|
Leon County
Board of County Commissioners Agenda Item#13 March 19, 2024 |
| To: | Honorable Chairman and Members of the Board |
| From: | Vincent S. Long, County Administrator |
| Title: | Status Update on the Amazon Fulfillment Center |
| Review and Approval: | Vincent S. Long, County Administrator |
|
Department/Division Review and Approval: |
Ken Morris, Assistant County Administrator Ben Pingree, Assistant County Administrator Brent Pell, Director, Public Works Barry Wilcox, Director, Development Services and Environmental Management Artie White, Director, Planning, Land Management & Community Enhancement (PLACE) |
|
Lead Staff/ Project Team: |
Tim Barden, Administrative Services Manager, Public Works Keith Bowers, Director, Office of Economic Vitality Nawfal Ezzagaghi, Director, Environmental Services Charles Wu, Director, Engineering Services |
Statement of Issue:
As requested by the Board, this item provides a status update on the Amazon Fulfillment Center following its initial six months of operation. This status update provides the economic and job creation impacts of the fulfillment center, stormwater treatment and downstream conditions related to the site improvements, and a review of the traffic conditions on the Mahan Drive corridor including the flow of trucks entering and exiting the facility.
Fiscal Impact:
This item has no fiscal impact.
Staff Recommendation:
Option #1: Accept the status update on the Amazon Fulfillment Center.
Report and Discussion
Background:
As requested by the Board, this agenda item provides a status update on the Amazon Fulfillment Center following its initial six months of operation. This status update provides the economic and job creation impacts of the fulfillment center, stormwater treatment and downstream conditions related to the site improvements, and a review of the traffic conditions along the Mahan Drive corridor including the flow of trucks entering and exiting the facility. Additional traffic-related information provided herein includes an update on the City’s former plans to extend Thornton Road north toward Welaunee and the cost estimates to extend StarMetro bus service to the Fulfillment Center. The Amazon Fulfillment Center opened on September 13, 2023.
On May 21, 2021, the Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency Board of Directors approved the Targeted Business application and allocated $2,565,299 over six years to support Project Mango, later to be revealed as an Amazon Robotics Fulfillment Center. In accordance with incentive terms, Amazon was required to build a 3.2 million square foot facility, with a $200M total capital investment, creating 1,000 jobs in its first full year of operation.
On July 13, 2021, as part of the required approval process for the Type “C” site and development plan application for the Amazon project, the Board conducted a public hearing and approved the site plan. Based on the findings of fact and conclusions of law at the public hearing, the Board found the proposed Fulfillment Center to be a permissible use within the High-Intensity Urban Activity Center zoning district at the Mahan Drive and I-10 interchange and approved the application. The approval of the site and development plan included substantial requirements for environmental mitigation measures to gain full permitting which are described later in this item.
Construction began on the Fulfillment Center located on a 170 acres site on the north side Mahan Drive just before the I-10 interchange in September 2021 and was completed in summer 2023. The facility consists of a five (5) story building encompassing 3.2 million square feet, with a total facility cost of approximately $250M. The grand opening was in September 2023 and this item, as requested by the Board, provides a status update and analysis of the economic, stormwater, and traffic impacts related to the Amazon Fulfillment Center after its first six months of operations.
Analysis:
It has been six months since the Fulfillment Center officially opened on September 13, 2023. This item provides a status update on the economic impacts of the opening of the Fulfillment Center. The item also reviews the Fulfillment Center’s compliance with County stormwater management standards and the County’s downstream monitoring. Finally, the status report analyzes traffic impacts of the new facility on the Mahan Drive corridor with the increased ingress and egress of Amazon truck traffic around the facility.
Economic Impacts
The establishment of the Fulfillment Center has brought significant economic benefits to the County. The initial phase involved a substantial capital investment of $250 million for the construction of a cutting-edge 3.2 million square foot robotics fulfillment center. The construction phase created 2,256 jobs, providing a boost to the local economy with $119.7 million in construction wages. Furthermore, the utilization of Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs) during the construction phase totaled $39,527,210. The utilization of DBEs during construction supports minority-owned businesses and ensured that economic opportunities associated with the construction of this facility were distributed equitably.
According to Amazon representatives, approximately 1,400 employees are currently employed at the fulfillment center, earning a wage of $17 an hour or more which exceeded the projected hourly wage of $15 per hour. Of note, this also exceeds the job creation target established by Project Mango which called for 1,000 jobs to be created during the first full year of operation. The opening of the Fulfillment Center provides an estimated $47.9 million in annual income or wages, alone, and represents an estimated annual economic impact of $114 million. The total estimated economic impact of this project is $451 million.
Approximately 43% of the Amazon associates currently employed at the Fulfillment Center reside in zip codes 32301, 32303 and 32304, areas which have historically experienced higher unemployment levels than the County as a whole. In addition to wages earned, employees receive a comprehensive benefits package. Health, vision and dental care insurance coverage is provided from day one of employment. In addition to the health care coverage, Amazon’s benefits package includes pre-paid college tuition to Florida A&M University, Florida State University and Tallahassee Community College, available after 90 days of employment and a 401(k) savings plan with a 50% match.
As stated, Amazon was awarded $2,565,299 through the OEV Targeted Business Program. The funds will be disbursed as a reimbursement of eligible City of Tallahassee or Leon County development fees and up to 100% of the ad valorem taxes paid on land, improvements, and tangible personal property on an annual basis over a six-year period. These reimbursement incentives will be provided from sales tax revenues collected for economic development. Amazon is required to file its reimbursement application request with OEV any time after April 1st of the year after which ad valorem taxes have been paid on the new building. Each annual application for reimbursement shall include verification of the number of employees working for the past year, the annualized salary level of these employees and capital investments made. In addition to the aforementioned information required for reimbursement, Amazon is required to submit an annual report to OEV on March 1st for the ensuing six years. OEV staff will incorporate the details from Amazon’s annual reports into their annual OEV reports to the IA Board of Directors.
OEV staff routinely meets with Amazon representatives to discuss any challenges or areas of opportunity for the overall Amazon operations, community engagement and employee recruitment. Over the last 12 months, OEV staff played an integral role in the coordination of community-wide job fairs to recruit Amazon associates. This included activities such as venue selection, marketing and promotion, logistical arrangements, and collaboration with relevant stakeholders to ensure the success of these community-wide recruitment events. OEV provided Amazon development assistance as it worked through location planning, construction and onboarding of staff through its operational launch and grand opening Leon County. By acting as a liaison for Amazon, OEV facilitated a smooth trajectory for the company's efforts to locate, build and begin operation in our community.
In summary, after only six months of operation, Amazon has already surpassed its initial commitment of creating 1,000 jobs by 40%, and the capital investment pledge of $200 million has been exceeded by 25%. In addition to the capital investment and jobs created, Amazon’s presence has coincided and/or spurred ancillary private development in the area. Three multi-family apartment complexes have begun development activities between Vineland Drive and Walden Road, and commercial development in the corridor, including at Vineland Drive, has also increased. OEV continues its engagement with Amazon to ensure sustained collaboration, foster community development, and address evolving needs.
Environmental Impacts
On July 13, 2021, the Board approved the site and development plan application for the Amazon Fulfillment Center which included substantial environmental requirements for permitting. For example, the Environmental Permitting process, required that a Natural Features Inventory (NFI) of the property be conducted to identify all natural features on site, including wetlands delineation, a Historical Resources evaluation, and floodplain identification. This NFI process culminated in a thorough review by staff and the approval of this application. Thereafter, Amazon representatives submitted an Environmental Management Permit (EMP) application. At that phase of the process, the previously identified natural features were used as a baseline to establish limits on site improvements with a goal of protecting the natural features as established in the Leon County Environmental Management Act (EMA).
The EMP included the placement of a Conservation Easement (CE) over identified sensitive natural areas (Attachment #1). In addition, the EMP ensured the engineering design addressed the stormwater management component by requiring:
The environmentally sensitive areas of this site had been impacted in the past by the presence of water buffalo and other agricultural activities for which the County was preempted from regulating under the Florida Right to Farm Act. However, as the land was sold to Amazon and prepared for construction, the above preemption no longer applied and, as a first step of remediation, the buffalo were required to be removed within 90 days of the issuance of the EMP. Further mitigation activities to restore the impacted wetlands were also required to further improve water quality on the site, which included vegetation management by removing invasive plant species and working towards establishing a native plant ecosystem on site.
The development of the site was accompanied by a series of stormwater management facilities (SWMF) to meet water quality requirements. This included constructing SWMFs that have rate control requirements that exceed the requirements of the EMA so that the SWMFs can treat and detain stormwater on the Amazon site at the same levels that existed before the Fulfillment Center was constructed. For perspective, while stormwater rate control is only required to meet 25-year storm event treatment levels for permit approval, the Amazon Fulfillment Center SWMFs were designed for major events up to 100-year storm standards.
Pursuant to the requirements of the EMA, a stormwater operating permit was submitted May 5, 2023. The County utilizes this permit to verify that all improvements were built consistent with the issued Environmental Management Permit. This verification includes the minimum landscaping requirements completed to address the required canopy coverage within the vehicular use area and buffer landscaping on the perimeter, the conservation easement management plan activities, and the proper functioning of the built SWMF. The Amazon project was built in a manner that accounts for its stormwater, consistent with the EMA, and therefore meets the objectives of protecting downstream properties from unmitigated increases in runoff rates of discharge. In fact, Leon County has a flow gauge in Alford Arm that is downstream of the Amazon site (at Buck Lake Road). During heavy rainfall events, staff monitors this gauge and have noted zero increases in discharge during routine monitoring since the construction of the Amazon site. This would include during the heavy summer rain season and Hurricane Idalia in August 2023. This gauge monitoring downstream will continue into the months and years ahead.
Traffic Impacts
Mahan Drive, the main corridor that supports the Fulfillment Center, is a State-maintained road. The nearest entrance to Amazon Fulfillment Center on Mahan Drive (at Levi Place) is approximately 1,900 feet west of the I-10 eastbound off ramp. At the time of site and development plan approval and permitting of the Amazon facility in 2021, the transportation impact analysis only required a single two-lane access road to serve the development. However, FDOT authorized two access points to the new facility off Mahan Drive: one is at the Levi Place intersection (not signalized) and the other is at the Vineland Drive intersection (signalized). Both intersections have a turn lane for vehicles entering the Amazon facility that are travelling westbound on Mahan Drive, allowing for their safe deceleration, and entering of the Fulfillment Center. Both intersections have dedicated left turn lanes for vehicles exiting the Fulfillment Center onto Mahan Drive headed eastbound, however, Levi Place does not have a traffic signal as explained later in this section. Both intersections are designed for safe vehicular use by simply following state law and vehicle operating guidelines. The site plan was also designed to prevent truck use and traffic conditions on Thornton Road and to direct traffic away from the residences north of the Amazon site.
In large part, traffic flow has been occurring as designed with minimal negative impact for such a large facility. There have been very few traffic issues raised since the opening of the Fulfillment Center, and these conditions are monitored by County and State traffic engineers. A small number of complaints have been received regarding intermittent truck use departing the Fulfillment Center onto Mahan Drive (heading eastbound toward Interstate 10) at the Levi Place intersection. The noted concerns relate to isolated incidents when truck drivers do NOT obey traffic laws requiring waiting for a break in traffic and, instead, block westbound traffic on Mahan Drive while attempting an eastbound exit from Amazon. These reported incidents are isolated and reflect inappropriate exiting by a small number of drivers. Importantly, staff has communicated closely with Amazon representatives who have increased their truck driver training and safety awareness to ensure safe traffic flow to and from the facility.
In most cases, Amazon trucks that use the Mahan Drive/Levi Place intersection for ingress and egress are using that intersection exactly as designed and as illustrated in the approved site plan. The site plan was designed to minimize traffic impacts along Mahan Drive and on the local neighborhoods, to avoid truck traffic on the residential portions of Thornton and Vineland Roads, and maximize public safety by having trucks exiting the Fulfillment Center using Levi Place or at the traffic light at Vineland Road. As designed, exiting trucks are waiting at the Mahan Drive intersection for safe, predictable traffic breaks to occur as the nearby traffic lights turn red (Mahan/Vineland and Mahan/Walden).
While it has been discussed, the installation of a new traffic light at the Mahan/Levi Place intersection is not being considered along this major corridor as it does not meet Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) design standards for minimum distance from existing traffic lights along a state road. According to FDOT engineers, whose approval is required to install any new traffic signal along the corridor, an additional light at the Mahan/Levi Place intersection would negatively impact the flow of traffic on Mahan Drive.
Relatedly, staff has been working with Amazon Fulfillment Center management team to improve their onsite, internal road signage to help direct Amazon trucks exiting their facility toward I-10 to also utilize the signalized intersection at Vineland Drive as one of two viable options. Staff is working with Amazon to ensure awareness and driver training, and with FDOT to monitor the traffic operation at this location.
In addition, FDOT is currently conducting a Project Development and Environment (PD&E) study to evaluate any potential improvements, such as widening, for I-10 from four to six lanes from east of Capital Circle NE in Leon County to west of Gamble Road in Jefferson County. The total distance of this study is approximately 13 miles including the Interchange at Mahan Drive and I-10. The County’s transportation engineers will continue to monitor traffic operations at this location, engage with Amazon to ensure driver safety, and monitor the progress of FDOT’s PD&E study and any planned improvements for this interchange. The state PD&E study is anticipated to be completed in August 2024.
Additional traffic-related information requested by the Board for this status report includes two additional matters: a) an update regarding the City’s former plans to extend Thornton Road and b) the estimated cost and plans to provide StarMetro bus service at the Fulfillment Center. The City previously sought an extension of Thornton Road north of its current endpoint at Miccosukee Road. The objective of the Thornton Road extension was to expand the local road network south of I-10 to connect from Mahan Drive to the new Welaunee Boulevard. Of note, the Welaunee Boulevard extension project is currently under construction through a large tract of land that is owned by the City (formerly part of the Welaunee Plantation).
For any Thornton Road extension north of Miccosukee Road to be feasible, the City would need to gain a new easement across state lands (i.e., the Miccosukee Canopy Road Greenway) or would need to exchange land with the State. The City has coordinated with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) requested to exchange a vested easement across the Greenway at Arendell Way for a new easement at Thornton Road - for the purpose of extending Thornton Road. However, FDEP has informed the City that they are not going to take the City request to the Governor and Cabinet for approval, which is a required procedural step for any Thornton Road Extension to occur. At present, there are no plans to pursue this matter further by the City.
The County’s approval of the site plan for the Amazon Fulfillment Center included a provision requiring construction of a bus stop facility near Mahan Drive, funded by Amazon, if and when StarMetro service is extended to the Fulfillment Center. At the County’s request in 2022, the City provided information regarding the potential to extend StarMetro service to the Amazon site. It summarizes that StarMetro service is supported by City general revenues (property taxes) and is limited to provide public transportation within city limits unless a funding agreement to extend StarMetro service into the unincorporated area is adopted. At that time, the City provided an initial cost estimate (start-up fee) of $1.3 million for fleet expansion and an annual operating fee of $275,000 to extend StarMetro service to the Amazon Fulfillment Center. To date, no action has been taken to extend city bus service to the Fulfillment Center.
Summary
This item presented the requested six-month update to the Board to analyze Amazon’s performance since opening in three areas. As detailed above, the Amazon Fulfillment Center has brought significant economic impact to Leon County and has quickly met or exceeded its construction, operation, and job creation goals. From the initial capital investment and job creation that occurred during the construction period, to the sustained impact of annual wages and employee benefits, the economic benefits are multifaceted and substantial. In addition, the Amazon project was built in a manner that accounts for its stormwater, consistent with the EMA, and meets the objectives of protecting downstream properties and water bodies. Traffic impacts in and around the Fulfillment Center have been minimal and the County continues to work with Amazon regarding onsite signage for driver awareness for safe ingress and egress from the facility.
Options:
Recommendation:
Option #1
Attachment: