The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Chris Nocco

Pasco planning board wants more input on public safety needs

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The Pasco County Planning Commission — which makes recommendations related to the county’s growth — wants public safety agencies to provide more meaningful comment on proposed zoning and land use changes.

The planning board voted at its Jan. 19 meeting to ask for a discussion with representatives from the Pasco Sheriff’s Office and Pasco County Fire/Rescue.

That request arose from the planning board’s consideration of a proposed land use change that would allow up to 158 townhomes on two parcels on Clinton Avenue, a quarter-mile west of U.S. 301.

The planning board recommended approval of that request, but not before some planning board members said they’d like the county’s public safety agencies to provide greater detail in their comments on a potential development and the increased public safety needs it will create.

Ladder 38 is located at Pasco Fire Rescue Station 38, at 7541 Paramount Drive, in the Watergrass subdivision of Wesley Chapel. (File)

Planning board member Jaime Girardi observed that he notices that many applications come in with “no comment” from public safety agencies.

County planner Doreen Roy told the planning board that when a request like this comes through, it is forwarded to the agencies for their review.

“I constantly have to send out an email, to see if we get comments and sometimes we just get an email back, ‘No comments.’”

Girardi continued: “But the sheriff’s department did respond back, ‘No comment’?”

Roy replied, “Correct.”

Planning board member Peter Hanzel added: “Just to springboard from that, what about the fire department?
Roy replied: “The fire department, I usually never hear from them.”

Hanzel responded: “I think it’s unfair to the public, as a whole, that these two departments that are extremely critical to safety of any county, do not respond, other than in a negative fashion.

“I think there should be some pressure applied that they indicate that, ‘Yes, we have reviewed this and we do not concur, or we concur, or we have comments,” he said. “I think that needs to be a positive response, rather than no response.”

Chief Assistant County Attorney David Goldstein told the board: “The problem with saying that they have to provide comments, is that it has the potential of slowing down an otherwise meritorious application for months and months simply because the department doesn’t want to focus on it.

“Applicants were put in limbo for months and months because staff was waiting on comments from affected agencies and not getting any,” Goldstein said. “At some point, it becomes a fairness to the applicant issue.”

Hanzel said he has no desire to slow the process down.

But planning board member Derek Pontlitz asked if the Pasco County Commission can compel the agencies to respond.

The county has jurisdiction over Fire/Rescue, but not over Sheriff Chris Nocco, who is an independent constitutional officer.

However, Goldstein added: “We also don’t have the authority to compel the school board to do it, either, but they do. They recognize the value of being able to participate in the planning process.”

Goldstein added: “At one point, I thought the sheriff recognized the value, too, because at one point he asked for a seat on the Planning Commission.”

But the Pasco County Commission turned down that request.

Goldstein said that county staff responded by involving the sheriff’s office more in the pre-app and application process, but he doesn’t know why the sheriff’s office isn’t more actively involved in the process.

The attorney continued: “The school board actively participates and probably gets certain developer concessions that they otherwise wouldn’t have gotten, had they not participated in the process.”

Even when the county is planning very large projects, it doesn’t get much feedback from public safety, Goldstein added.

“For example, the Villages of Pasadena Hills has sites allocated for parks, sites allocated for schools, roads, utilities. To the best of my knowledge, there’s no specific sites allocated for fire stations or sheriff substations.

“Probably the same thing in Angeline. So, it is a problem. I’ve raised this concern in the past, but I don’t have a solution,” Goldstein said.

Planning board member Chris Williams, who represents the school board, agreed with Goldstein’s assessment.

With the master-planned unit developments coming to Pasadena Hills, fire station sites likely will be needed, Williams said.

Pontlitz noted: “Public safety appears to be a little bit more reactive, than proactive.

“We could get away with being more reactive when there wasn’t a whole lot of growth going on. But there’s a lot of growth going on,” he said.

It’s an issue, he added “because it takes time to actually purchase assets and hire a staff. In the case of fire/rescue, to buy new trucks and ambulances, it has to be budgeted well in advance. That could be a couple years process right there.

“So, the earlier in the planning process this gets addressed, with some substance, the better,” Pontlitz said.

The planning board’s comments follow repeated appearances by union representatives for Pasco’s Fire/Rescue responders urging the county board to provide additional resources to reduce their emergency response times. Sheriff Chris Nocco also has appeared before the board to highlight the law enforcement agency’s significant manpower needs.

Published January 25, 2023

Honors bestowed to those stepping up in Ian’s aftermath

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As Hurricane Ian headed toward Florida, elected leaders and government officials across Tampa Bay braced for what was predicted as a possible ‘worst-case scenario’ for the region.

Instead, Hurricane Ian veered south, making landfall as a Category 4 hurricane on Sept. 28, as the deadliest hurricane to strike Florida since the 1935 Labor Day hurricane.

Footage from national and local television coverage revealed the destructive forces of Hurricane Ian, as it traveled through areas including Fort Myers, Sanibel Island, Cape Coral and other places to the south of the Tampa Bay region, and then headed across the state of Florida, before entering the Atlantic Ocean and making another landfall in South Carolina.

Pasco County didn’t emerge entirely unscathed from Hurricane Ian, but the damages were relatively minor compared to communities to the south of the Tampa Bay region that were devastated by the Category 4 hurricane. As soon as they were able, first responders from Pasco County, as well as private citizens, sprang into action to help those who didn’t escape Ian’s wrath. (File)

News footage showed heroic actions, and search and rescue teams going house to house looking for survivors.

The coverage also captured the human emotion of people being rescued, and others dealing with the loss of their homes and businesses.

Floodwaters spilled into houses. High winds sheared off roofs.

Boats were stacked up in marinas, or tossed blocks away. Roads turned into rivers. Cars and trucks floated down streets. Trees toppled. The power was out, water systems weren’t working and pumping stations were damaged.

But, as soon as they could get there, Pasco County emergency responders and private citizens went to the hurricane-ravaged areas, to help.

The Pasco County Commission took a few minutes out of its Dec. 6 meeting to express appreciation for those leaving their families here, to help others suffering in Ian’s aftermath.

One resolution cast a spotlight on the Pasco Sheriff’s Office Deployable Emergency Response Team for its search and rescue efforts in Lee County.

Another resolution highlighted the donations collected and delivered, as well as the volunteer work done by members of Rotary District 6950, Pasco residents, Maus Nissan and Big Storm Brewery.

A third resolution recognized Pasco Fire/Rescue first responders, and a fourth resolution highlighted the efforts of employees in the county’s emergency management division.

The sheriff’s Deployable Emergency Response Team deployed canines and drones to help people who were trapped under debris and damaged structures.

“As everybody knows, that storm was focused here, first,” Pasco Sheriff Chris Nocco told the county board. “We got the call from Gov. DeSantis, Sen. Rick Scott, everybody saying, ‘What do you need?”

“Other sheriffs were calling, ‘As soon as that makes landfall, we’re there.’

“And then, within a matter of hours, it shifted.

“I want to thank our deputies who went down there — the women and men who went down there — their families were here.”

“The Rotaries, the businesses, everybody who went down there to support our members — that is so heartwarming. That, to them, means so much,” Nocco said.

If Ian hadn’t turned, the story would have been much different, the sheriff and others said.

“If that storm would have hit us, everything west of (U.S.) 19 would have been rocked.

“When you see sand piled up above your head and you see the water,” Nocco said. “The amount of water that came in, it was unbelievable.”

Pasco organizations, businesses and residents also stepped forward to help.

Rotary District 6950 organized a collection drive, with its 49 clubs delivering donations to Mau Nissan, which opened its Bay area locations to accept the donations.

The Rotary district delivered supplies to the sheriff’s Deployable Emergency Response Teams stationed in both Fort Myers and Bonita Springs, and also raised $85,000 for additional hurricane relief efforts in Lee County.

The volunteers filled four 26-foot box trucks with collected donations and delivered them to the residents of Lee County.

Big Storm Brewery also opened its doors to collect donations and supplies to take to Lee County residents.

Private citizens also helped, including a group including Alison Crumbley, a member of the Pasco County School Board.

The group delivered supplies to the area to help people in need. They knocked on doors to see how they could help.

In the midst of their efforts, the U-Haul stocked with items to help Ian victims broke down and it took seven hours to get back on the road, Crumbley said.

Commissioner Kathryn Starkey told the helpers how impressed she was by their efforts.

“What I heard what you guys did, I was just floored,” Starkey said.

Crumbley responded: “We’re humbled. We’re just Florida folks who saw other Florida folks really hurt. It could have been us, and it looked like it was going to be.”

Pasco County Fire/Rescue sent several teams down to help in the aftermath and several employees from the county’s emergency management division also went to help.

“One thing we noticed is that the emergency management team, quite a few of them had lost their homes,” said Laura Wilcoxen, Pasco’s assistant director of emergency management.

“So, while they were serving their community, allowing us to come in, they trusted us and turned over their EOC (Emergency Operations Center) to us, to let Andrew Fossa (Pasco’s director of emergency management) and myself be the incident commander, and run their EOC for them, while they were able to take a break, to be able to take care of themselves and their home.”

The county’s team saw catastrophic damage, with watermarks that were 25-feet high, Wilcoxen said.

“If it came over here, everything west of (U.S.) 19 could have been lost,” she added.

County board members expressed appreciation for county staff members who helped out, particularly the first responders.

Commissioner Gary Bradford told them: “You guys are the tip of the spear. When duty calls, you go. I’m personally very proud of you.”

Published December 21, 2022

Pasco’s Sheriff’s Office named state Agency of the Year

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The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office has been named the Agency of the Year by the Florida Association of School Resource Officers.

The Pasco County School Board took a few minutes at its July 26 meeting to celebrate the accomplishment.

Michael Baumaister, the school district’s chief of safety and emergency operations, said: “It’s no surprise to me that they were selected, due to the incredible partnership we have with our sheriff’s office and we have with our local police agencies.

“I know there are counties in the state of Florida that cannot say that. I know that for sure.

“What impressed me the most was when the Pasco Sheriff’s Office was going up to the podium to get their award and get their recognition, the Pasco (Sheriff’s) Command insisted that we, from the school board, walk up with them to bask in the honor.

“Col. (Jeff) Harrington gave an eloquent speech and pointed out that this honor was not only for them, but for all of us.

“We really appreciate that.

“This speaks volumes about why we have the best program in the state. It’s not about the egos. It’s really what’s best for our students, our staff. And, we can have honest conversations with each other, which leads to policy change and innovation — that creates a safer environment for our schools.

“We don’t wait for a law to change. We do what’s right, and we do it now,” Baumaister said.

Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco also praised the partnership that’s been developed.

“We hear across the state about the friction that can go on between the district and the sheriff’s office, and who’s going to be in charge of what. The good thing about all of us is that it’s about the kids, first. The kids are the priority. It doesn’t matter who gets credit because it’s about helping those kids,” he said.

The sheriff also noted that open lines of communication between the sheriff’s office and the school district can help the district respond when students are in need of mental health counseling or some other kind of support.

Lt. Troy Ferguson of the sheriff’s office also was singled out during the statewide awards celebration when he received a lifetime achievement award.

Assistant Superintendent Betsy Kuhn shared some of her prepared remarks for that celebration with the school board.

Kuhn said: “Lt. Ferguson has been a true partner to Pasco Schools since he became our School Safety Lieutenant in 2015. Lt. Ferguson recognized the need to enhance our school safety plans and took on the project of completely revamping them, at a time when school safety best practices that were needed, were controversial.

“He designed and wrote a comprehensive, safety-focused, yet age-appropriate and sensitive active threat safety plan and prepared it for implementation, well before it was legislatively required.

“Lt. Ferguson is sought out by law enforcement agencies across the country to share his expertise and experience around school safety best practices. He has been a leader in many large-scale changes in the district’s safety efforts,” she said, citing active threat plans and the  See Something, Say Something programs.

He’s involved in threat assessment and recognizes the role of a school resource officer (SRO) is so much more than a law enforcement officer, Kuhn added.

She continued: “He encourages his staff to be involved in their school communities and values mentoring and supporting our students.

“Lt. Ferguson understands and relates to our school culture and district culture so well that we often tease him about being a district employee, as well as a deputy, because he works so well with us.

“He’s hard-working, smart, resourceful and fun to work with, and our district is safer and better because of his vision and leadership,” Kuhn said.

Sheriff Nocco concurred with Kuhn’s remarks. “Troy does a phenomenal job,” he said.

He noted that the school district and sheriff’s office have a true partnership.

“When they started the guardian program, we were the first ones that got it kicked off. We got it running and going.

“People from across Tampa Bay and across the state said, ‘Can we have your training plans?’

“That’s because we were working together.

“There’s no two separate agencies. The guardians are on the same plan we are. We’re all in it together. We’re training together, we’re working together. That makes a huge difference,” Nocco said.

Superintendent Kurt Browning said he’d be remiss if he didn’t express his gratitude.

“When I attend superintendent’s meetings across the state, there are still districts — it’s like sandpaper with their law enforcement folks. I can tune them out because we don’t have that, never did, from Day One,” Browning said.

“Thank you. Thank you for what you do every day in our schools, to keep our students and staffs safe,” the superintendent said.

Don Peace, president of the United School Employees of Pasco (USEP), also offered words of appreciation.

“USEP would like to thank all of our SROs and SSOs (school security officers) for the job that they do each day in protecting and working with our students. They do an outstanding job and they deserve all of the credit that they get,” Peace said.

Published August 03, 2022

Pasco County continues making progress on jail takeover

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Pasco County is continuing to make strides toward the planned transfer of county jail operations.

The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office has been in charge of the jail, but plans call for switching it over to county administration in fiscal year 2022-2023.

Toward that end, the Pasco County Commission has appointed Stacey Jenkins as chief correctional officer.

It also has provided notice to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) regarding its intent to assume operation and control of the Pasco County Jail.

The county board took those actions at its July 12 meeting, as part of the board’s consent agenda. That means the board voted on those agenda items as part of a packet of actions, without discussion, as part of a single vote.

The board notified the FDLE in a transmittal letter signed by Board Chairwoman Kathryn Starkey.

Background on the issue was detailed in the county board’s July 12 agenda packet.

According to that information, the board certified to the U.S. Department of Justice on Jan. 4, 1998 that the sheriff was the county’s chief correction officer, with full administrative control and responsibility for the county jail.

On April 6 of this year, Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco notified the board that he intended to transition the management of the jail to the county.

There have been discussions of an Oct. 1 transfer date, but the county and sheriff must approve the transition in an interlocal agreement.

In another action related to the jail, the board authorized the issuance of not-to-exceed $41 million in bonds to finance the expansion of the county jail and to pay the transactional costs.

Published August 03, 2022

Pasco continues working toward shifting jail operations

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The Pasco County Commission has approved allocating $150,000 to help cover legal expenses connected to the county’s takeover of jail operations from Sheriff Chris Nocco.

The shift has been scheduled for Oct. 1, but discussion during the county board’s May 17 meeting made it clear that the takeover date could be subject to change.

County Attorney Jeffrey Steinsnyder asked for the additional funds, in a memo, which was contained in the county board’s agenda packet.

In that memo, Steinsnyder asked to retain the firm of Nabors, Giblin & Nickerson, P.A.

Pasco County is planning to take over operations of the county jail, as a county department. The scheduled date is Oct. 1, but that did not appear to be locked in, during discussions at a May 17 Pasco County Commission meeting. (Mike Camunas)

The county attorney also noted his office was not involved in the decision to shift the operations.

“I have subsequently briefed the board on the county’s options and my legal concerns with the county’s assumption of jail operations,” his memo says.

He noted the operating the jail as a county department likely will place additional burdens on his office, associated with drafting an interlocal agreement with the sheriff and other related legal documents, as well as addressing other legal questions and issues.

“The county attorney’s office does not currently have the resources to handle this additional

workload and cannot reallocate existing resources without adversely impacting other important

county projects,” the memo adds.

To help address those issues, Steinsnyder said his office has retained the Nabors law firm to draft the interlocal agreement and other related legal documents.

Nabors has estimated that cost at $60,000, but Steinsnyder said because the extent of the work is unknown, his office and the county’s office of internal services administration are recommending the $150,000 budget, to cover additional, unforeseen work.

Besides retaining Nabors, Steinsnyder recommends the board direct the county’s risk management department to solicit and obtain liability insurance for the county’s future operation of the jail, with the exact insurance types and amounts to be determine by risk management, in consultation with Steinsnyder’s office and outside counsel.

The county attorney also strongly recommended the board not rely solely on self-insurance or sovereign immunity limitations to address the potential financial consequences of jail-related claims, the memo says.

He also noted: “To the extent that miscellaneous jail-related legal questions cannot be handled by existing positions in the county attorney’s office, they will be addressed in a future budget request.”

While the county attorney’s office has secured additional help, Pasco County Clerk & Comptroller Nikki Alvarez-Sowles told the board the final list of items to be included in a transition accounting is being determined, and once it is finalized, quotes will be sought from three external auditing firms to complete the work.

The board already has allocated $150,000 for that task.

Alvarez-Sowles told the board that a comprehensive list had been completed, but she said it is too lengthy to be completed on time, within budget.

So, it is in the process of being pared down.

“What we’re looking at is keeping the things on the list that are essential. What are non-essential, that can be done with the county and the jail working together,” the clerk said.

To complicate matters, County Administrator Dan Biles announced his resignation at the end of the same meeting. The effective date of his resignation is Sept. 30, but he has accrued personal time off, so his last working day will be July 31.

Pasco Commissioner Jack Mariano asked if the county has enough time, to be prepared to take over the jail operations on Oct. 1, especially in light of Biles’ departure.

Biles said that he always considered Oct. 1 to be very aggressive date for the shift.

Steinsnyder said that date is not mandatory, but that the board would have to negotiate the issue with the sheriff.

Published June 01, 2022

Pasco sheriff calls for more deputies

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Pasco County’s top law enforcement official appeared before the Pasco County Commission last week, making a case for the county to fund more deputies on the street.

Citing a statistic from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), Pasco Sheriff Chris Nocco told the county board: “We are 64th out of 67 counties, in terms of law enforcement officers, per thousand (residents) that we serve.”

Based on figures from Florida Tax Watch, Pasco ranks 55th out of the state’s 67 counties in terms of funding for public safety, Nocco added.

Pasco County significantly lags behinds Pinellas County, when it comes to sworn law enforcement officers, Nocco said, noting Pasco’s ratio is 1.06 officers per 1,000 residents, while Pinellas County’s ratio is 1.86.

Pasco Sheriff Chris Nocco is making a case for hiring more deputies to put on the street, in response to the county’s growing needs. (File)

Other ratios of nearby counties are: 1.23 for Hillsborough County; 1.26 for Polk County; and, 1.32 for Hernando County.

Nocco also emphasized that these are numbers from the FDLE.

To match Pinellas County’s level of service, Pasco would need 399 more deputies. It would need 130 more to match Hernando; 100 more to match Polk; and, 85 more to match Hillsborough.

The staffing at the Pasco Sheriff’s Office is not keeping pace with the county’s growth, Nocco said.

“We’re trying to maintain the level where we’re at. We seem to keep falling behind.

“I am not anti-growth. I am not anti-development. That’s not my role and responsibility.

“My role and responsibility, as the sheriff, is to make sure we do everything we can to keep our community safe,” Nocco said.

He added: “It’s also my role to come here and explain this and tell you, this, to tell you, ‘Hey, this is where we’re at.’”

He told the county board that for every 1,000 additional residents, Pasco should be adding two additional deputies.

And, that, he said, would just slightly improve the current level of service.

He also told commissioners that it’s not just a matter of hiring new deputies. They must go through an onboarding process.

“It takes us over a year to hire somebody, train that person, put through orientation and put them on the street,” Nocco said.

Plus, since it’s an around-the-clock job, 365 days a year, it’s not just a matter of hiring one deputy to be out on patrol. It takes five deputies to equal having one on patrol at all times.

Pay is another significant issue, Nocco said.

Around 2015, Pasco lost more than 100 officers to the City of Tampa, because of pay.

“They actually called it ‘The Tampa 100 Club,’” Nocco said.

While the county board responded to that problem, Pasco again is at a disadvantage when it comes to pay, Nocco said.

“We’re now competing against higher-paying agencies. So, Tampa PD (Police Department) is starting at $60,000 a year. Pinellas is $51,000.

“Florida Highway Patrol is planning to have a starting salary of $56,000 a year, if Gov. Ron DeSantis approves it, which he has said that he will,” Nocco said.

At the same time, Pasco’s starting salary is $46,948, just slightly above Hernando County.

He also noted there’s an issue of hiring law enforcement officers across the country “because a lot of people lost interest, and say, ‘Hey, maybe I don’t want to get into that field,’’’ Nocco said.

Pasco’s 30-year retirement also puts it at a disadvantage to Tampa, which has a 20-year retirement for high-risk positions, Nocco said.

If the county doesn’t increase pay for its law enforcement officers, they will go elsewhere, Nocco said.

“And, if you lose them to Hillsborough, Pinellas, you’ve now trained them up, build them up, and they go somewhere else,” he said.

The sheriff also asked the county board for some assurances about his budget.

“I don’t think there’s anyone who will disagree with keeping the current budget for law enforcement and court security at $111 million.

“I just want to make sure that everybody is good with that, that the $111 million stays with the law enforcement budget and the $51 million (for jail operations) will transfer back to the county.

Reducing the $111 million would result in reduced law enforcement services in the county, Nocco said.

Commission Chairwoman Kathryn Starkey told Nocco: “I’m not prepared to say anything about numbers.”

County Administrator Dan Biles said, “as part of the jail transfer, our budget office is working with (their budget office), to see what their expenses are in the jail, because we have to build a budget based on line-item expenses. So, we’re working on that.”

However, Biles added, “I don’t expect us to ask for any of that piece, as we move forward into ’23, with the jail transition.”

Commissioner Mike Moore wants the county to explore ways it could shift the burden of these costs to the new growth that is causing the expenses.

He raised the prospect of creating a new MSTU (municipal services taxing unit), so new growth could pay for new costs incurred for public safety services.

County Attorney Jeffrey Steinsnyder said it might be possible to structure something like that, but added that he’s not aware of it being done anywhere, and he’s not sure that would be  defensible.

After the lengthy discussion, there was a consensus on the board that the conversation needs to continue.

The board has a budget workshop planned for May 24.

Ratio of law enforcement officers (per 1,000 residents)
Pasco: 1.06
Hillsborough: 1.23
Polk: 1.26
Hernando: 1.32
Pinellas: 1.86

Source: Pasco County Sheriff Nocco, citing state law enforcement figures

Published April 13, 2022

Jail operations shifting from sheriff’s office to Pasco County

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Operation of the Pasco County Jail is shifting from the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office to Pasco County, but before it does, a transition audit should be performed, according to Pasco County Clerk & Comptroller Nikki Alvarez-Sowles.

“You want to know, as a county board, what you’re getting with that transfer of a major function for the county,” the clerk said, during the Pasco County Commission’s April 5 meeting.

Pasco County Clerk & Comptroller Nikki Alvarez-Sowles advised the Pasco County Commission to have a transition audit done, as the Pasco Sheriff’s Office hands off overseeing the jail operations to Pasco County. (File)

“It’s important to know what we’re getting, as a county, from the sheriff, from Day One,” she added.

“When you are going to transfer an operation from one government entity to another, it’s very important to do a transition audit,” the clerk said.

That’s important, “so, that on Sept. 30, you know what was with the sheriff, and now, we know Oct. 1, what’s going to be with the county.

“An audit like that would consist of making sure we identify all of the capital assets, all of the accounts, the reconciliation of any accounts that they have, to make sure we know what we’re getting on Day One, with the county,” Alvarez-Sowles said.

Commission Chairwoman Kathryn Starkey asked the clerk if her office could do the audit.

Alvarez-Sowles said it is something that her inspector general is capable of performing, but she’s operating at 50% staff, so can’t take it on.

“We wouldn’t be able to take on an audit this size, but I would like to recommend to the board to allow her to contract with an auditing firm, outside, to come in and help us with that transition,” Alvarez-Sowles said.

“I’d like to have that opportunity to do that (contract for the audit). That would be something county would have to pay for, the services,” she added.

“We have to jump quickly because an audit like this is very extensive. It takes a lot of time.

“Just from when it switched over from my predecessor, Paula O’Neil, to me, it took months, with my inspector general, and that’s all they really focused on, for months.”

Starkey asked how the county should proceed with pursuing the audit.

County Attorney Jeffrey Steinsnyder said: “The clerk should present it (proposal for audit) at a future board meeting.”

In addition to the audit, the clerk said she also needs information about how the shift will affect her operations. She expects it to have financial impacts and she wants to know more before turning in her proposed budget, which is due May 1.

Noting that she had just learned about the jail shift during the prior week, she told commissioners she might need some additional time to prepare her budget.

She said she needs to find out more about the impacts from County Administrator Dan Biles and from Pasco Sheriff Chris Nocco.

“My office is going to have probably significant operational impact, with that coming over,” she said. “It’s going to be a significant impact to my finance department, finding and understanding all of their accounts and their credit cards, and reporting for grants and capital assets. And, do they have any capital projects that are outside of the General Obligation bond? And, there’s so much more, just off the top of my head.”

It also will have an impact on IT.

It also will have an impact on the courts, both criminal and civil, she said.

“I want to make sure that we identify what role is the sheriff keeping, what role is going to be coming to the county, as it relates to that,” she added.

“There’s also some local administrative orders that we need to look at, as it impacts the role. I don’t know if it would still be with the sheriff, or if it goes to the corrections, for some of the things there,” she said.

She told the county board that she would like to attend the county’s budget workshop that is set for May 24, “so we have some good conversations around this.”

Published April 13, 2022

Efforts underway to extend Penny for Pasco surtax

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The Pasco County School Board and the Pasco County Commission recently held a joint session to discuss asking voters to extend the Penny for Pasco, a local government infrastructure surtax, for 15 years.

If approved by voters, the extension is expected to yield about $1.9 billion in revenues, which would be split between the school district, the county and the county’s municipalities.

The school district and county each would receive 45% and the municipalities would share the remaining 10%.

The special 1-cent sales tax initially was adopted in March 2004, and was in effect from Jan. 1, 2005 through Dec. 31, 2014. Voters extended it for 10 years, with that renewal going from Jan. 1, 2015 through Dec. 31, 2024.

The proposed renewal would be from Jan. 1, 2025 to Dec. 31, 2039.

Ray Gadd, deputy superintendent for Pasco County Schools, recalled when the tax was initially  proposed.

“We had schools that were 200% capacity.

“Sand Pine Elementary had more kids in portables than they had in the original concrete structure. We had no green space on that piece of property. The only space we had where the children could play was on the basketball courts.

“That was just our worst example, but we had numerous schools that were at 150% capacity, 170% capacity, and it was nothing to have 15, 20, 25, and in some situations, 30 portables on a campus,” he said.

Chris Williams, director of planning for the school district, said: “In the first Penny, we did a lot of new schools as part of our projects, as well as renovations. When the Penny came up for renewal, we were in the recession, or just coming out of the recession, so our growth had pretty much gone to zero. So, our focus on the current Penny was more on renovations, rather than on new schools.

“With the growth that you all are well aware of, in our county — at this point, again, we’re going back to focusing on not only renovations, but also on new schools,” Williams said.

The proposed list includes numerous new schools.

“As you know the (State Road) 54 corridor in the Central Pasco area is booming, and so we are looking at doing potentially a new elementary school, probably in the Bexley development,” the planning director said.

“Also, along the (State Road) 52 corridor, we know that Central Pasco Employment Village is starting to come to fruition, just to the west of I-75, so we have a K-8 (kindergarten through eighth grade) school planned for that area.

“Also, we’re already planning on doing a K-8 school on the Smith property, which is in the Ballantrae area, along the (State Road) 54 corridor, and we anticipate opening that in 2025, but we’re looking toward using Penny money for that,” Williams said.

Also, in the Villages of Pasadena Hills — between Wesley Chapel and Dade City — the school district is expected to be building a K-8, or whatever is needed there, Williams said.

But those are just some of the projects that would be built with Penny proceeds.

The school district also would use the tax revenues to add computers in schools, upgrade the district’s computer network, fortify the safety on its campuses, upgrade athletic facilities and improve safety at driver pickup locations at schools, among other things.

The county proposes to spend its portion of the tax revenues this way: 40% for transportation, 20% for economic development, 20% for public safety; and, 20% for environmental lands, as well as park infrastructure.

County Administrator Dan Biles said using a portion of the funds for park infrastructure is a new idea, but is intended to equip recreational areas, so people can enjoy them.

The county administrator also noted that it’s impossible to accurately project revenues or costs over a 15-year period. So, he said, the hope is to underestimate revenues and overestimate costs.

Sheriff Chris Nocco noted: “Our county is growing too quickly, the needs are overwhelming right now.

“When we’re looking at the Penny, maybe we don’t always have to do it the same way. Maybe we could adjust it different ways to address different needs,” he said.

The first Penny was approved on a narrow margin, but the renewal received much boarder  support, Gadd said.

Superintendent Kurt Browning said he hopes that voters give the second renewal resounding approval, as well.

“Moving forward, there’s a great deal of work that has to be done, in order to assure our public, our voters, that we’re worthy of the renewal and our district is committed to that end,” Browning said.

The two boards will be working in coming months to prepare to get the Penny for Pasco renewal placed on the November ballot, so voters can decide whether the 1-cent surtax should be extended.

Published April 06, 2022

Pasco asking for state’s help to combat speeding

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The board of the Pasco County Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) is sending a letter to the Pasco County legislative delegation and to Gov. Ron DeSantis seeking additional funding for the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP), to support traffic enforcement on the county’s state roads.

The action came at the MPO board’s Feb. 10 meeting, during a discussion of speeding problems within the county.

Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore raised the issue, noting a recent crash involving two students who were racing — that resulted in two fatalities.

“This is more and more common,” said Moore, who serves on the MPO board.

“I hear it where I live. I hear them racing in the middle of the night,” Moore said.

He also noted that he drives to Tampa once or twice a week and always sees troopers from the Florida Highway Patrol on the interstate.

By contrast, Moore said. “I’ve not seen them ever on the state roads in Pasco County, e.g., (State Road) 54, (State Road) 56, (State Road) 52, (U.S.) 41.

“We just had a fatality on (U.S.) 41 last week, as well,” Moore said.

He wants to work with the Florida Department of Transportation and the Florida Highway Patrol to have FHP redirect resources to beef up enforcement on state roads within Pasco.

Moore noted that Pasco residents are concerned, too.

“I’m getting a lot of emails from constituents, around the Wesley Chapel area, because of this,” Moore said.

If FHP beefed up its speeding enforcement on State Roads 52, 54 and 56, as well as U.S. 41, the number of citations it issues would go through the roof, Moore said.

Pasco County Commission Chairman Kathryn Starkey, who also serves on the MPO board, said the speeding problem came up during  a meeting she’d had the prior day with Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco and with County Administrator Dan Biles.

Starkey said she subsequently discussed the problem with David Gwynn, secretary of FDOT’s District Seven, which includes Pasco County.

A meeting on the speeding issue is being organized, Starkey said.

She told her MPO colleagues that during those discussions she learned that the troopers working the interstate are different from the ones who work within Pasco County.

Gina Torres, a transportation planner for the MPO, told the board that she knows that the FHP office working in Pasco is stretched thin.

She said she did a ride-along for an entire day and, essentially, the trooper went from crash to crash to crash.

Starkey urged her MPO board colleagues to support Moore’s motion for additional funding to increase FHP enforcement.

To put it simply, Starkey said: “This would save lives.”

The Pasco County MPO is the lead transportation planning agency in Pasco County that serves the following municipalities in Pasco: Zephyrhills, San Antonio, St. Leo, New Port Richey, Port Richey and Dade City.

Its board is made up of elected leaders from Pasco County, Zephyrhills, Dade City, New Port Richey and Port Richey.

Published February 16, 2022

Compromise reached on rezoning, in Land O’ Lakes

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The Pasco County Commission has approved a new subdivision in Land O’ Lakes, after the developer agreed to build a “vision” road to help handle area traffic.

The construction of that road has been a sticking point for months, and now the applicant has agreed to do the road — which is referred to as a vision road because at this point, it’s just a line on the map and an alignment must be determined.

As part of the conditions for approval, the county staff agreed that the developer could receive up to 66 certificates of occupancy before having to make roadway improvements.

But no additional certificates of occupancy will be granted before those improvements are done.

The rezoning request, filed by Darrell A. and Karen J. Renner, calls for a 108 single-family subdivision in Land O’ Lakes.

The rezoning, which commissioners approved on a 3-2 vote, will change the zoning on 50.5 acres of agricultural land to allow a master-planned unit development (MPUD), on the south side of Bexley Road, about a mile west of the intersection of U.S. 41 and Wisteria Loop.

Commissioners Christina Fitzpatrick and Mike Moore voted against the request. Fitzpatrick wanted to delay the vote to provide more time for her to meet with interested citizens and the applicant to try to resolve concerns about the future alignment of the vision road.

Moore backed Fitzpatrick’s request for a continuance.

But the developer asked for a vote to be taken up or down, noting that the rezoning process, with its continuances, has been both lengthy and costly.

Attorney Shelley Johnson said her clients agreed with the conditions, as revised.

Ray Gadd, Chris Nocco and Jeremy Crouch had voiced concerns about allowing construction to occur, without the vision road.

At the Jan. 25 meeting, Gadd said: “There is an actual alignment on the vision road map and I would like that alignment to be followed.

“Do we have some reasonable expectation that the actual existing vision road alignment that’s on the vision map today will be followed?” Gadd asked.

Couch told commissioners he also wants to see the road follow the alignment on the map.

“Wisteria Loop is unique. There are a lot of homes that are estate homes on the lake. There’s a lot of really nice, mature trees, along the road, it’s very quaint.

“The alignment goes right through a pasture. It’s going to be easy for them to build. They’re not going to have conflicts with citizens. It’s going to be real smooth if they go through that pasture and that will kind of keep the character of Wisteria intact.

“I support it, as long as they follow that alignment,” Crouch said.

Nocco urged commissioners: “Make sure that road stays the way it is and it doesn’t get realigned because of permitting.

“It’s not just about this project that this community is concerned about. It’s about all of the further projects that are going on.

“If we’re talking about smart growth, we have to realize that this is one of the only roads that will cross over the path of train tracks. CSX is not easy to get roads through, over their lines. So, we better be smart and do it right this time, because if we’re not (smart), this is going to be a disaster for this Land O’ Lakes area for numerous years to come,” Nocco said.

Gadd, who is deputy superintendent of Pasco County Schools, and Nocco, who is the county’s sheriff, both made it clear that they were speaking as private residents, not in their official capacity.

County Administrator Dan Biles said the alignment shown on the vision map is conceptual in nature.

The actual alignment can’t be determined until field work is done to consider the wetland impacts, the curvature of the road, the design speed of the road and other factors, he said.

A county transportation planner said there will be bonds to ensure that the road improvements are made.

Ultimately, Chairwoman Kathryn Starkey joined her colleagues Jack Mariano and Ron Oakley to support the rezoning, with Moore and Fitzpatrick dissenting.

Published February 09, 2022