11th-hour pact may seal Miami port tunnel deal

11th-hour pact may seal Miami port tunnel deal City of Miami and Miami-Dade County officials late Wednesday said they had reached a general agreement on a complicated, multi-project funding plan that should allow the city to kick in the final $50 million needed for the $914 million Miami port tunnel project.
   The port tunnel, seen by port officials as a key element in maintaining and increasing containerized cargo volumes in the years ahead, has teetered on the edge of being scuttled for the last three months because of opposition from members of the five-person Miami City Commission, which is scheduled to vote on a funding package this afternoon. But opposition to the tunnel was believed to be driven in part by brinksmanship that would involve funding for several unrelated projects.
   Tunnel supporters, from Miami Mayor Manny Diaz to international trade interests and the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, have been lobbying hard in recent weeks to get the tunnel funding approved.
   But the tunnel has never been a standalone issue. Instead, it has been tied to other projects in the overall city budget, ranging from a new baseball stadium for the Florida Marlins to a handful of other, lower-profile projects that include museums, parks and unrelated economic development programs.
   The deal announced Wednesday would fold the port tunnel into a multibillion-dollar series of public projects that would transform Miami. The projects include a new baseball stadium, an indoor soccer stadium, downtown museums, long-awaited development of Bicentennial Park near the entrance to the port, added funding for the new performing arts center — and the $50 million needed to finalize funding for the port tunnel.
   The key to the funding package is a plan to expand the existing Omni Community Redevelopment Agency to include Bicentennial Park and Watson Island. The tunnel entrance would be located on Watson Island, located on the west end of the MacArthur Causeway.
   A Community Redevelopment Agency is a federally mandated taxing district designated for community redevelopment projects. The existing Omni RDA is adjacent to the port entrance. By expanding the district, enough new revenues would be generated to cover not only the city share of the tunnel project, but part of numerous other projects.
   The Florida Department of Transportation has been the lead entity in the multi-year process to fund and build the port tunnel. The state has allocated $462 million for the 1.1-mile tunnel, which would extend from causeway between Miami and Miami Beach that runs parallel to the port, underwater to the north side of the manmade island on which the port is located. That would eliminate the need for drayage trucks to use the existing entrance off Biscayne Boulevard in the heart of downtown Miami.
   Miami-Dade County voted earlier this year to put up $402.5 million of the local match, and signed off on the selection of the international consortium that will build and operate the tunnel under a 35-year agreement that includes a five-year construction period and a 30-year operating concession.
   But the city still needed to provide its $50 million cash contribution and land rights-of-way valued at $5 million.
   But a bloc of city commissioners, lead by Angel Gonzales, had indicated they would not approve the city share of the tunnel financing. When an initial Sept. 30 deadline for city funding of the tunnel approached, Gonzales said he would not even allow the item on the commission agenda. Diaz, a staunch supporter of the tunnel, was able to convince the tunnel contractors, led by France-based construction giant Bouygues Travaux Publics, to wait and hold firm on their bid price through Dec. 17.
   Officials from the Florida DOT said they would move the tunnel funds to other projects if the city did not meet the Dec. 17 deadline.
   Only Diaz and Commissioner Marc Sarnoff — whose district includes the port and adjacent city waterfront — have been open supporters of the tunnel. But other commissioners had indicated they could back the project if unrelated projects were also approved.
   Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones said she could not support the tunnel unless other issues important to her constituents were addressed. Her district include the Overtown area, just west of the port waterfront, and the new plan announced Wednesday includes up to $80 million for affordable housing, parks, job programs and infrastructure improvements for Overtown.
   Joe Sanchez, whose central Miami district includes the Orange Bowl property where the proposed baseball stadium would be built, has previously supported Gonzales in his opposition. But he said Tuesday that with the new, multi-project package put together, he feels he can support the tunnel as part of the larger funding measure.
   Tomas Regalado had been reluctant to support the tunnel funding, but has publicly wavered, citing pressure from the local business community in favor of the tunnel.
   Even though there is a general agreement in place, the commission still needs to vote this afternoon on the specific resolution for the port tunnel funding.
   Port of Miami Director Bill Johnson, who works for Miami-Dade County, told the Florida Caribbean Connection that he would be at the city commission meeting to answer any questions the commissioners have about the tunnel project and its impact on the local economy.
   Miami City Manager Pedro Hernandez said that although details still need to be worked out, the state DOT and concessionaires have indicated that as long as the city commission supports tunnel funding in principle, it would be enough to allow work to proceed.
   With so many projects and entities involved in the massive Miami funding project, there are still numerous unresolved issues that will need to be worked out. For example, the Florida Marlins ownership, which has generally supported the concept of a retractable-roof stadium at the Orange Bowl site, issued a statement that it would have to see details of the agreement before signing off on the new proposal.
   The county commissioners, meanwhile, will take an initial vote on the new, multi-project package on Tuesday. ' Jim Dow