Sandy Murman

Hillsborough County News

June 13, 2012

Contact: Wanda Sloan, Office of Neighborhood Relations, (813) 307-3564

Apply Now For Hillsborough County Neighborhood Mini-Grants

Neighborhood associations can now apply for mini-grants up to $2,500 for fiscal year 2013 to fund projects to improve their communities and increase civic involvement. 

Hillsborough County’s Office of Neighborhood Relations is accepting applications through Friday, August 17 at 5 p.m. Applications for the mini-grants are available on the County’s website at www.hillsboroughcounty.org/onr/minigrant.

These mini-grants support community projects in neighborhoods located in unincorporated areas of the County, and the cities of Plant City, Tampa, and Temple Terrace. Previous grant-funded projects include shrub and flower planting, subdivision entrance signs, playground equipment, neighborhood festivals, crime watch programs, websites, newsletters, and education activities.

Applications will be reviewed by the Neighborhood Mini-Grant Evaluation Committee and approved by the Board of County Commissioners. Only one grant will be awarded per neighborhood association. Recipients will be notified by November 30.

Completed applications may be dropped off or mailed to Office of Neighborhood Relations, 601 E. Kennedy Blvd., 1^st Floor, Tampa, FL 33602, or faxed to 813-276-2621.

The Mini-Grant Program was established in 1988 by the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners to improve and revitalize communities, and strengthen neighborhood associations.

 For more information, call ONR at 813-272-5860.

Commissioner quoted in this Tribune article on Hillsborough County Healthcare Plan:

Local health care plan awaits high court ruling

By MARY SHEDDEN | The Tampa Tribune
Published: June 10, 2012 Updated: June 10, 2012 – 12:00 AM

TAMPA —

Revamping of a Hillsborough County health plan for poor people remains in limbo as local leaders wait for a U.S. Supreme Court decision on national health care reform.

More than 13,000 Hillsborough residents participate in the 20-year-old health insurance of last resort. But those numbers likely will rise or fall once the high court decides whether President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act is constitutional.

For months, the Hillsborough County Health Care Plan Advisory Board has hesitated in making changes to the local plan, with meetings focusing on a lot of “what ifs” about who qualifies for its primary care, specialists, out-patient treatment and prescription coverage.

Once the national debate about “Obamacare” is clarified, local leaders say, they will know how many people will need help from the local plan. To prepare, the advisory board already has identified which aspects of the plan it needs to evaluate for cost effectiveness and impact.

“We’ll be ready for either pass or fail,” said county Department of Family and Aging Services Director Gene Earley, who serves as the staff administrator for the advisory board.

The urgency to streamline and improve health services for residents was behind last week’s request by Hillsborough County Commissioner Sandy Murman to re-evaluate the local plan. Murman said she didn’t know the advisory board was making plans to do the same.

She pulled the request after speaking with Earley.

“This is the best time to be doing this and be ahead of the curve,” Murman said.

However, the wait-and-see approach has frustrated some advisory board members and observers, who are eager to add more participants or programs, such as dental care.

Dena Leavengood, a community activist who has followed the plan for a dozen years, said she’s concerned that indecision will make the plan vulnerable to politics.

“They shouldn’t wait. They should go and do something,” Leavengood said. “We’re doing a disservice. It could be a model.”

The Hillsborough County Health Care Plan was created in 1991 as a preventative health plan for people unable to get private or government-backed insurance such as Medicaid. A half-cent county sales tax, and a related trust fund, pays for most of the care.

Earley said despite the pending Supreme Court case, the advisory board has been trying to make the plan more cost-efficient, sometimes using recommendations from a politically appointed committee that evaluated the plan several years ago.

The advisory board has made other strides, he said. For example, it identified and revamped a prescription drug plan, saving an estimated $10 million a year.

And this summer, the county is verifying the residency and qualifications of all 13,000 current participants. A sample survey of 380 clients found 18 percent lacked proper proof that they met the residency or income requirements, Earley said.

Nearly 75 percent of the 13,000 Hillsborough residents now in the plan are single, between the ages 19 and 64, county records show. Sixty-five percent are unemployed and another 22 percent have jobs that don’t provide health insurance.

Cutting costs helps sustain the trust fund, which also supplements health care for local children and programs at local jails and hospitals, Earley said. In recent years, the fund also has been tapped to reimburse the state for local Medicaid care.

Leavengood worries these financial demands cloud the county’s original intent: to provide preventative care to the working poor and keep them out of the emergency room.

“I do see potential for it to be raided again,” Leavengood said.

But the sales tax and trust fund shouldn’t be locked into a single purpose, Murman said. The plan should regularly be evaluated to make sure the local sales tax is providing the best health care assistance to its current residents, she said.

“In 15 years, things do change,” Murman said. “I think we’ve got an excellent staff that … can see what we are spending our money on and when there are missed opportunities or gaps.”

Commissioner Murman mentioned in this Tribune article on qualifying:

By MIKE SALINERO | The Tampa Tribune 
Published: June 09, 2012

TAMPA —

A number of Hillsborough County incumbents drew no challengers at the end of the official qualifying period Friday and will retain their offices.

Clerk of Court Pat Frank and Tax Collector Doug Belden automatically were re-elected with no opposition. Sheriff David Gee only faces competition from write-in candidate Robert O. “Grumpy Bob” Wirengard, a handyman.

Other candidates who had no opposition after qualifying closed at noon were District 1 County Commissioner Sandy Murman, a Republican, and District 3 Commissioner Les Miller, a Democrat.

Among the new faces that surfaced during qualifying was Mark Nash, a Democratic consultant who will challenge Hillsborough County Commissioner Al Higginbotham in the District 4 race in east Hillsborough.

Nash, who managed Commissioner Kevin Beckner’s winning campaign in 2008, said he will focus on growth management, economic development and transportation.

“The incumbent in this district had six years to influence those things,” Nash said. “Instead of being part of the solution to these challenges, he’s been more of the same.”

Higginbotham, former county GOP chairman, will be tough to topple. First elected in 2006, the Plant City native has strong support from agricultural interests and the mostly conservative voters in the sprawling Brandon area.

Higginbotham has raised $103,000 for the campaign, while Nash, a Brandon native, has yet to file a campaign finance report.

Also qualifying in the District 4 race was Joy Green, a no-party candidate. Green is regional director for Aglow International, a transdenominational Christian organization.

“I have a real heart for the community, a real heart to see changes and to work with the community on schools for young people, help for the elderly,” Green said. “I’ve done a lot of non-profit work and I understand a lot about working with people.”

In other commission races, Tampa Tea Party co-founder Sharon Calvert qualified to challenge Commissioner Victor Crist in District 2, which includes Carrollwood, Lutz and other northern parts of the county.

Crist spent 18 years in the Legislature before winning a commission seat in 2010. Calvert rose to prominence two years ago by leading opposition to a 1 percent sales tax referendum for transportation improvements, including light rail. Voters nixed the tax.

Beckner will defend his countywide District 6 seat against the winner of the GOP primary, which pits Margaret Iuculano, founder of the non-profit Angels for Foster Children, against small businessman Don Kruse.

Perhaps the biggest question mark during the week-long qualifying period was whether Property Appraiser Rob Turner would seek re-election. On May 22, Turner admitted exchanging sexual text messages and emails with his human resources manager, who also was an ex-girlfriend. Turner qualified Thursday morning and will face state Sen. Ronda Storms in the Republican primary.

Democrat Bob Henriquez, a former state representative and high school football coach, also qualified to run for the property appraiser post. James DeMio and Rob Townsend qualified for the race as non-party candidates.

Two Democrats and one Republican are vying to replace Republican Supervisor of Elections Earl Lennard. The Democrats are Craig Latimer, a former sheriff’s major and Lennard’s chief of staff, and Thomas Scott, a former Hillsborough commissioner and Tampa councilman.

Five Florida Senate seats and nine in the state House are up for grabs in Hillsborough County. Probably the most closely watched will be Senate District 17 where Republican incumbent Jim Norman has drawn two notable challengers from his own party — state Rep. John Legg and former state Rep. Rob Wallace.

Also challenging Norman in the primary is John Korsak, a security consultant. The winner will face Democrat Wes Johnson.

Norman, a longtime Hillsborough commissioner, defeated state Rep. Kevin Ambler in the 2010 Republican primary, but Ambler sued to remove Norman from the ballot. The lawsuit revealed that Norman had not disclosed a $500,000 loan made to his wife by Ralph Hughes, Norman’s political supporter and mentor. Mearline Norman used the money to buy and refurbish a lakefront house in Arkansas.

Norman finally prevailed in an appeals court and won the general election against two write-in candidates. Despite the token opposition, however, 45,573 voters cast ballots for someone other than Norman.

In another high-profile race, former state Senate President Tom Lee is seeking to return to the Legislature in District 24. Also qualifying on the Republican side was state Rep. Rachel Burgin. The winner will face Democrat Elizabeth Belcher, a community activist and blogger, as well as write-in candidate Randolph Link.

In other state Senate races, Republicans Jeff Brandes and James C. “Jim” Frishe face each other in the primary election for District 22. Also running for the seat is write-in candidate Raymond Alan Baker.

Senate District 26 has Democrat Paula House challenging Republican Bill Galvano, a former state representative.

Sen. Arthenia Joyner in District 19 drew no challengers.

Three state House candidates also face no opposition — Republican Dana Young in District 60; Republican James Grant in District 64; and Democrat Darryl E. Rouson in District 70.

The following candidates qualified in other Hillsborough state House races:

District 57: Democrat Bruce Barnett; Republicans Brian Hollands and Jake Raburn.

District 58: Democrat Jose Vazquez and Republican Dan Raulerson.

District 59: Democrat Gail Gottlieb; Republicans Michael Floyd, Ross Spano, Betty Jo Tompkins and Joe Wicker; and write-in candidate Timothy Edward McCorkle.

District 61: Democrats Tatiana Denson and Betty Reed.

District 62: Democrat Janet Cruz and Republican Wesley G. Warren.

District 63: Democrats Mark Danish and Z.J. Hafeez; Republican Shawn Harrison.

Commissioner Murman quoted in this Tribune article on Port Director’s resignation:

Port of Tampa chief resigns suddenly

By KEITH MORELLI | The Tampa Tribune
Published: June 07, 2012
Updated: June 07, 2012 – 7:24 AM

TAMPA —

Saying that the sprawling Port of Tampa, the largest in Florida and consistently among the busiest in the nation, is in sound financial shape, port director Richard Wainio announced Wednesday that he is walking away from the job he has held for more than seven years.

“It’s a good time to move on,” he said. “The port is doing well.”

His one-page letter of resignation shocked some governing board members, who didn’t see it coming.

“I was surprised,” said William Brown, member of the governing board for five years. “Richard is going to be missed. He’s done a great job here.”

Fellow board member Sandy Murman, also a Hillsborough County commissioner, echoed Brown’s sentiments, saying Wainio steered the port’s operations through the recession that has gripped the nation and Florida in particular since 2008.

“The port is more profitable than ever,” she said. “We don’t have any deficit, the budget is balanced. The operations at this port are stellar compared to other ports in the state of Florida.”

The Port of Tampa remains Florida’s largest cargo port, handling more than 40 percent of all the maritime cargo entering the state.

But the port, like most other industries, suffered with the sagging economy over the past few years. Total cargo movement from October through December was down 2 percent from a year earlier.

“I am not going to sugarcoat the port’s performance,” Wainio said at his state of the port address in December. “Our state and our region are only very slowly emerging from a recession that went deeper and lasted longer than in most parts of the country.”

He reiterated that point Wednesday afternoon, but also that business has seemed to have turned around. Cargo shipments are increasing and shipping trade with Central and South America are on the upswing, he said.

Wainio’s resignation letter cited personal reasons, that he wanted to spend more time with his family. He is married and has a son going into high school and daughter who is a high school senior.

The letter, dated Monday but delivered on Wednesday, said, “My decision is purely personal, based on family considerations and certain future issues.” His last day is Sept. 7.

Last year, Wainio, 62, negotiated a two-year contract and a raise to $268,500 a year after working under a series of one-year contracts. He said he doesn’t have any other job offers and hasn’t sought any jobs. He said he has no plans of what to do when Sept. 7 rolls around.

He wrote that he hopes to work with the county and governing board to achieve a seamless transition of leadership.

“Every CEO wants to leave on his own terms,” he said in an interview Wednesday afternoon. “I’m making this decision. Nobody else is.”

Wainio had his critics. Last year, the Port of Tampa Maritime Industries Association, a group of port tenants, criticized Wainio’s management style and board members said his relationship with some tenants had “turned personal.” The group urged the commission not to renew his contract.

Maritime Industries Association spokesman Tim Shusta said on Wednesday night that news of Wainio’s resignation came as a surprise.

“It certainly wasn’t something we had expected,” he said. “We thought he’d be with us for the next two years.”

The main criticism of Wainio, he said, was this: “We thought that he did not work well with the stakeholders or the people in the port community in trying to move the port forward and bring new business to Tampa.”

He wouldn’t be more specific and stopped short of saying the association was happy to see Wainio go.

“Let me put it this way,” he said. “We look forward to working with the commissioners in finding new leadership for all concerned at the port.”

Wainio had received favorable board reviews since he was hired in 2005. His two-year contract included some performance-based criteria.

“The only thing I care about,” he said Wednesday, “is that I want to be able to say I did a good job. This is not an easy job. This is a big port and that means it’s very diverse. It means you have to deal with all kinds of different people.

“It’s been fun,” he said. “It’s been challenging.”

The resignation comes as the port authority is considering major changes in two areas of operation: the passenger cruise ship port and the Channelside entertainment and retail complex.

Wainio and other port officials have been talking for months with the world’s largest cruise lines about the possibility of a new terminal near the mouth of Tampa Bay, west of the Sunshine Skyway bridge. The Port Authority is trying to keep the Tampa area in the running as home port for new cruise ships, which are too big to pass beneath the span to get to the existing cruise ship ports.

The Port Authority also is about to consider a bid to take over operations of the financially troubled Channelside Bay Plaza. The plaza is on port land and the Port Authority has veto power over any bidder selected by the bank.

Finding a replacement may take time, Murman said. “I imagine we will do a national search.” She said there is a lot of port land that can be developed, making the port even larger, more robust.

“This area is vibrant,” she said. “We have land here, land to expand.”

She said the next port director “will be someone with those goals in mind.”

Commissioner Murman mentioned in this Patch.com article:

By D’Ann White

A group of Riverview women have joined forces to raise funds for the community. And if they make some friends and have some fun in the process, that’s OK, too.

The brainchild of Riverview businesswomen Jeanne Burkeson and Donna Lee Fore, the new Riverview Woman’s Club was incorporated as a nonprofit organization in April. Over the past two months, the club’s membership has swelled to 30 paid members.

“The club got started in March,” said Fore, who serves as the club’s vice president while Burkeson is the charter president. “Jeanne and I were both talking about forming a woman’s club in Riverview since Riverview really doesn’t have a club for women. We just felt it was something the community needed. So five and six of us hashed it out and decided it was a good idea. Since then, every meeting has gotten larger.”

Fore said it’s been exciting to watch the fledgling club grow.

“When we started this, we had no idea how popular the idea would be and how much women want to be involved with other women,” she said, noting that dues are just $25 a year. “We’re getting people from all over.”

Fore is co-owner of PF Auto Glass in Riverview and is president-elect of the Greater Riverview Chamber of Commerce.

Burkeson and her husband, Joe, run Square-One Inspection Services, a home inspection business in Riverview.

They view the club as not only a way to meet new people but as a business networking opportunity as well.

“It’s really about empowering women,” Fore said. “The club is open to all ages, working and nonworking women. But we see it as a great way for the women in the community to support the women-owned businesses. We’d love to have 100 women wanting to get together and build friendships and empower one another.”

So far, the club has been meeting once a month at lunch but that may change as more members join up.

“We plan to have night meetings as well as lunch meetings so we can please all schedules,” said Fore. “In addition, we’re talking about doing fun things like bunco nights.”

Fore said the club also is planning events such as a tour of the Mosaic Co.’s “green building” in Riverview as well as montlhy speakers.

Hillsborough County Commissioner Sandy Murman will be the guest speaker at the June 20 meeting to be held at the Doc’s Grill at the Summerfield Crossings Golf Club, 13050 Summerfield Blvd., Riverview, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The cost is $12 at the door.

And Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Earl Lennard will speak to club members Sept. 19.

“We’re looking for interesting speakers and we’ll be showcasing businesses as well,” said Fore.

Fore said the club also wants to put the “fun” back in fundraising, hosting various events to benefit a scholarship fund for Riverview High School students.

“We’ll give scholarships at end of the year to Riverview high school students. They’re our future, so we’ll be raising money for them,” Fore said.

The first fundraiser, the Party Yourself into Shape Zumba Fundraiser, will take place Saturday, June 9 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at The Regent, 6437 Watson Rd., Riverview. A certified Zumba instructor will be on hand to lead the event and there will be raffles and door prizes. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for high school students. Sponros are the Great American Cookies Co. and P.F. Auto Glass Inc.

“It’s all about having fun,” said Fore. “Vendors will be set up and everyone will be doing Zumba. All the profits will go to the education fund.”

For information on joining or reservations for the next luncheon, contact Fore at 813-528-0902 or email contact@pfautoglass.com.

Commissioner Murman quoted in this Times article on Port Director’s resignation:

By Elizabeth Behrman and Ivan Penn, Times Staff Writers
Elizabeth BehrmanIvan PennTampa Bay Times In Print: Thursday, June 7, 2012

Surprising his bosses, Port of Tampa director Richard Wainio gave his resignation Wednesday, citing personal reasons for his departure.

Wainio contacted the chairman of the Tampa Port Authority’s board of commissioners for a meeting Wednesday morning, during which he handed in his resignation letter. He later sent emails to the other TPA commissioners to announce his resignation.

“It’s just a purely personal decision,” Wainio said. “The port is doing well, we’ve got great things going, so I figure the end of this fiscal year was a great time to move on.”

Wainio said he wants to spend more time with his two children, who are in high school.

Lawrence Shipp, chairman of TPA’s governing board, said he tried to persuade Wainio to stay.

“I had no idea that it was coming,” Shipp said. “It was shocking to hear.”

In his letter, Wainio told the TPA commissioners his resignation will be effective Sept. 7.

“My decision is purely personal based on family considerations and certain future issues,” Wainio wrote. “I have very much enjoyed working with many TPA commissioners and our exceptional port staff for over seven years.”

Wainio, 62, has served as the Port Authority’s chief executive since 2005. He earns $251,118 a year.

Questions over Wainio’s future arose last summer, when the Port of Tampa Maritime Industries Association, which represents 47 companies doing business at the port, called for the board to let Wainio go at the end of his contract, which would have expired in March.

In September, despite criticism about his lack of communication with port businesses and tenants, the board voted to extend his contract until March 2014.

Hillsborough County Commissioner Sandra Murman, who sits on the port’s governing board, received the email from Wainio. She said it was the first she had heard of Wainio leaving the post.

“I am pretty shocked. Most of us were pretty shocked,” Murman said. “I don’t know what he’s going to do or what precipitated the move.”

Murman said Wainio received a “good evaluation” during his last review, adding to questions about why he has chosen to leave.

“He’s been great at the helm,” Murman said. “We’ll miss him.”

Shipp said the board would organize a committee to conduct a national search for Wainio’s replacement and look to interview new candidates for the position within 60 to 90 days. Wainio said in his email that he looked forward to helping the commissioners find a replacement and assisting with the leadership change.

Depending on how long it takes to find a new director, the board might appoint an interim director until a permanent one is found, Shipp said.

“We’re going to lose I think a wonderful CEO,” Shipp said. “He’s been a great asset to the port. But I’m always happy when someone has come to peace with what they want to do.”

Commissioner Murman is quoted in this Times article on the Children’s Board:

 Hillsborough commissioners seek state legislative audit of Children’s Board

Jodie Tillman, Times Staff Writer
Posted: Jun 06, 2012 02:52 PM

TAMPA — Citing recent reports of questionable no-bid contracts and poor staff morale, Hillsborough County commissioners voted unanimously Wednesday to request that state legislators order fiscal and management audits of the taxpayer-funded Children’s Board of Hillsborough County.

“There have been major, major questions of the Children’s Board,” said Commissioner Les Miller, who proposed the audits.

The nearly $30 million agency that finances child welfare programs has been under scrutiny in recent months, starting with the revelation that chief executive officer Luanne Panacek let a friend in after hours to spread holy oil and “bless” the public building.

A series of Tampa Bay Times reports later showed problems with how agency executives handled at least $450,000 in no-bid contracts, including two that went to a former Children’s Board employee. More recently, about 15 staffers wrote emails to the board’s chairman, Chris Brown, complaining about low morale and levying accusations that top executives doctored documents.

Amid the reports, Miller asked county attorneys earlier this month to research whether commissioners had the authority to order the audits. The answer was no, since the Children’s Board is an independent taxing district created by county voters in 1988.

Miller said Wednesday he talked to his contacts in Tallahassee who told him the commission’s best bet is to ask for audits by the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, whose membership consists of legislators appointed from both the House and Senate. Two Hillsborough senators currently serve on the committee, Arthenia Joyner and Jim Norman.

A separate proposal by Commissioner Sandy Murman asked county attorneys to investigate how commissioners could gain some measure of control over Children’s Board finances. Murman said that might mean state legislation requiring Children’s Board tax dollars flow first through county coffers. Her motion also passed unanimously.

“I think long term that may be a solution,” Murman said. “It’s all about accountability. We want to protect our children and we don’t want anything to happen to our Children’s Board … (but) we have to balance the independence with accountability.”

Under a new state law, the property tax that finances the Children’s Board comes up for voter reauthorization in 2016.

Commissioner Kevin Beckner is the county representative on the agency’s board. He did not comment about the recent reports but suggested any state inquiries take into account a private audit of staffing and morale issues already underway at the Children’s Board.

He also noted that the limited financial audits that the Children’s Board pays for each year have been good.

“The key has been checks and balances within the agency itself,” Beckner said.

Commissioner Mark Sharpe, who used to be the county’s representative to the Children’s Board, said more in-depth audits were long overdue.

“It’s an organization which does a lot of good work,” he said. “It’s highly protective of itself.”

He said, for instance, that Children’s Board officials once tried, unsuccessfully, to get rid of a citizens advisory board. Sharpe also said the Children’s Board’s work often overlaps with county services.

“They can’t just operate on this island unto themselves,” said Sharpe.

In 2007, Sharpe requested the county auditor at the time, Jim Barnes, look into a number of allegations about questionable expenditures at the Children’s Board. Barnes’ brief report said most of the allegations lacked merit and that he had come away “very impressed” by Children’s Board officials.

A Times request to the county for Barnes’ documentation on the report turned up a single folder containing his interview notes with Children’s Board officials, along with the agency’s budget documents and brochures.

After Miller first floated his proposal for an audit earlier this month, Panacek sent a letter to commissioners in which she said the Children’s Board had put in place a new review team to look at the agency’s bidding practices. She also downplayed the Times reports, saying the agency had not spent the entire amount allowed under the $450,000 in no-bid contracts.

“Only $200,000 was spent across five years which averaged out to $40,000 a year or about one tenth of one percent of our annual budget,” she wrote. “I realize that any money spent on a contract without following procedure is inappropriate. This issue has been dealt with but I think it was made to appear more scandalous and salacious than it actually was.”

Jodie Tillman can be reached at jtillman@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3374.

Commissioner Murman quoted in this Tribune article on restoring the Apollo Beach Park Preserve:

 Channel dredging, beach restoration to begin this summer

 By LOIS KINDLE | The Tampa Tribune
Published: June 06, 2012 Updated: June 06, 2012 – 12:00 AM

 APOLLO BEACH —  Boaters in this waterfront community are tired of getting stuck on sandbars at low tide.

“People have to time their arrivals and departures to navigate the channels, said Len Berkstresser, president of the Apollo Beach Waterway Improvement Group. “The reason we buy property in Apollo Beach is to enjoy waterfront living, which includes several marinas, waterside dining, sailing and fishing. Without the ability to transit the channels, having a boat is useless.”

Due to a lack of tidal flow and low levels of storm-water runoff, silt has built up over the years in the three channels leading into Apollo Beach, causing the average low water level to drop to about 4 feet in spots at low tide and between 5 and 6 feet at high tide. Boats drafting more than 4 feet of water can have trouble getting in and out.

Help is on the way. Thanks to the efforts of Berkstresser and volunteers from the waterway improvement group, dredging of the main and south channels is expected to begin this summer. The main channel leads from Tampa Bay into Apollo Beach just south of Andalucia. Just past Andalucia, the south channel turns off the main channel and leads into MiraBay and Symphony Isles.

When the dredging is finished, each channel will be 7 feet deep and 60 feet wide.

“This means I won’t have to pull boats off the sandbars on my way in and out of the channel,” said Craig Beggins, a local businessman with a power boat. “If (the dredging) isn’t done, the problem will only get worse. Eventually, all boaters will be affected.

As a Realtor, Beggins said he discloses “right up front” the issues boaters face in the community.

“It’s a big detriment,” he said. “Fixing the problem will improve property values and attract more buyers to the community.”

The last time the channels were dredged was 17 years ago.

“About four or five years ago, we began having problems again,” Berkstresser said.

The waterway improvement group, commonly known as ABWIG, was chartered in 1993, two years before the community’s first dredging project. Members raised $65,000 to cover the costs for dredging all three channels.

After that effort, the group essentially became dormant until 2007, when some of ABWIG’s original members, led by Apollo Beach resident Jim Bothwell, resumed efforts to have the channels dredged again.

The first step was to obtain permitting, which took about three years. During the permitting process, Hillsborough County commissioned a study for the dredging that concluded it would cost between $500,000 and $750,000 to dredge the channels and haul off the spoils on trucks or a barge, Berkstresser said.

“ABWIG members saw this as an insurmountable obstacle, and for six to eight months the project went into mothballs,” Berkstresser said.

By early 2010, though, permits were in place. Bothwell and members of the Apollo Beach-based Tampa Sailing Squadron approached Berkstresser about taking over the effort.

Berkstresser immediately began looking for cost reductions, which included finding other dredge sites or selling dredge spoils as fill. Within three months, he formed a six-member board, which began promoting the project and raising funds to pay for it. ABWIG representatives worked community events such as the Manatee Arts Festival and signed up volunteers to build community awareness and collect money.

“Raising funds in these tough economic times has been difficult,” Berkstresser said.

Tampa Electric Company pitched in $50,000 of the total, and the Symphony Isles Homeowners Association, $35,000. Other large donors include the MiraBay Mariners Club, the residents of MiraBay, Andalucia Yacht Club, Lands End Marina, Circles and The Boulevard restaurants and Century 21 Beggins Enterprises. Caterpillar Inc. is providing a $10,000 in-kind donation for land preparation at the dredge site.

Area residents also helped when ABWIG members came calling door to door. That effort raised another $5,000.

“We’ve managed to collect $122,000 of the $150,000 needed to start the first phase of the project. I have every confidence we will get there,” Berkstresser said.

Once all the money is raised, bids will be taken and evaluated, the land will be prepped, and dredging will start, he said. The work will take several months.

The second phase involves dredging the north channel, re-establishing the beach area at Apollo Beach Nature Preserve with dredge spoils, building a jetty and installing large tower-like devices in the water that cut down on wave action, protect the channel from re-silting and keep the beach sand in place.

County Commissioner Sandy Murman brought together a coalition of six government agencies and private organizations to help plan and build the $500,000 project.

“ABWIG represents many residents in the Apollo Beach community who wanted their channels dredged and the Apollo Beach Park Preserve restored,” said Murman. “I pulled together county staff and other stakeholders, and we came up with a plan to solve the problem for the betterment of the community and to enhance the quality of life for these citizens.”

Restoring the beach was one of her top priorities because it increases the assets in the South County region, Murman said.

Resident and business owner Colin Howgill said he walks his dog at the nature park every morning and supports the project.

“Replenishing the beach is hugely, hugely overdue,” he said. “I’m glad to hear something is finally being done to stop the erosion process.”

Patti Greene is another supporter.

“I’m so excited to hear about the beach,” she said. “I’m looking forward to walking along the sand again, enjoying the morning and looking for sharks teeth like I used to. This is fabulous news.”

Due to area manatee migrations the project’s second phase will not start until summer of 2013, at the earliest.

For more information on ABWIG visit www.abwig.org.

Commissioner Murman recognized in the recent issue of the Mental Health Care Foundation’s June newsletter:

Thank you for your service

The board of Mental Health Care Foundation thanks Dave and Donna Hunter and Commissioner Sandy Murman for their valued time and contributions to our Board.  

Since 2009 Dave and Donna Hunter’s work significantly contributed to the renovations of the Children’s Crisis Center, and provided useful items for thousands of homeless mentally ill clients at The Shop. Those contributions had nothing to do with their lives as bankers and everything to do with who they are.

During Commissioner Murman’s 10 years, she contributed to the renovations of the Children’s Crisis Center, provided useful items for thousands of homeless mentally ill clients at The Shop and helped emotionally disabled young adults confidently walk across the stage to get their high school diplomas.

We know that you are continuing to boost Mental Health Care’s programs through your work as the vice chair of the Hillsborough County Commission and we thank you for your diligent advocacy for people who are homeless and mentally ill.