. Burns advised the Board they would not need a request for 10 mile creek, he believes whatever the Corps is going to do is in the budget. The ultimate problem will be who will pay for the fix. He does not see the Water District providing any part of the funds for the project. Com. Coward believes they should take action as soon as they can so that they do not miss the opportunity. Com. Craft stated they needed to have a meeting and find out if there is interest in selling the properties. The cost of land acquisition is not what it was in the past and maybe there are funds to do both projects. Com. Lewis stated these projects were at a local level not in Washington. Com. Craft stated he believed this was part of a grant. The Water District representative stated it is not something where you would ask for grant money or appropriations. She believed what Com Coward was trying to say was in their lobbying efforts in Washington they would like for Mr. Burns to state their interest in the Federal Government providing funding to finish the projects (C-23 and C-24) which have been cast aside and these are CERT projects and the Corps has now turned their attention to the C- 44. Summary of placement 1. TCERDA - Mr. Hastings Consensus 2. Affordable housing and green jobs (bring back information) 3. Airport Mr. Burns stated regarding the airport if they are looking for the $375,000 for design in the FY 2011 appropriations it is too late. He hoped they would have a benefactor for that part of the project. The Airport Director stated she would like to go for the whole amount for FY 2011, rehab and repaving of the existing taxiways. Mr. Burns stated for the Senators they will submit all the requests to each one. He recommended the inlet maintenance dredging be number one due to the difficulty in obtaining those funds, TCERDA number two, the placeholder for Hastings be number two becomes number 3 and then the airport. 1. Inlet maintenance dredging 2. TCERDA 3. Green jobs/affordable housing 4. Airport 5. Ft. Pierce Beach Com. Grande stated he believed the Board consensus was to have TCERDA number 1. Mr. Burns stated he was only recommending the inlet dredging as number 1 due to the difficulty in getting the funds. Com. Grande suggested TCERDA be placed as number 1. 8 Mr. Burns stated he would make TCERDA number one on the Senate side. The inlet maintenance dredging number 3 on the Senate side, number one on Mr. Rooney side, the affordable housing and green jobs number 2 on the Senate side. Ft. Pierce project number 2 on Mr. Rooney side and number 4 on Senate side and the Airport number 5 on the Senate side and number 3 on Mr. Hastings side. The Board concurred with these placements. Mr. Burns advised the Board he will provide dates tomorrow afternoon for the trip to Washington. He will continue to update the Board on the jobs bill and what ongoing program will fit into the jobs bill program. The County Administrator advised the Board she has the various departments looking into the various categories. Mr. Burns addressed the justice appropriations for police officers. It is a 4 year program and the entity will pick up the cost in year number 4. Com. Grande addressed the School Resource officers program and possible funding through the appropriations bill. Mr. Burns stated he would need to find out if this is a program that is eligible and will get back to the Board. Mr. Burns advised the Board the Key is to get their Federal Projects ready. He also addressed the airport and if the county could leverage the $375,000 then they could possibly obtain the re-hab project from the jobs bill. There being no further discussion, the meeting was adjourned at 4:32 p.m. 9