Naples to spend county sales tax money on hurricane preparedness, safety improvements

The Naples City Council agreed Wednesday to spend the nearly $26 million it expects to receive from the Collier County sales tax increase on preparing for the next big hurricane and improving safety.

Collier voters approved a tax increase of 1 percentage point — from 6% to 7% — in November. It went into effect Jan. 1 and will end after seven years or after it brings in $490 million, whichever happens first.

The county government will collect $420 million, and the remaining $70 million will be shared among Naples, Marco Island and Everglades City based on their populations.

The city’s share is expected to be $4.3 million a year for the next six years for a total of $25.8 million, Finance Director Ann Marie Ricardi said.

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The city plans on using that money on 12 projects related to hurricane preparedness and improving safety and mobility within the city:

• Emergency stand-by generator replacement for the police department
• Fire Station No. 2 bay hardening and renovations
• Automatic retractable bollards (short posts designed to guide traffic and protect pedestrians and property)
• Americans with Disabilities Act and mobility improvements to city buildings
• City Hall improvements, including repairs to the siding on the interior and exterior, hand rail repair and concrete plaza repairs
• Government buildings hardening program
• First Avenue South improvements
• Sixth Avenue South improvements
• Improvements to bring roadways, sidewalks, pedestrian crossing signals and other transportation infrastructure into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act
• Emergency portable generators for signalized intersections
• Naples Bay water quality and beach restoration
• Install security cameras at Anthony Park, Seagate Park and Seagate Park beach access, and add fiber optics in other areas of the city for future security camera installations

Staff presented the projects Wednesday to City Council, and while council members unanimously supported some projects, like the generator replacements for the police department, they questioned the necessity, and cost, of others. Council took no formal vote.

“I was at an event and they used vehicles to block off the entrances and I’m thinking why don’t we just put vehicles at the end instead of $2 million worth of bollards and use $2 million towards cleaning up lakes?” Vice Mayor Gary Price said. “I’d rather see $2 million spent on taking muck out of the lakes than on bollards when I think we could have other options.”

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Price also had concerns that the city wasn’t spending enough on initiatives to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“The attention to the ADA mobility within City Hall and city buildings is a little bit light,” he said. “What I would do is I would take the camera plan and put that into ADA in city buildings because I think we’re dealing with old buildings that weren’t really designed around ADA requirements, and we’re doing our best to accommodate people, but I’ve noticed it first hand where we could do better.”

Meanwhile, councilman Terry Hutchison questioned the First Avenue South and Sicth Avenue South improvements, which vaguely aim to “increase connectivity” and cost $16 million combined.

“I disagree with enhancements to First Avenue and Sixth Avenue in context of what theses funds can really do for our community. I think that it’s just not the right time for that,” he said.

Hutchison suggested using the street improvement money to clean up the city’s lakes, which will help stormwater drainage and prevent flooding, and earmarking the remaining money for future hurricane recovery.

He cited the city’s $8 million tab to clean up after Hurricane Irma, a Category 3 storm, and warned that the city should be ready for stronger storms that would deliver more damage and higher recovery costs.

More: FEMA grants Naples $7 million for Irma expenses, but it could be years before the city gets that money

And: With Hurricane Irma debris gone, counties, cities grapple with financial fallout

Ricardi said she’s not aware of any language in the county’s sales tax ordinance that requires the city to spend the money immediately, so council could consider saving some of it like Hutchison proposed.

Ricardi also said she could adjust the spending timeline to make the ADA improvements a priority and delay the street improvement projects so council could remain flexible.

“That would give you more time to think on the projects that you’re questioning and move forward the projects that you’re not,” she said.

_{Source: naplesnews.com}