The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Special to The Laker/Lutz News

Commission candidate among those appointed to planning council

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Michael Moore is one of six appointments announced Monday by Gov. Rick Scott to the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council.

Moore, who is seeking Pat Mulieri’s seat on the Pasco County Commission, is the owner of VR Business Sales/Mergers & Acquisitions of Wesley Chapel. He was appointed for a term that began Monday, and would end in October 2015.

Also appointed to seats were John Neal of Bradenton, Robert Sebesta of Seminole, Scott Sheridan of Temple Terrace, Mary Yeargan of Brandon and Timothy Schock of Tampa. All the appointments must be confirmed by the Florida Senate.

The regional planning council was first formed in 1962, bringing together local governments and gubernatorial appointees to coordinate planning for the region’s future, according to the group’s website. It also analyzes issues and shares solutions among its 43 jurisdictions located in Pasco, Hillsborough, Manatee and Pinellas counties.

Moore told The Laker/Lutz News that he looked forward to serving in the group, and that the Pasco County Commission also appoints a member to serve on the council. If he is elected in November, he said, he would “comply with all newly applicable rules and guidelines established for membership.”

Pasco County graduates its very first Citizens’ Academy

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Pasco County’s first Citizens’ Academy is now in the history books as its inaugural class celebrated its graduation March 13.

Each attended nine weekly sessions of interactive and informative presentations regarding Pasco County government. At the final session held March 13, county administrator Michele Baker provided a call to action, and encouraged each of the academy participants to get more involved in government — whether it’s by volunteering at one of the dozens of county programs or serving on a county board.

The graduates were recognized at a county commission meeting March 25, each receiving a certificate and a commendation for their participation and community involvement.

The youngest graduate is Hana Lee, a 17-year-old senior at Wesley Chapel High School. The class also included retirees, a police office, a housewife, educators, business owners, two people running for county commission seats, and an accountant.

Those who would like to know more about how the county’s budget is developed, how the county is structures, or the basic functions of Pasco County’s constitutional offices, can apply for the next academy, expected to begin in September.

Regional planning council honors Pasco County

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Pasco County took home several awards March 31 during the Future of the Region Awards in St. Petersburg.

That included two major regional awards — The One Bay Award, and The Charles A. McIntosh Jr. Award for Distinction. Both were handed out at the Hilton St. Petersburg Carillon Park for the county’s work on the west market redevelopment and infill plan for The Harbors.

The McIntosh award recognizes outstanding achievement in a community by saluting Charles McIntosh, a man who dedicated much of his time to improving the quality of life in the Tampa Bay region.

One Bay has drawn upon thousands of residents to create a shared regional vision to plan where future population and employment growth should occur based upon responsible land use, mobility, economic and environmental sustainability.

Also winning an award was former Pasco County Commissioner Anne Hildebrand, who earned the Herman W. Goldner Award for Regional Leadership. This award is given to someone who exemplifies the spirit of regional cooperation, dedication to her community, and notable achievement in encouraging future vision.

The award is named after former St. Petersburg mayor and planning council founder Herman Goldner.

The county also won several other awards, which included:

• Second place and honorable mention in the community service category for The Beth Dillinger Foundation and the Hacienda Hotel community cleanup project through New Port Richey.

• Second place in the cultural, sports and recreation category for Starkey Ranch District Park.

• Second place in development and infrastructure for the Tri-County Trail Connection Study that linked the Pinellas trails to those of Starkey and Suncoast.

• An honorable mention in the “Going Green” category for New Port Richey’s urban agricultural program.

County seeks members for Affordable Housing Advisory Committee

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They meet just once every three years, and now Pasco County’s Affordable Housing Advisory Committee is gearing up for a series of meetings beginning in May — and it needs some help.

The county is looking for people interested in identifying policies and strategies to help promote affordable housing opportunities by discussing policies and procedures related to the availability and affordability of housing through December. The goal is to ensure county ordinances don’t inhibit and increase the cost of housing, and what could be implemented to increase the amount of decent, safe and sanitary affordable housing, according to a release.

Officials say the AHAC must have a broad base of residents, and all participants must be engaged in various industries related to affordable housing. That includes expertise in areas like residential home building, banking or mortgages, affordable housing-based labor, low-income advocacy, real estate, and even residents with an interest in housing policies.

Those interested are asked to complete an application by clicking here. Applications are due April 30, and can be sent to the Community Development Division, 5640 Main St., No. 200, New Port Richey, 34652.

Final approval of applications will be made by the Pasco County Commission ahead of the first meeting in May.

HART makes progress in Bus Stop Improvement Program

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Hillsborough Area Regional Transit has 3,200 bus stops and 681 shelters around Hillsborough County, and over the last two years, the organization has been inspecting each one, looking for ways to spruce them up and make them more accessible to riders.

HART’s Bus Stop Improvement Program does a number of things, but primarily wants to ensure that stops are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, according to a release, for those in wheelchairs or any other kind of mobility device. The organization chooses stops to improve based on ridership activity and demand, proximity to other nearby covered stops, adequate right-of-way opportunities to sell advertisements, and planned neighborhood improvements.

The project also provides riders with enhanced passenger amenities such as bus bays, new sidewalks and shelters to help protect customers from rain and sunshine. These shelters are lit by solar power, which return the cost of investment through energy savings and less maintenance, while at the same time reducing the carbon footprint.

HART, in the last two years, has nearly tripled the number of covered stops from one shelter every 15 stops to one shelter for every five stops.

The program is supported by federal funding as well as local impact fees, HART said. In addition, the program is driven by advertisers like Signal Outdoor, which helps offset shelter costs. Signal Outdoor pays for shelters and their maintenance in exchange for shared advertising revenue.

HART also engages with private developers, local government and the Florida Department of Transportation for opportunities to obtain land easements or offset construction costs.

Wanted: Florida’s greatest inventors, living or dead

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The Florida Inventors Hall of Fame is now accepting applications for its inaugural class of inventors whose achievements have advanced the quality of life for Floridians.

The deadline for nominations is June 2.

Nominations are open to all Florida inventors living and dead who have been residents of the state and completed a substantial amount of their inventive work while living or employed in the state. The nominee must be a named inventor of a U.S. patent issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The impact of the inventor and his or her invention should be significant to society as a whole, and the invention should have been commercialized, utilized or led to important innovations.

To nominate, visit FloridaInvents.org, and complete the online nomination form.

Nominations will be reviewed by a selection committee comprised of experts in the relevant fields of innovation. Those elected through the committee will be inducted into the Hall of Fame at a ceremony Sept. 10 at the University of South Florida in Tampa.

The Hall of Fame advisory board is comprised of leaders and inventors representing public corporations, private businesses, research universities, nonprofit institutions, and governmental agencies on a regional, state and national level.

The Hall of Fame is located in the USF Research Park.

Keep an eye on smart phone apps

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Smart phone apps can make life easier, putting dozens of useful tools in the palm of a user’s hand.

But the Better Business Bureau is warning consumers to make sure the apps they download don’t take more information than they need to do the job.

In a recent settlement by the Federal Trade Commission, the agency found that a flashlight app’s privacy policy had been deceiving users into sharing their geographic location and device information with advertising networks and other third parties. Brightest Flashlight Free, developed by Goldenshores Technologies LLC, is one of the most popular apps on Android mobile devices, and has been downloaded more than 10 million times.

However, the FTC claims the company’s privacy policy told consumers that any information collected by the app would be used by the company, and listed some categories of information that it might collect, including geographic location. The privacy policy failed, however, to mention that this private information would be released to third parties.

The complaint also involved the company collecting information as soon as users opened the app, even before accepting or refusing the terms of the privacy policy.

Goldenshores Technologies has agreed to settle the FTC charges, and prohibits the company from misrepresenting how users’ information is collected and shared, and how much control users have over the way the information is shared. It also requires the company to obtain consumer’s affirmative express consent before collecting, using and sharing information.

It’s not always easy to tell if an app is going to collect information or how it will use it. Smart phone users should also:

• Research companies and apps before downloading, including industry publications and user reviews;

• Review the full privacy policy (and, on Android phones, the “permissions” screen);

• Opt out of location sharing when prompted;

• Periodically check all privacy settings on smart phones and keep them set as high as possible without altering the functions of apps (some apps, like maps and compasses, need geo-location information in order to work properly);

• Update apps when a new version comes out. Often, app updates fix bugs from earlier versions;

• Delete apps no longer used from a phone.

Another civic group rejects elevated toll road concept

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Just a day after Pasco County’s organization of homeowners associations rejected plans for an elevated toll road along the State Road 54/56 corridor, another group has come out against it.

The Central Pasco Chamber of Commerce, whose office is just blocks from where such a road project would go through in Land O’ Lakes, has given a thumbs down to the potential $2.2 billion private proposal from International Infrastructure Partners.

“While the Central Pasco Chamber of Commerce supports planned growth and economic development, we are opposed to the (State Road) 54/56 managed lanes initiative (elevated toll road) as it will have a severe negative impact on all area businesses and our community,” the board of directors stated in a release.

The chamber said it formed a study committee after it was approached by some 400 of its members to look into the 33-mile project that would extend from U.S. 301 in Zephyrhills to U.S. 19 in New Port Richey. The committee concluded it was against the project, and requested Pasco County, the county’s Metropolitan Planning Organization, the Florida Department of Transportation, and the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority provide information so that residents can make more informed decisions.

Part of what they asked for included all the studies relating to the corridor, and supporting documents that “justify why and how the managed lanes concept is the ‘only viable option,’ according to county officials. The group also wants all transportation and traffic studies for the region for the past 10 years, including studies on State Road 54, State Road 52 and Ridge Road, as well as the continuation of the Veterans Expressway east of Dale Mabry Highway in Hillsborough County.

The Pasco Alliance of Community Associations earlier this week also rejected the elevated road concept, saying it would negatively effect many of its 60,000 residents who live along the corridor.

Vote by mail deadline is April 2

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Any voter wishing to avoid having to head to a precinct on election day April 8 has until April 2 to request a vote-by-mail ballot.

After that, beginning on April 3, voters who wish to vote a paper ballot prior to election day can pick up their ballot at any of the three supervisor of elections offices in the county, or at their respective city halls.

Elections locally are taking place in three municipalities: Dade City, St. Leo and Zephyrhills. Longtime commissioner Scott Black is being challenged by Angelica Herrera in Dade City; longtime commissioner Donna DeWitt has competition from Raphael Davis in St. Leo, and the Zephyrhills race is between Councilwoman Jodi Wilkeson and challenger Alan Knight.

Those picking up ballots on behalf of someone else will need a written request from the voter, designating them as the person authorized to carry out that ballot, the Pasco County elections office said in a release. The designee will be asked to provide a photo ID, and to complete an affidavit before the ballot can be released.

Designees are limited to picking up two ballots in addition to their own, unless the additional ballots are for immediate family members.

Elections office locations locally are at 14236 Sixth St., Suite 200 in Dade City, as well as 4111 Land O’ Lakes Blvd., Room 105, in Land O’ Lakes.

For information, visit PascoVotes.com.

PACA gives a big no to elevated toll road

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In a move that is not necessarily surprising, the Pasco Alliance of Community Associations has come out against a proposed elevated toll road in the State Road 54/56 corridor.

John Copeland, PACA’s president, presented the group’s decision to Pasco County Commissioner chair Jack Mariano in a letter Wednesday, saying they are “opposed to this solution.”

PACA represents 60,000 residents living in homeowners associations, condominium associations and community development district-managed communities.

“Most of these residents reside along the 54/56 corridor and feel they will be adversely affected by an elevated toll road on 54/56,” Copeland said in his letter. “Our membership believes that more suitable solutions can be found and that not enough consideration has been given to possible alternatives.”

International Infrastructure Partners has proposed a private venture estimated by some to cost $2.2 billion that would build a 33-mile elevated toll road from U.S. 301 in Zephyrhills to U.S. 19 in New Port Richey.

A group of residents living along the State Road 54/56 corridor have organized against the project, speaking out at recent meetings hosted by the county. However, it is ultimately up to the Florida Department of Transportation to make a final decision, although officials there say they won’t proceed without the blessing of the county.

PACA was created in 2007 as a way to bring together a number of civic associations in Pasco County. Its next meeting April 10 will welcome Richard Gehring from the county government, who will present details about the proposed elevated toll road. That meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at the Land O’ Lakes Community Center, 5401 Land O’ Lakes Blvd.