Tristan Wood
Leon County Commissioner Kristin Dozier was unanimously voted the new chair of the Capital Region Transportation Planning Agency’s board during its meeting Tuesday.
The CRTPA oversees transportation planning within Florida’s Capital Region. The board consists of 11 elected officials from the city of Tallahassee, as well as Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon and Wakulla counties. Tallahassee and Leon County officials hold 75% of the board’s voting power.
Dozier, who previously served as the board’s vice chair, will be replacing Tallahassee City Commissioner Jeremy Matlow in the position. Her appointment continues a multiyear tradition of the chair seat yearly alternating between a Tallahassee Commissioner or Leon County Commissioner.
The board provides input and prioritizes projects that are angling for state funding. The board is overseeing the planning of an estimated $238 million in infrastructure projects in Leon County alone from 2023 to 2027, according to the board’s proposed five-year tentative work program.
Dozier said she wants to make sure the board pushes to qualify regional projects for funding from the $1.2 trillion national infrastructure bill that became law Monday. She said pushing projects for eligibility is important because the region has a smaller population than South Florida.
“Oftentimes we don’t get the same level of funding as other parts of state, so I really want to make sure that we are ready with projects that can qualify for that funding as quickly as possible,” she said.
She said while the CRTPA often doesn’t get much attention from the public, its actions are vitally important in residents’ everyday lives.
“It’s not top of everybody’s list, but everybody uses our roads,” she said. “It’s of everybody’s interest to keep this momentum going.”
