By improving the local infrastructure, Hillsborough County Commissioner Mark Sharpe said the county would be better prepared for a future economic recovery.
In an appearance hosted by The University of Tampa College Republicans (CR) on Tuesday, Sept. 22, he spoke of future development strategies and the need for mass transportation, stressing improved bus service or a light rail.
Sharpe, a Republican running for re-election next year, also noted the importance of quality K-12 public education, environmental conservation and healthcare innovation for the future of the county.
“Growth in Florida for the past 30 years,” said Sharpe “has been to build houses in a sprawl. Sprawl is expensive. We need to build along transit corridors…but it requires mass transit.”
He referred to the success of this strategy in other parts of the country, including Charlotte, Phoenix, Dallas and Atlanta.
Sharpe said the transit corridors would have the benefit of keeping large, contiguous areas undeveloped, leaving more space for preservation and parks.
The additional park land would appeal to outdoor enthusiasts, such as hikers and campers, and help boost the local economy.
A major demand for additional mass transit, he said, would be to support the development of local health care and medical research industries, which need access to the airport and downtown Tampa.
The commissioner also predicted that rising gas prices, faced by consumers in a recovery, could be offset by the option of better busing or train service.
The president of UT CR, Shane Twaddell, in regard to Sharpe’s proposal, said, “Economic stimulus at the local level is always more palatable than at the national level, as citizens have more say in policy.”
“I think his vision about local government spurring a growth of infrastructure is an idea that makes more sense than anything proposed at the national level,” he said.
Funding for the mass transit system improvements would come from a penny increase in the sales tax, which could be decided
by voters in a referendum next year, according to Sharpe.
For more information about Sharpe, visit http://www.sharpeleads.com.
Matthew can be reached at mdesousa@ut.edu.