Swiftmud Backs Down from Move of Headquarters to Tampa from Brooksville
BROOKSVILLE — Facing pressure from government and civic leaders in Hernando County, the Southwest Florida Water Management District, also known as Swiftmud, has decided to drop its effort to move its district headquarters from Brooksville to Tampa.
In a memo to Swiftmud employees on Friday, executive director Robert Beltran wrote: “Local officials and community leaders made clear the importance they place on the Brooksville campus, its value to the community and the proud heritage associated with the District’s history. The District also received letters and resolutions from local governments and members of the community opposing the relocation of the District’s headquarters.”
Beltran noted that the rest of the business plan that suggested the headquarters move had been upheld by Swiftmud’s governing board, but he said keeping the headquarters in Brooksville would not hinder the agency from its purpose.
“Staff agrees the District can continue to meet its priorities and core mission to manage water and related natural resources to ensure their continued availability while maximizing the benefits to the public,” he wrote. “Therefore, staff is recommending that the Board take no further action on this issue.”
Friday’s announcement does not affect any staffing decisions, neither does it mean that regulatory and other officials moved to Tampa from Brooksville will return.
“We will continue to put staff where they are needed,” said Swiftmud spokeswoman Terri Behling.
Word that the headquarters will stay put was met with happiness in Hernando, where officials said they had been blindsided by the plan to move.
Several county leaders attended the Swiftmud governing board meeting in May, when the move was to take place, urging a reconsideration. They were given 60 days to plead their case.
“I know that in our community, we had a lot of good people working hard on this,” state Sen. Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby, said Friday. “I’m very proud that they are going to leave the headquarters in Brooksville and Hernando County. It makes our area a better place with the jobs out there.”
“Without Sen. Simpson’s help and him speaking to the (Swiftmud) board publicly, in my opinion, that (decision to stay) would not have happened,” said Hernando County Commission Chairman Nick Nicholson.
The district headquarters, on U.S. 41 south of Brooksville, “is part of Mr. McKethan’s legacy of historical significance. It is also of extreme economic importance to the community, not only for the jobs here but also the prestige of having the Swiftmud headquarters here in Hernando County,” Nicholson said.
A prominent banker and community leader, the late Alfred A. McKethan helped create the district and made sure its headquarters landed in Brooksville 54 years ago.
Source : tampabay.com
