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Unstable sinkhole claims 7 homes By Kevin Weiss kweiss@lakerlutznews.com
Pasco County building inspectors have condemned five additional homes — because of recent destabilization of a sinkhole on Ocean Pines Drive in Land O’ Lakes. Pasco County officials say the sinkhole grew another 30 feet, to a diameter of around 260 feet, after a bank on the western edge— closest to Lake Saxon — collapsed between the evening of Aug. 3 and the morning of Aug. 5. Previously, the sinkhole measured between 225 feet wide to 235 feet wide and approximately 50 feet deep. The recent destabilization may have resulted from seismic vibrations caused by heavy construction equipment operating nearby the site, according to Kevin Guthrie, the assistant county administrator for public safety.
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Ceres Environmental Services, the main debris removal contractor, worked throughout much of the weekend on cleanup and recovery efforts. Besides debris removal and disposal, Ceres will pump and remove contaminated water, and stabilize the sinkhole as needed with granular fill, over the next several weeks.
Land O’ Lakes Walk-Ins Welcome High undergoes $29 million Get all your makeover favorite local news stories online. 18920 N. Dale Mabry Hwy Ste 101 Lutz, FL (Corner of Sunlake & Dale Mabry)
By B.C. Manion
bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
When students arrive at Land O’ Lakes High School next week, they’ll see construction crews busy on a $29 million makeover that’s expected to take two years. But, great care is being taken to ensure that students and staff are kept out of the path of work crews, and vice versa, said John Petrashek, director of construction services for Pasco County Schools. During a recent tour of the school, Petrashek and Marc Graham, project superintendent for Walbridge, explained what the project entails and how it has been scheduled to allow the campus to be occupied during construction. “It’s a five-phase project,” Graham said, with areas being walled or fenced off, to allow students, faculty and staff to carry on their activities, while crews work to modernize and reconfigure spaces in the high school. See MAKEOVER page 11A
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Marc Graham, project superintendent for Walbridge, is overseeing the massive makeover of Land O’ Lakes High School. Here, he describes how the company is converting an old stage area in the school’s gymnasium, that was being used for storage, into two classrooms, which will be used for physical education classes.
Task Force meets on Shaping a vision for transportation in Pasco vision for SR 54/56 By Kathy Steele By Kathy Steele
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The next phase in a transportation vision for Tampa Bay took a local turn into Pasco County. More than 30 residents from Pasco and Hernando counties met on Aug. 3 as a “working group” tasked with recommending future transportation decisions. The Florida Department of Transportation hosted the event at the Myrtle Lake Baptist Church in Land O’ Lakes. The Community Working Group session was open to the public. It is one in a series of meetings in the Tampa Bay region as part of the Tampa Bay Next initiative. A regional meeting in Tampa kicked off the new initiative in May. There are six working groups in total, representing geographic areas of the region. Tampa Bay Next replaces the controversial Tampa Bay Express project that would have built new toll and express lanes along about 90 miles of Interstate 275, from Manatee County to Pasco County. One segment of the project remains. The state transportation department plans to build a replacement bridge for the Howard Franklin bridge, which links Pinellas and Hillsborough counties. That bridge replacement will include four multipurpose lanes and two express lanes. But, the state roads department wants public input during the next two years for a new road project on I-275.The goal is to have plans ready by 2019. Based on reactions to Tampa Bay Express, residents are tired of focusing only on car-driven road projects, said Ed McKinney, planning and environmental administrator for FDOT’s District 7 office, in Tampa. Tampa Bay Next is meant to start conversations. “We’re not going to show you any projects,” McKinney said. “We’re not going to show you any plans…We hear over and over we need to be thinking differently. People
RICHARD K. RILEY
Ed McKinney, planning and environmental administrator for the Florida Department of Transportation’s District 7 office, in Tampa, met with more than 30 residents from Pasco and Hernando counties to talk about Tampa Bay Next.
who say that are absolutely right,” he said. Some of the trouble spots already identified in Pasco include the State Road 56 interchange on Interstate 75, the east/west corridor of State Road 54 and State Road 56, the intersection of State Road 54 and U.S. 41, and the lack of transit options. At the working group sessions, people divided into five teams that prioritized transportation needs.They also made organizational decisions for future meetings. As a group, they voted on priorities, based on a compiled list of recommendations from every team. Top priorities included: • Adding light rail, possibly on U.S. 301 and the State Road 56 extension, and more bus service to destinations and high traffic areas See VISION, page 11A
A discussion on transportation solutions on the State Road 54/56 corridor will begin anew on Aug. 24, with the second in a series of meetings by the Vision 54/56 Task Force. The 17-member, volunteer task force had an organizational meeting in April. The study by the task force members will consider practical solutions to easing congestion, and promoting greater safety and mobility on a corridor that is bursting with new residential and commercial development. This is the second phase of a three-part initiative that began in 2016 with a task force that recommended 11 major highway and transit alternatives, as well as a no-build alternative. Those recommendations will get greater scrutiny in this second phase, with more focus on design and details of potential road projects. Some options under review include designs for elevated lanes, and redesigns at ground level. Some options include dedicated lanes for buses, and others don’t. The entire study includes the corridor, from Bruce B. Downs Boulevard on the east to U.S. 19 on the west. However, the focus currently is on two intersections: Little Road and State Road 54 in New Port Richey, and U.S. 41 and State Road 54 in Land O’ Lakes. Representatives from Pasco County Planning and Development, the county’s Metropolitan Planning Organization, Florida Department of Transportation and consultants with AECOM are assisting in the study. A third meeting is planned in 2017, probably in October. At least two additional meetings are planned in 2018, but no dates are scheduled. For information, visit PascoCountyFl.net. WHAT: Vision 54/56 Phase 2 Task Force meeting WHERE: Pasco County Utilities Administration Building, 19420 Central Blvd., Land O’ Lakes WHEN: Aug. 24 from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. COST: Free, open to the public