Doak deal crosses goal line after bitter 9-month battle over Blueprint tax funding for FSU stadium
A controversial move to give Florida State University and Doak Campbell Stadium millions in Blueprint sales tax proceeds reached the end zone Thursday, with a majority of city and county commissioners supporting the funding after months of political maneuvering and an intense public outcry.
The Blueprint 2020 Intergovernmental Agency, made up of all 12 city and county commissioners, voted 7-5 in favor of bond financing for stadium repairs and a number of other local projects. The decision means Blueprint will move forward with a $20 million appropriation for the stadium along with nearly $7 million in interest.
Leon County Commissioner Jimbo Jackson moved to approve the bond financing, getting a second from Mayor John Dailey.
"This is one time I’m going to cheer for the home team," said Jackson, adding that the project would bring jobs to the community.
All eyes were on the IA members — who voted yes on the proposal three times since it surfaced last year — and whether any of them would change their stance under an orchestrated pressure campaign. However, no one changed their vote from the last meeting in December even though County Commissioner Bill Proctor suggested late last week that he might.
The vote came after another long round of public comment and debate among IA members at City Hall. More than 30 people — the vast majority opposed to the stadium funding — spoke out during the meeting.
Back story: As stadium vote looms, FSU officials look to future of Doak, predict a 'ton of events'
Doak decision day: Pivotal Blueprint stadium vote infused with zero-hour attacks, possibilities
Opponents continued to deride it as an unnecessary taxpayer giveaway that would leave Blueprint’s economic development funds depleted for years. Many said they would vote against any commissioner who supports it.
Jackson said the projects included in the bonding structure represented opportunities for infrastructure on the west and south side of town where there has historically been less investment.
“This project is located in the 32304 zip code. It also will serve all of the ZIP codes,” Jackson said of the Doak project.
More: 'No access': Poor, isolated and forgotten, kids of 32304 see their health care compromised
He noted how the west side of town has become a “landing zone” for social services such as the jail and city’s homeless shelter but there has been little in the way of economic investment.
“I’m convinced that we have got to invest in the west side of Leon County to save a very dying section of our city and our county,” Jackson said. “I’m making the substitute motion in the interest of moving forward with the other eight projects.”
County Commissioner Kristin Dozier, a leading opponent of the stadium funding who is eyeing a run against Dailey, joined other critics in noting that the other eight projects could still move forward even if the stadium project was removed from the bundle.
Dozier moved to rescind a Blueprint vote from last year that advanced the project. However, her motion was ultimately overtaken by Jackson's substitute motion to approve the projects.
She said based on current estimates, the stadium would leave Blueprint's Office of Economic Vitality with meager financial resources for economic development through the life of the sales tax, which expires in 2040. She pleaded with her colleagues to reconsider.
“You can change this vote," Dozier said. "This doesn’t have to happen today.”
Point, Counterpoint:
Commissioners voiced their concerns over the funding for the stadium while others pointed to the economic power it would bring along with the eight other projects included in the bond.
City Commissioner Dianne Williams-Cox said she wanted to keep all of the projects in the bonding structure in line for funding moving forward.
“I’m doing my very best to represent not just the people who come into his room but the 200,000 people in this city. It is my job to represent them the best I can,” she said. “Commissioner Jackson. I’m with you brother. We need to move these projects.”
County Commissioner Brian Welch, who at first supported the project last year but later voted against it, said funding repairs to a football stadium with tax money didn’t have the same return of other economic development projects, naming the recent investment in an Amazon distribution center.
“You can do 10 Amazon projects for the size of this allocation. I just can’t get away from that. It's just not the biggest bang for the bucks,” Welch said. “I feel like we're calling something economic development when its an economic donation to a booster organization. It’s not my money to donate to FSU."
More: Amazon offers glimpse into Tallahassee's fulfillment center, talent approach at Chamber event
Two county commissioners thought to be swing votes needed to stop the bonding, Commissioners Carolyn Cummings and Bill Proctor, did not speak on the item.
Mayor John Dailey, a chief cheerleader of the project from the outset, only said "For the sake of brevity, I'm prepared to vote on the substitute motion."
City Commissioner Jeremy Matlow noted earlier compromises, by him and County Commissioner Rick Minor, last year to reduce the funding.
“It was clear compromises were never on the table,” he said.
He commented on the tense political environment the funding of FSU’s stadium repairs created among board members who utilized procedural rules to maintain their positions instead of allowing the process to work.
“Take the motion on the floor, let it go up or down and then move forward,” he continued. “I have to ask myself why members of this body are being denied that opportunity.”
At the end of the meeting, his city colleague and ally Jack Porter made a motion to bring back an informational agenda item on the IA’s structure that would include staff discussion of the hiring and firing authority over Director of PLACE Ben Pingree. That motion was approved.
She drew concerns over how the stadium funding project came about, revealed by the Tallahassee Democrat as a staff-involved initiative that developed behind the scenes last summer.
More: Inside the emails: Could Blueprint dollars fund Doak football stadium renovations at FSU?
“I have a lot of concerns about the way this project came about and unelected staff driving policy. I had to learn about it in the paper,” Porter said.
After the meeting she said: “I think we need a change with the PLACE director position.”
Any change in the interlocal agreement regarding the position would need to be approved by the city and county individually.
FSU president: Vote ensures Doak will remain 'a significant contributor to the local economy'
For the first time, FSU President Richard McCullough spoke on behalf of the project in a video recorded message he said the university was committed to making sure the tax investment resulted in more public benefit.
McCullough addressed a main concern among many speakers and said the university is in the early stages of helping to find solutions to the county's chronically high poverty rate.
“I want to assure you and the board and community that none of these funds will be used on luxury seating,” he said in the video. “We are mindful that poverty that exists in the 32304 zip code and we want to contribute by perhaps creating research on poverty and influencing policies that will make a difference for those who are impacted.”
In a statement following the vote he said: "Today’s vote ensures that Doak Campbell Stadium will remain a significant contributor to the local economy for years to come. We commend the Blueprint board for supporting this long-term investment in our community.”
More: As stadium vote looms, FSU officials look to future of Doak, predict a 'ton of events'
Roughly a dozen people gathered outside City Hall before the start of the meeting to show their disapproval with the project. Inside, supporters of the project began handing out stickers reading “Yes to Doak.”
Several speakers worried that if the stadium project were approved, voters would turn their backs on Blueprint when the next sales-tax initiative rolls around. They also pledged retribution at the ballot box. Carlos Alvarez, an environmental lawyer and advocate, said no one ever mentioned stadium funding when voters approved the latest Blueprint initiative in 2014.
"The lasting negative impact of that omission ... will be negatively felt for decades as ... more public funds are requested of the voting public," Alvarez said.
NAACP Tallahassee Branch President Mutaqee Akbar said the issue doesn’t just boil down to politics. He questioned how the investment in Doak resulted in impacts on poverty or helping people.
He noted that FSU has an obligation to make sure tax dollars lead to something that benefits the people who paid it.
“This is a people thing. It’s interesting that when the people start standing up and talking about what they want it becomes divisive. This isn’t divisive,” he said. “FSU, it’s your responsibility to have an impact here to the community you’re sitting in.”
Vote breakdown
Voting yes
County Commissioners Carolyn Cummings, Jimbo Jackson, Nick Maddox and Bill Proctor
City Commissioners John Dailey, Curtis Richardson and Dianne Williams-Cox
Voting no
County Commissioners Kristin Dozier, Rick Minor and Brian Welch
City Commissioners Jeremy Matlow and Jack Porter
Nine total projects funded
Here's a list of the projects bonded on Thursday night totaling more than $90.3 million. Commissioners will vote on whether to bond another $80 million on the projects in 2024, including $12 million for the Fairgrounds improvements.
Infrastructure
The Airport Gateway: $20 million
Northeast Corridor: Bannerman Road: $14.2 million
Northeast Gateway: Welaunee Boulevard: $11.8 million
Market District Placemaking: $5 million
Midtown Placemaking: $4 million
Northeast Park: $10 million
Animal Service Center: $3.8 million
Office of Economic Vitality financing
Doak Campbell Stadium repairs: $20 million
The Leon County Research and Development Authority Incubator project: $1.5 million
Contact Karl Etters at [email protected] or @KarlEtters on Twitter.
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU football stadium funding crosses goal line after bitter battle