Kathy Steele

Kumquats reign supreme at Dade City festival

January 27, 2016 By Kathy Steele

They take the cake and the pies at the festival.

The first kumquat tree in St. Joseph took root more than 100 years ago, when C.J. Nathe planted it in his backyard.

He added a few more, and soon he had a small grove on an acre of fertile ground.

The kumquat king, as Nathe was later dubbed, transformed a quiet back road community into the Kumquat Capital of the World.

An open house will take place on Jan. 28 and Jan. 29 at the Kumquat Growers packinghouse and gift shop.

The 19th annual Kumquat Festival is set for Jan. 30 in downtown Dade City.

Margie Neuhofer and her husband Joseph Neuhofer are among founding growers of Kumquat Growers Inc. Neuhofer manages the gift shop. She and Frank Gude show off kumquat products sold at the shop. (Kathy Steele/Staff Photo) — Margie Neuhofer and her husband Joseph Neuhofer are among founding growers of Kumquat Growers Inc. Neuhofer manages the gift shop. She and Frank Gude show off kumquat products sold at the shop.
(Kathy Steele/Staff Photo)

More than 40,000 people are expected to stroll through the historic town square during the festival, which will feature more than 425 vendor booths. There will be arts and crafts, a car and truck show, a health and wellness area, live entertainment, a farmer’s market, the Kumquat Kids Corral, a quilt challenge, and kumquats in pies, cakes, salsas, jams, jellies and chutneys.

No one imagined nearly two decades ago the drawing power of a tiny citrus fruit from Asia, sweet on the outside and tart on the inside.

“The biggest thing that made it a success was people didn’t know what a kumquat was. There was the curiosity of it,” said Frank Gude, president and founding partner in Kumquat Growers Inc., the country’s largest producer and shipper of kumquats, and kumquat products.

Phyllis Smith, Roxanne Barthle and Carlene Ellberg organized the first festival on the lawn of Dade City’s historic courthouse with only a few vendors.

“We started slow, and then it built,” said Gude.

Gude’s family traces its history with kumquat farming to those early plantings decades ago.

The Gudes were one of five original growers who founded the packing cooperative in the early 1970s. Others were Charles Barthle, Joseph and Paul Neuhofer and Fred Heidgerken.

But, kumquat groves dotted the rural landscape for decades before then.

“Every family out here had a little block of kumquats,” said Gude. It didn’t take much to produce an abundant crop. “Depending on how many kids they had (to do the picking), they could have enough to ship kumquats (up north).”

Nathe gets historical credit for starting it all.

The Michigan native had been an employee of nearby Jessamine Gardens nursery for many years. He had a special affection for the small decorative tree with delicate green leaves and orange fruit.

Up north, the kumquat blooms added color and charm to Christmas décor in wreaths, on mantels, and as stylish adornments on gift packages. Or, people wanted a pretty tree for their yards.

But, as Nathe knew, they also could be popped into the mouth and eaten or preserved as marmalade, jams and jellies.

Nathe gave away most of his early harvests to neighbors. But, he soon realized the commercial value of the kumquat, both decorative and edible.

He loaded his kumquats on the rail line and shipped them north by the bushels.

His neighbors took note, and kumquat trees sprouted across the countryside.

As a young boy, Gude, now age 86, and his siblings, had kumquat chores during harvesting seasons. “We’d come home from school to pick kumquats,” he said. “My job especially was to make crates to ship them in. The girls would be out there picking them.”

Gude said local families swapped recipes for kumquat pies, cakes, jellies and jams. Many of those recipes went into a cookbook that was slipped into kumquat gift boxes, and shipped to cities such as New York and Chicago. Outside, the boxes would be decorated with pretty clippings of fruit nestled within leaves.

Agricultural regulations nowadays don’t allow leaves due to the potential for spreading pesticides and plant diseases, Gude said.

But, at the time, the kumquat’s versatility only boosted its popularity.

The trees typically bear fruit three times a year, in May, June and July.

“You pick one crop, and the next crop gets ready,” Gude said.

Kumquat Growers represents about 10 area growers. “We harvest their fruit and market it for them,” Gude said.

At the packinghouse on Gude Road, off State Road 578, a small group of workers are stationed on the assembly line — washing, cleaning and stripping away leaves. Kumquats are packaged in small containers and then boxed for delivery.

In downtown Dade City, a 1950s-style sign inside Olga’s Deli, advertises kumquat refrigerator pie, using a recipe by Rosemary Gude, Frank’s wife, who died in 2014.

The recipe uses a frozen kumquat puree sold by the growers’ cooperative.

As often happens, the festival coincides with Tampa’s pirate invasion and Gasparilla Festival. The first time that happened, organizers of the kumquat fest held their breath.

But, they need not have worried. The tiny kumquat triumphed.

“Different crowds,” Gude said.

Even after all these year, Gude is amazed that some people still don’t know what a kumquat is.

At the open house, Gude and Roger Swain, the former host of The Victory Garden on PBS, will explain to visitors “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About a Kumquat.”

There also will be tours of the groves and the packinghouse, free samples of kumquat products and a farmer’s market.

Donations for hot dogs will go to the American Cancer Society.

For those who want to do a little shopping, the gift shop is stocked with all things kumquat, including pie, marmalades, butter, chutney and salsa. There’s even sweet or spicy barbecue sauce and vinaigrette, featuring kumquats.

Free samples are always available, said Margie Neuhofer, who manages the shop.

And, those samples typically turn into sales, she said.

“Once they taste it, they want to buy it,” Neuhofer said.

At the festival’s first open house, people lined up along the road waiting to get in.

Last year more than 1,000 people stopped by, and Neuhofer expects this year to be no different.

“A lot of people like it better than the festival,” she said.

What: Kumquat Growers Open House
When: Jan. 28 and Jan. 29 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Where: 31647 Gude Road, in St. Joseph
What: Grove and packing house tours, farmer’s market, free kumquat samples and kumquat products for sale in the gift shop
Cost: Free

What: 19th Annual Kumquat Festival
When: Jan. 30 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Where: Historic downtown Dade City
What: Music, arts & crafts, car and truck show, food trucks, family fun and lots of kumquats
Cost: Admission is free, transportation from satellite parking areas is free, and city-owned parking lots in downtown Dade City are free.

Published January 27, 2016

Sunny times at SunWest Park

January 27, 2016 By Kathy Steele

Sandy white beaches and crystal clear water may not be what comes to mind when thinking of Pasco County.

But, SunWest Park is all about changing minds with a little fun in the sun.

These women take advantage of the recent warmer weather while they tan in a remote spot away from the splashing of the main swim area at the SunWest Park.
(Fred Bellet/Photos)

“I think it’s a phenomenal addition to the county’s tourism,” said Pasco County Commissioner Jack Mariano. “I think it could be considered the focal point. I see a lot of people come here, because everyone loves the white sand we have here.”

They might also love beach volleyball, wakeboarding, paddleboarding, sand soccer, kayaking or tumbling through floating inflatables in the aqua park.

SunWest opened on the Fourth of July weekend off U.S. 19, at 17362 Old Dixie Highway in Hudson.

Portions of the park remain under construction, and an official grand opening is anticipated in spring.

The county acquired the property in the mid-1980s when it was the site of a former limestone mine with a spring-fed lake. More than a decade of discussions and planning preceded the construction of SunWest.

A lifeguard sits atop the floating gym featured at the SunWest Park.

The park provides a beach experience without traveling a great distance, said Mariano, adding that it can be a “staycation” for local residents and a tourist destination for others.

“It’s a lot easier to get here from anywhere in the county, than going to Clearwater,” he said.

On a recent weekend the Ballard family, from Reston, Virginia, took a detour from Weeki Wachee to check out SunWest. Trent Ballard, 16, adapted his snowboarding skills for acrobatics on SunWest’s wakeboarding course.

Closer to home, the Bartosch clan, from Port Richey, took turns snapping family photos in a gigantic rainbow-colored beach chair.

Gianni Finley, 5, gets help from wakeboard instructor and general manager, Dusty Stone of New Port Richey. Finley, with her parents Jake and Jacki Finley, and brother Nathan Myers, 14, were visiting from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

In November, the park hosted the NCAA Women’s Volleyball Tournament with teams from the Florida State University, Florida International University and Florida Atlantic University.

More tournaments are in the works.

About 20 volleyball courts are open, but Mariano said park operator Patrick Pakanos is adding more courts, as well as upgrading an aerial cable system for wakeboarding enthusiasts.

Pasco County broke records for tourism in 2015, and, as SunWest grows, the hope is that the park will be a major attraction.

“His (Pakanos) goal is to turn it into a destination with tournaments for wakeboarding, volleyball and soccer,” said Ed Caum, Pasco County’s tourism director. “The county supports that all the way.”

Published January 27, 2016

Carolyn Forche shares her poetry at Saint Leo

January 27, 2016 By Kathy Steele

Poet and human rights advocate Carolyn Forche learned a lot about life and language from her paternal grandmother, Anna, an immigrant from the former Czechoslovakia.

Her grandmother spoke five languages, said Forche, but her English was inventive. She described a colander as “macaroni stop water go head.”

Forche paid attention.

“I thought, ‘Oh, you can play with language, make things up.’ It helped with my writing,” she said.

The poet was a scribe at an early age, composing her first poem at age 9.

She didn’t write her first serious poem until she was 20.

Her grandmother and relationships among family and friends often are reflected in her poetry.

Poet Carolyn Forche read her poetry to a crowd of about 100 people at Saint Leo University. She shared both new and old works. (Courtesy of Jonathan Shoemaker/Saint Leo University) — Poet Carolyn Forche read her poetry to a crowd of about 100 people at Saint Leo University. She shared both new and old works.
(Courtesy of Jonathan Shoemaker/Saint Leo University)

But, it was a second book of poems, drawing on her experiences in war-torn El Salvador in the 1980s, that first brought her renown.

“The Country Between Us” became a national bestseller, a rare occurrence for a book of poetry.

During her long career, Forche has garnered acclaim as a poet, a translator and a human rights advocate.

She gave a reading from her works on Jan. 21 for about 100 people at the Student Community Center at Saint Leo University. The university’s Daniel A. Cannon Memorial Library sponsored the event.

Forche currently is working on a new book of poetry, and a memoir about her personal experiences in El Salvador, Lebanon, South Africa and France.

Some of her poems are about witnesses or victims of the brutality suffered during wars, torture and imprisonment.

In her poem, “The Colonel,” she describes an encounter with a Salvadoran colonel who angrily dumps a bag of severed human ears onto a table – his trophies from people put to death during the civil war that began in the late 1970s.

Forche dedicated that poem to Oscar Romero, the Catholic priest who was assassinated during the Salvadoran civil war.

One week before his death, he helped Forche get safely out of the country.

Forche had gone there on a Guggenheim fellowship, as an observer for Amnesty International. She helped in efforts to find out what happened to people who had “disappeared” or who were imprisoned.

Some observers, she said, would go to “body dumps” to match faces of the dead with photos.

She recounted her visit to try and map the interior of a prison by visiting a prisoner she pretended to know.

She has been called at times a political poet, but Forche doesn’t accept that label.

Instead, she describes what she writes as a “poetry of witness,” regardless of whether the subject is political or not.

Her themes are personal ones reflecting on how events, memories or relationships shape and give context to how people live.

“I’ve never been a political person. I’ve never been in a political organization,” she said. “I think artists and writers tend to be too weird for political organizations.”

Responding to a question about how to make the world better, Forche said people can learn a skill that people need.

Doctors without Borders, for example, might need a dental hygienist.

Volunteer service in the community can help, too.

“Get a project,” she said. “Look at a small problem and solve it.”

Marketing student Amanda Topper, 19, asked about Forche’s creative process.

Forche said the creative process isn’t easy to define. She does keep a moleskin notebook handy. “I’m writing in it all the time.”

Inspiration can’t be forced, she said, noting she doesn’t choose a subject and then start writing.

“If you overthink it, you can screw up your inspiration,” she said. “But, you do have to sit down and work, even if you aren’t inspired,” Forche said.

The poet said she does at least 20 minutes a day of free writing.

While she read her poems with assurance, Forche said reading for an audience took practice.

“I’ve always been terrified of standing up and giving poetry readings,” she said. “I was a shy kid. I learned to do this. It wasn’t natural to me.”

Her poetry books include “The Angel of History,” “The Country Between Us” and “The Blue Hour.”

She also edited two anthologies, “Against Forgetting: Twentieth Century Poetry of Witness” and “Poetry of Witness: The Tradition in English, 1500-2001.”

Her translations include the late Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish’s “Unfortunately, It Was Paradise: Selected Poems,” and Central American poet Claribel Alegria’s “Flowers from the Volcano.”

She currently is director of the Lannan Center for Poetry and Social Practice at Georgetown University.

Published January 27, 2016

Pasco administrator set to retire in 2017

January 27, 2016 By Kathy Steele

Pasco County Administrator Michele Baker expects to be very busy over the next year and a half.

She’ll be crossing off a to-do list, one by one, before leaving in 2017 to go on a lengthy road trip with her husband.

The couple will hit the road with their recreational vehicle and their motorcycles, on a tour of as many baseball parks and national parks as they can squeeze into a year.

“That’s been our dream,” Baker said, so letting her contract lapse in July 2017 makes sense.

But, don’t expect a lame duck administrator.

“There’s no kicking back here,” Baker said. “This isn’t me slowing down.”

Pasco County Administrator Michele Baker has much work to do before her planned retirement in 2017. (File Photo) — Pasco County Administrator Michele Baker has much work to do before her planned retirement in 2017.
(File Photo)

Baker has told Pasco County commissioners she won’t seek renewal of her current two-year contract, which makes her last day July 9, 2017.

By then, Baker will have worked 35 years in public service, 24 of those years with Pasco County.

Her to-do list, in short form, includes:

Completing master plans and updates for storm water, solid waste and tourism
Funding and building a diverging diamond road design to ease traffic congestion at State Road 56 and Interstate 75
Completing the State Road 56 extension
Nurturing SunWest Park, the county’s fledgling aqua park
Replacing and repairing aging infrastructure and roads damaged by the summer flooding
Making progress on the expansion of the jail and construction of new fire stations
Relocating more government offices to central Pasco

Baker also plans to fill vacancies for a few key leadership positions that remain, including an assistant county administrator for public safety and administration.

Progress has been made, Baker said, but government services still could be more customer-friendly.

A culture that was decades in the making is being changed, she said. “You don’t get to turn a canoe. You’re turning a ship.”

Public service wasn’t Baker’s first career choice.

Over the years she worked as a waitress, flight attendant and a theater manager. She also served in the U.S. Air Force Reserve.

Her undergraduate degree was in business administration.

It wasn’t until she accepted a secretarial position with Miami-Dade County’s emergency management office that she discovered her passion for public service.

“I see that it was the hand of God, a bit of destiny with doors I went through and doors I didn’t go through,” Baker said. “But, I fell in love. I am not a competitive, money-directed person by nature. Public service allowed me an opportunity to make a difference.”

She was an emergency operations officer in Miami when Hurricane Andrew devastated that city in 1992.

Pasco County Administrator John Gallagher hired her away the following year as Pasco’s emergency management director. She interviewed for the job the day before the “No-Name” storm (also known as the “Storm of the Century”) slammed Florida’s coast and flooded west Pasco.

Baker cut a vacation short to take on the new job.

Over the years, Gallagher showed his confidence in her, tapping Baker as program administrator for engineering, and for nearly six years as his chief assistant county administrator.

As head of engineering, she oversaw the launching of the county’s Environmental Land Acquisition and Management Program, which buys and manages environmentally sensitive land throughout the county.

She also got the Penny for Pasco program off the ground. Funds from a penny sales tax are shared with the county, cities and the school districts for building projects.

“We had a new program to seek stewardship of at its birth,” Baker said.

She took the helm as interim county administrator in 2013 when Gallagher retired after more than 30 years in the job. County commissioners initially offered the administrator’s job to a candidate from Texas who unexpectedly walked away during contract negotiations.

When Baker was appointed, she was the first woman to hold the county’s top administrative job.

She took over as the county struggled with deep budget cuts and staff layoffs, following the nation’s deepest recession in history.

Baker credits Gallagher for initially steering the county safely through a new era of leaner budgets and fewer staff members. Even as Gallagher prepared to retire, about half of the county’s departmental managers indicated they also planned to retire.

“He empowered me to begin the transition,” she said. “We saw the handwriting on the wall. There was going to be a substantial correction. We didn’t know how bad it was going to be. But, we knew our revenues would be tightening.”

Baker also shared with Gallagher a vision of reorganizing county government and putting an emphasis on customer service.

“You have to operate more efficiently and keep level of service residents want because government has less money,” Baker said.

Baker routinely provides county commissioners with a quarterly report updating them on her progress for the projects on that to-do list.

Discussions are expected to begin soon on how the board will search for a replacement. That typically takes about seven to nine months, Baker said.

She would like to have that person on board before she leaves to help with the transition.

“I am, by nature, an organized planner,” Baker said. “I want to hire and mentor that person. I will have been successful if my successor is successful.”

Once the ignition key is turned on the RV though, it’s a new adventure ahead.

Published January 27, 2016

Business Digest 01/27/2016

January 27, 2016 By Kathy Steele

Lutz Kmart closing
The Kmart store at 22920 State Road 54 in Lutz will close its doors in mid-March. The store’s 62 employees will be eligible to receive severance or to apply for positions at area Sears or Kmart stores, according to an email from Howard Riefs, spokesman for Sears Holdings.

Most of the employees are part- time, hourly wage earners.

A liquidation sale at the store began Jan. 14.

In his email, Riefs explained the closure here and at other stores as part of a company-wide effort to cut expenses and speed up transformation of the company’s business model.

Catholic Business Network
The Catholic Business Network of Tampa Bay meets every Tuesday from 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m., at Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church, at 2348 Collier Parkway in Rosary Hall, Rooms 5 and 6. The network is a nonprofit membership organization for local business people who want to incorporate their faith into the workplace, and network with other Catholics to foster personal and business relationships. However, all faiths are welcome.

For information, visit CBNtampa.org.

Breakfast mania
East and Central Pasco Marketing Mania will take place on Jan. 28 from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., at the Commons at Pretty Pond, at 38130 Pretty Pond Road in Zephyrhills. A continental breakfast will be provided. To RSVP, call (813) 400-2263.

The event takes place every last Thursday of the month. Locations may change periodically.

For information, call (813) 779-4501.

Networking luncheon
The North Tampa Chamber of Commerce will host a network luncheon on Jan. 28 at 11:30 a.m., at IHOP, at 408 E. Bearss Ave., in Tampa. The theme is relationship building with business neighbors. Order from the 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 directions, call (813) 960-2679.

Wesley Chapel breakfast meeting
The Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce will have its monthly breakfast meeting on Feb. 2 from 7:30 a.m. to 9:15 a.m., at Pasco-Hernando State College, in the third floor conference center, Room B-303, at the Porter Campus, 2727 Mansfield Blvd., in Wesley Chapel.

The cost for chamber members is $15 in advance. Register online by Jan. 29 at 3 p.m. At the door, the cost is $20 for members and non-members.

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

Wednesday morning networking
The Wednesday Morning Networking Group will meet Feb. 3 at 7:30 a.m., at The Lake House at Hungry Harry’s Family B-B- Q, at 3116 Land O’ Lake Blvd., in Land O’ Lakes. Each attendee will be able to present a 30-second pitch. The $7 cost includes breakfast. The sponsor for this meeting is UpHill Marketing Group. Sponsorships for future meetings are available.

For information, contact the Central Pasco Chamber of Commerce at (813) 909-2722, or email .

Ribbon cutting
Aprile Chiropractic will host a ribbon cutting on Feb. 4 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., at 1932 Highland Oaks Road, off the south side of State Road 54, in Lutz.

For information, call (813) 909-1644, or visit AprileChiropractic.com.

Women-n-Charge lunch
Join the ladies of Women-n-Charge on Feb. 5 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m., at Pebble Creek Country Club, at 10550 Regents Park Drive, in Tampa. The meeting includes lunch and time to network. Come share talents, build relationships and share resources with other women in business. The guest speaker will be international singer and songwriter Thanecha Anderson, who will talk about “Overcoming all odds to change the world.”

The cost is $15 for members and $18 for guests.

To register, visit Women-n-Charge.com.
For information, contact Judy at (813) 600-9848 or .

Jobs event
A Career Expo will help match top technology graduates with local companies in a two-day event on Feb. 25 and Feb. 26 hosted by the Florida High Tech Corridor Council. The expo will be at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, and will feature career center directors from more than 45 of the nation’s top universities including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Georgia Tech, Cornell, Notre Dame, Purdue, the University of Central Florida, the University of South Florida and the University of Florida.

Career center directors and local business professionals will participate in receptions, breakfasts, luncheons and individual meetings to discuss talent needs.

The Corridor encourages the attendance of businesses within a 23-county region including Hillsborough, Pasco and surrounding counties.

The event kicks off on Feb. 25 with keynote speaker Bill Johnson, the chief executive officer of Enterprise Florida.

The Florida High Tech Corridor Council is an economic development initiative of UCF, USF and UF. Its mission is to encourage innovation and expand the high tech industry through partnerships that support research, marketing, work force and entrepreneurship. More than 25 local and regional economic development organizations, state and community colleges, and 12 CareerSource boards participate.

Registrations are available for companies to participate. For information, email Owen Wentworth at .

A full list of attending universities, the Career Expo schedule, and other details are available at FloridaHighTech.com/career/career-expo-2016.

Wesley Chapel Boulevard to be widened

January 20, 2016 By Kathy Steele

The developer of Cypress Creek Town Center could issue bids for a redesign along County Road 54, also known as Wesley Chapel Boulevard, as early as February.

If that happens, construction could begin in April to widen a stretch of roadway from its intersection with State Road 56 north past a planned entry in the mall.

“That’s optimistic,” said Brent Whitley, vice president of Sierra Properties Inc. “But, we want to be completed by the end of the year.”

Additional roadwork by Pasco County might not happen until 2020, but area residents are eager to see a start on easing traffic woes on the existing two-lane portion of Wesley Chapel Boulevard.

Residents listen as Michael Campo, roadway project engineer with Kisinger Campo & Associates, answers questions about the proposed road design for County Road 54. (Kathy Steele/Staff Photo) — Residents listen as Michael Campo, roadway project engineer with Kisinger Campo & Associates, answers questions about the proposed road design for County Road 54.
(Kathy Steele/Staff Photo)

More than 100 residents attended a workshop on Jan.15 to check out the proposed road project. County transportation planners and representatives of Kisinger Campo & Associates were on hand at Veterans Elementary School to answer questions and listen to input on the road design.

The goal is to build a six-lane divided roadway from north of State Road 56 to north of Magnolia Boulevard. The project will provide three 12-foot traffic lanes on both sides of a median. There also will be bicycle lanes, a five-foot-wide sidewalk on the west side of the road, and an eight-foot sidewalk on the east side.

On the county’s part, completion of the roadway’s design is expected in 2016. Construction to start where the mall’s expanded roadwork ends won’t happen until right-of-way acquisition is completed. That process will begin in 2016. Funding for the project is included in Pasco County’s five-year capital improvement budget.

Sierra Properties, the mall developer, is responsible for that portion of the road that runs past the mall, located north of State Road 56 at the intersection with Wesley Chapel Boulevard.

A traffic signal is planned at the mall’s entrance.

Most of the residents at the workshop expressed frustrations about increasing traffic congestion, long waits to turn onto Wesley Chapel Boulevard as they exit their subdivisions and concerns about right-of-way acquisition.

Currently, the road has six lanes where Wesley Chapel Boulevard and State Road 56 meet, but it quickly tapers to two lanes beyond the mall’s property.

“The main issue is being able to get in and out of Grand Oaks,” said Jim Clark, who moved to Grand Oaks in 1997. “It’s a tremendous problem especially going east.”

A wait of 10 minutes or more to exit the subdivision is not unusual, he said.

“We really do need a stop light,” said his wife, Trisha Clark.

The couple will get their wish.

County planners said new traffic signals would be installed at Grand Oaks and at Stagecoach, in addition to the light at the mall.

New growth, both residential and commercial, gets the blame for the increasing traffic woes.

“Because of the expansion of new car dealerships, it’s growing greatly, which is a good thing,” said Ed Rogers, who lives in Grand Oaks. “But, now we have trucks at all hours of the night. The noise will be even more.”

Rogers and his neighbor, Kay Kleinhample, also had concerns that the county would buy up right-of-way that would take down Grand Oaks’ entrance wall, and even all or part of their homes.

That won’t be the case, according to county planners.

Instead, the right-of-way still needed for the project will come from the east side of Wesley Chapel Boulevard. That could affect some businesses, but no homes will be lost, they said.

Concerns still remain about the timing and how the redesign will work.

“What are they going to do to make our living a little easier?” Kleinhample said.

Published January 20, 2016

Development is heating up in Land O’ Lakes

January 20, 2016 By Kathy Steele

Recent rezoning applications suggest that Land O’ Lakes is on the radar for new development.

Potential projects on tap are a craft brewery, new retail and townhomes —all along a single stretch of Land O’ Lakes Boulevard, north of State Road 54.

Each project received a recommendation of approval on Jan. 13, from the Pasco County Planning Commission, a voluntary group that advises the Pasco County Commission, after reviewing recommendations from the county’s planning staff.

The Pasco County Commission is scheduled to consider the three proposals at its Jan. 26 meeting.

Imperial Buffet is applying for a license to sell beer and wine at its location in the Village Lakes Shopping Center, off State Road 54, in Land O’ Lakes. (Kathy Steele/Staff Photos) — Imperial Buffet is applying for a license to sell beer and wine at its location in the Village Lakes Shopping Center, off State Road 54, in Land O’ Lakes.
(Kathy Steele/Staff Photos)

Representatives of Interior Elegance Inc., and In the Loop Brewing have applied for a beer and wine license at a building located at 3338 Land O’ Lakes Blvd.

County records show plans call for a 540-square-foot brewery, a 2,800-square-foot tap and tasting room, and an outdoor beer garden of nearly 6,800 square feet.

Just south of the proposed brewery, owners of E List Properties are proposing to build about 7,500 square feet of retail, and five townhomes with a boat dock fronting Lake Padgett.

That nearly two-acre site is at 3300 Land O’ Lakes Blvd., north of Stiverson Road.

Real estate broker Jim O’ Brien represented E List Properties at the planning commission meeting.

O’ Brien told planning commissioners that no decisions had been made yet on the type of retail the project would include.

E List Properties is seeking to rezone a vacant lot on Land O’ Lakes Boulevard for townhomes and retail development.

After the meeting, O’ Brien said it is not surprising to see new interest in the Land O’ Lakes area based on residential development on U.S. 41, given the county’s new growth spurt. “It’s going to create more opportunities,” O’ Brien said. “People want to work where they live.”

He doesn’t anticipate a quick start to construction by E List, but he said, “Everything north of State Road 54 is booming.”

Brother Investments Inc., rounded out the three proposals, with a plan to build a contractor’s office, with storage, at 3228 Land O’ Lakes Blvd. The zoning, if approved, would change from residential to commercial and light manufacturing.

In other rezoning requests in Land O’ Lakes, Imperial Buffet in the Village Lakes Shopping Center, off State Road 54, is seeking a beer and wine license. The restaurant opened Jan. 15 at the former location of Ichiban Buffet.

In another request, John D. Jones is seeking to rezone property at 7329 Land O’ Lakes Blvd., north of Gator Lane, from general commercial to commercial and light manufacturing. He proposes to remodel an existing building as a contractor’s office, with storage space.

Published January 20, 2016

Rebecca’s at City Market offers new fare

January 20, 2016 By Kathy Steele

The phone call came unexpectedly in October.

In passing, Curtis Beebe had told the owners of City Market Bistro that if they ever wanted to sell, he and his wife Rebecca might be interested.

Within days of the call, Rebecca’s at City Market was signed, sealed and delivered.

Rebecca and Curtis Beebe recently opened their third restaurant, and their first in downtown Dade City – Rebecca’s at City Market. (Kathy Steele/Staff Photo) — Rebecca and Curtis Beebe recently opened their third restaurant, and their first in downtown Dade City – Rebecca’s at City Market.
(Kathy Steele/Staff Photo)

By November, the Beebe’s were off and running with their third restaurant in four years. And, they were betting on a bright future for downtown Dade City, which is experiencing a renaissance of restaurants and shops.

“It’s exciting, and I’m investing in it, obviously,” Curtis Beebe said.

Taking chances is nothing new for this couple.

They opened their first restaurant – The Pearl in the Grove – on rural St. Joe Road in Saint Joseph, amid kumquats, horses, cows and hayfields.

The restaurant recently earned a Golden Spoon from Florida Trend magazine, which praised the originality of its farm-to-table cuisine.

LOCAL Public House and Provisions is a gastro-pub in San Antonio with New Orleans flavored comfort food and craft beers.

Rebecca’s at City Market, at 14148 Eighth St., in Dade City, is starting with the former City Market Bistro’s menu of soups, salads, sandwiches and pizzas, and slowly introducing new dishes.

Each of the couple’s ventures shares the same philosophy. And, as Curtis Beebe put it: “Local is better.”

What goes on the plate comes as much a possible from freshly grown and produced locally, including pasture-fed beef.

Fish is from a local vendor, bread from an Ybor City bakery, and vegetables from local growers.

“It is all custom made,” he said.

If Curtis Beebe stands out as the prime chef in the family-owned restaurants, Rebecca Beebe is just as hands-on behind the scenes.

“Rebecca has the ability to taste food and know exactly what it needs,” her husband said. And, she’s been known to toss out recipes that don’t meet her standards.

The restaurant that bears her name is no different.

She spends her days teaching at Pasco Middle School and her nights overseeing the details of running three restaurants.

That includes menu selections, the menu design, and pitching in to help with food preparations.

In the next semester, she plans to take a sabbatical from teaching to focus more on the newest restaurant acquisition.

Downtown Dade City is an opportunity to broaden the customer base.

Pearl in the Grove is an off-the-beaten path kind of restaurant.

In downtown Dade City, though, “We get way more walk-in traffic. We have the ability to serve a broader range of food. There is something for everyone,” Curtis Beebe said.

The restaurant attracts a family crowd.

“It’s classic and comfortable,” said Rebecca Beebe.

The Beebes both grew up in foodie families.

“My mother cooked everything from scratch,” said Rebecca Beebe. “We both cooked with our mothers.”

And, wherever they lived, the Beebes picked up new flavors and recipes from Tex-Mex to Native American.

Curtis Beebe had a long-time career in the corporate world of information technology, but the economy’s downturn in 2007 left him jobless. And then, set him on a different path.

He began catering dinners, parties and special events, and getting positive feedback on his menus.

Members of the Dade City Woman’s Club were among his first taste testers.

“That’s how we validated all this and thought we could make a living,” he said.

He doesn’t miss his past working life.

“This is much more fulfilling,” he said.

It has been a right-time, right-place experience in eastern Pasco County. New families, including millennials, are moving to the area, he said.

“They are all looking for authentic experiences,” Curtis Beebe said. “You can get it in towns like San Antonio, St. Joe and Dade City. There is a lot of cool stuff happening, which makes more opportunities,” he said.

Could there be a fourth restaurant in their future?

“We’re not looking, but we weren’t looking when we found this (Rebecca’s),” he said.

If there is another restaurant, Rebecca Beebe said, “We’ll have to call it Serendipity.”

Published January 20, 2016

New 4-lane to connect communities

January 20, 2016 By Kathy Steele

Pasco County is set to receive a nearly $23 million state loan after state and local officials stitched together a deal for a four-lane extension of State Road 56 from Wiregrass Ranch to Zephyrhills.

The project previously had been intended to build two lanes from Meadow Pointe Boulevard in Wiregrass Ranch to U.S. 301 in Zephyrhills.

Converting it to a four-lane project will boost the estimated $35 million price tag to about $65 million, including the loan plus interest.

‘We will facilitate a lot of regional benefits. This will definitely benefit all of our (traffic) circulations.’ — Richard Gehring, Pasco strategic policy administrator.

Loan proceeds from the State Infrastructure Bank could be available as soon as April. Construction is expected to start by fall of this year. Completion is expected in 2019, and repayments of the loan would start shortly thereafter.

The project is expected to improve access to Interstate 75 and southeast Pasco, and spur new development in and around Zephyrhills, and its airport. Residents and officials in Zephyrhills have long lobbied for four lanes, arguing that a two-lane road was a major roadblock to redevelopment.

“It’s a major, major public/private partnership,” said Steve Spina, Zephyrhills’ city manager. “It will be an economic boost for the area.”

Pasco County commissioners, on Jan. 12, approved a series of agreements with the Florida Department of Transportation, four developer/landowners, the Cone & Graham construction company and the city of Zephyrhills.

The agreements detail a repayment schedule that allows the county to collect funds from developers and landowners along the corridor through mobility surcharge fees, or special assessments if needed.

“We will facilitate a lot of regional benefits,” said Richard Gehring, the county’s strategic policy administrator. “This will definitely benefit all of our (traffic) circulations.”

Prior to the commissioners’ meeting in Dade City, negotiations had hit a few snags, largely around how to structure the loan’s repayment and who would be liable for cost overruns.

State transportation officials agreed to extend the department’s contract with Cone & Graham, the contractor hired for the initial two lanes. The contractor would cover cost overruns but, in the event of a default, the county and developers would be liable.

Most of the road construction runs through Two Rivers Ranch, and its developers will pay almost $15 million in mobility surcharge fees. River Landing and Wyndfields will yield fees of about $6.8 million and $4.2 million, respectively.

Developers of a fourth community – Wesley Chapel Lakes – had an existing agreement in place, not taking into account additional construction, and will contribute about $2.7 million.

The county would pay most of a potential shortfall of about $1.5 million, with Zephyrhills contributing about $150,000 of that total.

In addition, plans to build a district park in Wesley Chapel Lakes will be abandoned. Because of wetlands, the site was too small, said David Goldstein, Pasco County’s chief assistant county attorney.

Instead, the developer of River Landing will provide parkland co-located with River Landing High School.

“This is going to be a win-win for the school district and the road project,” Goldstein said.

Published January 20, 2016

Business Digest 01/20/2016

January 20, 2016 By Kathy Steele

Career center directors and local business professionals will participate in receptions, breakfasts, luncheons and individual meetings to discuss talent needs.

The Corridor encourages the attendance of businesses within a 23-county region including Hillsborough, Pasco and surrounding counties.

The event kicks off on Feb. 25 with keynote speaker Bill Johnson, the chief executive officer of Enterprise Florida.

Registrations are available for companies to participate. For information, email Owen Wentworth at .

A full list of attending universities, the Career Expo schedule, and other details are available at FloridaHighTech.com/career/career-expo-2016.

Grand opening
Florida E.N.T. and Allergy will host a free grand opening and ribbon cutting on Jan. 20 from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., at 26853 Foggy Creek Road, Building 21, Suite 101, in Wesley Chapel.

The health group is a merger of Tampa Bay E.N.T. and Tampa Ear, Nose and Throat Associates, which have served the Tampa Bay area for more than 40 years.

Eight ear, nose and throat specialists provide services for the entire family, ranging from treating pediatric allergies to fitting hearing aids. They have several locations including Tampa, Lutz and North Tampa.

For information, visit FloridaENTandAllergy.com, or call (813) 879-8045.

Ribbon cutting
American Home Title of Land O’ Lakes will host a ribbon cutting for its remodeled office on Jan. 21 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., at 2047 Osprey Lane in Lutz. Refreshments will be served.

For information, call American Title at (813) 948-1868.

Ribbon cutting
Profits and Gains will have a ribbon cutting and grand reopening on Jan. 22 from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., at 2607 Windguard Circle, Suite 101, in Wesley Chapel. The company provides tax and accounting services.

The event is free.

For information, email , or call (813) 386-3144.

The event takes place every last Thursday of the month. Locations may change periodically.

For information, call (813) 779-4501.

To RSVP by Jan. 26, email , or call AIG at (813) 334-8998.

For directions, call (813) 960-2679.

Breakfast meeting
The Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce will have its monthly breakfast meeting on Feb. 2 from 7:30 a.m. to 9:15 a.m., at Pasco-Hernando State College, in the third floor conference center, Room B-303, at the Porter Campus, 2727 Mansfield Blvd., in Wesley Chapel.

The cost for chamber members is $15 in advance. Register online by Jan. 29 at 3 p.m. At the door, the cost is $20 for members and non-members.

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