Viera Now Sitting In Montelione’s Council Seat After Winning Runoff Over Davison

Hunter’s Green Luis Viera, who takes over for Lisa Montelione on the Tampa City Council, is sworn in on Dec. 8 by Judge Greg Holder.

It was an innocent, legitimate question by co-moderator and Neighborhood News publisher Gary Nager, but the response at the first candidate debate at the New Tampa Regional Library on Nov. 29 ended up striking a match in the Tampa City Council District 7 runoff election between Luis Viera and Jim Davison.

Did Davison’s response — that he wasn’t in favor of New Tampa de-annexing from the City of Tampa and incorporating as Hillsborough County’s fourth incorporated city, but didn’t think it should be taken off the table — play a key role in Viera’s slim 65-vote runoff election victory on Dec. 6?

It depends on who you ask.

“I think that late-breaking voters probably paid more attention to the issues, and that was certainly one of the issues they paid attention to,’’ Viera said. “Obviously the issue of secession got into the news, and therefore got more attention, and got the mayor involved. It caused people to have a second look at the race, or maybe even a first look at the race. I think it had an effect.”

Viera compared it that night to “birtherism,” and then riled Davison, a Trump supporter, a night later at the second runoff debate by suggesting Davison wanted to build a wall around New Tampa and have South Tampa pay for it.

Davison’s stance on secession poked Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, who called the idea patently ridiculous, and then took the unusual step of endorsing Viera despite not having endorsed a candidate prior to those runoff debates.

The Tampa Bay Times then wrote an editorial criticizing Davison.

Davison says the Times editorial was equivalent to an in-kind contribution to Viera’s campaign, claiming the newspaper was in the bag for the Hunter’s Green lawyer from the start. The Times did endorse Viera.

“It was a fake news story,’’ Davison says. “I was misrepresented, and the news and bloggers just kind of ran with it.”

Davison said he never claimed to be in favor of secession. He only said the idea shouldn’t be completely discarded.

But, Davison also dismisses talk that it cost him the election. He says Viera won because he had the backing of the city’s Democratic Party machine and was running in a Democratic district. Although it was a non-partisan race, he says Buckhorn and others made calls on Viera’s behalf.

“The fact that we lost by that small a margin running against the Democratic machine is a testament to the kind of campaign we ran,’’ Davison said. “And we won the New Tampa area (of the district) by 118 votes.”

Overall, though, it was Viera receiving 2,588 votes to 2,523 for Davison.

Viera managed to reverse the Nov. 8 general election results, where Davison had 31 percent of the votes to 22 for Viera.

Nearly 30,000 votes were cast in the district on Nov. 8; but only 5,117 of 53,968 eligible voters (9.5 percent) bothered to vote in the runoff.

In the New Tampa precincts that voted at Tampa Palms, Compton Park, the New Tampa Family YMCA, the New Tampa Regional Library, Cypress Pointe Community Church and St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church, 3,501 votes were cast from a pool of 32,032 registered voters, or 11 percent.

Davison captured the majority of those votes — by a 1,817-1,684 margin — and also won the neighborhood battle by picking up 365 votes in Precinct 361 (which is mostly Hunter’s Green), while Viera had 271.

But, Viera won a large majority of the 19 precincts in District 7.

“Obviously it was a very stressful, very close election,’’ Viera said. “We were happy that things went the way they did. We worked hard for every single vote.”

As a result, Viera is now sitting in the District 7 seat vacated by Lisa Montelione, who resigned this summer to run unsuccessfully against incumbent Shawn Harrison for his State House District 63 seat. He was sworn in on Dec. 8 by Judge Greg Holder. He said he spent the first few weeks studying up on City Council procedure and learning the ropes, and hopes to start pushing some of his ideas soon.

Viera said he hopes to help create a North Tampa Veterans Council, as well as a New Tampa Special Needs Council for advocates of both issues. He thinks the property crime rates in Forest Hills needs to be addressed, says he plans on working diligently with Mark Sharpe of the Tampa Innovation Alliance to help redevelop the USF area, and is reviewing code enforcement. He mentioned the trucks and trailers parked outside the old Sweetbay Supermarket and (at times) the Muvico Theater on Bruce B. Downs.

He said he will continue to work on transportation issues, particularly those in New Tampa, and plans to advocate to find the funds to pay for the expansion of the New Tampa Recreation Center.

“I have a lot of things I want to get done before (the next City Council election in March of 2019),” Viera said. “And I want to hit the ground running.”

As for Davison, you haven’t heard the last of the long-time New Tampa activist. He hinted that he would probably run again in 2019, and says he will continue fighting for what he thinks is right for New Tampa while holding Viera accountable.

First Crystal Lagoon Breaks Ground In Wesley Chapel; #2 To Begin Later

You get a lagoon…and you get a lagoon…and you get a lagoon!

While a good many Wesley Chapel and New Tampa-area residents have been eagerly awaiting the prospects of a state-of-the-art Crystal Lagoon being built in our area, a second lagoon also is in the works as Metro Development Group moves to raise the bar on amenities for new housing developments.

Though it was first reported back in 2014, Metro finally is digging the hole on the former Epperson Ranch that will become the much-anticipated, first Crystal Lagoon in the state of Florida. Next year, construction on a second lagoon, located at Mirada on the old Cannon Ranch, will begin as well.

Construction of the 7.5-acre lagoon at Epperson Ranch, located north of the Bridgewater community on Curley Rd. north of S.R. 54., is expected to be completed by the end of 2017.

Crystal Lagoons was founded in 2007 by Chilean biochemist-turned real estate developer Fernando Fischmann, who created a system based on pulses and ultra sonic filtration that can take virtually any kind of water and purify and maintain it at a low cost. Crystal Lagoons is the only company in the world with the technology, which is patented in 160 countries, and claims it currently has more than 300 projects in development in 60 countries.

According to Crystal Lagoons, its system is more efficient than a swimming pool, will use 100 times less chemicals and is 50 times more energy efficient, while consuming only 2% of the energy needed by conventional filtration systems.

The lagoon uses 30 times less water than a typical 18-hole golf course, and its clear, blue water will be surrounded by a white, sandy beach.

The Crystal Lagoon at Epperson Ranch will be 4,200 linear feet in circumference (which is almost 1 mile around), according to Metro Development Group president Greg Singleton.

The average depth will be eight feet, with some spots as deep as 10-12 feet. The water is so clear, Singleton adds, it doesn’t refract as much light, so the deeper spots will give it more of a deep blue color.

The lagoon will hold about 14-15 million gallons of water.

Where Metro Development Group is going to get that water created some consternation locally, when it was expected they would pump it in from the local aquifer. Local residents worried that tapping into the aquifer would create sinkholes.

Instead, Metro plans on purchasing water from Pasco County Utilities to fill the lagoon, although the developer does still reserve the right to find another source.

Another cause for the delay in construction was the uniqueness of the project, which created permitting issues for Pasco County and made finding the right people to build it painstaking.

“Being that this is the first Crystal Lagoon in the U.S., it is a unique construction project and we wanted to make sure we found the right partners and contractors for the job, which took more time than we expected,’’ Singleton says. “Also, being the first lagoon in the U.S. to be designed and permitted, we were methodical in our approach to get it right. We also needed to give our approving agencies time to work through their process, as this was also new for them.”

Epperson Ranch, which is part of Metro’s “Connected City” project currently weaving it’s way towards approval from the Pasco Board of County Commissioners, is already preparing to begin selling homes with the flashy amenity as a big draw. The first lot closing was expected to happen by the end of 2016, and model homes will start to be framed by the end of January.

The other Crystal Lagoon in Wesley Chapel also will be in the Connected City, Singleton says, in the Mirada community, which is just south of S.R. 52, a little further up Curley Rd.

“The two Lagoons in Connected City have been planned for at least two years and provide another compelling reason for people to live, work, and play in Connected City,’’ Singleton says.

Development of the Mirada community is expected to begin in the spring of 2017, and Metro is looking to break ground on that second Crystal Lagoon by the end of 2017.

Metro, which also developed the Union Park community in Wesley Chapel, plans to build four Crystal Lagoons in Florida.

Along with the two in Wesley Chapel, the developer intends to break ground on a lagoon in the SouthShore Bay community in South Hillsborough in spring of 2017, and will build another in a Fort Myers community called Brightwater.

For more information about the Crystal Lagoons, visit Crystal-Lagoons.com. To see what else Metro Development Group has going on, check out MetroPlaces.com.

Here’s 5 Things We’re Excited About For 2017

Bye bye, 2016.

Hello, 2017.

For many, there are no sweeter words. We’ll let the historians debate about how bad 2016 really was, but they have plenty of material to study.

Those historians might want to start with an election season that was meaner and nastier than any other. Ever. Considering the New Tampa area seemed firmly in Hillary Clinton’s camp, based on voting results, President Donald Trump will only add to the misery for some in the years to come.

Our country also faced an Ebola outbreak and a Zika outbreak, neither of which seems so bad in a world seemingly bent on destroying itself with hateful attacks leaving scores dead in Brussels, Paris and Instanbul, as well as in Charleston and Orlando…and the list just keeps getting longer with each passing day.

We had a significant hurricane scare (thank you, Matthew) and while the storm season spared New Tampa, thousands in other places in Matthew’s wake weren’t nearly as fortunate.

Muhammad Ali, David Bowie and Prince all died during 2016. Now, we really know what it sounds like when doves cry.

So bye bye, 2016.

Hello, 2017.

We could use some cheering up, so here’s five things we’re looking forward to as the calendar turns, because, really, things have to get better, don’t they?

1. Florida Hospital Center Ice (FHCI) — Of all the things to look forward in the New Tampa-Wesley Chapel area in 2017, the $20-million FHCI (see ad on pg. 47), located along Cypress Ridge Blvd. on the northeast corner of the I-75/S.R. 56 interchange, has to be near the top of the list.

If you haven’t noticed, Tampa Bay has become something of a hockey town, thanks to the success of the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning. With so many northern transplants in the area, FCHI is sure to be a hit.

The five-rink complex will host corporate events, non-ice events like street and roller hockey, and with just a little configuring, even volleyball and basketball.

But even though the rink will feature the Top Shelf Sports Lounge, the bread and butter of FCHI will be served cold. The 150,500-sq.-ft. facility will have free skating, figure skating, high school hockey, adult hockey leagues, and everything in between. Gordie Zimmermann, who runs the place, has even teased curling leagues for locals. Raise your hand if you’ve watched curling during the Winter Olympics and said, ‘You know, I’d sure like to try that.’

Now you can.

Sometime in January, you’ll even be able to watch your first hockey game at the new FHCI when Wiregrass Ranch High plays. Spectrum Sports also will televise a live high school hockey game from FHCI sometime soon, too. Expect the Lightning to have some sort of a presence in the new joint, starting with clinics for kids.

And, Skate For Hope, which will benefit cancer research and feature many of the world’s top figure skaters, is scheduled for June 17.

2. The Taste of New Tampa & Wesley Chapel — Speaking of FCHI, that brings us to the second thing we are looking forward to in 2017— the Taste of New Tampa, which returns Saturday, March 18, after a four-year hiatus.

You might remember the last Taste, back in 2003, which was foiled by terrible weather.

Well, this year, that won’t be a problem, as FHCI is hosting virtually all of the event inside. So, no rain, no sweating, no sunburn, just cool sub-70-degree weather as you walk around sampling tastes from as many as 50 local restaurants.

The star of the Taste is always the food, but we don’t want to put any pressure on our happy editor Gary Nager, who has been personally involved in almost every Taste to date. But, since he is again responsible for bringing in the best restaurants this year, COME ON MAN! AFTER 2016 THE WHOLE AREA IS RELYING ON A VARIED SELECTION OF DELICIOUS SAMPLES FROM THE BEST RESTAURANTS AROUND OR 2017 WILL BE RUINED!

Okay, so maybe there’s a little pressure.

3. New Restaurants — Speaking of food, we love playing Follow the New Restaurants here in the office. In this regard, 2016 was pretty good to us, with Ginza, Cheddar’s, Culver’s, Chick-Fil-A, B.J.’s Brewhouse, Longhorn Steakhouse and Vuelo all opening their doors.

And, while you may never have eaten at a Ford’s Garage or a Pollo Tropical, both are expected to open in 2017 right across from the Tampa Premium Outlets (TPO). Our office will be among the first ones inside.

4. Costco — And, while we’re on the subject of TPO, if you look just a little west of it, the Costco looks ready to open.

We repeat: Costco looks ready to open!

We are now hearing the gas pumps will be open Jan. 9, and the wholesaler will be opening on Feb. 9. 

The mega wholesaler already has a cult following, but the nearest one to New Tampa is in Brandon. The expected February opening in Wesley Chapel will attract many of us, not just for the 200 or so jobs, which pay around an average of $20 an hour, with nice benefits, but also for the food. The Costco warehouse is filled with goodies, and as any veteran member knows, sample time around lunchtime is the cheapest date around.

5. Crystal Lagoons — Speaking of cheap dates, a trip to the beach can’t be beat, but why make that drive if there’s a crystal-clear, hyper-clean lagoon outlined by sandy beaches in your own back yard? Yes, after a delay, the first-ever Crystal Lagoon to be built in the U.S., is actually happening. Day passes will be on our Christmas list next year, for sure. 

We also look forward to seeing how New Tampa’s Luis Viera does as a Tampa City Council member, to the expansion of Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel, the possible start of construction of the Diverging Diamond Interchange at S.R. 56, the construction of Raymond James Financial, and more!