Changes pave way for trail addition

Prospects for an eastern Pinellas Trail extension looked grim until Florida Power Corp. and the county worked out a deal.

By CHRIS TISCH
© St. Petersburg Times
published March 13, 2002

CLEARWATER -- Four months ago, a plan to extend the Pinellas Trail along Florida Power property in east Pinellas County was in dire jeopardy.

For one, the cost of the extension had ballooned to almost twice the $15-million budget.

For another, the county's plan to lease the Florida Power property for $150,000 per year for 99 years had a wrinkle: The annual cost would increase 2 to 5 percent each year, meaning the total cost after 99 years would be between $45-million and $372-million. That's far more than the county wanted to pay.

Commissioners told planners there was no way the 22.6-mile extension project could go ahead as planned. Staff were told to make some changes: Get the project within the budget and get that wrinkle in the lease agreement tossed out.

On Tuesday, the county staff told commissioners that both have happened.

First, Florida Power has agreed to eliminate the $150,000 lease altogether. In exchange, the company asks that the stretch of land be named the Florida Power Trail.

And second, the size of the project was scaled back. Planners shrunk the size of the extention by snipping the ends off it. This also eliminated right-of-ways the county would have had to purchase, bringing the total cost within $15-million.

The retooled plan could end up in front of county commissioners for approval within 60 days. If it's approved, the first extension could be completed within 18 months.

"I think it has a very good chance to become a reality," said Gay Lancaster, assistant county administrator. "And it's really based on good work by everybody involved. It just looks like all the stars are aligned in the right way."

The new extension would run from the area of U.S. 19 and Enterprise Road to the area of Ulmerton Road and U.S. 19. The previous plan had extended north to John Chesnut Sr. County Park in East Lake and southeast to San Martin and Gandy boulevards near Weedon Island.

Lancaster said she and other staff members met with people in the biking community who said the middle sections were what they wanted most.

"This was the section they said was most important to them," she said.

Having Florida Power agree to drop the $150,000-per-year lease also was an important development, said Ellyn Kadel, real estate administrator for the county.

"That's a big cash savings for the board," she said. "They really worked with us to make this a lot more acceptable to the county."

The county did not want to abandon the project because it feared losing $8.1-million in federal grant money that had been awarded for it. The rest of the $15-million will come from sales tax revenue.

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