The LAKER
ee r F
EAST PASCO EDITION
LAKERLUTZNEWS.COM
MARCH 22, 2017
Temporary home for city hall By Kevin Weiss
kweiss@lakerlutznews.com
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As construction on the new City Hall complex ramps up, Zephyrhills city staff will shuffle operations to a familiar building. Beginning this summer, most city departments will relocate temporarily into the former Zephyrhills police station, at 5344 Ninth St. City council members approved a 12month lease agreement between the city and Dannie Jordan, of RTD Construction. It calls for the city to pay $4,000 per month for use of the 5,200-square-foot building,
from June 1 to May 1. The city also has an exclusive option to extend the contract month-to-month for up to six months. Council members took the action on March 13, during a regularly scheduled meeting. Once the staff has moved, the existing City Hall, at 5335 Eighth St, will be demolished to make way for construction of a new $6.2 million complex. The plan, which was approved in January, calls for a two-story building of 19,615 square feet, situated between the city’s public library and fire department on Eighth Street.
With a modern stone and brick exterior, the new City Hall follows an architectural template similar to the Zephyrhills Public Library. Compared to the current City Hall, the complex’s interior will be equipped with more open workspaces and multifunctional meeting rooms. Meanwhile, the former police station will accommodate most city departments, as construction is ongoing. However, two departments — Planning and Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) — will set up shop in the Jeffries See HOME, page 11A
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Stardancers 912 won first place in its group category during the 34th annual ‘Spotlight on Talent’ competition March 11 in Wesley Chapel.
Talented youths get time to shine By B.C. Manion
bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
Jessica Twitmyer received the top scores to win a $1,000 Pasco Heritage Scholarship, during the 34th “Spotlight on Talent” on March 11 at the Center for the Arts at Wesley Chapel High School. Because of its popularity, the talent contest is divided into two shows, said Barbara Friedman, the executive producer for the competition, which is put on by the nonprofit Heritage Arts Center Association. The afternoon performance features younger competitors and the evening show features older contestants. More than 160 students auditioned on Feb. 28 for a chance to compete in the finals, Friedman said. Of those, a total of 140 com-
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Vocalist Jessica Twitmyer won the top prize during the 34th annual ‘Spotlight on Talent’ competition, receiving a $1,000 Pasco Heritage Scholarship.
Zephyrhills adding new technician
813-868-1887
By Kevin Weiss
OR
kweiss@lakerlutznews.com
352-597-0009
B INSIDE, PAGE 1B
peted in the two shows. Friedman was helped by assistant producers Dr. Rebecca Groomes and Alicia Polk Guanio.Also, a 15-member board of directors worked on the project for three months, and a final production team, including 20 members of the community, pitched in to put on the competition, Friedman said. Both performances drew audiences of hundreds of people, and performers competed for more than $5,000 in trophies, ribbons and cash prizes. Contestants included musicians, singers, dancers and musical theater performers. There were two masters of ceremonies, Tom Jackson, who works for Pasco County Clerk & Comptroller Paula O’Neil, and Mike
FILE
City Manager Steve Spina
To help the city of Zephyrhills address annexations, rezoning and land-use changes, a new technician is being added to the municipal payroll. A Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technician is being added to help manage the city’s geographical database. The technician will provide ongoing mapping analysis for the city. The Zephyrhills City Council unanimously approved the new position on March 13, and the job was advertised on March 14. For the current budget year, the technician will be regular part-time with no benefits, Steve Spina, the city manager said. The job, however, may become fulltime “with a salary not to exceed $39, 239.69.”
The position, meanwhile, will be paid out of the city’s General Fund, Utility Fund and Sanitation Fund, due to the variety of work involved. During the past decade, various city employees have contributed to the creation and management of the city’s GIS database, incorporating GIS shape data files, information and maps. For instance, the assistant city planner’s job description allocates 10 percent of job duties toward GIS. The city also has a planning intern, Kevie Defranc, assisting the utilities department with GIS mapping. Defranc, a student in University of South Florida’s Masters of Urban Planning program, recently discovered several properties annexed into Zephyrhills that were not on the city’s tax roll. See TECHNICIAN, page 11A