The Laker-East Pasco-August 17, 2016

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The LAKER

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EAST PASCO EDITION

LAKERLUTZNEWS.COM

AUGUST 17, 2016

Homeowners to see dip in school taxes By B.C. Manion

bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com

Less waiting where it matters most – our emergency room.

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.

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

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B.C. MANION/STAFF PHOTO

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.

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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 con-

Towers aim to aid public safety By Kathy Steele

ksteele@lakerlutznews.com

A two-year project to modernize Pasco County’s radio communications system is under way, with a series of neighborhood meetings about the installation of seven new communications towers. The first meeting was in Hudson about two weeks ago. Five more have been held, including one on Aug. 8 at the Pasco County Historic County Courthouse in Dade City. A half-dozen residents met with county officials to discuss the proposed 300-foot communications tower at Powerline and Christian roads. They requested that the tower be moved closer to U.S. 301. Trilby resident Richard Riley, who attended the meeting, said county officials were receptive to the idea. A public hearing on the Dade City tower likely will be scheduled in November, said Todd Bayley, the county’s chief information officer. See TOWERS, page 11A

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

Rural protections in place for Northeast Pasco By Kathy Steele

ksteele@lakerlutznews.com

After more than a decade, a set of regulations laying out a plan to preserve the rural character of northeast Pasco County finally is in place. The Pasco County Commission unanimously approved an ordinance to adopt development standards for the Northeast Pasco Rural Protection Overlay District on Aug. 9. Nearly 50 area residents attended the public hearing on the ordinance.A handful spoke approvingly during public comment. “This is going to add something to Pasco County that I don’t think any other county in Florida has,” said Nancy Hazelwood. “This is going to be your jewel.” County officials crafted the ordinance after holding numerous public meetings and getting input from area residents. Not everyone embraced the ordinance. Area resident and property owner George Dombrowski objected to the new rules as government overreach. “I don’t think there is a need for the county to tell me what I can do with property I’ve owned for 10 years,” he said. The ordinance puts into practice a rural preservation goal embedded into the county’s

COURTESY OF RICHARD K. RILEY

Nancy Hazelwood encouraged Pasco County commissioners to approve an overlay district to preserve the rural character of northeast Pasco.

land use plan about 10 years ago. It establishes a “northeast rural area” bordered by Bellamy Brothers Boulevard, the Green Swamp, State Road 52 and the Hernando County line. The regulations govern residential development of three houses or more. They restrict mining operations or other developments that could lop off hillsides or impair vistas. Portions of some roadways, including State See RURAL, page 11A


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