Ross J. Ferlita Greenways and Trails
System Recognition: Mayor Pam Iorio and the City Council passed
a resolution renaming our system the Ross J. Ferlita Greenways
and Trails System in honor of the retiring Director of Parks and
Recreation. The CAC has a draft letter under consideration to
Mr. Ferlita, thanking him for his unwavering support of our
greenways and trails development and extending an offer of a
position of emeritus member of the CAC. Chair Thompson read the
draft aloud and requested comments. Mr. Randy Stribling then
moved that a final draft of the letter be made as read for her
signature and the motion was seconded by Ms. Melanie Higgins.
The motion passed unanimously.
FY 2009 MPO Transportation Improvement Priorities: Ms. Duke
provided a list of projects that were recommended for funding as
Transportation Improvement projects, as well as those not
recommended for funding. The Tampa Downtown Riverwalk was
approved for funding. This covers Phase 3 (Washington Street to
Tampa Museum of Art) and portions of Phase 2. This item is on
the Mayor's priority list and connects to the Ribbon of Green.
Several other projects that did not receive recommendation for
funding included the Bayshore Boulevard Bike Trail (southbound
lanes) and several sidewalk projects.
Surface Transportation Program (STP) Applications: Projects
approved for funding include 40th Street from Hillsborough
Avenue to Fowler Avenue.
Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) Applications: Ms
Duke reported that no submitted applications from the City of
Tampa were approved for funding, including the South Tampa
Greenway connection of Friendship Bridge to Picnic Island Park
and the
2 MacDill Trail, the Hillsborough River Greenway Downtown
Phase, the Hillsborough River Greenway Lowry Phase or the
Hillsborough River Greenway Pedestrian Bridge Connection at
Florida Avenue. Florida is in the process of being designated as
an "attainment state" and CMAQ funds will no longer be
available.
TEA21: The reauthorization of this program is still in flux
and was extended through February 29, 2004. The White House
proposal (SafeTea) would allocate $247 Billion, the House
proposal would allocate $375 Billion and the Senate proposal
would allocate $311 Billion. Florida is a donor state which
typically has received back 90.5% of what it sends to Washington
DC. The House version would return closer to 95%. The White
House proposal would also eliminate or modify the Transportation
Improvement Program process to every 5 years instead of annually
(the House proposal would be modified to update every 4 years).
It is expected that the revampment will require another three
month extension.
Strategic Intermodal System Public Comment Period: A FDOT
public workshop was slated tonight for public comment. This
timeframe is through February and citizens can sent their
comments via the website at www.dot.state.fl.us/planning/sis.
Trail Easements/Right of Way Preservation Incentives,
Development Regulations and Staff Procedures: Ms. Duke stressed
that better coordination between the local municipal deparments
is needed to ensure that trail easements are noted and required
when developers submit plans in areas where trail easements are
desired. Evaluation of the current system is underway to
determine how to best implement this review. Any ideas or
suggestions should be forwarded to Ms. Duke. Ms. Mabilleau
inquired as to the use of railroad corridors and Ms. Price noted
that in a couple of areas, such as Port Tampa, active CSX
corridors with wide rights of way are being considered but that
CSX has not yet been notified as past contact suggest they might
not be very receptive. Similar precedents have been set in other
states regarding shared use and our hopes are high that in the
future, some areas may well have shared rail and trail usage.
Tampa Greenways and Trails Powerpoint Presentation: Ms. Price
made a presentation as shown to Mayor Pam Iorio last fall to the
attendees. Ms. Thompson mentioned the McKay Bay Strategic Plan
and will provide information in the near future.
Mayor's Walk and Walkable Communities Workshop: This has been
discussed with the possibility of getting speaker Dan Burden of
Walkable Communities Inc. A date of Saturday March 15, 2004 has
been previously suggested but is insufficient time to organize.
Mr. Burden is not available until the fall. Ms. Duke asked if
the CAC would be interested in co-sponsoring such an event,
possibly with the BPAC, the River Round Table, and the HGC.
Chair Thompson thought that by fall and with the cooperation of
the other local organizations, a co-sponsor was workable. Mr.
Hushen assured the CAC that the Tampa Police Department CPTED
Unit would be glad to help, and Mr. Larry Weatherby committed
the assistance of the Hillsborough Greenway Committee.
3 CAC Meeting Schedule: The CAC discussed this issue and
decided to meet bimonthly at 6 pm, using the Seminole Garden
Center when available, or the Kate Jackson Community Center as a
back-up meeting location.
Sulphur Springs River Clean-Up Student Art Grant Application:
A draft support letter to the Mayor's Beautification Grant
Program was read. Mr. Ed Ross moved to accept the letter as read
and Mr. Randy Stribling seconded the motion. The motion passed
unanimously.
GreenFest 2004: This Friends of Plant Park festival is slated
for 10 am - 4 pm each day on Saturday March 27 and Sunday March
28. Volunteers are requested to man a table.
Bike Rodeo: January 31, 2004 is slated for a bike rodeo and
the organizers are looking for donations of new helmets. Anyone
with connections is requested to contact Ms. Duke.
Public Comments: Chair Thompson asked if any member of the
public wished to speak. None came forward.
Other Business/Announcements: Chair Thompson asked if there
was any other business or announcements. None were presented.
Next Citizen's Advisory Committee Meeting is scheduled for
March 11, 2004 at the Seminole Garden Center.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:15 pm.
