Will Christmas come early for local community projects?
The holiday season just ended, but will an early Christmas come for the environment, education, healthcare and those in the non-profit world?
Many who will gather next week to make their best pitches before the Lee County Legislative delegation hope so.
Each year, representatives from local governments, the Lee County School District, FGCU, FSW, Lee Health, non-profits and many others get two minutes before our state representatives and senators to ask them for money for crucial projects, to plead with them to expedite their investments in water quality projects so that what happened last year with toxic algae blooms and red tide doesn’t happen again, and to aid them in reducing healthcare costs. The meeting is ahead of the March 5 start of the Florida Legislative session, where money is officially appropriated.
Tuesday is the Lee County delegation meeting. It starts at 9 a.m. in the nursing building at Florida SouthWestern State College and is scheduled until 5 p.m. About 44 speakers will go before state senators Lizbeth Benacquisto, R-Fort Myers, and Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, as well as state representatives Spencer Roach, R-North Fort Myers; Ray Rodrigues, R-Estero; Dane Eagle, R-Cape Coral; and Heather Fitzenhagen, R-Fort Myers.
A strong Florida economy resulted in many local agencies getting what they asked for last year. From the legislative agendas gathered by The News-Press editorial board this week, this year’s asks are necessary and important for the quality of life in Southwest Florida. They focus on water quality, infrastructure and system improvements.
A look at what they are asking for:
Lee Health
The county’s major healthcare system still wants expanded Medicaid funding, claiming it spends more than the federal government annually on local Medicaid patients – or about $243 million. It is a problem for the system, especially in emergency rooms where patients must be treated and many of those are uninsured. Lee Health says Medicaid funding was reduced in last year’s legislative session by $130 million and the system wants its services fully funded by Medicaid.
Lee Health also wants the state and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to live up to a 2017 agreement to increase Low Income Pool funding to $1.5 billion. Lee Health says it is not seeing that money that helps cover public hospitals with high volumes of Medicaid and uninsured patients. It wants the state to find ways to insure more patients. In 2017, Florida ranked fourth in the highest number of uninsured residents in the state (2.5 million), with Collier County at 21.6 percent and Lee at 17.2 percent. Lee Health says only one in five patients admitted to a Lee Health facility has insurance.
Lee Health also wants more services devoted to the behavioral health crisis, supporting the use of federal, state and local resources to address substance abuse and mental health issues, with a focus on the opioid and funding mental health treatment programs, especially for 46,000 Southwest Florida children impacted by a mental or behavioral health disorder.
Cape Coral
Southwest Florida's largest city has a big wish list. It wants $15 million for its Caloosahatchee River Cross Project, needing help with construction of a pipeline from the city to Fort Myers to transmit treated wastewater for Cape’s irrigation system and to minimize Fort Myers dumping treated wastewater into the Caloosahatchee.
The city seeks $5.5 million for a public safety training facility, specifically a gun range for its officers.
It wants $650,000 for design and permitting of the Sirenia Vista Environmental Park.
The city also supports legislation that authorizes a 1 percent local option sales tax on alcohol in places licensed to sell alcohol or at special events within the city. The tax money would go to public safety.
Lee County
The county is focusing on water quality projects. It wants $900,00 to support $1.6 million in funding for rehabilitation and restoration efforts for the L-3 canal and Wild Turkey Strand Preserve Hydrological Restoration project.
It supports $5.3 in state funding for the East Mulloch Water Control District for drainage improvements. The county is spending $4 million on remediation projects.
It supports a $3 million funding request for flood losses along the Ten Mile Canal.
It supports $14.8 million in state funding to improve disaster response and routine operations.
The county is requesting $8 million for its multi-jurisdictional communication system used by 64 agencies.
It wants $6.7 million to expand its emergency operations campus.
The county joins the school district in requesting the state fully fund school resource officers to free up funds for other countywide projects. It also believes it is entitled to more tax revenues from SHIP funds for affordable housing programs.
Town of Fort Myers Beach
The town wants $500,000 from the state to help with the Estero Boulevard infrastructure renewal and replacement projects. In a joint agreement with the county, the town has committed $60 million to the project, according to mayor Tracey Gore, for new water and wastewater lines, storm water transmission and treatment, as well as road and sidewalk improvements.
Fort Myers
Among its legislative priorities are $17 million to expand and transform the STARS Complex into a community disaster shelter. In its deal with Cape Coral for a pipeline to transmit treated wastewater, the city wants $19 million for the construction of the reclaimed water project.
The city also seeks $3 million for Community Oriented Policing Services and the Police Athletic Leagues for STARS and Billy Bowlegs Park to help with at-risk youth. The city also wants $1.5 million for Centennial Park equipment replacement. Another ask is $900,000 for pedestrian walkways from the Riverside Community Center to the Edison and Ford Winter Estates as part of the Riverwalk Design.
Similar to other cities, it supports water quality improvement efforts, improved statewide funding for community health services and preservation of the Sadowski Affordable Housing Trust Fund.
Bonita Springs
The city is seeking $750,000 in state funds for projects that will help reduce residential flooding in neighborhoods during big storms. The ask will help offset $891,440 worth of project costs for 2019-2020.
The city also supports funding efforts for statewide water quality projects. It supports state funding to buy land for preservation within the Density Reduction Groundwater Resource Areas of the City. It opposes any effort to allow fracking in Southwest Florida. It opposes any legislation that raises flood insurance rates.
FSW
The state has not been kind to FSW in the past, cutting the college’s funding proposals. This year, FSW wants about $30 million for various projects. The college says it needs $10.4 million to bring the school up to the state average for full-time student funding. The college says it has faced a $38 million shortfall over the previous five years that would have improved adviser-student ratios and increased full-time faculty positions. It wants $9.8 million for renovations to its Collier County campus and $9.4 million for renovations to the technology building at its Fort Myers campus.
FGCU
A year ago, the state rewarded FGCU for its performance with over $14 million. This year, the school wants the $25 million remaining from Public Education Capital Outlay (PECO) funds for its Integrated Watershed and Coastal Studies Academic building. It’s a $56 million project that previously received about $30.5 million.
It wants an additional $12.4 million in operational/student success funding because of progress made in graduating students in four years and student retention. FGCU is focusing its student success on its adult completion program and graduate certificate program, advancing its water resource management programs and expanding undergraduate and doctorate nursing programs.
Lee County School District
The district is requesting $356,832 for its “Grow Your Own Teacher” scholarship program. The district partners with FGCU and FSW to allow high school seniors and college juniors and seniors to switch majors and commit to employment within the school district.
It also wants the state to fully fund the school resource officer program, rather than the district, Lee County Sheriff’s Office, Cape Coral, Fort Myers and Sanibel police departments sharing in the cost. It wants a 3 percent increase in the base student allocation to help fund rising costs of teacher salaries, benefits and pensions.
It wants the state to eliminate the best and brightest scholarship program and redirect the $233 million in funds to the student allocation or teacher salaries. Best and brightest is an extremely flawed program that only rewards a certain number of qualified teachers for high college entrance exam scores they received in high school.
Senior Engagement Editor Tom Hayden wrote this editorial on behalf of The News-Press editorial board.
Lee Delegation Meeting
When: 9 a.m. to about 5 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 15
Where: Nursing Building (Room AA-177) at Florida Southwestern State College.
On agenda: Local legislative bills sponsored by the Lee delegation; speakers from various government, healthcare, school, healthcare and non-profit organizations.
On website: More information on the meeting available at leedelegation.com