The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Local News

Zephyrhills pursues a rebranding effort

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The Zephyrhills City Council voted July 11 to hire a marketing firm to pursue the city’s rebranding efforts.

Council members also approved a contract aimed at revitalizing Hercules Park.

A rendering of Hercules Park improvement project includes amenities such as a BMX track, a Frisbee disc golf course, a nearly 1-acre open playfield, and a 1.42-acre playground and picnic/shelter area. The estimated cost has been set at $4.2 million. (Courtesy of City of Zephyrhills)  

The city came to an agreement with The Northstar Group, a marketing group, to help rebrand and reimagine the image of Zephyrhills.

The city also has signed a contract with a construction management company that will oversee the Hercules Park renovation project.

That project includes renovating the park and adding several new amenities.

Both efforts, which have been spearheaded by City Manager Billy Poe, received unanimous support by council members.

The city has been using “City of Pure Water” as its slogan, but Poe has advocated rebranding the city by choosing a new slogan, as well as a new logo for the town.

By rebranding, the city manager said he hopes to broaden the city’s appeal to a wider range of new residents, to boost its current population of 18,000. He also hopes the effort will help promote economic development, encourage civic engagement and boost tourism.

The rebranding project is expected to take about 34 weeks to complete. It will include market research, brand strategy, creative development, and action and implementation.

The City and Northstar also plan to reach out to citizens for their input.

This effort is separate from PlanZephyrhills 2035, which focuses on the city’s long-range comprehensive plan.

The rebranding project is expected to cost about $68,000.

The city awarded the Hercules Park construction management contract to the Tampa-based Wharton-Smith Construction Group.

Renovation plans have been drawn up for the new park on the land adjacent to Woodland Elementary. The estimated cost of the project is $4.2 million, and includes amenities such as a BMX track, a Frisbee disc golf course, a nearly 1-acre open playfield and a 1.42-acre playground and picnic/shelter area.

No timetable yet has been set for the groundbreaking, beginning of construction or completion of the Hercules Park project.

Published June 20, 2022

Request calls for new 107-home subdivision

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The Pasco County Planning Commission has recommended approval of a request to allow a maximum of 107 homes on a 43.5-acre site in Land O’ Lakes.

The property is on the north side of Dogpatch Lane, about 390 feet west of Joy Drive, and abutting Joy Drive, about  690 feet north of Dogpatch Drive.

The application seeks to change the zoning from agricultural and agricultural-residential designations to a master-planned unit development.

County planners found the request consistent with the county’s long-range plan and land development code, and recommended approval.

The planning board voted to recommend approval to the Pasco County Commission, which has final jurisdiction over county land use and zoning issues.

The planning board’s action came despite objections from area residents who raised concerns about potential impacts on wildlife and the prospect for additional traffic on Lake Patience Road.

Cathryn Baxter Polonitza told the planning board that she’s worried about negative impacts on the area’s wild creatures.

“I know my neighbors see gopher tortoises pretty frequently. They are an endangered species,” she said.

The proposed development also appears to be closing off the wetlands, she said.

Plus, “our schools are completely overpacked, right now. We have portables.

“We have issues with traffic. I’ve seen myself, fire trucks not be able to go where they need to go because of the traffic we have on Lake Patience (Road),” Polonitza said.

She told the planning board that many of her neighbors couldn’t attend the meeting because it was being held during the middle of the day, when people are working.

Ron Rubrecht, another area resident, said he’s concerned about the wetlands and also the increased traffic.

“You’re going to put 200 more cars in the neighborhood,” he said.

There’s already backups as people pick up and drop off their children at Oakstead Elementary, which is on Lake Patience Road, Rubrecht said.

“Lake Patience is going to have to be a four-lane road with turn lanes, to accommodate the school,” he said.

Debbie Moore, who also lives nearby, told the planning board: “We’re just getting pounded and pounded and slammed in, as tight as you can possibly get.”

Like the others, she complained about adding traffic to Lake Patience Road.

“This is a very, very horrible road,” she said.

Barbara Heck, another area resident agreed with the traffic concerns: “You cannot get through Lake Patience at school time.”

Planning Commissioner Jonathan Moody asked Polonitza who had told her that gopher tortoises are an endangered species. They’re not an endangered species, he said, but are a protected species.

That means a survey will be done and the gopher tortoises will be removed and relocated, Moody said.

The planning board member said the same process likely was used to make way for other development that’s already occurred in the area.

Attorney Barbara Wilhite, representing the applicants, told the planning board that her client will comply with gopher tortoise requirements.

She also noted that the proposed density of the development is in keeping with the county’s long-range plan.

The proposed subdivision, which will consist of single-family detached homes, will be served by county water and sewer, the attorney added.

The type of development is what the county’s plan envisions, Wilhite said.

Published June 20, 2022

Pasco is taking another look at its residential parking rules

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If you live in a subdivision that’s been approved within the past 15 years in Pasco County, chances are no parking is permitted on your residential street — without a county permit.

Of course, not everybody is aware of the restriction.

“The general rule for most modern residential subdivisions is that they don’t allow parking on the street,” said County Attorney Jeffrey Steinsnyder. “That’s by the zoning restrictions.”

That’s problematic, Commissioner Mike Moore said during the county board’s July 12 meeting, adding he thinks a change is long overdue.

“Do you really want to, every time you have few friends over —  maybe it’s on a whim —  to run down to the county office and get a permit because you’re going to have three extra guests come over to your house? It’s just silliness, right?”

Moore continued: “South Tampa allows street parking.

“Everybody knows in Cleveland, and outside of Cleveland, you can’t park on the side of the street where there’s fire hydrants. Common sense, right?” he added.

Parking on both sides of the street isn’t a good idea because emergency vehicles and large vehicles can’t get through, he said.

But allowing it on one side of the street shouldn’t pose problems, he added.

Commission Chairwoman Kathryn Starkey supports the idea.

“Let staff comes back to us with some proposals. In many places on-street parking is used as traffic calming.”

Pasco Fire Chief Scott Cassin said he’d like to see whatever the county proposes and to weigh in on the issue.

Moore said he’d be happy to work with the fire chief on the issue.

Steinsnyder told the board there are areas in the county where residential street parking is allowed because the road is wide enough.

But he added, the board has granted requests in master-planned neighborhoods for streets that are just 20-feet wide.

If parking is permitted on both sides of 20-foot-wide street, there will be issues with fire service equipment or even RVs getting through, Steinsnyder said.

Moore said he’d like to see a recommendation from staff at the next board meeting.

“This is simple stuff,” the commissioner said.

Published June 20, 2022

Lutz Branch Library recruiting ‘friends’ of the library

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The Friends of the Lutz Branch Library are back in action collecting your used books and providing an array of affordably priced books for your reading pleasure, according to a news release from the group.

The group also offers many children’s books and a dedicated bookshelf to support home-schoolers.

The Friends, as they are known, were inactive because of the COVID-19 pandemic and also on hiatus during the six-month renovation of the library.

(File)

The library is open again and The Friends have organized and stocked the Book Depot with a diverse collection of hundreds of donated books ready for patrons, the release says.

The Lutz Friends of the Library was formed in 2000 by Helen Swisshelm, its first president and Hillsborough County Library Board member from 1990-2005.

The Friends of the Library is a nonprofit group, with members who have a passion for books and the betterment of the local community.

Funds raised from book sales are used to sponsor programs and events at the Lutz Branch Library.

If you’d like to help, you can visit the Book Depot and make a purchase, donate books for the store, become a member of the Lutz Friends chapter, make a donation, and spread the word by telling your friends and liking their Facebook page.

You also can provide the Friends with feedback via a Patron Survey found on the Book Depot door. The group is volunteer- based and anyone can join.

If you’d like to find out more, stop by the Lutz Branch Library, at 101 W. Lutz Lake Fern Road, in Lutz.

Explore more, with a Discovery Pass

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The Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library’s Discovery Pass program is back, with a new and easier-to-use digital system, according to a news release.

A Discovery Pass gives you free admission or a tour pass to select local museums and attractions, and all you need is your library card.

Each pass provides a one-time admission or tour to an attraction on a specified date chosen by the customer.

The passes are available on a first-come, first-served basis, so reserving a pass in advance is recommended. Only one Discovery Pass can be checked out per adult library card.

Library customers can reserve a pass online and choose a specific date that they would like to visit the attraction within a 30-day period.

The customer can then print the pass or present it by phone at the museum or attraction for entry.

Participating museums and attractions include: the Tampa History Center; Hillsborough County Conservation Parks; the Glazer Children’s Museum; the American Victory Ship and Museum; the Tampa Theatre; the Henry B. Plant Museum; the Florida Holocaust Museum; Stageworks Theatre; the Florida Museum of Photographic Arts; the Tampa Museum of Art; the Straz Center for the Performing Arts; and The Florida Orchestra.

To sign up for a library card, visit HCPLC.org/GetACard.

Passes are not renewable; however, e-Passes can be replaced if lost.

To learn more about the Discovery Pass program, or to register, visit HCPLC.org/Discoverypass.

Published June 20, 2022

Avalon Park Wesley Chapel celebrates birth of new downtown

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Avalon Park Wesley Chapel marked a milestone in a project that began decades ago, on State Road 54.

The community threw a party to celebrate the groundbreaking for the first mixed-use building in what ultimately will become Downtown Avalon Park Wesley Chapel.

Jazz Under the Starz, the Wesley Chapel Theater Group and the Pasco Fine Arts Council  provided entertainment, and refreshments were served.

Participants get ready to fling a shovel of dirt at the Downtown Avalon Park Wesley Chapel groundbreaking ceremony on July 14. (Courtesy of Andy Taylor/Pasco County)

It was so hot outside, though, that even a tent and air conditioning could not keep it cool for the crowd that had gathered.

So, both Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore and Beat Kahli, the CEO and president of Avalon Park Group, kept their remarks brief.

Moore told Kahli: “We’re very proud of the project. Proud of what’s yet to come.”

The commissioner noted the new downtown will provide jobs, which will allow residents to work locally instead of commuting to nearby counties.

Kahli offered a brief history about the project’s beginnings and he shared his vision of what lies ahead.

Beat Kahli, president and CEO of Avalon Park Group, offers a brief history of Avalon Park Wesley Chapel, during groundbreaking festivities for Downtown Avalon Park Wesley Chapel. (B.C. Manion)

“You wouldn’t believe how long we’ve been involved with this project. We bought this land in 1988.

“When we bought this land, we bought it from a family, the Brown family.

“They were ranchers here. They actually didn’t want to sell their land, particularly to a developer,” Kahli said.

But he added: “We worked out a deal. We said, ‘You can farm your entire life because this will take decades.’

“Why not do a deal where we give you enough money, where you can pay for your retirement, your education of your kids, but you continue to farm.

“Unfortunately, my good friend Bill Brown died about five years ago,” but Kahli added, Brown farmed until the end.

Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore helps celebrate the long journey that has led to the beginnings of a new downtown, on State Road 54 in Wesley Chapel. (B.C. Manion)

Kahli then shared his vision for Avalon Park Wesley Chapel, a community of about 1,800 acres.

“The goal that we always have, when we do an Avalon Park, is to create a sense of safety and a sense of belonging,” he said.

He pointed to Avalon Park Orlando, a community just south of the University of Central Florida.

“It’s a complete town. We have second- and third-generations,” he said.

Plans for the new mixed-use building, as outlined in a community newsletter, call for a 73,067-square-foot building, with a variety of uses.

Those uses include 40 multifamily apartments, with 23,720 square feet of commercial/retail space on the ground floor. Initial plans for the commercial/retail space include a food hall of approximately 12,000 square feet, which will be called the Marketplace at Avalon Park.

Kahli noted the mixed-use building is just the first of many more buildings to come.

In addition to providing a glimpse of what lies ahead, Kahli introduced his two sons to the crowd and expressed gratitude to his team, noting they’ve been working for decades on the project.

He also thanked Pasco County.

“We work with many governments, around the globe actually,” he said. “Pasco County is a great county to work with.”

After Moore and Kahli concluded their remarks, they joined with others to fling a ceremonial shovel of dirt, to signify the groundbreaking of the beginning of a new downtown.

Revised July 27, 2022

Hillsborough seeks help with Ecochallenge

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Hillsborough County and its partners are seeking help in the 2022 Plastic Ecochallenge.

The county is asking you to help the county earn points by completing waste-reduction actions.

The Plastic Free Ecochallenge is an international monthlong event that ends July 31, according to a Hillsborough County news release

“The goal is to encourage a shift away from single-use plastic dependency and create a more sustainable society,” the release says.

You can get involved by visiting ReduceYourUseTampaBay.org.

After joining Reduce Your Use Tampa Bay, visit the Ecochallenge page to sign up for the challenge and start earning points for the team by completing waste-reduction actions.

The site suggests dozens of ways you can help reduce waste, or you can think up some actions of your own.

Some ways to help reduce waste include: being committed to skipping plastic bags, using a reusable water bottle, or preparing meals without using any items packaged in single-use plastic.

The Reduce Your Use Tampa Bay Ecochallenge team includes Hillsborough County, Pinellas County, City of Tampa, City of St. Petersburg, Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful, and Keep Pinellas Beautiful. These municipalities and nonprofits also are partners in the Reduce Your Use Tampa Bay campaign.

The three Reduce Your Use Tampa Bay team members from Hillsborough or Pinellas counties with the most points by July 31 will receive eco-friendly items provided by the campaign, according to the release.

Published June 20, 2022

What a community wants

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The City of Zephyrhills is looking at the future by turning toward the past.

The largest town in Pasco County — with a population of nearly 18,000 — is working on a major update to its Comprehensive Plan through 2035, and is asking for suggestions and feedback from new arrivals and long-time residents.

During this process, the city and its planners will collect ideas from residents, business owners, workers and community stakeholders to help create a citywide vision for 2035.

The city typically updates its plan every 10 years, but given the population boom, Zephyrhills opted to plan for the next 12 years.

The population has more than doubled since 1990, from 8,200 to more than 17,200. It is expected to reach nearly 23,000 by 2035.

The planning project is being called PlanZepyrhills2035.

“(The Comprehensive Plan) sets the tone, the goals, the objectives and policies for basically all of the rest of the city,” said Audrey McGuire, Zephyrhills’ historic preservation specialist and community planner. “That’s because a comprehensive plan impacts land use and development and infrastructure, as well.”

The comprehensive plan is a document that spans a long period of time. It aims to protect valued places and promote economic prosperity.

It is carried out over time through city zoning, land development regulations and infrastructure budgeting.

The city wants to engage its residents and stakeholders in shaping the plan’s direction.

“It’s very important because it gives us an idea of what the community wants and how they want Zephyrhills to grow,” McGuire said. “Because it’s not just what we want as planners. It’s what (the citizens) see that can be issues or needs or things that are great in the community they want to preserve.”

The city has already reached out to the townspeople in the form of three Community Conversation Meetings. At those, McGuire and a representative from Brana Consulting — a firm helping the city organize the plan and its publications — took extensive notes from those who attended.

The city also has posted a three-question survey online that citizens have the rest of the year to complete. The survey seeks to help answer two central questions: “What does our community’s best future look like?” and “How will we achieve that vision of the future?“

“We are planning additional workshops later this year — with public works and the City Council, are a couple — so there will be several more community meetings (about the plan) coming up,” McGuire added.

The Clock Plaza is located on Main Street, in the heart of Historic Downtown Zephyrhills, and the centerpiece to nearby local shops and businesses. (Mike Camunas)

At the second Community Conversation on June 25, several citizens expressed their “concern” that no matter how the comprehensive plan develops, they want Zephyrhills to “maintain” and “protect the small-town feel.”

“That’s the biggest thing we keep hearing,” McGuire said. “That, and improving our parks.”

City Manager Billy Poe has already addressed Hercules Park, which the city took over in 2018.

A renovation plan has been drawn up and city officials announced on June 11 that a construction contract has been awarded to Tampa-based Wharton-Smith Construction Group.

The estimated cost of the project is $4.2 million and includes amenities such as a BMX track, a frisbee disc golf course, a nearly 1-acre open playfield, and a 1.42-acre playground and picnic/shelter area.

“I think keeping that small-town feel is very important because we shouldn’t be extending into Wesley Chapel or vice versa,” Zephyrhills resident Christa Remington told city officials at the June 25 meeting. “It would be nice if there were more walking or biking destinations in town, and more places to go out to — parks and programs, places for kids to play.”

Another item that came up involves a desire to revitalize the historic Zephyrhills Home Theater on Main Street.

The City Council, however, voted on Oct. 25 to deny an appraisal of the downtown building.

Another suggestion by citizens involves the desire for a Zephyrhills community pool.

“This is the first time we heard (a request for a community pool) specifically at these meetings, but not the first time we’ve heard it from the community,” McGuire said.

Ironically, Zephyrhills did have a pool in the city limits: Hercules Aquatic Center. However, that was operated by Pasco County and was closed in 2009, due to budget constraints.

Despite several attempts to keep it open, it was shuttered for good and fell into disrepair.

The former aquatic center site is now owned by the city and is part of the  Hercules Park renovation project.

Still, in light of additions to the city in recent years, such as the Sarah Vande Berg Tennis Center, citizens would like a place to cool off.

“This is Zephyrhills, the ‘City of Pure Water.’ Right?” longtime Zephyrhills resident Tim Allen asked at the June 25 community meeting. “How do we not have a community pool?”

To complete the PlanZephyrhills2035 Comprehensive Plan Survey, visit Plan2035.zhills.city.

Published July 13, 2022

Avalon Park West invites community to celebration

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A groundbreaking ceremony for the first phase of Downtown Avalon Park West is set for this week, and the community is invited to attend the festivities.

The event will be on July 14 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., at the construction site, 33613 State Road  54, in Wesley Chapel.

The event will include refreshments and performances provided for the guests’ enjoyment, according to an Avalon Park West newsletter, which was emailed to The Laker/Lutz News.

Performances will be provided by community partners Jazz Under the Starz, The Wesley Chapel Theater Group and the Pasco County Fine Arts Council, the newsletter says.

Avalon Park Group/sitEX has announced that it has entered into an agreement with Lema Construction to begin building the first phase of the downtown area of Avalon Park Wesley Chapel.

Terms of the agreement, described in the newsletter, call for a 73,067-square-foot building, which will have a mixture of uses. Plans call for 40 multifamily apartments, with 23,720 square feet of commercial/retail space on the ground floor.

Initial plans for the commercial/retail space include a food hall of approximately 12,000 square feet, which will be called the Marketplace at Avalon Park.

Plans also include the fourth location of the globally connected coworking space, The 5th Floor. The newsletter also notes that both concepts have been successful since opening in 2021 at the flagship Avalon Park Orlando.

“This phase of construction really helps us move even closer to that vision of building a place where families can build memories and traditions together in a town they can call their own,” Beat Kahli, CEO, Avalon Park Group/sitEX, said in the article.

“And, while this may not be the most cost-effective time to begin construction, we feel like it is important to continue on to the next step in developing our vision for Avalon Park Wesley Chapel,” he added.

A 2-acre community park with an amphitheater is in permitting and will begin construction later this summer. The park will host community events such as Avalon Aglow and Fourth of July celebrations, as well as community partners including Jazz Under the Starz and The Wesley Chapel Theater Group, who already host events and activities in the community, the posting notes.

Both the park and mixed-used building are scheduled for completion in late 2023.

Upon completion, Avalon Park Wesley Chapel will encompass more than 1,800 acres and will host approximately 400,000 square feet of retail and 100,000 square feet of office space in its downtown.

Initial construction in Downtown Avalon Park Wesley Chapel began in 2018 with the addition of the Pinecrest Academy K-7 Charter School.

Pinecrest also is now under the construction of its second phase, which includes the addition of approximately 600 student stations for sixth-graders through eighth-graders, according to the newsletter.

For more information on Avalon Park Wesley Chapel, visit AvalonParkWesleyChapel.com, or email .

Published July 13, 2022

Atlas shrugs off competition, becomes Lutz Guv’na

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Talk about your power couple.

Raising nearly $12,000, Atlas Cortecero became the 2022 Lutz Guv’na after the town’s annual Independence Day Parade.

The swearing-in ceremony was held at the Lutz Train Depot, in front of the Lutz Branch Library, near the corner of Lutz Lake Fern Road and U.S. 41.

Cortecero follows in the steps of his wife, Michele Northrup, the 2007 Guv’na. She’s now assuming the title of First Woman of Lutz.

Atlas Cortecero holds up the big key and wears the sash for becoming the 2022 Lutz Guv’na after raising nearly $12,000 in donations. (Courtesy of Lutz Guv’na Committee)

“We are the first married couple to both hold the office of Guv’na,” said Northrup, also known as The Saucy Queen because of her local hot sauce business. “(Campaigning for Atlas) was so much fun, but we noticed that everyone wanted to pitch in, whether it be small or large. Everyone wanted to give to the community. It was so heartwarming to see Lutz come together.”

Cortecero, who was born and raised in São Paulo/Brazil, added: “You have no idea how much fun (running for Guv’na) was. The parade was so much fun, being able to march in front of the General Lee we rented and just wave the American flag.

“It was a beautiful parade and a beautiful welcome to becoming Guv’na,” said Cortecero, who claimed the title by a narrow margin.

He raised $11,919.11. David Penzer, another candidate, brought in $11,024 and Stacee Campbell, the third candidate, hauled in $2,135.96.

The grand total of $25,079.07 will support local charities and other nonprofit organizations.

“The goal of Guv’na for all these years is to bring people together,” Cortecero said. “I think the main thing is to get the money to the people of Lutz, for it to stay in the community and help this community,” he said.

Cortecero’s total is believed to be the third most raised in the history of the Guv’na race, just behind 2004 Guv’na, the late Dean Rivett, who raised $12,452.

The most ever raised? Nearly $17,000 by none other than the current First Lady of Lutz, Northrup.

The race, which started in 1991, is sponsored by the Lutz Civic Association and raises several thousand dollars for about 20 Lutz nonprofit beneficiaries.

Prior to 1991, the race was sponsored by the GFWC Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Woman’s club. Candidates earmark 10% of what he or she raises to the Lutz charitable organization of his or her choice.

One of Cortecero’s campaign promises was to use proceeds raised for renovations to the Old Lutz School House.

He intends to keep that promise.

“The door, you look at it — almost all of (the school house) — is in disrepair,” he said. “Of all the charities, the one that needs it the most is the schoolhouse.”

Penzer plans to donate his 10% to the GFWC, while Campbell is giving her 10% to Lutz Softball.

Guv’na Committee members said candidates hit the campaign trail hard this year, certainly looking to make up for the lack of fundraising when COVID shut down those events, as well as the parade.

Because of the hiatus, Amy Lancaster, the 2019 Guv’na, held on to the honorary title for more than two years.

“I think that everyone is just ready to get back to it — it’s part of the community; it’s tradition,” Guv’na Committee’s Stephanie Ensor, who won the title in 2010, told The Laker/Lutz News in May. “It means a lot to a lot of people, and to the candidates, who do it to raise money for charities, nonprofits and the community.”

Cortecero hosted several fundraising events at local businesses such as Chicago’s Best Burgers, Station House BBQ and Auzalu’s Artisan Market & Pottery Studio. He also sold nearly 50 “Atlas For Guv’na” shirts, as well as discount cards that can be used at several Lutz businesses. Cortecero also auctioned off several items throughout the campaign, including a puppy that was donated to him from Lutz breeder, Brooklyn’s Boxer, and quickly raised $500.

Campbell, owner of Lutz Scoops, gave away free ice cream with any Guv’na donation, sold Lutz merchandise and also held donation events at Station House BBQ and Chicago’s Best Burgers.

Penzer, a real estate agent, wrestling announcer and longtime resident of Heritage Harbor neighborhood, held several events, including a bingo night, a putting contest and cornhole tournament, and live music fundraisers at Double Bogey’s Tavern and Grill.

In the end, though, it was Cortecero who celebrated by donning the Lutz Guv’na sash.

“You know, it’s funny. When someone wins (the Super Bowl), they say, ‘I’m going to Disney World!’” Northrup said. “When we found out he won, I was like, ‘You know where you really need to go because they were such a big supporter.’”

“I’m going to Station House BBQ,” he said.

Published July 13, 2022

This story was revised on July 13, 2022.