Pinellas County will continue its decadeslong partnership with the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS), county commissioners decided Nov. 18.

IFAS’ $297,986 annual price tag was questioned last month by Commissioner Chris Scherer, but his scrutiny was ultimately met with strong support for the program.

“I don’t want to do away with the program,” Scherer said on Tuesday. “But many of the efforts of the extension are duplicated. I just think it’s time for the University of Florida to take a look at what their programs are and downsize them accordingly.”

Scherer was the only dissenting vote, with other commissioners saying that they believe the partnership is more economical than any alternatives.

“33 cents per resident per year is something I think we can afford,” Commissioner Dave Eggers said.

Through the IFAS partnership, UF lends its environmental research to help local communities, and the institute’s extension office in Pinellas leads 4-H youth programs and other educational efforts. IFAS has six full-time employees stationed in Pinellas.

The university led more than 800 programs in Pinellas in the past year, reaching 23,000 residents, with 189 volunteers donating more than 15,000 hours, Andra Johnson, the university’s dean overseeing the program, wrote in a column published last week in the Tampa Bay Times.

Nancy Page, 63, who counts herself as a beneficiary of the master gardener volunteer training program, was among the public speakers extolling the partnership’s importance at Tuesday’s commission meeting.

“It’s vital that we have that University of Florida influence at our fingertips,” Page told commissioners.

Patricia Kirby, of Clearwater, told the board the extension is so meaningful to her that she rushed to speak in its favor at the meeting after learning about the agenda item only an hour prior.

Commissioner René Flowers noted that the support for the program seemed to be widespread.

“I have not had anyone come to me to say, ‘This is a program that we would like to see the county no longer support,’” Flowers said.

The gallery applauded after the program was preserved.