At the Hernando Board of County Commissioners meeting on February 24th, it was decided that the Withlacoochee Regional Planning Council will perform a study of the economic impact of the CEMEX mine expansion on the county. Commissioners voted unanimously to proceed with the study. The upper limit cost of the study will be $2500 and is paid for by the county.
The Withlacoochee Regional Planning Council will use the REMI model which stands for “Regional Economic Models Inc” to evaluate the economic impact of the mine expansion on Hernando County. Lauren Yeatter, Principal Planner for the council, says that it is used by the state, many local governments across the country and the private sector as well. She explained that the model is input and output based and there are no causal relationships expressed by the model. Yeatter stated that the model does not measure impacts on very specific properties or the values of taxes for very specific properties, emphasizing that the smallest unit of measurement within the REMI model is the county. Many users of the model are interested in measuring GDP, induced/ indirect jobs, disposable income and labor productivity. It can also measure capital stock which is the total value of different types of structures- residential or commercial.
Commissioner Rowden was interested in whether or not the mine expansion could affect the tourism industry. Yeatter explained that tourism itself is not a sector but there are some that are related to tourism. She stated “They could determine and project the impact on those sectors, but I wouldn’t be comfortable saying there is a direct causation or a direct link between an expansion or contraction of any industry or any firm and its impacts on tourism specifically.”
Commissioner Rowden indicated that she would like the study to address the impact on adjacent property values. She cited a staff report that states, “The change in the future land use map category to mining and the use of the larger site for extraction purposes may have an affect on property values of adjacent land use. It is in public interest to have substantial competent evidence as to the potential impact of the proposed mining designation on property values as a result of the proposed changes. The applicant has not provided information on the potential impact on property.”
Assistant County Administrator Ronald Pianta clarified that the study will not address impact on property values because it is not a broad economic study or policy study. It is strictly a modeling scenario and can identify the impact on property taxes which could have an indirect relationship to property values. Ms. Yeatter agreed saying that there are measurements that are related to property values but it cannot be directly measured using the REMI model.
Commissioner Holcomb asked about how they are getting the facts they are using for the study and what are they getting directly from CEMEX. Bruce Day, Principal Director of the council said that they get the number of jobs and capital investment in the project directly from CEMEX and most of the other statistics are readily available.
Commissioner Holcomb also stated that he would like to see health parameters included in the model because that could have an economic impact. Ms. Yeatter was not really sure if it would be possible to incorporate health related issues into the model.
Commissioners and staff will work further with the planning council to identify what areas will be investigated by the model.
Mr. Pianta said that the county is targeting a final public hearing on the CEMEX expansion for April 28, 2015. The economic analysis along with a mitigation understanding with CEMEX needs to be completed by March 27th. The deadline for adopting the amendment is July 19, 2015.