The Political Whore

Guest blogger Kelly Cornelius is a civic activist in eastern Hillsborough County:

And the winner for the best backpedaling of a public employee when his deaprtment is caught with its pants down goes to……….Bob Gordon, director of Hillsborough County’s Public Works Debt.

Recall the recent smackdown citizens gave the county and their paid consultants regarding their ill-conceived study to plow six lanes with a median through rural Lithia, which would devastate our little community and bring with it certain sprawl. We called them out on their lying to us and started our own investigation into the matter. The item was on the agenda for a County Commission meeting two weeks ago, but for discussion only, which means no public input on the issue.

Gordon was presenting the issue and wanted “to put people’s fears to rest.” Nimby translation: sweep the county’s indiscretions under the carpet. He starts off giving some history of how this study was approved back in 2005, where? The Consent Agenda! Same place that Buddy Johnson’s recent $2.3 million dollar request was buried but luckily new Commissioner Kevin Beckner spotted it and flagged the item for discussion. Are you starting to get an idea what they can use the consent agenda (a mass of housekeeping items that are voted on en masse and without any discussion or debate) for yet?

A quick recap of our concerns:

1. At the county workshop on this project last year we were told that the rural section (segment D) would not be widened.

2. At this year’s workshop we were told that the 6 lane option had been the plan all along and even if they don’t actually build it that they have to use 6-lanes to get the federal dollars for the rest of the project.

3. Informed citizens screamed foul that this violated our county’s Comprehensive Plan and our MPO’s Long Range Transportation Plan

As Gordon attempted to explain this miscommunication (they county calls lying “miscommunication” by the way), he contradicted himself several times over, and I watched as some of the more intelligent and trustworthy members of our commission stared at him like he had two heads. He first explained that they had to do the study this way (including a six-lane scenario) to get federal dollars, but then later stated they couldn’t actually get the federal dollars unless they followed the Metropolitan Planning Organization’s (MPO) Plan (which does not call for six lanes). Gordon explained that the Feds changed their rules this past January and while they used to have to do the study as if the new road were to be unconstrained (translation: without traffic backups) but that they NOW have to follow the local Long Range Transportation Plan. Problem with that argument is that the study they presented in November (10 months after the supposed rule change) DOES NOT FOLLOW THE LOCAL PLAN! He then tried to spin this as citizens just don’t understand the process. I believe his comment was “we can explain this until we are blue in the face but we can’t understand it for them”. You know, Mr. Gordon, with former Commissioner Brian Blair gone that leaves me with lots of unfilled space where his idiotic quotes used to go in my posts. Maybe our Who Wants To Be Next campaign should not be limited to elected officials? What do you guys think? OK, Game On!

So, we are confused Mr. Gordon?

Project Manager Steve Gordillo is quoted in this article as saying “We have to do the study for the 6 lanes the feds are recommending or we won’t get the funding.” Check out the reporter from the Osprey Observer’s take on the recent workshop and note the last lines “One thing is sure. This project will be done and Lithia Pinecrest Road will be a six lane major artery for commuters even if its success remains to be seen.” I wonder who told the reporter that? Maybe he is confused, too, Mr. Gordon? So, while Gordon accuses us of being confused, here are some of the exact quotes as taken from the transcripts from the recent County Commission meeting that not only substantiate our past concerns but serve to provide us with new concerns how exactly how this “study” is being performed at a cost of $2.5 million to taxpayers.

Here is the backpedaling: (my thoughts are in red)

Bob Gordon: “Based on the public comment that we’ve received so far and the interpretation from the Federal Highway Administration, we’ll be going back with a four-lane option that will also be consistent with the MPO Long-range Plan. Now, at the November meeting we did not have that.” (1. No other public workshops are scheduled [only a public hearing] and the MPO Plan says our rural section will remain 2 lanes)

and later more backpedaling

Gordon: “But I can tell you in talking with our consultants today (he just spoke with them today?) that based on the recent interpretation with the FHWA, we will be able to take back an option that I think will find a lot more public acceptance in the Spring of this year.” (If the rules changed in January, why didn’t they present these options at the November workshop, and why are no other workshops scheduled?)

Here are some questions from the 3 Good Commissioners that raise even more suspicions:

Mark Sharpe: “So, then Bob, section “D” is there any intention, then to Six-lane section “D” from Fishhawk to state road — or to 39?”

Bob Gordon: “I guess I would — my intent — it would be no, it’s not.”

and later Commissioner Rose Ferlita asked these questions:

Rose Ferlita: “Tell me again how you arrived at your growth assumptions until 2038?”

Bob Gordon: “The — I do have the consultants here, but they took that 2025 year –2025 traffic projections and then extrapolated those out until 2038.”

Rose Ferlita: “What was the assumption percentage wise per year, any idea?”

(inaudible)

Rose Ferlita: “Sir, could you just — I can’t hear what you’re saying.”

Bob Gordon: “This is Steve Gordillo with HDR.”

Steve Gordillo: “Yes, I don’t have the exact number but it was a growth percentage. It is probably in the neighborhood of 3 %. (I hope he was telling her the truth) It’s a linear extrapolation from 2025 to 2038.”

Rose Ferlita: “That’s fine but you don’t know exactly?”

Steve Gordillo: “No, I don’t know exactly.” ($2.5 million dollars and this guy “doesn’t know” the growth assumption number that serves as the VERY BASIS for driving the study — and showing the need for six lanes?)

Rose Ferlita: “That probably would have been good information for us to know so we could look at growth assumptions.” (it was also probably a good thing for Mr. Gordillo that this discussion took place BEFORE she beat the crap out of Buddy Johnson less than an hour later.)

Later Commissioner Beckner asks this of Rick Adair (former FDOT employee now working with HDR)

Kevin Beckner: Could you please help us understand, is this a requirement that we have to show six lanes in order to be eligible for federal funding?

Rick Adair: It is the expectation of the Federal Highway Administration to use the projected traffic information to determine the purpose and the need of the project in terms of how many lanes are actually required to cause a level of service condition to be acceptable. (recall the both project manager and Mr. Gordon claimed they did not know the growth assumption number used and that is what is driving the whole study!)

Funny, that wasn’t really consistent with the way Mr. Gordon answered that same question when Beckner asked it of him.

Kevin Beckner: Do we have to present it as — or study it as 6 lanes to be eligible for federal dollars?

Bob Gordon: No, we don’t.

Thank You Mr. Gordon for not only substantiating our claims but giving us more evidence that this was not done properly. Seems to me that it was really Mr. Gordon who was confused. There is one issue he seemed to now have a clear handle on though and here are his comments regarding Fishhawk Bld. to CR 39 (segment D) “There’s strong public opposition to that. That is a piece of roadway that’s not included for any improvements in the MPO Long Range Plan.” ( I am so glad we could clear that up for you Mr. Gordon.)

The Good

The Good Commissioners (Ferlita, Sharpe, And Beckner) asked some of the tough questions, and Mr. Gordon and the paid consultants didn’t have the answers for them. While I did not expect them to buy what Gordon was selling, all three exceeded my expectations! In addition to their quotes I already mentioned, Commissioner Ferlita also questioned the cost to study this segment D alone which Mr. Gordon said was $500,000! (to study a section they have no official plans to widen!) He tried to spin that into making them eligible for “tens of millions” of federal dollars but recall he also said they had to conform to the comp plan to get those dollars which this section did not. Commissioner Sharpe asked about the inconsistency with the Comprehensive plan (since the 6-lane option violates it) and mentioned that the urban service line should be a firewall to protect the rural area! Thank You Commissioners Ferlita, Sharpe, and Beckner!

The Mute

Chairman Ken Hagan, Commissioners Kevin White and Jim Norman did not say a word or ask one question. Hmmm.

What about our own District Commissioner? Al ‘you all should meet with developers’ Higginbotham

I am so glad you asked. Commissioner Higginbotham was championing the study throughout the discussion under the guise of why not get all the data we can? Nimby Translation: We are trying to justify 6 lanes by any means possible (even though it clearly violates our rural area and our Comprehensive Plan.) He also had probably 30+ friends from Leadership Brandon, a part of the Brandon Chamber in the audience for the event, and it seemed from his comments that they are evidently for widening the road. They all had matching green shirts on, and one of the commissioners asked if they were on a bowling team because that is what the shirts looked like. According to the transcripts, it was Commissioner Norman (sadly, he never asked another question throughout the discussion). You know, our county gives the Brandon Chamber a pile of your tax dollars; I wonder if we bought those shirts? Higginbotham asked if the board needed a confidence vote? Looks like he got a little twitchy after watching the Three Good Commissioners question the staff and consultants. He did do something good and that was put the item on the agenda in the first place. Unfortunately for him, the staff/consultants didn’t come up with any good answers and in fact they only raised more questions along with substantiating our claims. It was clear where Higginbotham’s loyalties lie and it isn’t with rural citizens although he plays up that angle pretty well every chance he gets. He never expressed concern over this study violating the Comp Plan, or the staff lying to citizens, and he did not express remorse over the wasteful spending of $500,00 of your money. Oh, and his friends in the green shirts sitting all around us that he aligned himself with in the beginning of the meeting – a few of them were quietly cheering on Ferlita while she was hammering the consultant. Sorry Higginbotham.

Oh, and guess who I spotted glued to the screen watching the discussion from the lobby of the BOCC board room? Bypass proponent and the biggest voice constantly lobbying for the expansion of the Urban Service Line…..Mike Peterson. He has often casts threats to us about living near the urban service line (he thinks that line is only temporary) and you know, now that I think about it, he was the one that gave me my NIMBY title during our bypass battle. THANK YOU MIKE! And sorry your sprawl has to find a new home. There are plenty of homes available I hear.

NEVERMIND

The goods news is that by the end of the discussion the county decided only to proceed in accordance to our MPO’s LRTP. Nimby Translation: Shit, they caught us so back up and try to make this look legit and not lose the whole 2.5 million! This is what they should have been doing from the start and if they had read either one of their own Newsletters they would have known what the MPO’s LRTP says regarding Lithia Pinecrest. You know, I can explain it to them until I am blue in the face but I can’t understand it for them.

Thank You MPO!

I also attended an MPO policy meeting earlier last week to put my concerns on the record there. The MPO is the only transportation planning agency I trust. Not TBARTA, not FDOT, not the Expressway Authority………only the MPO. I was not disappointed as the committee, in particular Councilwoman Linda Saul Sena, was very receptive to my concerns and made a motion to put it on the agenda at the next regular MPO board meeting. While I don’t have the exact wording of the motion it went something like tell the BOCC we don’t want them wasting our transportation dollars on projects that are not in our plans! Thank You Councilwoman Saul Sena! Too bad she isn’t on the BOCC but kudos to the city for electing her. The other encouraging news is that all 3 Good Commissioners sit on the MPO as well. Whew! From our past Bypass battles we also have faith in other members of the MPO including Councilwoman Mary Mulhern, Councilman John Dingfelder and Chairman Mayor Joe Affronti.

Pitchfork Anyone?

I would much rather be shoveling the shit out of my own barn instead of the county’s. How many roads do we have to kill and lies do we have to expose before they start planning improvements where they are needed and wanted INSIDE THE URBAN SERVICE AREA! NIMBY TRANSLATION: Get out and stay out and take Peterson with you! Maybe they should also change the name of the project to the Lithia Pinecrest Widening/Not Widening Project which more accurately describes it or the Let’s Piss Away $500,000 Project.

What can you do?

In the meantime, R-LAND’s letter of opposition is still available for anyone sharing our views to use. You can access it here. You can contact your BOCC here. If you want to help clear up Mr. Gordon’s confusion you can contact him here.

If you want to talk to the Project Manager of this study, Steve Gordillo, you can contact him at steve.gordillo@hdrinc.com or call him at 813-282-2348 and ask him what exactly he spent our 2.5 million on?

Update: Since this post was submitted my public records requests have started to roll in. One has more than 2000 pages to review, but rest assured the county has pissed me off bad enough to read every word when I have time. So stay tuned.

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