Courtney Campbell Scenic Highway
Corridor Advocacy Group (CAG)
Minutes
Regular Meeting at
URS Corporation - Board Room
7650 W. Courtney Campbell Causeway
Tampa, Florida
December 9, 2005
9:30 a.m.
Attending:
Jessica White, Senior Planner, Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council
The Honorable Bill Jonson, Vice Mayor, City of Clearwater
Ann Kulig, Director of Marketing, Westshore Alliance
Gena Torres, Senior Planner, Hillsborough County MPO
Mary Helen Duke, Greenways & Trails Coordinator, City of Tampa Parks & Recreation
Mike Palozzi, FDOT/GEC (PBS&J)
Tim Kurtz, Senior Landscape Architect, City of Clearwater
The minutes of the October 14, 2005 meeting were approved with no corrections.
Old Business:
1.
Dedication Ceremony Post Appraisal Discussion
Comments from the group were nothing but positive about the whole affair. The weather was
beautiful, the setup was done well and many pictures were taken. Vice Mayor Jonson asked who
should be thanked for the setup work, and Ms. Duke indicated it was Nilo Menendez and Linda Carlo.
Linda is the Parks & Recreation public relations coordinator and Nilo is the special events
planner/manager. Ms. Duke also stated that security personnel were on duty at the site all night to
ensure that no boat trailers parked in the area. The superintendent in charge of security is Doug
Pierce and Karen Palus is the director of Parks & Recreation.
2.
Member Sponsor Status and Solicitations
Vice Mayor Jonson stated it would be nice to receive the check from the Hillsborough MPO, and Mike
Palozzi added that one will be coming from PBS&J, who will be a platinum sponsor with a contribution
of $2,500. TBE Impact Group and URS are also platinum sponsors. Ms. Ann Kulig of the Westshore
Alliance reported that they held a meeting a couple of weeks ago with Rocky Point business owners.
Mary Helen Duke spoke to them, Linda Saul-Sena was there also, and they handed out sponsor
applications. Capital Realty Investors is the group that recently bought the Radisson and they may
be potential sponsors. Vice Mayor Jonson indicated that TBE is approaching their one-year
anniversary as a sponsor, and he thought it would be nice gesture to present them with a plaque
thanking them for being a founding sponsor. Mr. Palozzi asked whether funding for Jessica White’s
position was available yet. Vice Mayor Jonson replied that it was not and he felt a push to acquire
more sponsors was definitely needed. He mentioned that Liberty Bank and Costco, both in
Clearwater, were possibilities. Lifestyle Family Fitness was also suggested. URS and PBS&J are
also considered founding sponsors, and it was decided to design a plaque naming the three founding
sponsors, then listing the platinum sponsors and leaving space to add others. Vice Mayor Jonson
thought it would probably be appropriate to prepare a written annual report for the existing sponsors.
Mr. Palozzi agreed, stating that an annual report will need to be submitted to the State, probably in
the fall. He also stated the CCSH CAG would soon need to look into the requirements for that report,
although he felt it will most likely involve a comparison of goals vs. accomplishments. Discussion
followed regarding design of the plaques. The subject of funding was presented and Ms. White
mentioned the Tampa Bay Estuary Program’s mini-grants. Mr. Tim Kurtz stated that there are
beautification grant programs.
3.
Trail Grant Application Update
Mr. Palozzi pointed out that since the CAG has not met for a couple of months, they need to make
sure the folks in Hillsborough County are still working on the enhancement grant. Ms. Duke related
that she had spoken with Hugh Pascoe regarding regional trail prioritization, and her understanding
is that the committee will meet again in January and due to political pressure every project in Pinellas
County is going to be prioritized, not just the top few. Vice Mayor Jonson asked who does the
prioritizing. Ms. Duke replied that the Multi-Use Regional Trails Committee was supposed to propose
objective criteria. They developed a point system and did a technical ranking, based on projects. The
committee was not asked to do this for every project, but to submit only the top two for each
jurisdiction. Originally, the committee was told to rush the process via FDOT, but now they have been
told to slow down the process. Ms. Duke added that in Hillsborough County, Gena Torres had
Charner Reese make a presentation to the MPO regarding the Upper Tampa Bay Trail phase, which
is one of the projects competing for the same funding. The Westshore Alliance has indicated that
it is interested in supporting any funding applications. Ms. Kulig felt that the the key for the CAG is
to formulate a plan of what the project is going to look like, because as the Rocky Point properties
redevelop, the developers are going to want to have this information. Mr. Palozzi suggested using,
perhaps, TBE to create a couple of graphics showing what the vision is for the finished project. First
the funding must be obtained to go out and initiate the master planning work from a trail perspective.
Vice Mayor Jonson suggested that the focus of the January meeting be identifying funding sources,
grant monies, and to look at the Trail and the concept. Mr. Palozzi added that the CAG needs to
determine what needs to be done to put the grant package together. Ms. Duke stated that City of
Tampa can bring their standard trail design specifications, and she asked Mr. Kurtz to bring
Clearwater’s. Mr. Palozzi also offered that the group ought to begin to figure out the schedule for
development preparation submittal, what steps are involved, etc.
Next Scheduled Meeting: January 13, 2006