SINKHOLE REPAIR COSTS AMONG ITEMS AT COMMISSION MEETING

City engineer Frank Coughenour shared details about Madrid Engineering Group’s plan to stabilize the Carriage Court sinkhole by subcontracting the work to Earth Tech, LLC, who will complete the work in two sequential phases, which includes pressure grouting the affected area. An estimated 400 to 570 cubic yards of grout are expected to be used. The contractors are prepared to begin work onsite within a week of Notice to Proceed and anticipate completion within 12 days. The total contract amount will not exceed $330,828. The stabilization project is being charged to the city’s Street R & R Fund.

Following a presentation by Innovation and Strategy Manager Lauren Shatto, city commissioners also approved the purchase of OpenGov Reporting and Transparency software from Carahsoft Technology Corp. OpenGov software. The cost to implement and host the software for the fist year is $49,841.80 and then $26,435.32 annually for hosting and support services. Implementation is projected to begin in June 2023 with a “Go Live” date of October 2023. “This software will help us engage in effective communication and will be user-friendly, interactive and dynamic,” said Shatto.

“I think our city is working very hard to try to make information available to our citizens that is concise and digestible,” said Mayor Nate Kilton.

The software will also have an internal component. “It will allow all of our departments to track their budgets in real time and they’ll be able to create dashboards to see how things are trending,” said City Manager Bill McDaniel. “This will be a powerful tool that they don’t have today.”

City Clerk Kerri Miller then discussed two residents, businessman Michael Derrick and First United Methodist Church administrative assistant Cynthia Morselli, who completed applications to replace Ludo Van Den Bogaert, whose term of service on the Hillsborough County Historical Advisory Council ended in December. “It’s great that we have two applicants wanting to serve in their community,” said Miller. In their applications, both residents expressed the importance of giving back to the community. Morselli said ‘preservation and/or identifiation of local monuments/ sites are essential to the education and promotion of a community’.

After a brief discussion, Morselli was appointed to the board. “I appreciate both of these people for putting their names in and want to publicly thank them for doing that,” said Kilton.

Commissioner Mathis hopes Derrick won’t be deterred by not receiving the appointment. “I hope he’ll apply for another board position when one becomes available,” she said.

Summer Breakspot Offers Meals For Kids During Summer Months

CHILDREN CAN SNAG FREE MEALS AT SEVERAL PLANT CITY LOCATIONS ALL SUMMER LONG.

sandwich on a brioche bun or a cheeseburger with apple slices, baby carrots with ranch dip or Craisins and milk.

Three quasi-judicial public hearings were held and unanimously approved, including:

* A final plat entitledTA Fancy Farms, creating a 34.43 acre, two-lot industrial subdivision on the southeast corner of South Wiggins and Fancy Farms Roads. Construction plans were reviewed and approved for a 298,967 square foot industrial warehouse to be built on the northern parcel and a 101,196 square foot industrial warehouse to be built on the southern parcel.

* A final plat entitled Shannon states, creating a 23-lot single-family residential subdivision on 12.67 acres of property located on the east side of Shannon Avenue. The property owner is providing a 50-foot wide easement on the eastern border of the property for the city’s proposed canal connector bicycle/pedestrian trail.

* An ordinance for a modifiation to the 1,008-acre Varrea Planned Development District to eliminate the requirement to show the school site on the site plan. This issue has been a hotly contested topic, especially at last month’s Planning Board meeting. On a previous site plan, the school location was designated on Charlie Taylor Road. Residents are concerned about the traffic ws and safety concerns after the school’s construction, especially if the site has entry points on one road (Charlie Taylor). However, the School Board signed a purchase and sale agreement this month to purchase property on the corner of Charlie Taylor and Midway Roads for the school site, allowing access from two different roadways. The District is also experimenting with ways to ease traffic flows by creating winding carlines on school property but residents don’t have to worry about those details anytime soon. “This project is not in our fie year plan, it’s probably six to 10 years out,” said Michelle Orton, HCPS General Manager, Growth Management and Planning.

The next commission meeting is scheduled for Monday, June 12 at 7:30 p.m. at City Hall.

School may soon be out for summer but that doesn’t mean kids will go hungry thanks to a decades-old program funded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), that works closely with states to ensure that children up to age 18 can get the nutrition they need when schools are closed during summer break.

Summer BreakSpot offers no-cost balanced breakfasts and lunches, depending on the site, at several locations in Plant City, including Bryan, Burney, Dover, Nelson, and Springhead Elementary Schools, Turkey Creek and Marshall Middle Schools, Plant City High School and the Plant City YMCA.

During each site’s scheduled mealtimes, children, with or without an adult, can sign in, walk to the cafeteria and get a delicious hot meal. At mobile feeding sites, cold meals are served.

Breakfast menus can consist of Kellogg’s cereals, mini pancakes or a Pillsbury cinnamon bar and juice and milk. Lunches might include a crispy chicken

“This is for everybody, there’s no paperwork to fill ou, no eligibility process,” said Hillsborough County Public Schools General Manager of Student Services Shani Hall. “We encourage all families to come out and participate.”

While available to all, the program aims to serve the county’s most vulnerable youth who rely on free or reduced-price meals during the school year and who may not have access to healthy meals during the summer months. According to Feeding America, one in eight children are at risk for hunger.

“We’re still dealing with so much food insecurity in Hillsborough County, this year hasn’t been easy for anybody because of the economic difficults many families are facing,” said Hall. “It’s important for us to be able to feed children in Hillsborough County while the need is still so great.”

Find a Summer BreakSpot site, along with start dates and hours of operation, in three different ways: via the interactive map on its website, by dialing 2-1-1 or by texting “FOOD” or “COMIDA” to 304-304.