Lakeland Area Chamber of Commerce: Slow Down CSX Plan

[seafan]

Not so fast, Jeb.

He may be out of office, but we are learning daily of numerous backroom deals he cut with his corporate cronies. Jeb's secret deals to use state money to pad the coffers of private corporations such as CSX are particularly egregious, now that the budgets for education, firefighters, police, municipal services and other public services are drying up.

And one of the biggest reasons that is happening is because over the past 8 years, Jeb gave $20+ billion in tax cuts to his rich friends. There's practically nothing left for the population.

Jeb despised government, so he privatized as much of it as he could get away with.

Jeb despised taxes, so he gave away $20 Billion in tax revenues to his wealthy friends.


And there is nothing left for the people of this state.



But we are fighting back to clear the stink of the last 8 years.




Chamber: Slow Down CSX Plan

By TOM PALMER
February 28, 2008

LAKELAND | State officials should delay funding commuter rail and the Winter Haven rail freight terminal until they complete a comprehensive study of Florida's freight and commuter rail needs, the Lakeland Area Chamber of Commerce said in a resolution approved Wednesday.

The four-page resolution comes in response to plans by state officials to give CSX $491 million to aid in the development of a commuter rail corridor in the Orlando area.
That deal, brokered by former Gov. Jeb Bush, would result in increased train traffic through downtown Lakeland to serve a proposed rail freight terminal planned in Winter Haven.
Wednesday's resolution reflects concerns Lakeland chamber members have harbored for months about the project's impact.

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Those concerns include downtown traffic disruptions and increased noise that could hurt ongoing redevelopment efforts in downtown Lakeland and even reverse some of the previous work there.
One of the main criticisms of the $491 million CSX deal was that it was worked out largely in private without public input or extensive analysis of its broader impacts.
In a statement sent out Wednesday, Chamber President Tim Campbell called for "a complete study and statewide analysis" that would look for alternatives to routing increased train traffic through urban areas.

Florida Department of Transportation officials agreed last year to carry out a study that should be completed by the end of this year that will examine the feasibility of alternative rail corridors to serve CSX's freight terminal.

In addition to calling on state officials to undertake a comprehensive study of alternate ways to meet Florida's future rail needs, the chamber's resolution also called upon CSX officials to "participate in a forthright and open dialogue with affected communities and stakeholder groups."

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