The Laker/Lutz News

John Legg

State Road 56 Extension gives drivers another option

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Motorists heading through the county to or from East Pasco now have a new way to do it.

The State Road 56 Extension, which links Meadow Pointe Boulevard in Wesley Chapel to U.S. 301 in Greater Zephyrhills, opened on July 10.

This view shows State Road 56, looking east from Meadow Pointe Boulevard, on a new 6-mile stretch of the road, linking Wesley Chapel to Zephyrhills. The road opened to the public on July 10. (Tyler Nathe, Aerial Photography Tampa, AerialPhotographyTampa.com)

Dignitaries and members of the media gathered for a preview of the road the day before it opened to the public.

Pasco County Commission Chairman Ron Oakley noted the significance of the new 6-mile stretch.

“It’s the first time in my lifetime that we’ve had a four-lane road from West Pasco all of the way to East Pasco,” Oakley said, noting the road closes a missing link between U.S. 301 on the east and U.S. 19 on the west.

“It’s an awesome day for the citizens of Pasco County,” added County Commissioner Mike Moore. “It’s going to bring a better quality of life for all of our citizens, and it’s going to bring opportunity to this area also.”

Moore noted the project wouldn’t have happened without the foresight of Will Weatherford, former Speaker of the House of the Florida House of Representatives, who secured funding to extend the road.

However, the state’s plans called for the extension to be a two-lane road.

Pasco County District 1 Commissioner Ron Oakley speaks about the project, during the media event held on July 9. (Christine Holtzman)

That was before the community of Zephyrhills rallied behind an effort to make it a four-lane road. They won the support of then State Rep. Danny Burgess and then State Rep. John Legg, who met with then Department of Transportation Secretary Jim Boxold, who suggested the possibility of a state loan to pay for the second two lanes.

That plan came together through the collaboration of Pasco County officials, the City of Zephyrhills, private landowners and the contractor.

“This is really a monumental occasion,” said David Gwynn, District Seven secretary for the Florida Department of Transportation. “Although this is a DOT project, DOT was just one player in this.”

Now, the road is open, with signalized intersections at U.S. 301 and Morris Bridge Road, and features a multi-use trail, a sidewalk and bicycle lanes.

Melonie Monson, executive director of the Zephyrhills Chamber of Commerce, anticipates the tourist and economic growth that the new State Road 56 extension will provide to Downtown Zephyrhills. (Christine Holtzman)

After the preview tour, Oakley headed to a county commissioner meeting, where he marveled at the new road.

“It is absolutely beautiful. If you can drive that road, you’ll see Old Florida because there’s never been a road through there before. You’ll see sights that you’ve never been able to see,” he said.

Of course, the view won’t last forever, Oakley said.

“See it now, because in 8 (years) to 10 years, that will change,” Oakley said, as new homes, new businesses and possibly a school are built in the area.

“A lot of growth will happen from this,” he said.

Milestones

  • Speaker of the House Will Weatherford announces private-public funding plan for extension of State Road 56 to U.S. 301: November 2013
  • Zephyrhills community pushes for four-lane extension, rather than a two-lane link, at town hall meeting with Rep. Danny Burgess and State Sen. John Legg: February 2015
  • State Rep. Danny Burgess and State Sen. John Legg meet with Department of Transportation Secretary Jim Boxold, who offers the possibility of a state infrastructure loan: April 2015
  • Pasco Commission approves series of agreements with state, City of Zephyrhills and private landowners, clearing the way for the state loan: January 2016.
  • Road opens to public: July 2019

By Brian Fernandes and B.C. Manion

Published July 17, 2019

A car heads south down US 301, near the brand-new intersection with State Road 56 in Zephyrhills. The new extension of roadway provides a direct east and west connection between Zephyrhills and Wesley Chapel. (Christine Holtzman)

We’re going to need better thinking caps

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We are mere days away from a joltingly early start to the new school year, but instead of looking ahead to new supplies that speak of fresh challenges, our gaze has been diverted to an unexpectedly worrisome past.

Results of the Florida Standards Assessments rolled out last month, and, well, yikes.

All of a sudden, your neighborhood A school, or your B school you were absolutely certain was on the rise, is, according to the latest report, backsliding.

Of the 79 Pasco schools for which the state reported grades (four received scores of incomplete), 36 slipped at least one grade. The number of A schools shrank by half, to 14 from 28. Overall, Pasco’s district grade slid from a B to a C.

Those looking for good news will find little, but there is this: The number of schools receiving an F dipped to two from three. So there’s that.

Understandably, the generally glum news triggered general apoplexy. In a carefully worded press release, Pasco Schools Superintendent Kurt Browning nodded to “very challenging times” as a result of “the transition to new standards.”

“New standards” is the key phrase, and about them retiring state Sen. John Legg (R-Trinity), who oversaw the K-12 committee that drafted the perplexing grading scheme, says: Calm down.

Naturally, that’s easier said than done when everything from state education funds to property values to neighborhood and personal prestige are riding on the local school’s grade. As Legg readily concedes, “Everybody wants to go to an A school.”

I mean, Pine View Elementary, which never scored below a B and last year earned an A, suddenly merits a C? And Seven Oaks Elementary, the very principal’s honor roll of grade schools, dips to a B? The tiger moms of Land O’ Lakes and Wesley Chapel cannot be amused.

And still the senator says: Chill. Here’s how Legg, who’s also an administrator at Dayspring Academy, a pre-K-11 Pasco County charter school, lays it out: Schools that dropped a grade or even three did not necessarily change from being good or even excellent to something else entirely.

The reason, instead, is the new and — fingers seriously crossed here — improved grading system, one that doesn’t simply weigh student performance against an absolute standard, but, in an attempt to weed out socioeconomic variables, also grades year-over-year improvement.

Legg likens the new grading plan to a baseball game.

“We saw a lot of schools [from wealthier communities] decline because, basically, they started on third base, and they didn’t get the runner home,” Legg says. “Then you have a school like Lacoochee [Elementary], where the kids come to the plate with two strikes. If teachers can figure out how to get them on base, they deserve points for that.”

Balancing the achievement of schools that bang out gimme RBIs against those that teach the difficult art of reaching first is at the heart of the educational Sabermetrics that inspired the performance-plus-improvement measuring sticks.

To elaborate, schools that draw well-to-do students might hit high marks time and again. While they took home plaudits for their natural advantage, it was an open question whether they were increasing the quality of their students’ learning year-over-year.

Conversely, schools with high populations of free and reduced-lunch students might not score as high academically in any given year as their richer cousins, but if they close the grade-level gap — if their students rise from two years behind to one year behind — that’s a clear indicator that something good is happening.

Earlier grading systems did not account for stagnation or improvement, or for rich-school/poor-school disparities, as top administrators and teachers’ union chiefs alike routinely complained.

The new assessments reflect an imperfect attempt to level the playing field. Accordingly, there is likely to be, at the very least, short-term pain while administrators and teachers probe the maze in search of happier outcomes.

This, of course, assumes such probing is possible. Browning is clearly skeptical, and other administrators have called the new system “complicated and confusing.”

For his part, Legg prefers to think of the new plan as detailed and precise, declaring himself confident the infusion of “additional variables” to the education equation “provides a more accurate description of what’s going on” in each school.

This must have been what the preeminent baseball stat-cruncher Bill James — inventor of Sabermetrics — must have felt like when he discovered his landmark “runs created” stat.

To be clear: The results from 2014-15 set the baseline. The results from 2015-16 are the first to measure year-over-year improvement. That, Legg contends, is “why we saw a variety of directions.” Next year’s reports will provide “an even stronger” indicator of what’s going on within each school, just as year-over-year sales reports indicate how individual stores are faring against history.

This is good stuff to know. And, it’s why Legg pushes back against trashing the A-F grading system.

“If we didn’t have school grades, we couldn’t even ask these questions,” Legg says. “They wouldn’t know what’s happening.

“Take away school grades and we’d go straight back to the ’90s, when kids were graduating from high school and couldn’t read their diplomas. We’d go looking for what went wrong, and there’d be nothing there to figure it out.”

Another session of aggregating data — also known as the school year — looms dead ahead. Here’s hoping everyone involved greets the challenges ahead with perfectly fitted thinking caps.

Because, the work of academic achievement is not for sissies.

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

Published August 3, 2016

Gearing up for primary elections

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Even though the primary election isn’t until Aug. 30, Pasco County Supervisor of Elections Brian Corley is reminding voters to be sure they are ready to vote.

Florida has a closed primary system, so voters must be sure they are registered in the party in which they wish to vote, Corley said.

It’s also essential to be sure you are registered and that your registration has the proper address, Corley said.

Many voters who have been inactive for years may not realize that their names are removed from the list, when they have not been active, Corley said. Your registration also must reflect your current address to avoid running into paperwork problems or the possibility of not being able to get to your proper polling place on time to vote, he said.

Voters should remember there are three ways to vote, Corley said. They can request a vote by mail ballot, they can vote early or they can vote on election day.

Also, the list of acceptable forms of identification was expanded during the most recent session of the Legislature, Corley said. The House and Senate unanimously approved legislation sponsored by Rep. Danny Burgess, of Zephyrhills, and State Sen. John Legg, of Lutz, that expanded the acceptable forms of ID to include a Florida concealed weapon or firearm license, a Veteran Health Identification Card issued by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and an employee identification card issued by any part of the federal, state, county or municipal government.

If you wish to vote by mail, contact your local supervisor of elections office.

Published April 27, 2016

 

Resident crusades for safety wall on I-75

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Construction dust, giant cranes and truck traffic are an everyday inconvenience near Tampa Bay Golf & Country Club.

Road crews are busy expanding the interchange at Interstate 75 and State Road 52 from County Road 54 to Hernando County.

The three-year project is slated for completion in 2017, and is meant to improve traffic flow by widening I-75 from four lanes to six lanes, with three lanes in each direction.

State Road 52 also will be widened to six lanes. There will be frontage roads north and south of State Road 52, west of I-75. Sidewalks and bicycle lanes also will be installed.

John Hart points out a chipped window at his home in Tampa Bay Golf & Country Club. He believes that vibrations coming from truck traffic on Interstate 75 cause damage to both his home and his neighbors’ homes. (Kathy Steele/Staff Photos)
John Hart points out a chipped window at his home in Tampa Bay Golf & Country Club. He believes that vibrations coming from truck traffic on Interstate 75 cause damage to both his home and his neighbors’ homes.
(Kathy Steele/Staff Photos)

But, what John Hart sees and hears from his backyard in Tampa Golf & Country Club he perceives as trouble.

He’s worried about a steady flow of cars and 18-wheelers delivering nonstop noise and rattling the foundation of his home.

And, in a worst-case scenario, he’s concerned about an overturned semitrailer crashing into his backyard.

The retired Rhode Island cop has been on a three-year crusade on behalf of his community to improve conditions.

“We’re looking for a safety wall,” Hart said. “I want to see the wall out there. I want to see people protected.”

State highway officials maintain that a study completed prior to construction did not justify a wall based on noise levels. And the road design, they say, meets national safety standards.

The entrance into the age 55 and older community is off State Road 52, within a few yards of the highway ramps.

Hart wants the sound and safety barrier installed along the approximately two-mile outer boundary of his neighborhood paralleling I-75. Currently, a row of pine trees and a vinyl fence are the only defenses against noise, or worse, an out-of-control vehicle, just 300 feet or so from a row of homes backing up to the interstate.

Hart has repeatedly raised his concerns with the Florida Department of Transportation.

He isn’t a man who gives up, even though Hart acknowledges that some by now — even within his community — probably wish he would concede it’s a lost cause.

Hart points to a recent accident as evidence that a safety wall is needed.

On Dec. 11, north of the interchange project, a dump truck in the southbound lane of I-75 blew a tire. A chain reaction accident occurred, involving another dump truck, a van, a semitrailer and a pickup truck.

Roadwork on the interchange at Interstate 75 and State Road 52 will be completed in 2017. This is one of several projects statewide to improve traffic flow on the highway.
Roadwork on the interchange at Interstate 75 and State Road 52 will be completed in 2017. This is one of several projects statewide to improve traffic flow on the highway.

The driver with the blown tire died and another person suffered serious injuries, according to media reports.

The van ended up on the outside shoulder of the highway.

Hart worries that someday a semitrailer could roll across the road into his backyard. “It would take out this house,” he said.

State department of transportation spokesman John McShaffrey said the state agency can’t design roads for unexpected tire blowouts. But, he added, “We don’t compromise (safety).”

Construction projects aimed at improvements for the community can be a tough sell sometimes, he added.

“One thing to keep in mind is that improvements are needed for the greater good and the motoring public,” McShaffrey said. “We have to look at the greater good.”

In this instance, Tampa Bay Golf & Country Club was in early stages of development when the project was designed, with 10 or fewer homes built.

“The interstate was here first,” McShaffrey said, adding that homebuyers knew they would be living next to I-75.

The community could pay for a wall privately, if that is what residents want, McShaffrey said.

The project’s goal is to make driving safer by adding more lanes, and improving access on and off ramps. It is one of a series of interchange projects statewide along I-75.

“These are capacity projects,” said McShaffrey.

On average, about 50,000 vehicles per day travel on I-75, south of State Road 52, according to state transportation data from 2014.

Estimates for 2020 peg traffic along this segment an average of 56,000 a day.

The project has been on the state road department’s radar for more than a decade. It has met with hurdles along the way, including a lawsuit filed by Hillcrest Properties against Pasco County in 2010. A settlement eventually resolved issues related to a right of way purchase, and cleared the way for construction.

Hart has a file of material he has collected over nearly three years of protests by himself and, at times, hundreds of area residents who attended a public hearing in 2012.

His letters, emails and phone calls seeking relief have gone to U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, Gov. Rick Scott, State Reps. Will Weatherford, John Legg and Danny Burgess. He has reached out to Pasco County Commissioner Ted Schrader, and former State Rep. Jim Norman.

Hart disputes the road department’s sound study.

“We did our own soundings,” he said.

The results showed noise levels in some areas reached 94 decibels, Hart said.

According to data from Purdue University, that equates to a jet taking off, a jackhammer, power mower or motorcycle within 25 feet.

Hart paid thousands of dollars to install double-pane windows that muffle some noises. He also said he repaired a crack in his kitchen ceiling which he attributes to heavy truck traffic.

He also noted a crack in the outer wall of his neighbor’s house, and a chipped window and similar crack on his house’s exterior.

“Every now and then, you can feel vibrations when a truck goes by,” Hart said.

He has hosted tours of Tampa Golf & Country Club for representatives of area lawmakers. He got sympathy but, so far, Hart said nothing has happened.

And, he won’t give up.

“I know what the danger is out there,” he said.

Published January 6, 2016

Gun issues dominate town hall session

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It was billed as a town hall session on economic development, but the gun issues facing the Florida Legislature dominated much of the discussion.

The Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce and Pasco-Hernando State College’s Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch co-hosted a town hall on Oct. 14 featuring State Sen. John Legg and State Rep. Danny Burgess.

Eugene Williams, executive director for the Coalition for the Homeless, opened the questioning by addressing the issue of concealed weapons on campus.

State Sen. John Legg addressed questions from the audience. (B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)
State Sen. John Legg addressed questions from the audience.
(B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)

“I was recently in Tallahassee and attended the committee meeting for the bill for campus concealed weapons,” Williams said. “As a PHSC adjunct professor, I just want to let you know that I don’t think that’s a good idea.

“The committee almost voted unanimously to support the representative’s bill. And I just think that that’s just wrong for our schools. It’s scary for our teachers, and most importantly, it’s not going to bring safety, or better safety to our to, you know, our school children,” said Williams, asking legislators to comment on the issue.

Legg, whose district represents everything south of State Road 52 in Pasco County to north of Tampa International Airport in Hillsborough County, told Williams there are four bills facing the Legislature that deal with weapons.

“We have one that basically allows, if you will, concealed weapon permit holders to be on college campus.

“We have another one that says we should allow our teachers to be armed in the k-12 (kindergarten through 12th-grade) system.

“We have another one that has been filed for open carry (to allow people to carry their weapons in plain sight) around the state of Florida.

“You have a fourth one now that says you can bring weapons to political meetings,” Legg said.

The state senator said he believes that people have the right to protect themselves, but not other people.

“That’s why we have law enforcement. That’s why you have trained people to do that,” he said.

“I think universities should have the right to regulate the weapons that are on the campus, but have the caveat that you do have students living on campus 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” Legg said.

“I’m not in favor of arming our teachers,” Legg said. “I understand people’s fear,” he added, but noted that law enforcement officers are better trained.

Burgess, whose district covers Dade City, San Antonio, St. Leo and Zephyrhills, said the issues need discussion.

“What we’re doing is not working,” Burgess said. “What can we do?” he asked.

“The debate should be had.”

Legg said he opposes the proposal to allow people to openly carry their weapons.

“People garnishing their weapons is not something I want to be around,” Legg said.

Burgess, who has a concealed weapons permit, said he’s not sure if he would want to openly carry his weapon.”

The legislators also heard concerns from the crowd about growing congestion, particularly near Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, Interstate 75 and State Road 56.

More needs to be done to synchronize lights better, so traffic can flow more smoothly, an audience member suggested.

A former Florida teacher urged lawmakers to reduce the required amount of testing in schools, noting that current requirements are so restrictive that they stifle teachers from pursuing their passion for teaching and prevent them from doing the work they were trained to do.

Teachers are leaving the profession, the former teacher said, because “they’re frustrating out.”

Published October 21, 2015

Speakers present their wish list to lawmakers

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Speaker after speaker stepped up to the podium to present their request to Pasco County’s state lawmakers.

They wanted funding to help a nonprofit.

They wanted lawmakers to put in a good word with state highway officials.

Or, they wanted their backing for a special cause.

About 100 people gathered on Sept. 29 in the gymnasium of Sunlake High School in Land O’ Lakes for a public forum, hosted by Pasco’s legislative delegation.

Sunlake High Band members played the National Anthem at the public forum hosted by Pasco County’s legislative delegation in the high school gymnasium. (Kathy Steele/Staff Photo)
Sunlake High Band members played the National Anthem at the public forum hosted by Pasco County’s legislative delegation in the high school gymnasium.
(Kathy Steele/Staff Photo)

State Representatives Amanda Murphy, Richard Corcoran and Danny Burgess, and State Senators John Legg and Wilton Simpson listened for nearly three hours, as about 60 representatives of nonprofits, counties and municipalities, civic groups and individual citizens talked about the needs in their communities.

The forum is an annual tradition held prior to the annual legislative session, which is scheduled to convene on Jan. 12, 2016.

Corcoran, a Republican from Land O’ Lakes, will hold the powerful position of Speaker of the House.

Nearly all of the speakers gave lawmakers packets of information detailing specific funding needs or particular policies they want the delegation members to support or reject.

Requests covered a broad range of topics from public safety and school construction, to voter registration and smoke-free beaches and parks.

Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco advocated for tougher laws to help clamp down on illegal sales of synthetic marijuana.

Current law makes no distinction between the sale of one packet of the illegal substance or 1,000 packets, he said.

“We’re not trying to go after the person with a substance problem,” the sheriff said. “What we’re trying to do is go after the dealer.”

Nocco also urged lawmakers to address the growing problem of terrorist threats made via social media including threats to “shoot up” a school or church.

“There is no law in effect where we can go after them,” Nocco said. But he added, “People make statements and words have meanings.”

Sunlake High School student Mykenzie Robertson lobbied for a state law to ban smoking at public beaches and parks. Robertson is active with Tobacco Free Partnership of Pasco County and the statewide Students Working Against Tobacco (SWAT).

“Parks, to me, are a place for healthy recreation,” she said.

Robertson also joined with Sunlake High School student Ormond Derrick later to talk about the problem of substance abuse among young people.

Pasco County Supervisor of Elections Brian Corley asked lawmakers to consider adding veteran’s registration cards and gun permits to the list of approved identification for voters.

Corley also advocated for at least some of a voter’s personal information to be shielded from public records laws.

Now, access is open “to anyone and everyone,” Corley said. He cited a case of a man in New Hampshire who used Pasco County voter registration data to contact people for business purposes.

A handful of voters de-registered as a result of for-profit businesses accessing their information, Corley said. “That’s sad,” he said. “I think you would agree.”

Protecting data also was on the agenda for Pasco County Clerk and Comptroller Paula O’Neil who talked about the budget challenges in keeping up with technology to allow access, but also protect public records.

“About 95 percent of civil filings are electronic,” she said. “And that will soon be 100 percent.”

Funding issues are facing Pasco County’s school district as it tries to keep up with the explosive growth of new subdivisions, said Pasco School Superintendent Kurt Browning.

New residential development, especially along the State Road 54 corridor through Land O’ Lakes and Wesley Chapel, is pumping up school enrollments.

Sunlake High, for instance, was built for 1,800 students. But Browning said, “We exceeded that number. There are very few schools that don’t exceed what they were built for,” Browning said.

Oakstead Elementary School has 1,200 students in a school built for 762 students.

“Where do we put these kids?” Browning said. “We put them in portables. We cannot build schools fast enough.”

He made a pitch for lawmakers to approve a bill that would give local school boards the autonomy to increase existing property tax millage by half a mill. Board members would need to approve the increase by a super-majority or a unanimous vote, he said.

Pasco County’s Government Affairs Officer Ralph Lair presented lawmakers with a list of priority projects and issues for the coming year, including a state loan for widening State Road 56.

Another issue is funding for the Coast to Coast Connector Trail, which will link Florida’s west and east coasts from St. Petersburg to Titusville. The Florida Department of Transportation will decide which of two routes will be built for one of the trail’s segments. One route goes through northeast Pasco, while another would bypass Pasco.

Pasco officials hope to convince the state roads department to build both routes and create a loop.

“Just have that one on your radar,” Lair said.

Other speakers included Timothy Beard, president of the Pasco-Hernando State College. Help for a performing arts center was among his funding requests.

Brian Anderson advocated for veterans and discussed his nonprofit, Veterans Alternatives, which provides alternative therapies for veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorders.

Representatives for Pasco Fine Arts Council, Habitat for Humanity, AMIKids Pasco and the Good Samaritan Health Clinic of Pasco also brought their concerns and talked about their program successes.

Peggy Wood of the Florida Federation of Garden Clubs and Janice Howie of the Nature Coast Chapter of Florida Native Plant Society spoke about environmental issues.

Howie said her organization supported Amendment 1, a constitutional amendment approved by 75 percent of voters to use real estate taxes to purchase land for conservation. In the last legislature, only a fraction of the anticipated $700 million was budgeted for land purchases.

“There is an opportunity to do better this year,” said Howie who is conservation chairwoman.

Wood asked lawmakers to oppose a bill that would bypass local control and give the state sole authority to regulate hydraulic fracturing, often called “fracking,” which is a controversial method of oil drilling.

At least 15 counties in Florida have approved bans on fracking, Wood said.

Texas has passed a bill that bypasses local authority, Wood said. “Now Texas has fracking, whether they (local government) want it or not.”

Published October 7, 2015

Panel says no to charter in Pasco County

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With a one-vote margin, opponents of a charter-style government in Pasco County killed a proposal that had the backing of the county’s legislative delegation.

In an 8-7 vote, a 15-member appointed panel opted not to write a charter that could have significantly changed the way Pasco County’s government operates.

The vote came after the county’s five-member legislative delegation – State Rep. Richard Corcoran, State Rep. Amanda Murphy, State Rep. Danny Burgess, State Sen. Wilton Simpson, and State Sen. John Legg – had presented their case for pursuing a charter form of government. The charter could have included term limits, single member districts and a recall procedure to oust elected officials.

About 30 people attended the Aug. 24 committee meeting in New Port Richey.

After the vote, Corcoran expressed disappointment. He said he would prefer that voters had the final say on a charter.

Still, he said, “I’m glad we had the conversation. We had a good vetting. I’m happy.”

The seven votes favoring a charter came from panel members appointed by the delegation and two members appointed by Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore.

Corcoran had urged the Pasco County Commission to create a charter commission earlier this year that would have been required, under state law, to produce a charter.

Under that scenario, commissioners would not have been able to amend the charter document and voters would have the final say.

Commissioners resisted that approach, instead opting for a nonbinding panel which had the option of recommending a charter or not.

If the panel had approved a charter with a super-majority vote, commissioners had said they would present the matter to voters, without change, in a 2016 referendum.

But for a majority on the panel, the case for a charter didn’t pass muster despite assertions that other counties with charters were better off than Pasco.

“Where is this fantasy, premier, preeminent county?” asked panel member Chuck Grey. “What are we aspiring to be? Tell me a county we’re aspiring to be like.”

Delegation members repeatedly hit on the theme of voter accountability and empowering voters.

“There’s nothing bad when we talk about accountability,” Burgess said. “I believe a lot in autonomy.”
However, as a former Zephyrhills’ mayor, Burgess had one caveat, if a charter were adopted.

“I would prefer that we preserve local governments’ ability to determine their own destiny,” he said.

Simpson dismissed the notion of an elected county mayor, an idea initially raised by Corcoran when he presented the charter idea to Pasco County commissioners.

“My personal opinion is that would be a dreadful idea,” he said.

He did, however, find single member districts “not a bad idea.”

Corcoran urged the committee to include ideas they liked and let others alone. “If the county mayor is controversial, chuck it out the window,” he said.

Committee members Randy Maggard and Mike Ryan felt the committee’s vote was premature, and wanted to explore individual items, such as term limits and single member districts.

“We have not looked at all the issues in any depth to know right now,” said Ryan.

During public comment, only one speaker supported a charter.

“We have seen many county commissioners who have stayed on an enormously long time,” said New Port Richey resident Hugh Townsend. “I think turnover would be a good idea.”

Former Pasco County Commissioner Pat Mulieri said many unanswered questions remained about why Corcoran and others were pursuing a charter.

“You don’t want turmoil in Pasco County,” she said. “These changes could cause turmoil with government, when this is a time for stability with our economic growth.”

Pasco County Tax Collector Mike Fasano wondered why all the focus was on accountability at the local level.

“It concerns me that those who just left Tallahassee and didn’t do what they needed to are concerned about accountability,” he said.

Legislators recently ended a special session to redraw the state’s district maps under order from the Florida Supreme Court. They recessed without agreeing on a map, making it likely that the court will redraw the map.

At least for now, the charter issue in Pasco seems moot.

A grassroots group, the Pasco County Citizens Charter Coalition, has expressed interest in a petition drive to collect 45,000 signatures required by state law to establish the charter commission that Corcoran wanted. Coalition members had anticipated that Corcoran would partner with them.

However, the lawmaker said he had no plans to join in their efforts.

“We’ll see. I’ll keep working for ways to make all levels of government accountable,” Corcoran said.

Published September 2, 2015

Legislative delegation to weigh in on charter

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Fish or cut bait?

Members of the Municipal Association of Pasco County, which represents the six cities in Pasco, want a final decision on whether the county should alter its form of government.

Calvin Branche, a commissioner with the Metropolitan Planning Organization, told the charter panel during public comment that a charter government isn’t needed. (Photos courtesy of Richard K. Riley)
Calvin Branche, a commissioner with the Metropolitan Planning Organization, told the charter panel during public comment that a charter government isn’t needed.
(Photos courtesy of Richard K. Riley)

They likely will get their wish on Aug. 24 when the county’s appointed charter review panel has scheduled a vote on the matter. A previously scheduled vote on Aug. 10 was postponed until the charter panel could hear from Pasco’s legislative delegation.

State Representatives Richard Corcoran and Amanda Murphy, and State Senators John Legg and Wilton Simpson have confirmed they will attend the Aug. 24 meeting which will begin at 1 p.m., in the first floor board room, at the West Pasco Government Center in New Port Richey.

Pasco’s cities have expressed opposition to a charter.

“We are very concerned at the implications a charter would have on our cities,” said Lance Smith, a Zephyrhills’ city councilman. He and St. Leo Mayor Pro Tem James Hallett addressed panel members at their Aug. 10 meeting in Dade City.

Among issues of concern, according to Smith, would be whether cities would retain control over establishing special tax districts, known as community redevelopment areas.

“We need this decision one way or another,” he said. “Fish or cut bait.”

Zephyrhills is one of six cities in the municipal association. Others are Dade City, New Port Richey, Port Richey, St. Leo and San Antonio.

The municipal association members met recently and approved a resolution opposing charter government.

The resolution urges panel members “to reconsider this…effort, and to provide for a more balanced and transparent review of our county government in the future.”

There also is concern that a charter “would infringe on the rights and duties of municipal elected officials and the citizens they represent,” according to the resolution.

Pasco County currently is governed under home rule with five districts, each with a representative elected by countywide vote.

Twenty of the state’s 67 counties operate with charters, including Hillsborough and Pinellas counties.

Commissioners appointed the 15-member panel in May after Corcoran lobbied them earlier in the year to establish a charter commission.

Dade City resident Judy Geiger spoke during public comment at the Aug. 10 charter panel meeting. She opposes charter government.
Dade City resident Judy Geiger spoke during public comment at the Aug. 10 charter panel meeting. She opposes charter government.

However, the Pasco commissioners’ nonbinding panel has the option of approving or rejecting a charter-style government.

In contrast, state law requires that a charter commission, once formed, must produce a charter that voters would accept or reject.

An activist group, the Pasco County Citizens Charter Coalition, announced in June that it would partner with Corcoran in a petition campaign to secure a required 45,000 signatures needed to establish such a commission.

Corcoran has said in the past that charters give more power to residents.

“That’s sort of the idea,” said panel member, Randy Maggard. “The people have more say.”

Maggard said the panel should explore specific elements of charters, such as single-member districts and term limits, before shutting the door on a charter.

“We’re going to make a decision without discussing these other things?” he said. “Everybody has made their minds up?”

If the panel votes on Aug. 24 not to pursue a charter, then the panel can disband. It would take 10 votes to support a charter, but if that is the decision then, members would have to buckle down for months of additional study and work.

They would have to produce a document detailing the operations of government including possible adoption of single-member districts, term limits, a recall process, an elected county administrator or elected county mayor. Pasco voters would approve or reject the panel’s recommendation in the November 2016 election.

Regardless of the panel’s decision, the grassroots charter coalition can move forward on its own to seek to establish the desired charter commission.

Residents who spoke during public comment at the Aug. 10 meeting were skeptical of a charter.

“Just because you could, doesn’t mean you should,” said Calvin Branche, a commissioner with the Metropolitan Planning Organization. “I think it’s a very wrong way to approach the citizens about this thing.”

Branche told panel members he had attended some meetings of the charter coalition group, and doubted that it would get the required petition signatures.

No one from the charter coalition spoke during public comment.

Dade City resident Judy Geiger worried that a charter with single-member districts would work against east Pasco, which has fewer residents than the more developed west Pasco.

“I believe the current government works very well,” she said “To spend more time on a charter I think would be a waste.”

Published August 19, 2015

 

State loan may help widen State Road 56

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The Pasco Commission agreed that a low-interest state loan to fund the widening of additional lanes on State Road 56 is worth exploring, if developers take responsibility for paying it back.

Commissioners voted unanimously to direct county administrators and staff members to gather details about the loan and prepare a letter of interest to be sent to the State Infrastructure Bank. The letter must be submitted by May 29 for state officials to consider granting a loan in its 2016 cycle.

‘I do have some reservations. People here believe growth should pay for itself.’ – Pasco County Commission Chairman Ted Schrader
‘I do have some reservations. People here believe growth should pay for itself.’ – Pasco County Commission Chairman Ted Schrader

The infrastructure bank provides loans and other assistance to public or private entities for projects that qualify for aid under federal and state law.

Commissioners are expected to vote on the matter at their May 19 meeting.

“There’s a lot of details that need to be worked out on this,” said Assistant County Attorney David Goldstein.

Goldstein and Richard Gehring, the county’s planning and development administrator, sought permission at the commissioners’ May 5 meeting to pursue the loan option.

A lot of staff time will be needed, Goldstein told commissioners.

“I think this is a regional road, not a local road, and will be a benefit for the entire county,” said Commissioner Mike Moore. “There may be options, many ways the loan can be packaged.”

But commissioners also had concerns about potential costs and who would be held accountable for repaying the loan.

“I do have some reservations,” said Chairman Ted Schrader. “People here believe growth should pay for itself.”

Gehring said the county would be the lead applicant for the loan but would collect repayment funds from developers through mobility surcharge fees and potentially special property assessments.

County officials hope the city of Zephyrhills will agree to pay 10 percent of the annual loan payments not covered by developers’ contributions.

The Zephyrhills City Council was expected to discuss the matter at its May 11 meeting.

The state loan option arose out of a February town hall meeting to discuss transportation issues. Since then county officials, State Sen. John Legg, State Rep. Danny Burgess and state highway officials have had additional meetings on the loan plan.

Current plans are to extend State Road 56 from Meadow Pointe Boulevard in Wiregrass Ranch to U.S. 301 in Zephyrhills, as a two-lane road.

Zephyrhills’ residents and city officials have pushed for the additional lanes as a boost to the area’s economy. They also have said it would be less costly to build four lanes now rather than later.

Gehring said the agreement might be crafted along the lines of a similar one that paid for roadwork for the Villages of Pasadena Hills. In that instance, the Florida Department of Transportation and developers each paid for two of the four lanes built to accommodate increased traffic generated by the development project.

If needed, other funding sources could be tax increment financing and gasoline taxes.

However, Gehring cautioned commissioners that if these funds were used, the county might have to defer other road projects.

Commissioners said developers should bear the burden of repaying debt from the project.

“Other developers have already been paying,” said Commissioner Kathryn Starkey.

Published May 13, 2015

 

State loan could pave way for four-lane State Road 56

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The money isn’t in anyone’s bank account yet, but a state loan program might be the solution to fund the widening of State Road 56 to four lanes from Wesley Chapel to Zephyrhills, according to a press release from State Rep. Danny Burgess and State Sen. John Legg.

The lawmakers, in consultation with the Florida Department of Transportation staffers, including Secretary Jim Boxold, are looking to the State Infrastructure Bank as a potential source for a low-interest loan.

A low-interest loan from the state may be a way to create a four-lane extension of State Road 56, which now ends in Wesley Chapel over to Zephyrhills. (File Photo)
A low-interest loan from the state may be a way to create a four-lane extension of State Road 56, which now ends in Wesley Chapel over to Zephyrhills.
(File Photo)

The loan could be made to Pasco County for the cost of building additional traffic lanes.

The infrastructure bank provides loans and other assistance to public or private entities for projects that qualify for aid under federal and state law.

To start the process moving, a letter of interest must be submitted by May 29 for the loan to be included in the bank’s 2016 cycle.

“This is a much needed project,” said Burgess. “It’s important for economic growth to our area, a benefit that affects all of Pasco and all of the region.”

County officials plan to meet with state officials on April 16 to get details on how the loan would work.

“We’re still in early stages of exploring this,” said David Goldstein, Pasco’s assistant county attorney.

To many, the four-lane extension is a decade-long unfulfilled promise.

“I’m afraid if we let this go by now, it will be another decade,” said Charles Proctor, president of the Zephyrhills City Council and a long-time Zephyrhills’ business owner.

Current plans are to extend State Road 56 from Meadow Pointe Boulevard in Wiregrass Ranch to U.S. 301 in Zephyrhills, as a two-lane road. Even for this two-lane project, money is an issue because land from adjacent landowners must be purchased for right-of-way.

If the state paid for four lanes, state highway officials said some other project on Pasco’s list likely would not get done.

The low-interest loan could be a way to avoid that scenario, but the effort to secure a loan faces hurdles including buy-in from the county and state, as well as from property owners and developers along the planned extension.

“This cannot get done unless the state, the county and the private sector come together for the benefit of our East Pasco county residents,” stated Legg in the press release.

The city of Zephyrhills is pressing its case.

As recently as mid-March, all five Zephyrhills’ council members, Mayor Gene Whitfield and City Manager Steve Spina headed to Tallahassee to lobby for four lanes as a priority for State Road 56.

This followed a February town hall meeting where area residents, elected officials and business owners met with Burgess, Legg and Goldstein to plead for construction of four lanes, not the current two lanes being planned. Legg raised the possibility of state funds being repaid with a loan but didn’t think the state had a mechanism for such a transaction.

Goldstein said he had some familiarity with the state bank, having explored its use for other county projects. He broached the subject at the meeting’s conclusion to Debbie Hunt, transportation development director for the Florida Department of Transportation. “She ran with it,” he said.

Since then the county has had ongoing discussions with developers and property owners whose land could bring thousands more homes as well as retail and industrial development to the area. Among the largest land tracts is the Two Rivers Ranch with about 3,500 acres. About half of the 6.7-mile extension would cut through the ranch.

“The county is not interested in putting a lot of money into this. It’s a state road,” Goldstein said. “There are a lot of other priorities. If there is a loan, we expect developers to pay it back. We might be a conduit.”

Before the Pasco commission can sign off on anything, Goldstein said there are a lot of details that must be worked out including how much money would be needed, terms of the loan and, most importantly, who would be responsible for the payback.

Spina applauded the new effort to find a solution.

“I think it’s pretty inventive of them to come up with an idea like this to find the money,” he said.

It makes more sense, Spina said, to do four lanes now and not wait five or more years when the project likely would be more costly.

Proctor envisions a major economic boost to the area’s commercial development if the four-lane road is built. He has heard from business owners who would like to locate in Zephyrhills and surrounding areas and from owners who would consider expanding operations, if there was an improved road for getting in and out of the city.

“I see nothing but positive,” Proctor said.

Published April 15, 2015