Courtney Campbell Scenic Highway
Corridor Advisory Committee (CAC)
Minutes
Regular Meeting at
URS Corporation
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7 Floor Board Room
7650 West Courtney Campbell Causeway
Tampa, Florida
March 14, 2008
9:00 a.m.
Attending:
Andrea Barber, Program Coordinator, Keep Hillsborough County Beautiful
Jessica White, Senior Planner, Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council
Jerry Oshesky, Project Manager, The LPA Group
John Doran, Councilman, City of Clearwater
Bill Jonson, Chair, Courtney Campbell Scenic Highway CAC
Ken Hoyt, Citizen
Gabor Farkasfalvy, Project Manager, Florida Department of Transportation
Bonnie Pfuntner, Public Involvement Manager, The LPA Group
Chris Weber, Director of Transportation, Westshore Alliance
Ron Gregory, Vice President, URS Corporation
Susan J. Miller, Bicycle/Pedestrian Planner, Pinellas County MPO
Laurie Potier-Brown, Landscape Architect III, City of Tampa Parks & Recreation
Michael Palozzi, FDOT GEC Support, PBS&J
Shannon Niles, Transportation Planner, PBS&J/FDOT
Ricardo Feliciano, Jr., Office of Planning & Development, Florida Department of Transportation
The minutes of the February 8, 2008 meeting were approved with no corrections.
Old Business:
1.
Update report on the FDOT Cross Causeway Trail Feasibility Project
Gabor Farkasfalvy reported that good progress was made last month and FDOT is ready to proceed to
the public meetings. Lee Royal and Councilwoman Linda Saul-Sena have been in discussions since
Councilwoman Saul-Sena had volunteered to host the meeting to be held on the Hillsborough County
side. Upon checking the schedule it was determined that no dates are available during the month of
May. The first available date would be Tuesday, June 3, 2008, although it has not been confirmed, and
it will be held in Pinellas County most likely at Clearwater Christian College. The Hillsborough County
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meeting will be June 4 and 5 , but location has yet to be determined. Mr. Farkasfalvy indicated that
the Public Involvement Plan is now available and will be posted to the FTP site on Monday (March 17).
Ms. Pfuntner added that this is an updated version and that the schedule has been updated and will be
posted as well. Mr. Farkasfalvy also reported that the bridge project questionnaire is being reviewed
internally at FDOT and will then be sent to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for its review
and determination as to whether or not a Coast Guard permit will be required for the new bridge.
Mr. Farkasfalvy introduced Ricardo Feliciano who is the new government liaison for FDOT and he will
be involved with the documents that will be displayed at public meetings. He is a Spanish translator
and will be translating documents as well as attending public meetings to translate where the Spanish
population is heavy.
2.
Update on Sponsors
Mr. Jonson reminded the group that at the last meeting it was decided to send renewal letters to the
current sponsors. Ms. White reported that those letters will be going out this coming Monday, March
17. Mr. Jonson acknowledged a generous renewal from PBS&J. He also expressed thanks to the
Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council, Jessica White in particular, for its support over the years in
supplying the minutes and staff expertise. Mr. Hoyt mentioned that last year the CCSH CAC presented
a Scenic Highway update to the Regional Planning Council and he suggested that be done again
sometime this year. Mr. Jonson agreed and suggested that a good time to do this would be after dates
for the public meetings have been set.
3.
Courtney Campbell Brochure Distribution Update
Mr. Jonson stated that at the last meeting Mike Palozzi brought approximately 500 of the Courtney
Campbell Scenic Highway brochures, of which he delivered about 350 to the Tourist Information
Center on the Causeway. Mr. Hoyt reported he left a supply at the traveler’s aid booth at Tampa
International Airport and also gave one to Louis Miller. The Clearwater Beach Chamber of Commerce
has also received a supply.
New Business:
4.
Upcoming State Scenic Highway Conference
Mr. Jonson reported there is a State Scenic Highway meeting scheduled for May 1 and 2 of this year
in Sarasota at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. The program includes a tour of the scenic highways in that
area and a dinner at one of the local restaurants. Mr. Palozzi added that the conference is usually
casual and they try to get attendees out in the community to view the scenic highways.
Mr. Jonson noted a distribution from the state scenic highway coordinator regarding applying for a National
Scenic Byways designation. Mr. Palozzi stated there is only one National Scenic Byway in Florida and that is
Route A1A which runs from just south of Jacksonville through St. Augustine and ending in Key West. He would
not have any objection to applying for that designation, but added that the challenge would be to be able to
respond to national significance. The National Byways are rated by national regional significance. Mr. Jonson
indicated that there actually two levels of designation, one being National Scenic Byway and the other being an
All American Road. Mr. Palozzi stated if the CAC was interested in pursuing this application it would be a good
idea to speak with Mariano at Central Office, the entity that runs the scenic highway program in Florida.
Mr. Palozzi referred to an excellent brochure prepared several years ago by Central Office which presents all of
the scenic highways around the state of Florida, in color with a map and some of the highlights of each of those
corridors. That brochure has become outdated, since it does not include several of the newer scenic highways,
including the Courtney Campbell. Consequently, Central Office has begun the updating of this document, most
likely to be printed in the fall of this year. He felt this would be an excellent opportunity for the Courtney
Campbell to be added to this document and it would be cost free since Central Office will be paying for it all.
Chris Weber, Westshore Alliance, stated they will be updating their pedestrian plan to include the Rocky Point
and Hillsborough areas. He indicated that URS Corporation will be doing the update. Mr. Gregory suggested
that Mr. Weber bring Lauren Brooks, the planner for this project, to the next CCSH CAC meeting to give her the
opportunity to meet with members and begin to gather information.
Susan Miller reported that the Pinellas County MPO added the connection from the Courtney Campbell to the
Progress Energy Trail to their Trailways Plan.
Andrea Barber reported that the Keep Hillsborough County Beautiful planting project on March 1 went very well.
They had fourteen volunteers who planted 100 beach sunflowers, 600 sea oats and 100 railroad vines near the
boat ramp. The Great American Clean-up is scheduled for April 19, 2008 and will include 32 sites in
Hillsborough County. Ms. Barber reported the two monofilament recovery and recycling bins installed on the
Courtney Campbell on either side of the bridge are doing really well. They fill up very quickly and she visits the
sites about once a month to empty them.
Mr. Palozzi reminded the group that each year the CCSH CAC must do a progress report on what they have
accomplished or what they have been involved in over the year, and he suggested developing a planning
calendar to keep track of events such as the Great American Clean-up, etc. This would make it easier to plan
ahead and not to be doing things at the last minute.
There being no further business to discuss, Mr. Jonson adjourned the meeting.
Next Meeting: Friday, May 9, 2008 at 10:00 a.m.