Brevard-Melbourne deal includes fixing notoriously rough Babcock Street

The notoriously rough ride along sections of Babcock Street in Melbourne will be smoothed out as part of a deal between the city and Brevard County.

The final piece of the deal was put into place when the Brevard County Commission voted 4-1 to approve a new agreement with the city and the City of Melbourne Babcock Street Community Redevelopment Agency.

As part of the deal, the city will take over a county-owned section of Babcock Street, between U.S. 192 and the railroad crossing near Apollo Boulevard.

The city agreed to designate $1.3 million for reconstruction of Babcock Street between Hibiscus Boulevard and Apollo Boulevard. That money will be added to the $500,000 the county already has set aside for Babcock Street improvements.

The city will use money that would go to its Babcock Street Community Redevelopment Agency for the road project.

"I think using CRA funds to do that is fantastic," said County Commission Vice Chair Kristine Isnardi, whose commission district includes this section of road.

While Isnardi noted that she is "no fan" of CRAs in general, she said: "I am happy to support this. I am thankful. I am grateful. I commend staff for working hard on this."

Within community redevelopment agency districts, portions of county and city property tax revenue are used to help pay for projects within those districts, rather than the money being available for use countywide or citywide.

More: City-county deal may rebuild Babcock Street in Melbourne

More: Wickham Road in Melbourne eyed for traffic upgrades

"I'm very happy for your district that you got this done," County Commission Chair Rita Pritchett told Isnardi. "I think this is a very creative thing."

County Commissioner Curt Smith said that, "at the end of the day, everybody comes out a winner."

Smith said the final agreement is the culmination of a discussion he had earlier this year with Melbourne's city manager and mayor about what the framework of such an agreement could look like.

"I'm very happy to see that we've gotten to where we are," Smith said.

Melbourne City Manager Mike McNees told county commissioners that "this has been a great effort to work together to get this thing done. This is bricks and mortar and asphalt at its best."

With the city taking over this section of Babcock Street from the county, Melbourne will be responsible for its future maintenance.

The city also plans a series of related and nearby projects, including:

• Median and crosswalk improvements along Babcock Street.

• Turn lanes on Airport Boulevard,

• Sidewalks along Apollo Boulevard,

• A bus turn area and shelter on NASA Boulevard.

The County Commission in May directed County Manager Frank Abbate negotiate new "interlocal agreements" with cities that have CRAs. This deal was part of that effort.

In discussing the Babcock Street CRA deal with county commissioners, Abbate said: "I believe it's very consistent with the most important wish of the Board (of County Commissioners), that I understood, which was to use CRA funding, if possible, to provide infrastructure and assist with road, and I think this does this in a most admirable way. This is an extremely good partnership between the city of Melbourne and the board."

County Commissioner John Tobia voted against the deal. He said he didn't like the fact that Melbourne would be making a $1.3 million loan from its general fund reserves to the CRA to pursue the Babcock Street project. Additionally, Tobia and he didn't like a section of the agreement that extends the life of the Babcock Street CRA by an additional year, to Sept. 8, 2023.

Isnardi, though, said it is up to the city to arrive at the loan mechanism it would use to fund the project, and that she had no problem extending the CRA's life by one year to assure the road project would be completed.

"The city is making the loan to the CRA. It's not the CRA incurring more debt," Isnardi said. "So I just want that clear and for the record."

Tobia said his no vote was no reflection on Abbate's negotiating efforts.

"I appreciate all the work you've done," Tobia told Abbate. "You clearly have a fractured board when it comes to the disposition of CRAs."

The Melbourne City Council unanimously approved the deal on Oct. 24.

FLORIDA TODAY staff writer Rick Neale contributed to this report.

Dave Berman is government editor at FLORIDA TODAY.

Contact Berman at 321-242-3649 or dberman@floridatoday.com.

Twitter: @bydaveberman

Facebook: /dave.berman.54