By Marvin G. Cortner

Editor

Osceola County commissioners Monday found themselves defending their recently advertised 2011 action plan setting out how the county would use its annual allocation of federal Community Development Block Grant money.

Claire Dempster, a Buenaventura Lakes resident and community activist, said the proposal to spend $175,000 to help build a jobs training facility at 301 Buenaventura Blvd. – at the edge of the recently renamed 65th Infantry Veterans Park – is misguided.

Dempster, who once ran for the County Commission, said she isn’t opposed to a training center, only that there are other vacant buildings in the community where such a center could go and other existing training or career programs that could be expanded either at their current sites or extended to a site in BVL.

Money for the proposed training center represents only a portion of the overall grant, which has not yet been received but is expected to total about $1.08 million.

“There already are training facilities in Osceola County like this, and a lot of empty buildings on Buenaventura Boulevard,” Dempster said, adding that Commissioner John Quiñones, whose district 2 includes BVL, had not mentioned the spending plan in a community meeting last week. “We were told originally there would be retail space at that corner to help cover the costs of the park.”

Dempster mentioned that the money could be used to expand programs at the Osceola County School District’s Technical Education Center Osceola, or TECO. Career programs there include: architecture and construction; arts, audiovisual technology and communications; business, management and administration; health sciences; hospitality and tourism; information technology; and transportation, distribution and logistics.

Commission Chairman Brandon Arrington said the block grant money could help the county bring mixed uses to an undeveloped site along Buenaventura Boulevard.

“This is an opportunity we are looking at; it may never be a reality,” Arrington said. “And as far as having a training center there, that is not a negative.”

Quiñones said that when the county purchased the former Walk-N-Sticks Golf Course, it had discussed possibly using part of the site where the old clubhouse stood for retail use and a training facility of some type in order to generate “some tax base and revenue” for the county.

“Workforce Central Florida is overwhelmed now; times are hard,” Quiñones said, adding that additional job training should be encouraged as an opportunity not just for BVL but for the county as a whole.

A training partner for the proposed BVL facility has not been identified, according to county officials.

In a related item, the Florida Legislature in its last session approved an additional $1.36 million to fund workforce education in the county for fiscal year 2011-12. That amount represents a 30.8 percent increase over current fiscal year funding. In addition, the increase is permanent, taking the county’s recurring funding to $5.8 million annually, which represents about 76.6 percent of need based on population growth. The increase, however, is subject to the governor’s signature.

Other planned black grant spending includes: program administration, $216,158; an after-hours health clinic at 2597 Boggy Creek Road, Kissimmee, $85,720; rental assistance program, $76,339; Marydia neighborhood (north Kissimmee) streetlight installation, $500; Intercession City streetlight installation, $1,250; economic development program, $168,750; Poinciana Community Center, 4051 Laurel Ave., $215,000; and Marydia Community Center, 707 Sawdust Trail, $142,076.

The first public hearing on the grant spending plan is set for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 1, at the Osceola County Human Services Department, 330 N. Beaumont Ave., Kissimmee. This hearing will be followed by a 30-day public review period (through July 1), where comments will be taken.

The second and final public hearing will be at 1:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 1, at the County Commission Chambers, 1 Courthouse Square, Administration Building, Kissimmee, during the regular commission meeting.