 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
County meets deadline for grant
By SAUNDRA AMRHEIN © St. Petersburg Times, published December 19, 2000 Once in jeopardy, a grant that will help create industrial and commercial development at Interstate 75 and State Road 50 is back on track. Paperwork that was due in late November to the state was submitted and acknowledged before the deadline, allowing for the first of several expected projects to move forward. Officials feared early last month that Hernando County would lose its claim to a $750,000 state grant that will be used for road and utility work at the southwest corner of the I-75-SR 50 intersection. But Hernando County Social Services Coordinator Jean Rags, who is helping oversee the grant process, said Monday that the issue was settled because the documents were turned in on time. The grant approval was needed before Polaris Pool Systems Inc. could begin building a manufacturing and distribution warehouse on 3 acres at the site. An additional 250 acres can be opened for development once the roads and utilities are in place. During a meeting of the Economic Development Commission last month, County Commissioner and EDC board member Chris Kingsley conveyed Rags' concerns that the EDC might miss the deadline for the grant because several key documents were in limbo. The EDC board ordered its executive director, Rick Michael, to hustle and get the paperwork collected. Michael was chastised during the meeting by Kingsley and new board member state Sen. Ginny Brown-Waite, R-Brooksville, for blaming Rags for a communications breakdown in getting the work done. Michael is under fire for several other problems at the EDC and is expected to submit his resignation by the end of the year. The paperwork included showing a transfer of property from a private company to Polaris Pool Systems, deeded rights of way to Hernando County for street improvements and the release of easements on private property to the county for water lines. Gary Schraut, one of the Hernando County businessmen involved in Hernando Investments, which donated the 3 acres of property to Polaris Pool, said the infrastructure improvements should open the door to other projects. "It puts out a lot of opportunities for other things to take place there," Schraut said. An additional 250 acres can be developed for commercial or industrial purposes, he said. Schraut said the bids for engineering and construction work on the Polaris project are due back in March. Construction is expected to start six months later.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
From today's Hernando Times |
