ee r F
The LAKER WESLEY CHAPEL/NEW TAMPA EDITION
LAKERLUTZNEWS.COM
Auto Accident? Slip and Fall? FREE CONSULTATION
No Fees Or Costs Unless You Win
Homeowners to see dip in school taxes By B.C. Manion bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
The Pasco County School Board has given first-round approval to a proposed $1.2 billion budget that includes a slightly lower tax bill for homeowners. Under the proposed rate, the owner of a $125,000 home, after deducting the homestead exemption, would pay $677.30 in taxes.That’s $33.60 lower than the homeowner paid last year. School board members voted unanimously for the proposed budget, but won’t take final action on the proposed rate until a second and final hearing, set for 6 p.m., on Sept. 13.That hearing will be in the School Board Meeting Room, at 7227 Land O’ Lakes Blvd., in Land O’ Lakes.
HOLLIDAY KARATINOS LAW FIRM, P.L. HelpingInjuredPeople.com Call Attorney
JIM HOLLIDAY
AUGUST 17, 2016
B.C. MANION/STAFF PHOTO
Wiregrass Elementary School opened for the first time on Aug. 15.
While the budget has received firstround approval, school board members Steve Luikart and Alison Crumbley said
there need to be some changes. “It is a work in progress,” Luikart said. “We’re identifying some of the areas that we have needs in,” he said, noting he was in a meeting with district staff to discuss how to move some funding to provide additional support for some of the district’s lowerfunctioning schools. The district also needs to take action to address its graduation rate, which slipped, Luikart said. “Those are two priorities,” he said. “We’ve got to do whatever it is that we have to change.” It could mean adding more staff or providing some new curriculum to address the needs, he said. See TAXES, page 11A
813-868-1887 “I Will Aggressively Fight To Protect Your Legal Rights” 18920 N. Dale Mabry Hwy Ste 101 Lutz, FL (Corner of Sunlake & Dale Mabry)
Walk-Ins Welcome
Your Wesley Chapel Home
SOLD GUARANTEED Or I’ll Buy it!
NO Gimmicks! Free Report by visiting: www.BWGuaranteeYourHomeSold.com
or FREE Recorded Message:
1-800-441-1783 ID# 4094 or call me direct at:
B.C. MANION/STAFF PHOTO
813-469-5788
Ed McKinney, district planning and environmental administrator for District 7 of the Florida Department of Transportation, explains why express lanes are needed to relieve regional congestion.
*Some conditions apply. Bruce Wilde RE/MAX PREMIER GROUP. Not intended to solicit buyers or sellers already under contract.
Tampa Bay Express aims to address region’s congestion By B.C. Manion bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
The proposed $3.3 billion Tampa Bay Express project has its critics – especially in areas near downtown Tampa, but it’s a project that’s needed to help relieve regional congestion, according to Ed McKinney, district planning and environmental administrator for District 7 of the Florida Department of Transportation. “Currently,Tampa/St. Pete ranks seventh in the country for cities of its size for conLK/LZ
Service the Way it Oughta Be!
FREE
SERVICE CALL W/ REPAIR* A/C, Plumbing or Electrical LK/LZ
*M-f 7aM-7pM. if work not perforMed, service fee appLies.
$39.95 A/C OR PLUMBING CHECK-UP Must present coupon. LiMited tiMe offer. #CFC1428982
#CAC1816647
#EC0001103
Air Conditioning • Plumbing • Electrical
CORNERSTONEPROS.COM
813-949-4445
B INSIDE, PAGE 1B
gestion,” McKinney said. “I don’t have to tell you all, if you’ve driven around the area, we’ve got a lot of congestion, and that hurts us in a lot of ways,” McKinney said, during a recent luncheon meeting of the Central Pasco Chamber of Commerce. “It hurts us when it comes to attracting new businesses. It hurts us mostly when it comes to attracting new residents,” he said. People moving into the area want to know that they’ll be able to get to work or wherever they need to go, without being
stuck in traffic for a half-hour, he said. The problem is only going to get worse, as the region’s population increases and more jobs are created, he added. “In Pasco County, population is expected to grow 97 percent by 2040,” he said. Hillsborough County is expected to grow by 48 percent, and Polk County by 41 percent during the same period. “Pasco County is expected to grow employment by 200 percent, and that’s huge,” he said.Those workers won’t all be coming from Pasco County, he said.They’ll be heading to Pasco from Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, too. “People are going to go where the jobs are. That’s what we’re seeing,” McKinney said. See EXPRESS, page 11A
New apartments and offices approved By Kathy Steele ksteele@lakerlutznews.com
Brightworks Crossing — a mixed-use project calling for offices, self-storage units, apartments, and a hotel with up to 150 rooms, landed on the desks of Pasco County’s planners nearly a year ago. And, on Aug. 9, the Pasco County Commission pushed the project along with a series of approvals. Commissioners unanimously agreed to amend the county’s comprehensive land use plan and to rezone the land.They also approved an agreement for a land swap between the county, the landowners and the developers. The land deal will give the county green space for its network of wildlife corridors, and room for a park-and-ride lot with 25 parking spaces for future transit commuters. The site is directly behind the Walgreen’s drug store, at Wesley Chapel Boulevard and the State Road 56/State Road 54 intersection. The intersection is a high growth area populated by Tampa Premium Outlets and new restaurants on the south side of State Road 56, and on the north side of the road, the future Cypress Creek Town Center.
FILE PHOTO
A car passes along Old State Road 54, at Old Cypress Creek Road. The route is a popular cut-through to avoid traffic at State Road 56.
“It’s a major intersection. A lot of thought, evaluation and analysis has gone into this project and its impact on the intersection,” said Matt Armstrong, the county’s executive planner. “We’ve put together a package that actually improves this area and will help in the long run.” Brightworks Crossing received approval for a maximum of 350 apartments, 250,000 square-feet of offices, and self-storage and the 150-room hotel.
A road redesign also is built into the project for Old State Road 54, which bisects the site.The short stretch of road is a popular cut-through for motorists coming down Wesley Chapel who want to avoid traffic at the State Road 56 intersection. County commissioners agreed to close the existing cut-through to accommodate the land swap and allow developers to See APARTMENTS, page 11A