The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Zephyrhills/East Pasco News

Startups will have a place to call home

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The Dade City Business Center and Dade City Office Plaza was once the site of one of the largest juice processing plants in the world, teeming with more than 2,000 employees.

It fell into disrepair through the decades, but, in recent years, it has been roaring back to life with myriad companies setting up shop.

Now, plans call for launching Pasco County’s first business incubator at the site.

Businesses taking part in a new business incubator at the Dade City Business Center and Dade City Office Plaza will be able to use this conference room, said Bobby Van Allen, the site’s general manager. (Photo by B.C. Manion)

The incubator will help small companies and startup businesses by providing expert assistance in tackling the various challenges that entrepreneurs face, said John Walsh, vice president of the Pasco Economic Development Council, a key player in the initiative.

Locating the incubator at the Dade City industrial park and office plaza is ideal because of its proximity to expert help from Saint Leo University, the Small Business Development Center and to veteran business people who belong to the Greater Dade City Chamber of Commerce, Walsh said.

When companies are getting off the ground, they often need help on issues ranging from tax law to exports to personnel matters, Walsh said. A business incubator provides technical assistance and a way to connect businesses with people who can offer the kind of expertise they need.

In the long-run, the aim of a business incubator is to create jobs, encourage growth of innovative companies and help Pasco County and Dade City enhance their reputation as a place that can make these kinds of things happen, said John Moors, executive director of the chamber.

The owners of the business center and office plaza — JDR Properties of Pasco — offered attractive rates to help make the incubator affordable to small businesses, Walsh said.

The initiative fits in with the office and industrial park owners’ visionary thinking, said Bobby Van Allen, general manager of the 355-acre site.

The incubator is a combined effort of the PEDC, Saint Leo University, the Greater Dade City Chamber of Commerce, the Small Business Development Center, Pasco County and the Dade City Business Center. It is funded with $50,000 from the PEDC, $50,000 from the city of Dade City and $100,000 from the county.

“This is a great collaboration,” Moors said. Everyone involved in the effort wants the incubator to be successful, he said.

Walsh said the hope is the incubator becomes a model for a couple others in Pasco.

Moors said the industrial park and office plaza was selected to house the business incubator because it has available office space, a common lobby, a common boardroom and ample parking.

Having office and industrial space available is a plus because it allows the incubator to serve a mixture of companies, Walsh said.

It also offers an opportunity for synergy as new companies can benefit from the experience of other tenants at the office and industrial park, Moors added.

“It’s already a major employment center for the county,” Moors said.

The site has a diverse list of tenants, including specialty recyclers, fuel production, decorative and specialty concrete business, furniture refinishing, beverage production and distribution, heavy equipment repair, accounting professionals, financial consultants, freight brokerage, logistical companies, a screen printer and embroiderer, marketing firms and a wheel manufacturer among others.

The park has heavy industrial zoning, a CSX main rail line flowing through it and daily water rights of 3.5 million gallons, Van Allen said. It also has its own wastewater treatment plant and access to six-lane US 301, as well as a central location in relation to Tampa, Orlando and Lakeland, Van Allen said.

Other benefits of the site include easy access to Florida’s major highways, regional and international airports and deepwater ports.

A selection committee will choose the companies that will be allowed to participate in the incubator, Van Allen said. It will be looking at a number of factors, including the company’s business plan and its exit strategy, he said.

Van Allen, who grew up in Dade City, said the site he manages has undergone a systematic rehabilitation with its current ownership.

“This property was very blighted. To be nice, it needed a lot of renovation,” Van Allen said.

Details for the business incubator are still being worked out, but Walsh expects it to begin operating in April or May.

For more information call Walsh or Krista Hakes at the PEDC, (813) 926-0827.

Dade City Main Street: a quarter-century of change

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With its quaint shops, historic courthouse and collection of restaurants, it’s hard to picture the slice of Americana that is downtown Dade City as a place once characterized by vacant storefronts and buildings falling into disrepair.

But that’s precisely what the place was like in the mid-1980s before Dade City Main Street began the battle to revive the downtown.

The renovation of the Dade City Courthouse was a huge step in the right direction in the effort to revitalize the city’s downtown district. (Photo by B.C. Manion)

“It was right on the verge of dying,” said Pat Weaver, who led the effort to establish Dade City Main Street. “I just couldn’t bear to see it be boarded up. … Dade City was referred to as ‘dead city.’ We decided to do something about it.”

Harsh freezes and the allure of shopping malls had a crippling effect on the district’s vitality, recalled Pete Brock, a member of Dade City Main Street’s founding board.

“Our downtown was in a state of decline,” Brock said.

That organization, which was part of the Florida Main Street Program, ceased operations on March 28. Before then, it served as a catalyst for revitalization and sponsored community events for a quarter-century.

From the very beginning, Weaver was confident the Main Street program could play a pivotal role in saving her hometown community’s downtown.

It took two years to line everything up to apply to join the state’s Main Street program, Brock said.

Gaining approval for the program required local commitment, including financial and community support. It also involved establishing a board of directors, drafting articles of incorporation and having the willingness to hire a full-time manager, Brock said.

The group also had to demonstrate community backing.

“We raised about $30,000 in six weeks,” Weaver said.

Most cities applying to the state’s Main Street program had to try more than once, Brock said. The Dade City group, however, had done its homework.

“We were accepted on the first go-round,” Brock said.

Brock thinks Dade City’s downtown was a good fit for the program.

“We were fortunate that we had a lot of historic buildings. The town has a natural beauty to it,” Brock said.

Dade City Main Street defined its mission as “a commitment to revitalize and preserve the flavor of small town life and the unique heritage of Dade City, Florida.”

The state’s Main Street program was set up as a three-year program, Brock said. It provided a $10,000 grant and technical assistance.

“They came into the community in those first three years, and they kind of evaluated where we were,” Brock said. “They trained the board. They trained the executive director. We had meetings where we did visioning. We did a lot of work to look at where we were and where we thought we needed to go.”

The board was made up of a cross-section of people to ensure it represented different points of view, Weaver said. She added that it also consisted of those who agreed to play an active role, noting there were no “in-name only” board members.

Brock characterized board members as the community’s “opinion leaders” who had the ability to make things happen.

It didn’t take long to begin having a positive impact, Brock said.

“All of a sudden, some of the merchants wanted to do something about their buildings,” Brock said.

The Gandy building was the first to complete a renovation, Weaver said.

Then Tom Smith and Kevin Roberts completed a $600,000 makeover of the Centennial Building, Brock said.

That stimulated others to get involved, and, within the first 18 months, more than $3 million had been invested in downtown construction and renovation, Brock said.

Dade City’s group worked with civic and service organizations and city and county government leaders, as well as the state’s Main Street program and experts from the University of Florida, to bring about positive change, Brock said.

The restoration of the stately courthouse, which graces the center of downtown, was a huge step in the right direction, Brock said.

“The courthouse was ugly, ugly, ugly,” Weaver said. It had additions that went all of the way out of the sidewalk, she added. “That hodgepodge of additions is gone now, and the historic structure exudes its early 1900s charm.”

The district built on its strengths, Brock said.

“We have this restaurant called Lunch on Limoges. That was really the magnet,” Brock said.

Downtown also became a draw for antiques dealers and boutiques.

The creation of the Community Redevelopment Agency has also made a sizable impact, Brock said. The CRA established a mechanism for using tax proceeds to help pay for various improvements and beautification projects.

During its quarter-century tenure, Dade City Main Street initiated, played a role or was a catalyst in numerous improvements and activities, such as:

—Renovating the 1912 train depot

—Constructing downtown restrooms

—Sponsoring downtown events like the Fall Scarecrow Festival and the Country Christmas Stroll

—Promoting downtown through billboards, shopping guides, streetlight banners, commemorative postcards and bottles of private label water

—Providing grants to beautify building facades, repaint buildings and purchase decorative streetlights, benches, trash receptacles, bicycle racks and newspaper dispensers

—Improving the district’s ambiance with trees and flowering plants in planters.

Brock said the group wanted to go out on a high note when it ceased operations.

“We really do feel that most of the things that we wanted to do have been accomplished in terms of the appearance and vitality,” Brock said. “The one area that we’re a little concerned is the advocacy area. We hope somebody will pick that up.”

John Moors, executive director of the Greater Dade City Chamber of Commerce, said the group’s decision to disband came after a lengthy run.

“Everything has a life,” Moors said. “My history has been in various hotel companies and municipal governments. So, things change. The one thing that isn’t going to change is that things change. It’s not the change that happens, it’s how you adapt.”

He’s confident the downtown district will continue to thrive.

“We have a great group of merchants in Dade City,” Moors said. “They’re engaged. They’re active. They’re really committed to the betterment of our downtown, and I think it shows when you look at our downtown.”

Plan to cut media specialists on hold

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The Pasco County School Board wants more information before they decide on superintendent Kurt Browning’s proposal to eliminate school media specialists and literacy coaches.

Browning’s package of proposed budget cuts calls for eliminating 56.5 media specialist positions and 33 literacy coaches in district elementary, middle and high schools to save more than $4.8 million.

But at an April 16 budget workshop, school board members made it clear that they want to discuss the issue in greater detail.

During its board meeting that night, members voted to discuss the issue on May 7 when Browning is expected to provide more detailed information about positions that would be assigned to serve more than one school.

The media specialists and literacy coaches are included in the 260.5 positions Browning has proposed to eliminate to help plug a $19 million budget hole.

School board member Joanne Hurley told Browning she’s not comfortable with his proposal regarding the media specialists and literacy coaches.

As the district faces tougher academic standards, it’s important to provide school-based support, Hurley said, in an interview after the workshop.

“They’re taking away two very valuable resources,” Hurley said. “Those people do have direct contact with students.”

Board member Alison Crumbley wants to hear more details of Browning’s planned approach.

“I want to know what the specific plan is and how it relates to the students and student success,” she said, after the workshop. She wants to know “what the exact impact will be on our students.”

Board chairwoman Cynthia Armstrong also wants more details.

“I’m looking forward to hearing the proposal that the superintendent’s office is going to bring to us,” she said in an interview after the workshop.

Board member Steve Luikart has a plan of his own. In an interview after the workshop, he said he’d like to see a slower transition than the one Browning has proposed.

At the workshop, Browning reminded board members that any reduction in his proposed cuts would require finding equivalent cuts elsewhere.

Browning also asked for direction in the approach he should use in balancing the district’s budget.

“Does the board want me to use nonrecurring revenue to balance the budget, or do you want me to find an additional $5 million in cuts?” Browning said.

Browning said he’d like to get away from using nonrecurring funds, which was a common practice in years past.

Board members concurred.

“I think the time has come where we really can’t do that again,” Hurley said.

Armstrong added, “At some point it’s just irresponsible to keep raiding the funds.”

Browning also informed the board that his proposed budget does not meet the state’s class size requirements. His proposal would save $4.033 million, but it would cost the district $213,000 in penalties for failing to meet the mandate.

Browning also said his team is “going to go back in and assess the number of APs (assistant principals) at our schools.”

Acknowledging that reducing the number of APs may not be popular, Browning said, “This is going to be shared pain-making.”

Luikart, a former AP, said he doesn’t see how the district can afford to make cuts in that area.

Browning said he hopes people whose positions are cut will be able to find new roles within the district as vacancies arise because of retirements or resignations.

Romo makes Florida Civil Rights Hall of Fame

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Margarita Romo will be the first to tell you that she is a flawed woman and that some people simply do not like her.

But the path she’s traveled led her to advocating for farm workers, immigrants and the poor. Her work has been recognized by Gov. Rick Scott, who selected her to be inducted into the Florida Civil Rights Hall of Fame.

The honor goes to people who have made significant contributions to improving the lives of minorities and all Florida citizens.

Margarita Romo sits in her office on Lock Street. She will be inducted into the Florida Civil Rights Hall of Fame on April 24. (Photo by B.C. Manion)

Romo, 76, founded Farmworkers Self-Help in Dade City, a nonprofit organization that has focused on education, advocacy and addressing the needs of migrant farmworkers and immigrants for more than three decades.

The organization helps with immigration issues, gives bread to the poor, advocates for legislative changes and seeks to improve conditions for the impoverished. It has been particularly active in seeking improvements for Tommytown, a community northwest of downtown Dade City.

“It wasn’t anything that I purposely went out to do,” Romo said. Her involvement began when she was asked to translate church services at migrant camps.

Her commitment grew from there.

Romo said she didn’t have a strategic or systematic method for helping people. She said they came to her with a need and she explored ways to help them.

As time went on, Romo became more knowledgeable and established more relationships — making it possible for her to help more people.

“In my wildest dreams I never thought I’d be doing this, especially with the history that I had. It seemed like there was just disaster after disaster,” Romo said.

***

Romo was born in Texas, and at age 3, her mother died. Her father placed her in an orphanage and sent her three brothers to another orphanage. They stayed there a couple of years until he remarried.

“I went in as Margarita and I came out as Margaret,” Romo said, and she was no longer speaking Spanish.

She joined the convent when she was 15 and left two years later with the hopes of mending a strained relationship with her stepmother, which never happened.

Romo has been divorced three times, and along the way she had six children.

She believes her personal failings and the challenges she’s faced have helped her become more compassionate.

“We all have issues, and we’ll always have issues. There’s no one who is ever going to be perfect, but I think knowing your own imperfections causes you to be more understanding about others,” Romo said.

She also understands despair.

She was so despondent after her first divorce that she attempted to take her own life, she said. She’d taken some pills and someone found her — otherwise, her life would have ended then, she said.

“I’m a real miracle, walking,” Romo said.

That experience made her realize how important it is for people to seek counseling when they need it, Romo said. “I’m a real champion about mental health.”

She also understands poverty.

***

Romo needed help after one of her divorces, and a woman from a migrant camp understood that need.

“I’ll never forget — she gave me some of her food stamps,” Romo said.

While she is being honored for her work, Romo is quick to give credit to those who have helped her to help others.

“It’s not about me,” Romo said. “If it hadn’t been for those undocumented farmworkers, we wouldn’t be here. They’re the ones who walked with me. They went to Washington, D.C. They went to Tallahassee.”

She also said mentors she’s met have helped her to be more effective.

Romo views herself as an activist, but uses a different approach than many young organizers whom she sees as being more aggressive and eager to take on the world.

When she goes to Tallahassee to advocate for changes, she said she reads scripture to lawmakers and prays for God to guide them.

“We need God to go in front of us,” Romo said. “We need to do battle with the Bible in our hand. I really believe that God has to be called in, and I believe God hasn’t been called into the middle of all of the crises. God has got to be in the middle of everything we do.”

Sometimes, she feels conflicted.

“Being a pastor and being an activist organizer is just a real difficult place. You have to constantly forgive, and at the same time you’re in the middle of a battle,” said Romo, who became an ordained minister 10 years ago.

She was reaching out spiritually to children in her community even before she was ordained: “I started telling parents, if you want to bring me your children, we’re going to have children’s church on Sunday morning. You can go wash. You can go to the flea market. We’ll take care of the children.”

***

Romo is being inducted into the Florida Civil Rights Hall of Fame on April 24 alongside Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore and Judge James B. Sanderlin.

They were among the nominees the Florida Commission on Human Relations recommended to Scott.

“As Florida marks its 500 year anniversary, we want to honor individuals who have stood for equality in our state’s history even in the face of adversity. These champions of freedom have paved the way for equal rights among all Floridians,” Scott said, in a Feb. 27 release.

Romo said she’s not really sure what the induction means.

“If they really want to do something, then give us (Florida) KidCare (low-cost or free health insurance) for legal immigrant children,” she said.

She’d also like to have a conversation with lawmakers about the negative impacts she believes zero tolerance has on kids. She also thinks the state should allow immigrants who arrived here before age 16 and who have no criminal record to attend Florida colleges at in-state tuition rates.

“You can pick enough oranges to pay in-state tuition, but you cannot pick enough oranges to pay out-of-state tuition,” Romo said. “That’s just the bottom line.”

Romo could go on and on about injustices that need to be addressed and opportunities that need to be offered.

She tackles what she can in Tallahassee, in the community and her office, a humble white house on Lock Street.

***

Photographs on the walls of her office serve as constant reminders of the work that remains.

One photo shows a smiling girl who died before she reached age 5 because she could not get the medical care she needed quickly enough.

Another photo shows an old man standing in a dumpster. He’d rummage around wherever he could to find cans he could sell, Romo said. When he died, it cost $800 to buy his ashes so his life could be honored.

There’s also a photo of a young man who died from AIDS and another of a man who died from prostate cancer.

Romo said she remembers those people when she thinks about the work she needs to do.

She also thinks about tragic things that have happened because of dangerous working conditions. She thinks of workers who have “lost their eyesight because of pesticide” or “fallen off ladders and broke their back and got no compensation.”

Romo aims to help people help themselves.

“We need to think for ourselves,” Romo said. “If we’re really about teaching people to be free, then you’ve got to give them the tools to do that. … To help us learn to think for ourselves is where the real work comes in and the real love,” said Romo, whose organization encourages students to attain their GED, enroll in college and seek job training.

She said she feels blessed to do the work she does.

“When you’re a community organizer and you help organize your community, then that community grows and it becomes a whole different place and everybody who received the benefit of that growth takes it with them and plants it somewhere else, and it never stops growing.”

No matter how dark things can get at times, Romo hangs on.

“Thirty-three years and we’re still here.”

County searches for next administrator

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The Pasco County Commission expects to select a new county administrator by the end of May to replace the retiring John Gallagher.

The details haven’t been worked out completely, but commissioners indicated at their April 10 meeting they’d like to narrow the field of candidates to eight before selecting finalists to interview.

Bob Murray & Associates, of Tallahassee, is conducting the national search for Gallagher’s replacement.

Pasco County Administrator John Gallagher plans to retire on June 1 after three decades in his post. (File photo)

When they sought proposals from search firms, the board made it clear it wants a robust effort to come up with candidates, not a rehashed list used in similar searches.

The board called for “a far-reaching recruitment that will capture a fresh list of the best candidates from throughout the country, including high performers in other jurisdictions that may not be actively seeking new employment.”

Commissioners have asked for backgrounds on the top eight candidates, which they will narrow down to finalists for interviews. They also plan to arrange a county tour and host a social so candidates can mingle with the public.

They have set tentative dates of May 14 to shortlist the candidates, May 23 and May 24 for interviews and a social and May 28 for naming a new administrator.

Gallagher, who had planned to retire in April, has agreed to stay on until June 1.