Will the Northeast Park Funding Get Fast-Tracked?

Will the Northeast Park Funding Get Fast-Tracked?

At the the February 18th Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency (IA) meeting, elected officials will consider a staff recommendation to fully fund the Northeast Park through a planned bond issuance of $10 million within the FY 2022 – 2026 Capital Improvement Plan. An additional funding scenario, using only sales tax revenues, is also detailed for IA Board consideration.

The park is currently slated for funding in 2035. The current implementation plan for the Connectivity, and Quality of Life (CCQ) projects is shown below.

At the January 26th Leon County Commission meeting, the Commissioners voted unanimously to support the relocation of the proposed Northeast Park. The park was originally slated to be built on the existing County-owned land at the intersection of Thomasville and Proctor Roads. However, issues related to prescribe burning in the area has raised concerns about the location.

The changes to the location and the funding will require initiating the substantial amendment process.

The staff recommends initiating the amendment process to recognize the new planned location for the Northeast Park and allow for the expenditure of sales tax funds for improvements at this new site. This amendment is necessary whether or not advance funding options for the project are approved by the IA Board to allow for the expenditure of sales tax funds for improvements at this new site.

If directed by the IA Board, the first public hearing to consider a substantial amendment to the Northeast Park project could be publicly advertised and conducted at the next Blueprint Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) meeting, scheduled for March 31, 2021. The second public hearing can be held in conjunction with the April 8, 2021 IA Board meeting.

The staff also recommends expanding planned bond issuance to fully fund the Northeast Park project at $10 million within the FY 2022 – 2026 Capital Improvement Program.

The meeting agenda states the funding would allow in progress projects to maintain forward momentum without disruption to project funding or implementation schedules.

The Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency consists of all Leon County and City of Tallahassee commissioners.

10 Responses to "Will the Northeast Park Funding Get Fast-Tracked?"

  1. Start a petition to name the park after Karl Marx and paint all baseball diamonds and b-ball courts with the Marxist blm logo… they’ll fast track that like nothing you’ve seen.

  2. Placemaking is government intrusion into an area that has a ‘character’ already built in, like Midtown Oldtown, and like downtown used to have. The residents and businesses of an area set the character…not government. However, said government feels something needs to be added which it does not, in many instances. Look at the current downtown now. If our City ‘officials’ had taken a page from our neighbors in Thomasville and improved on downtown rather than replace it, it would not be the mess that is there now. As an aside, Midtown and Old town were a very ‘recent’ name addition. I grew up in that area 1948-1970 and those names never existed then.

  3. There is a recreational facility in the Lake Jackson area. It’s at the corner of Fred George and Capital Circle NW.

    The budget has a lot of money for “placemaking”. What exactly is “placemaking”?

  4. Follow the money… particularly connected to our new Commissioner Brian Welch. This was his idea.

    For Ryan, the park is near the Canopy on Welaunee…not near Oak Grove. That community center is not a county facility but one funded and built by a local church.

  5. Isn’t there already a huge brand new beautiful community center in the oak grove subdivision just minutes away from this proposed location? How about the Lake Jackson area???

  6. What joke. Fast tracked? How about NOW! The kids benefitting from a park in 2035 are not even born yet. This was discussed for years, and it is 1000% needed. This Community can move on downtown improvements pretty fast, created new Citizen Review Boards to appease the loudest, and create new taxes for property owners, many of whom will be asked to foot the bill for services they will never use.
    However, a park that had been needed for over 10 years, has to be voted to be fast tracked? While your at it, what do you say we fast track solving our crime issue, maybe fast track solving the homeless crisis in this County. What do you say we just fast track new leadership in 2022 and 2024

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