Bond Petition Withdrawn

Collier County commissioners decided Tuesday to withdraw a petition seeking the validation of up to $130 million of revenue bonds to lure a genetics research institute to the southwest Florida area, according to the Naples News.

The decision came after the Maine-based nonprofit Jackson Laboratories announced it was withdrawing an application for an accompanying $130 million state grant the day before the inauguration of Gov. Rick Scott on Jan. 4.

Jackson officials indicated they are still interested in building the institute, which would anchor a biomedical research and education village in east Collier County.

The application for state funds was withdrawn to work with “Gov. Scott’s administration to see how we can contribute to his plans for job creation and economic growth,” Jackson said.

Collier County had been pursuing validation of $130 million of revenue bonds to build a 165,000-square-foot laboratory on donated land. The project, including land, facilities and equipment funded with bond proceeds, would have been owned by the county, according to the validation complaint. A hearing on the validation request was scheduled Feb. 21.

“The withdrawal of Jackson’s state application … has rendered the county’s bond validation suit legally unsustainable,” a report by county attorney Jeffrey Klatzkow said. “Simply put, there is no longer a sufficiently identifiable project to bond.”

The validation was opposed by several counterclaims, and public spending on the project has been controversial.

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