Month: March 2019

Children’s Dentistry & Dr. Greg Stepanski Still Keeping New Tampa Kids Smiling

Dr. Greg Stepanski and his team at Children’s Dentistry on Cross Creek Blvd. have a lot of fun with their patients, encouraging a family-type atmosphere in ways that include the annual Christmas party, where all patients are invited to visit and take pictures with Santa.

Greg Stepanski, D.D.S., is a pediatric dentist with more than 25 years of experience in the New Tampa/Wesley Chapel area. Dr. Greg’s Children’s Dentistry has been located in the Cory Lake Professional Center on Cross Creek Blvd. since he moved it there in 2004, after taking over another dentist’s practice back in 1991, when it was located on E. Fowler Ave.

While Dr. Greg — as he’s often called, both by his patients and their parents — has been in practice for more than two decades, his office continues to be a modern, updated place with new technology, where parents love to bring their children for dental care.

In fact, some parents who now bring their children to Dr. Greg were his patients when they were children themselves.

When those parents arrive, they see more familiar faces in addition to Dr. Greg. Office manager Melanie Phillips has been with the practice since 1987.

Since this picture was taken in 1993, much has changed, but the smiling faces of some long-term employees still make children feel at ease during their dental appointments. Dr. Greg (far left), office manager Melanie (far right), dental assistant Brenda (next to Melanie) and insurance coordinator Shannon (in front of Brenda) have all been with the practice for more than two decades.

“That is such a compliment to know they had such good experiences here as a child that they want to bring their kids, too,” says Melanie.

That’s actually what happened in her family, too, Melanie adds. “Dr. Stepanski took care of my two kids’ teeth, and now my grandkids come here.”

She adds, “I love Dr. Stepanski. He’s a very good dentist. He puts a lot of thought into his treatment plans and thinks about what’s best for the child.”

She says she loves coming to work because she sees the difference that the practice is making in people’s lives. While Melanie says she knows many people of her own generation who were — and still are — scared to see a dentist because of their own experiences, that’s simply not the case for Dr. Greg’s patients.

“We’re creating a whole different environment, so people take care of their teeth,” Melanie says. “It’s a big part of their overall health. If you have decay or infection in your mouth, that can affect the whole body.”

Dr. Greg earned his Doctor of Dental Surgery (D.D.S.) degree from the Ohio State University College of Dentistry in Columbus, and also earned a B.S. degree in Biology from the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, IN.

He says one of his primary goals was ensuring kids’ teeth stay healthy from a very young age.

“We are encouraging children to have a dental home by the age of one,” he says.

Dr. Greg explains that age one is now recommended by both the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and the American Academy of Pediatrics for a child’s first dental appointment.

“It’s preventive,” he says. “Now we’re seeing more and more patients at age one and seeing less problems. We’re also seeing a little bit less tooth decay.”

Making Young Patients Feel Right At Home

Shelly Alt, who lives in Covington Estates in Cross Creek, is mom to four girls. She says she has been taking her daughters to Dr. Greg for the last five or six years.

Previously, she went to another dentist, but that office didn’t take her insurance. She said she would pay hundreds of dollars at each visit, so she decided to switch to Children’s Dentistry, which accepts her insurance and is much closer to her home.

“Dr. Stepanski is fabulous,” Shelly says, “but what also makes his office are the ladies. They are always happy, they have a great time and they love kids. They’re just wonderful.”

Melanie agrees that she and her staff love their jobs. “My team has experience, they love kids and they have a good time,” she says. “They are concerned about their patients, and we have fun throughout the day.”

She says the office’s friendly, happy staff creates an environment where parents are comfortable, and they hope parents will ask any and all questions at any time, even if they have to call the office after they’ve left their child’s appointment.

“Any questions, ask us,” Melanie says. “We’re all parents and we know that these are your children and you have to be comfortable and have confidence in who is taking care of your children.”

Melanie says that starts at the top, with Dr. Greg and the way he cares for each and every child who sits in his chair.

“He creates an environment where you can’t be anything else but caring and concerned for the patients,” she says, “because that’s who he is.”

Kids visit Dr. Stepanski for cleanings, which are recommended twice a year, and X-rays. They’re taught about the importance of dental hygiene and shown how to properly brush and floss. Sealants and fluoride treatments are offered as a preventative measure against decay.

When decay happens, Dr. Stepanski does fillings and restorations. Also, he sees kids for emergencies, such as if they chip or knock out a tooth.

A Commitment To Community Outreach

Dr. Greg’s office is more than just a place to get your children’s teeth checked. He and Melanie say it’s a family, and they are intentional about building that community feeling, as well.

Every year, Dr. Greg’s patients are invited to visit Santa at the practice’s annual Christmas party.

“Our families bring their kids all dressed up and take their family Santa photos with our professional photographer,” says Dr. Greg, who adds that there also are fun activities for the kids, such as face painting, a balloon artist and crafts. “It’s become quite an event.”

Alt says the holiday party is one of her favorite things about the practice. “The most fabulous thing is not having to go to the mall to see Santa,” she says. “They have games and music and face painting. My kids look forward to that every year. It’s great.”

Dr. Greg enjoys it, too.

“We have it here so the kids can see that it’s a fun destination,” he says. “They can interact with me and the staff while we’re having fun, not trying to do a filling or fix a tooth that was knocked out.”

In addition to his office’s events, Dr. Greg reaches out to the community in many other ways. He brings “Tommy the Toothbrush” — a character who stresses good dental hygiene — to visit local schools during February, which is Dental Health Month.

“We give toothbrushes to all the kids,” Dr. Greg explains, “Some of them might not have one.”

He also has provided dental care for migrant children and does a program each fall where he donates a Thanksgiving turkey to Metropolitan Ministries in the name of any pediatrician or dentist who refers a new patient to him.

“We like to give to Metropolitan Ministries,” he says.

Dr. Greg also is a charter member and past president of the New Tampa Noon Rotary Club, an active church member at St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church.

For appointments and more information about Children’s Dentistry (10317-B Cross Creek Blvd.), call (813) 973-3100, visit DrGreg-ChildrensDentistry.com. The office accepts most major dental insurance plans.

dentist

Wharton’s Versatile Hudson Uses Tools To Succeed On And Off The Field

*Wharton baseball player Mike Hudson with one of the children who insisted he play sports with her while he was in Thailand this past summer.* ***(Photos courtesy of Mike Hudson)***

When talking about an up-and-coming baseball prospect, the chatter always comes down to the “tools” a player has in his repertoire: Is he fast? Can he hit? How’s his glove?

Wharton High senior first baseman and designated hitter Michael Hudson has a number of the tools college coaches look for, so much so that he has been offered a chance to play baseball at the college level next year at nearby Saint Leo University near Dade City.

However, it was a whole different set of tools Hudson relied on for two weeks last October, as he and his father, Scott, joined other members of Cypress Point Community Church on a mission trip to Thailand. There, the Hudsons and other volunteers spent a week working at a local orphanage in Chiang Mai, addressing the serious building and rehabbing needs of the girl’s dormitory.

Hudson said he split his days hanging new lockers, replacing doors and windows, and sanding and repainting interior and exterior walls. But, because he was one of the few workers under 25 years of age, he often found himself being pulled away from the work by the young children of the orphanage to play sports — often finding himself challenged to foot races.

“The smiles on the kids’ faces when they saw me, because I was with a bunch of adults, was really special,” Hudson says. “They knew I could run, so they made me run a lot. They were 12-hour days and I’d spend about six hours building, sanding or painting. The other six hours I’d spend playing with them.”

Hudson said the trip was a great experience, both because it gave him a sense of accomplishment in providing care to the facilities at an orphanage, as well as getting to spend some quality time working beside his father, Scott, who owns and operates ServiceMaster of Tampa Bay, a contracting business that specializes in emergency rehabs of flood, fire and mold damage.

“The thing that stood out for me was how me and my Dad connected throughout the trip,” Michael says. “He is busy at work and I have school and baseball, but this was two weeks we were able to spend together, building our relationship up.”

Although the work in Thailand was the first official building project the younger Hudson has undertaken, it’s far from his first time showing off his handy side.

At Wharton, Hudson has never shied from helping with field upkeep, being labeled as the go-to guy by baseball head coach Scott Hoffman for projects like putting up the windscreen around the baseball field fences, or replacing the tires and the netting on the batting practice roll-cage.

“He’s our resident construction guy here at school,” Hoffman says. “He’s a big help to this team, a great student and a tremendous leader for our program.”

For Hudson, the sense of challenge and the resulting feeling of accomplishment is what he enjoys most about any creative project.

“When you start a project, sometimes you start to think, ‘Oh wow, I’m never going to get this done,’” he says. “But you keep working super hard at it and you finish it up. I always get that tingling feeling that makes me appreciate what I was able to do.”

On the field, Hudson was a key contributor last season as a junior, hitting .312 for the year with 15 RBI and 12 runs scored, while serving as the Wildcats 1B/DH. He began his career at Wharton aiming to play shortstop; however, a series of injuries changed those plans and led to his transition to first base.

“We thought he was going to be our guy at shortstop for the future when he came in as a freshman, but he ended up blowing out his right knee,” Hoffman says. “He came back from that and hurt it again, then came back and dislocated his shoulder, but he never once complained. He’s been through hell and has the best attitude in the world.”

For Hudson, the injuries were no different than any other task put in front of him to accomplish.

“Injuries happen to all athletes, you just have to put your faith in God,” Hudson says. “You do what you have to do. You fight, you just work harder.”

Playing baseball at the professional level is still Hudson’s dream, and he plans to study business at Saint Leo with the hope of working in athletics. He doesn’t see a career in construction or contracting in his future, but he says he hopes the desire to build and create will always be a part of his life.

“Baseball is going to be that number one goal for me after college,” Hudson says. “But at Saint Leo, I plan on majoring in sports-related business and would look to work for some (professional) organization, so I don’t really see construction as a career path for me at this time,” Hudson said. “But I’ll never be paying anyone to do anything once I get my own house, I’ll always be doing that kind of stuff myself.”

mike hudson

Who Should You Call To Untangle The New Tax Laws? Murtha & Murtha, CPAs!

*Patrick Murtha (left) and his father Tom Murtha offer a plethora of accounting services for individuals and businesses from their office in the Seven Oaks Professional Park. (Photo: Gavin Olsen)*

Tax season is upon us (“Tax Day” is Monday, April 15), and with the new tax laws that have created more questions than ever before, it might be time to call in some experienced experts.

The father-and-son team of Tom Murtha, CPA, and Patrick Murtha of Murtha & Murtha, LLC, is ready to answer that call.

Partners and owners of their own firm in the Seven Oaks Professional Park off S.R. 56 (across from Sam’s Club), the Murthas have more than 50 years of combined experience in tax law, and they recently added three more employees, following a merger with another office in Zephyrhills, which is now called Henson & Murtha, CPAs.

“It was a good opportunity to grow the business and take our brand and implement that in Zephyrhills,” Patrick says.

With the addition of longtime CPA John Henson and three other employees in the Zephyrhills office, anyone signing up with the Murthas now has access to more than 100 years of combined experience in everything from accounting to tax preparations to mergers and acquisitions.

“Where we definitely shine with is handling complex issues you don’t see every day,” Patrick says. “Between all of us, we’ve seen everything.”

The Curious Case Of The Shrinking Tax Return

The current tax season promises to be an interesting one for Murtha & Murtha and other accounting firms, as clients are feeling the effects, good and bad, of last year’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Things like the doubling of the child tax credit, higher standard deductions and new limits on itemized tax breaks could create some thorny issues for those doing their taxes on their own and those using computer software.
So far, Patrick says that some people are finding out that their usual tax refund has been replaced by a new tax bill.

While there are still a lot of tax breaks in the new bill, “W-2 employees are finding their withholdings weren’t enough,” Patrick says, “so, when they’re used to getting a tax refund, we have clients who are getting a much smaller tax refund, and some that actually owe.”

How did that happen? Well, when the new tax law went into effect, Patrick says the IRS overestimated the tax savings that your average taxpayer was going to have. In other words, the IRS was less aggressive on the withholding than it should have been.

“So, what happened is people got bigger paychecks during the year, but that was in the form of withholding less tax for their tax bill for the end of the year,” Patrick says.

The Murthas say they are not completely surprised by this development. They say they started noticing while doing tax returns in 2018, just after the bill passed, that many of their clients said they were receiving bigger paychecks. As anyone on social media can attest, there were many posts from people praising the new tax law because it meant an extra $100 every week or two on their paychecks.

One of Patrick’s clients, a married couple, say they have never owed taxes before and usually get a refund of around $3,000. This year, they owe $2,500.

On the other hand, says Tom, Murtha & Murtha has another client, a business owner making more than half a million dollars annually, who they saved $30,000-40,000 in taxes.

“He made out like a fat rabbit,” Tom says, “and he was able to put the savings into retirement planning.”

While everyone is paying a little less tax, Patrick says the sweet spot this year seems to be those making between $150,000 and $400,000, due to the child credit being doubled and available to those who make up to $400,000, a generous qualified business income (QBI) deduction of 20 percent for business owners and “softer” tax brackets.

If using a firm like Murtha & Murtha sounds daunting and exorbitantly-priced, the Murthas promise that it’s not.

“Pricewise, were competitive with companies like H&R Block, we really are,” Patrick says. “I have clients who come in and I quote them a price and they say, ‘Wow, I paid $100 more at H&R Block and they messed up my return.’ We are able to provide a high level of service without pricing people out.”

That service, provided by Patrick, Tom and the firm’s senior accountant Kyle Flischel, CPA, is what they call the “Murtha & Murtha Difference.” They don’t have someone meet with you, pass off your return to someone different in a back office, and then deliver your results to you without explaining everything and rushing you out the door.

At Murtha & Murtha, the person you talk to is the person who does your tax return. Whether you’re a filer from a lower income tax bracket, a business bringing in $100,000 a year or someone with an $80-million stock portfolio, you get personalized treatment.

“We want our clients to view us as advisers,” says Patrick, “not just the guys who do their tax returns.”

Murtha & Murtha will go over your return, explain how the final result was achieved and offer advice on how to proceed in the future. If you’re unhappy with your refund or lack thereof, they can offer suggestions to avoid a repeat.

“We want to make them aware of what the new landscape is and how to deal with it,” Patrick says. “Retail companies train employees how to use the software, they don’t train them on tax law. We’re not just a tax return mill, we want long-term relationships with our clients.”

More Than Just Tax Returns

Murtha & Murtha can and does handle much more than just tax returns.
Tom, who earned his B.S. degree in Management from Long Island University in Brooklyn, NY, in 1976, and his M.B.A. (Master of Business Administration) degree in Accounting from St. John’s University in Queens, NY, in 1981, has been doing mergers, acquisitions and business valuations since the 1990s.

Along with various accounting services, business valuations are another perk of being a Murtha & Murtha client. A good and accurate estimate of the worth of someone’s business is as important to a business owner as the appraisal of one’s home. Tom specializes in this field, “and not just the back of an envelope type of thing.”

In the long run, he adds, everyone wants (or has) to sell his or her business one day.

Murtha & Murtha also offers a “CFO Retainer Package,”which is designed to help businesses and those who are self-employed whose company may need a Chief Financial Officer but don’t have the budget to hire a full-time manager or accountant for that job.

For a fraction of the cost of a full-time CFO, the Murthas operate in an advisory position and can handle everything from accounting and book bookkeeping, setting up payroll and ensuring that all the income and expenses are classified correctly.

They also will put together a budget, which Patrick says hardly any other companies do but is needed, as it provides a “compass” to let you know if your business is headed in the right direction.

And of course, they will take care of all the tax preparation and planning.

If you follow Murtha & Murtha on Facebook, you also can find advice in the form of short videos that will help answer a number of common tax questions, from simple ones to those that are more complex.

“We offer the complete package,” Tom says. “When you are with us, you really do get a lot.”

Murtha & Murtha, LLC, is located at 2236 Ashley Oaks Cir., Suite 101, in Wesley Chapel. For more info, visit TampaTaxFirm.com or to schedule a free consultation, call (813) 991-1120. Henson & Murtha, CPAs is located at 5315 8th Ave. in Zephyrhills. For more information, call (813) 782-0580.

New Tampa Readies For Important Vote

Tampa Palms’ Maggie Wilson remembers the days when Pam Iorio, the City of Tampa’s mayor from 2003-11, would visit New Tampa on a frequent basis to address our area’s concerns and meet with residents.

Wilson remembers Iorio visiting women’s clubs, the Taste of New Tampa and other events, as well as holding public meetings at Heritage and Tampa Palms elementary schools, Benito and Clark middle schools and Freedom High, to name a few.

Current mayor Bob Buckhorn did not share Iorio’s attentiveness to New Tampa, Wilson says. And, when it comes time to choose a new mayor from a large field of candidates on Tuesday, March 5 (early voting ends March 3), Wilson says she will likely cast her vote for whomever she decides will pay the most attention to the area in which she has lived in since 1989.

“The next Tampa mayor will be in a key position to lead on several issues,” Wilson says. “New Tampa cannot afford to be left out.”

On Municipal Election Day, voters in Tampa will choose between seven candidates to succeed Buckhorn.

Former Tampa police chief Jane Castor currently has a big polling lead over the rest of the field, which includes local philanthropist David Straz, businessman Topher Morrison, former Hillsborough County Commissioner Ed Turanchik, current Tampa City Council members Harry Cohen and Mike Suarez, and Dick Greco Jr., the son of former Tampa Mayor Dick Greco.

Most of the candidates have been campaigning at a series of mayoral forums held across the city, including the one held in New Tampa on Feb. 19.

According to a poll conducted Feb. 4 by St. Pete Polls, 45.3 percent of the 429 registered voters polled said they would vote for Castor.

Straz was second with 12.9 percent, followed by Greco Jr. at 9.3 percent, Cohen at 7.5 percent, Turanchik at 6.7 percent, Suarez at 6 percent and Morrison at 1.4 percent.

If Castor (or whoever comes in first on March 5) is kept below 50 percent of the vote, that makes the much-closer race for second the one to watch, as the top two candidates would advance to a run-off election, which will be scheduled for Tuesday, April 23, if it is necessary.

New Tampa voters like local activist and lawyer Tracy Falkowitz have been listening closely to the candidates on issues she says will impact New Tampa.

When the budget debate raged in the City Council in 2017 regarding money to expand the New Tampa Recreation Center (NTRC) and design a new sensory-friendly park in Tampa Palms, Falkowitz led a New Tampa contingent that met with council members, sat in on the meetings and showed up for the final vote so their voices could be heard.

Don’t Oppose Our Needs!

It was Suarez’s opposition to passing the budget — which would have put the NTRC in dire straits — that doesn’t make him a contender for Falkowitz’s vote, and it was Cohen’s decisive vote in the 4-3 decision to pass the budget that she says makes him her favored candidate.

Cohen also has met with local residents at a meet-and-greet in Tampa Palms, something Falkowitz says no other candidate has done.

“Several of the candidates probably couldn’t find us on a map,” Falkowitz says. “I’m not even sure if they know all of New Tampa isn’t even in the City of Tampa. This is pivotal election for us. We’ve made some headway with getting noticed by the city, and this election is critical to continue that recognition of the importance of New Tampa, or we could go back to being ignored.”

Wilson agrees about the importance of electing a mayor friendly to New Tampa this election, preferably someone to piggyback on District 7 City Council member Luis Viera’s efforts.

Viera, who represents New Tampa as part of his district and is up for re-election, has been omnipresent in our area while pushing a number of area initiatives to City Hall.

Wilson says, however, that there is still a lot more to do.

“New Tampa is no longer new,” Wilson says. “For decades, it came in last because it needed the least. But that is no longer true. We have aging roads, dangerous sidewalks, an aging population and limited transportation.”

Grand Hampton resident Joe Farrell, a former aide to Mayor Buckhorn and a public affairs consultant who specializes in government relations, has two things he is looking for in this election — someone who can handle the looming budget crunch the city faces, and keeping his family safe.

For him, Castor checks both those boxes. As a former police chief, she was in charge of the city’s biggest agency with the largest budget, and ably steered it during the recent Great Recession, and major crimes saw a 70-percent reduction during her tenure from 2009-15.

Castor also is familiar with New Tampa, having served as the area’s district captain before she was police chief.

“In New Tampa, the vast majority of people up here have kids, and most worry about safety,” Farrell says. “No one else can say they would be better on safety than a former police chief.”

But, Farrell says he also has two children in the gymnastics program at the NTRC

“It’s important to have someone in the office who gets things done (for the city),” Farrell says, “but we still need to get things done in our community.”

Farrell is a big fan of Viera, who is credited with igniting much of the newfound political spirit in the area. The next mayor could help build on that.

For years, New Tampa residents have complained about not receiving a fair return on the taxes they pay to the city. In turn, some politicians have pointed to New Tampa’s dismal turnout in most elections, but especially, in municipal elections in March.

In 2015, only 7.8 percent of registered New Tampa voters cast a ballot, compared to 12.8 percent for the rest of the city, although it should be noted Mayor Buckhorn ran unopposed.

In 2011, 15.4 percent turned out for Buckhorn’s win in the April run-off, compared to 23 percent for the rest of the city.

There are plenty of local issues important to area voters that remain — such as transportation, school safety and re-negotiating to once again provide fire rescue service to the thousands of New Tampa residents in the unincorporated portion of Hillsborough County that includes Pebble Creek, Cross Creek and Live Oak Preserve.

Those things, and more, will likely dictate how many locals vote, and who they vote for, on March 5.

“This whole thing started with Luis Viera bringing City Hall to us,” Falkowitz says. “If New Tampa doesn’t come out and vote and doesn’t vote for someone who actually cares for New Tampa, we will go back to being a financial windfall for the city with no services and no voice.”

mayor

Ready To Rescue: Tampa Fire Station No. 23 Now Serving New Tampa!

(L.-r.) District 7 Tampa City Council member Luis Viera, Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn and Tampa Fire Rescue Chief Nick LoCicero celebrate the opening of New Tampa’s fourth fire station, No. 23 (off of County Line Rd.), last month. ***(Photo courtesy of Sarah Foster)***

New Tampa’s fourth fire station, Tampa Fire Rescue Station No. 23, is now operational.

Following a grand opening event in January, the station — located just off of County Line Rd. on Trout Creek Dr. — is now handling calls. The new station’s primary area of service are the communities of Grand Hampton, The Hammocks, the Esplanade and the Colonial Grand at Hampton Preserve apartments. The new station also will help ease the pressure on New Tampa’s other fire rescue stations.

Station 23 is the first new station to open in our area since 2012, when Station 22 opened on Cross Creek Blvd. Station 21 also is located on Cross Creek, and Station 20 is located on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. in Tampa Palms.

All four of the area’s fire stations belong to the City of Tampa and serve residents within the city limits. Residents in unincorporated Hillsborough County, such as Pebble Creek, Cross Creek and Live Oak Preserve are served by a contract with Pasco County, where the service is provided by Pasco Fire Rescue Station 26, located off BBD in the nearby Meadow Pointe I community of Wesley Chapel. There are mutual aid agreements in place, though, for emergencies that require additional help or when a rescue crew is already occupied with another situation.

Station 23 is expected to help to improve response times from Tampa Fire Rescue stations. According to a story in the Tampa Bay Times last year, the 34-square-mile district has a median response time of 8.96 minutes, which is 90 seconds longer than the city’s other four fire department districts.

“We have the worst response times in the City of Tampa (here in New Tampa),” says Luis Viera, District 7 Tampa City Council member, “so Fire Station 23 really goes a long way to addressing that.”

Tampa Fire Rescue Chief Nick LoCicero agrees. “It really affords a more appropriate level of protection for the communities in New Tampa and the general vicinity of where the station is located,” says LoCicero, “It provides a more robust and prompt response for that area.”

He explains it should immediately help the response time in Grand Hampton, which was previously served by the stations on Cross Creek Blvd.

“We are closely watching that and monitoring response times,” Chief LoCicero says. He adds that some of the longer response times are due to subdivisions that have enclaves that are harder to access. “There’s just no easy way to get there,” he says, “but we’re looking for improvement in Grand Hampton.”

LoCicero also explains that Station 23 is part of a phased-in program that included a redistricting last year, creating Fire District 5 that encompasses all of New Tampa. While New Tampa was previously part of a 50-square-mile district, the new District 5 is about 34 square miles.

The new station helps all of New Tampa, so that if multiple calls come in at the same time, or if a fire needs multiple companies to respond, there are more resources within the immediate area to handle those situations.

It includes a truck company, which has a ladder to reach taller buildings and handles primarily search and rescue; an engine company, which has hoses and connects to water to put out fires; and a rescue unit, which is the ambulance to help during non-fire emergencies in our area.

“We’ve gone from 17,000 residents to 60,000 today,” Viera says, “with more coming because of new development and God knows how many new homes in places like K-Bar Ranch. We’re a growing area, and that means the city needs to make more safety infrastructure investments.”

Station 23 includes a training room that will serve all of the fire companies in the area, allowing in-service training on fire and EMS topics to be conducted locally. This minimizes the time fire companies are away from their station due to traveling for training.

LoCicero says the grand opening itself was a nice event that showed the community’s support for its newest fire station.

“It was a warm and gracious reception for all the firefighters there,” he says. “There were quite a few people there, and Winn-Dixie (also off County Line Rd.) was very hospitable and gracious to us. They gave each crew a buggy full of groceries, and Jersey Mike’s provided sandwiches. It’s nice to be appreciated like that.”

He adds, “We’re happy for the community. We know they waited a long time for the station. It will be well served by the men and women of Tampa Fire Rescue.”

Viera suggests that the New Tampa community should check out the area’s newest asset. “It’s a great facility,” he says. “Go by and take a look at it. Oh, and bring some donuts for the first responders.”

fire station 23 new tmpa