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Pres. Obama’s Infrastructure Redevelopment should include Highlands County – Repost

By Frank Paul Jones on | From frankpaulgambino.com

Pres. Obama’s Infrastructure Redevelopment should include Highlands County

8 Feb 2011

Reposted 19 October 2011

Update:Moving SFCC to four-year college will be great for Highlands

With Florida’s unemployment rate above the National Average and Highlands County, Florida lacking full time living wage jobs, will President Obama consider us in his infrastructure redevelopment plans. And how can he assist us in the development of our local economy.

At first glance most people would overlook our small rural area, but we are trying to develop into a small city and this could be the beginning of something huge. Highlands County is a unique area, 11 feet above sea level located in south central Florida, about 92 miles from Tampa, 72 miles from Orlando and 162 mile from Miami, major things could happen here if we were included in the Federal big picture. Hurricanes are rare here, because of the location, but the weather is great.

With State Highway 27 under major development, with many retail establishments, such as Wal-Mart, Kmart, Sears, Home Depot, PC Pennies and major car dealers just to name a dew, we are designed to cater to who we call snow birds (Seasonal Northerners). We have about 10 miles of malls on the side of the highway. However there is a major problem in the infrastructure.

First of all, the High-speed rail that will connect Tampa, Orlando and Miami, is not scheduled to reach Highlands County in a relevant manner. It is imperative that we have access to these high-speed rails to promote population growth and employment opportunities. This can be done thru a bus line, with a reasonable loading area in Highlands County. This will not only open the doors to commute out, but to also commute in to the area.

Highlands County does not have public transportation at all, school kids included after elementary school, if we had as little as 12 buses to serve the county and the buses ran from 6 am to 11 pm, we could better serve the people And bring business to the malls, create jobs for those disenfranchised simply because they do not have transportation, this would not only create job opportunities but also educational opportunities.

It is long overdue to convert SFCC into a full fledge College. We need to offer 4 year degree programs in Highlands County. This will attract more permanent residents to the area. The college is ready and waiting for the conversion.

We need college curriculums that will help sustain and support the local economy. Florida is number three in the nation’s mortgage foreclosure list. People thought that real estate was the big investment here. Our real estate is cheap in comparison to other states and counties here in Highlands County. Still many veterans just walked away from their mortgages, because the cost of living is too high in respect to the wages paid at these retail establishments. These jobs are meant for poor people, but there is not enough affordable housing available here. We have a bunch of vacant homes needing minor repairs; we need to start training people here to do this type of work.

We need to be connected to the high-speed rail, receive money for a public transportation system, convert our oversized Community College to a Four College and train people to develop our city and thereby create a better economic situation that the world can use as a template.