$256,174.00 by January 28th. It's not something one of us can do. But all of us together can.
"… Remember it will be said when the Dome is built that Faith built this Dome, not money."
Over the years, Revealing Truth Ministries has accomplished great strides in advancing the Truth Dome Project to its current stage. In July 1998, we entered into contractual agreements to purchase the Truth Dome land for $1.85M. In December 2002, the land was PAID IN FULL. In February 2006, the rezoning application was approved and, in February 2010, Hillsborough County and the City of Tampa approved the applications for the sewer water mainline. In January 2012, in order to continue moving the Truth Dome Project forward, we are required to fulfill the project sewer commitment of $256,174. If we allow the January 28, 2012 deadline to lapse, it will severely hinder the project, in causing the ministry to reapply with the City of Tampa.
The impact of fulfilling this sewer commitment to the success of the project is best seen in understanding the overall water and sewer strategy of the city for large projects. Even though the City of Tampa/Hillsborough County boundary line crosses our property, our water and sewer utilities for the Truth Dome are being provided by the City of Tampa. Currently, the City’s sanitary sewer services for the area are very close to reaching maximum capacity. This means that every development project in the area will be competing for the remaining capacity available. Once maximum sanitary sewer capacity has been reached, the City will either have to up-size the existing system or build a connection to another part of the system to accommodate the area’s growth. In either case, the cost for the City to provide additional infrastructure to meet demand will merely be passed on to the project owners. This could add thousands of dollars to the project’s construction cost. The sewer commitment letter guarantees that the city will reserve and provide the needed capacity for our project. Once the sewer commitment fee is paid, the guarantee for sanitary sewer service remains permanently linked to our property. This is why the sanitary sewer commitment adds additional value to our property as well.
Further illustrating the importance and value of having a commitment letter from the City are the recent discussions and consideration of plans to create a Community Re-development District in east Tampa. This District could include a boundary that extends from the Hard Rock Casino to the Florida State Fair grounds and extending south of the Florida State Fair grounds. Establishing a Community Re-development District is designed to encourage economic development in the area, through the implementation of Tax Incremental Financing (TIF). Tax Incremental Financing becomes an incentive for developers to build in this type of District because their infrastructure cost can be offset or eliminated altogether. Once approved, this concept will definitely increase competition for the already limited sanitary sewer capacity in the area.
The sewer commitment is critical to the completion and success of the Truth Dome. Without the necessary sanitary sewer capacity being available, a large development like the Truth Dome Project would incur major cost increases and experience delays that could significantly impact the completion of the project.
