Okaloosa County BOCC — April 27, 2013 — reading text

the existing dirt road to a paved road with widened shoulders for stormwater management. Road serves as the primary north access point from Airport Road to Bob Sikes Airport. • Request $20 million to advance construction of the south segment of SR123 with roadway improvements (2 lane to 4 lane) from north of SR85S to north of Toms Creek. • Support funding of Reclaim Water Opportunities. With the new state-of-the-art Arbennie Pritchett Water Reclamation Facility in operation, we have the ability to supply reclaim water by adding a filter and transmission piping. Future opportunities exist to send reclaim water to Eglin, the Niceville Service Area, etc; however, funding is needed for these projects Packet Pg. 976  9.1.b Attachment: Okaloosa County. 2013 Federal Agenda. 2.28.13. DRAFT (1476 : Legislative Trip to Washington, D.C., and Federal Agenda) OKALOOSA COUNTY, FLORIDA 2013 FEDERAL AGENDA JIM DAVENPORT, ESQ., PARTNER 2111 WILSON BLVD., 8TH FLOOR ~ ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA 22201 703-841-0626 ~ Davenport@Alcalde-Fay.com Packet Pg. 977  9.1.b Attachment: Okaloosa County. 2013 Federal Agenda. 2.28.13. DRAFT (1476 : Legislative Trip to Washington, D.C., and Federal Agenda) BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS & STAFF THE HONORABLE DON AMUNDS, CHAIRMAN THE HONORABLE DAVE PARISOT, VICE CHAIRMAN THE HONORABLE WAYNE HARRIS THE HONORABLE CHARLES WINDES, JR. THE HONORABLE NATHAN BOYLES JIM CURRY, COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR Packet Pg. 978  9.1.b TABLE OF CONTENTS Attachment: Okaloosa County. 2013 Federal Agenda. 2.28.13. DRAFT (1476 : Legislative Trip to Washington, D.C., and Federal Agenda) OKALOOSA COUNTY’S LOCAL & REGIONAL PRIORITIES PAGE 1 SEQUESTRATION & APPROPRIATIONS PAGE 2 TAX & FINANCE PAGE 3 TRANSPORTATION & PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE PAGE 4 WATER RESOURCES & ENVIRONMENT PAGE 5 PUBLIC SAFETY & EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS PAGE 6 AGRICULTURE PAGE 8 HEALTH CARE PAGE 9 TELECOMMUNICATION PAGE 9 Packet Pg. 979  9.1.b OKALOOSA COUNTY’S LOCAL & REGIONAL PRIORITIES Attachment: Okaloosa County. 2013 Federal Agenda. 2.28.13. DRAFT (1476 : Legislative Trip to Washington, D.C., and Federal Agenda) IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RESTORE ACT REQUEST: Monitor implementation of the RESTORE Act. The Department of Treasury will propose rules pertaining to the distribution of the Gulf Coast Restoration Trust Fund dollars. In particular, the eight disproportionately impacted counties, including Okaloosa County, are to receive 75% of Florida’s share of the State Allocation. The formula to distribute this money to the eight counties has yet to be determined, and we ask for your continued assistance in monitoring activity at Treasury. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES REQUEST: Support the County’s federal grant proposals for Economic Development Administration Public Works funding. This funding would support one of several County economic development initiatives, such as: (1) Fairchild Road Paving – main route to Crestview Industrial Airpark. Paving is needed for aerospace/aviation/manufacturing cluster development; (2) Foy Shaw Road Development – access to Crestview Industrial Airpark. Road is needed for continued development of airpark and cluster development; and (3) unmanned vehicle RDT&E facility OKALOOSA COUNTY SHORE PROTECTION PROJECT REQUEST: Seek $20 million in the fiscal year 2014 Energy and Water Appropriations Bill for “General Investigations – Shore Protection”, which would support the County’s efforts to obtain funding from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to conduct a feasibility study of the Okaloosa County Shore Protection Project. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s latest Critically Eroded Beaches in Florida report identified 6.5 miles of Okaloosa County beaches and 0.8 miles of inlet shoreline as critically eroded. Due to major storms, hurricanes and severe weather patterns, the shoreline in this region has been subject to significant erosion. We are pursuing a feasibility study by the USACE to determine a long-term solution to the worsening countywide erosion problems. The next feasibility study would cost approximately $3,000,000, which entails the development of a work plan that will effectively safeguard our shoreline from further erosion. Page |1 Packet Pg. 980  9.1.b SEQUESTRATION &APPROPRIATIONS Attachment: Okaloosa County. 2013 Federal Agenda. 2.28.13. DRAFT (1476 : Legislative Trip to Washington, D.C., and Federal Agenda) SEQUESTRATION OPPOSE automatic across-the-board cuts to federal programs that support county initiatives. In addition to significant impacts to Eglin Air Force Base, sequestration will cut 5 – 8% to several federal programs that benefit the County, such as:  Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Disaster Relief and State and Local Programs  Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG), Homeless Assistance Grants, and Public Housing Funds  Department of Justice’s State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance, Juvenile Justice Programs, Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), and Violence Against Women Prevention  Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Programs  Federal Aviation Administration’s activities (i.e. funding of the Destin Airport Air Traffic Control Tower), including TSA security  Economic Development Administration’s Public Assistance Programs  Army Corps of Engineers Shore Protection  Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services FISCAL YEAR 2014 PROGRAMMATIC FUNDING REQUESTS FOR COMPETITIVE GRANTS SUPPORT federal programs in FY 2014 appropriations legislation that enhance County services through federal formulas and competitive grants and submit programmatic appropriations requests to the House/Senate Appropriations Committees that meet or exceed the President’s Budget Request, for the following:  Agriculture – Rural Development Programs  Commerce, Justice & Science – Commerce – Economic Development Administration; and Department of Justice – State and Local Assistance Programs  Energy & Water Development – Army Corps of Engineers– General Investigations (i.e. Okaloosa County Shore Protection Project), Construction Page |2 Packet Pg. 981  9.1.b and Operation and Maintenance; and Energy – Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Attachment: Okaloosa County. 2013 Federal Agenda. 2.28.13. DRAFT (1476 : Legislative Trip to Washington, D.C., and Federal Agenda)  Interior & Environment – EPA Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund; and Land & Water Conservation Fund (i.e. County reclaimed water system)  Homeland Security – State and Local Programs; and Federal Emergency Management Agency programs  Labor, Health and Human Services and Education – Health and Human Services – Community Health Programs; and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Programs  Transportation & Housing and Urban Development – Federal Aviation Administration Programs (i.e. Destin Air Traffic Control Tower); Federal Highway Administration Programs (i.e. Hare Street, PJ Adams Road, SR 123, and Bob Sykes Airport Main Entrance); and Housing and Urban Development Programs – including CDBG More specific funding requests will be submitted during the Fiscal Year 2014 Appropriations solicitation process. TAX & FINANCE MUNICIPAL BONDS SUPPORT the current tax-exempt status of municipal bonds. Businesses need quality infrastructure to grow and thrive that is provided through tax-exempt financing of capital projects, such as airports, roads, electricity distribution and generation, water and sewer facilities, and flood control projects. Retaining tax- exempt financing for state and municipal governments will encourage continued local investment in these types of capital projects. REMOTE SALES TAX COLLECTION SUPPORT legislation that would create a Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement, similar to The Marketplace Fairness Act that failed in the 112th Congress, that would permit the collection of sales and use taxes from remote sellers. States Page |3 Packet Pg. 982  9.1.b and local governments are losing billions of dollars in uncollected sales tax revenue every year, estimated at over $23 billion in 2012 alone. Attachment: Okaloosa County. 2013 Federal Agenda. 2.28.13. DRAFT (1476 : Legislative Trip to Washington, D.C., and Federal Agenda) ONLINE TRAVEL COMPANIES (OTCS) OPPOSE legislation that would preempt local taxing authority over Online Travel Companies (OTCs). Hotel taxes are a vital revenue source for counties in Florida and our tourism industry. This tax revenue source is being threatened by efforts of the OTCs to obtain preferential tax treatment at the expense of local government budgets. OTCs collect all funds from the consumers at the time rooms are booked, including taxes and fees. But they only remit taxes based on what it owes the hotel, rather than what it collected from the consumer, short‐changing local governments while pocketing the difference. This practice is currently the subject of numerous lawsuits across the country. Consequently, OTCs are seeking federal legislation to preempt the authority of state and local governments to impose and collect hotel taxes from the OTCs. TRANSPORTATION & PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE SURFACE TRANSPORTATION REAUTHORIZATION SUPPORT new surface transportation