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Schools adjusting amid pandemic
By Kevin Weiss kweiss@lakerlutznews.com
Whether its drive-thru feeding sites or widespread distance learning, the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has created myriad logistical challenges for school districts nationwide. Pasco County Schools is no different — operating as the state’s ninth-largest school district, and 49th largest in the nation. Even so, Pasco Schools Superintendent Kurt Browning is maintaining an upbeat outlook in what has otherwise been a trying
situation over the last two months or so. Speaking to the East Pasco Networking Group at a May 12 virtual meeting, Browning acknowledged the pandemic “really stretched the school district,” but credited district leaders and administration for “very quickly” pulling together a largescale distance learning education program once it became apparent the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year would be remote. Pasco Schools was more prepared than other surrounding counties, Browning said. That’s because the district already had “a
very robust virtual education program” known as Pasco eSchool, which typically serves more than 3,000 students in a normal year. “It wasn’t easy, but we were better positioned than a lot of districts even surrounding us,” the superintendent said. Unlike other districts, too, Browning added Pasco School instantly pushed out lesson plans for most courses to the virtual learning platform, rather than requiring teachers to develop a curriculum to post See SCHOOLS, page 13A
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Pasco seeks to hike fees for market-rate apartments
Zephyrhills joins water contamination lawsuit By Kevin Weiss kweiss@lakerlutznews.com
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The City of Zephyrhills — also known as “The City of Pure Water” — is joining a massive federal lawsuit regarding contaminated water. The municipality is set to become a plaintiff in a multi-district litigation case filed against various companies that manufactured firefighting foams — Aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) — containing a series of man-made chemicals found to contaminate groundwater, wastewater and water wells. The chemicals in question are perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), compounds historically used in carpets, clothing, food packaging and a number of industrial processes.The chemicals have been linked to human health effects, such as low infant birth weights, immune system suppression, thyroid hormone disruption and cancer, according to health organizations, such as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Zephyrhills City Council unanimously voted on May 11 to enter negotiations for representation with Cossich, Summich, Parsiola and Taylor LLC., a New Orleansbased litigation firm. Local co-counsel will include Tampa-based firms Hobby & Hobby P.A. and Young & Partners LLP. The action came during a virtual council meeting. Zephyrhills will join more than 100 other cities and water treatment facilities across the country in the lawsuit. Other plaintiffs are as far away as California and North Dakota, and within Florida, including Pensacola and Lauderhill. The New Orleans firm is known for its work in securing a $7.8 billion settlement for plaintiffs in the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill case back in 2010.The firm told city leaders it will front the cost of litigation and expert work on a contingency, then would accept a settlement fee. Officials say high levels of PFOA/PFOS have been discovered in Water Well No. 1 utilized by the city’s downtown fire station for training purposes, dating as far back as 2014. Samples taken from the well in 2014 showed PFOA/PFOS levels of 160 parts per trillion in water, lower than the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA)
By B.C. Manion bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
levels of acceptability of 200 parts per trillion at the time, officials say. However, in 2016 the EPA established new health advisory levels of PFOA/PFOS at just 70 parts per trillion. Because of that, the well was subsequently taken offline and was no longer in service when follow-up tests measured 120 parts per trillion of PFOA/PFOS, officials say. Zephyrhills City Manager Billy Poe said that staff is working with environmental engineering group Jones Edmunds on monitoring wells and “to try to delineate contamination plume.” Poe expects the EPA and Florida Department of Environmental Protection to make requirements for PFOA/PFOS remediation and removal, which he said “will have a very large price tag attached to it.” City attorney Matt Maggard concurred with the city manager’s assessment. He emphasized the need to partner with the multiple litigation firms to seek damages from companies that used PFOS/PFAS chemicals in AFFF production. Maggard put it like this:“Cleanup is com-
The Pasco County Planning Commission is recommending approval of an ordinance that would raise mobility fees charged for market-rate apartments. The proposed ordinance also would eliminate mobility fees for single-family and multi-family projects that qualify under the county’s definition of affordable housing. In recommending approval, the planning commission suggested that the higher rates take effect on Jan. 1, 2021.The changes had been proposed to take effect on Aug. 10. The Pasco County Commission will have the final word on the issue. Planning commissioners decided to recommend a delay in implementation based on their concerns about the current economy, and after hearing those same worries expressed by the public. Ed Rogers with Florida Design Consultants, who spoke on behalf of Crown Community Development, urged commissioners to delay implementing higher fees. “Crown Community Development currently has two projects under active development that are fully entitled and have multi-family components. Chapel Crossings is in the urban service area and Watergrass is in the suburban area. “In both projects, Crown has contracts pending with market-rate apartment developers who are on the cusp of moving forward,” Rogers said. He referred to a County Commission workshop, when that board decided to seek higher mobility fees for market-rate apartments and to drop the fees for affordable housing. “We were living in a different economy back in February,” Rogers said.“In fact, the first item on the workshop agenda that day was the county budget for the next fiscal year, and the OMB (Office of Management and Budget) presented to the board a glowing picture of the economy, which was vibrant at the time. “The COVID-19 crisis and its significant
See WATER, page 13A
See FEES, page 13A
FILE
Clarke Hobby of Hobby & Hobby P.A., will serve as co-counsel for the City of Zephyrhills, who will be a plaintiff in a federal lawsuit against companies and manufacturers that used a series of man-made chemicals in firefighting foam found to contaminate water wells.