05/20/2026
🚨 RANGELAND WARRIORS: STRATEGIC UPDATE FOR MAY 21 AT 1:00 PM MPO MEETING 🚨
Neighbors, as the MPO Board prepares to vote on the final budget and the federal funding agreement on May 21, our collective push has successfully locked a massive legal trap into the official record.
We have conducted a forensic review of the binding Consolidated Planning Grant (CPG) Agreement currently on the Board's desks. Even though staff scrubbed the explicit word "Rangeland" from the text to defuse public pushback, this federal contract contains strict handcuffs that we are weaponizing:
1. The Fiscal Clawback (Section 20.G, Page 11)
The contract explicitly states that if an FHWA review reveals federal planning guidelines and regulations were not followed, Pasco County is legally responsible for a 100% repayment of all awarded funds. If staff attempts to use these broad administrative lines to design or model a 6-lane freight pipeline without triggering mandatory Safe Routes to School (SRTS) safety reviews or Project Development and Environment (PD&E) studies, the county faces a massive $2.27 Million federal clawback.
2. The Unilateral Cancellation Trigger (Section 20.A.i, Page 11)
The contract mandates full public access to all materials under Chapter 119, F.S. It explicitly states that any failure to grant public access constitutes grounds for immediate, unilateral cancellation of the entire funding agreement by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). The documentation of past procedural irregularities and the scrubbing of project names puts their compliance on razor-thin ice.
3. The Active Commission Directive
The Board of County Commissioners has already ordered a feasibility study for a Northern Bypass corridor through undeveloped land. The MPO Board cannot legally deploy federal funds to design an invasive residential route that directly contradicts the County Commission's active directive.
🎯 OUR UNIFIED DEMAND
Whether you are attending the meeting at 1:00 PM on May 21 in Dade City or tracking the progress online, our message to the Board is unyielding:
"We demand that the floor resolution adopting the UPWP include an explicit, binding restriction: No CPG funds may be spent on Rangeland corridor design or modeling unless and until it is brought forward as an independent line-item for full public hearings and separate Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) approval."
The legal framework is heavily in our favor, and the administrative warnings are officially anchored in their files. Let's make sure they know the community is watching every item on that agenda!