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Editorial: 5 key Tampa Bay issues for 2018

 
Tampa, FL  7/18/05  --Construction begins on the Ashley Street entrance ramp to I-275 in Tampa.  News Channel 8 Photo by Paul Lamison
Tampa, FL 7/18/05 --Construction begins on the Ashley Street entrance ramp to I-275 in Tampa. News Channel 8 Photo by Paul Lamison
Published Dec. 29, 2017

As another new year dawns with a renewed sense of opportunity, here are five issues that will be prominent in the 2018 public discussion and affect Tampa Bay for generations.

Transportation

This region's transportation future will come into sharper focus in 2018, as the state fleshes out it its interstate expansion plan, called Tampa Bay Next, and narrows the options for creating new regional connectivity between Pinellas, Hillsborough and Pasco counties. This decadelong effort has had its ups and downs, but this time all the stakeholders — state and local governments, the public and private sectors — are working closer together, in good faith and toward a common vision. Improving transportation has become a bipartisan priority and promises to be a major issue in the 2018 elections and in the next election for Tampa mayor in March 2019. Look for a conversation on more specific ideas and new funding proposals for mass transit, on greater state investment in the bay area and on the role transportation plays in the region's ability to compete.

Baseball stadium

There was significant progress in 2017 on the long-running quest for a new baseball stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays, as public attention focused on a single Hillsborough County site in Ybor City that is easily accessible to the Channel District and the emerging Water Street Tampa project in downtown Tampa. The rights to most of the site are being held by a nonprofit until a stadium deal is completed, and 2018 is the year to nail down the details. Public officials are going to have to get creative to find reasonable sources of public money, and the Rays are going to have to increase their share beyond the $150 million initial offer.

Even in baseball, the clock is ticking. The Rays continue to rank at the bottom of Major League Baseball in attendance, and that won't be changing as the team trades big-name players like Evan Longoria and starts over to develop a winner. Meanwhile, Rays owner Stuart Sternberg wants greater support from businesses and the broader community, and 2018 is the last year of a three-year deal with St. Petersburg that lets the team look in both Pinellas and Hillsborough counties for a new home. It's time to secure the long-term future of Major League Baseball in Tampa Bay.

Hillsborough schools

The coming year will test whether the Hillsborough County School District can turn around its finances. Superintendent Jeff Eakins is counting on normal attrition to reduce staffing by about 600 employees in 2018, which would enable the district to sock more away in its cash reserves and begin addressing the multibillion-dollar price tag for deferred maintenance and accommodating increased enrollment. But even with a smaller payroll, the district faces a fundamental challenge in meeting its huge and growing obligations, given the state's limits on raising tax revenue. Some School Board members are floating the possibility of pursuing a local tax referendum to boost the revenue base. That would be a hard sell if taxpayers don't see the district first getting its financial house in order.

Economic development

Leaders in both Pinellas and Hillsborough counties will make major decisions in 2018 that will shape the regional economy for decades to come. What is the vision for redeveloping the 85 acres surrounding Tropicana Field, whether the Tampa Bay Rays remain there or not? How will Tampa International Airport continue to modernize for the growth in passenger traffic after the $1 billion first phase of its expansion plan is completed in the spring? The regional business group Tampa Bay Partnership is becoming more active, too. Its recent scorecard on the region's competitiveness will energize the debate over how the bay area can attract new talent and higher-paying industries. Top employers, including the University of South Florida, are also busy examining how to improve jobs, health care and the quality of life in older neighborhoods in north Tampa.

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2018 elections

Tampa's Bay's future will be significantly affected by the November elections, as voters elect a new governor and at least two new Cabinet members. All 120 Florida House seats and half of the 40 Florida Senate seats will be up. So will all 27 U.S. House seats, and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson could wind up running for re-election against outgoing Gov. Rick Scott. Who fills all of those jobs will have a sweeping impact on the region. Who will offer a better strategic vision and more funding for transportation, including regional transit and new highway lanes that aren't tolled? Who will be the best advocates for the University of South Florida to ensure its academic standing and research firepower continues to rise? Who will offer new ideas for promoting tourism and creating jobs, and who will recognize that Tampa Bay can best compete only if it works as a region with common goals?

The Constitution Revision Commission, which meets only once every 20 years and is off to a rocky start, also will be placing constitutional amendments on the ballot. Voters will have to pay close attention to the amendments, embrace those that would better protect individual rights and freedoms and reject any that would put those rights at risk and drive Florida backward.