Kelly Hayes
The Hillsborough County Veteran Resource Center is set to receive $825,000 for its Phase II expansion with funding granted by the Senate’s “sprinkle list.”
The money will fund a 4,621-square-foot expansion to the facility for an educational space. The resource center, which is on the grounds of the county’s Veterans Memorial Park & Museum, provides veterans and their families free assistance in accessing federal, state and local benefits, as well as a plethora of additional resources.
The expansion funding was detailed in an appropriations request filed by Sen. Danny Burgess, an Army Reserve Officer who previously led the Florida Department of Veteran’s Affairs. The request was originally for $1.65 million, which would have accounted for the bulk of the project.
According to the request, the facility would use the funding to add about 3,800 square feet of open floor gallery space and another 800 square feet for an office, data room and utility rooms.
The expansion would be used as an educational space, according to the request, to provide educational programs and displays to students and community residents.
“The Veterans Resource Educational Center will increase knowledge of military and family contributions to all military historical events in our nation,” the request states.
The proposed Educational Center is expected to generate a significant amount of visits from residents and tourists coming through the Tampa Bay area, the request states.
Hillsborough County’s Veterans Memorial Park hosts nearly 100,000 visitors per year, according to the request. The Veteran Service Office serves about 38,000 veterans and their families annually. The existing phase 1 of the Veteran Resource Center & Memorial Park has been named by the Veterans Day National Committee at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, for the fifth year, as a Regional Destination.
The park offers veterans the assistance of accredited service officers from both Hillsborough County and the Florida Division of Veteran Affairs, as well as VA Healthcare Enrollment from James A. Haley VA Hospital.
The Hillsborough County VRC opened on Dec. 7, 2017 (Pearl Harbor Day), after securing $1.9 million in state and county funding.
Both the House and Senate get millions in tax revenue to play with near the end of budget negotiations. That money is spread across different projects in what’s known in legislative parlance as the “sprinkle list.”
The House and Senate released their sprinkle lists Wednesday evening with leaders agreeing on $759 million for local projects.
The release of the list is a sign budget negotiations are wrapped and the Legislature will hit its new planned end date of Monday, March 14.
