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Letter to the editor

Golf course plan gains foes

Two legislators knock the idea to use the Tarpon Woods course for stormwater storage.

By NICOLE HUTCHESON
Published July 10, 2007

PALM HARBOR - The wheels may be coming off Pinellas County's plan to buy the Tarpon Woods golf course for possible use in reducing neighborhood flooding.

Influential state Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, has come out against the county's plan. He chairs a key Senate panel that controls the purse strings of the agency that awards the grants the county is seeking to buy the course.

"I don't know how important this project is when I have constituents of mine who have e-mailed, met with me and called me with concerns," Fasano said.

In May, the county made a request to the Florida Communities Trust grant program for $4-million. That's how much county officials say it will cost to buy the golf course. The Trust grants are set aside for nonprofits and local governments for the purchase of land for recreational uses or preservation. The grant program functions under the state's Department of Community Affairs.

"I think the dollars could be well spent in other parts of the state, county and Tampa Bay area where there are no environmental concerns or opposition," said Fasano, who chairs the subcommittee that writes budgets for various state offices, including the Department of Community Affairs.

Rep. Peter Nehr, R-Tarpon Springs, also opposes the county's grant request.

Late last month, both Fasano and Nehr sent letters to the Trust for Public Land, a nonprofit conservation group that helps rank Trust grant applications. Both legislators wrote that the Pinellas request was premature and asked it not be given priority.

"I don't feel it's appropriate for the county to ask for money for something that hasn't been fully studied," said Nehr, whose district includes the Tarpon Woods area.

In May, county officials requested the $4-million with the intention of using it to purchase the 150-acre golf course. The plan was to use some or all of the golf course for stormwater storage, an idea that has not been popular with homeowners in the area. They worry that losing the golf course could cause their property values to plummet. They also aren't sure the plan would cure the flooding problem.

The county has commissioned engineering group TBE to study whether using the golf course is the best way to alleviate flooding in the area. The study, which will cost the county $75,764, is expected to be complete in August. Southwest Florida Water Management District officials are also conducting their own study on the area's floodplain. Its estimated finish date is late 2008.

Assistant County Administrator Peter Yauch said applying for the grant before the feasibility studies are complete is a way of getting a leg up on possible funding.

"It was getting our name in the queue, basically," Yauch said. "If it didn't look feasible, we would just decline the grant."

If the state grant is denied, but the TBE study shows the golf course could be key to alleviating flooding, the county then would likely explore other funding options, Yauch said.

Florida Communities Trust grants are usually awarded in September, said Jon Peck, spokesman for the Department of Community Affairs. This year the department has received 118 applications, a record number since the grant program's inception in 1990.

Nicole Hutcheson can be reached at nhutcheson@sptimes.com or 727 445-4162.

[Last modified July 9, 2007, 22:14:10]