INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — The Board of County Commissioners Tuesday lauded kudos on Metropolitan Planning Organization leader Phil Matson and his staff for winning a national “Outstanding Achievement” award in the small- to mid-size county category.
The award was announced by the Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations in Washington, D.C. last month, to recognize the Indian River MPO for doing the best job at “successfully advancing and promoting metropolitan transportation planning.”
Chairman Wesley Davis praised Matson and his staff for handling road planning, which is not always exciting, often complex and sometimes controversial, but Davis said Matson does the job with personality and a sense of humor, and that the MPO staff boils issues down in a way that is easy to comprehend.
Commissioner Peter O’Bryan said Matson’s relationship with officials at the Department of Transportation reaps numerous benefits for Indian River County, ranging from favorable outcomes in projects to additional grant dollars for having shovel-ready projects ready to go whenever funds are available.
“Phil is a tremendous personality, a tremendous asset to Indian River County,” O’Bryan said. “It’s Phil’s relationship with the movers at DOT that gets us the results we want.”
Commissioner Tim Zorc recognized the MPO for the bike safety days it conducts at the schools, called “Bike Roadeos” and said the knowledge about protective gear and rules of the road reduces crashes. “
You’ve always done a great job and especially when you do the Bike Roadeo events at the school. That stays them for a long time,” Zorc said.
Commissioner Bob Solari, who routinely criticizes agency committees for being a waste of time and money said of the MPO, “It’s actually a committee that I enjoy going to and learn something from.”
The MPO was formed in April 1993, its mission being to plan and prioritize improvements to the county’s transportation systems.
As the website www.irmpo.com states, “The MPO consists of twelve voting members representing the local governments within the County, two non-voting representatives from the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), and a non-voting representative from the Town of Orchid. Funding is through a Joint Participation”