Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/344348
The road impact fee system was organized countywide through an interlocal agreement nearly a quarter of a century ago. The money was collected by all four municipalities and transferred to the county; funds were then doled back out for projects within or near the four cities. Since the agreement's inception, the City of Sarasota has collected $15.2 million in road impact fees. About $3 million has been spent, and $7.7 million has been allocated to current projects. The remaining $4.5 mil- lion is for pending and future projects, such as the proposed roundabout at U.S. 41 and Gulfstream Avenue. The city's desire to replace the road impact fee with a city-administered multi-modal fee required an amendment to the interlo- cal agreement with the county. Although the county action officially followed a public hearing, no one addressed the board on the matter. In light of recent city-county frictions, city offi- cials hoped the county commissioners would simply take a vote on the change. And that is what they did, approving the termination of the city's participation in the road impact fee system by a 4-0 vote, virtually without com- ment. Vice Chairwoman Christine Robinson was absent from the room when the action was taken. % A chart shows the City of Sarasota's road impact fee collections and expenditures. Image courtesy Sarasota County Sarasota News Leader July 11, 2014 Page 51