Pebble Creek, Cross Creek & Live Oak Could Lose City Fire Services

The City of Tampa and Hillsborough County are in a dispute over usage of Tampa Fire Rescue Station No. 21 on Cross Creek Blvd. (Photo: John C. Cotey)

Since it opened in 2002, Tampa Fire Rescue Station No. 21 on Cross Creek Blvd. has not only serviced City of Tampa residents in New Tampa, but has also been contracted to respond to the homes in the New Tampa communities located in unincorporated Hillsborough County. That city-county agreement, however, is in peril.

While it may not be time to call 9-1-1 on the negotiations just yet, Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn says that unless the county bridges the gap between what it has been paying and what the city thinks the county should be paying, Fire Station 21 — located on Cross Creek Blvd. just west of Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. — will no longer respond to calls from residents in Pebble Creek, Live Oak, Cross Creek and the other communities located in unincorporated Hillsborough County.

“Effective Dec. 31, if some accomodation is not reached, the city is not going to be providing service to Pebble Creek anymore,’’ Buckhorn told the Neighborhood News on Sept. 29.

The county is paying the city $218,000 a year, plus any adjustments related to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), to service unincorporated New Tampa,

Buckhorn says that total should be closer to $1.46 million.

“We have told the county, ‘Look, we are not doing this anymore’,” Buckhorn says. “You can pay us what we think we are owed and deserve, or you can go provide the service yourself or contract with Pasco County. We don’t care (which one). We’re happy to be here for you, but we’re going to do it at a rate that compensates us appropriately.”

Without a contract with the city, Hillsborough has limited options. One, according to Hillsborough County Fire Rescue Chief Dennis Jones, would be to stand up some kind of a response unit in the area. Another would be to contract with Pasco County, whose nearest fire rescue station is No. 26 in front of the Meadow Pointe I community in Wesley Chapel, about six miles away from the easternmost part unicorporated New Tampa.

The nearest Hillsborough County fire rescue station is No. 5 on E. 139th Ave. in the University area.

The best option, according to Chief Jones, is reaching some agreement with the city. However, it is requesting that the county to pay 40 percent of the annual costs to operate Station 21, City of Tampa chief financial officer Sonya Little wrote in a letter to Hillsborough County chief financial administrator Bonnie Wise.

According to the letter, Tampa has calculated the annual operating costs of Fire Station 21 at $3,652,432, and 40 percent of that number is $1,406,973.

“In these tight budget times, we’re looking at every agreement we have and making sure we are being fairly and adequately compensated,” Buckhorn says, “and this is one that is so glaring and so out of line, we just said enough.”

Jones said the county found the $1.4 million figure “shocking.” According to numbers he says are from the city, less than two calls a day to unincorporated New Tampa are handled by Fire Station 21, or approximately 40 minutes a day (or 2.78 percent) of service.

“We thought that was a little bit of a jump without some rationale behind it,’’ Jones said. “We measured calls and amount of time, and it’s a very small number for us to pay that amount of money.”

Buckhorn doesn’t agree, however.

“The frequency of the runs have increased significantly,” Buckhorn said. “We calculated down to the man hour, down to the cost of the vehicle, to be 40 percent of our time up there out of Station 21.”

Jones says the City of Tampa is seeking money for everything from the cost of the building to vehicle depreciation to uniforms.

“Basically all the costs to run the fire station,’’ he said.

The county, however, is arguing that many of the costs the city wants to reimbursed for have nothing to do with the contracted services provided. Jones said the county is more than willing to make up for any CPIs that may have been missed in the past, and to pay its share of the operating costs of the fire vehicles used, as well as the materials and supplies associated with the calls to unincorporated New Tampa.

But the city, Jones says, built the fire station for the residents of New Tampa, not to accommodate any contract with the county. It owns the station, and the land it’s on, and Jones doesn’t think costs associated with that should be passed on to the county.

Buckhorn said the agreement between the city and county (which dates back to 1998) has long been an issue downtown, when some of the county’s players involved in negotiations worked for the city. Wise was former mayor Pam Iorio’s chief financial officer for eight years before joining the county in 2011, and Jones was the Tampa Fire Chief before retiring in 2010. He was lured out of retirement in 2015 by the county.

“The two of them well aware of the longstanding inadeuqacies of it,” Buckhorn said.

Buckhorn said Jones complained about the agreement before retiring. Jones says he doesn’t recall ever having that conversation with Buckhorn when he was mayor, or before that when Buckhorn served as a city council member.

Both sides will continue to negotiate. The interlocal agreement they renewed in 2013 states that either party can terminate the agreement upon 90 days notice, which would mean Buckhorn would have had to exercise the option on Oct. 1 to meet his Dec. 31 cutoff date.

According to Buckhorn, the county has offered to pay an additional $40,000, which he said was “pretty much insulting.”

Jones said the county has offered to pay $56,000 more, as well as an additional $32,500 yearly for expendables. Even using Jones’ numbers, the difference between the city and county is still roughly $1.3 million.

“It’s a huge gap,” Jones said. “Is there a meeting place? I would hope there is. I’m confident we’ll come up with a resolution.”

Qvita Health & Wellness Offers Both Primary Care & Cosmetic Services

Peggy Demetriou, ANRP, FNP-BC, provides primary care and cosmetic services at Qvita Health & Wellness near Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel.

Peggy Demetriou, ANRP, FNP-BC, is the owner and CEO of Qvita Health & Wellness, which provides primary care and cosmetic services and is located across Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. from Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel (FHWC) in the Windfair Professional Center.

Peggy opened the practice last December and says she is continuing to see growth, as new patients discover her practice and encourage their family and friends to try Qvita, too. She says the name Qvita signifies health and wellness in Latin.

She is an Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner (ARNP) and also a Family Nurse Practitioner who is Board-certified (FNP-BC). Peggy graduated in 1998 from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Nursing (BSN). She worked as a nurse for five years, and then graduated from Concordia University of Wisconsin (in Mequon) in 2002 with a Master’s degree in Science Nursing with a specialty in Family Practice. She became Board-certified that year, too.

Peggy first moved to New Tampa in 2002 and has worked in Wesley Chapel since 2008. She and her husband, Dr. Nektarios Demetriou, live with their blended family of five children in New Tampa. “I love living here,” she says. “There wasn’t much here when I first moved here, but I’m so glad I stayed because now there’s so much to do.”

Family Practice

Peggy sees people ages five and older for all primary care needs, including physicals for school and work (she is even certified to provide Department of Transportation physicals) and managing chronic and complex healthcare needs, such as for people who have diabetes or hypertension.

“We have a strong focus on providing excellent customer service,” says Peggy, “and we go the extra mile for our patients and clients.”

She is currently accepting new patients and says she can usually see them on the same day if they’re sick. Her office accepts all major insurance plans, along with Medicare and Medicaid.

“As a nurse practitioner-owned practice, our approach is different,” Peggy explains. “We focus on the whole person and on spending time with people.”

Qvita Health & Wellness, according to Peggy, is a good alternative for people who are frustrated with leaving a message for the doctor and not getting a call back, or waiting two hours to be seen for five minutes.

“I spend whatever time is necessary with my patients,” she says. “For new patients, I block more time, but it’s completely individual.”

She says her holistic approach includes addressing mental health issues, too, and that proper diagnosis between anxiety, depression, bipolar or other afflictions is the key.

“Sometimes we see patients who are treated for anxiety and depression with different types of medications, and they say the medications made them worse. That’s a red flag.”

Peggy says she has the experience, knowledge and tools to help make the right diagnosis and get the right referrals, including therapy.

“Medication is good,” she says, “But it’s also good to address these issues in another way. A counselor or therapist spends time to do teaching and give tools that help, too.”

Qvita also carries a preservative-free flu shot for anyone who would prefer a version of the vaccine that doesn’t have preservatives. Peggy says the ideal time to get a flu shot is around October of each year.

On the Qvita Facebook page at Facebook.com/QvitaHealthandWellness, Barbara Summerall writes, “I went to visit Peggy [and] she caught a problem that no doctor ever found. I sent my husband there, too, and he agrees that she really is amazingly caring.

“She takes the time to get to know your physical status and she is ready to explain future issues,” Barbara continues. “The facility is super clean and her staff is super friendly and always smiling. I highly recommend Qvita!”

Cosmetic Services

In addition to primary care, Peggy provides cosmetic services for anyone looking to maintain healthy skin and a youthful appearance. “We offer Botox and a variety of fillers, including Juvederm, Restylane, Radiesse and other major brands,” she says.

“We also have a new device called Ultherapy,” Peggy adds. “It’s the only FDA-cleared skin tightening device. It’s not invasive and is non-surgical, and it keeps working over three months for the full effect. You only need one treatment every two years. It is necessary to repeat the treatment because natural aging continues to occur.”

An aesthetician has just been added to the staff at Qvita Health & Wellness. Ashley Negron has a clinical skincare diploma from the American Institute of Beauty and is licensed by the State of Florida Board of Cosmetology as a registered facial specialist.

Peggy says Ashley provides medical-grade skincare procedures that are results-driven, not what she calls “buff and fluff.”

“We do procedures such as microneedling and plasma rich platelets (PRP), where we draw blood and extract the platelets, stem cells and growth factors, and use tiny needles to return those growth factors back into the skin. It’s excellent for wrinkles, spots, loose skin, and anti-aging.”

She says Qvita also offers Kybella, a treatment for double chins, but can also be a used for off-label areas, such as bra fat or love handles.

Peggy says she sees a lot of patients who come in for corrections, especially from people who have bought a Groupon. She has a warning for people who are looking for the lowest priced cosmetic services.

“Don’t bargain hunt for your face!,” she says. “You don’t want to have to pay for your bargain and then pay someone else to fix it. Always interview the person who is going to do the procedure and find out if they are certified and properly trained. I have been trained by each company for each product that I sell. Sometimes, the price other places advertise is less than my cost. If that’s the case, maybe the product is old or not authentic.”

She offers a free consultation for anyone interested in Qvita’s cosmetic procedures.

Vitamins & Supplements

Qvita shares its name with a line of vitamins that Peggy and her husband have developed over the last couple of years.

“We are interested in health and wellness for ourselves and for our family,” Peggy explains. “In our practices, people ask us, what’s a good vitamin?”

She says that while it’s hard to say, she generally doesn’t recommend anything readily available over the counter.

“They tend to be full of fillers and additives, with large amounts of vitamins you don’t need and not enough of the ones you do. So, we came up with something we actually take ourselves.”

She says they have an “awesome” multi-vitamin in powder form, and another powder for joint pain that people rave about. “People tell us all the time that they don’t need ibuprofen anymore because the powder works so well,” she says. “It’s got antioxidants that act as a high-potency anti-inflammatory.”

Peggy explains that the supplements are “triple certified” by the Food and Drug Administration, Good Manufacturing Practice, and NSF International Public Health & Safety Organization. She says each batch takes about three months to manufacture, because every ingredient is tested every time.

“These are medical-level supplements for people who are serious about their health and want to feel good,” she says, proudly.

For more information about the vitamins and supplements, which can be purchased without a prescription, visit MyQvita.com.

For More Information

Photos of cosmetic procedures performed at Qvita are on Instagram @QvitaHealthandWellness1 and Peggy provides her patients and the community with valuable information about health and wellness through posts on Facebook.

Qvita Health & Wellness is located at 2734 Windguard Cir., Suite 101. It is open Monday-Friday at 8:30 a.m., closing at 6 p.m. on Mon., 5 p.m. on Tues.–Thur., and 4 p.m. on Fri. For more information or to book your appointment online, visit Qvita Health & Wellness at www.QvitaHealthandWellness.com or call (813) 501-4130.

Nibbles and Bytes: WC Rotary’s Casino Night Raises $18,000!

Congratulations to my friends from the Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel (noon), which meets Wednesdays at noon at Lexington Oaks Golf Club, for putting on a smash hit “Casino Night” fund raiser to help the family of Clayton Mahler with their medical bills.

The Rotary Cub was prompted to action by Pasco’s Clerk & Comptroller Dr. Paula O’Neil, who knows the family personally and was the emcee for the event, which was held August 25 — the same day Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas — at Wesley Chapel Nissan on S.R. 54. The dealership took all of the vehicles out of its showroom and replaced them with gaming tables for the event.

Dr. O’Neil, a breast cancer survivor herself, talked to her friend and Wesley Chapel (WC) Nissan public relations rep Troy Stevenson about doing something to help.

Stevenson got the approval of the dealership’s general manager Joey Falcon to host the Casino Night, which was attended by more than 300 people and which raised about $18,000, according to event chair and club Board member Chris Casella.

Clayton was diagnosed with Stage 3 rhabdomyosarcoma after a July 4th visit to the emergency room for a growth in his nose that was obstructing his airway. He is receiving 42 weeks of chemotherapy, followed by radiation, after 95 percent of the mass was removed.

The Mahlers’ medical bills are piling up and you could feel the love and appreciation flowing in every direction during Casino Night, which was attended by a Who’s Who of local politicos, including Congressman Gus Bilirakis, State Representatives Danny Burgess and Amber Mariano and four of the five members of the Pasco County Board of County Commissioners, as well as by numerous Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce members, many of whom served as volunteers.

The food was donated by Latin Twist Café on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., although Chick-fil-A on BBD in New Tampa donated the food for the second floor VIP room, where Clayton and his family spent most of the evening. Wine was donated by our friends Charles and Cheryl Visalli of Time for Wine and the delicious Taino Light and Boricua beer was donated by WC Nissan owner Jay Rosario, who also is an owner of the beer company, which is based in Altamonte Springs.

“We’re proud to be able to help this wonderful family,” Casella said. “We really want to thank Dr. O’Neil, the family and especially Wesley Chapel Nissan for hosting us.”

Unfortunately, the club’s planned Sept. 11 American flag giveaway and breakfast for local first responders had to be scrapped because of Hurricane Irma, which made landfall in Florida on Sept 10. The club has since rescheduled the flag giveaway at both the Shops at Wiregrass and Tampa Premium Outlets malls for this weekend — Saturday-Sunday, September 23-24, noon-4 p.m., at both locations.

For more information, visit WCRotary.com or attend one of the club’s meetings at Lexington Oaks Golf Club.

Starbucks, Chick-fil-A & CubeSmart Getting Closer

If it’s been a while since you ventured out on S.R. 54 east of I-75, you may not have noticed all the progress that’s been made on both the new Starbucks, located just east of the new Walmart on 54 or the new CubeSmart self-storage facility located just west of the intersection of 54 and Curley Rd.

Prior to Hurricane Irma, we also saw some progress on the planned Chick-fil-A that is just beginning construction on 54, just west of the Walgreens at BBD.

We will have updates on all three businesses in a future issue.

Sorry that we didn’t have room for a list of WCCC events in this issue, but there are always great events — many of which are free — available for current and future Chamber members to attend and this month is no different.

For all the latest events, visit WesleyChapelChamber.com. — GN

Happy Cow Is So Much More Than Just Great Frozen Yogurt!

THERE is little doubt that there are a lot of ice cream and frozen yogurt shops in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel — and several others that have come and gone the last few years.

So, how does a single location (a second location has opened on Gall Blvd. in Zephyrhills) of a (so far; see below) non-chain that opened next to Bonefish Grill in a crowded, Wesley Chapel shopping center in 2013 continue to distinguish itself from its competition?

Happy Cow Frozen Yogurt co-owner Ray Perez says that, at his brightly colored dessert shop, “Our products and unique, Disney-like environment and customer-first attitude are only the beginning. We are still service-based, even though the product itself is self-serve.”

For example, he says, that every staff member is taught to bring high chairs for parents toting babies and toddlers and to bring napkins when they notice that a customer forgot to grab some.

Happy Cow offers up to 16 flavors at once (Ray says there are at least 100 being rotated), and not all of them are frozen yogurt.

“We’re a true dessert shop,” he says. “In addition to frozen yogurt, we have soft-serve ice cream, soft serve gelato, sorbet and we always have gluten-free, no-sugar-added and fat-free options. We also offer 60 different toppings, 7 sauces, freshly baked cookies and brownies, waffle cones and fresh fruit. We even recently added amazing milkshakes and even ‘epic shakes’ like Cookies & Cream Craze.”

And, despite being up against any number of chain frozen yogurt shops across the Tampa Bay area, Happy Cow was voted “Best in the Bay” by Creative Loafing readers for 2016. It also has been the Favorite Ice Cream/Frozen Yogurt Shop” of Neighborhood News readers entering our annual Reader Survey & Contest (see pg. 42 of this issue) the last three years in a row. “We’re proud that the people who read those publications love us,” Ray says.

Ray, whose wife Kristi helps out at the two current locations on weekends, also is partners with Connie and Bill Rogers in the Happy Cow corporate entity, which is now beginning to sell franchises — and not just for locations in strip shopping plazas. “We’re looking to put Happy Cow kiosks in malls and even schools.”

And, although he can’t yet announce anything in terms of franchises that already are sold, he says, “There is a lot of interest from the public in our brand. I should be able to make some announcements soon.”

He also says that catering is a popular part of the Happy Cow experience, especially in family-oriented, growing Wesley Chapel.

“We brought in one of our mobile machines to Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel for an event and served 600 members of the hospital’s staff,” he says. “And, everyone went home happy.”

Personally, my favorite flavors are peanut butter and cake batter and I usually start with one of Happy Cow’s chewy, fudgy brownies as a base. I also always have to have the hot chocolate fudge, peanut butter fudge and/or marshmallow cream topping. The good news is that if you don’t like what I enjoy, Happy Cow’s variety of toppings and sauces will surely include something you love, too.

Ray says that Happy Cow also is the only yogurt shop that delivers through Uber Eats to a limited area, including to Meadow Pointe, Seven Oaks and even Grand Hampton in New Tampa, “and it’s taken off more than I expected, without marketing it to our 17,000 Facebook and Instagram followers.”

Happy Cow Frozen Yogurt also has a user-friendly “C’mon, Get Happy” Rewards Club with “no passwords, no cards, just fun.”

And, with the coupon from the ad on pg. 3 of this issue, you’ll get 15-percent-off any product at Happy Cow.

Happy Cow Frozen Yogurt (1646 Bruce B. Downs Blvd.) is open at 11 a.m. every day and stays open until 10 p.m. every weeknight and until 11 p.m. on Fri. & Sat. For more information, visit HappyCowFroYo.com or call (813) 428-5929 and please tell Ray and the crew you read about them in the Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News!

Local Couple Teach How To Mentor At-Risk Kids

Joe & Carol Gravante have turned their love of children and their own empty nest into an opportunity to teach a free mentoring class to help adults mentor at-risk kids. The classes began last week at Bridgeway Church on Wells Rd.

Joe and Carol Gravante, residents of Heritage Isles in New Tampa, are empty nesters who say that God gave them a new purpose after their three boys grew up and left home.

After raising their sons and hosting at least two dozen foreign exchange students, including 12 who stayed with them for a year and attended local schools, the Gravantes have turned their attention to mentoring at-risk kids in our community.

“Carol and I had started working with a mentoring group in Tampa several years ago, and when we first started we had no idea what we were doing,” Joe explains. “The training that we received was more about how the foster care system works, the formalities, not how to actually deal with the kids themselves. There was nothing available (to teach us) how to communicate and how to handle certain situations you might be put in that are different from raising your own kids.”

So, Joe says, he and Carol shared resources with other people they knew who also were mentoring. His sister-in-law in Missouri, for example, who helped him find school resources for a tenth grader who needed help to pass his classes. Joe also did online searches for answers to questions he had, and he tried different techniques with the teenagers he was mentoring.

Now, Joe and Carol have taken their experiences and developed a curriculum to help people learn skills that will help them be good mentors. After teaching the class Joe developed last year, it will be offered again this year at Bridgeway Church, located at 30660 Wells Rd. in Wesley Chapel. The classes started September 25 and meet every other Monday. There is no cost to attend, and childcare is provided for people who sign up for the class and need it.

Class topics include effective communication, anger management, time management, bullying, dealing with attitudes, when to say “yes” and “no” and much more.

“Really, these classes are good for anyone who’s raising kids, or even in the workplace,” says Carol.

Other Options

Joe says they also are currently coming up with a schedule of opportunities for people who want to serve their community and help kids, but don’t have the time to commit to mentoring a child one hour every week.

“We have two focuses,” explains Carol. “Some people want to get involved right away and do something purposeful.”

For those people, the couple is organizing events where anyone can come out and interact with at-risk kids in a large group setting. Joe and Carol say they have a friend with a horse ranch where they have taken groups of kids, and volunteers help to lead the horses and play with the kids.

“People find it’s quite fun!” Carol says. “Some people aren’t comfortable with the idea of working with at-risk kids. They worry they have too many limitations or the kids have too much baggage, but the events help people get more comfortable until they are ready for a one-on-one relationship with the students.”

Their goal is to encourage more people to provide that time to help students who need it. After all, Joe says, every child he’s mentored has benefitted from the experience.

“These kids just need time and attention,” he says.

Joe knows that because he once benefitted from mentoring, too.

“I had this (U.S. military) Colonel who changed my entire life,” he says. “I grew up in the city of Pittsburgh (PA). It was a steel mill town, and that’s all I knew. When I joined the military, this amazing man took the time and energy to make me see I could be so much more than what I was. He mentored me from 20 years old until 30-something. He was the one who really set me on the right path.”

Joe says the cycle of being mentored, and now being in a position to pay his experiences forward and serve his community, continues with the kids he’s impacted.

“I see the kids I’ve mentored already giving back in their communities,” he says. “It’s so good to see that you can make a difference that way, no matter how old you are.”

For more information or to register for the mentoring class, contact Carol at (813) 753-8338.