News of the Nature Coast of Florida

Citrus County Commissioner John Thrumston on Friday was elected to a new post on the TBARTA Executive Committee.

The election was held during Friday's meeting of the Tampa Bay Area Rapid Transit Authority in Tampa.

Because the newly elected Finance Committee Chair, Clearwater Mayor Frank Hibbard, is already a member of the Executive Committee, a fifth member of the Executive Committee was also elected. Thrumston was elected as the fifth member.

Thrumston represents District 4 on the county commission, and has been active in TBARTA matters. He has worked with TBARTA and Florida Department of Transportation to set a course for Citrus County’s transportation needs both now and in the future. Thrumston has helped secure more than $15 million in transportation funds for Citrus County.

TBARTA was created by the Florida Legislature in 2007 to plan and develop a multimodal transportation system that will connect the seven counties of the Tampa Bay region. The legislature mandated that TBARTA must create a Regional Transportation Master Plan for the Tampa Bay region by July 2009. TBARTA adopted this plan in May 2009.

The goal of the Master Plan is to engage the public in developing a vision for regional integration of transportation systems and foster partnerships with government agencies and business entities.