County Delegates' Tallahassee Trip No Day At The Beach

Representatives of Manatee County government may not have gotten as much face time with Gov. Rick Scott as they would have liked, but they still said last week's visit to Tallahassee was a productive one.

A Manatee delegation that included commissioners Carol Whitmore, Robin DiSabatino and John Chappie visited the state Capitol late last week as part of the 2011 legislative session. Their main focus was to push for funding for a 2015 beach renourishment project on Anna Maria Island, a topic they were able to briefly broach with Scott during a photo session.

"We literally had two minutes with him," Whitmore said during Tuesday's quarterly Council of Governments meeting, held at the Manatee Educational Television studios. When commissioners mentioned state funding for beach renourishment to Scott, "He said, 'Stay on top of it. Don't let up, stay on top of it,' " Whitmore said.

Scott's proposed budget for 2011-12 does not include money for replenishing Florida's sandy beaches, according to the St. Petersburg Times. But the budgets put forth by both the Florida House and Senate this session each contain about $900,000 in renourishment funding for Manatee County, according to Nick Azzara, the county's information outreach coordinator, who accompanied the delegation.

"In keeping with the state's theme of job creation, we tried to hammer home some of those topics that we think will bring back the most bang for our buck and will benefit the local economy best," Azzara said.

That includes replenishing the sands of Anna Maria Island, which loses about 10 to 15 feet of shoreline per year, said Charlie Hunsicker, director of the county's Natural Resources Department.

Hunsicker said the delegation repeatedly reminded lawmakers last week that for every $1 spent on beach renourishment, there is an $8 return on investment in the form of property tax and sales tax proceeds and tourism.

"That's what's driving the economy in all of the county right now," Whitmore said. "It's not because I live there. The people that live there can't go to the beach. It's the people that are bringing business to the county."

A major renourishment project got underway last weekend at Coquina Beach, where about 200,000 cubic feet of sand will be pumped onto the shoreline to combat erosion. That project comes with a $15 million price tag, Hunsicker said, and the 2015 project is slated to cost about $28 million. Both are expected to receive about 50 percent in state funds, provided the legislature passes a budget that contains beach management funding.

"We're hoping that will be the case this year," Hunsicker said.

Whitmore also brought up with Scott the expansion of Port Manatee as an economic hub in preparation for the 2014 expansion of the Panama Canal.

"He said he would come down to see us very soon — April, May, toward the port," Whitmore said, "and I'm going to encourage him to also see the whole encouragement zone area."

In other talks with area representatives in Tallahassee, Azzara said the county's delegation discussed the possibility of more equitable funding for technical schools such as . Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Venice, "indicated she would be supportive" of such a measure, Azzara said.

Azzara also said proposed bills in the House and Senate that would repeal the state's red-light camera law appear to be stalling. Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, a sponsor of the Mark Wandall Traffic Safety Act — named for a Bradenton resident killed in 2003 by a red-light runner — said the repeal efforts are not going through.