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Request for Lutz 7-Eleven is delayed
By B.C. Manion bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
The Hillsborough County Commission voted 4-3 to remand a rezoning request for a gas station and carwash off U.S. 41, north of Sunset Lane, in Lutz. Commissioners Ken Hagan, Kimberly Overman, Mariella Smith and Chairwoman Pat Kemp voted to remand the request and Commissioners Harry Cohen, Gwen Myers
and Stacy White dissented. Those who voted to send the case back to the zoning hearing master for further review specifically said they want the county’s Department of Environmental Protection to take a closer look at whether a septic system will be capable of handling the discharge from a proposed carwash. They voiced concerns about potential problems because the area has lakes, private wells and sensitive wetlands.
Commissioner Smith said the hearing can explore other issues, too. “I would not have it limited,” she said, noting that citizens are free to discuss other topics, such as light pollution and compatibility, she added. During the Hillsborough board’s Oct. 12 public hearing, Smith said the county also needs to take a closer look at its rezoning See 7-ELEVEN, page 9A
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Celebrating long-time volunteers In a pregame ceremony on Oct. 1, the Zephyrhills High press box at Tom Fisher Field in Bulldog Stadium was named the G. First & K. Ryman Press Box. Those attending the game heard new voices emanate from the speakers. Zephyrhills High School teacher Justin Santiago did the play-by-play announcement, replacing Greg First, while Zephyrhills High School teacher Will Terranova, took over Kerry Ryman’s scoreboard operating duties. See story, page 10A.
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Zephyrhills City Councilman Ken Burgess comments on Greg First and Kerry Ryman during the press box naming ceremony.
Proposed transportation plan would accelerate some Pasco projects By B.C. Manion bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
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B INSIDE, PAGE 1B
Friends and family watch as Kerry Ryman and Greg First receive plaques and recognition for their 40 years of voluntary service providing play-by-play and scoreboard duties for the Zephyrhills High School Bulldogs football team. Here, principal Dr. Christina Stanley makes the honor official, during a pre-game ceremony.
It’s a tentative list — but if it gains approval and subsequently secures funding, numerous transportation improvements affecting local motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists could occur faster than previously proposed. The new work program presented during the Pasco Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) meeting “represents an over $40 million increase from what we are currently enjoying,” Carl Mikyska, executive director, told members of the MPO board during its Oct. 14 meeting. Public comment will be accepted online regarding the tentative work plan, from Oct. 25 through Oct. 29, and at a public open house will be conducted by the District Seven office of the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) on Oct. 28. All public comment, regardless of how it is provided, must be submitted by Nov. 12. (For more details, visit FDOT.gov/wpph/district7.) Jensen Hackett, of the FDOT’s District Seven office outlined some of the proposed changes to the tentative work program, in an update to the MPO board. The board is made up of the Pasco County Commission and elected officials from the county’s largest municipalities. One project, now included for construc-
tion in fiscal year 2027, is the widening of State Road 52, from Ehren Cutoff to Bellamy Brothers Boulevard, Hackett said. “This is the final project as part of the (State Road) 52 widening, across the northern part of Pasco County,” he said, noting the project had been identified as the Pasco MPO’s No. 1 priority. Pasco County Commissioner Kathryn Starkey reacted:“Thank you. I’m happy to see the rest of (State Road) 52 in the work plan.” Another proposed change involves an effort to improve traffic flow heading south at Interstate 75/Interstate 275, in an area between State Road 56 and County Line Road. It would be similar to the collector/distributor system that already exists for northbound motorists on I-75 and I-275 that get off the long exit ramp at State Road 56, Hackett said. “This will be almost identical in the southern direction, to guide you from State Road 56 to southbound 75 or southbound 275 — taking away a lot of those weaving conflicts that occur, heading in that southbound direction. “This construction is being added to fiscal year ’27,” Hackett said. Other projects that have been added, or moved up on the proposed work program, include: See PROJECTS, page 9A
Resurfacing work proposed for Suncoast Parkway By B.C. Manion bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise has included a resurfacing project on the Suncoast Parkway, as part of its tentative work program for fiscal years 2023 through 2027. Siaosi Fine, of the Turnpike Enterprise, briefed the Pasco Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) board about the sole Pasco County project included in that proposed plan, at the board’s Oct. 14 meeting. The resurfacing work would be done on the Suncoast Parkway, from just south of the Hillsborough County and Pasco County line to a little bit north of State Road 52, Fine said. The design funds are included in the tentative five-year work plan in fiscal year 2024 and the construction funds are included in the fiscal year 2025 plan. The total cost would be $23.1 million for work that includes milling and resurfacing, guard rail installation, and signing and pavement marking improvements, he said Pasco County Commissioner Kathryn Starkey, who sits on the Pasco MPO board, See SUNCOAST, page 9A