Wesley Chapel has been without a library for more than a year since the only previous location, the New River Branch Library on S.R. 54, began a major facelift.
That facelift, which will feature areas for teens and children, remodeled bathrooms, new furniture, an improved community garden and covered learning space, should be completed by January, but that hasnât stopped District 2 Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore from looking ahead to another library for the area.
âI think the time is right,â Moore says, pointing to the massive growth the area has witnessed in recent years, as well as the tens of thousands of homes still planned for the future.
Moore pitched the idea to his fellow county commissioners last week.
As usual, it will all come down to finding the money to build what Moore expects would be roughly a $10-million endeavor.
It may be a few years away, but plans to add a second library in Wesley Chapel are proceeding. The rendering above shows the outdoor lounge.
The land already is owned by Pasco County, Moore says. It is right in front of Seven Oaks Elementary, off of Mystic Oaks Blvd. In 2004, that parcel was set aside as part of the development agreement for the Seven Oaks DRI with the intention that the county would use it for a future library.
In September, Moore was able to secure funding for a concept design for the 20,000-sq.-ft. facility. Renderings of the possible library show plenty of meeting spaces inside and outside, as well as large glass windows that overlook the wetlands that would be behind the library (above).
Now, he is proposing a larger expenditure, probably close to $1-million, to fund the actual design of the library.
After that, âWeâll look at all possible resources to get it built,â Moore says.
Bob Harrison, the Pasco County Libraries marketing and communications program manager, says it could take 3-4 years to bring the project to fruition. He agrees that Wesley Chapelâs rapid growth warrants a second library.
âWe definitely look at the growth areas and Wesley Chapel is probably the fastest growing area in Pasco County and has been for some time,â he says. âIt definitely could use another library based on its population growth.â
Many of the countyâs libraries have been refurbished and received updated maker spaces. For example, the Regency Park Library in New Port Richey has a test kitchen, the Hudson library has a recording studio, and both were decided on by local residents.
Harrison says the Wesley Chapel community will decide what special features to put in a new library via focus groups and meetings.
âAs far as I know, (Moore and his fellow commissioners) are certainly committed to making it happen,â Harrison says. âOf course, funding is always a question, but I know at this point they are moving forward with it.â
Although the New River Library is still closed, itâs still available as an early voting site for this yearâs General Election. For info, visit PascoVotes.com.
Shaun Dunn says sales of Trump merchandise are a good indicator of how well the President will do in Florida. The polls say otherwise. (Photo by John C. Cotey)
If local merchandise sales are any indication, Donald Trump is headed to a landslide re-election on Nov. 3.
Thatâs how Shaun Dunn sees it, anyway. The businessman runs a Trump tent right next to his Joe Biden tent at the entrance to The Grove in Wesley Chapel, and says the Republican president is outselling the Democratic former VP 10-to-1. He is admittedly not a political scientist or pollster, but he is a numbers guy, and he thinks they are saying something.
âIf there really is 50 percent support of Biden, that tent should really have way more people,â he says. âAs far as Iâm concerned it just really shows you that the silent majority is more than you think.â
Based on his sales and the interest people stopping by have shown, he thinks Wesley Chapel is Trump Country. Memorabilia like Trump-branded magnets, yard signs, hats, coins, mugs and yes, even masks to protect you from the spread of coronavirus, are flying off his tables.
Flags and the iconic red Make America Great Again hats are his best sellers, and Dunn says he has sold 250 life-size cutouts of Trump â at $75 a pop â since opening his stand on Sept. 1.
Before he could open his Trump tent at The Grove, however, he had to agree to open a Biden tent as well.
Mark Gold, who is developing The Grove, insisted Dunn do a tent for each candidate, as he didnât want to get caught in any political quandary.
âI told him if he wants to do one, he does both,â Gold says. âTo be fair.â
Dunn says he was fine with the idea. In fact, he kind of liked it.
âI got to thinking about it, and you know, thatâs probably the right thing to do,â he says. âThat way, everybody gets a chance.â
In fact, Dunn has opened Biden tents next to his Trump tents at his Holiday Mall location, also owned by Gold, and in Lakeland.
The Biden tent at The Grove was his first, and he says he has never seen any others in his travels.
Suli Torres works the Biden tent. She jokes that she got the short end of the stick, but since she will be voting for Biden, she is fine with it.
âEveryone is pretty excited to see me, Iâve even had people offer me food and drinks,â she says, then adding, with a chuckle, âmaybe they feel sorry for me.â
Torres was engaged in a conversation with a customer about climate change when we visited on a Monday morning, although that conversation was interrupted by a young woman wanting to purchase a Biden hat. At the Trump tent, though, Dunn was busy ringing up a pink âWomen For Trumpâ t-shirt and a matching pink hat for one customer, and a mask and a coffee mug for another
Does the popularity of the Trump tent concern Torres when it comes to the Nov. 3 election?
Not really. âFlorida is a Republican (controlled) state, so Iâm okay with it,â she says. âI will cast my vote and hope for the best.â
Dunn eschews political talk at either tent. He says his employees are trained not to get political with customers. He is unwilling to debate Trump vs. Biden, and says he is only there to make money.
âThey all want to talk politics,â he says. âI donât say nothing. Basically, I tell them âI hear ya,â because I donât want to be getting involved. I like somebody, but I prefer not to say. Iâll vote for who I like. But, this is just a business for me.â
The one thing the Trump and Biden tents, which are spaced about 10 feet apart, do have in common? The amount of vitriol those working them have had to endure.
Due to the toxicity of the countryâs political climate, Dunn and Torres each say they have been sworn at and threatened by people driving by or leaving after purchasing something from the other tent.
Financially, the Biden tent only makes enough money to cover what Dunn pays his employees and the rent. The Trump tent has been far more lucrative.
Dunn says four of his former employees left him to start their own Trump tents, and are all doing well. He wishes he had started selling it sooner. âIâd be able to retire by now,â he says.
However, do sales equal votes? Even in 2016, the Trump merchandising operation was a juggernaut, and he lost the popular vote by roughly 3-million nationwide to former First Lady Hillary Clinton, while claiming a narrow 70,000-vote edge in crucial battleground states Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin to give him a victory in the electoral college. (Trump won Florida by 112,000 votes; he won Pasco County by 52,000).
This election, the polls are favoring Biden â by larger margins than they favored Clinton â but Trump gear is just as prevalent, if not moreso, than four years ago. How those numbers will add up on election day remains to be seen.
The only math that really matters, however, is the nationwide final tally of votes. Record turnout is expected all across the country.
Dunn is likely correct about Wesley Chapel, and more broadly Pasco County, being Trump Country. Republicans have unanimously controlled the five-person County Commission for many years, and there are currently 159,127 registered Republicans, or 26,100 more than in 2016.
Meanwhile, there are only 118,127 registered Democrats in Pasco, an increase of only 10,800.
There also are 109,682 registered voters who did not list a party affiliation, an increase of 27,000 from the 2016 election.
One thing that is certain: Pasco County will vote. Presidential election voter turnout has averaged well over 70 percent since 1984, according to the PascoVotes.gov website. In 2016, the voter turnout was 73 percent.
In fact, residents were voting long before early voting even started on Oct. 19, as more than 70,000 mail-in votes already had been received, accounting for 18 percent of all registered voters in Pasco.
And, with this election expected to break turnout records across the country, Tami Bentley, the director of voter administration for Pasco County, says they are ready not just for more voters, but more socially-distant voters, due to Covid-19 concerns.
âWe have worked closely with Pasco County to secure some larger early voting facilities,â Bentley says, like the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus of Pasco County.
In addition, mail drop boxes will be posted at every early voting site for the first time, hopefully assuaging fears about mail-in ballot voter fraud being perpetuated on social media and by President Trump himself.
Pasco Sheriff Chris Nocco and Supervisor of Elections Brian Corley also put out a joint statement promising a safe environment at all early voting locations, all of which will be manned by Poll Deputies.
Interesting Local Pasco Races
While Trump-Biden tops the ballot and is driving the expected record voter turnout, other races that have local implications include:
Superintendent of Schools: Kurt Browning, the Republican who easily won his primary, is running for his third term against Bayonet Point Middle School teacher Cynthia Thompson, who says the District needs an educator to fix it.
State Senator District 20: Republican Danny Burgess resigned as executive director of the Florida Department of Veteranâs Affairs in June to run against Democrat Kathy Lewis in this special election to replace Tom Lee, who retired.
State Representative District 38: Republican Randy Maggard won the 2018 election to replace Burgess, and is defending his seat against Democrat Brian Staver.
Pasco County Commission, District 3: Incumbent Republican Kathryn Starkey, first elected in 2012, has raised more than $200,000 in her bid to keep her seat against Democrat Jessica Stempien, who has raised $30,000.
Pasco County Commission, District 5: Incumbent Republican Jack Mariano is seeking his fifth term (he was first elected in 2004) against Democrat Brandi Geoit and independent Victor Rodriguez.
Florida 12th U.S. Congressional District: Republican incumbent Gus Bilirakis, who replaced his father Mike (who served for 25 years) when he was first elected to the District 9 seat in 2007, is trying for another term in District 12 (which he has represented since 2013)against Democrat Kimberly Walker.
Early voting continues through Oct. 31, 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Vote By Mail drop boxes are available at each early voting site, including the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus (3021 Sports Coast Way), AdventHealth Center Ice (3173 Cypress Ridge Blvd.) and the New River Library (34043 S.R. 54).
The general election is Tuesday, November 3, when polls will be open 7 a.m.-7 p.m.. Wesley Chapel has 13 polling places, which can be found by visiting PascoVotes.gov or by checking your voter registration information.
Considering that I didnât cast a ballot for U.S. President back in 2016 (and took a lot of heat for it, from friends and readers on both ends of the political spectrum), it should come as little to no surprise that I did not vote for either President Donald Trump or former Vice-President Joe Biden (or any other candidate) this year.
Oh, just as I did in 2016, I still voted, I just didnât feel, in all good conscience, that I could vote for either of these two men to lead our country for the next four years.
âWell, that means you canât complain if you donât like who ends up getting elected,â is what many of my detractors told me in â16.
I countered that, as an American citizen, I have the right to do anything I want (as long as itâs legal), I just felt again that I would rather let the rest of the country decide between two candidates I canât personally support â which also is my right.
And, just to repeat myself, just because I didnât cast my vote for Trump or former First Lady Hillary Clinton in â16, or Trump or Biden this year doesnât mean I didnât vote. I did vote for the local and state candidates I felt I could support â some of whom won and some who lost last time â and I again feel pretty good about most of the people and amendments I did support.
And yes, I have now voted this year â by a mail-in ballot that I requested and received from Pasco Supervisor of Elections Brian Corleyâs office. I had no desire whatsoever to vote in person and, based on the lines from Day One at Pascoâs early voting locations, I donât want to drop off my ballot, either.
Covid-19 has affected so many aspects of our daily lives and although Iâm still wearing a face mask everywhere in public I do go, way too many of you arenât doing the same, so even with my vote, I still feel I need to do everything I can to protect myself.
As for who Iâm voted for in some of the other elections on the Nov. 3 ballot, Iâd rather not say, but Here is how I voted on all six Amendments to the Florida Constitution that also were on my ballot â several of which I have fairly strong feelings about:
On Amendment 1, I say Yes, you should have to be a U.S. citizen to vote in any election, although I foolishly thought it was already a requirement nationwide.
On Amendment 2, considering the cost of living these days, I donât feel that even $10 per hour is much of a living wage, and As a small business owner, I have no problem with the $1-per-hour-per-year increase through 2026, so Iâm voting Yes.
On Amendment 3, I feel very strongly that in Primary Elections, only registered Republicans should vote for Republican candidates and Democrats for Democratic candidates, unless there is no opposition candidate, which is the system we currently have in place, so Iâm voted No on changing that.
On Amendment 4, I feel that we already have too many such amendments to deal with every year, so to require any amendment to have to be approved in two elections gets a hard No from me. Iâm not really 100% sure how I feel about Amendment 5, but I voted Yes because I believe that homeowners (even though Iâm not currently one) should get as much benefit as they can since owning a home continues to only get more expensive.
And finally, I also feel that any spouse of any deceased or disabled veteran should get as much benefit as possible from their spouseâs service, so Iâm voting Yes on Amendment 6.
Even if you disagree with everything Iâve said here, I hope youâll also exercise your right to vote in this very important General Election.
When Mitch Thrower and Jessica Vaughn decided to run for the Hillsborough County School Board, things were a little bit different than they are now.
In fact, the job they are both vying for â the District 3 seat that includes all of New Tampaâs public schools â suddenly looks a lot harder than it once did.
In the past six months, Covid-19 has wreaked havoc on the school system, and the schoolâs budget situation has gone from bad to worse to downright terrible.
âI completely agree itâs become a tougher job,â says Thrower, the former chairman of the Hillsborough County Planning Commission (he resigned in June). âThere are some very tough decisions that are going to need to be made.â
Vaughn, a Tampa Palms resident and substitute teacher who was elected to the Tampa Palms Community Development District (CDD) Board in 2016, doesnât disagree. In fact, when it comes to discussing the biggest issues facing schools in the upcoming months, they both agree the budget and keeping schools safe â primarily from Covid-19 â are easily the top two issues of the campaign.
Thrower, a Carrollwood resident, was the top finisher among six candidates in the August primary, capturing 25% of the vote, while Vaughn was second with 24.5%. The difference between the two was a mere 296 votes out of 42,950 votes cast.
Now that just these two candidates remain, both feel voters will be able to draw a clearer distinction between them. The early voting period is October 19 through November 1, with Election Day scheduled for Tuesday, November 3.
Jessica Vaughn, and husband Nilesh and son Zachariah.
When it comes to fixing the $32-million shortfall in the Districtâs budget â much of it due to the continued loss of students due to home schooling and charter schools â a lot of belt-tightening, including potential layoffs and program cuts, is in the future for the county.
Vaughn, who has a Bachelor of Science in Education degree from the University of South Florida, says the School District needs to stem the loss of students, and an evaluation to find out why more students are choosing charter schools â and how public schools can retain those students â is vital.
âWhy arenât they choosing our public schools? That is the question that needs to be answered,â she says. âWe need to fix that.â
Vaughn, who has been endorsed by the Tampa Bay Times, also says the county needs to look for alternative sources of revenue, and make sure the money it does have is being spent wisely on items like administrative salaries and contracts with vendors.
Mitch Thrower with Ally (pink bandana) and Ruby.
Thrower, who started his professional career auditing school boards at the State of Florida Auditor Generalâs office, thinks it is time for tough questions for those controlling the Districtâs purse strings.
âI think my business experience is needed at this time,â he says. âI can go in there as an auditor and I know what questions to ask. When it to comes to experience, honestly, thereâs no comparison.â
Thrower is a Certified Public Accountant and certified internal auditor, and he holds a Bachelor of Science in Management degree from Tulane University and a Master of Business Administration degree from Florida State University.
When it to comes to school safety, both candidates are in favor of mandating masks in schools to deal with the spread of Covid-19, say teacher safety is a priority and approve of the other safety precautions being taken by the District.
Both candidates said the School Boardâs handling of the return to school in August, arguably one of the most important discussions it has had to make in recent memory, could have been smoother. Thrower says he will bring more communication to the position, which he thought was lacking during the controversial re-opening discussions. He also felt the School Board wasnât âproactive and creative enough.â
Meanwhile, Vaughn said she was extremely frustrated watching the School Board meetings, particularly the lack of planning. She said she was advocating in March and April for a plan in case the pandemic stretched into the fall, including the creation of e-Learning centers to accommodate parents who needed to return to work and didnât have childcare.
âNothing would have been perfect,â she says. âYou canât mitigate a pandemic perfectly. But, I would like the School Board to be more realistic and proactive about our challenges and less reactive. It undermines public confidence in the Board.â
Both candidates, who have children in public schools, say charter schools have a place in education. Thrower says charter schools provide options, âbut they should be held accountable just like public schools.â
Vaughn says she is fine with not-for-profit charter schools, except when they hire for-profit management companies.
âAt the end of the day, all parents really want the same thing,â Vaughn says. âThey want a safe environment thatâs close by, that is free, that nurtures and respects their students and offers them a good education. And, I want to see that happen in our public schools.â
Overall, Thrower had raised $58,500 but only had $6,500 cash on hand at our press time, while Vaughn had brought in $45,127, but still had nearly $28,000 cash on hand.
Vaughn has criticized Thrower for taking more than $12,000 from developers while he was chairman of the Hillsborough Planning Commission, which examines and weighs in on development projects for the county commission.
Thrower resigned from that position in June, to avoid any charges of impropriety.
Thrower says he is running a non-partisan campaign built on his experience and not as an activist. Since the primary, Vaughn has outraised Thrower $18,940 to $4,725, thanks to $12,000 in donations from the Hillsborough County Democratic Executive Committee.
Most people wonder if they will have enough money to retire comfortably, and many donât really understand their investments, or know what they need to do to be prepared for their post-work years.
âItâs so complicated,â says James B. Plummer, wealth advisor with ILG Private Wealth. âPeople need help in retirement.â
Plummer, who goes by Jim, is an independent advisor representative (IAR), and ILG is a registered investment advisor (RIA). Jim says being an IAR â as opposed to working for a specific investment firm â means his primary responsibility is to put the client first.
âIâm paid differently than a broker dealer (which typically charges fees for trading securities such as stocks and bonds),â he explains. âI can work with whatever companies I want to, (the ones) that best suit my clients. We look at the whole picture, so the client sees how everything dovetails together to be prepared when they get to retirement age.â
That whole picture, he says, includes bonds, stocks, exchange traded funds (ETF), life insurance, long-term insurance, annuities (which is income for life) and other options.
While ILG Private Wealth is located in Pennsylvania, the company also has an office in Celebration, FL. Jim was working for the company in Pennsylvania when he and his wife of 44 years moved to Tampa Palms last October to be closer to family.
Jim goes into the Celebration office as needed, but his clients only deal directly with him. He typically visits a clientâs home or work, where they have easy access to any paperwork they will need to go over with him. If a client prefers to come to Jim, heâll gladly meet them at another location, such as the Tampa Palms Golf & Country Club.
A Little History…
Jim earned his B.S. degree in Accounting and Business Administration from Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, MI. He became an accountant, then was a chief financial officer for 30 years for two multimillion dollar corporations. He says that during that time, he saw the need for employees to get good advice when they were âhanded a lot of moneyâ at retirement, so he got licensed to begin a new phase of his career.
He says he has been an IAR for 18 years now, and that he has some clients who have been with him from the beginning.
Because of his background working in business, Jim is particularly interested in helping small business owners prepare for retirement.
âIâve dealt with family business owners all my life,â Jim says. âI work with anybody who is interested, but my focus is on business owners.â
You Need An Expert
If you spend a few minutes talking with Jim, heâll probably share some interesting tips that could help you retain more of your money in retirement. Hereâs one example:
âMost people probably have a 401(k) if theyâre working, or maybe an IRA,â Jim explains. âIf you look at how much money that investment is worth, itâs not all your money. The government will take taxes out before you get it.â
So, in some cases, he says, it might be more beneficial to put that money into a Roth 401k or Roth IRA. You pay taxes on it before you put the money in, but once you invest in a Roth, what you accumulate is all your money.
âThere are no taxes when you take that money out,â says Jim. âThereâs nothing on the growth and nothing on the principal.â
He says you can move money from a regular 401k to a Roth, but you want to move enough that you can afford to pay those taxes on it, but not so much that it puts you in the next tax bracket.
Sound confusing? It can be. Thatâs why Jim says you need someone like him to help you figure it out.
âWeâre a planning organization,â says Jim. First and foremost, he gathers his clientsâ information and focuses on finding out what their needs are: How long until you need your money? What do you want â or need â your money to do for you?
Then he shares more of those valuable tips. Hereâs another one:
âMake sure thereâs enough money for you,â he says. âIf you want to give your kids a bunch of money, do it through life insurance. You could give them an insurance policy thatâs worth 10 times as much [as you could give them now]. You donât know what life holds for you.â
Jim also reminds people to keep their beneficiaries updated, saying that the beneficiaries listed on a life insurance policy or other investment supersede any will or trust. As life changes, you may want to change beneficiaries.
He also can help you understand Social Security and the taxes related to Social Security benefits.
âMost people have more money in Social Security than they have saved for themselves,â he says. While full retirement is at age 66, should you take your Social Security benefits then? Or, should you wait until youâre age 70? Or later? Essentially, he says, âSocial Security is paying 8 percent on that money. You canât earn that on money in the investment markets right now.â
But, he notes that delaying when you take your Social Security still isnât right for everyone, and Jim can help you figure out whatâs best for you, your spouse and your family.
He offers these words of caution, however. âYouâre stuck with that decision the rest of your life,â he says. âYou canât make a change once youâve decided what to do.â
Jim says he helps many clients do a Social Security analysis to decide whatâs the most beneficial time for each of them to take that money, whether thatâs early, late, or a blend of both.
Webinars Can Help
Jim has a series of webinars that he offers to help educate people about important financial topics, including how to plan for Social Security. Anyone, whether they are a client of Jimâs or not, can attend the sessions, which last about 45 minutes to an hour, depending upon the questions asked by the participants.
Before the Covid-19 pandemic, Jim says he would offer the educational seminars in person, but they are now available online only, in the comfort of your own home or office. He says the technology today to attend his webinars is so simple, that you just click a link to get connected to the Zoom meeting. So, even people who are not technologically savvy are easily able to attend.
Jim Plummer works remotely in Tampa Palms and will meet you at your home or business for a consultation. For more information, to register, or to discuss how Jim might be able to help you with your financial planning, call him at (814) â not 813 â 931-4271.
