The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

B.C. Manion

Business Digest 02/08/2023

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Melanie McCann joins SMARTstart
Melanie McCann has joined the Pasco Economic Development Council’s SMARTstart team. She will be assisting West Pasco entrepreneurs from the Holiday entrepreneur center, which will be opening this year at the new AmSkills building. She also will work on upcoming events.

Fifth Third Bank opens new location
Fifth Third Bank has opened a location at Collier Commons. It is the first of seven branches it plans to open in the Tampa Bay area this year, with more to follow in 2024, according to a news release.

The 3,150-square-foot financial center features the new Next Gen design, focusing on an open environment and equipped with the latest technology.

It is located at 22850 State Road 54, in Land O’ Lakes.

Grand opening festivities were set for Feb. 2 (after The Laker/Lutz News deadline). Festivities were expected to include a ribbon-cutting with the North Tampa Bay Chamber, food, attendance by elected leaders, giveaways, and appearances by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers cheerleaders and the team mascot, Captain Fear.

Digital literacy efforts
Spectrum representatives, Florida Sen. Danny Burgess and members of the community had a celebration on Jan. 31 at the Lewis Abraham Lacoochee Boys & Girls Club, according to a news release.

During the celebration, which included a barbecue dinner, Spectrum presented a $10,000 grant to expand high speed broadband to the club.

The event also featured three student winners in an essay contest.

The club is at 38724 Mudcat Grant Blvd., in Dade City. Spectrum’s grant is intended to support digital literacy efforts in Dade City.

USDA launches pilot library
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has launched its pilot Cattle Contracts Library, on the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) Cattle Contract Library webpage, according to a news release.

The pilot library’s aim is to increase market transparency for cattle producers.

This library will provide new disclosure to the industry and public regarding the key terms, conditions, and volumes under which cattle are contracted, bringing sunshine to practices in what is now the largest part of the cattle market, the release says.

This will empower cattle producers to negotiate better terms, more carefully monitor risks relating to marketing preferences and pricing practices, and ultimately take better advantage of market opportunities to produce cattle that the market demands.

The initial release of the library will allow users to browse a range of terms and information contained in active contracts used for the purchase of fed cattle. In addition to active contracts in use, the library will provide information on terms most commonly used in cattle contracts, such as base price determination, base price adjustments and selling basis options; contract specifications for such things as quality, yield, breed, weight, delivery, financing, profit/risk-sharing, and more (where present in a contract); and the full range of premiums and discounts used in final price determination, the release says.

For more information, visit www.ams.usda.gov/market-news/livestock-poultry-grain/cattle-contracts-library.

Small business health care
Learn about your options for choosing a health insurance package for your small business during this Pasco-Hernando Score Webinar on Feb. 9 from noon to 1 p.m.

Danette Wilson, a Pasco-Hernando Score volunteer, will lead the webinar which will cover details you need to consider when selecting health care coverage.

Depending on your business characteristics and employee makeup, one form of health insurance benefit will fit your needs better than another. The webinar also will review the types of coverage available when leaving your current employer. Medicare will be covered, too.

To register for the event, go to Score.org/pascohernando.

Utilizing YouTube
Whether you are creating video ads on Facebook or uploading promo videos on YouTube, video helps drive customers to your  business. This webinar presentation will give you some basic ideas of how to incorporate videos in your marketing plan. Professor Greta Kishbaugh, president of BizDynamic Group, will present the webinar on Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. To register, go to Score.org/pascohernando.

Grow Pasco
SMARTstart will present its third annual Grow Pasco on March 4 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Hyatt Place Tampa Wesley Chapel, 26000 Sierra Center Blvd., in Lutz (but in an area that’s generally considered to be Wesley Chapel).

The cost is $45, which includes a continental breakfast and lunch.

The event includes 15 breakout sessions aimed at engaging everyone from budding entrepreneurs to established business leaders.

The keynote speaker for the event is Dr. Edmondo Robinson, the chief digital officer at Moffitt Cancer Center. He will discuss a broad array of uses for technology in the areas of predictive analysis, product development, consumer engagement and business operational efficiencies.

To register for Grow Pasco, visit the Pasco Economic Development Council’s website at PascoEDC.com, and click on the events tab.

Commerce and Connections
The North Tampa Bay Chamber has its Commerce and Coffee from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m., every fourth Tuesday of the month, at Raining Berries, 25595 Sierra Center Blvd., in Lutz. Bring some business cards and make some connections in a social, no-agenda atmosphere.

National economy appears to be transitioning toward ‘normal,’ economist says

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Richard Moody, chief economist for Regions Financial Corporation, provided a deep look at the various levers that are affecting the U.S. economy, during a luncheon meeting organized by the Pasco Economic Development Council Inc.

The gathering, held on Jan. 19 at Heritage Springs Country Club in Trinity, attracted a wide range of business executives, entrepreneurs, government leaders, elected officials and others.

Moody began his remarks by telling the crowd: “If I had to kind of pick a theme for the U.S. economy this year, maybe even the global economy, it would be rediscovering normal.

“Think about all that we’ve been through in the past three years. There’s been virtually nothing normal about the economy since February 2020, when the pandemic hit.

Richard Moody, chief economist for Regions Financial Corporation, said his firm isn’t predicting a recession, but is estimating that growth in gross domestic product this year will be 1%. (Courtesy of Pasco Economic Development Council Inc.)

Not only the pandemic itself, but the policy response. The fiscal monetary policy created a lot of distortions in the economy. The policy measures have largely run their course. The distortions in the economy, not so much.

“That’s why we think this year may not necessarily be what we remember as normal, but at least more of a transition to normal,” he said.

Distortions in the market are seen in the labor market, the housing market, in consumer spending patterns and in inflation, he said.

Because of this, “We have a lot of business owners, representing a lot of different industry groups, who are telling me they don’t know what they should be doing,” he said.

“They don’t understand: ‘What’s a normal level of demand I should be planning for?’”

That lack of understanding is affecting how many people they hire and how many they keep and also is influencing capital expenditures, he said.

“I can guarantee you, when we get to the end of this year, the economy is not going to look like I think it will now. That’s just based on what we’ve been through the past three years. What I don’t know right now is why that’s going to be the case,” he said.

He expects the U.S. economy to have a challenging year, predicting a growth rate of just 1%. With such a thin margin, it’s hard to absorb external shocks, Moody said.

Unlike its counterparts in other shops, Regions Financial Corporation is not predicting a recession. Among those who are, Moody said, “virtually all of them, they describe it in the exact same manner: ‘short and shallow.’”

The chief economist talked about employment trends.

In terms of labor force participation, there are two large missing groups: people between 18 and 24, and people over 55, he said.

“We saw a significant exodus of older workers at the onset of the pandemic, most of them probably retired and are not coming back,” Moody said.

“So, the question is, when and to what extent will the younger people return to the labor force,” he said.

A third significant gap in the labor force is made up of married females, he said.

“Schools were shut down. Kids were learning at home. The provision of day care services really declined dramatically. Many of them were simply not allowed to operate.

“Females took on the primary responsibilities for filling those gaps. Overseeing at-home education, caring for children who otherwise would have been in day care.

“We’ve started to see female participation (in the work force) come back, but it’s still meaningfully lower than it was prior to the pandemic.”

The mismatch between labor force and available jobs has resulted in wage growth. The availability of more jobs also has spurred workers to change jobs, leading to higher pay.

Although tech layoffs have been in the headlines, Moody said that’s more indicative of the tech sector, rather than the broad economy.

Moody also discussed consumer spending, noting that the demands for goods “has been largely sated” and now consumers are spending  more on services, such as travel, dining out, recreation and entertainment.

He expects spending on services also will level out.

When it comes to housing, Moody said “we think there’s still a lot of untapped demand out there for home purchases.”
He also noted that applications for mortgage loans have been “very responsive to declines in interest rates, even at these high rates that we’re seeing now, relative to what they were a year ago.”

Regarding inflation, Moody said, “what we are seeing is that inflation is decelerating and some of the leading indicators that we watch — whether it’s shipping costs, commodity prices, energy prices, even growth in labor costs — they tell us that inflation is going to continue coming down.”

He concluded his remarks much the way he started.

“There are a lot of things that we know that we should be worried about and we should be mindful of them, as we make our baseline forecast. But the one thing that keeps me up at night is: ‘What don’t I know, that I don’t know? The known, unknowns are fine. They don’t keep me up at night. It’s the unknown, unknowns that worry me. And, after the experience of the last three years, it would be foolish to just presume, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll get through this year.’”

Note: Next week, we’ll explore a closer look at Florida and Pasco County’s economics, based on a presentation from Zachary Smith, assistant professor of economics and finance at Saint Leo University.

Published February 01, 2023

Resolving bad behavior by students is no easy fix, officials say

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Pasco County School Board members and union president Don Peace have cast a spotlight on a persistent problem on district campuses that they think requires more action.

They want the school district to increase its efforts and try new approaches to address disruptive and sometimes dangerous behavior by students.

During the school board’s Jan. 17 meeting, Peace, president of United School Employees of Pasco (USEP), reported that the union has been hearing about “quite a few situations where students are acting out in such a manner as to cause harm and injury to employees.

United School Employees of Pasco president Don Peace

“One of the things that we collaboratively can, and should, work on is student behavior.

“No employee comes to work with the expectation of being bitten, kicked, hit or spit upon by their students.

“Together, the district and the union must take a stand on this type of behavior and protect employees and their right to perform work in a safe environment.

“As you have your district staff meetings, I would ask that student behavior, especially outbursts against employees, be examined,” Peace said, during the portion of the meeting when USEP offers remarks to the board.

School board member Cynthia Armstrong told her colleagues that she’d done an extensive review of comments in a Thought Exchange that the school district did on school safety.

Pasco County School Board member Cynthia Armstrong

Thought Exchanges are used to help the district to get a big picture look on various topics.

Armstrong noticed that concerns were raised about student behavior.

“The discipline issue is really quite disturbing to me,” Armstrong said. “I know we’ve talked about the discipline issue before. You know, discipline — it’s just getting harder and harder. I just want to make sure we don’t give up because it’s hard to do.

“It’s too important to say, ‘That’s just the way it is. That’s just the way kids are.’

“It’s not acceptable. We’ve got to figure out and not lose sight, so that students can feel safe, students can learn. And, I know we’ve reached out, saying we’ve got to get parents’ help in order to be successful.

“We can continue to do that, but whether the parents are on board or not, we have to figure out a way that we can get a handle on the discipline.”

School board member Colleen Beaudoin added: “Especially with these large class sizes, teachers really need support.”

Pasco County Schools Superintendent Kurt Browning

School board chairwoman Megan Harding agreed that teachers need the district’s backing.

Armstrong added: “I know it’s resources. It takes time. It takes people to work through all the discipline issues but we just might have to make that a priority.”

Superintendent Kurt Browning noted that the district has 86,000 students and that these problems are being caused by a small fraction of students.

“We need to keep in mind that we have so many more kids in our classrooms that want to be there, that want to learn,” he said.

That being said, the superintendent agreed that the small number of students creating the problems are disruptive.

“We do need to problem-solve,” Browning said.

He said it may shock some to learn that the grade level that’s most problematic in Pasco Schools is kindergarten.

The superintendent’s theory is that these children have not been in a structured environment and when they get to school, they think they can rule the roost.

“We do need to partner with our parents. We cannot do this without Moms and Dads. We just cannot,” Browning said. “We continue to problem-solve. It’s probably the most frustrating issue that I’ve had to deal with as the superintendent in the last 10 years that I’ve been here.”

Harding noted: “It’s not even fighting at elementary. It’s disrespect and disruption.”

She added the district needs to nip those behaviors in the bud.

“If we don’t catch those behaviors in kindergarten, it’s just going to spiral, spiral, spiral, spiral. (If) We want to keep our teachers in the classroom, we need to have that backup for them,” Harding said.

Armstrong emphasize the need to take action, to make the issue a priority.

“It’s great that we’re saying it’s not a tremendous number, then maybe we can find the resources to address those kids, whether it’s alternate punishments — maybe we have to get more creative.”

Published February 01, 2023

Superintendent forums focus on school safety issues

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Pasco County Schools Superintendent Kurt Browning recently hosted two family forums, with a focus on school safety.

One event was set for Jan. 31 at Fivay High School, 12115 Chicago Ave., in Hudson (after The Laker/Lutz News went to press). A similar event was held at Pasco Middle School on Jan. 24.

In the runup to the forums, the school district conducted a Thought Exchange on the issue of school safety. In a Thought Exchange participants are asked to respond to a question that’s intended to encourage a broad range of responses. The Thought Exchange also allows participants to indicate if they agree with thoughts that are expressed by others.

Steve Hegarty, public information officer for Pasco County Schools, said, in this case, “The question that we asked was: ‘What thoughts, concerns or suggestions do you have to enhance safety in our schools?’”

Pasco County Schools has taken steps to improve safety on campuses, through increased security at school entry points. (File)

The Thought Exchange was open to the community, to students, to staff and to parents.

During the Pasco County School Board’s Jan. 17 meeting, Hegarty shared some of the feedback that was submitted.

About 4,000 responses were received, he said.

“The way that Thought Exchange works is that you can put a thought in there, you can put a concern.

“You can also rate some idea that somebody else put in there, something that resonates with you, something that you agree with. So, you can rate it as high as a five or as low as a one.

“We learned the things that were most top of mind with folks and the things that resonated with folks.

“What we learned was there’s a lot of different ways you can look at safety.

“Some people think in terms of crosswalks and traffic,” he said.

Others think about bullying or mental health issues.

“Nearly 400 mentioned something about cameras and fencing and things at the physical plant to make it safer at our schools,” Hegarty said.

“The next one is misbehavior.

“The way I look at it, cameras, metal detectors, etc., is sort of outside threats to our safety.

“The second one is more internal.

“There are a lot of parents, students, staff, etc., that weighed in and thought there are some students that are perhaps creating an unsafe environment with their behavior in our schools, so that is a concern that rated pretty highly with parents, students and staff,” Hegarty said.

School Resource officers and School Safety got a big thumbs’ up from respondents, he added.

“They want to see them. They want them to be visible. Many would like to see a lot more in our schools. “That came up again and again.

“We wanted to hear from folks,” Hegarty said. “If they had ideas, we wanted to hear them. If they had concerns, we wanted to address them.”

More information on a variety of safety-related issues was available at the superintendent’s forums.

Published February 01, 2023

Pasco celebrates its 90.2% graduation rate

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Pasco County school officials recently celebrated news of the school district’s 90.2% graduation rate.

“It’s higher than the surrounding counties. It’s 2.9% higher than the state average,” said Kurt Browning, the school district’s superintendent, during the Pasco School Board’s Jan. 17 meeting.

“I want to thank folks in our district that worked very, very hard to ensure success of our students, being able to get across the line. But also some things, such as the way we code things in our system, making sure that the data is clean, the data is correct.

“It’s a collective effort on a lot of people’s part,” Browning said.

“I just could not be more proud of the work this district put in to make sure that our kids were successful,” he added.

School board members also chimed in, sharing congratulatory remarks and expressing appreciation for district staff.

“Right up to the last minute, we had teachers and administrators working with kids, getting them across that finish line,” said school board member Colleen Beaudoin.

Don Peace, union president of the United School Employees of Pasco, congratulated the district for its performance.

He added: “I’m sure all of us would like to see the rate higher in the upcoming year summary. It’s important for us to keep the bar high, but attainable, for our students.”

While celebrating the moment, Browning expressed a word of caution.

“We will see what happens this coming year,” Browning said, referring to a potential state change that could increase a score needed for students to meet graduation requirements.

“We’re not sure what we’re going to see this May. That will be the benchmark year. But we are going to have to be creative and really problem-solve,” Browning said.

During a staff meeting on the morning of Jan. 17, Browning said that Dr. Monica Isle, the assistant superintendent for high school, shared some “staggering figures” regarding the number of seniors who do not currently meet graduation requirements.

“Raising the requirement could have ‘a dramatic impact’ on the district’s graduation rate,” Browning said.

Efforts will continue to ask the state to give more consideration to its required score, Browning said. At the same time, district staff will be making every effort to ensure its students are successful, regardless of the score required by the state.

Published February 01, 2023

Pasco County Schools continues to struggle with teacher vacancies

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Pasco County Schools has submitted a class size appeal with the Florida Commissioner of Education, as the district lacks a sufficient number of teachers to fully staff its schools.

Superintendent Kurt Browning and the Pasco County School Board discussed the problem during the Jan. 17 board meeting.

Browning said the district has complied with state class size requirements for years, but hasn’t been able to achieve that this year.

“We cannot find the teachers to staff these classrooms,” Browning said.

School board member Cynthia Armstrong said the district is diligently searching to fill the vacancies.

“In the past, class size has been a budget issue. We didn’t have the money to hire the teachers. “We’re in a totally different situation now. We would love to hire the teachers. We are just having to look behind every tree to find them,” Armstrong said.

Board colleague Colleen Beaudoin agreed.

“We’re trying really hard to fill these positions. We don’t want to go over class size. Nobody wants to do that. We’re doing everything we can to hire highly qualified teachers.

“It’s not acceptable to have kids sitting in a classroom without a highly qualified teacher. And sometimes having a class size a little bigger to have a student have a highly qualified teacher is what we have to do. It’s not ideal, but our students need highly qualified teachers,” she said.

Board chairwoman Megan Harding added: “I’ve heard from a lot of my peers who actually have really big class sizes, especially in kindergarten. Really big.”

Pasco isn’t alone in its inability to fill all teacher vacancies, the shortage is being experienced across the state and nation.

While the school district awaits word on the state’s decision regarding its class size appeal, it also has submitted a class size compliance plan to the Florida Department of Education for consideration, in case its appeal fails.

The compliance plan explains how each school plans to meet the class size requirement for the October 2023 Full-time Equivalent (FTE) student survey.

Browning told board members that he appreciated the discussion around the district’s class size compliance plan.

“The state’s process is a little backwards,” Browning said. “We had to file the appeal by the sixth of January, which is the week we returned from Christmas break. So you file your appeal regarding class size, but they don’t make a determination regarding whether they’re going grant the appeal until after the deadline for the compliance plan to be brought to the board and approved.

Although he appreciates the district’s substitute teachers, Browning said, “there’s nothing like having that highly qualified teacher, in front of those students, every day. That’s what makes a difference.

“I’m hoping the department (Florida Department of Education) will grant us our appeal because that would mean significantly less penalty for us. But we will wait and see. We have done everything the state has asked us to do. We’ve made our case to the state. Now, we sit and wait.”

Both Harding and Beaudoin reported that requests have been made to the state legislators to amend the Florida Retirement System to enable retired teachers to return to become substitute teachers. As it stands now, there’s a mandatory waiting period.

Changing the state’s retirement system would enable the district to address staffing shortages.

“They would be highly qualified.” Harding said.

Don Peace, union president for the United School Employees of Pasco, said beyond finding new teachers to fill openings, the district needs to consider ways to retain teachers.

He pointed to comments in a Gallup survey that “include concerns with teacher workload, communication and data collection.”

Plus, Peace noted:  “We need to continually look at removing add-ons to our teachers and let them concentrate on delivery of instruction to students.”

Published February 01, 2023

Business Digest 02/01/2023

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(Courtesy of Courtesy of Cresco Labs / Sunnyside)

Sunnyside Lutz opens
Sunnyside Lutz is a cannabis dispensary at 21708 State Road 54 in Lutz, and is Cresco Labs’ 22nd location in Florida.

Sunnyside is best known in Florida’s cannabis industry for its bright, welcoming store environment, patient-focused service, knowledgeable wellness advisors and wide assortment of top-quality branded cannabis products, according to a news release.

Sunnyside Lutz offers products from Cresco Labs’ branded portfolio including Cresco, One Plant, Supply, Good News, Remedi and Sunnyside.

For more information, visit Sunnyside.shop online.

New board member
Sola Adewunmi, CCMA AMS, has been named to the board of directors at Gulfside Healthcare Services.

Adewunmi is now one of 10 community leaders who provide oversight and support to the nonprofit organization.

Adewunmi is the community manager at Greenacre Properties Inc., and has extensive professional background in television broadcast news.

Gulfside’s board members volunteer their leadership, expertise and talents to ensure the organization stays focused as it pursues its mission and vision.

Under new management
Smoothie King at Trinity Village Center, 10720 State Road 54, in Trinity, is under new management. The Greater Pasco Chamber of Commerce had a ribbon-cutting on Jan. 28 to celebrate.

PNC Bank pledges donation
PNC Bank has pledged $500,000 for a new education center at the Tampa Museum of Art.

The donation is part of the museum’s Centennial Campaign. It will be used for education and exhibition programming at the new PNC Family Classroom and Gallery, a new 1,680-square-foot space in the museum’s renovated and expanded Vinik Family Education Center.

The Tampa Museum of Art is at 120 W. Gasparilla Plaza, in downtown Tampa.

East Pasco Networking Group
The East Pasco Networking Group meets on the second Tuesday of the month (except for December), at 7:30 a.m. It gathers at the IHOP, at 13100 U.S. 301, in Dade City.

The group’s meetings feature speakers from a wide array of backgrounds.

Here is a list of the upcoming speakers, scheduled through May:

  • Feb. 8: Bob Hatfield, from the office of U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, and Madonna Wise, an author and retired educator
  • March 14: Al Hernandez, newly elected member of the Pasco County School Board, and Bill Cronin, president and CEO of the Pasco Economic Development Council
  • April 11: Christopher Dester, founder of the Academy of Spectrum Diversity, and Col. Jeff Harrington, of the Pasco Sheriff’s Office
  • May 9: Mike Moore, former board member on the Pasco County Commission, now with The Southern Group.

For more information, contact Nils Lenz, 813-782-9491 or

Credit union earns distinction
Suncoast Credit Union announced it has earned the Juntos Avanzamos designation for its commitment to serving and empowering the Hispanic community.

Translated as “Together We Advance,” Juntos Avanzamos credit unions help those who remain largely unbanked and vulnerable, according to the news release.

To qualify for the Juntos Avanzamos accreditation, credit unions must complete an extensive process to demonstrate how they serve Spanish-speaking people through inclusive underwriting policies, financial education, and affordable loans.

This initiative showcases that working together with underserved communities is vital to helping achieve financial security and independence.

To celebrate the Juntos Avanzamos designation, the credit union hosted a proclamation ceremony on Jan. 24, including food, a mariachi band performance, giveaways, entertainment, and community networking at the Galleria Service Center branch in Tampa.

Chartered in 1934 as Hillsborough County Teachers Credit Union, Suncoast Credit Union currently operates 75 full-service branches and serves more than one million members in 40 counties across Florida.

Sae Cooper joins Weichert Realtors
Weichert, Realtors — Exclusive Properties has announced that Sae Cooper has joined its Tampa office, at 3903 Northdale Blvd., Suite 100E.

Florida ranks No. 1 for retirement
The personal-finance website has released its report on 2023’s Best States to Retire and Florida leads the list.

WalletHub compared the 50 states across 47 key metrics. Our analysis examines affordability, health-related factors and overall quality of life.

Here’s a snapshot of some of the findings, according to a news release.

Florida ranked:

  • 13th in annual cost of in-home services
  • Sixth in WalletHub ‘Taxpayer’ ranking
  • Second in percentage of population aged 65 and older
  • 19th in property crime rate
  • Ninth in life expectancy
  • 22nd in percentages of people age 12 or older who have been vaccinated against COVID-19

For the full report, visit WalletHub.com/edu/best-and-worst-states-to-retire/18592.

SCORE seeks participants
Research participants are needed on a study called: “Social Capital: Impact on the Growth of Woman-Owned Healthcare Small Businesses in the United States.”

The study involves a 60-minute confidential Zoom interview.

It is seeking participants who answer yes to these questions:

  • Are you a woman who owns a business in the health care industry?
  • Is your business headquartered in the United States?
  • Is the business five years old, or older?
  • Do you have at least one and fewer than 50 employees?

If your answer was yes to all of these questions, Tracy Shaw would appreciate the opportunity to speak with you. To reach Shaw, email .

Spirit Achievement awards
Darcie Glazer Kassewitz and Rhea Law will receive honors during the Junior Achievement of Tampa Bay’s 2023 achievement awards dinner.

Kassewitz is president/owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Foundation and president of the Glazer Vision Foundation. Law is the president of the University of South Florida.

Both women will be honored for their personal and professional accomplishments, for giving back to the community and for the work that they’ve done to make a positive impact in the Tampa Bay area, according to a news release.

Both women will receive the  Spirit Achievement Award during an awards dinner scheduled for March 9 at Armature Works, Tampa Bay.

For tickets and sponsorship information, call 813-605-1764, visit JATampaBay.org, or email . 

Pasco planning board wants more input on public safety needs

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The Pasco County Planning Commission — which makes recommendations related to the county’s growth — wants public safety agencies to provide more meaningful comment on proposed zoning and land use changes.

The planning board voted at its Jan. 19 meeting to ask for a discussion with representatives from the Pasco Sheriff’s Office and Pasco County Fire/Rescue.

That request arose from the planning board’s consideration of a proposed land use change that would allow up to 158 townhomes on two parcels on Clinton Avenue, a quarter-mile west of U.S. 301.

The planning board recommended approval of that request, but not before some planning board members said they’d like the county’s public safety agencies to provide greater detail in their comments on a potential development and the increased public safety needs it will create.

Ladder 38 is located at Pasco Fire Rescue Station 38, at 7541 Paramount Drive, in the Watergrass subdivision of Wesley Chapel. (File)

Planning board member Jaime Girardi observed that he notices that many applications come in with “no comment” from public safety agencies.

County planner Doreen Roy told the planning board that when a request like this comes through, it is forwarded to the agencies for their review.

“I constantly have to send out an email, to see if we get comments and sometimes we just get an email back, ‘No comments.’”

Girardi continued: “But the sheriff’s department did respond back, ‘No comment’?”

Roy replied, “Correct.”

Planning board member Peter Hanzel added: “Just to springboard from that, what about the fire department?
Roy replied: “The fire department, I usually never hear from them.”

Hanzel responded: “I think it’s unfair to the public, as a whole, that these two departments that are extremely critical to safety of any county, do not respond, other than in a negative fashion.

“I think there should be some pressure applied that they indicate that, ‘Yes, we have reviewed this and we do not concur, or we concur, or we have comments,” he said. “I think that needs to be a positive response, rather than no response.”

Chief Assistant County Attorney David Goldstein told the board: “The problem with saying that they have to provide comments, is that it has the potential of slowing down an otherwise meritorious application for months and months simply because the department doesn’t want to focus on it.

“Applicants were put in limbo for months and months because staff was waiting on comments from affected agencies and not getting any,” Goldstein said. “At some point, it becomes a fairness to the applicant issue.”

Hanzel said he has no desire to slow the process down.

But planning board member Derek Pontlitz asked if the Pasco County Commission can compel the agencies to respond.

The county has jurisdiction over Fire/Rescue, but not over Sheriff Chris Nocco, who is an independent constitutional officer.

However, Goldstein added: “We also don’t have the authority to compel the school board to do it, either, but they do. They recognize the value of being able to participate in the planning process.”

Goldstein added: “At one point, I thought the sheriff recognized the value, too, because at one point he asked for a seat on the Planning Commission.”

But the Pasco County Commission turned down that request.

Goldstein said that county staff responded by involving the sheriff’s office more in the pre-app and application process, but he doesn’t know why the sheriff’s office isn’t more actively involved in the process.

The attorney continued: “The school board actively participates and probably gets certain developer concessions that they otherwise wouldn’t have gotten, had they not participated in the process.”

Even when the county is planning very large projects, it doesn’t get much feedback from public safety, Goldstein added.

“For example, the Villages of Pasadena Hills has sites allocated for parks, sites allocated for schools, roads, utilities. To the best of my knowledge, there’s no specific sites allocated for fire stations or sheriff substations.

“Probably the same thing in Angeline. So, it is a problem. I’ve raised this concern in the past, but I don’t have a solution,” Goldstein said.

Planning board member Chris Williams, who represents the school board, agreed with Goldstein’s assessment.

With the master-planned unit developments coming to Pasadena Hills, fire station sites likely will be needed, Williams said.

Pontlitz noted: “Public safety appears to be a little bit more reactive, than proactive.

“We could get away with being more reactive when there wasn’t a whole lot of growth going on. But there’s a lot of growth going on,” he said.

It’s an issue, he added “because it takes time to actually purchase assets and hire a staff. In the case of fire/rescue, to buy new trucks and ambulances, it has to be budgeted well in advance. That could be a couple years process right there.

“So, the earlier in the planning process this gets addressed, with some substance, the better,” Pontlitz said.

The planning board’s comments follow repeated appearances by union representatives for Pasco’s Fire/Rescue responders urging the county board to provide additional resources to reduce their emergency response times. Sheriff Chris Nocco also has appeared before the board to highlight the law enforcement agency’s significant manpower needs.

Published January 25, 2023

Pasco road projects included in tentative five-year plan

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The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT’s) proposed tentative five-year work program includes about $433 million worth of improvements in Pasco County.

That figure includes about $258 million worth of projects to expand roadway capacity, but it also includes resurfacing, pedestrian and bicycle safety enhancements and other work, too,  according to Jensen Hackett, of FDOT.

He highlighted some of the major projects included in the tentative work plan, during the Pasco Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Jan. 12 meeting. The Pasco MPO’s board is made up of elected officials from the Pasco County Commission and the cities of Dade City, Zephyrhills, Port Richey and New Port Richey.

These construction barrels were a familiar sight on State Road 52, and will be again when future widening work is done. Widening projects planned on the road in Land O’ Lakes have been slightly delayed because of additional time needed to negotiate right of way acquisition. (File)

The Pasco MPO also is the chief transportation planning agency for Pasco County.

Here’s a rundown of major Pasco projects included in FDOT’s proposed five-year tentative work plan, which covers fiscal years 2024 through 2028.

Hackett explained how the process works: “This proposed tentative work program will be submitted to the Florida Legislature later this year. They begin their session in March and that goes until May, and that will be their review program from all seven districts and the Florida Turnpike.

Then it goes to the governor for his review, as part of the state budget.

After the governor signs off on the work program, the first year of the five-year tentative plan becomes part of the fiscal 2024 state budget, he explained.

Hackett also told the Pasco MPO board members that the plan calls for a slight delay on a pair of the board’s priority projects involving widening on State Road 52.

One project calls for widening State Road 52 from U.S. 41 to Ehren Cutoff, and the second improvement calls for widening State Road 52 from Ehren Cutoff to Bellamy Brothers Boulevard.

Both of those projects had been set to be let out for contract in January of their respective years, but each has been delayed for six months, Hackett said.

“As you know, a lot of the area along (State Road) 52 has seen some cost increases for that project, as well as a lot of land speculation with all of the right of way that’s there, so we had to do a little bit more of negotiating there. So, we just needed to move these six months, for these projects for this cycle,” he explained.

Here’s a rundown of some other major Pasco projects included in the tentative five-year improvement plan:

  • U.S. 41 and State Road 54: From Wilson Road to Osprey Lane. Design funding is proposed for fiscal year 2024, right of way acquisition in fiscal year 2025.
  • U.S. 301, Gall Boulevard: From State Road 39 to County Road 54. This project involves a pair of one-way roads. The City of Zephyrhills and FDOT are collaborating on this improvement. Design is proposed in fiscal year 2024 and right of way acquisition from fiscal years 2024 through 2027. Construction has not yet been funded, but all other phases have been.
  • U.S. 301: From State Road 39 to State Road 56: This calls for adding lanes and reconstructing the road, along with a trail on the western side of the road. Right of way funds have been added into the tentative work program, in fiscal year 2028.
  • U.S. 301: Just south of Dade City to the Hernando County line: Adding lanes and reconstructing the roadway, north of Dade City. Construction funding has been included in fiscal year 2024, in the tentative work plan.
  • Interstate 75 (I-75) and Interstate 275 (I-275): This project adds lanes leading from the State Road 56 interchange heading south toward I-75 and toward I-275. When complete, the project will be similar to the lengthy exit from I-75 toward State Road 56. The idea is to make it easier for motorists to get over to I-75 or over to I-275. Right of way acquisition is proposed for fiscal year 2024 and construction for fiscal year 2026.

“It’s to get rid of a lot of weaving conflicts that led to a lot of crashes in that area,” Hackett said.

Pasco MPO Chairman Lance Smith is glad to see that planned improvement.

“I will say that that’s a very dangerous area —anything that we can do — because the cars are going everywhere,” said Smith, who sits on the Zephyrhills City Council.

Published January 25, 2023

Orange Belt Trail won’t cut through homes, officials say

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Community meetings have begun regarding the proposed Orange Belt Trail, and even though the process is very early, officials are concerned that misinformation already is circulating concerning the plans.

Pasco County Commissioner Kathryn Starkey and Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) planner Tina Russo raised the topic during the MPO’s Jan. 12 meeting.

“We understand there’s some angst by some people who live out in the Dade City area because some of the people have bought the rail line corridor — we actually were auctioning it off — and now it’s their house or their driveway, and they think we’re going to come in with condemnation powers and bulldoze it and follow that trail literally,” Starkey said.

“That is not the intent, at all. I just want to make that clear.”

Starkey noted that she and Russo had met with the vice mayor of San Antonio and a presentation was planned for its town council, and presentations also were planned for the city councils in Zephyrhills and Dade City, too.

This map shows a generalized look at the planned Orange Belt Trail. The exact path of the trail has not yet been determined. Existing conditions will be considered before a final path is set. The idea is to generally follow along the former railroad corridors. Officials want the public to know there are no plans to go through existing structures. (File)

“So, we think with more information, we can allay everyone’s fears and actually show the benefits of having a trail come through,” Starkey said.

Russo said the county’s two public meetings on the Orange Belt Trail were well-attended and focused primarily on the portions of the trail that will be built in Central Pasco and East Pasco.

The county has been talking for years about building a recreation trail that mostly will follow the former Orange Belt Trail rail line, from Trinity to Trilby.

The trail will link communities such as Trinity, Odessa, Land O’ Lakes, Wesley Chapel and Dade City, and will provide both recreational and economic opportunities along the way, based on numerous discussions at Pasco County Commission meetings.

Those planning efforts are ramping up, and the county began soliciting community feedback in the early part of the process.

In a previous interview, Sam Beneck, a project manager for Pasco County, told The Laker/Lutz News that the idea is to hear from people about what they’d like to see the trail do and what kind of character they’d like it have.

The trail is expected to be a 12- to 14-foot-wide paved multi-use trail, but also could incorporate sections intended for equestrian use. The map for the project shows an approximate path, but the alignment is not locked in.

Timing for the project will depend upon available funding, through grants and other sources.

Russo said she expects a presentation on the Orange Belt Trail project to come before the MPO board, likely in April or May.

At that point, the planners will have more information from all of the comments that have come in and are coming in, Russo said.

The MPO planner noted there have been some “very good public comment already, on this project.”

Pasco County Commissioner Ron Oakley, whose district includes East Pasco, interjected: “It’s not all positive, though.”

Starkey responded: “That’s because they don’t understand it.”

Oakley added: “I had one citizen that told me they couldn’t believe that I was for that trail. But yet, I am for that trail — not that it goes through their house, you know.”

Starkey noted the communities along the trail will benefit.

“What trails can do economically, for those little towns —and those are the gems on the trail — it’s huge,” she said.

Zephyrhills City Councilman Lance Smith said he’s glad there are planned presentations in Dade City and Zephyrhills.

“It helps get that information out there. You’re still going to have a level of disinformation, but at least we would know that the facts were out there.”

Russo also noted: “Once we start building these pieces that we have the funding already, it’s going to change that perception, as well. It’s a regional trail, it connects Pinellas to Titusville, basically. It’s huge.”

Dade City Commissioner Scott Black noted: “It’s got so much potential. It’s just a wonderful opportunity. It’s a great thing.”

Starkey concurred: “It’s received statewide attention when we announced it. Calls (came in) from all over.”

Those interested in learning more can visit OrangeBeltTrail.com.

Published January 25, 2023