Courtney Campbell Scenic Highway
Corridor Advisory Committee (CAC)
MINUTES
Regular Meeting at
URS Corporation
7th Floor Board Room
7650 West Courtney Campbell Causeway
Tampa, FL
February 26, 2010
10:00 a.m.
Attending:
Jessica Lunsford, Senior Planner, Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council
Lori Snively, Bicycle/Pedestrian Coordinator, Florida Department of Transportation
Ken Hoyt, Citizen, Hillsborough County
Christine Commerce, Executive Director, Keep Hillsborough County Beautiful
Bill Jonson, Chair, Courtney Campbell Scenic Highway CAC
Councilman John Doran, Clearwater City Council
Susan J. Miller, Bicycle/Pedestrian Planner, Pinellas County MPO
Chris Weber, Westshore Alliance
Councilwoman Linda Saul-Sena, Tampa City Council
The minutes of the January 29, 2010 meeting were approved with no corrections.
Utility Path
Councilwoman Saul-Sena stated she had agreed to write a letter of support regarding the Utility
Path, but it had not been made clear to whom the letter was to be addressed and what the subject
matter was. Mr. Weber reported that he had spoken to Nadine Jones who told him she thought
everything was on track, but he is now hearing that the City of Tampa needs to sign a maintenance
agreement for the gate. Mr. Jonson stated that it was brought up at the last meeting that FDOT
wants the City to be responsible for cutting the grass along the utility path. Mr. Weber added that
the City is overwhelmed with maintenance agreements at the present time. Councilwoman SaulSena thought the City should want this because it is an asset for its citizens, however, with a 27
million dollar deficit in the budget; the Parks department is reluctant to take on any more work. It
was determined that the letter should be addressed to Adam Perez at FDOT.
Old Business:
1.
Potential Scenic Highway Grants Discussion
Ms. Lunsford reported that during the conference call with Clint Eliason at last month=s
meeting, it was discovered that the grants are due on March 10, rather than in April as was
originally believed. Ms. Snively has spoken with a few people at FDOT and they have
agreed to let the CCSH CAC go forward with a grant application for the tidal gate project.
The two will be focusing on getting this grant together in time to comply with the March 10
submission date. Lee Royal at FDOT will be working with Ms. Lunsford and Ms. Snively to
supply them with all the information they will need to complete the grant application. Ms.
Lunsford told the group that letters of support will be needed as part of the application. She
also added that individual letters are not necessary, that one letter can be prepared and
each individual can sign a copy of that letter. Ms. Snively reported that Lee Royal will also
speak to Don Skelton, District Seven Secretary, regarding receiving a letter of support from
FDOT as well.
Councilwoman Saul-Sena asked who had the idea for creating the different segments for the
Courtney Campbell since she felt it was such a smart idea. Ms. Snively stated that Brian
Smith had suggested using the segments plan as Pinellas County did for the Pinellas Trail.
Since the feasibility study did not allow anything to be done with the big bridges, FDOT had
to look at what could be done and decided to look at the project by segments.
2.
Rocky Point Design Project Update
Ms. Snively reported she has not heard anything as yet regarding the status of this project.
She did request that they have something to show for the Scenic Highway Day event, similar
to the large poster pictures they provided for the 75th Anniversary rededication.
New Business:
3.
Scenic Highway Days (3/26) and Courtney Campbell Causeway Beach Cleanup (3/27)
Christine Commerce reported they had gone to Washington, D.C. during the summer
because Keep Hillsborough County Beautiful was named the number one affiliate for
populations of 200,000 and above for the second year in a row by Keep America Beautiful.
They also won a national award for litter prevention. She also reported that they had sent an
e-mail blast through Constant Contact regarding the Scenic Highway Day event, which they
are calling the kick off for the Great American Cleanup. The date also marks the first
birthday for Pelican Pete, so they are planning to have cake for all of the volunteers. They
have 300 volunteers registered so far for this event, and they will still be doing their main
Great American Cleanup event on April 17, which will include the Courtney Campbell
Causeway. Ms. Commerce also mentioned the launch of their new countywide Trash
Trooper Litter Hotline, which will enable citizens who observe other people littering to call the
toll free number to report them.
The group decided to wait until April to meet again and chose Friday the 30th.
4.
Other Business and Reports
Councilwoman Saul-Sena commended the Westshore Alliance for its innovativeness in
taking the lead in getting the Pedestrian Plan passed. She added that now city requirements
need to be made to reflect this Plan so when developers want to build something new they
will have to be certain that pedestrian connections are part of the project. Mr. Hoyt asked
what percentage of the Pedestrian Plan had actually been achieved so far. Mr. Weber
replied that not much has been achieved currently since the Plan was just approved last
year.
There being no further business, Mr. Jonson adjourned the meeting.
Next Meeting: Friday, April 30, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. in the URS conference room.