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New venue being built for Zephyrhills events

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The popular Pigz in Z’Hills BBQ & Blues Festival, along with several nonprofit organizations, will finally have a permanent event venue at the Zephyrhills Municipal Airport.

A groundbreaking ceremony on Aug. 15 marked the beginning of construction for a 14-acre community venue site, at 5040 Airport Road.

Once complete, the site will include a 20-by-40 stage and 50 vendor spaces equipped with water and electricity, along with additional space for free-standing vendors, business expos and children’s activities.

Several Zephyrhills community leaders were on hand for the Aug. 15 groundbreaking ceremony for the new community event venue at the Zephyrhills Municipal Airport. From left: Tim Linville, president of The Greater Zephyrhills Chamber of Commerce; Danny Burgess, state representative; Randy Surber, CEO of Florida Hospital Zephyrhills; Melonie Monson, executive director of the Zephyrhills chamber; Steve Spina, city manager for the City of Zephyrhills; and, Gene Whitfield, mayor of Zephyrhills. (Kevin Weiss/Staff Photos)
Several Zephyrhills community leaders were on hand for the Aug. 15 groundbreaking ceremony for the new community event venue at the Zephyrhills Municipal Airport. From left: Tim Linville, president of The Greater Zephyrhills Chamber of Commerce; Danny Burgess, state representative; Randy Surber, CEO of Florida Hospital Zephyrhills; Melonie Monson, executive director of the Zephyrhills chamber; Steve Spina, city manager for the City of Zephyrhills; and, Gene Whitfield, mayor of Zephyrhills.
(Kevin Weiss/Staff Photo)

The venue is situated north of the Zephyrhills’ City Yard, stretching to Airport Road and backing up the southern boundary of the Lincoln Heights subdivision.

Its location will be able to accommodate up to 15,000 guests at a time, and will provide easy access and parking along South Avenue.

The $60,000 venue, owned and operated by the city of Zephyrhills, is expected to be complete in time for the seventh annual Pigz in Z’Hills BBQ and Blues Festival set for Jan. 21.

Nearly a year ago, The Greater Zephyrhills Chamber of Commerce proposed the concept for a local festival grounds after the organization determined a larger site was needed to house Pigz in Z’Hills.

The tract of land the chamber had been using for the festival was about 2.5 acres.

“We kind of got to a point where we grew so much, that it was really impossible to every year set up a whole venue,” Melonie Monson, chamber director, said at the groundbreaking ceremony. “This is going to make it (possible) to grow where we want to grow…and it won’t take all week of putting stuff together.”

Officials say the permanent venue will help the annual shindig run smoother, creating a better layout for musicians, vendors and attendees.

Moreover, the permanent site will help cut down on variable expenses, including the annual costs to rent a stage and generators, which officials say can total nearly $10,000.

“The only way for this event to go forward was to find a permanent venue,” Monson said.

The annual Pigz in Z’Hills BBQ & Blues Festival typically draws around 9,000 people. Ground was broken last week on a new permanent venue that will be able to accommodate up to 15,000 guests at a time, and will provide easy access and parking along South Avenue. (File Photo)
The annual Pigz in Z’Hills BBQ & Blues Festival typically draws around 9,000 people. Ground was broken last week on a new permanent venue that will be able to accommodate up to 15,000 guests at a time, and will provide easy access and parking along South Avenue.
(File Photo)

Chamber officials say Pigz in Z’Hills has created an economic impact of more than $1.3 million for Zephyrhills. Out of the 30,000 total attendees the past six years, more than half have come from outside the region and state.

“Somewhere in the last few years, Pigz in Z’Hills stopped just belonging to the chamber and now belongs to the community,” Monson said. “With that, this new building will reaffirm the strength of the partnership that we have with the city and community.”

In addition to the chamber, several organizations have expressed interest in using the event site, including the Rotary Club of Zephyrhills, Thomas Promise Foundation, Ride for Hospice and Paulie Palooza.

Once in operation, nonprofit organizations wanting to use the venue will pay a fee to cover the cost of site maintenance and staffing, which will be performed by the city.

“This is truly a community effort,” said Bob Winters, of the Rotary Club of Zephyrhills. “It’s an outstanding opportunity for the nonprofits of Zephyrhills to make a showing, and kick money back into the community.”

Zephyrhills Mayor Gene Whitfield said the venue will be used “for generations to come.

“We’re going to enjoy this venue today and the days ahead, but it’s something for our children and grandchildren,” Whitfield said. “We’re always about trying to do things for our community and our citizens, always with an eye on the future.”

Events are expected to be limited to daytime festivals in order to prevent stage noise in the residential area behind the venue, although the stage will be designed to direct music towards the airport.

The new venue also paves the way for the return of the Celtic Festival and Highland Games to Zephyrhills; the festival’s immense popularity forced it to vacate its venue at Zephyr Park in 2011.

Published August 24, 2016

Twin goals: Safe roads and increased tourism

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San Antonio is a destination for many bicycle enthusiasts who want scenic vistas and the rolling hills they can find in rural northeast Pasco County.

On weekends, bicyclists en masse pedal their way across the landscape. For four years in a row, San Antonio has hosted Gran Fondo Florida, one of eight events nationwide in the Gran Fondo National Championship series.

County officials are taking notice of cycling’s growing popularity, and the potential for San Antonio as a tourist hub surrounded by a trail system and destinations that promote the arts, entertainment, food and nature’s beauty.

The scenic landscape in and around San Antonio is popular with bicyclists. The area served as a backdrop in March for Gran Fondo Florida. (File Photo)
The scenic landscape in and around San Antonio is popular with bicyclists. The area served as a backdrop in March for Gran Fondo Florida.
(File Photo)

But, if the foundation is there, a lot of work is still to be done to build a unified vision for everyone who shares the roads – bicyclists, residents and motorists.

The obstacle that most often pops up is where to find the money to make things happen.

Pasco County Chairwoman Kathryn Starkey hopes she has started the dialogue. She told 30 or so people who attended an Aug. 11 public meeting in Dade City that money shouldn’t be the focus – at least, for now.

“We’ll never get there if we don’t plan,” she said. “What I’m hoping is we start having a vision and a plan. Then, we’ll get the money. This is just a first step.”

Topics at the meeting ranged from the practical – who to notify about potholes – to the visionary – how to craft a grand plan to promote tourism and safe roads for everyone.

Pasco County’s Metropolitan Planning Organization has a consulting firm – AECOM – that soon will conduct a fact-gathering study to identify potential projects.

Input from the meeting on popular routes and trails, as well as safety concerns, will aid the county in defining the “scope of work” needed from AECOM. Consultants also will scout out funding sources, and recommend how to start the process, said James Edwards, transportation planning manager for Pasco MPO.

While some recommendations would focus on long-range plans, Edwards said, “We want to look at the low-hanging fruit. What can we do in the short term?”

The narrowness of many of the rural two-lane roads is a major safety issue. They barely allow two vehicles to pass, and bicyclists have no sidewalks or shoulders to get out of the way of motorists.

Janet Geiger isn’t a bicyclist. But, she said, “I drive (agricultural) trailers where the wheels are outside the lanes. The right of way is there, but the pavement isn’t.”

Josh Thornton, a former professional cyclist, leads community bicycle rides on Saturdays. Of more than 60 miles of roads within the area, he said, “Less than five miles have any shoulders.”

Currently, the county has no plans to widen any roads in the area. But Starkey said, “At the end of the day, we’ve got to figure out how to put shoulders on these roads.”

Tampa resident Steve Brown, who also organizes Saturday rides in San Antonio, said road conditions in some areas have been poor for years. “We know where those spots are,” he said. “We need to know who to call.”

County officials said potholes or other road issues should be reported with the county’s mobile phone application, MyPasco.

Finding ways to improve the roads and accommodate the growing cycling crowd that seeks out northeast Pasco is driving the county’s future tourism plans.

Surrounding counties also are looking for “green dollars” from trails and tourism.

“It’s one of the most asked for things at tourism centers,” said Steve Diez, a transportation planner for Hernando County and chairman of the Good Neighbor Trail Committee. “When they get done with Disney, they want to ride their bikes. They want to see the countryside on two wheels.”

Florida is working on a Coast to Coast trail that will link the state’s east and west coasts. A portion of the trail will go through Pasco and county officials are lobbying for a special loop trail that would come south to Dade City and San Antonio.

Another future trail could follow the former Orange Line railroad tracks, near Land O’ Lakes.

Pasco’s Tourism Manager Ed Caum said the county plans to spend about $1.2 million promoting and marketing the county’s trails and trail-related activities. Another $250,000 will pay for cycling-friendly visitor centers, which will bring together the public and private sectors.

There is potential to transform the former Dade City police station into a bicycle tune-up site that also could offer cyclists craft beers, sandwiches and an opportunity to explore the restaurants and shops in downtown Dade City.

Pasco can look to Pinellas County and the Pinellas Friendship Trail as an example of the economic benefits of trails, said Richard Gehring, Pasco’s strategic policy administrator.

It is a major component in marketing campaigns for homebuilders and area businesses, he said. “People like to advertise how close they are to the trail,” Gehring said. “Everyone is building them into their amenities packages…and seeing that as a really marketable element.”

Not everyone is ready to embrace an influx of more bicyclists, however.

Tensions bubbled up at the meeting revealing a divide that often exists between cyclists and motorists who don’t always agree on who has the right of way.

One area resident said bicycle groups sometimes behave more like road hogs, and don’t get out of the way. Bicyclists at the meeting said most riders are respectful in following the rules of the road, and see aggressive driving as the problem.

Dade City resident Sonya New said she understands the motorist’s frustrations. But, she said, “There’s a lot of hatred for the cyclists out there.”

Florida and the Tampa Bay area annually rank at or near the top in annual bicycle and pedestrian fatalities. Based on federal statistics, Florida, per capita, has the most bicyclist fatalities of any state, with an annual average of 5.7 deaths per million people.

The national average, per capita, is 2.3 deaths per million people.

The consensus at the meeting was for more education on road rules, and safety for cyclists and motorists.

“We can have both. It happens in rural America all over the place,” Starkey said.

Published August 24, 2016

Additional input being sought on Hillsborough’s parks plan

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When Hillsborough County property owners receive their annual notice from the property appraiser’s office, they’ll also get an invitation to take part in an online survey about the county’s parks master plan.

Hillsborough County is seeking citizen input on the county’s park system through an online survey. Results of the survey will be used to help generate the Parks & Recreation Master Plan, which should be complete by the end of this year. (Courtesy of Hillsborough County)
Hillsborough County is seeking citizen input on the county’s park system through an online survey. Results of the survey will be used to help generate the Parks & Recreation Master Plan, which should be complete by the end of this year.
(Courtesy of Hillsborough County)

The Hillsborough County Parks & Recreation Department has teamed up with the county’s property appraiser to spread information to property owners about a park survey for the Parks & Recreation Master Plan.

Nearly 450,000 TRIM (Truth in Millage) notices sent out this month will not only inform Hillsborough County property owners on how much their residences are worth and what their taxes are likely to be, but will tell them how to participate in the county’s online parks survey, through PlanYourParks.org.

Beyond that invitation, the county also is sending postcards with information about the survey to 20,000 households.

Between both efforts, Doc Dougherty, the county’s parks and recreation director, said the hope is to receive at least 50,000 responses from county residents.

They hope the completed surveys will provide the department with a realistic view of upgrades and improvements needed for each neighborhood park.

The goal is to have a final master plan in time for the county’s budget discussions in January, Dougherty said.

Once completed, the plan essentially will be a “wish book” of requests, upgrades and programming for the park system.

The parks and recreation department recently had a series of seven meetings throughout the county to solicit residents’ opinions the park system.

On June 27, an addendum survey at the Northdale Community Center indicated a strong preference for more senior-oriented programs, disc golf fields, and hiking and walking trails. There were also requests for more open green spaces with picnic areas and additional recreation centers.

The county’s parks and recreation system is large. It includes: More than 180 neighborhood parks, 118 playgrounds, 270 athletic fields and 53 community centers.

The county also oversees five dog parks and three skateparks.

“A big part of our discussion of the master plan is: Do we build new parks or do we renovate old parks? When you start looking at the number of parks we already have, how about we invest into the older parks,” Dougherty said at a public open house in June.

“A lot of people just think about the big parks that we have, but we’ve got such small individual parks that just a little (upkeep) will go a long way.”

Published August 24, 2016

Big Ed takes another bite out of summer

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The heir apparent rose early last Wednesday — pre-dawn early — to greet his official transmogrification from rising senior to the full-fledged real thing.

This sort of event repeats itself, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, more than 3.4 million times each year, making it the very definition of normal. Nonetheless, when the rite arrived in the Jackson household, the boy’s parents reserved the right to have their breath taken away.

A member of the Tampa Catholic High School Class of 2017, his graduation is set for May 24. While the date does not yet loom large on the family calendar, if past is indeed prelude, we’ll be hearing “Pomp and Circumstance” in a virtual heartbeat.

For now, however, the family to-do list is crowded with other, more immediate concerns, including, but not limited to, prepping for another round of college-entrance tests, applying to said colleges, reserving Friday nights for football (the boy, risking his ears but not his cranium, beats a bass drum for the Crusaders) and making sure there’s always enough stuff in the refrigerator to quell the growling of his stomach.

What is it about school, by the way, that makes teenaged boys even hungrier than usual?

So, we’re back in the academic swing, being ruled once more by its rhythmic pulse … and I still can’t help but feel like we’re doing all of this too soon. By two weeks, at least. Hillsborough County public schools opened last week, dragging some private schools along with them. In Pasco, the school board — demonstrating admirable restraint — waited until Monday to ring the opening bell.

In short, the first day of school has crept, once again and to my dismay, into the first half of August. Labor Day, once the great anchor to which the start of the school year was chained, has been pulverized for the convenience of Big Education, becoming just another long weekend in our academic marathon.

Others once ferociously committed to keeping August, or most of it anyway, reserved for low-key road trips, family reunions or summer camp, appear to have succumbed. An Internet check of the “Save Our Summers” state groups — mostly alarmed parents supported by tourist-sensitive business operators — returns, mostly, defunct web pages.

After all, they’d essentially carried the day, successfully lobbying legislatures to link the first day of school to Labor Day, beating back opening days that had, in some states, crept into the first week of August. In some states the link was a week. In Florida it was 14 days, with limited exemptions for high-performing districts.

Superintendents, school boards and, especially, teachers’ unions groused, to no avail. Until last spring, that is, when representatives of Big Ed hit upon this year’s late Labor Day (Sept. 7) as the perfect wedge argument.

Waiting until Aug. 24 to open schools meant it would be impossible to squeeze in a full semester before the Christmas — er, winter — break, leaving students to carry the burden of midterm exams through their holiday. School lobbyists argued successfully that this disjointedness was no way to run an academic schedule.

That certainly sounds reasonable. But the argument really hinges on what we’d like our schools to achieve. If it’s packing all the assignments and exams into a compressed, tidy timeframe, then, bravo. Starting in the first half of August is the ticket.

If, on the other hand, we’d like students to retain what they’ve been taught, postponing exams until after the break is the superior strategy.

I readily confess, I like the contrarian argument, because, as — apparently — one of the last bitter clingers in the save-our-summers camp, it boosts my argument. But, the studies are real.

Investigators call the two methods “binge and purge” and “the spacing effect.”

In the first, students learn at a breakneck pace (the binge), then dump it on their exams (the purge). The result is rapidly dissipating knowledge.

In the second, gaps are inserted between teaching/learning and testing. And the results, dating back decades, are astonishing.

In an article on “spaced education” in the November-December 2009 edition of Harvard magazine, sociologist/editor Craig Lambert identified, “More than 10 rigorous studies on medical students and residents using randomized trials have shown its efficacy: it can increase knowledge by up to 50 percent, and strengthen retention for up to two years.”

There was even a study published at the height of the Save Our Summers frenzy entitled, “Why Taking Exams After Winter Break Is Best For Students: What the Experts Say,” which wrapped the entire argument for longer summers and gap-enhanced testing in a rather flamboyant and unmistakable bow.

Not that I expect to persuade anybody at this point. Conventional wisdom is so deeply baked into the earlier-start rubric you couldn’t dig it out with a melon baller.

Heck, I even have the heir apparent and his mom working against me. Both seem happy to have gotten on with it.

Me, I’m still with “Auntie Mame” Dennis, who, reminded in the closing scene that she needs to have her grandnephew back from India in time for the start of school — the day after Labor Day — answers exquisitely, “Naturally. Of course. Labor Day. That’s sometime in November, isn’t it?”

Tom Jackson, a resident of New Tampa, is interested in your ideas. To reach him, email .

Published August 17, 2016

Tampa Bay Express aims to address region’s congestion

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The proposed $3.3 billion Tampa Bay Express project has its critics – especially in areas near downtown Tampa, but it’s a project that’s needed to help relieve regional congestion, according to Ed McKinney, district planning and environmental administrator for District 7 of the Florida Department of Transportation.

“Currently, Tampa/St. Pete ranks seventh in the country for cities of its size for congestion,” McKinney said.

“I don’t have to tell you all, if you’ve driven around the area, we’ve got a lot of congestion, and that hurts us in a lot of ways,” McKinney said, during a recent luncheon meeting of the Central Pasco Chamber of Commerce.

Ed McKinney, district planning and environmental administrator for District 7 of the Florida Department of Transportation, explains why express lanes are needed to relieve regional congestion. (B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)
Ed McKinney, district planning and environmental administrator for District 7 of the Florida Department of Transportation, explains why express lanes are needed to relieve regional congestion.
(B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)

“It hurts us when it comes to attracting new businesses. It hurts us mostly when it comes to attracting new residents,” he said.

People moving into the area want to know that they’ll be able to get to work or wherever they need to go, without being stuck in traffic for a half-hour, he said.

The problem is only going to get worse, as the region’s population increases and more jobs are created, he added.

“In Pasco County, population is expected to grow 97 percent by 2040,” he said. Hillsborough County is expected to grow by 48 percent, and Polk County by 41 percent during the same period.

“Pasco County is expected to grow employment by 200 percent, and that’s huge,” he said. Those workers won’t all be coming from Pasco County, he said. They’ll be heading to Pasco from Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, too.

“People are going to go where the jobs are. That’s what we’re seeing,” McKinney said.

“People say, ‘Why don’t you consider a no-build?’

“This is the no-build, he said, pointing to a graphic projecting future traffic congestion.

“The no-build says you’re ‘fine with 375,000 cars traveling everyday on I-4 (Interstate 4)’, when it only has the capacity of handling just over 125,000.

“It’s says, ‘We’re OK with the downtown interchange only being able to handle 325,000 cars,’ when it can only handle 175,000.

“That’s the challenge that we’re dealing with. That’s the problem that we’re trying to solve,” McKinney said.

The Tampa Bay Express project grew out of the Tampa Interstate Study that started back in the 1980s, McKinney said.

“This plan looked out into the future. What’s the development that’s going to be going on in the region? What’s the congestion pattern? Where are people going to go to work, what they’re going to do for fun, and how are we going to manage all of that traffic?

“How do get these people to move around, to make sure this region is economically viable and able to take on the challenges?

“If you’ve lived here, you know that we’ve widened I-4. We just completed I-275 widening. We did the Crosstown Connector project. All of those projects were part of this Tampa Interstate Study.

“It’s an evolving document,” he said.

“Every time you go and build a new piece of it, you look at the traffic and development patterns, and you update your document.

“What we’re going to be doing is adding express lanes, within the interstate, that will be tolled,” he said.

There will still be the same number of general purpose lanes as there are now, but there also will be express lanes, which are tolled.

People who want to make a quicker trip will pay the toll.

For instance, someone who has been late to work repeatedly may use the toll lane to avoid being late again, he said. Or, it might be used by someone in a rush to pick up their child from day care or get to an important business meeting.

“What they’ve seen in Miami is that there is no real pattern for why people use them,” he said.

One thing they have noticed is that people are using them at 2 a.m. or 3 a.m.

When asked why, many said they are doing that to avoid a potential collision with a wrong-way driver, McKinney said.

“The express lanes will be built, in a majority of cases, within the median that is there now,” he said. But, interchanges will need to be reconstructed.

The system is designed to be used for longer distances, such as getting from Brandon to the airport, or to Pinellas County.

There will be access points in the Gateway area of Pinellas County, in the Westshore area, at Tampa International Airport, at several places downtown Tampa, and in the general vicinity of the University of South Florida. There also will be access points in Brandon and Plant City.

“People say, ‘Why don’t you just spend this money on transit? You’re talking about a $3.3 billion project. You could get a lot of transit for that,’” he said.

Transit is important, and it is part of Hillsborough’s long-range transportation plan, but he added, “it’s not the one solution that fixes all of our problems.

“It needs to be a mix of managed lanes, as well as some sort of transit solution,” McKinney said.

Published August 17, 2016

New apartments and offices approved

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Brightworks Crossing — a mixed-use project calling for offices, self-storage units, apartments, and a hotel with up to 150 rooms, landed on the desks of Pasco County’s planners nearly a year ago.

And, on Aug. 9, the Pasco County Commission pushed the project along with a series of approvals.

Commissioners unanimously agreed to amend the county’s comprehensive land use plan and to rezone the land. They also approved an agreement for a land swap between the county, the landowners and the developers.

The land deal will give the county green space for its network of wildlife corridors, and room for a park-and-ride lot with 25 parking spaces for future transit commuters.

A car passes along Old State Road 54, at Old Cypress Creek Road. The route is a popular cut-through to avoid traffic at State Road 56. (File Photo)
A car passes along Old State Road 54, at Old Cypress Creek Road. The route is a popular cut-through to avoid traffic at State Road 56.
(File Photo)

The site is directly behind the Walgreen’s drug store, at Wesley Chapel Boulevard and the State Road 56/State Road 54 intersection.

The intersection is a high growth area populated by Tampa Premium Outlets and new restaurants on the south side of State Road 56, and on the north side of the road, the future Cypress Creek Town Center.

“It’s a major intersection. A lot of thought, evaluation and analysis has gone into this project and its impact on the intersection,” said Matt Armstrong, the county’s executive planner. “We’ve put together a package that actually improves this area and will help in the long run.”

Brightworks Crossing received approval for a maximum of 350 apartments, 250,000 square-feet of offices, and self-storage and the 150-room hotel.

A road redesign also is built into the project for Old State Road 54, which bisects the site. The short stretch of road is a popular cut-through for motorists coming down Wesley Chapel who want to avoid traffic at the State Road 56 intersection.

County commissioners agreed to close the existing cut-through to accommodate the land swap and allow developers to build a new road in its place. The new road will be open to the public.

Nearby, work is underway by Sierra Properties to build an entrance into Cypress Creek Town Center, a future mall at the northeast corner of State Road 56 and Wesley Chapel Boulevard, also called County Road 54.

One of the mall entrances is across from Brightworks Crossing, on County Road 54.

In the long term, the county has plans to turn the two-lane stretch of Wesley Chapel Boulevard into a six-lane divided highway with sidewalks and a multi-use trail.

The impact of traffic and road redesigns raised concerns for Sierra Properties’ developers and John Narcisi, who owns JN Electric on Old Cypress Creek Road.

Narcisi is the only business on Old Cypress Creek, which also is off Wesley Chapel and intersects with Old State Road 54.

“Traffic will increase on Old Cypress Creek Road which runs in front of my property,” said Narcisi.

Attorney Clarke Hobby, representing Sierra Properties, said the proposed new road through the site should continue to function as a cut-through that can help ease traffic congestion.

“We think that’s an important issue, and the staff needs to look at that closely,” he said.

Published August 17, 2016

Rezoning approved for 320 new homes

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Homes by WestBay plans to build up to 320 single-family homes on a large swath of wooded land off Henley Road in Lutz.

The Pasco County Commission approved a rezoning for the project on Aug. 9

The 175-acre site is east of Long Lake Ranch, a master-planned community off State Road 54.

The newly approved residential project includes extending a one-lane, dead-end stretch of Leonard Road, at its intersection with Henley, as a two-lane road into the proposed development.

Homes by WestBay wants to build 320 homes on land off Henley Road. A dead-end section of Leonard Road would be extended into the proposed housing development. (Kathy Steele/Staff Photo)
Homes by WestBay wants to build 320 homes on land off Henley Road. A dead-end section of Leonard Road would be extended into the proposed housing development.
(Kathy Steele/Staff Photo)

During construction, truck traffic is scheduled to cut through Long Lake via Sunlake Boulevard, Long Lake Boulevard and Breynia Drive. Initially, about 120 homes will be built.

Some Long Lake residents expressed concerns about the construction route.

Long Lake resident Bill Cullen said he doesn’t oppose the rezoning, but he provided documents with more 70 signatures calling for an alternate construction route.

“There are a lot of children in this community,” Cullen said.

Residents are frequently out walking to the swimming pool, along trails or to other amenities within Long Lake, he said.

Trucks also would have to maneuver through two roundabouts, another resident said.

By the end of the public hearing on the rezoning, a developer’s representative said Henley and Leonard roads could be added as future truck routes.

Leonard Road residents also voiced objections, based on concerns about traffic from the new subdivision and potential flooding.

Seeking to improve safety, residents have lobbied for years to get sidewalks built along the two-lane winding road, between U.S. 41 and State Road 54.

John Foster presented county commissioners with letters and emails from about 20 Leonard Road residents against the rezoning.

The proposed homes will be built at a higher level than existing homes, Foster said. “We will be the low-lying area in comparison to everywhere else. We don’t want to be flooded out.”

Leonard Road resident Charlie McBride said WestBay representatives had done “as best as they could” on the project. But he added, “I realize there ain’t no way I’m going to stop the traffic coming from Long Lake. There are going to be a lot of traffic problems.”

Developers anticipate providing five entrances for the new subdivision.

The extension of Leonard, a re-alignment of Henley and Leonard, and paving Henley from State Road 54 to Leonard will improve traffic flow, said land use attorney Andrea Zelman.

“Leonard Road, as an east/west road, was always part of (the county’s) highway vision plan,” Zelman said. “It provides some of the connectivity that Pasco is looking for, as well as an alternative route.”

Revised August 22, 2016

Medical marijuana is a need, some residents say

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Denise Houston is a cancer survivor who used cannabis to get through her debilitating radiation treatments.

She shared her story during an Aug. 9 Pasco County Commission meeting because she wanted commissioners to consider it, as they decide the future of medical marijuana within the county.

She was one of several speakers at the public hearing on a proposal to extend a ban on the growth, processing and dispensing of cannabis through the end of the year.

An existing ban is set to expire Sept. 2.

Cannabis is the basis for medical marijuana, which is legal in Florida in a low-level, non-euphoric form known as Charlotte’s web.

“It’s a life saver for some people,” Houston told commissioners. “I am one of those folks. I am a caregiver for one of those folks.”

Houston urged the board to not extend the ban and to instead open the door to medical marijuana in Pasco.

County commissioners won’t vote on the matter until a second public hearing scheduled Aug. 23 at 1:30 p.m., in New Port Richey.

County officials say the extended ban will allow more time to craft land use and zoning regulations.

One option would be to ban dispensaries. However, as a backup, commissioners also requested staff to write regulations restricting activities to industrial districts.

Complicating the matter is a Nov. 8 referendum when voters statewide will decide whether to allow stronger strains of medical marijuana and to expand the list of illnesses that can be treated with medical marijuana. Current law allows its use for cancer and seizure disorders.

Florida’s health department recently approved the first of six dispensaries qualified for permits. The first delivery of medical marijuana went to a man living in Hudson.

However, law enforcement and substance abuse counselors are wary of the expansion of medical marijuana.

Pasco County sheriff’s office has provided county commissioners with data on crime spikes in states, such as Colorado and California, which have approved either medical marijuana or its recreational use.

At the recent public hearing, representatives in the substance abuse prevention and treatment field spoke in favor of the moratorium.

Kent Runyon told commissioners of a visit to Seattle where he saw a billboard advertising a local marijuana farm. “It sounded like you’re going to a pumpkin farm picking pumpkins,” said Runyon, who is chief strategist and compliance officer at Novus Medical Detox Center in New Port Richey. “Is this the message we want for our youth and our children (that) it is something good, something embracing, something harmless?”

Still, the majority of speakers at the hearing urged commissioners to support medical marijuana as a health benefit and a potential source of tax revenue for the county.

Some farms in Pasco that are struggling could make money from growing cannabis, said Travis Moorehead. He also told commissioners he knew of people with prescription pill addictions, but marijuana “probably is one of the least dangerous things you could allow.”

Garyn Angel, chief executive officer of Angel Enterprises, described himself as a “world leader in the cannabis industry.” He invented a machine to extract nutrients from botanicals as a way to help a friend with Crohn’s disease, and now owns Magical Butter, a company that sells his invention.

Angel said he has partnered with university researchers to learn about cannabis and its health benefits. “It is one of the greatest anti-inflammatories we have,” he said. “Inflammation is at the root of most diseases, especially in the gut.”

He suggested to commissioners that Pasco could become a hub for the medical marijuana industry, benefiting patients and boosting the county’s economy.

“The dollars are coming,” he said. “It’s going to happen. Let’s embrace it …let’s be a flagship.”

But, money wasn’t the issue foremost for Pasco County Commissioner Mike Wells.

“This is personal to me. I have a friend now with stage three cancer,” he said. “The only thing that can help him is to smoke marijuana. The law says he can’t do that.”

Wells and Pasco County Chairwoman Kathryn Starkey requested a workshop so that they could learn more information from all sides of the issue.

“It’s just a subject I don’t know a lot about,” she said. “I’ve heard a lot of different compelling stories from both ends. It’s incumbent upon us to get more educated.”

A workshop likely will be scheduled in September.

Published August 17, 2016

Gluten-free café opens in Lutz

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A unique, gluten-free café has sprung up in Lutz.

Café Liberty & Bistro, 17695 N. Dale Mabry Highway, opened its doors in April, replacing Hattie’s Café and Beanery.

Café Liberty & Bistro, 17695 N. Dale Mabry Highway, opened in April. The breakfast and lunch dine-in restaurant features an all-natural menu, where more than 75 percent of offerings can be prepared gluten-free. (Kevin Weiss/Staff Photo)
Café Liberty & Bistro, 17695 N. Dale Mabry Highway, opened in April. The breakfast and lunch dine-in restaurant features an all-natural menu, where more than 75 percent of offerings can be prepared gluten-free.
(Kevin Weiss/Staff Photo)

Owned by James and Marni Frank, the breakfast and lunch dine-in restaurant features an all-natural menu, where more than 75 percent of offerings can be prepared gluten-free.

The menu, and ingredients used, are a far cry from that of a typical breakfast and lunch spot.

Breads and produce are sourced locally, and coffee is roasted daily, in-house. Moreover, the café uses cage-free eggs and non-GMO, organic sunflower oil.

“We saw the need (for gluten-free) in the market that we were in,” Marni Frank said. “I travel in a circle with people that have a lot of allergies and autoimmune diseases, and I think it’s a healthier way of living.

“Even our kid’s menu is the same way — we use the same all-natural chicken, the same gluten-free flour, the same oil,” she said.

Café Liberty — who’s moniker and logo comes from the Statue of Liberty in New York City — is open Monday through Sunday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Beginning Aug. 25, it will also be open for dinner on Wednesdays through Saturdays from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

In addition to the restaurant’s full breakfast and lunch offerings, additional items like Crab Cake Benedict, will be available for the evening crowd.

“Instead of changing up the whole menu, we’ll add in like two or three specials,” Frank said, noting salmon, steak and pasta dishes will likely be offered throughout the week.

Though the restaurant has only been open for about four months, the menu has already been altered three times: “You learn what works and what doesn’t work,” Frank said.

Owner Marni Frank preps a salad made from all-natural, gluten-free ingredients. (Courtesy of Cafe Liberty & Bistro)
Owner Marni Frank preps a salad made from all-natural, gluten-free ingredients.
(Courtesy of Cafe Liberty & Bistro)

In addition to standard breakfast and lunch fare, Café Liberty’s menu features several distinct waffle options, including a so-called “Baffle,” where bacon is added into the waffle batter; various waffle sandwiches, including ham and swiss, and turkey and cheddar.

There’s also a “Fry Bar,” where restaurant-goers can choose from a variety of waffle fry options: truffle parmesan garlic, Triple B (bacon, blue cheese and balsamic glaze), sweet potato and Cajun.

“We’re trying to be a little different, with a flair,” Frank said.

From 1992 to 2001, the Franks operated a New York City-based office coffee service, called “Café Liberty Coffee.” After 9/11, they sold the business and relocated to Tampa, starting a similar office coffee service, which they sold in October 2015.

“The city had changed,” Frank said about leaving New York City. “You had armed guards at every bridge; we lived 35 miles away from the city, and it took two hours each way to get to work, minimum.”

From New York to Florida, Café Liberty’s owners have always placed an emphasis on philanthropy, Frank said.

Prior to selling their Florida-based office coffee service business, which spanned 10 counties, they were finalists for the Tampa Bay Business Journal’s Corporate Philanthropy Award.

They currently participate in several fundraisers and charities, such as The Arthritis Foundation, the American Breast Cancer Strides Against Cancer walk, and Metropolitan Ministries’ food and toy drives.

“I feel like being part of the community…is what it’s really about,” Frank said. “Why be in a community and not part of a community?”

“We enjoy talking to people, meeting people and being a part of people’s lives,” she added.

As another gesture of “giving back,” military veterans and first responders receive 10 percent discounts at the café.

“Really, our (focus) is family and community,” she said. “And because of that, it also dictates the products we’re providing.”

Café Liberty is approximately 3,000 square feet. It has 18 employees, including the Franks’ two daughters, Sabrina, 15, and Jessica, 19.

Breakfast and lunch menu items:
Breakfast sandwiches; twisted Benedicts and biscuits; various waffles; skillets, eggs and omelets; burgers and sandwiches; waffle fry bar; and, soups and salads.
Barista bar: in-house coffee blends roasted daily; espresso, cappuccinos, frappuccinos and lattes; blended smoothies, sorbets and milkshakes; bakery items including danishes, muffins and cookies

Published August 17, 2016

Pasco adopts fines for false alarms

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The Pasco County Commission has approved an ordinance aimed at reducing the number of false alarms in the county.

The measure requires residents and business owners to register their alarm systems with the Pasco County Sheriff’s office and, in some instances, to pay fines for false alarms.

Failure to register alarm systems and false alarms could result in fines ranging from $50 to $500, under the ordinance adopted by commissioners on Aug. 9.

The effort aims at significantly reducing the number of false alarms that waste deputies’ time.

Data from the sheriff’s office shows that about 80 percent of the 17,000 alarms that came in over a 12-month period turned out to be false alarms.

Commissioners unanimously approved the new regulations, but voiced concerns about how people will find out about the registration requirement.

Commissioners also amended the proposed ordinance to be sure that a warning is issued on the first false alarm involving an unregistered alarm system.

Initially, the ordinance had called for $100 fine, with no warning.

Those with registered systems would be given warnings for the first two false alarms and then would pay a $50 fine for the third false alarm.

Fines would escalate with each additional false alarm to a maximum of $500.

“We’re being as active as we can be to make sure everybody hears about this,” said Chase Daniels, sheriff’s office spokesman.

Online registration will shortly be available, he said.

In-person registration also can be done at the sheriff’s three district offices.

Annual registration will be required. New alarm systems must be registered within 30 days.

The registry will include information on the owner of the alarm system, the type of system in use, who monitors the system and individuals to contact when deputies respond to alarm calls.

Daniels said efforts will be made to alert alarm system companies who can then send letters to their customers. The companies would be able to function as agents for residents or businesses that need to complete the registration.

“I want to make sure we don’t penalize owners if their alarm company isn’t notifying them,” said Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore.

Daniels said the sheriff’s office wouldn’t be looking for unregistered systems. Deputies would only become aware of that issue when answering an alarm call, and could issue warnings.

“We do have a lot of discretion built in there,” he said. “(The sheriff’s) goal is that we would never fine anyone.”

Published August 17, 2016