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AUGUST 24, 2016
Wesley Chapel Boulevard to be six lanes By Kathy Steele ksteele@lakerlutznews.com
Pasco County now is on a path to widen County Road 54 — also known as Wesley Chapel Boulevard — to a six-lane divided road. The move comes nearly 15 years after the county proposed widening the road from two lanes to four lanes. The project also will include a multi-use trail on one side and a sidewalk on the other side. No construction start date is announced, but the road’s design is about 90 percent complete. The Pasco County Commission approved a road re-evaluation study on Aug. 9, which is the next step in what has been a drawn out process. A 2003 study that looked at future traffic See CR54, page 19A
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Sierra Properties, the developers for Cypress Creek Town Center, are building an entrance into the mall off County Road 54, also known as Wesley Chapel Boulevard.
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Elected leaders, government workers, business partners and community activists join together to toss dirt signifying the groundbreaking for a stage to be built at the Land O’ Lakes Community Park.
Setting the stage for community gatherings By B.C. Manion bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
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Someday when the crowds gather to enjoy a school recital, or attend a concert, or watch a play — the stage at Land O’ Lakes Community Park will just be a fixture, a venue for events. But last week, the yet-to-be built stage was the star of the show. That’s when local politicians, community activists and interested residents gathered to celebrate the groundbreaking for the stage, which will be built on a grassy area west of the park’s fenced-in ball field. The ceremony signaled the end of a quest for a stage that began decades ago. The construction of the stage follows a $2.3 million project to breathe new life and expand amenities at Land O’ Lakes Community Park, 5401 Land O’ Lakes Blvd. Construction of the stage is expected to begin in October and to be completed by January. The idea for a stage was nothing new, but funding for it was elusive. Everything finally came together, in what
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Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore described as a “public, public, public, private, private, private, private, private, private partnership.” By all accounts, it took a $250,000 grant from the state, the cooperation of local governments, the generosity of local partnerships and the involvement of community activists to make the vision a reality. And, of course, there was Sandy Graves. “I can tell you that this doesn’t exist but for Sandy Graves,” said Richard Corcoran, Speaker-designate of the Florida House of Representatives. Corcoran helped secure the grant from the state’s Division of Cultural Affairs for the stage, but he credited Graves’ passion for making it happen. “Sandy — she just dogged it, day in and day out,” Corcoran said.“The perseverance is something I’ve never seen.” Corcoran said Graves told him:“I want to bring to my community something that’s great, something that’s beautiful, and where children can learn about arts and culture, and have this great asset to the community,” he said.
“I’m pretty conservative — but if there’s ever a project that belongs in a budget, it’s when it’s an individual who is fighting for something beautiful for her community. She doesn’t have a lobbyist. She doesn’t have power. She doesn’t have any of that stuff, but a heart, and a passion and a vision,” Corcoran said. Graves, who declares herself a proud “Laker,” said anyone who has ever met her knows within a couple of minutes that she’s a native of Land O’ Lakes. It’s a place that’s known for its community spirit, she said, pointing to the Land O’ Lakes Community Park as a prime example. “It was built in the 1960s, after fish fries and donations, from loads of Lakers,” she said. “This was before the county had a parks and recreation department, and before red tape was invented. “So, in keeping with that tradition, Heritage Park (Foundation) was created,” she said. The foundation has aimed to keep the park alive and has dreamed of adding a stage See STAGE, page 19A
Land O’ Lakes High will stay open during renovations By B.C. Manion bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
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Land O’ Lakes High School will remain open during a massive renovation project that is scheduled to begin next June. Superintendent Kurt Browning had planned to shift the Land O’ Lakes High students to a new high school, known as “GGG”, being built on Old Pasco Road. But, he changed his mind after openingday enrollment figures at Wiregrass Ranch High School revealed that 2,478 students showed up to a school built for 1,633 students. John Long Middle School’s opening enrollment was 1,810 students, at a school built for 1,327. Both school’s opening day enrollments exceeded district projections for the entire year. Other schools in Land O’ Lakes and Wesley Chapel also exceeded projections, Browning said, in an Aug. 16 letter sent to parents of Land O’ Lakes High and Pine View Middle students. The district had been considering three options relating to the Land O’ Lakes makeover. One option was for students to stay at Land O’ Lakes High, the second was to put Sunlake High School on double sessions and the third was to send the students to “GGG.” Browning said he now believes “that the least disruptive solution is to keep students at Land O’ Lakes High School during the ren-
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Land O’ Lakes High School will stay open during a massive renovation project that is set to begin next June. By keeping students on campus, the project will take two years to complete rather than one.
ovations.” That being said, Browning noted “it still will not be ideal.” Keeping Land O’ Lakes High open during renovations will delay the project’s completion by a year and will reduce the scope of work to account for the added cost of extending the length of the project by a year, Browning wrote. “The school will be a construction zone,
and we will have to place dozens of portable classrooms on and around the campus. We won’t have practice fields and will reduce the number of parking spaces. There will be utility disruptions and construction dust,” Browning added. There are some bright spots, though, the superintendent noted. See SCHOOL, page 19A