By Joe Potter

NEW PORT RICHEY – Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco told members of the Pasco County Planning Commission at their Nov. 21 meeting that he needs more deputies.

Figures provided by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement show that Pasco County is the seventh most populated county in Florida but it is ranked  63rd among the state’s 67 counties in terms of the number of deputies per 1,000 residents, Nocco said.

The national average is two deputies per 1,000 residents of a county, Nocco said. The Pasco Sheriff’s Office had 1.08 deputies per 1,000 in 2019. That number dropped to one deputy per 1,000 by 2022, Nocco said.

“The ratio of deputies per 1,000 keeps dropping because the population growth is growing so fast we just can’t keep up with the number of deputies,” Nocco said.

Growth that occurs in the county doesn’t mean he may hire new deputies right away and then put them into service, according to Nocco.

There is usually a lag time of up to 30 months from the time when growth occurs to when new deputies have been hired and have received the training that is needed before they can begin their jobs, Nocco said. 

An example he cited was that if a new housing unit were built at the beginning of 2024, its owner wouldn’t pay taxes on it until January 2025. 

The Pasco County Board of County Commissioners wouldn’t make funding available to the sheriff’s office as a result of that growth in 2024 until October 2025 – after the county’s budget had been adopted for the new fiscal year.

“By the time we actually get them hired, trained and go through the entire process, you’re looking at October 2026,” Nocco said.

A large amount of the tax revenue the county receives is from residential properties according to Nocco.

Pasco County’s Property Appraiser’s Office’s records confirmed there is a very significant amount of residential property from which the county receives its tax revenue.

Only 10,938 of the county’s 316,796 real property parcels are commercial. There are 186,988 single-family parcels and 11,879 condominium units. In addition, there are 3,990 agricultural parcels in the county, according to county records.

The value for new commercial construction so far in 2024 is $198.7 million while there has been $2.55 billion in new residential construction, county records show.

The sheriff told planning commission members that he was concerned about that “because history repeats itself.” There have been sharp declines in property values in the past and that could occur again, Nocco said. And if and when it does happen, “we will be hurting,” Nocco said.

He emphasized the importance of having a more diversified base from which the county could receive tax revenue and suggested additional commercial and business growth would be a way to accomplish that.

LAND O’ LAKES – The Pasco County School Board unanimously approved Nov. 19 a five-year contract for the Dr. Kiran Patel High School to operate in Pasco County.

The contract will commence on July 1, 2026, and end on June 30, 2031, unless terminated sooner or extended pursuant to terms in the contract.

Patel, who is a local philanthropist and entrepreneur, heads up a foundation that wants to build the tuition-free charter school. It would be located on 20 acres that was purchased from the school district in the Trinity area of west Pasco County in 2023.

The school district had purchased that property about seven years ago as the possible site for a new high school. 

The Patel Foundation agreed in 2023 to pay 100% of the construction costs of the school that was originally planned to accommodate 1,000 students. 

The Patel Foundation is now reportedly seeking to have 1,500 students at the charter school, which is planned to open in fall 2025.

The Patel Foundation has also expressed an interest in having a 15-year contract for the charter school rather than the typical five-year contract. This is because the Patel Foundation is seeking a longer contract to make the project more viable.

Deputy Superintendent Betsy Kuhn was asked to have a discussion with Dr. Patel regarding the things that are now being requested.

“Let’s see how we can move forward – or not move forward – depending on the conversation,” Armstrong said.

It was noted at the meeting that a charter school could possibly be built quicker than one of the district’s schools. 

In other business, the school board approved a charter for Pinecrest Academy Connerton Middle School, which Fernando Barroso had submitted on Aug. 14. 

The proposed charter school is projected to open during the 2025-26 school year at 22672 Pleasant Plains Parkway in Land O’ Lakes. 

The maximum student enrollment projection for Year 1 (2025-26) is 198 for grade 6; Year 2 (2026-27) is 396 for grades 6-7; Years 3-5 (2027-2030) is 594 for grades 6-8.

Part of the mission of Pinecrest Academy Connerton Middle School is reportedly to inspire the hearts and minds of children to become tomorrow’s global leaders.

TAMPA – Winter Village Tampa, presented by the Tampa Bay Lightning, kicked off Nov. 22 in Tampa’s Downtown and runs through Jan. 5 with new attractions for all ages.

The Tampa Downtown Partnership has transformed Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park into a cozy wonderland with entertainment, festive skating, shopping and treats.

Skate Under the Stars

Ice skating on real ice is a signature Winter Village experience, and this year brings even more fun to the rink. For $17, skaters enjoy 90 minutes of ice time and an included skate rental.

• Theme Skate Tuesdays – New this year, skaters joining theme skate nights will be entered into a weekly raffle. Theme nights include Nov. 26 (Fall-la-la-la-la), Dec. 3 (The Nutcracker), Dec. 10 (National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation), Dec. 17 (Lightning Bolts & Snowflakes), Dec. 24 (Ugly Holiday Sweater) and Dec. 31 (Holiday Shimmer).
• Thunderstruck Thursdays – Embrace your Tampa Bay Lightning pride every Thursday with themed food and drink. 
• Silent Disco Fridays – Dance under the stars with silent disco headphones every Friday from 6 to 9 p.m. Headphones are first-come, first-served.

Artistry meets athleticism as skilled skaters twirl, glide and leap on real ice during the Tampa Bay Ice Show. Catch the 10-minute shows at 7 p.m. Dec. 24 and 31 as well as Jan. 3, 4 and 5. 

Other attractions

• Winter Village Shops – Stroll through the Shops of Winter Village, delivered by PODS Moving and Storage, where local businesses and boutiques offer hand-picked gifts. This year’s market is the biggest yet, brimming with unique finds to check off every name on your holiday list.
• Winter Village Café – Enjoy seasonal flavors at the Winter Village Café with options like gourmet crepes, craft cocktails from Icicles, coffee from Mi Cafecito and sweet treats from Whatever Pops. 
• Winter Village Express – Hop aboard the Winter Village Express and take a holiday trip on the TECO Line Streetcar. On select Sundays, this one-hour, round-trip ride from Downtown’s Whiting Station to historic Ybor City features holiday sing-a-longs, trivia, milk and cookies, and festive surprises for the family. Buy tickets for rides on Dec. 1, 8, 15 and 22.

DADE CITY – The Pasco County Metropolitan Planning Organization is laying the groundwork for a merger with similar groups in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties that may attract more federal funding for larger-scale transportation projects. 

Tania Gorman, executive director for Pasco County MPO, said state legislation asked the three MPOs about a year and a half ago to engage in an exercise on what a merger may look like. Pasco leaders agreed to a  scope of work Nov. 14 that involves hiring a consultant with legal expertise in how MPOs work to guide a merger by July 1, 2027. 

The consultant would deliver drafts for a Memorandum of Understanding, an apportionment plan, organizational structure, cost estimates and other details. 

Pasco County leaders have heard some pushback on the plan coming out of Hillsborough County. 

“We all work together and there’s the availability of having more funds for all of us,” Pasco Commissioner Ron Oakley said Nov. 14. “Because a lot of these roads and the widening of these roads help all of us that are in this region.”

Oakley pointed to the need to widen U.S. Route 301. Even though Hillsborough County has more of the highway on its side than Pasco County, Oakley said widening the route would help everybody.

Justin Hall, of the Florida Department of Transportation, told the Pasco County MPO that while there was a leader from Tampa that expressed an opinion regarding the merger, the City of Tampa had yet to do so. 

 Pasco Commissioner Kathryn Starkey encouraged colleagues not to be consumed by “us against them,”  

“What I want everyone to remember is the money that we get for our county is still coming to our county and same with all the other counties,” Starkey said. “The purpose of this regional MPO is to work together on large federally funded projects. The fact of the matter is those are probably going to start in Hillsborough because that’s where the issue is and then it’ll spoke out from there.”

Defining membership

The Regional MPO would consist of 25 voting members, including Port Tampa Bay and Tampa International Airport.  The other 23 voting seats would be determined by population, so Hillsborough County would get 11 seats, Pinellas County would get eight seats and Pasco County would get four seats. 

The Pasco County MPO discussed how small cities would be represented in the Regional MPO. Ultimately, members decided that one of the four seats on the Regional MPO would be devoted to someone representing the cities. The cities would pick their representative and a voting alternate.