The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Michael Hinman

Dairy Queen, Tuffy land sold in Wesley Chapel

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The land under a Dairy Queen and a Tuffy Service Center in Wesley Chapel has a new owner from Kentucky.

An acre of land at 27329 Wesley Chapel Blvd., sold last week for $2.35 million to Monticello Properties LLC. That company is connected to Kentucky real estate developer and bank chairman Jack Sheidler. Its previous owner, J & J Wesley Chapel LLC, had originally bought the land in 2006 for $1.8 million. The buildings, according to county property records, were built in 2002.

Monticello purchased the property using a $1.5 million loan from BB&T.

The land is an outparcel of the former Sweetbay supermarket location in Wesley Chapel, which has since converted to Winn-Dixie.

Sheidler has developed real estate since 1984, according to published reports. He is the chair of Citizens First Bank Inc., which operates primarily in the Bowling Green area of Kentucky.

This is the 15th land sale in Pasco County this year above $1 million, accounting for $71.8 million in land sales this year, according to county property records. However, that is off pace from last year when 58 land deals were completed in the county above $1 million, totaling $204.8 million.

Local RadioShacks may stay open, despite cuts

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RadioShack Corp. says it’s closing 200 more stores this summer. And while it’s not clear if three local RadioShack locations are being targeted, the odds for those stores surviving have improved compared to just a couple months ago.

The 200 figure represents just 5 percent of its total corporate stores, meaning locations in Lutz, New Tampa and Zephyrhills have moved from a 1-in-4 chance of being closed to a 1-in-21. That’s because RadioShack decided not to follow through on its plans last March to close 1,100 stores nationwide by spring after failing to come to an agreement with its lenders.

However, that doesn’t mean the company — which spoofed its connection to the 1980s in a Super Bowl ad last winter — doesn’t have a lot of work to do to become profitable again.

The biggest move will be finding a way to differentiate RadioShack from other stores that sell cellular phones, including wireless carriers themselves, the company’s chief executive, Joseph Magnacca said, in a release.

“Even in this environment, we are making progress on our turnaround strategy,” he said. “We are building a pipeline of new products that will bring differentiation and newness to our stores in the form of high-margin private brand and exclusive items, including those from new partnerships like Quirky and PCH.”

RadioShack will choose which stores to close based on how much money they are making, the kind of lease agreement each one has, and area demographics.

RadioShack operates three locations in the local area, including at 23012 State Road 54 in Lutz, at the Shops at Pebble Creek in New Tampa at 19416 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., and at 7248 Gall Blvd., in Zephyrhills.

Zephyrhills ready to name Daniel Spillman interim fire chief

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Verne Riggall never gave the Zephyrhills City Council a chance to fire him.

The embattled fire chief resigned Friday, saying that “baseless attacks of a vocal and aggressive minority of members of the department” have made it impossible for him to do his job.

“There is nothing in this life, or any profession — particularly in the fire service — that is constant,” Riggall wrote in a resignation letter to the council. “Instead, technology and advances in science mean that traditions of the fire service at a subsequent time must be constantly re-evaluated and changed if necessary in light of the present.”

Riggall said he believed he did his best to promote policies within his department that would “safeguard the lives and safety of both firefighters and the citizens of this wonderful city.”

Interim city manager Steve Spina, however, disagreed. In a scathing review of Riggall’s two-year tenure, Spina cited issues that included inadequate staffing of first responder vehicles, low morale among the employes in the fire department, and a strange work schedule Riggall himself maintained, apparently worked around his wife’s schedule.

“Department heads should be available during the day to respond to city council, the public, staff and the city manager, and other department heads,” Spina wrote in a memo to the council. “Most people will not try to contact the chief at 9 p.m., or on weekends.”

Spina put Riggall on paid leave June 2, and prepared a memo recommending the city council fire him and install Daniel Spillman as the assistant fire chief. The city council could do just that at Monday’s meeting.

Riggall was previously the fire chief in High Springs, where he worked closely with then city manager Jim Drumm. When Drumm came to Zephyrhills three years ago, Riggall followed a short time later after city officials there eliminated funding for the fire chief position.

Riggall was named the interim chief in 2011, and permanently earned the job in 2012. Drumm resigned in April after the city council indicated it would not renew his contract.

Zephyrhills council takes aim at fire chief

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Update: Published reports state that Verne Riggall resigned as the Zephyrhills fire chief on Friday, leaving the city council with the job of appointing an interim chief Monday night.

Zephyrhills Fire Chief Verne Riggall followed his former city manager, Jim Drumm, from High Springs. But he might soon be following him out as well.

Steve Spina, who replaced Drumm on an interim basis as Zephyrhills city manager, wants the city council to remove Riggall from his job as the city’s top firefighter. And that decision could come as early as the council’s meeting Monday night.

“There is a clear lack of coordination and communication in Zephyrhills Fire Rescue, and a lack of support and respect for the chief from the personnel I interviewed,” Spina said in a memo to the council. “This chief is not bringing people together in a way that is critical in ensuring the proper response of emergency personnel, and the provision of timely and adequately equipped rescue vehicles. There is a clear sense of dysfunction and morale issues that impacts the day-to-day operations, and I believe hampers the ability to provide top notch fire rescue services.”

Riggall was named the city’s fire chief in 2012, a year after resigning from a similar job in High Springs after finding his position was being eliminated from the city budget. Drumm had already left his job there as city manager, and moved to Zephyrhills. Riggall followed soon after, first stepping in as an interim, and six months later, offered the job permanently.

That vote in April 2013 had everyone patting each other on the back, according to published reports. A group of firefighters had even attended the council meeting, cheering Riggall on. Then council president Kent Compton said Riggall’s credentials were “decades in the making.”

But a lot has changed in a year. Drumm resigned this past April after learning he would not have enough votes on the council to renew his contract. And before he left, Drumm was starting an investigation of Riggall, who some said had lost the confidence of his firefighters.

Many of those issues were spelled out in Spina’s memo. One of the biggest concerns was how Riggall was staffing fire engines and emergency response vehicles. Some of the staffing records showed that there were not enough personnel on hand to safely respond to necessary calls, and even they didn’t have all the appropriate equipment they would need.

If a problem had arose, Riggall said a backup unit or one from Pasco County could help, but relying on such help was problematic, Spina said.

Another issue involved the hours Riggall worked. His shift would sometimes include late nights and weekends — something he reportedly said was to better accommodate his wife’s schedule.

“Department heads should be available during the day to respond to city council, the public, staff and the city manager and other department heads,” Spina wrote. “Most people will not try to contact the chief at 9 p.m., or on weekends.”

Spina said when he asked Riggall how he would correct these issues, he was told that Riggall would “try to improve communications.”

In a second memo to the council ahead of Monday’s meeting, Spina outlined his investigation, which also included interviews with fire union representative Michael Richards, Lt. Kerry Barnett and City Clerk Linda Boan, along with “several other” fire department employees.

Riggall was placed on paid leave June 2.

Spina is asking the city council to fire Riggall, which only requires three of the five council members to agree. If that does happen, Spina has also recommended an interim fire chief: Daniel Spillman.

Spillman, according to Spina, joined the city’s fire department last September after spending more than a year as fire chief with Escambia County. He received his bachelor’s degree from Florida International University and a master’s degree from City University in Bellevue, Washington, according to his resume.

Monday’s meeting begins at 6 p.m. at Zephyrhills City Hall, 5335 Eighth St.

Sandy Graves balances home of today, yesteryear

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There’s a lot someone can say about Sandy Graves that people in the area might not know already. But that’s what happens when you live in the same house you grew up in, in an area you watched grow from a population counted in the hundreds to one now tracked by the tens of thousands.

Sandy Graves, left, makes no secret about her political work. She’s been heavily involved in the Republican party over the years, including work on campaigns for Gov. Rick Scott, center, and former state Sen. Mike Fasano. (Courtesy of Sandy Graves)
Sandy Graves, left, makes no secret about her political work. She’s been heavily involved in the Republican party over the years, including work on campaigns for Gov. Rick Scott, center, and former state Sen. Mike Fasano.
(Courtesy of Sandy Graves)

Sandy’s community work is well known. She helps with a puppet ministry with Van Dyke Church of Lutz. She’s very active politically with the Republican Party. And she is putting in a lot of hours trying to redevelop Heritage Park at the Land O’ Lakes Community Center that would include an outdoor stage.

But one thing these same people may not know about Sandy Graves is that she spent 11 years as a flight attendant with Eastern Airlines.

“I was going to Auburn University, and I had a sorority sister that had graduated the year before,” Sandy said. “When she came back, she was a flight attendant. And it sounded good to me. It was exciting, and I wanted to travel.”

Back then, Eastern Airlines dominated the travel market between New York and Florida, all during a time when luxury and convenience were staples of the flight industry — no matter how long the trip was.

“It was not as glamorous as some people might think,” Sandy said. “Especially when you had an hour-long flight, and had to throw out a meal to everyone, clean it up and throw it all away before we landed.”

Sandy left Eastern not long before the company folded in 1991. But instead of returning home to Land O’ Lakes, Sandy instead stayed in Atlanta where she lived during her time with Eastern, and became a youth minister there.

By 1995, however, Sandy and husband Steve decided it was time to move home, and did — eventually ending up in the same 1950s house she grew up in. But that took some adjusting.

“It’s strange at first, because this was my bedroom, but now this is my bedroom,” she said. “But we remodeled it and put our stamp on it. It has a different personality, because now it represents the grown-up me.”

Family remains important to Sandy, especially when it comes to siblings. She spends as much time as she can with her nieces and nephews, many times taking them camping at a place she and Steve maintain in North Carolina. With the horseback riding and canoeing, it reminds her an awful lot of life in Land O’ Lakes before the boom.

“I used to ride horseback all where Lake Padgett is now, and back where Pine View Elementary is now, as well as lots where Connerton and Avila are now, too,” Sandy said.

Harvey’s Hardware on Land O’ Lakes Boulevard was where Sandy and her family would get soft drinks and even gas. Grocery shopping was done at the beginning of Ehren Cutoff where LOL Transport & Moving Inc., is now.

Anything else required a trip to Tampa, and since Interstate 75 hadn’t been built yet, that meant a long trip down U.S. 41.

Pasco did have its own amenities, however, and Sandy has lots of memories when it comes to Quail Hollow Golf Course.

“My dad would join a bunch of his friends there to play golf, and he would drop me, my brother and my sister off at the pool,” Sandy said. “It was always so exciting, because we could go inside, then, and run tabs for things like hamburgers. We felt like royalty doing that.”

Land O’ Lakes is no longer the community off a small two-lane road connecting Tampa and Brooksville. It’s a bustling community of its own, which can’t seem to stop growing.

Sandy Graves, however, still has that small-town attitude. And she works hard to ensure the identity of Land O’ Lakes is never lost.

“Everybody knew each other growing up, and I could name all my grade school teachers,” Sandy said. “It’s not like that anymore, but now we have a chance to turn it into something special.”

Getting to know Sandy Graves

What song on the radio will make you sing out loud?
“Happy” from Pharrell Williams. I think everyone is listening to that song right now. But another one I actually love and used to play a lot is “Radioactive” (by Imagine Dragons) because sometimes I feel like people aren’t returning my calls because I’m radioactive.

If you were elected President of the United States, what is the first thing you’d do?
I’d cut every single department in the United States by about 5 percent. When they did the sequester thing, they said they had to close down the Grand Canyon, but how do you close down the Grand Canyon? Do you throw a sheet over it?

If you could fly anywhere you’ve never been?
Portugal and Spain. I would love to see the Mediterranean.

If you could appoint someone locally as President, who would it be?
Our county clerk, Paula O’ Neil. But I would make me vice president.

Published June 4, 2014

Wesley Chapel welcomes ice in new $20M sports complex

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By the end of next year, State Road 56 will be more crowded than ever.

A new Mercedes dealership. A long-awaited outlet mall and the different stores it will bring. Yet another hotel, this time 120 rooms.

Gordie Zimmermann, from left, is joined by Pasco County Commissioner Jack Mariano and retired Tampa Bay Lightning star Dave Andreychuk last week in a presentation unveiling a new four-pad ice sports complex just off State Road 56 in Wesley Chapel. The new arena is expected to open by late next year. (Michael Hinman/Staff Photo)
Gordie Zimmermann, from left, is joined by Pasco County Commissioner Jack Mariano and retired Tampa Bay Lightning star Dave Andreychuk last week in a presentation unveiling a new four-pad ice sports complex just off State Road 56 in Wesley Chapel. The new arena is expected to open by late next year.
(Michael Hinman/Staff Photo)

Not bad for a road that, just a little more than a decade ago, didn’t even exist.

Joining all that, however, is an ice and sports complex so big, it might make existing facilities in Ellenton, Oldsmar and maybe even Brandon a bit jealous.

Apartment developer Gordie Zimmermann and his colleagues Z Mitch LLC, closed on 13 acres of land last week on Cypress Ridge Boulevard for $2.6 million, where they plan to build a 155,500-square-foot ice and sports complex complete with four pads of ice, a restaurant, and room for other sports in the community.

Zimmermann’s development team is investing more than $20 million in the project, all so that Zimmermann’s hockey team — and other teams like it — won’t have to travel so far anymore to find a sheet of ice in Florida.

“I was operating down in the Brandon facility, and I noticed that the adult hockey program had taken over,” Zimmermann said of Ice Sports Forum, a two-pad complex he also owns. “The kids had limited ice time there, and had to drive 60 to 70 miles to an ice practice.”

Zimmermann, in his off-time, coaches the Wiregrass Ice Hawks, a youth team that includes his son, incoming Wiregrass High School junior Luke Zimmermann. The Ice Hawks finished as one of the top youth hockey teams in the state, second only to Mitchell High School.

The long drives and fighting for time on the ice limits the younger Zimmermann’s practice time to just a few days a week. But having a sports complex within walking distance of his Seven Oaks home could actually get him out on the ice much more frequently.

“I’d probably be going there every day,” Luke Zimmermann, a center for the team, said.

Although the facility is tentatively called the Cypress Creek Ice and Sport Complex, Gordie Zimmermann said he’s not opposed to finding a corporate sponsor to buy the naming rights. But even if that happens, it would probably be hard for people not to refer to the facility based on where it is geographically, like Cypress Creek or even Wesley Chapel.

And that’s exactly what Jeff Novotny wanted to hear. Not only is he president of American Consulting, which helped with the Zimmermann project, but he’s also president of the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce, which has been working tirelessly on branding new development along State Road 56 in the name of Wesley Chapel.

“I can tell you that the Tampa Bay area has a shortage of ice availability for all age levels,” said Novotny, whose American Consulting headquarters is literally next to the site where the ice complex will be built. “I can count on one hand the number of ice arenas in a one-hour drive. And thanks to the Tampa Bay Lightning, it is better than what it was 15 years ago.”

The Lightning was represented by Stanley Cup winner Dave Andreychuk who, coincidentally, went to high school with Zimmermann in Hamilton, Ontario. Andreychuk stood behind Zimmermann last week during a news conference where the new facility was unveiled, and lent his support to the facility.

Although there are plans to build a two-pad ice sports complex near The Grove in Wesley Chapel, Zimmermann seemed to dismiss the possibility that the local market could become too saturated with ice.

“I think we’ve done our homework,” he said. “I come from an area that has 200 rinks — eight-plexes and six-plexes, and it’s kind of the way of the world to build a minimum of four.”

The facility will be two stories tall, complete with two National Hockey League-level ice pads, and one meeting Olympic specifications. A fourth smaller ice pad, which can double as a non-ice sports court, could be made available when needed for young kids just getting their start, or even to help goalies learn position playing, Zimmermann said.

A restaurant would be situated on the second floor, with a clear view of all the rinks.

“During tournaments, some people’s children’s games might be an hour or two apart, an they can go up and grab a quick snack,” Zimmermann said. “Others might have six- or seven-hour gaps, and they can go to Wiregrass mall, and maybe to a restaurant.”

Coming right behind it is a planned 120-room hotel expected to close on 3 acres of land this summer, developers said. It would complement offerings already in that area, including an existing Hampton Inn & Suites.

Pasco County Commissioner Jack Mariano joined other government leaders at the presentation in endorsing the project, calling the project a crowning achievement to what the county is trying to accomplish in the State Road 56 and Interstate 75 corridor.

“Two rinks would’ve been great, three rinks is phenomenal, but with four, everyone is going to want to come here and play this from all around the world,” Mariano said, highlighting potential interest to travel here from groups outside Florida, and even outside the United States. “If you had to go to Canada or down here to play hockey, where would you want to go?”

Published June 4, 2014

Business Digest 06-04-14

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Lutz 7-Eleven up for sale
The 7-Eleven store at 23434 State Road 54 in Lutz is one of 75 stations across the country 7-Eleven Inc., is putting up for sale.

Robbie Radant, a vice president with the company, said 7-Eleven is cutting loose stores like the Lutz one not because it’s underperforming, but because it no longer fits with its overall goals.

“There are many nice sites in this package that simply do not fit 7-Eleven’s current business model,” Radant said in a release. “All of these stores have solid merchandise sales, and should provide good opportunities for the right buyers.”

7-Eleven is looking to part ways with 31 stores in Florida, along with 14 in Virginia, six in Massachusetts and Illinois, three in Texas and two in New York, Delaware, New Jersey and Utah. The company is selling single stores in Arizona, Connecticut, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Vermont.

The Lutz site will not include the 7-Eleven branding, but could include a fuel contract with SEI Fuels Inc., a subsidiary of 7-Eleven, the company said.

7-Eleven has brought in NRC Realty & Capital Advisors of Chicago to conduct the sale, which will accept sealed bids from groups looking to buy single or multiple locations. The bid deadline is July 29.
The Lutz 7-Eleven opened in 1987 with a 3,100-square-foot store along State Road 54 when it was still a two-lane road. It includes a 10-year fuel contract.

For information on the sale, visit NRC.com/1408, or call (800) 747-3342, ext. 1408.

Upcoming ribbon cuttings
Treasure Hands by Tisha will host an open house and ribbon cutting at 15000 Citrus Country Drive, Suite 342, in Dade City on June 5 from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

RN Cancer Guides will have an open house and ribbon cutting at 26852 Tanic Drive, Suite 101, in Wesley Chapel, June 6 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Both events are hosted through the Greater Dade City Chamber of Commerce.

To RSVP, call (813) 206-7373, or email .

Arlington at Northwood sold, renamed
A Chicago-based real estate company has bought its second community in the Tampa Bay area, taking over the former Arlington at Northwood, a 312-unit complex in Wesley Chapel.

BES Northwood Fund IX LLC, a company associated with Sherman Residential, finalized its sale of the high-end apartments May 15 for $36.1 million. That is nearly $10 million more than what the community’s previous owner, Protea Northwood Apartments, purchased the complex for in 2006 soon after it was built.

The new owners have brought in a new name for the complex as well, calling it Enclave at Wiregrass, according to the company’s website.

Enclave is considered a Class A apartment complex, meaning that it was built in the last 20 years or so, and comes with a number of luxury-style amenities.

Sherman, on its website, says it’s looking to buy apartment communities that have at least 150 units, comprehensive amenity packages, and strong locations, among other things.

Sherman already owns the Enclave at Tranquility Lake in Riverview, as well as 13 other communities in Georgia, Illinois, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas, according to its website.

BES Northwood purchased the property through a $22.5 million loan. It’s located at 1930 Devonwood Drive, just off State Road 56, not far from The Shops at Wiregrass.

This is Pasco County’s largest property sale since August 2012 when Seneca at Cypress Creek was sold for $62.3 million. Units in that Lutz community sold for $138,100 each, while units at the new Enclave sold for $115,700 each.

New team member at tailoring company
Theresa Sparks has joined Sophisticated Tailoring, 18470 U.S. 41 North in Lutz.

Sparks has a bachelor’s degree in fashion design and merchandising from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, graduating summa cum laude.

For more information on the company, visit SophisticatedTailoring.com, or call (813) 785-3177.

PHSC career camps
Pasco-Hernando State College is offering two academic career-themed summer camps designed for middle and early high school students beginning in June.

The camps will be at the school’s New Port Richey campus, 10230 Ridge Road, and will run four half days from Monday through Thursday.

  • Business and Technology Careers — Participants can create a new business plan, participate in a mock trial from the viewpoint of a paralegal, and expand the virtual world by creating a miniature version of the Internet, among other activities.

Sessions run from June 23-26 from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., or July 14-17 from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Cost is $90.

  • Health Careers — Participants can take on simulations and other hands-on activities related to the school’s paramedic, nursing, dental and radiography programs. They also can become CPR-certified.

Sessions run from June 16-19 from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., or July 21-24 from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Cost is $100.

Each session is limited to the first 12 students to register.

For information, visit PHSC.edu/summercamp, or call (727) 816-3256.

Women-n-Charge sets up June meeting
Women-n-Charge will meet June 27 at 11:30 a.m. at Pebble Creek Country Club, 10550 Regents Park Drive in Tampa.

Cost is $15 for members up to the Tuesday before the meeting, and $18 for everyone else.

Register at Women-n-Charge.com. For information, call (813) 600-9848, or email .

Political Agenda 06-04-14

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Young endorses Burgess
House District 38 candidate Danny Burgess has won yet another endorsement, this time from House deputy majority leader and whip Dana Young.

Young, R-Tampa, praised the former Zephyrhills mayor as being a “principled conservative, community leader, dedicated husband and new father.”

Burgess faces Minnie Diaz in the Republican primary for the seat currently held by Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel.

Burgess raised $4,225 in April, according to state election records, bringing his total campaign account to just under $45,000. Diaz collected $140 during the same period, bringing her total to $3,000.

Barring anyone else entering the race, the winner of the Republican primary will face Democrat Beverly Ledbetter, who raised $2,473 in April bringing her total for the November election to $8,464.

Fasano officially in tax collector race
How has former state Sen. Mike Fasano done in his new job as Pasco County’s tax collector? He’ll get a chance to find out as he files to seek out his first full term in office.

Fasano finished the needed paperwork May 23, and has yet to draw an opponent. Gov. Rick Scott appointed him to the position in 2013 following the death of longtime tax collector Mike Olson. Amanda Murphy, D-New Port Richey, replaced him in the Senate.

Olson beat Republican challenger Ed Blommel in 2012 after outraising the Republican nearly 2-to-1.

Fasano spent 10 years in the state Senate, and another eight years in the state House, serving as the majority leader there in 2000.

Legg endorses Wilson re-election bid
Pasco County commissioner Henry Wilson Jr. has picked up an endorsement from state Sen. John Legg in his re-election bid.

“Henry is a strong advocate for Pasco’s business and families,” Legg, R-Lutz, said in a release. “He has and will continue to put Pasco’s best interests first.”

Wilson, who at this point is facing a potential open primary in August against newcomer Mike Wells Jr., already has received endorsements from other politicians like Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’ Lakes; state Sen. Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby; and Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco.

Swiftmud governing board elects officers
The Southwest Florida Water Management District governing board has elected new officers for the coming year, led by Michael Babb as chair.

Babb, who represents Hillsborough County, is president of Two Rivers Ranch Inc., in Thonotosassa. He was first appointed to the board in June 2011.

Other officers include Randall Maggard as vice chair, Jeffery Adams as secretary and David Dunbar as treasurer.

Maggard, who represents Pasco County, is vice president of Sonny’s Discount Appliances Inc., in Dade City. He was first appointed to the board in October 2011.

Adams, representing Pinellas County, is an attorney and partner with Abbey Adams LLP in St. Petersburg. He was first appointed in April 2010.

Dunbar represents both Hillsborough and Pinellas, and is chairman of Synovus Bank of Florida in Palm Harbor. He was appointed in July 2013.

The new officers serve a one-year term beginning 24 hours before the next governing board meeting, set for June 24.

The board members are unpaid volunteers appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate. They set policy for the organization, commonly known as Swiftmud, with its mission to manage the water and related resources of west central Florida, to meet the needs of current and future water users while still protecting the environment.

Wilson endorsed by public safety group
Pasco County Commissioner Henry Wilson’s re-election campaign has received the endorsement of Pasco County Public Safety. That’s a group that includes the West Central Florida Chapter of the Police Benevolent Association, the Fraternal Order of Police Pasco County Sheriff’s Lodge No. 29, and the International Association of Firefighters Pasco County Local 4420.

Wilson is looking to return to his District 4 seat, but has a primary challenge by fellow Republican Mike Wells Jr., in August.

Wilson raised $200 for his campaign in April, bringing his total to $19,245. Wells, in his first month of campaigning, raised $20,700.

If no Democrat enters the race, Wells and Wilson will battle it out in an open primary Aug. 26.

Elections open house
Hillsborough County supervisor of elections Craig Latimer will host an open house June 11 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., at 12022 Anderson Road in Tampa.

For information, call (813) 744-5900, or visit VoteHillsborough.org.

Colonial Four RV park sells for $875,000

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A former Tampa Bay Lightning player says he is not the new owner of a Zephyrhills recreational vehicle park.

Colonial Four RV, a community located at 6991 Fort King Road, sold Monday for $875,000, according to a release by Marcus & Millichap regional manager Richard D. Matricaria. Geared toward the 55 and older crowd, the park dates back to the 1970s, and has a mix of both seasonal and permanent residents living in 57 rental sites on 5 acres of land.

The sellers, according to county property records, are Bruce and Darlene Flansburg, who originally purchased the park in 2007 for $700,000. The seller, however, is not so apparent.

The real estate brokerage did not release the name of the seller, except to say that it’s a “well-known sports figure looking for a local investment,” Dan Mulkey, Marcus & Millichap’s vice president of investments, said in a release.

Property records show the purchaser to be a company called White Marlin LLC, which was created last March. State corporate records, however, show no managers as part of the company, and only gives a physical address on Bruce B. Downs Boulevard in New Tampa.

One company that uses the same address is Neckar Hockey, a youth sports training company run by former National Hockey League defenseman Stan Neckar, who finished his career with the Lightning in 2004 after the team won the Stanley Cup. He was traded to the Lightning in 2001 in the same deal the hockey team picked up popular goalie Nikolai Khabibulin, who now plays for the Chicago Blackhawks, according to Neckar’s website.

Neckar, however, told The Laker late Wednesday that he was not the property buyer, and was unsure why White Marlin is using the same address. Neckar said he did have a business partner, another former hockey player he did not name, but verified with him that he’s not the buyer either.

Neckar, born in the former Czechoslovakia, moved to Tampa permanently in 2006 with his wife and four kids, according to his business website.

Mulkey told The Laker Thursday that at the request of his client, he could not release the name of the sports figure, but did say “it is not who you thought,” regarding Neckar.

The address for White Marlin matches a post office box with a Pak Mail location in New Tampa. One other company that has used the same address in recent years is a New Tampa company called Mobile Cigar Lounge Co., which — according to its website — is a co-owned venture between Neckar and fellow Lightning teammate Dave Andreychuk.

Many of the people who settle at Colonial Four are winter residents from Canada, according to a release. The new owner, whoever it is, has plans to upgrade the community in the near future.

“His plans include bringing in additional permanent units, thereby stabilizing the park’s annual income,” Mulkey said in a release. “I feel confident he will be pleased with this purchase.”

Updated 6/4/2014, 6:30 p.m., to reflect comments from Stan Neckar; updated 6/5/2014, 1 p.m., to reflect comments from Marcus & Millichap and to include information about other recent uses of the business address.

Scott, Legislature set guidelines for Constitutional convention

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Now that Florida has taken the first official step to call for what is described as an Article V Constitutional convention, preparations are being made just in case the other 33 needed states sign on and make it happen.

Gov. Rick Scott signed into law H.B. 609 on June 2, which outlines what Florida will do in case such a convention is ever convened. The state had not put together any protocol for such an occurrence in the past, but only because since the U.S. Constitution was ratified more than 200 years ago, no such convention has ever taken place.

But the possibility of an Article V convention happening started becoming a reality when H.M. 261 — a companion bill of S.M. 368 introduced by state Sen. Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby — gained the approval of both the House and Senate. That memorial takes a big first step to amend the U.S. Constitution with a measure that would force Congress to consider only single-subject bills.

“This is about having the federal government start conducting themselves in a professional manner,” Simpson told The Laker/Lutz News back in January. “Most of the frustration we have with our government is that you have something like a spending bill in Congress. They always add on several hundred million dollars of something that has nothing to do with the subject they are dealing with. And as a citizen of the state of Florida, I am tired of our federal government being operated this way.”

An Article V convention is one of two ways to amend the Constitution. The other is to have an amendment proposed by Congress itself, and then ratified by a super majority of the states — exactly how previous Constitutional amendments were implemented.

H.B. 609 passed the House on April 11 by a 73-42 margin, and the Senate on April 25 by a 21-15 vote. Simpson, who introduced the original memorial calling for the convention, did not vote on this supplemental bill.

The new law will allow both the House and Senate to appoint delegates and alternates to an Article V convention, if one were called. It would require the Legislature to adopt a resolution from both the House and Senate providing instruction to those delegates, according to a House analysis of the bill.

All of the delegates would be required to swear an oath to support the constitutions of both the United States and Florida, and abide by all the instructions of the Legislature. Failing to do to that could mean living life as a convicted felon.

If a delegate does not follow those instructions, their vote would be voided and their appointment to the convention would be forfeited. They also could be charged with a third-degree felony.

Whether or not such a violation took place would be up to an advisory group appointed by the Legislature, given final say on whether a delegate is acting within the law or not.

W. Spider Webb Jr., a former Tallahassee lobbyist who founded the group Single Subject Amendment, is not surprised there would be such restrictions on delegates, since they are meant to be agents of the Legislature if such a convention were called.

“They are representatives of the state legislatures, and it is the state legislatures that are sending their representatives and doing the will of the legislatures on their behalf,” Webb said. “They are agents, and can only act within the authority given to them by the principal. If they act outside that agency, then the principal is not bound by their actions.”

Even if a convention was called, it does not necessarily mean an amendment would be produced. The goal, Webb said, is to get the states together to discuss it, and find some consensus in getting an amendment on the table.

In the meantime, other states may start following the lead of Florida and Indiana in putting together guidelines on how delegates to such a convention would be selected and managed. Indiana passed its own guidelines not long after the senate president there called for what he described as a “Mount Vernon Assembly” to discuss the possibility of amending the Constitution outside of Congress, according to published reports.

Scott signed H.B. 609 along with a number of other bills to start off June, including the state’s $77 billion budget.