After years of hard work and lobbying, the Pasco County Commission has taken the final step to expand and improve the Land O’ Lakes Community Center.
(Courtesy of Sandy Graves)
In a unanimous vote last week, commissioners agreed to find an additional $500,000 for the project after bids came in higher than expected. The $2.4 million upgrades include expanding the existing building on the site to include the construction of a restroom, concession area and meeting room, as well as a picnic shelter, a small outdoor amphitheater, two softball fields, a hybrid football and soccer field, a basketball court, a mile-long trail and parking for 250 vehicles.
“Our park has waited a long time for this facelift,” said Sandy Graves, one of the community leaders who have championed improvements at the park, located at 5401 Land O’ Lakes Blvd. “Thanks for making that dream become a reality today.”
Last year, commissioners put aside $1.9 million to make the improvements, and put the project out to bid in February. When the bids came back, however, Construction Technology Group Inc. of Plant City had the lowest bid at $2.24 million. Trias Construction LLC of Lutz was not far behind with a bid of $2.27 million, while the highest bid came from Cleveland Construction Inc., of Naples at $2.6 million.
Impact fees collected from parks in the central part of the county were funding the improvements, and commissioners were told no more funds were available to meet the $519,000 shortfall.
Assistant county administrator Heather Grimes recommended through her department that commissioners borrow from the capital improvement fund reserves, and then pay it back with park impact fees over the next two years.
Graves, however, had a different idea.
The county is sitting on $3.7 million of impact fees dedicated to a proposed project for Raymond James Financial. Since that project has yet to move forward, some of those dollars could be directed to the Land O’ Lakes project, Graves said.
Commissioners, however, disagreed.
“I would hate to see us start changing an agreement that we have with Raymond James,” Commissioner Ted Schrader said.
The St. Petersburg financial company announced in 2011 that it planned to build two 100,000-square-foot buildings on Wiregrass Ranch property, bringing 750 jobs to the county by 2024. Although some of those jobs were expected to come as early as this year, no work has begun at the site yet.
In the end, commissioners stuck with their original plan to borrow from reserves, giving the thumbs up to let the work finally begin.
Commissioner Pat Mulieri is grateful for the final vote, as she said it will free up some of her phone time now.
“That Land O’ Lakes group is tenacious,” the retiring commissioner said. “And Sandy, you don’t have to call me anymore.”
Published July 16, 2014
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