The Laker-Wesley Chapel/New Tampa-July 20, 2016

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The LAKER

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WESLEY CHAPEL/NEW TAMPA EDITION

LAKERLUTZNEWS.COM

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Permit granted for Raymond James By B.C. Manion

bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com

Raymond James is a step closer to building a campus in Wesley Chapel, according to J.D. Porter, whose family has a pending contract on a land sale to the financial services giant. Last week, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approved the permit needed for the project, Porter said.“It covers the entire Raymond James project,” he said. The project, which would be built near

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State Road 56, and Wiregrass Ranch Boulevard, ultimately could have 1 million square feet in office space. “The process from here on out is that we’ve got to go back before the Board of County Commissioners and ratify the deal, update timelines, because it took a little while to get the permit in. And then, after that, per their contract, they have 30 days to close,” Porter said. Steve Hollister, a spokesman for Raymond James, offered no timetable for when the project will proceed.

“Raymond James continues to evaluate occupancy needs as part of the firm’s longterm growth strategy. We believe the Wiregrass Ranch property is a good future development opportunity and expect to close on the property within the next three months, but cannot commit to a specific construction schedule at this time,” Hollister said, via email. Still, the Corps’ approval is a significant milestone for a project, which has been deSee PERMIT, page 11A

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Pasco County eyes $1.5 billion budget By Kathy Steele

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Pasco County commissioners are looking at a projected budget of about $1.5 billion for 2017. The proposed budget holds the line on new taxes, but allows some room for new services, programs, staff hires and capital improvements. As county staff was completing the budget, they received news that property tax revenues would be about $1.8 million more than expected. The additional cash helped avoid a repeat of last year’s scrappy debates over the budget request from the Pasco County FILE PHOTOS Sheriff’s office. Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore is happy to see This year’s budget, if apfunding for a bus circulator route in Land O’ Lakes in the proved, provides an additional $6.3 million for county’s proposed $1.5 billion budget for 2017. the sheriff’s office. The Pasco County Sheriff money would go for salary raises, equipChris Nocco was able ment and new hires. to secure more fundOther expenditures in the proposed ing for raises in the budget include $331,000 for a bus circulacounty’s proposed tor route in Land O’ Lakes, and $60,000 to 2017 budget. The hire a federal lobbyist. sheriff said he needs Still, the budget overall reflects a “modto increase salaries est growth philosophy” amid an economy because he’s losing that is slowly recovering, Pasco County too many deputies to Administrator Michele Baker wrote in a letother area agencies ter to the commissioners. that pay more. The new fiscal year begins Oct. 1. Commissioners received a briefing on July 12 on the proposed budget. ample, is a significant addition to the comPublic hearings on the budget are sched- munity, he said. “It’s one of our major uled on Sept. 13 in Dade City and on Sept. corridors (U.S. 41) and the only one that 27 in New Port Richey. doesn’t have bus transit. Hopefully, it will reOverall, the 2017 budget reflects an in- lieve traffic congestion.” crease of less than 6 percent, or about $85 One item not included in the budget million, over last year’s budget. was a request for more weekend and The millage rate would remain un- evening operating hours at the county’s lichanged from its current rate of about braries. The request was to restore the $7.60 per $1,000 of property value for the hours to 2008 levels. general fund, and about $1.80 per $1,000 of County officials balked, saying the recurproperty value for the fire district. ring costs were too high. However, county officials said the typical “I would like to see us ease back into inhomeowner, with a homestead exemption, creasing library hours,” Moore said. But that could pay almost $7 more in property taxes seems unlikely for now, he added. in 2017, based on rising property values. The total tax roll increased from about “I’m pretty satisfied with the budget,” $20 billion in 2016 to $22.9 billion in 2017. said Pasco County Commissioner Mike The assessed value of new construction inMoore. See BUDGET, page 11A The bus route in Land O’ Lakes, for ex-

Pasco County is using cameras to help catch people it alleges are conducting illegal dumping activities. This truck is a still shot taken from one of the county’s videos. The county is offering a $50 reward to people who help identify and catch litterbugs.

Catch a litterbug, get a reward By Kathy Steele

ksteele@lakerlutznews.com

Pasco County residents can now earn a little cash and help the county clean up at the same time. Pasco County has announced a new program that provides $50 rewards to those who help the county identify and catch litterbugs. The reward goes to individuals who provide information that leads to charges and fines against someone caught littering or illegally dumping. “We have a real problem with littering and dumping in the right of way,” said Mike Garrett, the county’s public works director. A county crew now spends at least one day a week picking up trash including televisions, furniture, tires and mattresses. Pasco County commissioners approved the reward program at their July 12 meeting. “I think it’s a great idea,” said Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore. “Anything that can curb dumping in the county, I’m all for it. Hopefully, it will work.” Funding for rewards will come from fines collected from successful prosecutions. The county currently has 15 outstanding cases that could produce a total of $7,000 in fines.The maximum fine is $500. The public works department launched its efforts to curb litter and dumping in 2011. Since then, 33 cases of illegal dumping have produced about $8,400 in fines. However, the county only receives the fines when cases are settled before referral to court.That’s precisely what county officials hope residents can help them accomplish. Three years ago, the county began placing cameras in certain locations to catch See LITTERBUG, page 11A

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Helpers needed in Pasco for Stuff the Bus By B.C. Manion

bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com

Efforts are under way to collect and distribute school supplies to Pasco County teachers through the sixth annual Stuff the Bus campaign. The goal is to provide supplies to fulfill requests by Pasco County teachers. “Over 1,000 teachers have signed up for their supplies,” Melinda Velez, manager of Community Impact Initiatives for the United Way of Pasco, said via email. “We are in need of volunteers for many shifts,” she added. Besides helping teachers, the annual campaign provides a good way for students to get volunteer hours, and it’s a great family friendly volunteer project,Velez says. The effort requires volunteers to help with the pack, sort and distribution duties. Donations will be accepted from July 29 through July 31, from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. They will be collected at these Wal-Mart sites: Land O’ Lakes Boulevard in Lutz, State Road 54 in Wesley Chapel, Gall Boulevard in Zephyrhills; U.S. 19 in Hudson, State Road 54

COURTESY OF UNITED WAY OF PASCO

It takes a lot of boxes to pack up the supplies that are collected each year through the annual Stuff the Bus.

in New Port Richey and U.S. 19 in Port Richey. Items that are needed include No. 2 pencils, mechanical pencils, crayons, red and blue pens, washable markers, permanent markers, highlighters, rulers, spiral notebooks, dry erase markers, glue sticks, pencil sharpeners, pencil cap erasers, binders and

composition notebooks. At the donation sites, volunteers will: • Hand out a shopping supply list • Collect school supply donations • Stuff the donations in the bus • Help to sort and organize the supplies in the bus The volunteer shifts at the donation sites are for three hours, either from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m., or from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. This work will be done outdoors, so be sure to dress appropriately for the weather and wear sunscreen and a hat. It’s also a good idea to bring a cooler to keep your drinks cold. Water bottles will be provided on the bus. Packing and sorting will be from Aug. 1 through Aug. 3. Volunteers signing up to help with packing and distribution will work in four-hour shifts at Ridgewood High School, at 7650 Orchid Lake Road in New Port Richey.The work will be done indoors, in the school’s cafeteria and media center. For more information, go to Facebook.com/UnitedWayPasco. If you’d like to help, visit tiny.cc/2016StuffTheBus.


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