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Two Down: One to Go
Marion and Lake Counties Reject Increased Impact Fees; Alachua County Meets Next
Both Marion County and Lake County rejected significant increases to impact fees at hearings last Tuesday, an action that only weeks earlier seemed extremely unlikely. That leaves Alachua County, where commissioners hold their public hearing Tuesday night at 5 p.m. In both cases, it was obvious that the very large turnout by opponents of the proposed increases was a significant factor in the final votes. It is critical, that after all these months of trying to educate the public and the Alachua County Commission about the obvious problems with its impact-fee proposal, there is only one thing left to do: Pack the commission chamber Tuesday night, and make sure your elected officials hear your voices in order to convince them that is simply a very bad idea.
The commission needs to see you there. Lake County had 900 people at their meeting. This isn't just a builder/developer issue. If you are a business owner, home owner, or customer in Alachua County, you will be impacted. Do you want to pay $5.00 more for a pizza? Do you want to pay $8,000 more for a vehicle or $40,000 more for an addition to your office? If the fees that are being proposed go into effect, businesses and builders across the board are going to have to raise prices to offset costs.
One last thing: YOU DON'T NEED TO SPEAK! While every business owner that speaks has an impact, it is just as important to be seen as it is to be heard. There is not enough time for everyone to speak, but please show up and make the commissioners look a packed house in the eyes, as they decide what to do.
It is interesting that while the Marion County meeting was in the afternoon, and in Lake County, it occurred in the evening, the similarities were obvious and overwhelming. Both commission chambers were packed with people opposed to the increases. These residents, business people and taxpayers were able to convince both commissions that the formulas being considered were flawed, and the timing could not be worse.
By the time both meetings were over, commissioners in both counties who had been on record in favor of increasing their impact fees, were speaking against them, and more importantly, voting against them. In both cases, commissioners became convinced that their methodology and formulas needed to be reviewed. The bigger issue was that they recognized that this was simply not the right time. With the economy struggling to get back on its feet, commissioners in both counties finally came to the realization that the relatively small increase in revenue they would see from increasing impact fees would be offset by the ramifications of such an increase to the building industry and their economies.
It will take your presence Tuesday night to make sure that the Alachua County Commission gets the same message.
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www.BuildingEdgeMagazine.com
Our August 2007 issue issue has been delivered. The cover story is on Ocala's Adams Homes. The National feature is Curb Appeal: Entry doors, brick and siding, roofing, lighting, landscaping, paving.
The September issue, which includes a feature on The Palms, an exciting new downtown Gainesville condominium development being brought to you by Mitch Glaeser, Greg Trunnell and Miles Kinsell, will be online next week. The national feature is Interior Design: Lighting, hardware, trim millwork, interior doors, fireplaces, stairs, closet systems.
Sales for our October issue close this week. It will be featuring Isaac Construction in Lake City. The National Feature will be on Weathering the Elements: HVAC, insulation, house wrap, anti-mold products, siding and brick, roofing, pest control .For more information, please contact us at (352) 372-3958 in Gainesville, or (352) 368-1707 in Ocala.
To finish off the year, Demetri Homes of Ocala will be our November cover story and GC Construction of Gainesville will be featured in December.
Our Summer 2007 issue of Commercial Building Edge is now available. The cover feature is on Gray Construction Services. The National Feature is on Green Building.
Sales close for the Fall 2007 Commercial issue next week. The cover story is a feature on Ocala's Ausley Construction . The Winter issue will feature Trunnell Construction on the cover.
HOME™: Living in the Heart of Florida Resource Guide
Sales for our newest publication, Home: Living in the Heart of Florida, will be closing in the next few days. The issue is in production, and we are certainly excited about the array of articles and information, we will be bringing to the community. Our website, while still a work in progress, is up. I encourage you to bookmark the link, as we aim to make this the number one website for the North Central Florida Community. It is www.LivingInTheHeartOfFlorida.com. Part of this new publication will be our newcomer/relocation resource guide. It will include just about everything anyone looking to move to our area or relocate within the 12-county market will need. To be listed in the resource guide, please call us today to discuss. I am pleased to note that we have formed some terrific partnerships with local establishments to insure success through the delivery of the publication. Just to name a few, we are working closely with Gainesville Regional Airport , Gainesville Chamber of Commerce and the Newberry/Jonesville Chamber of Commerce. Coming this fall will be a publication for the consumer unlike anything out there today!
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Marion County Rejects Impact Fee Changes
Amid complaints that higher transportation impact fees would pave the road to an even slower housing market, the Marion County Commission turned down a consultant's proposed increase last Tuesday. The county hired consultant MuniFinancial last October for $24,500 and instructed the Orlando firm to change the way the fees, which are one-time charges on new development to pay road construction, were assessed.
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Lake County Fees Off - For Now
An increase in transportation impact fees is off the table - for the moment. Lake County commissioners voted against the increases at a public hearing Tuesday evening before an audience of hundreds who opposed the fees. Instead, commissioners decided to create a citizen task force to work with the business community to come up with amicable funding solutions for the county's transportation woes.
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Property Tax Bills Increase
Last week Alachua County property owners started tearing into their tax notices eager to see how much money they would be saving thanks to the Florida Legislature's ordered cuts. Some may be disappointed. Most homesteaded Alachua County property owners will pay fewer taxes this year, said Property Appraiser Ed Crapo. The average reduction is $167. But overall, a majority of Alachua County property owners are paying more in taxes this year.
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County Worker Pay Debated
Salaries versus services were debated by the Alachua County Commission last Tuesday as it continues to develop a 2008 budget with shrinking money. Also under scrutiny was the extra money for 24 additional jail employees sought by Sheriff Sadie Darnell - when considerable money being spent on overtime could be used for the positions instead.
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Marion Schools Spend Big on Construction
Marion County School Board Chairman Ron Crawford said the big debate when he first ran for office eight years ago was over who could best handle the School District's $275 million budget. He said he was honored to be an elected to watch over the budget of the county's largest employer.
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Alachua County Begins Study of Traffic
More than 30 residents brought curiosity, concerns and suggestions for traffic improvements in the SW 20th Avenue vicinity to a Wednesday evening meeting launching a study on whether a new road should be built or existing roads expanded.
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Talks Begins About Downtown Gainesville Plan
The area south of downtown Gainesville could serve as the geographic and metaphoric center of the city's redevelopment goals, planners and residents said as they kicked off a master planning process Wednesday.
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County Will Welcome a Lawsuit Over Vested Lots
It's a strange scene: Elected officials telling their attorney to get them into a lawsuit. But that's been the scenario at Marion County Commission meetings lately. Some commissioners, Jim Payton and Andy Kesselring in particular, want to start a legal fight somewhere in Marion challenging the right to build on residential lots platted decades ago. The outcome of such a suit should tell county officials where they stand under the state's Bert Harris Act should they try to stop construction on the estimated 100,000 platted, undeveloped lots spread around Marion.
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Archer Breaks Ground on Community Center
Years of fund-raising and planning made Saturday morning's celebration possible outside the old Archer high school gymnasium. Dozens gathered to watch and participate in a groundbreaking to formally mark the start of the conversion of the former gym into the Archer Community Center.
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Belleview Officials Consider a Sign Moratorium
City leaders are considering a moratorium on permits for new off-site advertising signs or billboards within the city. The 10-month suspension will allow city staff to update the sign ordinance, which last was done in 1992. A resolution on the issue is expected to be discussed during a public hearing in coming weeks.
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Ocala Council Hears Traffic Complaints, IHMC Hopes
Tuesday night's City Council meeting was an emotional roller coaster, with residents upset about traffic being routed through their suburban subdivision, and a nonprofit research institute hopeful about finding a new home downtown. The Institute for Human and Machine Cognition's request to use the old Ocala Public Library building brought about new hopes for a revitalized downtown.
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Gainesville Tightens Environmental Controls
After a lengthy debate, Gainesville city commissioners approved increasing environmental restrictions on about 790 acres in northwest Gainesville under a program that supporters say only offers "modest" protections but that detractors have said infringes on property rights and is ill-defined.
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Marion Chamber Plans for 2008
The Ocala/Marion County Chamber of Commerce will focus next year on educating elected officials and the public about issues important to business. That's one of the ideas that came out of a planning workshop for the Chamber's board of directors Friday. Local politicians might need more information on matters such as funding for the Ocala/Marion County Economic Development Corp., or on taxes to improve local roads before casting their vote, Daley and other board members said.
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MCBA Calendar of Events
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BANCF Calendar of Events
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Port St. Lucie Squares Off with County on Fees
City council members on Monday said they will stop collecting county law enforcement impact fees on new homes and businesses in 30 days unless St. Lucie County officials tell them how they plan to use the money next year and how they've spent $706,292 collected since October 2006. City Manager Don Cooper said he's asked St. Lucie County Administrator Doug Anderson twice for the financial reports mandated by the 2004 fee agreement but has received no response.
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Polk County School Impact Fee Reduced
Those thinking of building a house have found the right time, as Polk County commissioners voted last week to reduce the school impact fee, as requested by the county school board. The new impact fee, in effect now for a single family home, is $4,171, a significant savings over the 2006 school impact fee of $6,006. The reduction comes in response to funding from the Legislature for the class size amendment, which the school board was not expecting.
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Property Tax Poll Says Vote May Not Pass
A vote to change the state's property tax system is not until January, but a new poll by the University of Florida shows if the vote happened today it would not pass. The poll shows that 58 percent of voters say they would vote for the new property tax super exemption. That means it is just short of the 60 percent needed to pass. The referendum would allow existing homeowners to choose between keeping the 3 percent tax cap available under the 'Save Our Homes' provision or a new provision that increases homestead exemptions.
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State Insurer Short $300M in Reserves
An outside auditor has told state-run Citizens Property Insurance it needs to add almost $300 million to reserves, thanks to hundreds of hurricane claims reopening two years after the storm. That could reduce Citizens' surplus for paying any storm losses this year without assessments. The company's last reported surplus is $1.8 billion.
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Sumter Backs Off School Fee
School impact fees in Sumter County appear "dead in the water" - as one school board member put it Tuesday. Dead, that is, until the board finds more concrete evidence to support a $1,000 school impact fee on new home construction. The Sumter County school board decided not to push county commissioners for the fee and opted instead to continue discussing other possible solutions to projected pupil growth while keeping lines of communication with county commissionersopen.
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State Identifies $52 Million in Easy Cuts to Fix Finances
Florida has spent $10,000 a year for more than a decade to support the Miami-based Haitian Refugee Center. But state records show the center has been closed for at least three years. That expense is among at least $52 million in cuts that state agency heads say could be made from the state's budget with little or no impact on the public.
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Hillsborough County Fees Under Review
Fees on developments and inspections could change later this year, a move that would save some county jobs and retain local contractor licensing. County commissioners voted 5-0 Thursday night to set a public hearing for September on a revised fee schedule.
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Hometown Democracy Sues to Block Petition Law
Leaders of the slow-growth Florida Hometown Democracy petition drive want a judge to strike down a new law that gives voters 150 days to revoke signatures from petitions after signing them. The revocation law passed the Legislature in the spring with support from major business groups.
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Rates on 30-Year Mortgage Rates Sink
Rates on 30-year mortgages sank this week to their lowest point since late May, providing a little ray of sunlight for would-be home buyers. Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.52 percent.
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July New-Home Sales Rebound Slightly From Weak June
Sales of new single-family homes were up 2.8 percent in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 870,000 units as new-home sales rebounded from weak sales figures in June, the U.S. Commerce Department reported today. The July sales pace was 10.2 percent below a year earlier. Click Here>>
NAHB Looking for SAFE Applicants
The National Association of Home Builders is calling for entries for the 2007 Safety Award for Excellence (SAFE), which recognizes home builders who develop outstanding work site safety programs. The award honors the achievements of builders and trade contracts who have developed and implemented high-quality construction safety programs, as well as those government officials and NAHB-affiliated associations who have made successful efforts to advance safety in the home building industry.
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NAHB Calls for Community Service Award Entries
The National Association of Home Builders invites its builder, remodeler and developer members to submit entries for the third annual Builder Achievement award for Outstanding Community Service. The award honors members who demonstrate an exceptional commitment to bettering their communities and promoting philanthropic endeavors. Entries should be received by Nov. 12.
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Wall Street Yearns for Fed Rate Cut
Steps taken by the nation's central bank to restore confidence to jittery financial markets accomplished a key goal last week: It halted the stock market rout on Wall Street. But many analysts say more help from the Federal Reserve is needed if markets are to successfully navigate the liquidity crunch that first infected the subprime mortgage market but has since spread to corporate debt markets, hedge funds and short-term funding vehicles once deemed conservative.
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States Mandate Renewable Energy
State laws requiring electric utilities to use renewable energy sources to help curb greenhouse-gas emissions and meet growing power demands are rapidly becoming the norm. Following the states' lead, the House of Representatives voted this month for a 15% standard for electric utilities nationwide. The requirement would go to President Bush for approval if it makes the cut when the House and Senate merge their energy legislation.
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Five homes vie for most expensive
It might seem foolish given the recent news from Wall Street, but a group of homeowners is holding firm on an ambitious goal -- to break the record for the most expensive home sale in American history. The price to beat is $103 million.
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Florida Food Service Expands
To accommodate a growing restaurant industry, Gainesville's Florida Food Service is more than doubling its space through a $6 million expansion at the Airport Industrial Park. The project, expected to be complete in October, will give the food distributor nearly 90,000 square feet of space to store dry, frozen and refrigerated foods and restaurant supplies for its 1,000 customers throughout Florida.
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UF to Discuss Building Ethanol Plant
The University of Florida will negotiate with a West Palm Beach-based sugar company to build an ethanol plant. A UF committee unanimously voted Tuesday to start negotiations with Florida Crystals to be a partner on the plant. The company wants the plant to be located near its sugar operations at Lake Okeechobee.
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Officials Plan to Spruce Up Newberry
Newberry needs to resolve State Road 26 traffic issues, lure more restaurants to its historic downtown and spruce up its Main Street with shade trees and banners. Those were a few recommendations from Florida Main Street officials following a three-day tour of the small city last week.
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Ocala Regional Expands Hospital Facilities
Ocala Regional Medical Center has started several construction projects to enhance its services and appearance. The projects involve the hospital's emergency department, a portion of the Quick Care Center building, and a leased building nearby. The total cost for construction and new equipment is about $1.4 million, and the work is expected to be done by December, said W. Raymond C. Ford, Ocala Regional's chief operating officer.
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Hospital Addition Underway in Starke
Hospital officials at Shands Starke will break ground this morning Friday on an addition that will double the size of its emergency department. It's an expansion that's sorely needed, according to Shands Starke Administrator Jeannie Baker. The five-bed ED opened in 1987 and in 1990 was seeing about 800 patients a month.
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ABC Provides Guidance on New 'No-Match' Rules Effective Sept. 14
ABC has compiled two new guides to assist its members in navigating the new rules for responding to a "no-match" letter, which is a notice from the Social Security Administration (SSA) or the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that an employee's name does not match the Social Security number provided.
The new rules, which will become effective September 14, are intended to help employers ensure that their employees are legal U.S. citizens and to assist the government in identifying and punishing employers who knowingly hire illegal workers.
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Market Volatility Not Expected to Have Major Impact on Construction
The construction industry-non-residential construction, in particular-will likely weather the recent turmoil in the bond and equity markets, according to ABC Chief Economist Jeff Taylor. Recently, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and the other members of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors reacted to the turmoil by reducing the discount rate to 5.75 percent and encouraging banks to borrow from the board's discount window for up to 30 days. The discount rate covers loans that the federal government provides to banks, while the discount window allows eligible institutions to borrow money, usually on a short-term basis, to meet temporary shortages of liquidity, typically in emergency situations.
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AGC of Greater Florida Calendar of Events
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