The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Local News

Summer heat poses health risks; take steps to stay safe

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Heat advisories, warnings and watches have been issued in recent weeks across the country, putting millions of Americans at risk.

At least six deaths were attributed to the massive heatwave, and events, such as the New York City Marathon, were cancelled, according to CBS News.

Besides being uncomfortable, hot weather also can pose potential health risks. If you need to be outside, be sure to seek shade and be sure to drink plenty of water to keep yourself hydrated. (Christine Holtzman)

And, it comes as no surprise that Florida’s notorious heat and humidity also can create potentially dangerous conditions.

So, what can people do to reduce their risk of suffering from heat-related illnesses?

One of the most important steps people can take is to avoid dehydration, said Dr. Katrina Cordero, the Emergency Room medical director at St. Joseph’s Hospital-North, in Lutz.

Dehydration can lead to other complications, including heat exhaustion and heatstroke, she said.

Heatstroke is a serious condition that requires immediate emergency care, Cordero said.

Symptoms of heatstroke include a temperature, confusion and, at times, irritability, she said.

Other symptoms can include hallucinations and tremors, she added.

Cordero offered some reminders to help avoid heat-related illnesses.

“If you must be outside for a prolonged period of time, at least try to stay in some shade,” the doctor said.

Be sure to stay hydrated. It helps to carry a bottle around with you, to serve as a reminder, she added.

Drinking Gatorade can help, too, to restore electrolytes that are lost when people sweat.

A personal fan can help keep you cool, and wearing a broad brim hat can give you your own personal shade, too.

“If  you must go out, make sure you’re not staying out there all day,” she said.

Beach-goers also need to avoid too much time in the sun, she said. “You might want to take a break, go into a store — so your body has a chance to cool down.”

It’s also important to wear sunscreen, and to reapply.

People often forget to reapply — especially after they’ve been swimming, she said.

“Just a short exposure, with our strong sun, can cause some damage,” Cordero said.

The doctor also advised coaches to be sure they give their players plenty of chances for water or sports drink breaks.

“The hotter that it is, increase their (break)  frequency, depending on how long they’re staying out and how much they’re exerting themselves,” Cordero said.

Summer dangers

Children die in hot cars
Fifty-two children died in hot cars in 2018 — the deadliest year on record in the past 20 years, according to the National Safety Council. Almost 800 children have died from vehicular heatstroke since 1998.

How does it happen?

  • A caregiver forgets a child in a vehicle
  • The child gains access to a vehicle
  • Someone knowingly leaves a child in a vehicle

The National Safety Council says to stick to a routine to reduce the risk of forgetting a child. Keep a purse, briefcase or even a left shoe in the back seat to force you to look there before leaving the car. Also, be sure to keep vehicle doors locked, to prevent children from climbing in; and never leave a child inside the car when you are not there, even if you’re just running a quick errand. (Editor’s note: Remember to protect your pets from hot cars, too).

Prevent drownings
Drowning is the leading cause of injury death for children ages 1 through 14, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC offers these key prevention tips:

  • Learn life-saving skills: Know the basics of swimming (floating, moving through the water) and learn cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
  • Fence your pool: Use a four–sided isolation fence, with self–closing and self–latching gates.
  • Require life jackets in and around natural water bodies, such as lakes or the ocean.
  • Be vigilant: Closely supervise kids when they’re in or near water, including bathtubs. Drowning happens quickly and quietly. Adults watching kids in and near water should avoid distracting activities, such as playing cards, reading books, talking on the phone, and using alcohol or drugs.

Heatstroke is dangerous, can be deadly
Heatstroke requires emergency treatment, experts at the Mayo Clinic say. Untreated heatstroke can quickly damage your brain, heart, kidneys and muscles. The damage worsens the longer treatment is delayed, increasing your risk of serious complications or death.

Published July 31, 2019

Former Miss Pasco keeps busy with acting, modeling

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Leja Apple has surely kept herself busy in the years since being crowned 2013 Miss Pasco.

She has a burgeoning modeling and acting career — appearing in various commercials, infomercials and independent films. She’s also an on-air host at HSN, peddling hair and makeup products.

On top of that, she’s an adjunct professor of speech communication at St. Petersburg College and a sales event coordinator at The Birchwood in downtown St. Petersburg.

Plus, she is working toward her PhD in organizational leadership from Northcentral University.

2013 Miss Pasco Leja Apple was the featured speaker at the East Pasco Networking Group’s July breakfast meeting in Dade City. (Kevin Weiss)

So, how does she manage it all?

“Coffee is definitely my greatest friend,” Apple said, with a chuckle.

Apple, who lives in St. Petersburg, was the featured guest speaker at the East Pasco Networking Group’s July breakfast meeting in Dade City.

She used the forum to share her thoughts on the importance of verbal and non-verbal communication in business and sales.

She also discussed her career and life after pageantry, in a sit-down interview with The Laker/Lutz News.

While she doesn’t get to visit Pasco as often as she’d like, Apple has fond memories of regularly attending the Pasco County Fair, the Kumquat Festival and Main Street Zephyrhills festivals.

She recalled taking part in such events well before being awarded Miss Pasco and during her year of service in the role. Her older sister, Andrea Apple, was Miss Kumquat in 2009.

Apple admired Pasco for being a close-knit, faith-based community that “looks out for one another.”

“I just always have loved this area,” Apple said. “Even though you’re in a populous area — you’re less than an hour from Tampa — you still get that community, kind of country, small-town feel, and I love how everybody helps out each other.”

Apple competed in pageantry from 2007 to 2014. She won five local titles during that span, including Miss Largo and Miss Pinellas; she also finished in the top 10 in Miss Florida voting in 2014.

Being Miss Pasco ranks among her favorite pageant experiences, Apple said.

“It was fun. It was definitely a surprise, of course, winning, but it was fun,” she said.

Aside from the crowns and ribbons, Apple cherishes the lasting relationships she built through pageantry.

“You get to meet so many great people with competing,” Apple said. “Some of the girls I competed with I’m still friends to this day; we hang out with each other. One girl, she used to call it the “Miss Florida Sorority,” because you got to see a lot of the same people.”

She enjoys running into the contestants. “It’s always so fun to see where life has taken them,” she said.

Apple also appreciates the scholarships she won through pageantry, and the professional development offered along the way.

Said Apple, “The great thing about pageantry is just how much confidence that you earn and the public speaking.

“It definitely has opened doors and given me opportunities to share what I’ve learned.”

Ultimately, Apple wants to become a professor and teach online full-time, while having the flexibility to pursue acting and modeling.

The former Miss Pasco clearly enjoys the latter, but acknowledged show business “is all over the place” and “comes and goes” in terms of being able to maintain a steady income.

Sometimes, she said, “I’ve had something every single day for months and then other times nothing for six months, so it just really kind of depends.”

That said, some of her most gratifying experiences have come through commercials and infomercial work — including a gig for Thermacell mosquito repellent, in which she pretended to be bitten by mosquitos while hiking.

“They’re so much fun,” she said. “The overreacting and everything, it’s always neat to see that.”

Apple noted she’s sometimes taken aback when she sees herself on late night television, plastered across a billboard, or pictured on the back of a bus.

She recounted seeing her likeness in a Walmart print ad for Fruit of the Loom’s thermal wear. “It was kind of weird walking through Walmart and you’re like, ‘Hey, that’s me on the package,’ she said.

Then, she purchased “like 50 pairs” of the brand’s thermal wear in the store. “The person at the checkout counter was probably like, ‘What is wrong with you?’” she said, poking a little fun at herself.

Apple clearly considers her pageantry experience as being beneficial to her life, and she offered some words of advice for anyone aspiring to become Miss Pasco.

“Just go for it,” Apple said. “Even if you’ve never competed in a pageant before, even if you’re a pageant queen and have always done it — you will learn a lot about yourself, you will learn a lot about how much you can push yourself and put you outside of your comfort zone.”

Published July 31, 2019

A winter play park in Florida?

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A new winter play park may be coming to East Pasco.

The attraction would have a snow hill where people could go snow-tubing, an area where they could play in the snow, and other features.

The winter park would be situated next to the Tree Hoppers Aerial Adventure Park, off St. Joe Road, east of Bellamy Brothers Boulevard, in Dade City.

The Pasco County Planning Commission and the county’s planning department have recommended approval of the request, with conditions.

A dozen letters in support have been incorporated into the public record, as part of the application, but the request also encountered opposition during the planning commission’s July 11 public hearing.

The applicant is seeking conditional use approval for two parcels, as well as permission to sell beer and wine for consumption on premises, said Denise Hernandez, the county’s zoning administrator/special projects manager.

The western parcel makes up about 58.5 acres and the eastern parcel makes up about 60 acres, Hernandez said.

The western parcel consists of areas of dense vegetation and a mature tree canopy. The applicants want to convert that into a winter park.

The eastern parcel is occupied by Tree Hoppers, which was approved as a conditional use in 2012. It consists of zipline and rope ridge obstacle courses, concession areas, and a gift and pro shop.

The Tree Hoppers site also is used to host an annual fall festival and Halloween festivities, including Scream-A-Geddon. Those events have been operating under annual temporary use permits.

The pair of attractions would be on the north side of St. Joe Road, about 800 feet east of Bellamy Brothers Boulevard and on the east side of Bellamy Brothers Boulevard, approximately 1,400 feet north of Bent Fork Road.

The conditional use, which would apply to both parcels, would allow the winter park to operate up to 120 days a year and the festivities on the Tree Hoppers site to operate up to 56 days a year, according to proposed conditions. Both of the attractions would operate between two and seven days a week, and both attractions would not be allowed to operate at the same time, according to the conditions.

Attorney Clarke Hobby said his client owns the Tree Hoppers site and purchased the other parcel.

“There is actually new technology where you can build a snow hill, and provided that the weather stays under 80 degrees, the snow will stay in place for an extended period of time,” Hobby said.

“While we’re asking for a term that may be up to 120 days (for the winter park), my suspicion is, based on being born and raised here — it may be only open 30 or 45 days a year,” Hobby said.

The proposed winter park would not be the first operation of its kind, the attorney said.

“They’ve got one up in Stone Mountain, Georgia, and it’s a bigger facility than we may have here, but this is what they are talking about creating. They’re very, very popular. People really, really enjoy them with their kids,” Hobby said.

The attorney said his client wants to be a good neighbor and has had a number of neighborhood meetings, which he described as being productive.

As a result, most of the neighbors living or having property closest to the site have submitted letters of support, Hobby said, adding he would be glad to continue working with any neighbors who have concerns.

William Geiger, who owns property next to the proposed winter park, told planning commissioners that he’s concerned that the proposed project could negatively impact his property values.

“I just don’t feel a 40-foot snow hill fits the agenda you all put in for Northeast Pasco,” Geiger said.

He characterized the request as a commercial operation, and said there are plenty of other commercial locations where it could go.

Stephen Gonzalez, of St. Joe Road, lives less than a mile from the proposed attraction.

“I moved out there 23 years ago. We did so because it’s quiet and it’s rural, and you can see the stars at night,” Gonzalez said.

He doesn’t mind Tree Hoppers, because the attraction is back in the woods.

But, he asked:  “How did Scream-A-Geddon come about?

“It’s like having the state fair at the end of your residential road, for about two months. That kind of traffic. That amount of cars. That amount of people, driving up and down the roads. “That amount of trash, on the side of the roads. Every Saturday and Sunday. It’s a big crowd.

“I think it’s .75 miles from my house to the corner of St. Joe and Bellamy Brothers,” Gonzalez said.

Like Geiger, Gonzalez said the proposed attraction should be in a commercial space.

“It’s just in the wrong area. It should be on (U.S.) 301. It should be on (U.S.) 19. It should be in a commercial business area,” he said.

“This is an amusement park. People are paying admission. This should be in a commercial area,” he said.

“It’s on a road that’s a completely quiet, rural residential road,” Gonzalez said. “This doesn’t fit at all to that rural, residential setting.”

Hobby said one of the reasons for locating the park in the area is because of the land’s contours. “There’s a natural roll on it. There is about a 30- to 40-foot drop over the west side.”

The attorney also noted the plan calls for substantial buffering.

Hernandez said the conditions place specific limits on the operating hours.

When the winter park is open, its operating hours would be Sunday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.

When the fall festival and Scream-A-Geddon area open, the operating hours will be Sunday through Thursday, 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Planning Commissioner Jaime Girardi spoke in favor of the request.

“The applicant here seems like he’s done a lot to protect the buffer. He’s protected the access. He’s limited the access to only St. Joe Road.

“I think the applicant has done a lot to try to be a good neighbor,” Girardi said.

The request now goes to the Pasco County Commission, which has the final say on zoning and land use issues.

Published July 24, 2019

Pasco embarks on new type of high school

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The Pasco County school district is planning a new magnet high school that doesn’t fit the traditional mold.

It will combine a rigorous curriculum along with technical skills training — and will seek community partnerships to give students real-world experiences, said Ray Gadd, deputy superintendent for Pasco County Schools.

Coming up with a name for the school is a little bit tricky, Gadd said.

Ray Gadd, deputy superintendent for Pasco County Schools, talks about a new high school the district plans to open in 2022 that will combine opportunities for mastering academics and technical skills. (B.C. Manion)

The idea is to prepare students to have many options when they leave high school — whether, say, they want to work as a welder for someone else; or, they want to have their own welding business.

While the district invites public suggestions to help it come up with a name for the school, it is proceeding with the school’s design.

The magnet school will be built at Curley and Keifer roads, in Wesley Chapel, on the former Kirkland Ranch property. The school is being built to accommodate 900 students, but is designed for expansion, if there’s a larger demand.

Students are expected to come primarily come from Zephyrhills, Wiregrass Ranch, Cypress Creek, Wesley Chapel and Pasco high schools, but also might come from as far away as Sunlake and Land O’ Lakes high schools.

The planned opening date is fall of 2022, and the school may begin operations with just a freshman class, or perhaps freshman and sophomore classes, Gadd said.

The district wants to give the school some time to develop its own community and to build its brand, he explained.

As time goes on, the school wants to become increasingly involved in the community and for the community to be increasingly involved in the school, the deputy superintendent said.

For instance, the district also has begun having conversations with people who have various types of expertise.

Sometimes those conversations may yield helpful suggestions for refining the curriculum; other times, they may lead to partnerships that support programs, or provide real-world opportunities for students, Gadd said.

The leadership at this school will likely be different, too. Rather than a principal and assistant principal, it’s likely to have leaders who spend part of their time on campus and part of their time out in the community, he said.

The interactions that can result can yield many new opportunities, he explained.

Program plans for the school include academies for business, finance and marketing; digital technology; engineering technology; health science and human services; transportation technology; and, building technology. The school will serve grades nine through 12, and will offer industry certification in high-demand career fields.

There also will be post-secondary education programs offered after-hours, Gadd said.

The deputy superintendent said the new school will be a departure from tradition, but he said he thinks that is what parents want for their children.

“I’m a big advocate in not building the same old high schools, the same old middle schools and the same old elementary schools. I’d like to see that campus someday represent the market, so to speak.

“Parents are asking us for something other than the traditional cookie-cutter school,” he said.

Have an idea for this school’s name?
Pasco County School Board policy encourages community members, educators and students to provide suggestions for school names. The board has the final say. Suggested names should be accompanied by a brief explanation. Email submissions to , with the subject line “school name,” or fax them to (813) 794-2716.

Understanding Gen Z*

  • Have never known a non-digital world
  • Make up 32 percent of the 7.7 billion global population
  • Use Smartphones 15.4 hours a week
  • Respond best to short, visual marketing strategies

Understanding the job market

  • 47 percent of current middle-class jobs in the United States are at risk of being replaced by automation over the next 20 years
  • 85 percent of the jobs that will exist in 2030 have not yet been invented

Sharing the school’s goals

  • Prepare students for success
  • Enhance the high school experience
  • Inspire innovation and entrepreneurship
  • Simulate real-world experiences
  • Foster mentorship and community connections

*Gen Z are those born in 1995 or later

Source: HepnerArchitects/CanonDesign

Published July 24, 2019

Under Construction

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Firestone Complete Auto Service
Motorists will have a new option for car maintenance with the opening of a new Firestone Complete Auto Service, at 25170 Maren Way in Land O’ Lakes. The shop, which is off State Road 54, will be equipped with seven service bays, as well as an indoor waiting area, along with an HD-TV and Wi-Fi service. The 6,116-square-foot building is set to open in late September and will provide 10 to 15 jobs.

Flying Squirrel Sports
Flying Squirrel Sports will bring new recreational activities for both adults and kids. The 40,000-square-foot structure will include indoor trampolines, dodge ball games, an arcade, pool tables, and a restaurant, among other amenities. The coming attraction will be housed in the Willow Bend Towne Centre, 22920 State Road 54 in Lutz. Construction is set to be completed in August, with an official opening date planned in September.

East Pasco Fleet-Transit Facility
Efforts are underway to build a facility to house county vehicles and buses at 9928 McKendree Road in San Antonio. The 31,427-square-foot station will include an area to wash buses, a refueling station and multiple bays for vehicle maintenance. Construction is expected to end by late 2019.

Heartland Dental Clinic
A Heartland Dental clinic is under construction in the Land O’ Lakes Connerton community at 20301 Pleasant Plains Parkway. The one-story office is 4,320 square feet and will hold 13 rooms. End of construction and grand opening are both set for September.

Curious about something new that’s popping up in your community? Please send us the location — along with the address, if possible — and we’ll see what we can find out. Send your email to .

Clay Sink remains; others fade away

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Small communities with names such as “Mexico,” “Drexel,” “Ehren,” and  “Chipco” appeared on Pasco County maps more than 100 years ago.

They were located along the Orange Belt Railway, the first — and last — railroad to cross Central Pasco with a potential for future development.

Still moss-draped as it was when the Slaughters buried their infant daughter in 1873, the Clay Sink Cemetery is located on a hill and is the final resting place for six generations. Descendants still live in Pasco County. (Courtesy of Doug Sanders)

The names of those small towns now are mere footnotes in Pasco County’s history.

But, a tiny community has survived.

Surrounded by hundreds of acres of the Withlacoochee State Forest, a 2-square-mile area is still known as “Clay Sink.”

Call it a quirk of fate.

Unlike many of Florida’s rural outposts, by the 1930s, the greater Clay Sink area had a complex economy.

In addition to farming and ranching, the expansion of the Atlantic Coast Line railroad spurred a timber harvesting industry and a turpentine business.

“It was lonely living oftentimes, but we had the radio to listen to programs like the ‘Grand Ole Opry’ and ‘Fibber McGee and Molly,’” recalled Jean Brinson Ward, who was 7 years old when her father monitored the area in the 1940s from the fire tower for the U.S. Forestry Service.

A wood-frame building, erected in 1904 on this site, served as the Clay Sink Missionary Baptist Church until the present building was constructed of heart pine in 1956. It remains one of the few churches still located on state forestland. (Courtesy of Doug Sanders)

The settlement has been known by different names.

In a land transaction on May 20, 1862, Jesse Sumner sold 120 acres to Harrison H. Slaughter and Martha Ann McKinney Slaughter.

Martha had three children from a first marriage in 1859, and at least 10 children with Harrison, who had escaped a Yankee POW camp at the start of the Civil War and fled to the Everglades.

The settlement that soon developed initially was called Slaughter, after this pioneering family.

But later, it was called Clay Sink, after the local clay sinkhole.

Life wasn’t exactly easy.

Farms were worked in the intense heat of a Florida sun without the benefit of modern air conditioning or diesel tractors.

Families grew their own pork, chicken, beef, and planted gardens for vegetables.

And, they saw plenty of wildlife.

During an oral history with the Citrus County Historical Society on August 26, 2006, Frances Pritchell, a lifelong resident of Clay Sink, described what happened to her husband when he came home from a late shift at Pasco Packing in Dade City: “It was dark, and when he turned out the lights at the front gate and opened the gate, something ran into him and like to have knocked him down. He thought it was a dog. He came out around the house, but the dog was in the yard. Well, when he got along there about the chimney, it squalled out. It was a panther, and he had to go on around it to come in the house. About that time, it hollered again. A panther. And then about that time the dogs taken after it, and that was it. But, there are panthers here.”

Built as a one-room schoolhouse in 1912, this structure has served as the fellowship hall for the Clay Sink Missionary Baptist Church since school consolidation in 1943. (Courtesy of Doug Sanders)

During Prohibition, the Dade City Banner reported this news item on Sept. 22, 1925:

“Saturday a raid in the Slaughter neighborhood resulted in the capture of two stills, both small ones.”

No arrests were made in one instance, the newspaper reported. But in the other, “Bob Johnson, colored, not only lost his lard can outfit and a gallon of shine, but was also lodged in Jail.”

A year later, the Dade City Banner reported on the burial of Roy Slaughter at Clay Sink Cemetery. He was a veteran of World War I and also…”a member of Pershing’s punitive expedition into Mexico during the border troubles caused by the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920).”

During World War II, a bombing range less than a mile east of Clay Sink was operated by the U.S. Army for testing Mustard Gas, an oily liquid used as a shell filling, according to Jean Brinson Ward, vice chairman of the Dade City Historic Preservation Advisory Board.

Now the home of the Florida Bass Conservation Center—the state’s major freshwater fish production hatchery—the bombing range was used to test the effects on goats and rabbits.

Details from a 1956 Pasco County map show Slaughter as a settlement in the extreme northwest corner of Pasco County. Richloam is locatedDetails from a 1956 Pasco County map show Slaughter as a settlement in the extreme northwest corner of Pasco County. Richloam is located across the county line in Hernando County. (Courtesy of Fivay.org)

“We could feel the earth shake when the bombs were dropped, and our house was in Richloam, which was about 9 (miles) or 10 miles from the range,” Ward said.

In an article published by The Tampa Tribune on Dec. 26, 2007, Pasco County Attorney Robert Sumner said people wanted to live in Clay Sink “where they were free to do what they wanted to do without being fenced in, where they could develop their own church.”

Back then, Sumner added, “the people who came to Florida came for the same reasons people originally came to the United States.”

Sumner’s own family history dates back to the 1820s, before Pasco County was created.

In October 1936, the federal government started buying forestland around Clay Sink, first from the Schroeder Land and Timber Company for $3 an acre, and then from area families such as the ancestors of 84-year-old Henry Boyett.

“They didn’t want our cattle eating the young pine trees they had planted,” Boyett recalled during an interview at the fellowship hall. “We tried to convince them there was too much turpentine in those saplings for cattle to digest.”

By 1939, the purchase of private-owned farms was completed to begin restoring the forests and wetlands under the U.S government’s Withlacoochee Resettlement Act.

To this day, Clay Sink remains a small cluster of farmsteads and homes due to the Great Depression and the loss of grazing lands.

For Boyett, though, it’s a desirable place.

He describes it as “peace and quiet, and it can never be developed.

“It’s the most fantastic thing I can tell you,” Boyette said.

In the stillness of this place, rainfall could be heard falling on the tin roof of the fellowship hall.

Doug Sanders has a penchant for unearthing interesting stories about local history. His sleuthing skills have been developed through his experiences in newspaper and government work. If you have an idea for a future history column, contact Doug at .

Published July 24, 2019

Request raises questions about sites for schools, parks

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The Pasco County Planning Commission has recommended approval of a change that would make it easier for landowners along State Road 52, near Bellamy Brothers Boulevard, to pursue development.

However, planning commissioners also are recommending that any development done in the area be accompanied by a map that identifies where future sites would be located for schools and parks. The requirement for that map would be triggered before any residential development is allowed.

Planning commissioners also recommend that no heavy industrial be allowed, except for that which falls under the definition of a targeted industry. Targeted industries are the types of businesses the county is trying to attract to provide more high-wage jobs in Pasco.

The planning commissioners’ recommendations came during a discussion of the current land use policies involving the Central Pasco Employment Village Area Plan.

The village plan, which was adopted in 2007, recognized a coordinated effort among landowners to create a vision for 2,400 acres of land, with goals of providing jobs and housing, among other things. A financial plan for the area was among the original conditions.

Since then, however, there have been some changes in land ownership and at least one of the landowners has asked the Pasco County Commission to change the policies so they can seek approval for an individual plan for their land.

That’s why the county’s planning staff is seeking changes, explained Nectarios Pittos, director of planning and development for Pasco County.

“This particular text amendment is a county-initiated text amendment. It was found to be difficult to come together to develop the entire planning area at once,” Pittos said.

Planning Commissioner Michael Cox, however, isn’t wild about changing the approach.

“Overall, I have a problem with this whole request,” Cox said.

He said the property owners involved in the original plan agreed to it, and the new buyers knew what they were buying into.

“It’s concerning to me that now, we’re seeing a property owner wanting to pull out of that and go back to the way we used to do it,” Cox said.

Planning Commissioner Chris Williams, who also is planning director for Pasco County Schools, sought assurances that if changes are made, that there will be a provision for park and school sites.

The problem is that those needs could be overlooked, if individual developers are allowed to peel off, Williams said.

“If they come in, and they’re planning this whole area, then they have to take care of schools and parks,” Williams said.

But, if there isn’t a master plan, a number of residential developments could come in that are too small to trigger the requirement for a school site but, when taken together, create the demand for a school site, Williams said. By then, however, all of the land has been taken up by development and the school system can’t find nearby sites.

There are 4,500 residential units approved in the plan, according to David Goldstein, chief assistant county attorney.

He asked Williams if a provision is added requiring school and parks sites to be identified — before residential is approved — would address his concern.

Williams said that it would.

But, others in the audience also raised concerns.

“I’m the landowner who initially suggested that we go with individual MPUDs (master-planned unit developments), so that we can develop the industrial piece at the corner of State Road 52 and Bellamy Brothers Road (Boulevard),” said George Southworth, one of the property owners.

“We need to do something with the property. It’s a perfect place to create jobs for the county,” Southworth added.

He also noted that what he wants to do there would not generate a need for schools.

He acknowledged he has other residential properties within the village plan that likely would contribute to the need for school facilities, but this particular piece would not.

Southworth also emphasized: “There is a plan. We’re sticking with the plan and the appropriate land uses that were identified and approved by the county in that plan. We’re just saying, now we can move forward one landowner at a time, or two or three, whoever wants to work together. Otherwise, we’re just stopped dead in our tracks,” Southworth said.

Other landowners, however, expressed concerns.

“I am one of the owners within this MPUD. When I bought the property, I knew what was in here. I was comfortable with it, or I wouldn’t have bought it. It gave certain protections,” said property owner Andy Scaglione.

“When the board mandated — for the fast track on this, they did not know there was serious concerns among other property owners. All they were hearing from was Mr. Southworth.

“I own 133 acres.

“I think we need to slow this down. This is 2,400 acres on Highway (State Road) 52. This is very, very valuable property. This is moving way too quick. There’s too many questions. Let’s look at also some of these heavy industrial uses because that should not be allowed here.

“(State Road) 52 is going to be (State Road) 54, in not too long. Let’s move slow on this. Let’s get it right,” Scaglione said.

Other speakers also encouraged the county to slow the process down, to make sure that nothing’s allowed that could harm other landowners’ property values.

“Our biggest concern is the industrial. Everybody agrees it needs to get done right the first time,” said Terry Schrader, who lives on West Pasco Road.

Ultimately, planning commissioners amended the proposed change to allow light industrial or heavy industrial when it is affiliated with targeted industries.

The next step will be for a public hearing by the County Commission, which has final jurisdiction on land use and zoning matters.

Published July 24, 2019

The Edison Suncoast is going up in Pasco

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TPA Group, of Atlanta, has announced the details for The Edison Suncoast, a project under construction in the Northpointe Village development, off State Road 54, in Lutz.

The development consists of two three-story office buildings totaling 155,000 square feet.

Completion of the first 77,500-square-foot building is expected in the first quarter of 2020, and the schedule for the second building will be based on demand, said Barry Oaks, senior director for Cushman & Wakefield, the exclusive leasing agent for the project.

This computer-generated rendering offers a peek at what The Edison Suncoast will look like when it’s completed. Two loft-style buildings are being developed on a speculative basis. (Courtesy of Cushman & Wakefield)

The project is being built on a speculative basis, supported through a low-interest, partially forgivable loan from Pasco County, said Bill Cronin, president/CEO of Pasco Economic Development Council Inc.

The project is in response to an evolving market, Oaks added.

“Pasco County and surrounding areas have become more developed,” Oaks said. “We feel there’s an unmet need for office space.”

The project is situated on an 18.45-acre site at Suncoast Parkway and State Road 54, in Pasco County, about 30 miles northwest of Tampa’s urban core.

The submarket, known as the 54 Corridor, is considered the next residential growth pocket in the Tampa Bay area, according to material provided by Cushman & Wakefield.

Demographics show a 95.2 percent increase in population from 2000 to 2010, and the current population of 53,130 is projected to grow by 21 percent by 2022.

The location is central to an abundance of residential communities, high-quality retail and dining options, as well as two hotels. Its proximity to the Suncoast Parkway provides convenience to Tampa International Airport, as well as Tampa’s Westshore District and Downtown, according to Cushman & Wakefield.

The building design calls for large windows, to invite an abundance of natural light into the structure. There’s also an open design, allowing tenants a great degree of flexibility, Oaks said.

Amenities include a fitness trail, a third-floor open deck, and a permanent food truck driveway in the courtyard.

Oaks said leasing is just getting started, but noted there is considerable interest in the project and there are talks underway.

Being in the midst of substantial residential development is a plus, Oaks said, because “you’ve got rooftops — so you’ve got access to labor and you’re not having to sell a commute.”

Put another way, there’s “a healthy labor pool in your own backyard,” Oaks said.

The Pasco EDC’s Cronin said the county provided the loan because it wanted to activate the construction of speculative Class A office space.

The county has to turn down projects that are interested in coming here because it lacks sufficient Class A space, Cronin said.

“Class A, just by the nature of being Class A, is going to attract high-wage, high-impact jobs.

“Most of the office spaces we have here currently are kind of a high class B.

“Having a true Class A building is going to attract folks who have a little prestige with their name,” Cronin added, and those employers offer the kind of high-wage jobs the county wants to attract.

Published July 24, 2019

Pasco joins the mission of Seniors in Service

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Seniors in Service is a nonprofit organization that provides valuable resources to local  communities through volunteerism.

Its main focus is helping people age 55 and older find the right volunteer opportunities for them that strengthen the local community.

Volunteers can serve and make a difference in a number of ways:

  • Provide companionship. Help isolated homebound elders live independently, with dignity, in their own homes. Provide respite care for worn-out caregivers. Make weekly check-in phone calls for people who need support.
  • Be a mentor or tutor to struggling children to help improve their academic and social skills
  • Help at a food pantry or food bank to help end hunger
  • Facilitate weekly workshops on nutrition and low-impact exercise
  • Facilitate small groups that share about life transitions and productive aging topics
  • Work with nonprofits through events, clerical, administrative duties, fundraising, advocates, advisors and more

Seniors in Service has received numerous awards, including the 2017 WEDU Be More Knowledgeable Award and the 2016 Tampa Bay Business Journal Nonprofit of the Year-Family Services.

The nonprofit also was named a finalist for the 2018 WEDU Be More Brilliant Award.

Volunteers at Seniors in Service have helped for more than 30 years in Hillsborough, Polk and Pinellas counties. Now, Pasco County also will be included.

Volunteers have flexible hours, and can choose when, where and how to pitch in.

Chris Noble is the liaison/coordinator for Pasco County and is looking to partner together to help make the community stronger.

For information on the organization, visit SeniorsInService.org.

To find out how to help, contact Chris Noble at (813) 760-3050 or .

Published July 24, 2019

San Antonio residents forced to ‘boil water’ to be safe

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Hundreds of San Antonio water customers woke up on July 11 to discover that their homes had little or no water pressure.

As soon as City Clerk Rick Alley became aware of the situation, he contacted the city’s public works director to look into the issue.

“I got a phone call at 4:08 a.m., on Thursday morning from a resident who said there was no (water) pressure,” Alley said.

(Brian Fernandes)

As the day went on,  San Antonio Mayor Mark B. Anderson began hearing from utilities’ customers expressing complaints about their water pressure.

Engineers found out that after a breaker had failed, one well pump did not turn on. A second well pump was working, but its valve didn’t open, preventing water from entering the city’s storage tank.

That presented a second potential problem: the possibility of debris in the water supply.

“Since there is less pressure in the pipes, there is a possibility that some contaminant could come back into the system,” Alley explained. “When the water is off for a while, when you lose pressure, it stirs up sediment in the pipes.”

Because of that possibility, the city issued boil water notices to residents, advising residents to boil their water before drinking or to use bottled water as an alternative.

Water pressure was restored to healthy levels on July 11, but studies showed that the pressure dropped again two days later.

An uninterruptible power supply back-up system has been installed to prevent similar incidents in the future.

The issue affected about 700 customers. As of July 17, the boiled water notice had been lifted.

To receive San Antonio’s public alert notices in the future, email , or call (352) 588-2127.

Published July 24, 2019