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The Jackson Laboratory may have selected Sarasota County for its location to build a 120,000-square-foot biomedical research facility, but that's just one of several steps to making it a reality.
The next hurdles include: voter approval in Sarasota County on two ballot measures; the Legislature appropriating the necessary funds; and Gov. Rick Scott giving his OK.
“We have a lot of hurdles to go,” says Teri Hansen, president and CEO of the Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice, a leading partner in the effort to land the lab. Other regional collaborators include the University of South Florida, Sarasota Memorial Health Care System and Sarasota County government.
Officials involved in the project won't say exactly how much taxpayer money may be involved. According to Sen. President Pro-tempore Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, the Legislature approved last year an initial $50 million of a $130 million state funding plan in an effort to bring Jackson to Collier County. The project failed when county officials balked at coming up with $130 million local match. The $50 million went unspent; but according to Bennett, it is still available.
Bennett, whose district includes part of Sarasota County, supports the project and plans to work to get the other $80 million approved this year.
The public share could possibly be split 50/50 between county and state sources. However, Chuck Hewitt, executive vice president of Jackson Laboratory, says, “We're still in the process of developing that for this project.”
If Sarasota County officials agree to contribute taxpayer funding through the issuance of bonds, voter approval would be required on two questions:
• To allow the county to exceed its $20 million bond limit.
• To approve an increase in property taxes, likely a fraction of a mill to pay the debt service on the bonds.
And then there's Scott. He turned down subsidizing the high-speed rail because, among other reasons, it would not provide the return on investment he wants for the state. Would he do the same on this? County officials are claiming the laboratory would create 2,200 jobs.
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