What a Difference a Month Makes!
This article will appear in the April 2008 issue of The Island Reporter
Dateline: March 19, 2008
From: Citizen's Bayway Task Force, St. Petersburg
It is hard to believe that it was February 19th, exactly one month ago as I write this, that Frank Schwartz organized our first Task Force meeting. Frank, President of the Point Brittany Condo Association had been hearing from his residents who were outraged at the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT)'s proposal to more than double the tolls on the Pinellas Bayway, starting in July. "It just doesn't seem fair" was a common refrain. But what could Frank do about it? As it turns out, a lot. More than anyone ever imagined
In the week preceding the first meeting Frank had arranged attendance of half a dozen neighbor Homeowner and Civic Associations along the Bayway, and when we all got together it was apparent that there was a lot of energy to attack this problem. But where to start? Who is behind the toll hike, why is it so big, and who do we contact to object to it?
It turns out the answers were: The FDOT, who wanted to issue $122 million in bonds to pay for the construction of the new Tierra Verde and St. Pete Beach bridges. The huge increase was so the FDOT could collect enough toll revenue to pay for the bonds. But who to complain to? Everyone knows that complaining to a bunch of state roadies probably wasn't going to be very helpful; after all, they are just hired hands and don't answer to the voters. Then one of the meeting attendees mentioned that a bill in the state legislature would be required to repeal the 1985 law that created the current Bayway toll and pass system. Would killing that bill be the simplest path to stopping the toll hike?
Some background might be helpful here. After the initial bond issue for the Bayway construction was paid off in the mid-80's, our legislators found themselves with a good-as-gold revenue stream, that of the captive homeowners, businesses, and visitors that travel on the Pinellas Bayway. Rather than reduce or eliminate the tolls, in 1985 the legislature passed a bill that would increase them. They set the cash tolls and provided for a $50 general public pass. The revenue from those tolls was supposed to be used only for the Bayway's eventual improvement and later, for bridge replacement. If the FDOT and subsequent lawmakers had kept their grubby little hands off of the toll reserve there would have been more than enough money to replace the now-obsolete bridges. But hey, that big pot of money was just sitting there, so in 1995 the legislators helped themselves and the FDOT, carving out some $18.8 million for use in the widening of Blind Pass Road. An August 19, 2003 article in the St. Petersburg Times alleged that more money would be diverted to pay for improvements to U.S. 19 between Whitney Road and State Road 60 in Pinellas County, a connector expressway between Interstate 4 and the Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Expressway near the Port of Tampa and road improvements in Manatee County.
It was logical that we try to reverse this diversion of funds, because it would decrease the net cost of getting new bridges. We now also knew we needed to kill this proposed bill, because if we didn't do this, FDOT would have virtually unlimited authority to set tolls, and citizen influence over tolls would be lost forever. But first we needed to be able to speak from a position of influence. This meant a bigger team; we wouldn't be able to succeed with just a few neighborhood associations involved. So recruiting went into high gear. By the time of the second Task Force meeting on February 22nd we had almost a dozen neighborhood associations as coalition members. At that meeting we quickly selected four co-chairs, named the organization, developed a set of organization goals, and fleshed out media talking points. The next day we had our website (www.baywaytaskforce.org) up and running.
During these first ten days volunteers from Point Brittany and other neighborhoods prepared signs, handouts, recruited other associations, contacted the media, stood in the weekend sun handing out flyers while dodging cars, canvassed businesses along the Bayway and cajoled them to pass out brochures, and did all those things that make democracy work.
By the third meeting on February 29th we had received support from associations representing more than 30,000 local citizens, and had gained the support of St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker and Pinellas County Commission Chairman Bob Stewart. On March 3rd the St. Petersburg Council of Neighborhood Associations (CONA), representing 111 neighborhood associations and more than 200,000 residents city-wide, joined in the fight. Now we were a force to be reckoned with! On March 17th, the Council of North County Neighborhoods (CNCN), representing neighborhoods throughout northern Pinellas County, lent their support as well.
Now it was time to talk with our elected representatives. On March 15th the Task Force co-chairs sat down with Representative "Jim" Frishe. In an almost two-hour long positive and productive meeting, Rep. Frishe and the Task Force developed agreement on four major points.
Three days later, we had a teleconference with Senator Dennis Jones. Sen. Jones acknowledged the Task Force concerns, and after a brief discussion of alternatives we agreed the best course of action would be for him to withdraw his bill. Almost concurrently, Rep. Frishe agreed to withdraw his bill in the House. We won!
How did all this happen in just four weeks? In addition to the support of the Task Force coalition members, this story would not have had such a positive outcome without the support of the media. Newspaper coverage of the Task Force's initiative began with a "Letter to the Editor" in last month's issue of The Island Reporter. The Reporter's publisher literally "stopped the presses" on February 22nd to include coverage of this story. Then on February 27th the St. Petersburg Times started coverage, followed by TV coverage from Channel 10 on March 5th and BayNews9 on March 12th. The media is a powerful political ally. Elected representatives do not like "negotiating via the press".
Our website was also invaluable in getting the word out, and it provided a user-friendly ability for citizens to contact their elected representative with their comments. We know from discussions with our representatives that this was very effective in getting their attention.
Don't you just love a happy ending? There are so many organizations and people who contributed to the success of this effort that we hesitate to mention them, for fear of leaving someone out. However, the Task Force would like to especially express their special appreciation to the residents of Point Brittany, without whose organization, artistic talents and indefatigable energy we would not have succeeded.
The Bayway Task Force will now lend its influence to working with state, county, and city transportation agencies to find alternative funding for the Bayway, with the hope that one day the Pinellas Bayway (and the new bridges) will be free for everyone to use.
As it should be.
Respectfully submitted,
Citizen's Bayway Task Force
St. Petersburg, Florida