Budget boosters: Here's what Tallahassee and the Big Bend got and what got vetoed

A plan to buy land above an underground river in Wakulla County survived Gov. Ron DeSantis’ review of a new state budget but about $9 million in other local projects were vetoed from a spending plan that begins July 1.

DeSantis Wednesday exercised his line-item veto on just under $1 billion for local projects statewide that lawmakers inserted into a state budget they wrote in March.

The governor signed off on $16.5 billion in spending, including $3.7 million for Conservation Florida to buy 225 acres at the intersection of U.S. 319 and State Road 267, 14 miles south of the state Capitol.

Rep. Jason Shoaf, R-Port St. Joe, and Sen. Corey Simon, R-Tallahassee, secured the money as part of a plan to stop construction of a 16-pump gas station right above an underground cavern known as Chip’s Hole Cave.

The cavern connects an underground river to Wakulla Springs, the world's largest known freshwater spring four miles to the east, to the Floridan Aquifer, which provides drinking water to four states.

The plan lawmakers approved provides the money to Conservation Florida to buy the land and relocate the gas station across SR 267 and away from the cave.

There’s also another $750,000 for further research on Wakulla Springs, an international tourist attraction whose jungle-like ambience has been used for background in horror and disaster movies. 

In all there is more than $215 million boost to the regional economy in the new spending plan.

DeSantis okayed about $11 million for public safety in Leon and 12 surrounding counties.

There's tens of millions for school construction in Wakulla, Gadsden and Dixie counties, and more than $6 million for emergency operations center in Gadsden, Taylor and Madison counties, and $750,000 to help staff the trauma center at Tallahassee Memorial Health Care, which provides services to a 21-county region that includes Georgia and Alabama.

Shoaf said the new budget makes significant investments in North Florida by "improving infrastructure, expanding career training opportunities and protecting our natural resources."

Rep. Gallop Franklin, D-Tallahassee, said the Leon delegation to the legislature has been focused the past two sessions on public safety and education.

"There's two processes at work here," explained Franklin. "There's the policy process and the budget process. What is really neat about the budget process is that the constituents get to see the investments we are making."

But money for restoration of Fords Arm at Lake Jackson and Munson Slough was cut from the spending plan, along with a technology center for the Apalachee Ridge neighborhood, and street signs in Greensboro.

At a Tampa budget signing media event, DeSantis said many of the items vetoed were for programs that he believed either were not the government’s responsibility or funding was available in other areas of the budget.

Some of the vetoes, DeSantis said, were handed down because, “we wanted to keep the budget within a certain parameter.”

DeSantis did approve $990,000 for a Meals on Wheels program that feeds seniors in the Big Bend.

Rep. Allison Tant, D-Tallahassee, said the money will pay to expand the program's kitchen to serve more people throughout a 13-county district.

"I am delighted and grateful that the governor signed the budget to include this critical project for Elder Care Services," Tant said Wednesday afternoon.

Tant also secured funding for the passion project she founded, Independence Landing, which provides affordable housing for adults with cognitive, intellectual, developmental or physical disabilities.

Here's a list of items in next year’s state budget for Tallahassee, Leon County, and the 13 counties of Senate District 3. Those that were vetoed have a strikethrough them

WHAT'S IN THE BUDGET AND WHAT GOT VETOED

Tallahassee

• Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare Trauma Center Readiness: $750,000

• Well tanks security cameras: $401,400

• Renovations at Florida Department of Law Enforcement Capital Circle complex and restrooms at the J. Edwin Larson and Duncan U. Fletcher buildings: $1,530,257

• Apalachee Ridge Neighborhood Technology Center: $350,000 

• Independence Landing: RedEye Coffee Workforce training: $200,000

• Independence Landing: Workforce Development for Persons with Disabilities: $500,000

• Conner Complex Center construction: $80,000,000

• Total: $83,381,657

Leon County

• Adult with Disabilities Program: $225,000

• Fords Arm of Lake Jackson Restoration: $250,000 

• Lake Munson Slough Embankments: $250,000 

• Network Cybersecurity Assessment: $100,000

• Generators for branch libraries and community centers: $250,000 

• Leon County School District Nursing Education Pipeline: $651,106

• Student Success Technical Education Incentive Fund: $65,050

• Career Expo and Junior Apprenticeship: $50,000 

• Total: $1,041,156

Gadsden County

• Construction (school buildings, preK-8, year 2 of 2): $32,794,471

• AMIkids Prevention Programs - Leon and Gadsden: $350,000

• Midway Volunteer Fire and Hazmat vehicle: $1,000,000

• Gadsden County EOC: $3,505,251

• Gretna Fire Rescue: $235,000

• Greensboro street signs: $12,600 

• Total: $37,884,722

Wakulla County

• Wakulla Springs research: $750,000

• Chips Hole site acquisition: $3,782,000

• Wakulla County well sites:  $875,00 

• Community Center Shelter: $225,000

• St. Marks Fire Rescue Facility: $2,100,000

• Shell Point-US 98 Fire Rescue Facility: $2,100,000 

• Wakulla High (year 1 of 3): $21,949,527

• Adults with Disabilities Program: $42,500

• Total: $28,849,027

Taylor County

• Taylor County Development Authority: $125,000

• Taylor County Public Safety Complex: $2,500,000

• Taylor County Public Works generator: $10,500

• Taylor County 911 communications equipment: $525,000

• Total: $3,160,500

Elsewhere in Senate District 3

• Elder Care (Meals on Wheels): $990,000

• Aucilla Research Institute Archaeological Education: $400,000

• Feeding Rural North Florida (13 counties) Hurricane Response: $1,000,000

• Madison County Emergency Operations Center: $650,000

• Madison County Fire Rescue Station #4: $850,000

• Port St. Joe Workforce Housing access road: $1,000,000 

• Dixie County middle school chiller: $2,100,000

• North Florida College (Madison) Industrial Workforce education: $3,103,000 

• Apalachee Center - Forensic treatment services: $1,401,600

• Apalachee Center - Civil treatment services: $1,593,853

• Apalachee Center (general): $2,739,126

• Apalachee Center, Lifestream and Gracepoint: $3,750,000

• Apalachee Center, Lifestream, and Gracepoint Program 2: $4,000,000

• School readiness programs: $24,302,732

• Voluntary pre-kindergarten programs: $7,138,868

• Madison County schools workforce training: $88,061

• Dixie County flood/stormwater mitigation: $1,500,000

• Dixie County highway safety resilience project: $1,000,000 

• Dixie County first responder communications: $1,600,000

• Ruth Rains Middle School roof replacement: $5,349,000

• Franklin County bear-resistant refuse containers: $683,500

• St. James/Lanark EMS substation: $600,000

• Gulf County Water System: $1,000,000

• Suwannee County Regional Shelter: $2,500,000

• Suwannee County Critical 911 Communications Equipment: $550,000

• Suwannee County Emergency Communications System: $1,500,000    

• Suwannee School District School Door Barricades: $172,500 

• Total: $62,536,740

James Call is a member of the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at [email protected] and is on X as @CallTallahassee.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: DeSantis vetoes: Tallahassee, Big Bend projects that survived, died