Bush's $46-million favor to St. Joe
A Times Editorial
Published September 28, 2006
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As Gov. Jeb Bush prepares to leave office, his Transportation Department has worked out a lucrative goodbye gift for a close corporate friend. As proposed by the state Department of Transportation, a legislative committee on Tuesday approved an unusual $46-million land purchase from St. Joe Co. It's unusual because the appraisal of the land's value hasn't been done yet.
DOT would use the money to buy 4,000 acres in the Panhandle from St. Joe for future road construction, even though no one knows exactly where the roads will be needed. Edward Prescott, a DOT district secretary, admits that the process is different from the way the agency usually operates - waiting until a road project is on a five-year work list before purchasing the land.
"Why would you delay if you've got a willing partner?" Prescott told the Miami Herald.
Of course St. Joe is willing to sell a tiny fraction of its 800,000 acres, mostly in the Panhandle, before an appraisal is done or a need established. St. Joe is in the land development business, and revenues are down. Its vast land holdings in the rural Panhandle need roads and other infrastructure to be valuable. So St. Joe will take the $46-million now and the hundreds of millions in profits later.
St. Joe has friends in high places - both the state and federal government are trying to build a new $300-million Panama City airport in the middle of the company's property - and none better than Gov. Bush. Not only has St. Joe backed him politically, but there are a number of personal and business connections that link the two. It also has contributed $25,000 to the Foundation for Florida's Future, Bush's vehicle for remaining engaged in the public policy debate after he leaves office.
On his way out the door of the Governor's Mansion, Bush has done one last favor for a good friend - at taxpayer expense.
[Last modified September 27, 2006, 23:20:36]
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A Times Editorial
Published September 28, 2006
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As Gov. Jeb Bush prepares to leave office, his Transportation Department has worked out a lucrative goodbye gift for a close corporate friend. As proposed by the state Department of Transportation, a legislative committee on Tuesday approved an unusual $46-million land purchase from St. Joe Co. It's unusual because the appraisal of the land's value hasn't been done yet.
DOT would use the money to buy 4,000 acres in the Panhandle from St. Joe for future road construction, even though no one knows exactly where the roads will be needed. Edward Prescott, a DOT district secretary, admits that the process is different from the way the agency usually operates - waiting until a road project is on a five-year work list before purchasing the land.
"Why would you delay if you've got a willing partner?" Prescott told the Miami Herald.
Of course St. Joe is willing to sell a tiny fraction of its 800,000 acres, mostly in the Panhandle, before an appraisal is done or a need established. St. Joe is in the land development business, and revenues are down. Its vast land holdings in the rural Panhandle need roads and other infrastructure to be valuable. So St. Joe will take the $46-million now and the hundreds of millions in profits later.
St. Joe has friends in high places - both the state and federal government are trying to build a new $300-million Panama City airport in the middle of the company's property - and none better than Gov. Bush. Not only has St. Joe backed him politically, but there are a number of personal and business connections that link the two. It also has contributed $25,000 to the Foundation for Florida's Future, Bush's vehicle for remaining engaged in the public policy debate after he leaves office.
On his way out the door of the Governor's Mansion, Bush has done one last favor for a good friend - at taxpayer expense.
[Last modified September 27, 2006, 23:20:36]
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