An email sent out by SWFWMD Executive Director Robert Beltran, P.E., BCEE, on Friday May 15 informed staff there will be a presentation and resolution on the agenda to designate the Tampa Service Office as the District’s headquarters. Currently, the Hernando County Office serves as the District’s principal office and has been for over 50 years.
When the District was formed in 1961 they operated out of a small rented office space in Brooksville. Quickly outgrowing that space, Chair of the SWFWMD Governing Board Alfred McKethan and President/Chair of Hernando State Bank negotiated the acquisition of 5 Acres of property on US41 belonging to the Brooksville/ Hernando County Airport. Negotiations included telling then executive director Dale Twachtmann, “Dale, go out to the Hernando County Aviation Authority — I’ve told them you’re coming — and pick out a nice piece of land that fronts on US 41.”
The decision to designate their Tampa location as the District Headquarters is based on the business plan developed by staff citing several reasons for the switch. The email states, “Looking to the future, the Tampa Bay region has the largest labor pool and a highly educated labor force to recruit from.” Additionally, most of their legal and regulatory staff are located in Tampa, most of the governing board meetings and all advisory committee meetings occur in Tampa since it is centrally located. Mr. Beltran explains that he does not foresee any office closings and there are “no immediate plans to move additional staff to Tampa.”
Mr. Len Sossaman, County Administrator, received notification of this as well through an email sent out on Friday May, 15.
SWFWMD Public Information Officer Susanna Martinez Tarokh confirmed that Mr. Beltran will be presenting this issue and a resolution tomorrow during his Executive Director’s Report to the Governing Board.
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The content of Mr. Beltan’s Email:
Subject: FW: Message from the Executive Director: Resolution Designating the Tampa Office as the District Headquarters
From: Internal Communications
Sent: Friday, May 15, 2015 1:22 PM
To: All_Users
Subject: Message from the Executive Director: Resolution Designating the Tampa Office as the District Headquarters
Dear Staff,
I wanted to let you know that based on the findings in the District’s Business Plan, there is a presentation and resolution on Tuesday’s Governing Board agenda recommending that the Tampa Service Office be designated the District’s headquarters or principal office.
The Business Plan, which was developed by staff, has identified an immediate need to begin planning for staff succession and recruitment to ensure our future success. This is due to retirements and potential turnover within the next 10 years. As you are already aware, the District has consolidated Regulation and Legal staff in Tampa. Most of the Governing Board meetings and all of the Advisory Committee meetings take place in Tampa. One of the main reasons for this is that the Tampa Office is the most centrally located District office, and provides better operational efficiencies and accessibility to our customers. Looking to the future, the Tampa Bay region has the largest labor pool and a highly educated labor force to recruit from.
The District is not anticipating closing any offices and there are no immediate plans to move additional staff to Tampa. In addition, there will be no changes to the level of service provided to any of the District’s regions.
In fact, most staff and external stakeholders won’t notice any differences as a result of this change. If you have additional questions or concerns, please discuss them with your manager or bureau chief.
Robert R. Beltran, P.E., BCEE
Executive Director
Phone: (352) 796-7211, ext. 4605
Email: Robert.Beltran@WaterMatters.org
Fax: (352) 754-6874
SOURCE: http://swfwmdmatters.blogspot.com/2015/05/scott-yanks-swfwmd-headquarters-from.html?m=1
UPDATED 5/18/15 4:12PM Added SFWMD PIO Susanna Tarokh confirmation, added entire quote about labor force, added the email and source.