With the toll for the Garcon Point Bridge potentially increasing from $3.75 to $5 any day now, the lone remaining member of the board that is supposed to run the defaulted bridge has resigned.

Navarre resident Morgan Lamb, who had been the last remaining appointee on the six-member Santa Rosa Bay Bridge Authority, resigned effective Dec. 1.  In a certified letter received on Nov. 6, New York Mellon Bank, which holds the defaulted $95 million in bonds that funded the bridge, demanded the authority increase the toll.

"When you are sworn in, it's the standard, 'Will you uphold the Constitution of the United States' and this kind of stuff, and the Constitution of the Florida. Nothing was ever mentioned about having any particular responsibility or allegiance to Mellon Bank," said Morgan, who served on the authority for about 12 years. "I had made a statement a while back that I would not remain on the board for a toll raise."

But Lamb's resignation, and the resulting empty Authority board, does not mean the toll may not yet increase. The Florida Department of Transportation actually administers the bridge, including collecting the tolls.

"They (New York Mellon Bank) say within 30 days after notification to the board, if the board hasn't acted, they can direct the Department of Transportation to raise the tolls," Lamb said. "I don't know what the bank is going to do. but they have the technicality that they could just go ahead and raise the tolls."

Pensacola Today has contacted the DOT seeking comment on whether New York Mellon Bank has requested that toll be increased. That information will be posted as soon as it is available.

The Garcon Point Bridge was not built with public money. It was authorized by the Legislature, but funded with $95 million in bonds purchased by private investors who believed they were guaranteed a set return. The bridge, however, has never met its financial expectations, leaving the bondholders — represented by New York Mellon Bank — searching for ways to recoup their investment.

In attempts to maximize revenues, the toll has steadily increased since the bridge opened in May 1999. To begin with, it was $2. In 2002, it increased to $2.50. It went to $3 in 2004, and to $3.50 in 2007. In 2011, it jumped to the current $3.75.

While dramatically increasing the toll might seem like it would have the potential to decrease usage and, therefore, revenues,  the bank's traffic consultant, FTI Consulting, doesn't think that is the case. FTI believes the only people who use the bridge now are the ones who absolutely have to – including seasonal tourists — so most of them are likely to continue using it, even with the toll increase.

In addition to raising the one-way toll to $5, FTI wants to cut the discount that frequent bridge users who use the SunPass transponder device receive from 50 percent to 25 percent. They believe the changes, even with any lost traffic, will bolster the bridge’s revenues from an estimated $5.4 million for 2014 to $6.7 million in 2015.

From October 2013 to September 2014, there was a total 1,513,809 one-way trips across the bridge. That’s an average of about 126,151 per month.

The Santa Rosa Bay Bridge Authority, established by state law, is supposed to have six voting members — three appointed by the Santa Rosa County Commission and three appointed by the governor.

Last month, a county spokeswoman said the county could not attract anyone willing to serve in its three seats, and Gov. Rick Scott's office did not respond to a request for comment. Lamb had been a gubernatorial appointee.

"There are no takers," Lamb said. "Nobody cares to be on a board where you are just ineffective."

State Rep. Doug Broxson, R-Gulf Breeze, agrees that New York Mellon Bank has the authority to demand an increase in the Garcon Point Bridge.

"They haven't asked yet," Broxson said. "They sent a letter to the Santa Rosa Bay Bridge Authority, knowing that it's not functional. Under the terms of the (bonding) document, they have to do that. After 30 days, they can arbitrarily notify the state, which is the collector, that they want a toll increase. The state has no ability to say, 'We will not impose that.' The state has to do that by contract."

Such a letter would go to the secretary of the Florida Department of Transportation, he said.

"I think, probably, they are testing the water to see what kind of response it would get, and it has gotten more response than they anticipated," he said.

Broxson hopes to speak with representatives from Mellon Bank in the near future to discuss their intentions.

Broxson believes the ultimate solution to the bridge problem may be for the bondholders to see the bridge to the state or another entity. The bridge is currently has about unpaid $130 million in bond debt and interest, plus another $31 million in debt to the DOT for operating the bridge, he said.

He believes the value of the bridge, based on potential income, is considerably less than that.