10 Things To Know About the County Commissioners March 16 Meeting

The Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners meets March 16 in the second floor conference room of the Fred B. Karl County Center at 601 East Kennedy Blvd. The meeting starts at 9 a.m.

The agenda is online, and here are some highlights:

1. The board will receive a report from Hillsborough County Parks, Recreation and Conservation concerning the Hillsborough County Fairgrounds in Greater Brandon. The  to move ahead with conceptual plans to build a 20,000- square-foot facility at the fairgrounds. Fair and county officials were to meet to discuss the specifics of the plans, which calls for spending $500,000 in Community Investment Tax dollars, along with another $397,000 from the fund phosphate companies pay into for the reclamation of formerly mined lands.
2. Commisioner Victor Crist is set to present a proclamation declaring the month of March as “Women’s History Month.” Also, to support the creation of a Hillsborough County Women’s Hall of Fame to be administered by the Hillsborough County Commission on the Status of Women.
3. Under review for implementation will be the Small Business Job Creation Program “designed to assist in the creation of jobs with businesses within Hillsborough County with 10 or fewer employees.” The program would support the creation of “sustainable new jobs” by reimbursing for those jobs 50 percent of the wages and/or salary costs incurred for three months, up to $3,900 for each new job, subject to program criteria and restrictions. It’s estimated that the program, with an allocation of $500,000, would provide enough incentive to create some 200 jobs.
4. Advise Bill Armstrong, director of Hillsborough County Animal Services, to accept 1,400 doses of the canine influenza vaccine made possible through a Petfinder.com Foundation Grant Award.
5. Approve the use of facilities at the Hillsborough Community College’s Dale Mabry campus for the 8th Annual Hillsborough County Neighborhoods Conference scheduled for April 2.
6. Approve additional professional engineering services for the “Project Development and Engineering Study” (PD&F) for the Lithia Pinecrest Road widening project, from State Road 60 to County Rod 39.  This $7,670 modification increases the agreement with HDR Engineering Inc. to $2,703,954.22. This increase is to evaluate the impacts of widening Lithia Pinecrest Road between Lumsden Road and Bloomingdale Avenue. The cost is accommodated for in the project’s budget.
7. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. contributed $72,801 for “private development coordination, design services and construction costs of a full median opening at the relocated Wal-Mart site driveway as part of the Lithia Pinecrest/Lumsden/Bell Shoals/Durant Intersection Improvement Project.” This additional revenue increases project appropriations to $8,788.801.
8. A workshop on children’s services and homelessness is scheduled for March 30.
9. A report regarding the number of employees receiving “longevity incentives” and the yearly cost of this bonus is to be addressed April 6.
10. A report on the effects of reducing impact fees and building and other permitting fees is to be addressed June 9.