Florida Supreme Court Decision puts park funding on track

Originally Published by the Pensacola News Journal

Ruling opens door for funding of maritime, Perdido projects

Kris Wernowsky • September 19, 2008

The Florida Supreme Court reversed a 2007 decision Thursday requiring voter approval of publicly funded projects, including the Community Maritime Park in Pensacola and a Perdido Key road project.


The court's decision gives the go-ahead to financing plans that rely on future property tax increases to pay off bonds, changing a precedent it set in 2007.

Thursday's decision was hailed as a turning point for supporters of the Community Maritime Park. The project includes a maritime museum, multi-use stadium and retail and office space on 30 waterfront acres.

"I was just delighted with not only the final outcome but with the clarity in which (the court) addressed the issue," said Lacey Collier, a federal judge and chairman of the park board. "It leaves nothing to chance or debate. Really, it is just a great day for the project."

The Pensacola City Council originally planned to use money from the Community Redevelopment Agency — a special district that uses property taxes paid by downtown residents to address blight — to repay the park's bond issue.

But the court's 2007 ruling forced Community Maritime Park backers to seek alternative funding for the $40 million public portion of the project.

Now the original bond issue plan is back on the table, officials said.

"I think the importance of this decision is that we can stick with the original financing plan and not have to use the alternative plan," City attorney Rusty Wells said.

Pensacola's bond attorney, Richard Lott, is set to give a special presentation at Monday's City Council meeting detailing what the state Supreme Court decision means for the project.

Thursday's ruling was rooted in a 2006 lawsuit filed by Pensacola veterinarian Gregory Strand challenging a $135 million bond issue for the widening of Perdido Key Drive, Theo Barrs Bridge, and Sorrento Road from Blue Angel Parkway to U.S. 98.

In 2007, Justice Kenneth Bell wrote the majority opinion in the case and sided with Strand, saying voters should have a say when property taxes from special districts are used to repay bond issues.

A stunning reversal
The Escambia County case initially reversed more than a quarter-century of precedent and said local governments that wanted to use property taxes to pay for projects had to go to a public vote.

The decision at the time roiled bond markets and upset local governments who feared billions of dollars of projects could be in jeopardy.

Now with Bell days away from stepping down from the court, five justices changed direction and issued a new opinion. Bell recused himself from deliberations.

The court's decision Thursday was a reversal of fortune for opponents of the Community Maritime Park and the Perdido highway project.

"We're stunned and incredibly disappointed," said Tallahassee attorney David Theriaque who represented Strand in his case.

"Clearly this is going to hurt taxpayers. We are at a loss for words," Theriaque added.

Charles Fairchild, an outspoken critic of the Community Martime Park, blasted the court.

"I think the Supreme Court is wrong," he said. "What they are doing, if they go forward with the current financing (for the park), is jeopardizing the entire economic future of the city."

A new start
Escambia County Commissioner Gene Valentino, whose District 2 includes Perdido Key, said the court's initial decision stymied development of infrastructure that the commissioner believes would help jump-start economic development.

The implications, Valentino said, go far beyond Escambia County.

"This has more to do with 20 other four-lane highways in Escambia County. It has more to do with 66 other counties in the state of Florida," he said. "This is historic and I'm excited about it. In these dire times we need to look outside the box for creative funding mechanisms to fund such projects."

County Administrator Bob McLaughlin said the bond money in question, from the special tax district created in the southwest section of the county, was earmarked for the construction phase of the road-widening project.

Florida Department of Transportation funds allowed the project development and environmental impact portion to continue despite the Strand decision, McLaughlin said.

"Nothing has really stopped," he said.

Bill Stromquist, treasurer of the Perdido Key Area Chamber of Commerce, said widening the roads is key to attracting tourists from Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, Ala. not only to Perdido Key, but to the entire Pensacola area.

"It's got nothing to do with making Perdido Key bigger, but rather making it better and safer," he said. "It would be a huge plus for us. People need to realize how important it would be for us to have four-lane roads."