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Highlands Today

CRA Commissioner Wants Economic Stimulus

Jasmina Meyer, Highlands Today

From left: "The British Fox" and his uncle Bill Nicholas, who is visiting from Ohio, take a break at Canova's Deli and watch the traffic go by Wednesday on the Sebring Circle.

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By JOE SEELIG

Highlands Today

Published: March 12, 2009

SEBRING - An impassioned debate was sparked at Monday's Community Redevelopment Agency meeting when Commissioner Jim McCollum asked the board to reevaluate its role in two stalled construction projects.

He disagreed with the premise that nothing can be done to stimulate growth in these economic times.

The two construction projects in question were the new Highlands County Sheriff's Office Administrative Building and the CRA's property on Orange Street and North Ridgewood Drive. The city recently requested the county consider sites in Sebring for the new sheriff's offices.

"Now's the time, our citizens need jobs," said McCollum. "There apparently has been no conclusion or nothing formalized to build townhouses or McLane's (Orange Street project).

It's been close to five months since Habitat for Humanity proposed to build eight town houses on the CRA's Orange Street property.

In late October, Executive Director Michael Jacobson, with Highlands County Habitat for Humanity, told the CRA board he had conceptual drawings and plans ready, its financing and labor in place, and a pool of 12 buyers for the eight town houses.

But the CRA board gave preference to another project idea.

Jacobson offered to take a second position on the property to a project proposed by Scott and Lolly McLane, owners of McLane's Country Gardens, for a retail and residential mixed project.

At a recent meeting the McLanes had not fulfilled their agreements regarding the property due to personal issues, but offered a letter of intent to purchase the land outright. But the board took no action, wanting to sit on it a while.

So Jacobson now wishes for Habitat to be reconsidered.

CRA Commissioner Chris Benson suggested looking at some incentives to keep the sheriff's administrative offices downtown, or perhaps finding some property.

The owners of the SunTrust Bank building have submitted an asking price, CRA Executive Director Pete Pollard told the board members, and the owners of the Wachovia Bank Building have been contacted as well, he added.

Conversation drifted back to the Orange Street lot, and Habitat's proposal.

Commission President Gene Brenner said Monday the homeowners that Habitat had lined up already lived in Highlands County, but he doubted they would significantly change their shopping habits just because they moved downtown.

Commissioner Kathy Malie said Monday the homes Habitat builds are done with volunteer labor and do not create construction jobs.

McCollum disagreed Monday, and so did Jacobson on Wednesday. They create construction jobs as well as work for local businesses, he said.

"All of the plumbing, electrical, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, site preparation work and landscaping are all sourced out to local subcontractors," Jacobson said. "About $30,000 per house is contracted labor as well as material expenditures from local vendors."

That would work out to about $240,000 spent locally on this project, he said, adding they were still ready to go on the project. He felt the last thing the downtown needed right now was more commercial or retail.

Raleigh Turnbull is the operations manager for Bagwell Lumber, one of the local vendors Habitat works with.

"It's very important to our business," said Turnbull. "I work with Alan Ball quite a bit. He's one of the (construction) managers there."

He said Habitat buys plywood, lumber, interior and exterior doors and baseboards to name a few of the items they use. And that keeps the people who make those products working, too.

"My concern is that we should be proactive to provide as much leadership as is appropriate for this body," McCollum said.

Ball said Wednesday, yes the volunteers do the nuts and bolts of many of the projects but there are dozens of what he calls the support people who work with Habitat.

There are the people employed at Bagwell, Lowe's, The Home Depot; crews working for Fassler Plumbing, and James A Whipkey, Long's and Jeff Fultz air conditioning, drivers with Seacoast Supply who provide drywall.

Drywall hangers like Ben and Toby Taylor and Steve Dubois get to hang about 100 sheets per housing unit, Ball said. Crews with Dickey Electric and employees at City Electric Suppliers and Wholesale Electric Supply, to name a few, all get a piece of the work.

Even the companies that supply the port-a-johns at the work sites keep people working, "and they're required by law," Ball said.

McCollum said he knew of professional people who were having trouble putting food on their tables, and who were looking for work outside their professions.

"I'm sorry it's making people uncomfortable bringing this up," McCollum said.

Former American Red Cross service director Art Harriman, whose job was recently eliminated due to a lack of public contributions, is a CRA commissioner.

"As one of those job-seeking people," Harriman began, "In our developmental ideas we need to draw to our community the kinds of jobs that will keep our good people here."

He said it wasn't just construction jobs but also corporate jobs are at risk.

"You get to the point you will do just about anything that's legal to do," he said.

At a commissioner's request the Orange Street property and Habitat will be on the March 23 agenda, Pollard said Wednesday.

Highlands Today reporter Joe Seelig can be reached at (863) 386-5834 or jseelig@highlandstoday.com .

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