Commissioner Murman quoted in this Tampa Bay Times article on SWFWMD move:

Swiftmud considers moving headquarters from Brooksville to Tampa

• Dan DeWitt, Hernando Times Columnist

Monday, May 18, 2015 7:26pm

BROOKSVILLE — The Southwest Florida Water Management District governing board today will consider moving its headquarters — located in Brooksville since the district’s founding in 1961 — to its Tampa office.

The move would put the agency in a better position to attract qualified workers needed to replace departing staffers over the next decade, executive director Robert Beltran said.

It also will put the headquarters near the geographic center of the district, said Sandra Murman, chairwoman of the Hillsborough County Commission.

“(Hillsborough) is like the center of the whole region,” she said. “I just think it makes sense.”

Beltran said there are no immediate plans to move employees from Brooksville or to expand the Hillsborough office, which is near U.S. 301 north of Interstate 4.

But he also said the district might take both actions if required in the future.

The relocation was recommended in a long-term business plan, “a five- to 10-year look ahead into time,” he said. Decisions about whether to move staff or add office space “depend on the annual review” of how the district is progressing toward meeting the plan’s goals, he said.

Those future decisions are what worry the Hernando politicians and business leaders who plan to speak against the relocation at the district’s governing board meeting today in Tampa.

They are concerned that it could waste the public investment in the compound of Brooksville offices and that it eventually will rob the community of one of its most visible institutions and biggest sources of good jobs.

“How can they say this isn’t going to impact Hernando County?” County Commissioner Diane Rowden said. “Yes, it will. It’s going to have a big impact.”

“We’ve spent millions of dollars building a beautiful building in Hernando County,” said state Sen. Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby, whose district includes all of Hernando. “It’s a state-of-the-art facility, and I want to see it properly utilized.”

Both Rowden and County Administrator Len Sossamon also said the county should have been told of the plan earlier so that it could prepare a response.

“Serving as the district’s headquarters is a legacy established by one of Hernando County’s most respected forefathers, Alfred McKethan,” Sossamon wrote in an email to the Times, referring to the Brooksville banker who helped found the district. “I’m mystified as to how we were not included in discussions of this change.”

The district, which had more than 700 workers before budget reductions and widespread layoffs in recent years, now employs 574, spokeswoman Susanna Martinez Tarokh said. And though the district’s legal department and the head of its regulation department have already moved to Tampa — as have most governing board meetings — 337 workers are still based in Brooksville.

But as the economy expands and the district needs to add employees, they probably will be added in Tampa, said former executive director Sonny Vergara, a Hernando resident who spread word of the possible relocation after he received a copy of Beltran’s internal email on this subject last week.

The business plan does not address adding positions, just replacing the more than 500 workers expected to retire or leave for other reasons over the next 10 years.

Fewer young people are trained in the scientific and technical fields the district needs, the report’s summary said. And Hernando has a far smaller population and a far lower percentage of college-educated workers than Hillsborough.

“The Tampa area offers a larger and better-educated talent pool and should be more attractive to recruits,” it said.

Commissioner Murman quoted in this Area Development Online News article:

Inspirata, Inc. Locates Global Headquarters-Research & Development In Tampa, Florida

Area Development Online News Desk (05/18/2015)

EDITORS PICKS

Inspirata, Inc., a provider of innovative solutions that streamline and automate the pathology workflow to expedite cancer diagnoses, established its global headquarters in 9,333 square feet of leased space at One North Dale Mabry Highway in Tampa,Florida. The company is expected to generate up to 70 jobs.

The company plans to invest up to $25 million in research and development activities. Jobs to be created include positions in research and development, sales and marketing, and administrative and regional management support.

“While we initially investigated other locations, Tampa really was our top choice when considering a location for Inspirata’s corporate headquarters, especially given the fact that the State of Florida and Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corporation were so supportive in helping us locate here,” said Inspirata Chairman/CEO Satish Sanan.

“From a pure economic standpoint, Hillsborough County and the City of Tampa are great places to launch a company because they’re so business friendly. Then, of course, there are all of the added benefits like being less than 15 minutes from one of the country’s best international airports, and having access to high-quality graduates from the outstanding universities and colleges in the area. Finally, but not the least of our considerations, was the fact that the core group of employees joining Inspirata have all lived in the greater Tampa Bay area for many years. Since this is our home, we have a vested interest in seeing the area prosper economically,” he added.

Governor Rick Scott said, “We are happy to announce Inspirata’s creation of 70 new jobs in Tampa. Jobs like these mean Floridians are able to build great careers and achieve their dreams in a field that is truly saving lives. Last year, we invested $80 million in our cancer research centers across the state, because we are committed finding a cure for this terrible disease. We will continue working to make Florida the number one destination for jobs by cutting taxes and investing in education.”

“Thanks to Governor Scott and our Legislative leaders, Florida continues to offer the resources and pro-business climate needed to support innovative companies like Inspirata,” said Bill Johnson, Enterprise Florida President/CEO. “We look forward to watching Inspirata grow and wish them continued success.”

The project was made possible through strong partnerships betweenEnterprise Florida, the Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corporation, Hillsborough County, the City of Tampa and the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.

“With the arrival of Inspirata, Hillsborough County is taking another exciting leap forward in the growth of our life sciences industry,” said the Hon. Sandy Murman, Chair of the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners. “Our community has become a magnet for highly innovative organizations that are transforming healthcare delivery. Inspirata joins as impressive roster of life sciences companies that recently chose Hillsborough County for relocation or expansion, including Bristol-Myers Squibb, HealthPlan Services, Synergy Health, Covidien, Smart Science Labs, LifeLink and Biologics Development Services.”

“By selecting Tampa as the site of its new global headquarters, Inspirata validates our efforts to build an ecosystem for disruptive new medical technologies with events like MediFuture and position this region as the epicenter of healthcare innovation,” said Dr. Ronald Vaughn, Chair of the Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corporation and President of the University of Tampa. “We are thankful for their investment in our community, and welcome them to the growing cluster of life sciences businesses that call this region home.”

In September 2014, the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners and the Tampa City Council approved a local incentive package of $140,000, supporting a commitment of $560,000 from the State of Florida through the State’s Qualified Target Industry program. The total QTI allocation of $700,000 will provide the company with $10,000 per job for each of the newly created positions. The incentives, to be distributed over a period of six years, are performance-based, meaning funds are only paid after the jobs are created at the wages promised.

Commissioner Murman quoted in this Tampa Bay Times article on the port:

Fruit imports, Cuban ferries straining truce between Tampa Bay ports

JAMAL THALJI

Tampa Bay Times

Friday, May 15, 2015 1:53pm

TAMPA — United Caribbean Lines CEO Bruce Nierenberg hopes to one day establish ferry travel to Cuba. He can picture ferries sailing from Port Tampa Bay.

But he sees the same thing when he looks at Tampa’s neighbor — and rival — across the bay: Port Manatee.

“We’ll choose the port that give us the best economics,” Nierenberg said.

Cuba is not the only potential disruption to an uneasy nine-month truce between Tampa Bay’s two cargo ports. Tampa’s decision weeks ago to build its own fruit warehouse did not sit well with Manatee, which says it’s the state’s largest fruit importer.

New economic opportunities, it seems, could generate new tensions between the two ports. Still, the peace seems to be holding — for now.

“We’re taking the high road here,” said Manatee Port Authority chairwoman Carol Whitmore.

• • •

Tropical fruit is one of the fault lines running between the two ports.

Tampa’s port was once famous for its banana docks. But that cargo dried up, and in 2009 Tampa tore down its dilapidated fruit warehouses.

In fiscal year 2014, Port Manatee handled 425,000 tons of fruit. Manatee has five refrigerated warehouses and receives avocados, bananas, limes, melons and pineapples, mostly from Costa Rica, Guatemala and Mexico.

But Tampa wants back in the game, and Manatee has long feared that Tampa will go after its customers.

Relations between the two ports were already at a low ebb last year. Then the Tampa Port Authority hosted a global pineapple conference in March 2014 — and physically blocked a Manatee official from attending. Tampa, by the way, does not import pineapples.

So in August, the former secretary of the Florida Department of Transportation himself brokered a truce between the two ports in neutral territory: St. Petersburg.

Both sides pledged greater cooperation. But Tampa Port Authority CEO Paul Anderson also offered his blunt assessment of the realities facing the state’s ports.

“It’s a clear misnomer to think there’s no competition between regional ports,” Anderson said at last year’s port summit.

That competition is heating up again: The Tampa Port Authority’s governing board voted March 16 to spend $20.8 million to build a refrigerated warehouse to store perishable foods.

Three days later, Manatee Port Authority board member Vanessa Baugh did not hold back.

“We have tried to abide by what the state asked us to do,” she said during the board’s March 19 meeting. “But we need to realize that in business, not everyone is aboveboard and honest.”

The Tampa Port Authority is using $10.4 million in matching state funds to build its fruit warehouse. That concerns Manatee Port Authority CEO Carlos Busquera. He said FDOT officials have made it clear that state funds are not to be used to help regional ports compete against each other over the same customers.

“I would hope that Port Tampa Bay is not pursuing our customers and building a refrigerated facility just to move cargo around,” Busquera told the Tampa Bay Times. “(The state) would be concerned if we’re using their money to subsidize private industry by using state money to lure customers from one port to another.”

Tampa Port Authority spokesman Edward Miyagishima said it is not negotiating with any of Manatee’s current customers.

“No, not at all,” he said. “We are creating a new line, new opportunities, for fruits and vegetables to enter through Florida and not competing whatsoever (with Manatee.)”

• • •

Tampa and Manatee could also compete for future business opportunities in Cuba.

President Barack Obama relaxed travel rules last year, and this month the U.S. government allowed a handful of ferry operators to carry passengers to the island. Now those U.S. companies are waiting for the Cuban government to permit ferry travel.

The Tampa Port Authority seems well-positioned to take on that new transportation industry.

The city has a natural connection to Cuba and a large population of Cuban-Americans who regularly travel there. Tampa also has cruise ship terminals, so it has the facilities and procedures in place to handle people traveling back and forth from another country.

Miyagishima said Port Tampa Bay has the edge.

“Tampa Bay, specifically Tampa, has the heritage,” he said. “We have the facilities. The location of the airport is nearby. Downtown Tampa is nearby. They’re all in proximity to Port Tampa Bay.”

But Port Manatee wants in on the ferry business, too, even though it has no existing cruise ship business and is not equipped to handle any passenger vessels.

Busquera, though, said Manatee is ready to acquire the state and private funds it needs to build its own facility to handle passengers and ferries.

“The plan is ready,” he said. “It’s just a matter of taking it off the shelf.”

Busquera said his port has an edge over Tampa in attracting the overnight ferries: It’s three hours closer to Cuba than the cruise terminals in downtown Tampa.

That’s always been Manatee’s sales pitch over Tampa. It’s even in the port’s brand: “The right turn on Tampa Bay.” When a ship enters the mouth of Tampa Bay, it just has to turn right to reach Port Manatee, rather than sail up the bay to Port Tampa Bay.

Ferry operators say they’re looking at both ports.

“I think the difference will be in what kind of facilities these ferry operators want to use,” Nierenberg said. “Port Tampa Bay is the major port in the Tampa Bay area for passenger traffic, and they have a lot of experience. They’re more central to the population base of the Tampa Bay area.

“Port Manatee has a geographical advantage in that it’s closer to the entrance of Tampa Bay. It’s a shorter distance, so that means less fuel consumption.”

Ferry fuel is expensive, Nierenberg said, and that extra six hours of consumption per trip can add up to thousands of additional dollars to sail out of Tampa.

However, Nierenberg added: “A port doesn’t have an option of not having a facility.”

Whitmore, who also sits on the Manatee County Commission, said she’s not too worried about her port competing with Tampa for opportunities in Cuba.

Cuba’s top diplomat to the United States, Jose Ramon Cabanas, spoke to the Manatee Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday and toured Port Manatee.

“He was very impressed,” Whitmore said. “He sees a lot of potential here.”

Miyagishima said Port Tampa Bay doesn’t see Port Manatee’s ambitions as a threat in the ferry business.

“We don’t view it as competition whatsoever,” he said.

• • •

Port Tampa Bay and Port Manatee have been rivals for half a century.

They’re both bulk cargo ports trying to reinvent themselves as container and vehicle ports. But Tampa handles far more cargo — 36.2 million tons compared with Manatee’s 7.2 million tons in fiscal year 2014.

Their relationship imploded in 2013. The Manatee Port Authority feared that the Tampa Port Authority was plotting a takeover. Tampa denied it, and state officials called the whole thing a misunderstanding. Then l’affair pineapple happened in 2014.

During last year’s port summit, both sides agreed their top executives should continue to meet.

But Manatee officials said that at the next meeting, on Oct. 22, the port directors for Manatee and St. Petersburg showed up — but not Tampa’s port director, Anderson.

The highest-ranking Tampa Port Authority official there was its vice president of governmental affairs.

No more meetings have been scheduled.

“What’s the point if it’s supposed to be with the port directors?” Whitmore said.

Hillsborough County Commission Chairwoman Sandra Murman, who sits on the Tampa Port Authority board, said those meetings may have been delayed because a new FDOT secretary took over in January.

She also said that Port Tampa Bay is not seeking business opportunities that conflict with Port Manatee.

“What we’re doing they perceive as competition, but it’s not,” she said. “It’s a totally different market. We’re not going after their market.”

An FDOT spokesman said that the agency’s new secretary, Jim Boxold, has met with leaders from both ports and that more joint meetings will be held if needed.

“FDOT has encouraged the ports to cooperate on regional issues as opposed to competing for the same customers,” spokesman Dick Kane said via email.

Busquera is a veteran of the state’s biggest port rivalry: He worked at Port Everglades while it grew alongside the busy Port of Miami.

He said it’s possible for both Port Manatee and Port Tampa Bay to grow without cannibalizing each other.

“I’m not worried about that,” Busquera said. “I know that sounds weird. I know there’s enough business for both of us.

“Trust me. We’re knocking on doors, and I’m sure Tampa is.”

Commissioner Murman mentioned in this 10News article on arrests at bottle clubs:

Two bottle clubs raided by HCSO: 11 arrested

10 News Staff, WTSP 1:33 p.m. EDT May 16, 2015

TAMPA — Two after hours bottle clubs, “GLO Ultra Lounge” and “Til Dawn,” were raided by Hillsborough County Sheriff’s officers early Saturday morning.

HCSO arrested 11 people in the early morning raids with assistance from agents from Florida Division of Alcoholic Beverage and Tobacco and Florida Probation and Parole.

The owner of GLO Ultra Lounge, Carlos Guzman and manager of Til Dawn, William Rich, were arrested and charged for selling alcohol without a license.

Bottle clubs allow patrons to bring their own alcohol onto their premises but the sale of alcohol by employees is prohibited. Sheriff David Gee led the investigation into these two particular clubs because of the potential for future harm to the neighboring community and businesses.

In addition to the illegal alcohol sales at GLO, detectives seized 9.2 grams of cocaine and 11 grams of prescription pills left behind by patrons.

Over 80 bottles of alcohol were seized from both clubs combined.

Both GLO and Til Dawn have had a sordid past involving drug transactions, prostitution, multiple shootings and one homicide.

HCSO reported that the targeting of these two specific clubs is part of a larger effort with Hillsborough County Commissioner Sandra Murman to shut down havens of criminal activity.

Commissioner Murman quoted in this PRWeb article on Moffitt Cancer Center lounge for teens:

Teen Cancer America Supports the Moffitt Cancer Center Lounge for Teenagers and Young Adults with Cancer

Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., Has Partnered with Teen Cancer America to Open the First Teen and Young Adult (TYA) Lounge in the Region This Week

Los Angeles, Calif. (PRWEB) May 13, 2015

The first Teen and Young Adult Lounge at Moffitt Cancer Center provides patients with a dedicated area to mix and interact during treatment, addressing the unique psychosocial needs of young adults with cancer.

The dedication and ribbon cutting was given by Dr. Damon Reed, Leader of Moffitt’s Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Program with Rob Shapiro, Tampa Swim Across America Event Director, who provided the financial support for the facility. TCA has pledged $100,000 to support the ongoing development of the program.

Dr. Reed thanked Simon Davies, CEO of Teen Cancer America, for strategic advice in the design of the lounge, using the two decades of experience of Teenage Cancer Trust in the UK and TCA’s facility at UCLA Hospital as the model. TCA Board Member Sally Webb represented the charity.

The facility was conceived in 2011 through Dr. Reed’s conversations with patients who all shared the same sense of isolation. With the help of Shapiro, he pledged to develop a facility to “help patients stop feeling alone and provide lifetime support and friendships.”
Jacqueline Beaushaw, an AYA patient at Moffitt, gave advice on the design of the lounge from a patient’s perspective, stating, “We just need a place to get away from the hustle and bustle of hospital life, where we can focus on important things such as winning at Mario Cart.”

Commissioner Sandy Murman, in her opening address, stated, “I am astonished with the work Moffitt does in our community. 10% of Moffitt’s inpatients are in the AYA age range and the lounge area will provide a ‘being at home’ type of experience.”

For further information, contact Teen Cancer America Board Member, Sally Webb, by phone at 919-395-9623 or via email at sally@teencanceramerica.org.

###

About Teen Cancer America

Following in the footsteps of the highly developed and successful Teenage Cancer Trust in the UK, Teen Cancer America is designed to help hospitals and healthcare professionals bridge the gap between pediatric and adult oncology care. Teen Cancer America aims to educate and support hospitals and outpatient facilities in the development of specialized units for this age group. The units are a place just for teens and young adults where the cancer experience is understood and the importance of living life through the cancer journey is nourished.

Teen Cancer America’s work supports the coming together of physicians and allied healthcare professionals in both pediatric and adult oncology so that the teen and young adult cancer patient care becomes closer to where it needs to be. Age targeted care for this population is necessary for medical and appropriate psychosocial development of this unique age group.

About Moffitt Cancer Center

Located in Tampa, Moffitt is one of only 41 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers, a distinction that recognizes Moffitt’s excellence in research, its contributions to clinical trials, prevention and cancer control. Moffitt is the top-ranked cancer hospital in the Southeast and has been listed in U.S. News & World Reportas one of the “Best Hospitals” for cancer since 1999. With more than 4,500 employees, Moffitt has an economic impact on the state of nearly $1.6 billion. For more information, visit MOFFITT.org, and follow the Moffitt momentum on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Commissioner Murman was quoted in this Tampa Tribune article on Fort Homer Hesterly:

Fort Homer Hesterly Armory transitioning to 2016 community center

Posted: 05/11/2015, 01:49pm | Shamontiel Vaughn

Fort Homer Hesterly Armory is scheduled to open as a new community center in September 2016 with the help of the Tampa Jewish Community Center.

According to the Tampa Bay Times, this $26 million project will be named the Bryan Glazer Family JCC, in honor of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers co-chairman, who will be pledging $4 million for the project.

“The (building’s) iconic history will never take a backseat to what this is going to offer, but what is going to happen is this will be a catalyst for change,” said Hillsborough County Commission chairwoman Sandy Murman to the Tampa Bay Times. “We’re all referring to Jeff Vinik. He’s given us the redevelopment bug, and it has certainly hit West Tampa.”

The facility will be over 100,000 square feet, hold an event center for over 650 people, and include an outdoor pool, indoor track and gym. An Innovation Center for Israeli start-up companies networking with United States representatives is also scheduled to be added.

Commissioner Murman mentioned in this Tampa Tribune article on JCC:

POLITICS

Bryan Glazer gives $4M to renamed Jewish community center

BY CHRISTOPHER O’DONNELL
Tribune staff 
Published: May 11, 2015   |   Updated: May 11, 2015 at 05:28 PM

TAMPA — With their name already carved into a downtown museum and their storied ownership of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Glazer family name already is writ large in the Tampa Bay area.

Now, the family is lending its name and wealth to another major Tampa project.

A new Jewish Community Center campus under construction in West Tampa will be called the Bryan Glazer Family JCC after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers co-chairman who donated $4 million to the center.

The $26 million project is breathing new life into the formerly disused Fort Homer W. Hesterly Armory on Howard Avenue. When complete, the former National Guard center will be a state-of-the art, 100,000-square-foot sports and recreation center including an outdoor aquatics center, a pre-school and event center.

JCC has raised $19.5 million toward the project, scheduled to be complete by the end of 2016.

Glazer, recently married, called the campus an important part of the revitalization of West Tampa and explained his donation as a way to create a place there for families, including his own.

“I live here and we want to be a very active part of the community and do good things to help the community grow and prosper and this is just one of them,” Glazer said.

The donation continues the role the Glazer family has played in Tampa since patriarch Malcolm Glazer bought the Bucs for $192 million in 1995. His three sons, including Bryan Glazer, ran the day to-day business operations of the team.

A Palm Beach businessman, Malcolm Glazer gave millions to Tampa area charities and educational causes in donations, tickets and in-kind contributions. That giving continued through the Glazer Family Foundation, which has donated almost $1 million to the Tampa Bay Sports Commission and $5 million to help build the Glazer Children’s Museum on Ashley Drive.

In addition to the Bucs, the family owns Manchester United, one of the biggest clubs in world soccer, and its wealth is estimated at $4.4 billion by Forbes Magazine.

The name of the campus was announced at a groundbreaking ceremony at the armory Monday attended by U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, state lawmakers Jeff Brandes and Dana Young, Hillsborough County Commissioner Sandy Murman, and City Councilman Harry Cohen, among others.

Castor and Buckhorn see the project, with its $6 million in state funding and $1.3 million from Hillsborough County, as an example of how government should work with the private sector.

The rehabilitation of the armory is seen as a lynchpin of the city’s plan to rejuvenate a blighted, 930-acre area west of the Hillsborough River and north of Kennedy Boulevard.

The region is being designated a community redevelopment area with a special taxing district created to raise money for better streets, sewer and street lighting. The city and the Tampa Housing Authority are planning to tear down North Boulevard Homes, an aging public housing project, and replace it with mixed-income housing.

The JCC campus will help attract new development and businesses to the area, Buckhorn said.

“Think about the role this building will play in the amazing transformation of our city,” Buckhorn said. “This is the beginning of something special.”

JCC has entered into a 99 year lease with the State Armory Board for the armory and 5.6 acres of land that surrounds it with an option to purchase for $1.44 million.

The exterior of the building, which was begun in 1938 and dedicated one day before the Pearl Harbor attack, is protected by historic designation. It hosted concerts by acts including Elvis Presley and Pink Floyd, and President John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. made speeches there.

JCC’s plans for the interior include basketball and volleyball courts and a fitness center. It will also include an event center for film festivals, theater events and banquets.

The city this year agreed a 10-year contract with JCC to rent almost 8,000 square feet of space in the new center for public art space. It will cost the city $120,000 per year.

Parts of the campus will be only for JCC members but the art studio and event center will be open to the public.

Among those at the groundbreaking was 80-year-old Mario Suarez, who in the 1940s worked a concession stand when the armory hosted concerts and basketball.

Suarez, whose son is City Councilman Mike Suarez, walked around the building taking pictures of windows that still have bars on them and remembering concerts he worked, including British crooner Matt Monro and comedian-pianist Victor Borge.

“It makes me so happy,” Suarez said. “I don’t want it gone.”

Commissioner Murman mentioned in this Tampa Tribune article on stormwater fees:

POLITICS

Hillsborough stormwater fees, unchanged for 23 years, set to double

  
Published: May 6, 2015   |   Updated: May 7, 2015 at 07:31 AM

TAMPA — People who live in unincorporated areas of Hillsborough County will likely see their stormwater fees more than double starting next year.

Under a stormwater work plan approved by county commissioners Wednesday, owners of single-family home will see their yearly fee go from $12 to $30 starting in January. Apartment complexes, condominiums, cooperatives and townhouses will increase from the current $6 a year to $15. The fee increases still have to undergo a public hearing this summer.

For commercial and industrial properties, the annual fee will rise from 1 cent per 1.5 square feet of impervious surface to 2.5 cents.

If approved, the fee increases will be the first in 23 years. The money is needed to take care of a $60 million backlog in culvert repair and replacement, as well as 107 needed neighborhood stormwater projects costing $24 million. Altogether, the total stormwater backlog comes to $200 million when larger watershed projects to prevent flooding are included.

The proposed fee hike represents an increase of 2.5 times the current fee. The county’s Public Works Department had asked for an increase that would triple the current fee to $36 for a single-family home and to $18 for other residential properties.

Public Works Director John Lyons said the department’s proposed fee increase would take care of all 107 neighborhood projects and $50 million worth of the culvert repairs and replacement over the next five years.

But Commissioner Ken Hagan pushed for the lower increase saying he wanted to keep the county’s fee lower than the city of Tampa’s.

“Our current $12 fee simply puts us further and further behind the eight ball, and a dedicated and sustainable funding source is needed to eliminate the backlog,” Hagan said. “However, I’m not comfortable tripling our current fee.”

Commissioner Les Miller, a Democrat, pushed to adopt the staff’s recommended $36 fee, citing studies that project the county’s population to increase by half a million people over the next 10 years.

About 70 percent of those new residents will likely live in unincorporated Hillsborough, Miller said. With that kind of growth, the lower $30 fee would guarantee the county never catches up the drainage backlog.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we do not need the problems that some of these other counties are having throughout the state of Florida of this country because we are trying to be conservative and hold back on stormwater fees,” Miller said.

“We need to be prepared, we need to be proactive. We need to make sure that we’re meeting the needs of the people that are here now and those that are projected to come by 2025.”

Hagan was joined in voting for the lower fee by fellow Republicans Sandy Murman, Stacy White and Victor Crist.

Democrats Miller and Kevin Beckner were joined by Republican Al Higginbotham in voting against the lower fee. Higginbotham said he has talked to a number of people, especially Sun City Center residents, who were OK with the higher fee as long as their drainage problems were solved.

Here is other action taken Wednesday by the county commission:

♦ Approved four finalists for director of the county Environmental Protection Commission. A 13-member screening committee had submitted three candidates to the county commission: Rick Tschantz, the EPC’s general counsel, Scott Emery, EPC director of wetlands management and Mary Yeargan, director of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s southwest district.

But Emery dropped out of the competition on Monday citing health issues. So commissioners added Robert “Bob” Musser Jr., environmental projects manager at Port Everglades. Musser had finished in a tie with Emery when the screening committee was trimming seven finalists down to three. Emery was chosen in a tie-breaker vote.

Commissioners also added Janet Dougherty, president of Sage Eco Solutions, to the list because Commissioner Victor Crist said he wanted more people with private sector experience. Commissioners will make a final decision May 21.

♦ Awarded a contract for demolishing the Friendship Trail Bridge to America Bridge Co. at a guaranteed maximum price of $9.35 million. The project is to be completed by August 28, 2016. The Trail Bridge is a former span of the old Gandy Bridge that was converted to a 2.6 recreational trail in December 1999. In 2008, engineers discovered the bridge’s structural steel had deteriorated and it was closed. Attempts by bridge proponents to put together a public-private venture to revive the bridge failed.

♦ Agreed to provide $600,000 to the Hillsborough County Fair in Dover for enclosing a pavilion and buying mowers and tractors. The money will come out of a the county’s phosphate severance fund.

Commissioner Murman quoted in this Tampa Tribune article on Amazon:

BUSINESS NEWS

Amazon expanding capacity at new Ruskin facility

TAMPA — After just seven months in operation, Amazon has announced plans to double its operational capacity inside its 1 million-square-foot Ruskin fulfillment center. The company also plans to add plenty of full time jobs.

The new construction — new flooring, new levels, robotics and other technology — will allow the company to add millions of additional items at the Ruskin location to permit faster shipping to Amazon.com customers, company spokeswoman Nina Lindsey said. Similar expansions have been done at other Amazon warehouses, she said, adding that it’s all about getting merchandise to the customers as quickly as possible.

Because the Ruskin warehouse is one of Amazon’s newest, it uses all the latest technology, including robots that can pick up entire shelves and deliver merchandise to employees filling customers orders or stocking shelves in other areas.

The first items just shipped out of the new warehouse off of Interstate 75 at the end of September. Already, the plant employs more than 1,000 people. The expansion is initially expected to employ hundreds of construction workers and eventually lead to hundreds more full time jobs at the warehouse once the work is complete.

Lindsey said she could not give a completion date for the work, but said once it is done the company is planning an open house to which the community will be invited.

SouthShore Chamber Executive Director Melanie Morrison called the expansion great news for people seeking jobs in the area.

“Amazon continues to be a major driver of economic growth and job creation in Hillsborough County,” Morrison said.

Hillsborough County Commission Chairwoman Sandy Murman called Amazon “a complete catalyst for change in this area. “Oh, my gosh, I’m not even worried about the construction,” Murman said. “The more jobs they have available, the better it is for people here. So many new homes are being built and Hillsborough Community College is adding a whole new wing. Growth is outstanding in south county and these jobs will help.”

Allen Witt, president of the Hillsborough Community College SouthShore campus, called the news “an historic moment for our community. Amazon’s initial presence has already translated into new businesses, housing starts, employment and a sense of renewed excitement in our area. The impact of this expansion on area families and business is immeasurable,” he said.

As for what new merchandise will be added, Amazon is mum for now. The company has a program called Amazon Fresh, which includes grocery delivery, but Lindsey said that service is not yet available in Florida. As to whether it could be added to the Ruskin warehouse, she said “we haven’t made any announcements to that effect.”

Anyone interested in employment opportunities at the amazon warehouse can visit www.workatamazonfulfillment.com. Already, some positions are available, Lindsey said. “I encourage people to go to the website. It’s a very simple online application process.