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Company To Find Sign Sponsors For Blackwater Heritage Trail
April 4, 2014
A Fort Myers company has been hired to find sponsors to put up signs along some of Florida’s premier hiking trails including the Blackwater Heritage Trail.
Bikepath Country Florida will act as an “intermediary” on behalf of the state to seek corporate sponsors on seven state trails, the Department of Environmental Protection announced Thursday.
The contract is an offshoot of a 2012 law that supporters said would help cover or replace some of the estimated $1 million a year the state spends annually to provide upkeep on public trails. But when no sponsors bid last year to put up signs, the state turned to Bikepath.
Mara Burger, a spokeswoman for the DEP, said the state agency would have final say on the sponsors.
“Naturally, we seek family-friendly businesses whose logos and messages are in harmony with the mission of the Florida Park Service, which is to provide resource-based recreation while preserving, interpreting and restoring natural and cultural resources,” Burger wrote. “Companies that are parties to current litigation against the department or the state of Florida will not be considered.”
Sponsors would be allowed to place signs at trailheads or access points, with the signs no larger than 16 square feet at trailheads and 4 square feet at access points.
The contract allows Bikepath Country to find sponsors for the Blackwater Heritage Trail, Tallahassee-St. Marks Historic Railroad State Trail, Palatka-Lake Butler State Trail, Nature Coast State Trail, Withlacoochee State Trail, General James A. Van Fleet State Trail and the Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail.
According to the agreement, Bikepath would initially get to keep 50 percent of the gross revenue from each sponsorship contract. When the sponsorship proposal was debated during the 2011 and 2012 legislative sessions, opponents objected that the ads would become an intrusive distraction for people visiting pristine state lands.
by The News Service of Florida
Comments
One Response to “Company To Find Sign Sponsors For Blackwater Heritage Trail”
Sounds like a sweetheart deal for the Bikepath company. Betcha one or more politicians has a connection with that company. Next they’ll probably start charging and spilling the money with friends of the administration.