The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Local News

Two Lutz companies win Florida business awards

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Two Lutz-based companies, Dixie Belle Paint Co., and Lap of Love Veterinary Hospice, are among an elite group of 50 finalists named as “Florida Companies to Watch,” according to a news release from GrowFl.

“These stand-out companies are all led by entrepreneurs, and have demonstrated their capacity and intent to grow,” Tom O’ Neal said, in the release. “They also all have critical intellectual property or a niche position that gives them a competitive edge in their markets.”

Suzanne Fulford, founder of Dixie Belle Paint Co. (Courtesy of Dixie Belle Paint Co.)

O’Neal is executive director of the Florida Economic Gardening Institute and associate vice president for the University of Central Florida’s Office of Research and Commercialization.

Dixie Belle sells chalk mineral paint and other related products. Founder Suzanne Fulford opened her company in 2013. She is a 2015 graduate of the CO.STARTER program managed by the Pasco Economic Development Council.

The program aids startups or small business owners seeking to expand their enterprises.

Lap of Love Veterinary Hospice is a mobile unit-based service that provides hospice and in-home euthanasia for pets. Co-founders and veterinarians, Dani McVety and Mary Gardner, started their company in 2009.

McVety received the “Pet Industry Woman of the Year” award in 2016 from the Women in the Pet Industry Network.

Dr. Dani McVety, co-founder of Lap of Love Veterinary Hospice (File)

GrowFl selected the 50 honorees from more than 500 nominees.

Florida Companies to Watch is a statewide program managed by the economic development group, GrowFl, in association with the Edward Lowe Foundation.

The finalists are described as “second stage companies” with momentum for significant growth. GrowFl is the only program that focuses solely on these kinds of companies rather than startups or incubator businesses, the release says.

To qualify as second stage, the businesses must employ six to 150 people and have $750,000 to $100 million in annual revenue.

Together the award-winning companies generated a total of more than $1 billion in revenue, and added more than 1,300 jobs between 2011 and 2015. Also, collectively for 2017, they anticipate a 53 percent increase in revenue and a 36 percent increase in job growth, compared to 2016.

An awards ceremony will be held Oct. 14 at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa.

Published July 26, 2017

Golf course gives way to new development

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Residents came away disappointed when Pasco County commissioners approved a plan to replace Quail Hollow Golf Course with houses, offices, retail and a day care center.

Nearby homeowners had argued for months that the project would devalue their property and harm the neighborhood’s residential character.

They also expressed concerns about flooding and increased traffic on inadequate roads.

Boom Boom Drive is the entryway into Quail Hollow Golf Course, and the surrounding subdivision. Residents are opposed to a redevelopment plan to build houses, shops and a day care center on the golf course. (Kathy Steele)

Despite those concerns, commissioners voted 5-1 for the redevelopment project on July 11.

The matter first came before commissioners in March, but a final vote was postponed several times.

Commission Chairman Mike Moore cast the dissenting vote.

“We know we can’t keep the golf course open. I get it,” Moore said. “I was hoping we could stay more consistent with what the neighborhood is. That’s what (residents) were expecting for a long time to come. It sounds like they are losing that today.”

Andre Carollo, of Pasco Office Park LLC, plans to close the unprofitable golf course.

In its place, there would be up to 400 single-family houses, 30,000 square feet of office/retail and 10,000 square feet of day care.

The approval includes a long list of conditions — stemming from objections raised by residents.

There was little common ground between residents and the golf course’s owner.

When the matter came before the county’s Development Review Committee in March, it received a favorable vote.

Throughout the process, Pasco County planners also have stuck by their recommendation for approval.

“I understand. It comes down to a land rights thing,” said Pasco County Commissioner Mike Wells Jr. “We can’t tell him what he can and can’t do with his golf course.”

But, residents also claimed they have property rights. They hired Maureen Jones, a Sarasota-based attorney, to represent the Quail Hollow Neighborhood Citizens Group Inc.

Homeowners who bought their properties years ago cited a marketing campaign that convinced them that they were buying into a golf course community.

Attorney Barbara Wilhite, who represents Carollo, countered that the golf course was built prior to the subdivision. She also said the existing zoning of the golf course would allow residential development, likely at a greater density than the proposed project.

Jones said no decision had been made on whether to pursue legal action to challenge the project.

Published July 19, 2017

Higher school impact fees expected in 2018

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The Pasco County School Board didn’t get the school impact rate increases initially recommended by a consultant hired by the school district, and the building community didn’t get the rate it was pushing — but Pasco County Commissioners have agreed to support higher impact fees for school construction.

During a July 11 public hearing, commissioners committed to a proposed ordinance that calls for gradually increasing the rates — over a three-year period, with the first increase set to kick in on Jan. 1, 2018.

Commissioners have scheduled a final vote on the issue for Aug. 15.

Bexley Elementary, slated to open this fall, will relieve overcrowding in Oakstead and Odessa elementary schools. Pasco County’s growth is fueling the need for more schools. (B.C. Manion)

By the time the rates reach their final amount in 2020, they will represent 92 percent of what the school district’s consultant had recommended, according to David Goldstein, chief assistant county attorney for Pasco County.

Achieving the compromise required a flurry of last-minute activity between representatives for the school district and the county, Goldstein said.

Goldstein and Ray Gadd, deputy superintendent for Pasco County Schools worked out details over the weekend prior to the commission’s meeting.

“Ray called me at 7 o’clock on a Saturday morning and said, ‘If I’ve got to work 24 hours a day trying to resolve this, you’ve got to wake up and help me resolve it, too,” Goldstein said.

Gadd added: “We’ve been working on this quite a bit from Friday night ‘til Monday afternoon,” including a Sunday morning call that involved the district’s finance chief, its impact fee consultant and others.

“We didn’t get everything we wanted, nor did the builders,” Gadd said.

There were other stakeholders who didn’t get everything they wanted, either.

Representatives of the multifamily industry failed to persuade commissioners to reduce the proposed fee increases for multifamily dwellings.

Parents were unable to convince commissioners to adopt the full fees that the school district’s consultant had recommended and to make them effective this year.

“Why should the burden fall on our children?” Doug Wood, of Wesley Chapel asked. “The teachers and the children should not have to suffer.”

And, even though the Tampa Bay Builders Association agreed to the compromise, it wants the school board to continue looking for a broad-based revenue source to help tackle the issue.

“These are significant increases,” said Mark Spada, president of the Tampa Bay Builders Association told commissioners.

“Pasco’s school impact fees will be among the highest in Florida and in the nation, and the total of all Pasco impact fees will be among the highest in the nation.”

Spada also noted: “Increasing fees increases the price of a home. The higher the price, the less people can afford to buy homes.

Stewart Gibbons chaired the School Funding Infrastructure Committee, created by commissioners.

He described the compromise as a fair and reasonable solution.

However, he noted, “this is a difficult discussion because it’s an important discussion; I think we all know that.

“It is very complex,” he said, noting “there are just a lot of components to this.”

“I do encourage, as we did during the committee discussions, seeking as many broad-based sources of funding as possible,” Gibbons said.

Commissioner Ron Oakley said, before the compromise was reached, he had determined that a reasonable amount would be about 75 percent to 80 percent of what the school board was asking for, and to begin the increase immediately.

“In the long run, I agree with this compromise,” Oakley said.

Commissioner Kathryn Starkey also supported the proposed increase. “I think there is nothing more important than a strong, healthy vibrant school district. That’s what makes a strong, healthy and vibrant community.”

Commissioner Jack Mariano said the compromise will improve the situation, but isn’t the entire solution.

Mariano would like to see commissioners unite with the school board and other stakeholders to seek more construction money from the state for schools.

Commissioner Mike Wells also supports the compromise.

“It’s been a great opportunity to work with the school board more closely,” Wells said.

Commission Chairman Mike Moore said the board is focusing on providing infrastructure that’s needed in the county.

As more students come into the county, more schools are needed, he said.

He asked commissioners if they were all in agreement to support the proposed rate schedule.

And, commissioners indicated they are.

“We’re at the point where enough is enough, and we’re ready to move forward as a board,” Moore concluded.

After the meeting, Pasco County Schools Superintendent Kurt Browning said he is pleased by the commission’s commitment.

Current Rate:
Single-family detached: $4,828
Single-family attached: $1,740
Multifamily: $1,855
Mobile home: $2,843

Proposed new rates
Effective Jan. 1, 2018
Single-family detached: $7,128
Single-family attached: $2,869
Multifamily: $4,182
Mobile home: $4,377

Effective Jan. 1, 2019
Single-family detached: $7,728
Single-family attached: $3,111
Multifamily: $4,533
Mobile home: $4,746

Effective Jan. 1, 2020
Single-family detached: $8,328
Single-family attached: $3,353
Multifamily: $4,884
Mobile home: $5,114

Consultant’s recommended rate
Single-family detached: $9,028
Single-family attached: $3,634
Multifamily: $5,295
Mobile home: $5,544

Published July 19, 2017

Water and sewer rates expected to rise in Zephyrhills

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Zephyrhills residents could see an increase on their utility bills, beginning next year.

City staff is recommending a 4-percent increase in water rates and an 8-percent increase in sewer rates for all customers each year for a five-year period, beginning Jan. 1.

The Zephyrhills City Council voted unanimously for City Attorney Matthew Maggard to draft an ordinance regarding the proposed rate increases, during its July 10 meeting.

The first reading of the ordinance is slated for its next council meeting, on July 24.

The new two-story Zephyrhills City Hall will include new council chambers, office and storage space, restrooms, a lobby, stairways, an elevator and a courtyard. (Courtesy of City of Zephyrhills)

As an example, a customer in Zephyrhills using 3,000 gallons of water per month currently sees a bill of $40.03. With the January rate hike, the bill would rise to $43.14, an increase of $3.12. It does not include sanitation rates, which already is an additional $11.25 per month.

Users of 5,000 gallons per month would see their bills increase from $53.29 to 57.52, an increase of $4.23; while users of 7,500 gallons of water a month would see their bills increase from $73.12 to $78.75, an increase of $5.63.

A recent study conducted by Raftelis Finance Consultants, found that 79 percent of residential customers use 5,000 gallons or less a month.

The impeding rate hikes, according to City Manager Steve Spina, are primarily to “help keep up with costs in the Utility Department for operation maintenance.”

Additional revenues from utility also will be used toward debt service, renewal and replacement costs (new pipes, equipment), capital funding (extending services to new development, plant expansions to handle growth) and maintaining reserves.

“I don’t like (rate) increases anymore than the next person,” councilman Lance Smith said, “but, I do like my water to come on when I turn the faucet on.”

The draft ordinance, too, will call for an increase to utility impact fees on new construction.

For a single-family residence, water impact fees are slated to rise from $641 to $1,010. Sewer impact fee rates also are expected to jump from $2,010 to $2,260, for a single-family home.

The city originally sought to enact the rate increases, if approved, by October.

Spina, however, suggested city leaders delay the implementation schedule due to an ongoing water utility project.

Last fall, the city began rolling out a program through a contractor, Arizona-based Fathom, to replace all of the city’s meters and begin a digital monitoring bill-paying system  — costing the city $6 million over two years.

The Fathom rollout led to numerous complaints from residents, who saw their bills go up after installation of new bar meters provided more precise water-usage readings, finding leaks the old system did not detect.

During the council meeting, Spina reasoned that delaying the rate increases will allow the city to fully complete the Fathom transition, and allow customers to adapt to both the new system and new rates.

“We had rough patches with Fathom, which we’re pretty much finalizing and getting through,” Spina said. … “Frankly, we — me and the administration— did not do a very good job of advertising, publicizing and explaining the different events that were going to occur during that rollout, and should we ever have something like this again, we definitely know what to do and what not to do.”

Council president Alan Knight later advised Spina to put together a public outreach campaign for the five-year utility rate increases.

The city’s last five-year rate hike, approved in 2012, called for a 10-percent hike for the first three years and 5 percent the final two years.

In other action, the city council received a visual preview of the new, $6.2 million Zephyrhills City Hall building.

Public works director Shane LeBlanc displayed an artist’s final design rendering of the two-story brick building, which will measure 19,615 square feet.

In January, the council voted to construct the new edifice, replacing the current 13,497-square-foot City Hall, at 5334 Eighth St., which dates back to the 1950s.

Demolition is scheduled in the next few weeks, with construction beginning Aug. 23 and lasting for approximately one year.

Council members expressed enthusiasm for the conceptual drawing showing the west entrance of the property, which features a courtyard plaza that will connect City Hall with the adjacent Zephyrhills Library.

The rendering also shows a fountain as its centerpiece in an area that will include public-use seating.

Besides the courtyard plaza, the new City Hall will include upgraded council chambers, additional office and storage space, restrooms, a lobby, stairways and elevator.

The rendering was furnished by architectural firm Harvard Jolly.

Published July 19, 2017

Pasco approves $4.6 million for Ridge Road project

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The Ridge Road extension is still on the drawing board, waiting for a permit from the United States Army Corps of Engineers.

But, at their July meeting in Dade City, Pasco County commissioners took a step forward in the nearly 19-year process of qualifying for the coveted permit.

They updated a contract with NV5 Inc., and approved about $4.6 million toward the final design and construction plan of about 8 miles of roadway that will cut through the Serenova Preserve.

If approved, the Ridge Road extension would link west Pasco County at Moon Lake Road with central Pasco at U.S. 41 in Land O’ Lakes. Currently, Ridge Road dead-ends at Moon Lake. (File)

The first phase of the project, if approved, would extend Ridge Road from Moon Lake to the Suncoast Parkway. In a second phase, the road would extend from Suncoast to U.S. 41 across from Connerton Boulevard, in Land O’ Lakes.

Environmentalists oppose the project, which they say will harm wetlands, water quality and wildlife habitats. But, county officials place a high priority on the road extension as an east/west evacuation route during emergencies.

“It’s a long time coming,” said Pasco County Commissioner Jack Mariano. “I’m glad to see we have some good momentum on building this road.”

County officials estimate that a decision on the federal permit could be known by June 2018. A month earlier, they also believe the Southwest Florida Water Management District could issue its permit.

If permits are approved, construction is scheduled to begin in July 2018.

County officials were encouraged in April, when the Corps selected one of 17 proposed routes as “the least environmentally damaging practicable alternative.”

In recent months, lobbying efforts to win approval of the federal permit have included support from U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, Gov. Rick Scott, and the administration of President Donald Trump.

The Suncoast Sierra Club and grassroots activists with the Save the Serenova Preserve from the Road to Nowhere are organizing and gathering petition signatures to oppose the project.

The Corps of Engineers is waiting on additional information on construction and environmental impacts before making a decision.

Published July 19, 2017

In the Loop is ready for live music, more hours

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Patrons of In the Loop Brewing will be able to quaff their favorite craft beers while enjoying live music on an outdoor deck on the shores of Lake Padgett.

Pasco County commissioners approved a request from the brewery’s owners to allow live music that previously had been banned. The hours of operation also were expanded to allow more flexibility for hosting special events, yoga classes and private parties.

The item appeared on the consent agenda at the county commissioners July 11 meeting in Dade City. No one spoke in opposition, and commissioners unanimously gave their approval.

In the Loop opened in 2016, at 3338 Land O’ Lakes Blvd., in a restored two-story home. There is an on-site brewery, tap and tasting room. A beer garden, with a deck, overlooks Lake Padgett.

Co-owner Joe Traina has described the live music as acoustic guitar playing, similar to Jimmy Buffet’s style. Typically, live music would be on weekends, and would complement the relaxed atmosphere of In the Loop, said Traina, speaking at a hearing before the Pasco County Planning Commission in June.

The expanded hours, as approved by the county, would allow In the Loop to operate from 7 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week. Live music would be allowed from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., on Monday through Friday; and, from noon to 9 p.m., on Saturday and Sunday.

Owners have said they plan to schedule operating hours that are less than what is allowed.

The first live music event will be “Rhythm & Brews” on July 28 at 7 p.m., according to the brewery’s Facebook page.

For information, visit Facebook.com/InTheLoopBrewing.

Published July 19, 207

Pasco offers loan to boost office development

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Encouraging construction of upscale office and industrial space is a high priority for Pasco County officials who want to diversify the county’s economic growth.

A 10-year, $7 million loan to HP Asturia is aimed at adding up to 200,000 square feet of what is known as Class A office buildings to the mixed-use, master-planned community of Asturia.

The development is off State Road 54 in Odessa, about 1.5 miles west of Suncoast Parkway.

Pasco County commissioners approved the loan at their July 11 meeting in Dade City. Tampa-based Harrod Properties Inc., will be development partner on the project.

If certain goals are met in signing tenants and delivering jobs, the loan could be forgiven in its entirety — which, in essence, would make it a grant instead of a loan.

Private capital investment in the project is estimated at about $26 million.

The loan will aid in design and construction of a northern spine road connecting to Tower Road from State Road 54. Funding is available through the Penny for Pasco program.

“We’re going to have some true Class A office space up here in Pasco County, which we’ve been patiently waiting for for the last couple of years,” said Pasco County Commission Chairman Mike Moore.

Up to 400 new jobs are anticipated. Total salaries from the project are estimated at about $11 million, and the county could add about $32 million to its gross domestic product annually.

The 200,000 square feet of office and industrial space would be built in phases, and on speculation, without pre-signed tenants.

The loan will be forgiven in phases, including $4 million when the roadwork is complete and a minimum of 80,000 square feet of industrial/office space is built. That will be followed with $1 million on proof of 5-year leases for the first 80,000 square feet. The final $2 million would be forgiven at build-out, with additional leases, for the total 200,000 square feet.

Harrod Properties has a track record in other counties, including the Brooker Creek Corp. Center in Oldsmar, Feld Entertainment headquarters in Ellenton, and Cypress Bay Corporate Centers I and II in the Westshore district in Tampa.

“For probably seven years, we’ve been trying to find opportunities up here,” said Graham Mavar, partner in leasing and development with Harrod Properties. “Somebody always has to go first. That’s always a challenge.”

The loan from Pasco is critical, he added.

“Without having assistance with the road and being able to help lower costs, no way we could deliver the product we need to do in order for tenants to be able to afford it,” said Mavar. “The rent jump would be too much.”

Mavar said construction of about 100,000 square feet of the project likely would begin by the end of the year.

Published July 19, 2017

These water skiers create quite a splash

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If you enjoy color, drama and family friendly fun, the Tampa Bay Ski Show Team’s weekly offering may be right up your alley.

The setting is at a lake in Oldsmar, where parking is free, you can bring your own picnic, and there are shaded bleachers and picnic tables. There’s no admission charge, either, although free-will donations are accepted.

Seven members of the Tampa Bay Water Ski team create a three-tier pyramid. At the top of the pyramid is Mackenzie Pitock. In the second row, from left, are Greta Nikel and Emerson Chiado. On the bottom, from left, are John Schmidt, Brent Gordon, Clint Gordon and Matt Penn.
(Fred Bellet)

The shows are offered on Tower Lake, at 130 Burbank Road in Oldsmar, every Saturday, from March through October.

The pre-show, which starts at 5:30 p.m., features younger skiers. The theme show, which begins at 6 p.m., showcases more experienced performers.

More than 200 spectators, who showed up one recent Saturday night, saw barefoot skiing, slalom skiing, swivel skiing, water ballet, jumps, ensembles, pyramids and acrobatics.

Boats zipped across the water, picking up performers at docks on either end of the lake — providing a fast-paced show, which the crowd obviously enjoyed.

As skiers hit the water, announcer Peter Fernandez provided a running commentary.

Fernandez, of Lutz, joined the team in the early 1990s. He shared insights gleaned from decades of experience.

When four barefoot skiers zipped across the water, Fernandez said:

“Smokin’ — that’s what I’m talking about folks.

“When skiers are skiing barefoot across the water, the boat speeds up to about 40 mph.”

As two young boys finished their act, Fernandez observed:

“One of the hardest things you can learn as a skier is getting over the wakes. They got over it with ease.”

When an ensemble glided by, he noted: “They float over the water so gracefully, a thing of beauty to watch.”

Show director Lauren Henry demonstrates her skills as a swivel skier. She recently took the team to a second-place finish in the Southern Regional Show Ski Tournament.

Skiers gave the crowd a few thrills, too. One soared high above the water on a Sky Ski; another employed a ski jump to propel over the lake — demonstrating daring acrobatic skills.

Skiers who created pyramids gave viewers a chance to see strength, precision and teamwork in action.

Throughout the show, Fernandez entertained the crowd, offering kernels of information about the sport of water skiing, individual skiers and their acts.

At one point, Fernandez asked for a show of hands of first-timers in the crowd. As hands shot up, he informed them they were “newbies.”

Then he asked repeat attenders to raise their hands, and as they did, he called them “groupies.”

Sandra Gordon, a self-proclaimed groupie, was there to watch her sons, Clint, Brent and Brian.

“I love the beautiful show and the beautiful costumes,” she said.

Kayla Miller, who is Clint’s girlfriend, accompanied Gordon. “I come out to support Clint,” Miller said.

Show team members hail from such places as Tampa, St. Petersburg, Seminole, Odessa, Lake Keystone, Lake Padgett, New Port Richey and Winter Haven.

A dual-outboard motorboat tows the full water ballet team, which looks like a chorus line on water skis.

Many skiers come from families who have been involved with the team for generations.

The team traces it roots to the late 1950s and to a group called the Tampa Ski Bees, according to a club historical account.

The Ski Bees merged with a Lake Keystone group in 1977 to become George’s Ski and Social Club in Odessa. The team continued to grow throughout the 1980s — traveling throughout the South to perform at water ski shows and take part in competitions.

The club voted to change its name in 1987 to the U.S. Water Ski Show Team, and by 1991 had become better known as the Tampa Bay Water Ski Show Team, the account says.

Strap Doubles partners Trina Sawaska and Clint Gordon wow the crowd with their beauty and strength, creating graceful movements while gliding quickly across the lake.

Beyond earning accolades, the team’s camaraderie is apparent.

Team members said that’s because everyone can play a role, whether on the water or not.

You don’t have one kid on the field while the rest of the family sits in the stands watching,” said Lisa Stephens, a team volunteer.

“We’re all involved, and we have a mixture of members.

“Some adults have kids who ski in the shows, and the adults are the volunteers helping with concessions or laundry or sound, etc.

“Then we have some adult members who don’t have kids out there and just enjoy being part of the club. So they come out weekly to help on land, where needed.

“We have some senior members who had kids who skied on our team years ago, and the parents just keep coming back even though their children have moved away, etc.

“We really are a family out there,” Stephens said.

If you go
Ski showThe Tampa Bay Water Ski Show Team holds weekly public performances on Saturday evenings, from the beginning of Daylight Savings Time until it ends (March through October).
Where: Tower Lake, at 130 Burbank Road in Oldsmar
When: Saturday pre-show at 5:30 p.m.; theme show, 6 p.m.
Cost: Free (Donations are accepted)
Details: The pre-show features younger skiers; the theme show features experienced performers. The shows are entertaining, offering barefooted skiers, water ballet acts, jumps, pyramids and acrobatics. There are shaded bleachers and picnic tables. Concessions are available for purchase, but spectators also are welcome to bring coolers and picnics. There’s also room to sit near the lake’s edge, if spectators bring their own chairs.
Information: TampaWaterSki.com

Published July 19, 2017

Dade City star had familiar face, but unfamiliar name

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Imagine this: A fictional round on the popular game show, “Jeopardy!”

The contestants listen closely as host Alex Trebek says:

“During the middle 1960s, he was one of the most recognizable faces on network television.”

A contestant responds: “Who is Roy Barnes Jones, of Dade City, Florida?”

Indeed.

Between takes on the set of Smoky in 1946, Roberts, center, finds time to get a haircut from his co-star, Fred MacMurray. Also starring Anne Baxter, Bruce Cabot, Hoyt Axton, Burl Ives and Slim Pickens, the movie was a drama about the strong bond between a cowpoke and a wild bronco set during the 1940s.
(Courtesy of the Scott Rollins Film and TV Trivia Blog)

Who is this man — whose face was familiar to millions, but whose name remains relatively unknown?

Roy Barnes Jones was born on March 18, 1906.

Records online with ancestry.com show that his parents were married in Dade City, and that his older sister, Nannie Louise Jones, was born there in 1904.

“It might be difficult to confirm that Roy was born in Dade City, but it seems likely,” according to Jeff Miller, webmaster for the Pasco County history website fivay.org.

“Some sources say he was born in Tampa, but maybe that’s because Tampa is better known,” Miller said.

He adds: “Roy’s father was a true Pasco pioneer, shown as living at Cedar Tree in 1870, before there was a Pasco County.”

While those same genealogical records document Jones as the youngest of six children in his family, not even the digital collections of the Dade City Banner— online at the University of Florida — make any mention of Jones’ 40-year career as a character actor. During those four decades, Jones appeared in more than 900 productions on stage and screen.

According to the Internet Broadway Database for theatre productions, Jones began his acting career on the stage as Roy Roberts, first appearing in such plays as “Old Man Murphy” in 1931, followed by “Twentieth Century” in 1932, “The Body Beautiful” in 1935 and “My Sister Eileen” in 1942.

“Roy was a cousin on the Tait side of my family and visited our home here in Dade City for family reunions when I was a kid,” recalls Darwin Croft, co-owner of Croft Farms in Pasco County.

Roy Roberts, with actors Don Knotts (Barney Fife) and Andy Griffith (Sheriff Andy Taylor) on the ‘Andy Griffith Show’ in 1962. In season 2 episode 29, Roberts played the vindictive newspaper publisher J. Howard Jackson, who accuses Sheriff Taylor of official misconduct after he is arrested on a traffic violation.

Additional sources from the Internet Movie Database report that Roberts made his motion picture debut in “Gold Bricks,” a 1936 two-reel comedy short released by the film studios at 20th Century Fox.

By 1943, he had successfully switched to the silver screen, debuting as a Marine officer in “Guadalcanal Diary” with William Bendix. He appeared in 1953 as the crooked business partner (and first victim) in Vincent Price’s “House of Wax.”

When he started recurring appearances on television, he was not known necessarily by name. But, the stocky character — portrayed with silvery hair and a perfectly trimmed mustache — reminded fans and actors of the “Mr. Monopoly” character from the classic board game.

“I remember being so thrilled that Roy was my distant cousin,” recalls Polly Hamm of Dade City.

Roberts made famous a take-charge demeanor when he played the no-nonsense Admiral Rogers on “McHale’s Navy” and the steely railroad president Norman Curtis on CBS’ “Petticoat Junction.”

The same thing could be said when he was cast as Darren Stephens’ father on “Bewitched” and as the father of Rob Petrie on the “Dick Van Dyke Show.”

As John Cushing, president of the Merchants Bank on CBS’s ‘The Beverly Hillbillies,’ Roberts, right, played the rival banker to Mr. Drysdale (Raymond Bailey), president of the Commerce Bank, which had Jed Clampett’s millions.

From 1956 to 1960, Roberts guest-starred in the western series, “My Friend Flicka,” which became the first television series filmed by 20th Century Fox, and as a Texas cattle baron in “The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp.”

Roy Roberts appeared on four episodes of the CBS legal drama, “Perry Mason,” including the role of murderer Arthur Janeel in the 1961 episode, “The Case of the Malicious Mariner.”

In the 1963 comedy hit, “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World,” Blu-ray editions have restored Roberts’ small role as a police officer that was cut from the original film to reduce running time in movie theaters.

Roberts was the assured banker on both “Gunsmoke” and “Bonanza,” but perhaps one of his most familiar roles was as banker John Cushing in “The Beverly Hillbillies.”

Here’s an example of one his gruff reactions when dealing with the Clampett family, from the 1965 episode entitled “Clampett’s Millions”:

Jed Clampett: “Did you get our 45 million from Mr. Drysdale’s bank?”

John Cushing: “Every cent of it.  It’s all safe and sound, right in my bank.”

Jed Clampett: “That’s dandy.  We’d like to see it…in cash.”

John Cushing: (Exasperated) “I haven’t got it!?”

Jed Clampett:  Well, Granny?”

Daisy Moses: “Dogged, if he didn’t go through it quicker than Mr. Drysdale.”

Jed Clampett: “I think we’d be better off, back with him.”

In his last television appearance, Roberts played a veterinarian on the Jan. 21, 1974 CBS broadcast of “Here’s Lucy.”

Although he had a familiar face to viewers, he never had a leading role in Hollywood.

Roy Barnes Jones died of a heart attack in Los Angeles on May 28, 1975. He is buried with his wife Lillian Moore at Greenwood Memorial Park in Fort Worth, Texas. (Lillian Moore had her own film credits. She starred in the Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy movies, “Sons of the Desert” and the “Devil’s Brother,” both produced by Hal Roach and released by the MGM studios in 1933.)

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 19, 2017

Pasco County proposes 2018 budget

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Fees for parking at Pasco parks may end

Pasco County’s proposed 2018 budget of about $1.3 billion will be sweetened with an extra $3 million spoonful of property tax revenues.

The extra cash could mean the end of parking fees charged at nine beach and wilderness parks.

Withlacoochee River Park in Dade City is among the locations that charge the $2 parking fee.

Utah Ferris sold his flutes at last year’s annual Silverhawk Native American Flute Gathering at Withlacoochee River Park. County commissioners may end $2 parking fees charged at some county parks. (File)

Final tallies on the total for assessed taxable property increased to about $24.6 billion, a 7.7 percent increase.

Initially, the county was expecting a total of $24.2 billion, which represented a 5.8 percent increase.

The revised numbers account for the county’s unexpected windfall of $3 million.

This data came from the Pasco County Property Appraiser’s Office.

With the good news on revenues, county commissioners voted to put most of additional revenue into reserves, but also to eliminate parking fees at nine parks. However, the $5 fees at boat ramps would remain. The county collects about $75,000 annually from those fees.

Pasco County Commissioners Jack Mariano and Mike Wells Jr., pushed to end the parking fees.

“I think there are folks who can’t afford to go to the parks because of the $2 fee,” said Wells. “That’s reality.”

Pasco County Commissioner Kathryn Starkey supported the decision on parking fees. But, she had a caveat.

“I’m not in favor of getting rid of money (parking fees) for parks, unless we give them more money,” she said.

County commissioners agreed to add $320,000 to the parks department’s budget to cover lost revenues from the parking fees. Starkey also wants the county to create municipal service taxing units next year to directly benefit parks and libraries.

At their July 11 meeting in Dade City, commissioners also agreed to leave the property tax, or millage, rate unchanged.

However, some homeowners could see a slight increase of less than $10 in their annual tax bill, based on a 2.1 percent increase in homesteaded property values.

Revaluations totaling slightly more than $1 billion account for some of the increase in property tax revenue projections. Early numbers indicated about $624 million in revaluations.

About $693 million in new construction accounted for about one-third of the increase. That is about $5 million more than last year.

One more item could make it into the budget.

County commissioners will consider giving $25,000 each to the West Pasco Historical Society Museum and Library in New Port Richey, and the Pioneer Florida Museum in Dade City.

“I think reaching out to them would be a good thing,” said Pasco County Commissioner Ron Oakley.

However, he was asked to provide details on how the money would be spent before commissioners give their approval.

Two public hearings will be held on the 2018 budget, which would be effective October 1.

The first hearing is Sept. 13 at 6:30 p.m., at the Pasco County Historic Courthouse in Dade City. The final hearing would be at the West Pasco Government Center boardroom in New Port Richey on Sept. 26 at 6:30 p.m.

If Pasco County’s proposed budget is approved, the following nine parks would no longer collect parking fees.

  • Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Park
  • Anclote River Park
  • Moon Lake Park
  • RJ Strickland Memorial Park
  • Crews Lake Park
  • RK Rees Park
  • Anclote Gulf Park
  • Key Vista Park
  • Withlacoochee Park

Published July 19, 2017