Politics
Gov. DeSantis reappoints Thomas Hobbs, Brian McElfatrick to Hillsborough transit board
The rail expansion had been long awaited and could help grow Polk County’s manufacturing.
Gov. Ron DeSantis is giving $1.5 million to help expand Winter Haven’s railway to an industrial park in a project aimed at helping grow Polk County’s economy.
DeSantis announced the grant from the Florida Job Growth Grant Fund at a press conference in Winter Haven.
The project will expand rail access to the Central Florida Integrated Logistics Park, which DeSantis touted as having nearly 1,000 acres of developable land and is near CSX Rail Intermodal Facility.
“We believe there’s a high return on investment,” DeSantis said. “The rail extension will help businesses expand operations in this area, and we definitely see the potential for new jobs being created.”
Local officials say they have been waiting for direct rail service at the park for years.
“This marks an important milestone for our community,” said Bruce Lyon, President of the Winter Haven Economic Development Council. “This new rail spur that we’re going to bring in, this is going to bring a fresh mode of transportation to the industrial park. It’s going to improve freight efficiency statewide by getting trucks off of our roads.”
Lyon called it a public-private partnership with rail companies, the manufacturing businesses and others investing to make the rail expansion a reality.
Secretary of Commerce Alex Kelly touted the project as an economic driver in Polk County, and statewide, as manufacturing continues to grow.
“If you just drive around, you look at the Coca-Cola Distribution Center, you look at Florida Can Manufacturing facility,” Kelly said while standing alongside DeSantis. “Not too far in the distant future, we’ll have Niagara Water just across the street, and you can see that incredible effort to create really a hub for employment.”
DeSantis hinted that some other recognizable businesses are coming to the industrial park, which can accommodate everything from food and cold storage to manufacturers and statewide logistics companies.
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A governing body that will have been dormant for a year by the time it meets next month now has four new members.
Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed former aviation executive Randolph Cash, Naples Realtor Danielle Hudson, real estate adviser Joe Murgalo Jr. and Collier Community Foundation Vice President Lindsey Touchette to the Board of the Collier County Housing Authority.
The Board last met on March 19, 2024, according to its website, which shows 12 consecutive canceled meetings since. Its next meeting is scheduled for April 15.
The lone retiree of the four, Cash is the former President of Flamingo Air Management Inc., a Naples-based small business specializing in air traffic control services and airfield operation.
He is a U.S. Army veteran and serves as the State Junior Vice Commander for the Veterans of Foreign Wars nonprofit. His community involvements include membership to the Immokalee Chamber of Commerce, American Association of Airport Executives and Naples Museum of Military History Board of Directors.
Hudson is Vice President of Public Policy for the Naples Area Board of Realtors. She is a member of the Big Cypress Daughters of the American Revolution, Saint Agnes Church Faith Formation and Women’s Foundation of Collier County Advocacy Community.
Division of Elections records show Hudson has made one state-level political contribution, a $100 check to Naples Republican Rep. Lauren Melo in July 2020.
Murgalo works at Compass Florida, a Naples-headquartered real estate company. He is also President of the Rotary Club of Bonita Springs and a past member of the Bonita Springs Chamber of Commerce and Royal Academy School Board.
State records show Murgalo donated $1,500 between 2021 and 2024 to Bonita Springs Republican Rep. Adam Botana and $30 in 2017 to the Realtors Political Action Committee.
Touchette has worked for the Community Foundation of Collier County since 2017. She previously worked for a decade at Florida Gulf Coast University in various marketing, alumni relations and major gifts capacities.
She is also a Board member of Disaster Ready Collier County and was recognized last month as one of the 2025 Naples 100 by Naples Illustrated.
Created by the Legislature in 1966, the Collier County Housing Authority is tasked with “providing decent and safe housing for eligible low-income families, including the elderly and persons with disabilities.”
It owns and manages four public housing developments comprising 591 domicile units, 30 units of farm labor housing known as Collier Village and the 192-bed Horizon Village dormitory, which houses “unaccompanied migrant and seasonal farmworker(s).”
The Authority also serves some 3,100 people through the Section 8 Rental Assistance Program and Family Self-Sufficiency Program.
The Authority’s Board of Commissioners is composed of five members, all appointed by the Governor.
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