Kathy Steele

Business Digest 09/21/2016

September 21, 2016 By Kathy Steele

Outlets job fair
Holiday shopping season is in sight at Tampa Premium Outlets.

A job fair to fill seasonal jobs is scheduled for Sept. 29 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., at Tampa Premium Outlets, Suite 312, between Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5th and adidas, at 2300 Grand Cypress Drive.

Job seekers should dress professionally and bring copies of their resumes. Applications will be available, and hiring retailers will be available to interview candidates.

Be sure to bring a pen and a notepad.

Participating stores include Ann Taylor, ASICS, Banana Republic, Factory Store, Bluegreens Vacations, Christopher & Banks, Cole Haan, Crocs, FOSSIL, Fragrance Outlets, GAP Factory Store, Gymboree, Hurley, Jockey, Nestle Tollhouse, Michael Kors, New York & Company, Lucky Brand, Perfumania, Samsonite, Seiko, Skechers, Starbucks, Sunglass Hut, Swarovski, Tilly’s, Toys R Us Express, The Limited, Tommy Hilfiger, Under Armour and Wilson’s Leather.

Tampa Premium Outlets also will be hiring in guest services, security and housekeeping.

For more information, visit PremiumOutlets.com/outlet/tampa.

New shops
Hanna Andersson and the Flip Flop Shops are coming to the Tampa Premium Outlets.

Hanna Andersson will open its second shop in Florida at the outlet mall on Sept. 23 at 10 a.m., at 2300 Grand Cypress Drive, off State Road 56, according to a news release.

The Swedish-based store sells clothes for babies through preteens.

On opening day, the first 500 customers will receive a free pair of long johns. On Sept. 24 and Sept. 25, the first 100 customers will receive a $20 Hanna gift card. There also will be a sale of up to 50 percent off, including sleepwear.

The Flip Flop Shops is listed in the outlet mall’s shop directory on its website, with an opening anticipated in December. Its core brands include Olukai, Quiksilver and Cobian, but many other fashionable flip flops and types of casual footwear are sold. The store’s motto is “Free Your Toes.”

Network luncheon
The North Tampa Chamber of Commerce will host a network luncheon on Sept. 22 at 11:30 a.m., at IHOP, 408 E. Bearss Ave., in Tampa. The theme is relationship building with business neighbors. Order from IHOP menu. A senior lunch menu will be available to all. Minimum of $5 is required if you do not order food, plus you must pay for your drinks.

For information, call TransAmerica at (813) 334-8998, or email Jenn Beaumont at .

Economic briefing
The Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce will have its monthly economic development briefing on Sept. 22 at 11:30 a.m., at Pebble Creek Country Club, 10550 Regents Park Drive in Tampa.

The guest speaker will be Dodd Crutcher, co-founder and principal of Prevarian Senior Living. Crutcher is a real estate professional. He jump-started Prevarian’s senior housing initiative in 2010, and spent a dozen years as general counsel and chief investment officer for a major Dallas real estate investment firm. He negotiated more than $500 million in office, medical office, hospital, retail and hospitality deals, and oversaw his firm’s health care operations, and real estate, including surgery centers and hospitals.

The $15 cost includes a buffet lunch.

For information, email , or call (813) 994-8534.

Rib cook-off
The First Annual Rib Cook-Off and Business Expo will be held on Sept. 25 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., at the Land O’ Lakes Community Center, 5401 Land O’ Lakes Blvd., in Land O’ Lakes.

Sponsors are Jimmy BoDean’s Bar-B-Que and Catering, and Emerald Inspection Service.

Three rib cookers from different local companies will participate. Judging on ribs and side dishes will take place at 4 p.m.

People who donate $5 will receive a pulled pork sandwich and sides.

Donations will benefit PAWS for Friendship Inc., Love Thy Neighbor and the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS).

A business expo also will be held.

For information, contact James Harris at (813) 423-3663 or George Swatzbaugh at (352) 322-2700.

Breakfast meeting
The East Pasco Networking Group will meet on Sept. 27 at 7:30 a.m., at the Fresh Market Café, at 5518 Gall Blvd., in Zephyrhills.

Guest speaker is Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco.

For information, contact Nils Lenz at (813) 782-9491 or . Or, contact Vicky Jones at (813) 431-1149 or .

Give Back Day
Anthony’s Coal-fired Pizza will have a Give Back Day on Sept. 27 from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., at 13020 North Dale Mabry Highway in Tampa.

Stop by, eat, drink and be merry.

For anyone who mentions the North Tampa chamber, the restaurant will donate 20 percent of the sale to the chamber.

For information, call the restaurant at (813) 265-2625.

Taking aim at traffic woes

September 14, 2016 By Kathy Steele

A transit study will take a regional approach in trying to identify a solution to unsnarl Tampa Bay’s traffic congestion, and, qualify for federal aid.

Jacob Engineering will conduct the 24-month study for Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties. The approximately $1.5 million cost will be paid for by the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority, commonly called HART and the Florida Department of Transportation, called FDOT for short.

A transit study will seek solutions for congestion problems in Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties. One logjam motorists often face is at the intersection of U.S. 41 and State Road 54 in Land O’ Lakes. (File Photo) — A transit study will seek solutions for congestion problems in Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties. One logjam motorists often face is at the intersection of U.S. 41 and State Road 54 in Land O’ Lakes.
(File Photo)

Consultants are expected to begin work on Oct. 1, following expected approval of the contract by HART on Sept. 12.

Commuter rail, light rail, bus rapid transit service and express bus service will be among transit alternatives reviewed in the study.

“Tampa Bay is one of the very few large regional areas that does not have premier transit service to connect its region,” said Steve Feigenbaum, HART’S director of service development. “This is a truly regional study, a three-county study, for transit options for our region.”

Feigenbaum made a presentation on the study to members of the Pasco Metropolitan Planning Organization’s board on Sept. 8 in Dade City.

About 50 percent of Pasco residents commute to jobs outside the county, he said. “Where are their transit options?”

In the past year, Pasco residents have been asked their views on a range of transportation issues, most often focused on traffic congestion in high growth areas such as State Road 54 and State Road 56.

A slew of road projects are under construction or under review to reconfigure or widen roads and highways throughout the county.

Commuters heading south on Interstate 275 daily confront road lanes jammed with motorists trying to get to work.

Recently, FDOT held public meetings to gain support for the Tampa Bay Express, a controversial road project to widen portions of I-275 and Interstate 4.

Only limited bus transit links Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties.

Feigenbaum said the study will recommend a single project that is doable, links all three counties and would qualify for funding from the Federal Transit Administration, an agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation. Other options will be included in the study, along with reasons why they didn’t make the final cut.

Pasco County Commissioner Jack Mariano wondered about the feasibility of purchasing CSX rail lines for future passenger rail service.

The Land O’ Lakes area often is mentioned as an area where rail stops would boost local commercial and residential development. The area includes CSX rail lines crossing through the intersection of U.S. 41 and State Road 54.

But, Feigenbaum cautioned against thinking that the study would focus on CSX.

“It’s not a CSX study,” he said. “That will be a component of it.”

The cost of buying the rail lines would only be a starting point, he said.

The rail lines were built for freight and would have to be upgraded to handle passenger service. “There’s still going to have to be some consideration of construction and cost. It’s an important component, but it will be included with everything else.”

Feigenbaum said the FTA looks to fund projects that boost economic development and show a return on investment.

“Without those particular elements, it becomes just another shelf piece,” he said. “Some (prior) studies have so much dust, they are growing corn. But, that’s another story.”

Initially, consultants will look at those previous studies, whether they produced transit projects or not, and compile them into a unified, coherent report.

“We don’t want to invent the wheel,” Feigenbaum said.

There also will be public outreach with town halls, telephone town halls and other events to gather community opinions.

Once the initial study is completed, environmental and design work will be done before an application can be submitted to the federal transit agency.

It could take up to five years to qualify for a fully funded grant, Feigenbaum said. “It’s an arduous process.”

Published September 14, 2016

Pasco suffers extensive storm damage

September 14, 2016 By Kathy Steele

Tropical Storm Hermine brought drenching rain and gusting winds to Pasco County and a price tag well over $100 million, in what could prove to be one of the costliest storms in the county’s history.

Homes in New Port Richey, Port Richey and Elfers sustained the worst damage. Those communities also suffered through flooding during strong summer rains in 2015.

Northeast and central Pasco mostly escaped the flooding and wind damage from Hermine, which later came ashore in the Panhandle as a hurricane.

However, a total of seven sinkholes opened across the county, including at locations in Lacoochee and Wesley Chapel.

Pasco County Chairwoman Kathryn Starkey, left of podium, listens as Pasco County Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie updates the media on damage from Tropical Storm Hermine. (Kathy Steele/Staff Photo) — Pasco County Chairwoman Kathryn Starkey, left of podium, listens as Pasco County Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie updates the media on damage from Tropical Storm Hermine.
(Kathy Steele/Staff Photo)

Final numbers are not yet in, but county officials say just the physical damage to homes along could reach $89 million. Damage to public buildings could be as high as $50 million.

County officials are asking business owners to complete a business damage assessment survey to help calculate their losses.

At a Sept. 7 press conference, county officials gave an update on storm damage, and steps being taken to secure disaster aid for county residents.

“We are going to do what it takes to get you back on your feet,” said Pasco County Chairwoman Kathryn Starkey.

More than 2,600 homes were damaged, with 305 homes sustaining major damage from fallen trees or water covering electrical sockets.

More than 1,500 homes had minor damage; nearly 800 had some damage from downed trees or yard flooding.

Seven homes were destroyed, based on water rising above doorknobs or roofs and walls that caved in due to fallen tree limbs.

The Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point sustained about $3 million in damages and $10 million in lost revenues.

The hospital had to evacuate patients and close the hospital when lightning during the tropical storm sparked a fire.

After last year’s flooding, the county didn’t qualify for federal aid based on the amount of damage. However, damage from Hermine is well above the threshold that would qualify it for federal emergency status.

That will open opportunities for federal grants, said Kevin Guthrie, the county’s emergency management director.

But, he added, “This is not a quick moving process.”

In coming days, Guthrie said he expected additional reports to come in about storm damage.

Much of the data on damage so far was collected from county employees in the field, not from waiting for residents to phone, Guthrie said.

“We went out and found those homes,” he said.

County commissioners also were scheduled to discuss stormwater projects and stormwater maintenance at their Sept. 13 meeting, held after The Laker/Lutz News’ press time.

At the press conference, Starkey said the county needs to take another look at a proposed increase in the countywide stormwater fee.

That isn’t possible for 2017, but could be for 2018.

Commissioners increased the fee last year by $10 to a total of $57. They rejected a request in July from stormwater managers to consider an $80 annual fee effective in 2017. Commissioners stuck by the $57 fee in a close 3 to 2 vote. Starkey and Pasco County Commissioner Jack Mariano favored increasing the fee.

Pasco also is taking steps to help residents clean up debris, with a special schedule that began on Sept. 12. Pickups will be done seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., for the next several weeks.

Crews will complete runs north to south in the Aripeka area and south to north in the Anclote area. Requests for pickup should be made to the county’s customer service center.

Homeowners should place debris at curb or street side with items separated into separate piles for furniture, white goods (appliances etc.), construction materials and vegetation.

Initially crews will go out to assess the amount and types of materials that need pickup.

“It makes it easier for our folks to come along and know what kind of equipment they will need,” Guthrie said.

For information about storm damage or pickup schedules for debris, call (727) 847-2411 or email .

Business owners can participate in the damage assessment survey at PascoCountyFl.net.

Published September 14, 2016

Priorities set for sidewalk and road projects

September 14, 2016 By Kathy Steele

Board members of the Pasco Metropolitan Planning Organization have adopted a priority list for road projects that is largely unchanged from last year.

But, there is one exception: The list now includes a plan to widen U.S. 301 to a four-lane divided highway from the Hillsborough County line to State Road 56.

The five-year work program runs through fiscal year 2020-2021.

While there’s little change on the road list, the sidewalk list is a different story.

Nine new projects for 5-foot sidewalks are listed as priorities in the 2016-2017 work plan.

Six of those in the top 10 have jumped ahead of other longtime sidewalk requests.

Lutz residents on Leonard Road want sidewalks built along the two-lane road from U.S. 41 to Cot Road as a safety measure. (File Photo) — Lutz residents on Leonard Road want sidewalks built along the two-lane road from U.S. 41 to Cot Road as a safety measure.
(File Photo)

The shift in priorities prompted questions by Pasco County Commissioner Jack Mariano. Mariano wonders if the ranking system is fair to communities that have waited years for sidewalks.

“I’m very disappointed,” said Mariano at the Sept. 8 board meeting of the MPO.

Among sidewalk projects that Mariano hoped to see higher on the list were Ranch Road, Zimmerman Road and Majestic Boulevard.

Lutz residents also have lobbied over the years for sidewalks on Leonard Road.

That project sits in the 20th slot, near the bottom of 25 proposed projects.

Mariano said he planned to meet with MPO staff members to review the criteria used to rank projects.

MPO Vice Chairman Jeff Starkey also took issue with the criteria.

“What if we don’t agree with how you’re calculating this?” he asked.

The lists of road, transit, multi-use paths and sidewalk projects are updated annually and submitted to the Florida Department of Transportation so they can be considered in FDOT’s five-year work plan for federally funded projects in Pasco.

Sidewalks, multi-use paths and trails are ranked on a point system based on criteria such as speed limits, connectivity to existing sidewalks and trails, accessibility to schools and transit stops, improved mobility in low-income and minority neighborhoods, and the consecutive years a project has been on the list.

Mariano said communities aren’t getting enough credit for time waited. There also are situations, he said, where speed limits might be low, but safety is still an issue for other reasons.

Changes can be made, and projects aren’t automatically done in order of their listing, said James Edwards, the Pasco MPO director.

The availability of money is a factor, he added.

“You don’t follow it in lock step,” Edwards said. “Things will shift around.”

The new sidewalk projects are:

Ridge Road/Little Road to Rowan Road
Congress Street/north of Lomand Avenue to Ridge Road
Old County Road 54/Little Road to State Road 54
U.S. 41/Lake Bambi Circle to State Road 52
Darlington Road at U.S. 19 to Sunray Drive
Fort King Road/17th Street/Morningside to Coleman Avenue
Regency Park Boulevard/ U.S. 19 to Cherry Creek Lane
Darlington Road/U.S. 19 to Hama Drive
17th Street/Meridian Avenue to County Road 41/Lock Street

For a complete list of the MPO’s 2016 priority projects, visit PascoCountyFl.net.

Published September 14, 2016

Medical marijuana on Pasco agenda

September 14, 2016 By Kathy Steele

Medical marijuana is slated to be a topic of discussion when Pasco County commissioners host a public workshop on Sept. 20 at 1:30 p.m., in New Port Richey.

The county’s legal staff currently is reviewing land use and zoning regulations to craft an ordinance governing the future of medical marijuana within Pasco.

County commissioners requested a workshop to hear a range of opinions on the matter.

In August, commissioners extended a moratorium on the growth, processing and distribution of cannabis through the end of the year. The existing moratorium was set to expire on Sept. 1.

Cannabis is the basis for medical marijuana, which is legal in Florida in a low-level, non-euphoric form known as Charlotte’s web. Its use is limited to patients with cancer or seizure disorders.

At prior meetings, commissioners have heard from law enforcement about increased crime rates in states, such as Colorado and California, which have approved either medical marijuana or its recreational use. Substance abuse or prevention counselors have said they worry about increased use of marijuana, especially among youth.

But, commissioners also have heard from residents with chronic medical conditions, who say medical marijuana eases their pain and gives them a quality of life that traditional medicines don’t provide.

Whatever the county’s final ordinance, it will have to take into account a statewide Nov. 8 referendum on the issue. Voters will be asked if they want to expand the list of illnesses that can be treated with medical marijuana, and if stronger strains can be prescribed and dispensed.

Published September 14, 2016

Lowe’s collects teddy bears for a good cause

September 14, 2016 By Kathy Steele

The teddy bear drive at Lowe’s Home Improvement store, at State Road 54 and U.S. 41, started with a big, empty cardboard box, placed by the sliding door entrance.

“The empty box first started the conversation,” said Lowe’s store manager Derek Walter.

Just why was the box there?

From left, Doug O’Connor, Citizen’s Service Unit volunteer; Lt. Stephen Frick, District 2 road patrol; and, Lowe’s representatives Don McLachlan, Ray Peel, Jane Wyckoff, Sandy Fimbel and Derek Walter celebrate the completion of a teddy bear campaign at the store. (Courtesy of Lowe's) — From left, Doug O’Connor, Citizen’s Service Unit volunteer; Lt. Stephen Frick, District 2 road patrol; and, Lowe’s representatives Don McLachlan, Ray Peel, Jane Wyckoff, Sandy Fimbel and Derek Walter celebrate the completion of a teddy bear campaign at the store.
(Courtesy of Lowe’s)

A hand-drawn picture of a teddy bear quickly appeared on the side of the box, and employees began dropping huggable bears inside.

Customers soon noticed and began doing the same.

On Sept. 9, about 175 teddy bears were given to the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office to help deputies who respond to domestic violence situations and need a comforting toy to hand out to children under stress.

Employees initially began talking about a community outreach project when the teddy bears came up.

Once started, employees ran with the idea.

One day, Walter went shopping at Walmart and took an armful of bears to the check out line. A customer in line asked about the bears.

When he explained the teddy bear drive, Walter said she liked the idea.

And soon after, he said, “She came by (Lowe’s) with some bears.”

Store employees plan to repeat the drive at least once a year.

“It’s a different way to give,” said Walter.

September 14, 2016

Pasco Economic Development Council honors businesses

September 14, 2016 By Kathy Steele

The Pasco Economic Development Council honored eight businesses at its 30th annual Banquet and Industry of the Year Awards on Sept. 8.

More than 600 community and business leaders attended the event at the Saddlebrook Resort in Wesley Chapel.

Shauna McKinnon, center, of Bayfront Health Dade City, accepts a special recognition award during the 30th annual Banquet and Industry of the Year Awards presented by Pasco Economic Development Council. Bill Cronin is to her left and Barbara Wilhite is to her right. (Photos courtesy of Pasco Economic Development Council) — Shauna McKinnon, center, of Bayfront Health Dade City, accepts a special recognition award during the 30th annual Banquet and Industry of the Year Awards presented by Pasco Economic Development Council. Bill Cronin is to her left and Barbara Wilhite is to her right.
(Photos courtesy of Pasco Economic Development Council)

Courtney Robinson, 10News WTSP anchor, emceed the event.

The winners, according to information provided by Pasco EDC, were:

Ortho Technologies Inc. – New Business Award
Crestmark Pharmacy Services LLC – Manufacturing Industry of the Year (one to 25 employees)
Leggett & Platt Adjustable Bed Group – Manufacturing Industry of the Year (26 or more employees)
Optimum Plumbing LLC – Service/Distribution Industry of the Year (one to 25 employees)
Bayonet Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning – Service/Distribution of the Year Award (26 or more employees)
Global Electronics Testing Services LLC – Technology Award
Bayfront Health Dade City – Special Recognition Award
Marjorie’s Hope – Special Contribution Award

Companies were nominated in the spring and then interviewed by members of the Pasco EDC awards committee.

Vladimir Breton, of Optimum Plumbing, addresses the audience. His company won Service/Distribution Company of the Year.

Winners are selected based on exemplary growth in job creation, capital investment, technology, innovation and community service.

Other finalists this year were:

Compark 75, Dixie Belle Paint Company, First National Bank of Pasco, Nicopure Labs LLC, Premier Community Healthcare Group, Rogers Tower P.A., Southeast Bottling & Beverage Co., Southeast Personnel Leasing Inc., Trxade Inc., and USA Underwriting Solutions of America.

In addition to the announcement of the awards, the banquet featured a keynote address by Attorney Barbara Wilhite, the Pasco EDC’s chairwoman.

Those pictured here represent the companies which won awards during the 30th annual Banquet and Industry of the Year Awards presented by the Pasco Economic Development Council.

It has been a year of transition for the council, including the hiring of Bill Cronin as the group’s president and chief operating officer, according to the Pasco EDC release.

Wilhite noted the approval by Pasco County commissioners of a cooperative agreement with the Pasco EDC to direct about $3.2 million from Penny for Pasco dollars toward job growth and economic development.

Wilhite also touched on the recent announcement that Mettler Toledo, a Swiss-based manufacturer, planned to relocate from Tampa to Pasco, and also build a new facility at Northpointe Village, near the Suncoast Parkway.

The Pasco EDC helped bring another 14 projects to fruition.

Wilhite said these efforts are expected to result in nearly 850 new jobs and more than $145 million in Pasco investment, according to the release.

Published September 14, 2016

Business Digest 09/14/2016

September 14, 2016 By Kathy Steele

Leadership role
Steve Saladino of Tampa is the new president of the state association for the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIF-Florida), a professional association based in Tallahassee, with 2,600 members statewide.

Saladino is owner and principal of Saladino Financial Group LLC, which has clients statewide, but primarily in north Tampa, Lutz and Land O’ Lakes.

Saladino served four years in the U.S. Army with the 82nd Airborne Division in the finance and accounting department. Afterward, he began a 26-year career in insurance and financing.

He earned the title of Life Underwriter Training Council Fellow, and as a moderator provided continuing education for The American College and the Florida Department of Financial Services.

He served as president of NAIFA-Tampa from 2006 to 2008, and is a 2008 graduate of NAIFA-Florida’s Leadership in Life Institute. In 2013, he became vice president of NAIFA-Florida.

For information, visit Naifa-Florida.org.

Award winner
RealReach Marketing President Jim Schaefer has more than 20 years’ experience in the homebuilding industry.

For the second year in a row, RealReach Marketing picked up an award at the Southeast Builder’s Conference, held in Orlando.

The Lutz-based company won honors for Best Website for their work with the Las Vegas-based builder, StoryBook Homes. In 2015, RealReach won for best YouTube video for a video on the Pasco County Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Department.

The Southeast Builder’s conference features the building industry’s trade show, and attracts hundreds of builders, commercial contractors, public relations professionals, and media and advertising professionals.

Excel and Aurora awards are given in marketing and design to the best in the business in the southeast United States.

RealReach offers website design and web-based marketing to clients that include automotive, health care, contractor, and education sectors. The company’s niche is the new home building industry.

Fall mixer
The East Pasco Networking Group will have its 2016 Fall Mixer on Sept. 20 at 6 p.m., at IHOP, at 13100 U.S. 301 in Dade City.

Keynote speaker will be Amanda Markowitz of Sunrise Domestic Shelter in Dade City. Previous EPNG Standing Ovation Award Winners and past guest speakers also are invited.

The focus is on family more than business, so come out with family members.

There will be door prizes and a 50-50 drawing to benefit the Sunrise shelter. Door prizes can be donated for the event.

For information, contact the group’s chairman, Nils Lenz, at (813) 782-9491 or . Or, contact vice chairwoman, Vicky Jones, at (813) 431-1149 or .

Business forum
A Lunch N Learn Business Forum is scheduled for Sept. 15 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at The Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce Don Porter Boardroom, at 6013 Wesley Chapel Blvd., Suite 105.

Guest speaker will be Charles J. Lewandowski, a certified financial planner, who will discuss how to maximize your company’s retirement plan.

The cost for the forum is $15 including lunch. Please RSVP by Sept. 14, as seating is limited.

For information, visit WesleyChapelChamber.com, or call (813) 994-8534.

Network luncheon
The North Tampa Chamber of Commerce will have a chamber network luncheon on Sept. 15 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Beef O’ Brady’s, at 8801 Himes Ave. (at Himes Avenue and Busch Boulevard), in Tampa.

Order from the lunch menu or regular menu. Minimum payment of $5 is required if you don’t order food, and you must pay for your drinks.

A display table will be available for brochures, flyers and promotional items.

For information, email , or call Keller Williams Tampa Properties at (813) 864-6370.

Hispanic business luncheon
The Hispanic Business Leaders luncheon will be on Sept. 20 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Land O’ Lakes Community Center, 5401 Land O’ Lakes Blvd. The event is hosted by the Hispanic Business Leaders of the Central Pasco Chamber of Commerce. Meetings are conducted in English.

Guest speaker will be John Angelett of The Small Assisted Living Coalition, which provides senior care placement services.

The cost is $20 for chamber members and $25 for non-members, but $15 for members and $20 for non-members, if prepaid by Sept. 15.

For information, contact .

Job fair
Mettler-Toledo Safeline and Eagle Product Inspection will have a job fair on Sept. 21 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., at 6005 Benjamin Road, in Tampa.

Mettler-Toledo officials recently announced plans to close operations in Tampa and Ithaca, New York, as the company expands and builds a $30 million manufacturing plant at Northpointe Village in Lutz. As many as 275 jobs, including transfers of current employees, are anticipated.

Job openings are field service engineers, project manager (X-Ray), dispatch coordinator, order entry administrators, CNC machinists, crating and shipping, fabrication supervisor, C# programmer, technical sales specialist, mechanical design engineer, service dispatcher/CSR, inside sales, welders, assemblers, shipping coordinator, mechanical engineer and regional sales manager.

For information, email .

Union Park offers super-fast Internet speeds

September 7, 2016 By Kathy Steele

Union Park is delivering the lickety-split Internet connections that homebuilders say homebuyers are increasingly putting at the top, or near the top, of their desired list of amenities.

Along with the clubhouse, swimming pool, trails and green space, homebuyers are putting greater emphasis on new technology and what it adds to quality of life, homebuilders say.

Mike Lawson, right, director of operations for Metro Development Group, and Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore discuss the unique features of Union Park, including the one-gigabit Internet connections available at the Wesley Chapel community. (Kathy Steele/Staff Photos) — Mike Lawson, right, director of operations for Metro Development Group, and Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore discuss the unique features of Union Park, including the one-gigabit Internet connections available at the Wesley Chapel community.
(Kathy Steele/Staff Photos)

From Day 1, Union Park residents are connected to UltraFi, a fiber-based delivery system with connecting speeds as fast as one gigabit. Starting speeds generally are 100/100 megabits per second as part of a standard package included in homeowner association fees.

But, Bright House Networks, in partnership with Metro Development Group, is ready to boost speeds to the maximum.

Turning lights on and off, cooling or heating the house and setting alarms — is a tap away, at home or remotely.

Besides that, videos, photos, data can be downloaded in seconds, not minutes, and uploads are just as fast.

“It’s a requirement if you are building here,” said Mike Lawson, director of operations for Metro Development Group. “You contract to prewire. Every builder is embracing this.”

In the future, Metro developers expect other developers to consider this new technology as a staple of homebuilding, the same as water, utilities and electricity. For now, they feel like pioneers in a cutting-edge concept to provide these connections from the ground up, not as an add-on after move-in day.

“We’re trying something radically different,” said Kartik Goyani, vice president of operations for Metro Development Group.

At build-out, Union Park could have a maximum of 1,800 homes. Home prices range from $200,000 to $500,000.

When construction began there in 2014, Union Park was the first Metro development to install UltraFi. Since then, three more UltraFi communities have opened in Hillsborough County — Park Creek, Waterleaf and Sereno.

But, Union Park also has been a testing ground for an even grander vision for a master-planned “Connected City” development within about 7,800 acres in central and eastern Pasco County. The site is designated as a state-approved special district, bordered by Interstate 75, State Road 52, Curley Road and Overpass Road.

The district is a 10-year pilot program, but the plan, in total, will evolve over 50 years as several mixed-use development projects emerge.

“This (Union Park) is the platform that will help launch Connected City and take the development of its technology to the next level,” Lawson said. “We were the first in the nation to come up with this idea.”

UltraFi is what sold Russ Griggs and his family on Union Park.

Griggs, his wife, Donna, and their three children moved into Union Park nearly a year ago.

They had checked out other Wesley Chapel area subdivisions first before making their choice.

Turtle statues squirt water at a splash pad outside the Florida-style open-air clubhouse at Union Park.

“I work from home. I have a software company, so a high speed connection is very important,” said Russ Griggs, product development manager for Osprey Compliance Software. “I do a lot of video conferences with people around the world.”

People often comment on the download speed and crisp screen shots, he said.

The super connectivity also is a plus for leisure streaming on tablets, computers or televisions for the Griggs and their three children, ages 7 to 13.

In addition to its Internet connectivity, Union Park also boasts outdoor common areas; miles of multi-use trails; a dog park; a Florida-style, open-air clubhouse; a birdhouse village; a zen garden; and, a shaded “tot lot.”

This is all part of creating a sense of community at Union Park, with technology as the common unifier, Goyani said.

In most cases, urban areas are the focus of companies seeking to deliver faster Internet speed and WiFi connections, but Pasco is proving to be the exception to the rule.

Pasco has an advantage with its large swaths of rural landscape where retrofitting isn’t required, and costs for new infrastructure are less expensive, Lawson said.

Google Fiber, for instance, has a 30-city initiative with plans to provide one-gigabit speeds. Recently, the company announced a delay in moving forward, including a project in Tampa.

“It is extremely expensive to retrofit, dense urban environments,” Lawson said.

The next step for Connected City is a public hearing of the county’s Local Planning Agency on Sept. 15 at 1:30 p.m., at the Pasco County Historic Courthouse in Dade City.

For information on Union Park, visit UnionPark.metroplaces.com.

Published September 7, 2016

New commission on women forms in Pasco

September 7, 2016 By Kathy Steele

Two years ago Pasco County Chairwoman Kathryn Starkey and attorney Michele Hintson met by chance at a symposium on empowering women in politics and leadership.

They were the only two women at WeWill Tampa Bay from Pasco, but quickly bonded around a singular goal: To form a Commission on the Status of Women.

Hintson joined county staff members on Aug. 23 in presenting a plan to launch the commission.

The Pasco County Commission unanimously approved the concept.

“This is a historical day for women in Pasco County,” Starkey said.

The final vote and nominations to the 15-member commission are expected on Sept. 13.

Each county commissioner will appoint a member to the women’s commission.

Other community organizations, mostly nonprofits, will recommend nominees to fill out the remaining 10 slots. The county commission will make the final selections.

Participating organizations include Metropolitan Ministries, Sunrise of Pasco, Pasco-Hernando State College and Saint Leo University.

“The commission hopefully will be able to provide research and resources to develop opinions and make recommendations to (Pasco County) commissioners about certain needs in the community for women,” said Hintson, a Land O’ Lakes resident and an attorney with the Tampa-based law firm, Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick.

Issues might include equal pay, human trafficking, affordable housing, women’s health care and the needs of children.

Research by Pasco County’s legal staff revealed that the commission organizers aren’t reinventing the wheel.

An ordinance establishing a commission on women’s status won the approval of county commissioners on Oct. 16, 1979.

However, except for that one document, there is scant evidence of what happened afterward. It appears the commission was never fully activated, Hintson said.

Hintson said many women participated in two years of meetings to finalize plans to reactivate the Pasco women’s commission.

They included community activists, educators, county staff and business leaders, such as Rosie Paulson, Kelly Mothershead, Suzanne Legg, Elizabeth Blair, Krista Covey and Stephanie Pontlitz.

More than 200 commissions on the status of women are operating nationally. About 20 such commissions are in Florida, including one in Hillsborough County that began in the 1990s, and a Florida Commission on the Status of Women.

President John F. Kennedy formed the first women’s commission in 1961, with former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt as chairwoman.

Published September 7, 2016