Courtney Campbell Scenic Highway
Corridor Advisory Committee (CAC)
Minutes
Regular Meeting at
Clearwater Christian College
Cathcart Hall
3400 Gulf-to-Bay Boulevard
Clearwater, Florida
January 19, 2007
11:00 a.m.
Attending:
Christine Commerce, Executive Director, Keep Hillsborough County Beautiful
The Honorable Bill Jonson, Council Member, City of Clearwater
Michelle Greene, Bicycle/Pedestrian, Florida Department of Transportation
Mary Helen Duke, Greenways & Trails Coordinator, City of Tampa Parks & Recreation
Jessica White, Senior Planner, Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council
Ken Hoyt, Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council
Lee Stripling, Keep Pinellas Beautiful
Felicia Leonard, Administrative Support Manager, City of Clearwater Parks & Recreation
Chris Weber, Westshore Alliance
Nina Mabilleau, Transportation Planning, City of Tampa
Susan J. Miller, Bicycle/Pedestrian Planner, Pinellas County MPO
Ron Gregory, Vice President, URS Corporation
Tim Kurtz, Senior Landscape Architect, City of Clearwater
Today, the CCSH CAC is meeting at Clearwater Christian College and Council Member Jonson
introduced Terry Wild, Director of Development, who spoke briefly about the college, and extended a
warm welcome to the CAC members. The college has supported the scenic highway designation from the
beginning.
The minutes of the December 8, 2006 meeting were approved with no corrections.
Old Business:
Because the group was larger at this meeting and was attended by some folks who had not previously
attended, Council Member Jonson thought it would be a good idea to review some of what has been
going on.
He began by stating the CAC had applied last year for a Visit Florida grant, which was not granted. The
group also applied for a Tampa Bay Estuary grant, which also was not awarded. At the December
meeting, Michelle Greene informed the CAC that they had received an enhancement grant in the amount
of $400,000 from the Florida Department of Transportation for the feasibility study of a trail crossing the
Causeway. The committee decided to issue a press release and received some very good coverage,
including a piece done by Charlie Belcher from Fox 13 News.
1.
Review Goals & Objectives to set goals for 2007
The group received as a handout a copy of the CAC’s Goals & Objectives. The items in red are
suggestions from Mike Palozzi for focus areas for the coming year.
Goal 1, d., ii. Strategy - Strengthen Adopt-a-Highway/Adopt-a-Shoreline sponsorship for
the entire length of the Causeway.
Christine Commerce indicated that they have a “Parrot Head” group currently participating, but
there is also another group which adopted one mile from the Hillsborough side boat ramp heading
toward Hillsborough, so the Hillsborough side of the Causeway is “adopted.” Ms. Commerce felt
this would be a good opportunity to go over the clean-up statistics. She reported that Keep
Hillsborough County Beautiful had a very successful Coastal Clean-up event with all of the sites
being maxed out with volunteers. There were 426 volunteers at the boat ramp who signed up,
but she believes the total number was actually closer to 500. The volunteers collected 6,660
pounds of trash along the Causeway. The Parrot Head group had 113 volunteers cleaning their
adopted portion of the Causeway and picked up 1,880 pounds of trash.
Mr. Hoyt made the suggestion to include Goal 2, b. Objective: Improve bicycle/pedestrian safety
enhancements. He feels the CAC is going to have to become a stronger advocate in this area.
Ms. Duke mentioned that at the last meeting the CAC voted to send a letter to FDOT regarding
improved bicycle/pedestrian along the Courtney Campbell. She also suggested that another
strategy under this Objective could be to monitor development activity.
Goal 3, b., iv. Strategy - Seek out long term funding strategies to allow for the Tampa Bay
Regional Planning Council (TBRPC) to continue to function as the CME.
Goal 3, b., v. Strategy - Coordinate with private interests along the Causeway and seek
partnerships that accomplish goals, objectives and strategies of the Plan.
Goal 3, b., vi. Strategy - Seek out local, state and federal support and apply for and
receive gifts and grants to implement the plan.
The question was asked whether anyone has looked at the Maintenance Agreements between
the FDOT and the City. Ms. Duke replied that the City of Tampa has landscape maintenance
agreements in certain areas, but not service road maintenance agreements
Council Member Jonson reported that after a year of asking, the state Scenic Highway website
now has a direct link to the Courtney Campbell home page.
Goal 4, b., i. Strategy - Develop interpretive pamphlets covering the following areas:
history, recreational opportunities and natural assets. (Short Term) We need to get a
general Scenic Highway brochure developed, printed and made available for distribution.
This needs to be a top priority.
Goal 4, e., i. Strategy - Establish an archive of historical records and photos related to the
Causeway. (Continuous Priority) We need to collect and scan all the historical photos that
we have and make them available on our website for viewing.
Council Member Jonson stated he thought all the historic photos of the Causeway are currently
on the website. Ms. White confirmed that anything on the application is on the website.
When the brochures are completed, they should be made available to Clearwater Christian
College and the hotels and businesses along the Causeway. Council Member Jonson cautioned
the group to select goals that are realistic and can be accomplished.
Ms. Duke suggested establishing a clearinghouse for special events on the Causeway, perhaps through
the website in a calendar type format, where people could post events that are taking place or are
upcoming. Mr. Hoyt suggested that provision be made for people to comment on events, etc., allowing
for feedback whether positive or negative. Council Member Jonson expressed the need to have a phone
number at the Clearwater Visitors’ Center for the Courtney Campbell Scenic Highway.
Under Goal 6, a., i., Ms. Duke stated she is fairly certain that a map exists identifying the pedestrian trail
missing linkages along the Causeway, which would complete this particular strategy.
Mr. Hoyt referred to Goal 7, c. Objective: Investigate alternative designs or adaptations for the guardrail
and bridge abutments to be more consistent with the original historic character of the Causeway. He
wanted to know if a model exists to illustrate what that means. Mr. Kurtz stated there are photographs
that show what the originals looked like. Discussion ensued as to the safety of the old-style guardrails,
but the point was made that new guardrails would only mimic the old style in appearance, but would
definitely reflect current safety standards.
New Business:
3.
Rocky Point Pedestrian Safety
This issue came up as the result of a story in the newspaper on December 28 regarding a hit and
run accident involving the deaths of two people. The intersection where the accident occurred is
very confusing for drivers, creating an awkward situation for pedestrians. Council Member
Jonson received an e-mail from Ms. Duke suggesting the CAC go on record and document this
intersection. The CCSH CAC is actually an advisory committee to the Tampa Bay Regional
Planning Council, which is the Corridor Management Entity (CME) for the Courtney Campbell
Scenic Highway. Therefore, Council Member Jonson referred the question to Manny Pumariega,
Executive Director of TBRPC, that if the CAC desires to go on record as advocating something,
can they do so by themselves or does it have to be routed through the TBRPC. Mr. Pumariega
stated he would discuss the issue with Bob Clifford, District Seven Planning Director, FDOT.
After speaking with Mr. Clifford, Mr. Pumariega reported that FDOT has some safety
improvements in process for the area in question, and he suggested Council Member Jonson
contact Mr. Clifford directly. So far, attempts to contact Mr. Clifford have been unsuccessful.
There are striped crosswalks at Rocky Point and pedestrian signals, but only on two sides.
Council Member Jonson found it interesting that, while there are striped crosswalks, they do not
connect to any sidewalks. Ms. Duke reported that there is an opportunity for the City of Tampa to
get involved in this discussion because of the re-zoning of the land where the Radisson Hotel is
located. Council Member Jonson asked Michelle Greene if she could offer suggestions as to how
to proceed. She felt some things might be able to be incorporated into the Feasibility Study as a
recommendation. As far as any written documentation is concerned, Mr. Pumariega preferred to
wait and pull the original resolution that created the CCSH CAC. Ms. Duke expressed her
concern with the fine line being drawn in that the group is feeling uncomfortable with this
committee writing a letter. Council Member Jonson stated he wanted to be sure the CAC would
not be overstepping its capacity as an advisory committee. Ms. Duke thought perhaps the letter
should be addressed to the TBRPC with a copy to Bob Clifford. Ms. White agreed with this
suggestion, indicating she thought Mr. Pumariega would be more comfortable with that.
Council Member Jonson asked Mr. Weber whether the Westshore Alliance got involved in issues
of this nature, or if they would be willing to get involved. Mr. Weber agreed that his organization
should be involved, and they had discussions with Bob Clifford on a frequent basis.
Council Member Jonson reiterated that he has the action item of writing the letter to Mr.
Pumariega at the Regional Planning Council, including the photos. Ms. Duke encouraged him to
copy the appropriate FDOT personnel on the letter, i.e., Bob Clifford, the safety person and
Michelle Greene.
Council Member Jonson asked Tim Kurtz to brief the group on a landscape improvement that will be
happening to the east side. Mr. Kurtz stated he has been working with FDOT for about six months and
the project went to Council last evening and was approved. Across the street from the college there is a
parking area where they will fill in the gaps in the existing cabbage palms, adding some native grasses
and also some color. There is also a median just west of the Bayside Bridge overpass that will also be
planted. The funds are coming from FDOT from the Drew/U.S. 19 interchange since there was not
enough green space in that area to use up the funding.
Next Meeting: Friday, March 16, 2007 at 11:00 a.m. at Clearwater Christian College, Cathcart Hall