Uncovering the Decision Makers: The Economic Development Council and Project Safety & Project Boomer

Despite Wakulla's lacking infrastructure and record-high debt, the EDC is flaunting the subsidization of two private businesses on the front page of The Wakulla Sun. These projects will not be creating 400 jobs immediately; the jobs are projected to be created over time, with potential clawbacks if the goal is not met. Special note: look at who wrote the article then reference the 990 form below.

Project Boomer Job Projections (note that very little jobs are "created". Most are already here and most of the rest will be transferred). This project is creating 42 New to Florida jobs at the cost of additional bond financing (taxpayer debt) of 14.5 MILLION.

Project Safety Job Projections. Since the building will be a neighbor to Wakulla CI, how many people do you think will drive from Leon County to take those jobs? If they are going to sell it to you as "Wakulla County Economic Development" and forego needed infrastructure projects, I would contend that It's important to know the ratio. Have they called Wakulla CI to see how many people at the institution actually live and work in Wakulla? Just out of curiosity?

I encourage the public to read the fine print and the financial proposals. Triumph Gulf Coast maintains a website that houses these approved grants along with the applications that detail the financials. In addition, the Governor's Office has published what other counties will be using Rural Infrastructure Funds for. Wakulla County was granted the highest dollar amount in the state by the Governor and it is imperative that you understand how other counties approached their award (what they are using it for) to assess whether your civic institutions are operating in your best interest.

Details on the grants can be found here:

https://www.flgov.com/eog/news/press/2024/governor-ron-desantis-awards-17-florida-communities-rural-infrastructure-fund

https://www.myfloridatriumph.com/proposals/current-proposals/

The taxpayers will be on the hook for borrowing upward of 20 million dollars to further fund these two 100,000+ square foot buildings, in addition to the grants mentioned in the article, while our infrastructure suffers. Weren't we, as a community, just having a conversation about the lack of funding for the animal shelter? How much will this cost We the People in interest if we must borrow additional money to follow through? Do we really live in a conservative community or, is this just a facade? These are snippets of the projected costs for both projects.

PROJECT BOOMER: From the Triumph Gulf Coast Grant Application Page 14 and15

PROJECT SAFETY (SRT SUPPLY) From the Triumph Gulf Coast Grant Application Page 15 and 16

The referenced news article states that the EDC here is "unique" in that it is 50% funded by the public and 50% by the private sector. So, who are the private funding entities? Any relation to anyone in our county civic institutions? Who sits on their Board of Directors? Well, we were able to answer the last question because ProPublica has published the latest Form 990 for this tax exempt organization. You can find that information on the ProPublica Website. Note that this is also searchable on the IRS website by using the Employer Identification Number listed on the 990 form.

Do you recognize any of these names? We do. Maybe you recognize more than we do?

The 2023 Debt Report shows that our community is burdened by more debt than it has ever had. This is even in violation of our own county policy (AR:3.02). Currently debt is at $2,150 per citizen (listed on page 18 of the debt report) while county policy requires that it be kept at or below $500 per citizen.

What is going on? How can this project be a priority when we have one of the lowest unemployment rates in the State of Florida but our infrastructure and other needs (animal shelter) are suffering? Also, do we believe that nobody from Leon County will take any of the jobs created? How many people live in Leon County and work at Wakulla CI, which will be a neighbor to these facilities? Should Wakulla County citizens be on the hook to subsidize private businesses that may or may not benefit the county, while going further in debt? Many questions to ponder.

This information was generated with source links for public consideration. All of the reference documents and links are derived from existing sources. None of these items have been created by the author. Screen prints are taken from the source documents to encourage the public to view the entire document themselves with the link provided.