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Brandon project enjoys advantage

In the push for state money, the community center has friends in high places. Things are tougher for the Salvador Dali Museum.

By LETITIA STEIN
Published March 17, 2006

TALLAHASSEE - For one Tampa Bay project, advocates hustled through the narrow hallways of the Capitol Thursday, meeting legislators, dropping off glossy brochures. For another, a spiral-bound report was put together, but no one needs to rush off to push the case in person.

One of these two local projects hoping for state money has a big advantage as lawmakers begin writing an annual budget. Which one?

The one that doesn't need the glossy brochure.

The Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg already is pressing hard for state money to relocate to a new building, while Brandon's business leaders follow the action knowing money for their proposed community center has been blessed by Gov. Jeb Bush and the state Senate.

Though not in direct competition, the dollars coveted for surreal art and a community center in Brandon may square off with other hometown priorities in the coming weeks. Each year, communities look to the Legislature to fund everything from drug rehab centers for teens to better roads.

As Brandon is finding, it helps to have friends in high places.

The Dali relocation project is slotted for only $1-million in the first draft of a Senate budget passed on Thursday. The same spending plan included $3.4-million for a community center in Brandon's suburbs on the other side of Tampa Bay.

Bush has signed off on at least $2-million for Brandon. It was included in his spending plan at the request of Senate President Tom Lee, the influential Republican representing east Hillsborough County.

For the Dali museum, Bush makes no promises that he'll support more money. The museum's first $4-million installment narrowly escaped his veto last year.

"Let's not kid ourselves. Tom Lee is an influential guy in the Legislature, and things that he cares about get attention," said Rep. Trey Traviesa, R-Tampa, the sponsor of a $3-million request for Brandon's community center in the House. "At the end of the day, this whole process is about delivering for the people who got us here."

Bush's $2-million marks a relatively small prize for Lee, one of the state's three most powerful leaders. Both Lee and Bush are critics of parochial projects, or turkeys as they sometimes are called.

"This kind of came up from the bottom up," Lee said. "There's been a lot of conversation over the years from different segments and factions of the community about the lack of a central place in Brandon."

He's making Brandon prove it needs a building, which could cost upwards of $10-million to complete. A report, completed this month, highlights a deficit of shelter space for the sick and elderly. It finds pent-up demand for a place for large meetings and seminars.

Planners have examined several locations for the Brandon Advantage Center. Most promising is a spot in the Brandon Main Street project, designed as a mixed-use hub to anchor greater Brandon's sprawling suburbs. Ranked second in the report is a site at the Hillsborough Community College campus in Brandon.

"The money is going to go somewhere, we've seen that every session," said Tammy Bracewell, president of the Greater Brandon Chamber of Commerce, observing that the flow of money gets decided by the influence of local lawmakers. "I hope that for us right now the stars are aligned."

House leaders are still developing their budgets so it's not clear how much might be proposed for any local projects.

But Lee's clout in the Senate could benefit the entire region.

He's promised to help Mayor Pam Iorio with her vision for a pedestrian corridor along the Hillsborough River in downtown Tampa. But he cautions that it's too early to know if lawmakers can fund all of Tampa's $5.5-million Riverwalk request. So far, $2-million has been slipped into a Senate budget draft as an economic development project.

The Dali Museum has been through this before and it wasn't easy last time, either. Last spring, Bush planned to veto the $4-million that the Legislature had slated for the Dali museum's relocation. He agreed to spare the project only after St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker pledged that the city would spend some $2-million on a new, 7.3-acre waterfront park.

Sen. Jim Sebesta, R-St. Petersburg, won't accept less than full funding. "What do you do? Build three-fourths of a building?" he said. "Do you not put the roof on?"

The Dali needs every dollar requested this year to relocate to a building at the former Times Arena at Bayfront Center, said Hank Hine, the museum's director.

"The plan that we have right now won't work without the state's help," he said.

The Dali plans to raise $8-million privately. Another $6-million would come from selling its current building. Even with $1-million more from the federal government, the museum faces rising construction costs. Hine anticipates that Dali will ask Pinellas County for a significant contribution. The relocation's total cost now stands at $25- to $28-million.

"Last year, it went up and down, and up and down," Baker said, recalling the project's turbulent ride through budget negotiations. "At the end of the day, it turned out to be okay."

The Dali's high-profile request could overshadow smaller communities in Tampa Bay, which have their own priorities.

Hernando County is revving up a campaign for $2.5-million to improve the water quality in the Peck Sink basin. Rep. David Russell, R-Brooksville, says the county just realized money was available.

"It was somewhat of a surprise to the county, a welcome surprise," said Russell.

Waterworks projects also dominate the wish list for Citrus County. Rep. Charles Dean, R-Inverness, is seeking $1.2-million to finish a building expansion at the county fairgrounds.

Times staff writer Steve Bousquet contributed to this report. Letitia Stein can be reached at lstein@sptimes.com or 850 224-7263.

[Last modified March 17, 2006, 01:54:15]