The LAKER
ee r F
EAST PASCO EDITION
LAKERLUTZNEWS.COM
MARCH 4, 2015
City hall and police to share space By Kathy Steele
ksteele@lakerlutznews.com
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The historic City Hall building in Dade City began its life in the mid-1920s as a hotel that never was completed. It found new life in the 1940s as a Depression-era work project and became the hub of city government for decades. But in 2013, a wrecking ball demolished the aging structure. “It was old and obsolete,” said Gordon Onderdonk, Dade City’s public works director. “We looked at the cost of renovation. It wasn’t feasible to use the building.” A groundbreaking is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on March 6 for a modern, 21,000square-foot building on the same ground where the old City Hall structure stood for so long at Fifth Street and Meridian Avenue. In its re-invented life, the building will be home to Dade City’s City Hall and its police station. The idea of locating both government entities at one address isn’t unusual, said architect Lisa Wannemacher, principal at St. Petersburg-based Wannemacher Jensen Architects. “Multi-use is trending,” she said. Community centers, for example, often
are used for multiple uses and are intergenerational, as well, with space dedicated to seniors and children under one roof, Wannemacher said. Dade City officials saw benefits of having City Hall and the police department share one building. “They were able to take advantage of economy of scale…and make the building more efficient, which translates into saving money,” Wannemacher said.
By spring 2016, city employees who were relocated to a City Hall annex and the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Depot on U.S. 98 at U.S. 301 will settle into their new offices. The city’s police department will move from its current location on Pasco Avenue into an upgraded headquarters separated from City Hall by a covered courtyard plaza. See SHARE, page7A
Meet Saint Leo’s new president By Michael Murillo
mmurillo@lakerlutznews.com
When Saint Leo University began the search for its next president, it knew it was looking for a star. Instead, the search committee found three stars. William J. “Bill” Lennox, Jr., a retired United States Army three-star lieutenant general, has been named as the ninth president in the university’s history. He was introduced at a campus news conference on Feb. 6. He assumes his new post this summer. “It feels great,” Lennox said about taking on his new job. “I think it’s an amazing institution.” Lennox is familiar with Saint Leo University. He served on the school’s board of trustees for six years before deciding to take on the president’s role. Lennox has been part of the selection process from its inception, but not always in the role of a candidate for the job. As a member of the search committee, he had turned down consideration before they began exploring other options. The search committee found very qualified candidates out of more than 100 applications, Lennox said, but when they couldn’t reach a consensus, he was asked to reconsider.This time he said yes. While running a college is no easy task, Lennox comes to the job with plenty of experience. He previously served as Superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point for five years, an institution where he also received his bachelor’s degree in 1971. As superintendent, he performed similar duties to a president at a civilian college. Lennox believes that experience will help him in his new challenge. In fact, Lennox sees similarities between the famous military academy and Saint Leo. “Both of them are very interested in education, but education with an intent in mind, and a values system that backs that in-
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PHOTO COURTESY OF SAINT LEO UNIVERSITY
William J. “Bill” Lennox, Jr. addresses the audience at the Feb. 6 announcement of his selection as the next president of Saint Leo University. He’ll start work later this summer.
tent,” he said.A strong focus on students and a supportive faculty are also characteristics of both institutions, he said. While Lennox comes to Saint Leo with plenty of accolades, he also has some pretty big shoes to fill. Outgoing president Dr. Arthur F. Kirk, Jr. is retiring at the end of the academic year after serving in that role since 1997. Under Kirk’s leadership, the university has more than doubled its student body, more than doubled its degree programs, renovated many facilities and added new land and buildings to its campus. Lennox steps into the role with admira-
tion for his predecessor’s success. “I’ve been very impressed with the work Art Kirk has done,” he said. “Art’s a tough guy to follow.” While he’ll be spending the next few months becoming more familiar with the institution’s financials and other details, Lennox has already identified potential challenges he’ll face when he steps into his new position. Saint Leo, which has been at the forefront of higher education online programs, is facing stronger competition as more See PRESIDENT, page7A
From cow pasture to four-lane road? By B.C. Manion
813-868-1887
The question is how to pay for it. There are plans to extend State Road 56 from Meadow Pointe Boulevard to U.S. 301, When motorists get to the end of State but those plans call only for a two-lane road, Road 56 at Meadow Pointe Boulevard, and even that road is contingent upon sethey’ll see cows grazing in an open pasture. curing land from adjacent landowners to But Zephyrhills leaders are pushing for make it happen. an entirely new view for that plot of land. Zephyrhills leaders made it clear that a They envision it as the start of the first two-lane road falls short of their expectafour-lane road to lead into their community. tions. And, they’re turning up the heat on state “This city deserves a four-lane highway lawmakers and county officials to try to coming into our city,” said Charles Proctor, make that happen. who serves on the Zephyrhills City Council They presented their case at a town hall and has had a business in the city for more meeting on Feb. 23 with State Rep. Danny than two decades. Burgess and State Sen. John Legg. He said the community has been promThe four-lane extension of State Road 56 ised a four-lane road for years, and that from Meadow Pointe Boulevard in Wiregrass residents have been under the impression Ranch to U.S. 301 in Zephyrhills could serve that they were finally going to get one, in as a catalyst for new business, and would State Road 56. make it easier for people to come and go It’s time for action, city leaders said. from Zephyrhills. It also could serve as an“We need to get serious. We need to find other hurricane evacuation route, according See ROAD, page7A to city and business leaders.
bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
OR
352-597-0009
B B.C. MANION/STAFF PHOTO
INSIDE, PAGE 1B
IMAGES COURTESY OF WANNEMACHER JENSEN ARCHITECTS
A new building in Dade City will combine the city’s City Hall and its police station.
A cow pasture sits at the end of State Road 56 in Wiregrass Ranch, but advocates of economic growth in Zephyrhills want to transform that pasture into the beginning of a four-lane road to U.S. 301 in Zephyrhills.