The kickoff meeting for the Florida Suncoast Clean Cities Coalition was held in Tampa at the Holiday Inn Busch Gardens, near the University of South Florida campus, on November 2, 1995. Gary Brosch, Director of USF's Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR), was named chair of the Coalition's Board of Directors, and additional founding board members named were Sharon Dent, Executive Director of the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority and Jim Law, Executive Director of Bay Area Commuter Services. Over 75 people from throughout the six-county Suncoast Clean Cities Coalition area attended, representing 41 Clean Cities stakeholders. Marcy Rood, National Clean Cities Program Manager for the U.S. Department of Energy, came from Washington to help kick off the Coalition's inaugural year. The Clean Cities program was initiated to help government agencies meet the requirements of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 in converting agency fleets to alternative fuels, such as electric, natural gas, alcohol, or other non-petroleum based transportation fuels. The program is designed to help reduce urban air pollution, protect domestic natural resources, and reduce dependence on foreign energy sources.

CUTR was chosen by the Florida Energy Office to develop the Clean Cities program in the Tampa Bay region and provide continuing technical support to the Coalition once it is under way. There are already over 40 members in the Florida Suncoast Clean Cities Coalition, representing interests in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Polk, Pasco, Manatee, and Sarasota counties. Eventually, the Coalition will expand to include Citrus, Hernando, Orange, Seminole, and Osceola counties. Along with government agencies, private sector members are also encouraged to participate. Energy suppliers such as Peoples Gas Systems, Tampa Electric Company, and Florida Power Corporation have also joined the Coalition.

For more information about the Florida Suncoast Clean Cities coalition, e-mail reich@cutr.usf.edu

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