Ahead of the next evening’s first public budget hearing, Budget Director Stephanie Russ delivered a presentation on Capital Improvement Projects completed in FY 2020 and those that are budgeted for FY 2021 on Sept. 8, 2020. She brought attention to several projects that are currently unfunded in FY 21 but remain a priority to the county such as the $14.5 million radio system overhaul for the Sheriff’s Office and the courthouse remodel.
COMPLETED PROJECTS 2020
A major project completed this year was the Bayport Pier, which was heavily damaged in 2016 by Hurricane Hermine. The reconstruction of the pier was delayed due to a (Civil War era) shipwreck reported in the vicinity of the site as well as two other archaeological sites.
Commissioner Dukes acknowledged that the finished product looks really nice, “But if we would have put it back the way it was, it wouldn’t have took this long. He continued, “I read the book in that engineer’s office and if it’s (damage) done by God, you put it back exactly the same- you need no permits.”
“So whoever changed the design, it cost us a lot of extra time and money.”
The project cost over $900,000, but 75% of costs are eligible for reimbursement under FEMA’s Public Assistance Program.
A ribbon cutting for the Bayport Pier is scheduled for September 24, 2020 at 8:30 a.m. at 4140 Cortez Boulevard in Spring Hill. The ceremony will be streamed live on the Hernando County Government Facebook page. After the conclusion of the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony, the Bayport Pier will be open for public use beginning at 10:30 a.m.
Other projects include:
The Anderson Snow Park ADA Equipment (near completion).
Resurfacing and Paving Projects include: Croom Rd, Weeki Wachee Retreat/ Richard Dr, Barnevelde and Highpoint Gardens.
DPW completed the Deltona Blvd sidewalk project and the Jacqueline/Sunshine Grove intersection, the Hernando Beach Boatlift which is an MSBU funded project. The property owners association/residents will be paying the county over a number of years for the boatlift. DPW completed numerous stormwater projects as well.
A big project completed by the Utilities Department was the Reclaimed Water Line – SR50 to the Glen Water Reclamation Facility project.
Moving forward to the Five Year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), Russ explained, “To qualify to be included in the capital improvement plan, a project must have a cost greater than $50,000 and a useful life of 10 years or greater. The proposed five years CIP includes 239 projects and total over $410 million.”
There is approximately $115 million in FY 2021 CIP Projects scheduled, however this number includes $16,300,000 worth of unfunded projects. Approximately $3.2 million in FY 2021 CIP funding comes from the general fund.
Hernando County Utilities ‐ Water & Sewer
FY 2021 Key Projects:
Septic to Sewer District A Phase 1
• FY21 Design: $500,000
• Total project cost: $16,500,000
Elgin Boulevard Force Main
• FY21 Design: $150,000
• Total project cost: $1,400,000
Weeping Willow Street Force Main
• FY21 Construction: $2,450,000
Department of Public Works
FY 2021 Key Projects:
California Street Resurfacing
• FY21 Design: $15,000
• FY21 Construction: $1,800,000
Anderson Snow & Corporate Blvd Improvements
• FY21 Design: $800,000
• Total project cost: $8,550,000
Emerson Road Culvert Slip Lining
• FY21 Construction: $60,000
State Road Canal Dredge
• FY21 Survey/Sand Analysis: $35,000
• FY21 Construction/Dredge: $175,000
Facilities
FY 2021:
Maintenance: $1,059,000
Clerk’s Office ‐ Redesign & Remodel $100,000
Courthouse Remodel $1,500,000
New Government Center $1,700,000 (land purchase)
Hernando County Fire and Emergency Services
FY 2021 Key Projects:
Fire Station No. 5
• FY20 Design/Engineering/Construction Monitoring
• FY21 Construction: $3,200,000
Fire Station No. 2
• FY21 Design & Construction: $1,875,000
Station No. 6 Renovation
• FY20 Design/Engineering/Construction Monitoring
• FY21 Construction: $1,381,010
Modular Buildings
• FY21 Buildings Purchase $276,592
Russ states the Anderson Snow Splash Park and Master Plan is a “future main capital project.”
There are a number of projects in the Five Year Capital Improvement Plan that are completely or partially unfunded. The current list is provided here:
UNFUNDED PROJECTS
Parks & Recreation
Ernie Weaver Park Improvements
• $637,000 Total Project Cost (FY 2024) ‐ Unfunded
Anderson Snow Sports Plex
• $4,000,000 Total Project Cost (FY 2024‐2025)
• $200,000 Impact Fees
• $3,800,000 Unfunded
Kass Circle
Spring Hill Drive Safety Improvements
• $350,000 Total Project Cost (FY 2021‐2022)
• $75,000 Gas Tax Transfer
• $275,000 Unfunded
Phase 1: Kass Circle Signage and Wayfinding
• $150,000 Total Project Cost (FY 2023) – Unfunded
Kass Circle Landscaping Improvements
• $75,000 Total Project Cost (FY 2023) – Unfunded
Kass Circle Sidewalk Improvements
• $260,194 Total Project Cost (FY 2024) – Unfunded
Hernando County Sheriff’s Office
800 MHz Radio System Upgrade/Replacement
• $14,500,000 Total Project Cost (FY 2021) – Unfunded
Law Enforcement Training Facility
• $8,800,000 Total Project Cost (FY 2021‐2024) ‐ Unfunded
Courts
Courthouse Remodel
• $14,700,000 Total Project Cost (FY 2021‐2025)
• $5,700,000 Court Improvement Fund
• $9,000,000 Unfunded
Other
New Government Center
• $43,000,000 Total Project Cost (FY 2021‐2024)
• $1,700,000 Impact Fees (land purchase)
• $41,300,000 Unfunded
Rogers remarked that a major project that is included in the budget this year is the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system for the Clerk’s Office in order to manage county financials. It is a $3 million project of which $2 million is funded in FY 2021. It was partially funded through ad valorem revenues due to property value increases yielding $1.4 million.
“$1.4 million- that’s great growth in the county. I believe you’ll never continue to add 1.4 million dollars on your ad valorem every year,” said Rogers.
In order to fund the courthouse remodel and the radio system, Rogers explained, “We are trying to refinance our existing bonds to allow for some additional payments to pay for these payments this year going forward. The courthouse remodel continues to increase in cost because of the complexity of new technologies and in and upgrading the security system.” He said that strategies to fund these projects need to be considered going forward. They’ll need to make the first payments on the courthouse remodel and the radio system in FY2022. Rogers explained that the courthouse remodel should go out for bid next summer- while the expected cost is $14.5 million now, it could be $17.5 million then.
Chairman Mitten remarked, “This CIP is a balance between a wish list and a strategy and funding makes the difference and so I think it needs to be part of that funding mechanism conversation prior to us limiting the millage rate and I think this is great even to have it now prior to us finalizing the budget. We got these looming items out there in this radio system, that we’ve known is coming, the courthouse remodel, the government center– all these things are super-super important. The longer we go down the line the more important, the more urgent and the more expensive they become.”
FY 2021 Budget Articles:
https://www.hernandosun.com/article/fact-check-are-hernando-county-taxes-going-or-down
https://www.hernandosun.com/article/countys-first-fy-2021-public-budget-hearing
https://www.hernandosun.com/article/july-7-2020-hernando-bocc-budget-workshop
