Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen.

I am Cliff Thaell, County Commissioner At-large, Group 2, and Chairman of the Leon County Board of County Commissioners. On behalf of the Board of County Commissioners, welcome to Leon County. We are glad to have this opportunity to bring to you the legislative priorities that we have identified as important to our county. We thank you for your leadership, which has resulted in the progress that Leon County has made via this process, and we have faith that this process will continue to be an avenue that we can count on to bring our county into the forefront of counties in the new millennium.

Our priorities for the 1999 legislative session include:

ENSURING THAT AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE IS PROVIDED TO OUR ENTIRE COMMUNITY.
Approximately 45,000 persons, which make up 21% of Leon County, have no health insurance. We believe community support should be available for those who are unable to pay for it. Carenet was established in Leon County by the Tallahassee/Leon County Indigent Health Care Task Force to provide various means of support in this area. One of Carenet’s most important programs is the Healthy Kids Program, which provides health and dental insurance to the maximum number of children this program can afford to ensure in Leon County. Carenet has also established an Episodic Care Clinic in close proximity to the community’s hospitals and has expanded the existing health clinics to provide more and better quality health care services to our County’s medically indigent citizens. Leon County has made great strides in making the services provided easier to acquire by County residents. However, much more support is needed at the state level. Challenge grant funds, which have been relied upon heavily to continue and expand on services, have been discontinued.

This has taken an immediate toll on operation of these programs and we are in need of the compassion and support necessary from the state to bring real positive change to Leon County in this area.

FUNDING FOR THE LEON COUNTY DRILL ACADEMY:
We are seeking funding for the drill academy by increasing the current per diem rate of $75 per day to $95. The Leon CountyDrill Academy has been in existence since 1994 and operates a 60-bed facility that serves juvenile offenders from Leon County and throughout the state.

The reason for the requested increase is based on information and recommendations made by an independent consultant of the Department of Juvenile Justice to ensure this facility operates to the maximum cost effectiveness possible.

FDOT FUNDING FOR CRAWFORDVILLE HIGHWAY:
Funding in the amount of $20,830,973.00 is needed for the

US 319/Crawfordville Highway capacity expansion. Crawfordville Highway is a major urban corridor that operates at unacceptable levels of service. In addition to the structural problems that currently exist on Crawfordville Highway, widening of this highway to four lanes is necessary because of additional traffic that is expected due to the building and expansion of the State of Florida Capital Circle Office Center.

Primary reasons for necessary improvements to Crawfordville Highway include:

Traffic Capacity - The large volume of commuters which use this road during the morning and evening "rush hours" is causing traffic to deviate from free flowing to a more uniform "bumper to bumper" procession. Future growth and the attraction of tourist to coastal areas beyond this highway will only worsen this problem. Traffic volumes are expected to increase in the 4.84%.

Traffic Safety - Numerous rear-end and angle accidents have occurred and are continuing to occur along Crawfordville Highway. Widening of Crawfordville Highway and careful planning and designing of intersections should reduce significantly incidences of accidents.

Crawfordville Highway is a major north and south evacuation route for the coastal areas and southern Leon County. Increased lane capacity will provide for more efficient evacuations.

Expected future growth due to commercial and residential development will require an increase in the number of lanes needed to accommodate additional road travelers and to shorten emergency response times in south Leon County.

WE ARE ALSO ASKING THAT YOU SUPPORT CONTINUED FUNDING OF SWIM ACTIVITIES, AND ENACT LEGISLATION THAT PROTECTS LOCAL WATER RESOURCES FROM BEING SOLD.
Surface Water and Improvement Management (SWIM) programs and others like it protect Leon County’s abundant lakes and waterways in order to meet the future needs of Leon County residents.

WE SEEK LEGISLATION TO PROVIDE $5 MILLION FOR THE TRANSIT GREENWAY SYSTEM:
Leon County and the City of Tallahassee have initiated a transit greenway conceptual master plan with FSU, FAMU, and St. Joe/Arvida Corporation. The transit greenway is an innovative planning effort which will provide transit alternatives that will encourage a cleaner environment, and preserve the historical richness of our community as it undergoes many community development and redevelopment efforts.

LASTLY, WE ARE ASKING THAT YOU SUPPORT IMPLEMENTATION OF FULL ARTICLE V FUNDING.
This issue will be addressed through the recent passage of Revision 7 to the Florida Constitution. This legislation is important to Leon County because it call for funding from state to pay the bulk of expenses with the courts, state attorneys and public defenders. With full implementation of Article V funding, monies that have been previously spent on the County’s court systems can go into improvements of our roads and facilities.

Once again, we are most appreciative of the dedication and commitment you have shown to Florida’s Capital County by the many programs and services you have assisted in providing to our community. We look forward to observing a very productive legislative session and to your continued support of Leon County.