Hurricane Horrors & Feelings Of Helplessness; Plus, Teeghan Brightens My Day! 

As I am writing this, Category 5 Hurricane Milton is bearing down on Florida, but I was still two+ days from knowing exactly where it would hit and how bad things might get in New Tampa, Wesley Chapel and my apartment near I-75 in Lutz. 

What I do know is that although Milton is taking a completely different track towards Florida than Hurricane Helene did, there is no doubt that another large swath of the Florida peninsula is about to take another direct hit from Mother Nature. 

And, based on what we saw with Helene, which devastated the Gulf coast from Ft. Myers to the Big Bend, that is just terrifying. 

The thing is, by the time you receive this issue in your mailbox, you’ll already know who got hit with the worst of Milton and what is being done to help those in that direct path survive and recover from what could be the strongest-ever hurricane to make landfall in U.S. history. 

And this time, folks like us who are 30 miles inland aren’t safe either. No, we won’t have to deal with storm surge, but we could certainly have localized flooding, possible long-term power outages, downed power lines, flying debris, etc. 

Even so, we probably will still be better off than those who live along either coast of the “Sunshine” State. Hopefully, our homes, apartments and businesses will hold up under a day or more of heavy wind and rain. This is not a case of “run from the water” for us; it’s a case of “hide from the wind.” 

But, that doesn’t mean that the uncertainty of it all isn’t still scary for us — especially anyone with young children or older relatives who end up in the teeth of the storm. 

After Helene — as I’m sure many of you did — I had these horrible feelings of both guilt and helplessness. I wanted to help those impacted by that brutal storm surge, but instead, I continued to do what I had to do to make a living, take care of my wife and make sure my kids were OK. 

And, while I hope to be in the same position after Milton is gone, I also desperately do not want to see those who already lost everything have to go through it all again. With so much debris already strewn all over Florida’s Gulf coast, to have to see that debris picked up by even stronger winds and turned into projectiles hitting the few coastal homes that made it through Helene without having to be torn down, is too horrifying for words. 

Although Jannah and I never lost power and had no damage or flooding from Helene, we saw a number of people lament on Facebook, especially in Wesley Chapel, that they did lose power for a few hours or even days. I also saw people who said those folks had no right to feel sorry for themselves, considering what people who live near the Gulf were going through. 

It’s always easy for anonymous people on social media to tell other people what they have a right to feel. If you’re safe and sound, despite losing power, it’s still scary until the lights come back on, especially if it’s your first time experiencing a major storm. And, if someone in your home is on dialysis or needs to have their CPAP machine working in order for them to sleep properly, that fear is compounded. In other words, while I feel horrible for everyone who is still suffering from Helene and whoever ends up going through that horror again with Milton, I would never tell someone who only lost power for a few days that they didn’t have the right to feel badly for themselves. 

But, while I felt guilty for not doing anything to help anyone else after Helene, I know there will be even more people needing even more help once Milton has left the building. 

Feel free to let me know what you or anyone you know did to help people during Helene’s aftermath and I would be happy to relay those stories to our readers so they can perhaps figure out for themselves what to do if and when the latest major storm is gone, the lights come back on and our homes and offices are still standing. 

One thing State Senator Danny Burgess (see story on pg. 8) says we can do is call 1-(833)-GET-HOPE to reach Hope Florida, which provides assistance to those in need and which facilitates the opportunity for those who can offer their assistance to do so. I plan to call immediately after I finish this issue because I am tired of feeling guilty and helpless when there probably are things I could be doing to help those who truly need it most right now. 

Thank You, Teeghan! 

On Oct. 2, a week after Helene hit, I received the sweetest email from a Wesley Chapel reader that truly brightened my day. 

The subject line read, “Everyone loves the Neighborhood News!” and the email said, “Hello Gary: My 8 year old granddaughter Teeghan put all our 2023/2024 issues in chronological order and I thought you might enjoy this pic from a pint-sized fan! — Sandy Carney 

Sometimes, the smallest things — like Teegan’s sweet smile as she posed with her chronologically-ordered copies of the Neighborhood News — can give you the biggest lift. 

I have thought about asking people to send me pictures with their copies of the paper so I could publish them, but for Teeghan and her grandmother to send this picture and email to me unsolicited truly touched my heart at a time when I really needed to smile. Thank you!

Business Briefs — Defining Beauty Christens New Office & Many Chamber Ribbons Cut 

Defining Beauty Wellness & Med Spa owner and Family Nurse Practitioner Karma Nguyen (in gray) 
celebrated the Grand Opening of her new location in the New Tampa Prof. Ctr. in Pebble Creek by 
demonstrating how her Evolvex body sculpting/contouring machine works. (Photos by Charmaine George) 

It’s been another busy month+ for Grand Openings and North Tampa Bay Chamber (NTBC) ribbon-cuttings in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel. 

On Aug. 29, Defining Beauty Wellness & Med Spa officially oopened its new location — in the same New Tampa Professional Park off Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. in Pebble Creek as before, but in a larger suite, so owner and Family Nurse Practitioner Karma Nguyen could better serve her growing number of patients and clients with more treatment rooms and more types of treatments available (as we told you about in our last issue). 

Grand Opening attendees got to see Karma demonstrate how her newest Evolvex body sculpting/contouring machine works and she also introduced permanent jewelry services and much more, as more than 50 of her patients, clients, friends and family were on hand to wish her well — and receive great “swag bags” and special offers on services. 

Defining Beauty Wellness & Med Spa is located at 8907 Regents Park Dr., Suite 330. For more info, call (813) 955-0408, or visit DefiningBeautyMedSpa.com. Memberships are available and members receive anniversary gifts and invitations to special events. 

Chamber Keeps Cutting Ribbons! 

As for who’s been cutting North Tampa Bay Chamber ribbons recently, on Aug. 22, our friends and local Realtors Chad and April Emory officially celebrated the Grand Opening of their Emorys Rock Realty, in one of the biggest Chamber ribbon-cutting events we’ve been to recently. 

Broker Chad Emory (with scissors) and his wife and fellow Realtor April (in front in white) celebrated the Grand Opening of their Emorys Rock Realty on Aug. 22. (Photo by Gary Nager) 

More than 100 people were on hand at the Signature Workspace in The Shops at Wiregrass to celebrate with Chad, the firm’s Broker, and April. They served delicious food from Rock & Brews, Falabella Family Bistro, Bubba’s 33, Texas Roadhouse and Main Event. 

Chad and April also thanked their family and friends — Mackenzie Maldonado for the beautiful balloon arrangements for the event, Vanessa Suarez for the stunning floral arrangements, Radiant Wellness Spa, AdventHealth Center Ice, Lisa Moore from the Hilton Garden Inn Tampa- Wesley Chapel (who helped plan their event) and the Hampton Inn & Suites, as well as Chamber president & CEO Hope Kennedy for her warm introduction. The Emorys also thanked their real estate team members Michelle Leann, Amanda Downing and Vanessa Suarez. 

It’s hard to believe that the Emorys could take enough time out from being at literally every Chamber ribbon cutting and every event throughout the Wesley Chapel and surrounding areas to plan, much less host, such a spectacular event. Congrats, you two! 

Emorys Rock Realty is located at 28210 Paseo Dr. For more information, visit EmorysRockRealty.com or call (813) 404-2286. 

Chiropractic Physicians Dr. Abigail & Dr. Thomas Farrar (both holding scissors) of Eden Chiropractic in the Brookside Professional Park on S.R. 54 in Wesley Chapel cut their Chamber ribbon on Sept. 5. 

We also want to congratulate Eden Chiropractic (in the Brookside Professional Park off S.R. 54 in Wesley Chapel) owners and chiropractic physicians Abigail and Thomas Farrar, for hosting another well-attended North Tampa Bay Chamber ribbon-cutting event on Sept. 5. 

The doctors Farrar turned their Grand Opening into a fun scavenger hunt and gave away raffle tickets for a number of great prizes to those who completed a row of a Bingo card. 

Eden Chiropractic specializes in the Gonstead Method, created by renowned chiropractor Clarence Gonstead in the 1920s. The Gonstead Method (or Technique) focuses on how a patient’s nervous system is functioning to better determine the underlying cause of misalignments in the neck using X-rays and other instrumentation, as well as hands-on palpations and visualization. Eden Chiropractic provides chiropractic services for adults, children, women who are pregnant and even for women who are trying to get pregnant. 

For more information about Eden Chiropractic (29141 Chapel Park Dr.), call (813) 815-8135 or visit EdenChiropracticFL.com. 

Dr. Karan (left) & Dr. Agam Patel (both holding scissors) cut a ribbon at Palm Endovascular on Sept. 18. 

Next up was the Chamber ribbon-cutting at the new Palm Endovascular medical office, located at 2344 Crestover Lane, in the Cypress Ridge Professional Park (behind Pet Paradise) on the north side of S.R. 56. 

Palm Endovascular combines the talents of renowned interventional cardiologist Dr. Agam Patel and radiologist Dr. Karan Patel, at a unique facility where minimally invasive outpatient vascular disease surgeries that normally would have to be done at a hospital can be done in the office’s surgery center — without having to visit a hospital — thanks to its cutting-edge technology. Among the conditions the doctors Patel can treat include peripheral arterial disease, varicose veins, deep vein and uterine thromboses, spinal compression fractures and more. 

For more information, call (813) 563- 0917 or visit PalmEndovascular.com. 

Embodhi Medspa 

Then, on Sept. 19, Family Nurse Practitioner Aimee Talbot, MSN, APRN, FNP-C (right), cut an NTBC ribbon at her new Embodhi Integrative Wellness & Medspa, located at 16007 N. Florida Ave. (just north of Bearss Ave.) in the Magnolia Center in Lutz. 

At her event, Aimee said she currently is focusing on Botox® and fillers, but she also will be adding direct integrative primary care, hormone optimization, medical weight loss, and IV therapy services as Embodhi grows. The Embodhi website says that, ““Our mission is rooted in the belief that Divine Health is our inherent state, accessible to all.” 

For more information, call (813) 252-7633 or visit Em-bodhi.com. — GN 

Pasco Commissioner Seth Weightman Talks Car Washes, Road Projects & More 


Dist. 2 Pasco Commissioner Seth Weightman (below left) is proud of Pasco’s new ordinance to limit new car washes to no more than one every 1.5 miles. (Above) 

District 2 Pasco County Commissioner Seth Weightman says he has learned a lot about the inner workings of the county government since he took office in 2022. 

Weightman also says that listening to his Dist. 2 constituents has had him working to solve county problems — such as limiting the ability for new car washes to open countywide, but especially in the Wesley Chapel area, where there already are 25 or more…with more still to come. 

“I’m proud that, at our September 17 Board of County Commissioners meeting, we passed (by a 5-0 vote) a new ordinance limiting new car washes to no more than one in a Master Planned Unit Development (MPUD) and to keep them at least 1.5 miles apart,” Weightman says, noting that already approved (and built) car washes would not be affected by the new ordinance. “I agreed with my constituents that this needed to get done.” 

After seeing the overwhelming number of car washes in the Wesley Chapel area, Weightman asked the county staff several months ago to come up with a map showing the existing car washes, many of which were so close to each other the labels for them were on top of each other on the map. He also hopes to create a similar map showing all of the storage facilities in Pasco (there are at least 12 in the Wesley Chapel area). 

“The problem is that businesses like these take up a lot of area but don’t really bring a lot of new employment to the county,” he says. “We want our commercial land to be home to businesses that are employment centers.” 

Weightman, who attends the openings of as many new such employment centers as possible (including the Grand Opening of the new downtown building in Avalon Park), also has been keeping tabs on all of our area road projects, especially the widening of both Old Pasco Rd. and Wesley Chapel Blvd., a new traffic signal at the intersection of S.R. 56 and Lajuana Blvd., and intersection improvements at S.R. 56 and Meadow Pointe Blvd. 

The long-awaited Old Pasco Rd. widening (sign above) is proceeding apace, especially the grading of the land (below) along Old Pasco Rd. (both north & south of Overpass Rd., including in front of the new Sanctuary Ridge subdivision). The contract for the widening was amended in July to add a 6-ft.-wide sidewalk on the west side of Old Pasco Rd. heading south from Cypress Creek Middle & High Schools.

Old Pasco Rd. — Weightman says that in July, the $22-million contract between the county and B.R.W. Contracting was amended (it is now a nearly $30-million agreement) and the length of time was extended (by an additional 400 days) to extend the project further north of Overpass Rd. and to add a 6-ft.-wide sidewalk on the west side of Old Pasco Rd. to provide “connected pedestrian and bicycle facilities and needed roadway capacity to the Cypress Creek school campus, improving safety for all roadway users. The amendment results in substantial time and cost savings to the County by precluding the need for a separate solicitation for the shorter additional length of road.” 

Wesley Chapel (WC) Blvd. — Although we had originally heard that the $69.4-million WC Blvd. widening was going to begin sooner than later (we reported an expected August start date in our May 14 issue), at our press time, we hadn’t seen much, if any activity — not even utility work. 

Because WC Blvd. is a portion of S.R. 54, Weightman says that the Florida Dept. of Transportation (FDOT) is responsible for the project, but that he was going to find out when the actual work was set to begin. 

“What we do know is that once this project starts, a lot of people who live along Wesley Chapel Blvd. are going to be affected,” he says. 

The three-year project will impact those living from south of Lexington Oaks (including in Grand Oaks, The Oaks, Cypress Estates, Stagecoach and others), “but the sooner it starts the sooner it can get done,” Weightman says. 

S.R. 56 at Lajuana Blvd. — If you check out the local Facebook communities, there is agreement that one of — if not the most dangerous — intersections in the Wesley Chapel area is the intersection of S.R. 56 and Lajuana Blvd., which is the road with Cooper’s Hawk on the west side and the Audi Wesley Chapel dealership on the east side. 

Although many locals believe that the speed limit also needs to be reduced on S.R. 56, Comm. Weightman says that, at its Sept. 17 meeting, the County Commission acted to help try to fix the problem at this intersection with a new traffic signal. The $139,590 project was awarded to Kissinger Campo & Associates Corp. 

“There’s no doubt that this is a huge deal and really needed,” Weightman says. “I’ve been pushing for it ever since I first came into office. We got that expedited. That is definitely a dangerous intersection, so I’m excited that it’s finally happening.” 

S.R. 56 at Meadow Pointe (MP) Blvd. — Although this item was passed in July, Weightman also says that improvements are coming to the intersection of S.R. 56 and Meadow Pointe (MP) Blvd. (see graphic on this page). 

The big news with this item is that a much-needed second left turn lane will be added for the traffic heading eastbound on 56 onto MP Blvd. northbound. In addition, a second left turn lane also will be added for northbound traffic on MP Blvd. to turn west onto S.R. 56. The project also will include signal modifications. 

County Budget — “With the passing of this budget (also on Sept. 17), we cut general operating millage and, with me being the budget guy, I always want us to be very measured in taxes on folks. We dropped the road maintenance MSTU (Municipal Services Taxing Unit) from 0.5 mills to 0.4 mills. Among the items in this budget are several intersection improvements in the Meadow Pointe/Union Park area and those, by government speed standards, are going to be coming along pretty quickly.” 

Unfortunately, those planned improvements were not presented as line items in the budget, so I can’t provide specifics as to what those improvements will be until (most likely) next issue. 

Live Local Update — Although he says that there has not yet been any significant change in the plans for the previously commercially zoned parcel being called the ”Woods at Wesley Chapel” (or, as some still refer to it, the previously planned Lowe’s Home Improvement) site off S.R. 54 at Curley Rd. attempting to re-zone for apartments under the so-called “Live Local Act,” Weightman says that there has been progress made on the other Wesley Chapel site that had considered rezoning under Live Local, on Overpass Rd. at Old Pasco Rd. 

“They are not using Live Local, but they are now proposing a different mixed-use site plan with residential components on it that currently aren’t there (in the approved zoning) today,” Weightman says. “There is still conversation and activity around that, so even though they’re not using Live Local, they are proposing something that isn’t in the zoning the Board approved a couple of years ago. In other words, ‘We won’t play the Live Local card if you approve this kind of project instead.’ At least it’s collaborative and not hostile.” 

Celebrating The Opening Of The First Building In Avalon Park’s Downtown! 

Developer Cuts The Ribbon As The First Mixed-Use Rental Apartment & Retail Building In Wesley Chapel Opens! 
Avalon Park Wesley Chapel developer Beat Kahli (with scissors) was joined by his entire development team, all of the tenants who have signed commercial leases at the new “downtown Avalon Park” mixed-use building, Dist. 2 Pasco County Commissioner Seth Weightman (to Kahli’s left) and North Tampa Bay Chamber president & CEO Hope Kennedy (to Weightman’s left) on Sept. 19 for the ribbon-cutting and unveiling of the first-ever “neotraditional” retail and residential building in Wesley Chapel. (Photos by Charmaine George)

 So, whether or not it’s actually Wesley Chapel’s “downtown,” there’s no doubt that the Grand Opening and unveiling on Sept. 19 of the new nearly 17,000-sq.-ft., three-story building in Avalon Park Wesley Chapel is the start of at least that community’s downtown — and the first true mixed-use (residential and commercial), urban-style (some would call it “neotraditional”) building in all of Wesley Chapel. 

Avalon Park Wesley Chapel developer Beat Kahli doesn’t hide his excitement about the new 17,000-sq.-ft. first building (below right) in Avalon Park’s downtown district. 

“This is long in the making,” said developer Beat Kahli, the founder, president and CEO of the Avalon Park Group, the developer of both Avalon Park Wesley Chapel and Orlando. “We were lucky, in 1988, to find 1,800 acres in Pasco County, owned by the Brown family — it was called the Brown Ranch —and when Mom Brown died, the IRS came in and said, ‘You have to pay a lot of taxes because you have 1,800 acres and here is your tax bill.’ And they said, ‘We’re just farming here and we don’t have that money at all.’ We bought the land for fair market value (at that time) and told them, ‘You still need to farm here for a long time.’” 

And, although the original New River Township portion of Avalon Park Wesley Chapel has been around for more than a decade and there are now around 2,000 single-family homes built or under construction (with a population of about 5,000 people) in the entire development, Kahli said Bill Brown and his family were able to continue farming the vast majority of their land for “more than a quarter of a century. We would have surveyors and engineers come out and they’d call me to say, ‘Hey, there’s a guy with a shotgun here saying it’s his property. And, we’d have to tell Bill, who was a great guy, ‘Please don’t shoot our surveyors and engineers.’” 

Kahli said that unlike in Orlando, “where we basically had to build the town from scratch, there was already a two-lane (now 4-lane), paved S.R. 54 here.” He also recounted the first homeowners association meeting in Orlando, when there were only about 30 homes, with the people asking him, “What’s the philosophy of the development here?,” to which he replied, “The goal is to build a town where people can live, learn, work and play. If you don’t want to leave, you don’t have to leave — and that’s the same philosophy here (in Wesley Chapel). We’re taking a big step forward with this almost-17,000-sq.-ft., $21-million building , which we have completed now, so we are having the ribbon cutting today.” 

The native of Switzerland also pointed to the “A”-rated Pinecrest Academy charter K-8 school and the adjacent church and likened it to life in Europe, “Where towns are basically built around a church and a school.” 

He also said that by having a place where people live, learn, work and play, “Some of you will become triple or even quadruple stakeholders — someone who lives, works or has a business, has kids in school and entertains, all here in Avalon Park, where we have events that already have 5,000 people attending, sometimes 25,000 in Orlando now [like the annual 4th of July celebrations]. So, the goal is to create a sense of place, a place where people feel at home and feel safe.” 

And, although Kahli said he didn’t miss the mountains or especially the snow where he grew up in Zurich, the largest city in his native country, “I missed having what we are opening here — a lifestyle where you can live somewhere, get in the elevator, sit in a coffee shop or restaurant where you don’t have to get into your car for whatever you do. And, you can have your kids walk to school, which is how I grew up.” 

He then thanked his entire Avalon Park Group (APG) team, as well as Dist. 2 (which includes Avalon Park) Pasco County Commissioner Seth Weightman and North Tampa Bay Chamber President & CEO Hope Kennedy for their support. 

Weightman said, “I’m just incredibly honored to be standing here with all of you to represent the commissioners. This is a testament of the partnership between Avalon Park Group and Pasco County to build something great.” 

APG senior VP of marketing & community relations Stephanie Lerrett also thanked the county, Kennedy and the NTBC, the Pasco Economic Development Council and all of the commercial tenants whose businesses will be located below The Flats at Avalon Park apartments. 

After the ribbon-cutting, attendees were treated to samples of Rudraksh Indian Cuisine’s kabobs, Tallo Restaurant & Bar’s Caribbean-style sandwiches and Rita’s Italian Ices (plus food provided by Vesh Catering) and were able to meet the tenants who are all opening businesses on the ground floor of the building — ISI Elite Training, Woof Gang Bakery & Grooming, Prime Barbershop, Vet Check and dentist Dr. Hetvi Patel of Dream Dental Studio. 

There also were tours of the beautiful 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom apartments (there are 40 total) in The Flats, which are competitively priced with other luxury apartments in the area. 

For more information about Avalon Park Wesley Chapel, The Flats apartments and the new downtown building (at 4424 Friendly Way), visit AvalonParkWesleyChapel.com, call (813) 783- 1515 or (813) 851-4228. 

Pasco Restores Public Access To Accela System Shortly After Shutting It Off 

It sort of felt like something out of a Hollywood movie: A fresh, new face arrives on the scene and quickly captures the imagination of the public, only to have the government pull the rug out from under them and their many “fans.” 

But, this was no movie and, thankfully, the rug in this case has seemingly been neatly replaced and the young “starlet” and her supporting cast are back to doing what they do best — keeping people informed about new development projects throughout Pasco County. 

Wait, what? 

Yes, it’s true. The fresh face in this case is Kelly Gilroy of the super-popular Pasco County Development & Growth Updates (PCGDU) Facebook page (which I discussed in last issue’s page 3 editorial, too) — who admits she feared just this type of retribution from either the county government, developers or both — and the “villains” at least appear to be one unnamed member of the Pasco County Board of County Commissioners (BOC) and Pasco County Planning Commission member and civil engineer Jon Moody, who at the Planning Commission’s meeting on Sept. 6 said, “You shouldn’t believe everything you read on Facebook. Ms. Gilroy spreads false information.” 

Moody was referring to a post Kelly had made on Sept. 3, where she said that a land owner whose property is located inside the Northeast Pasco Rural Protection Overlay District was seeking to rezone their property from agricultural to high-density apartments and 1.5 million sq. ft. of warehouse and commercial space and was attempting to remove said property from the Protection District. Moody said that Kelly’s assertion was false. Whether it was true or not, that’s a discussion for another day, but it appears to be what set off a chain reaction of craziness. Or was it? 

Less than a week later, on Sept. 12, Kelly sent me a Facebook message (that she also posted on the PCGDU Facebook page) that said, “Pasco County has taken the extraordinary step of blocking public access on their Accela Citizens Portal (to) all pre-application developer site plans future and past because of the info I post in my group. Despite being public records, they literally paid their software vendor (Accela) to remove the search function from the public-facing website, apparently at the request of a county commissioner. Now, to get the same info, they (Pasco) require an “Open Records” request (to the county’s staff), which they delay responding to and charge fees to retrieve.” 

Were the two events — Moody’s “call out” of Kelly and the removal from the public access of all pre-app development information — related? And, which of the five county commissioners made the request? Is it a violation of state law to allow electronic access to public records and then take it away, while still allowing governmental officials and developers to continue to have access to that info? 

Consider this: Chapter 119.01 of the Florida Statutes (the General State Policy on Public Records), Subsections (e) and (f) clearly state that: 

“(e) Providing access to public records by remote electronic means is an additional method of access that agencies should strive to provide to the extent feasible. If an agency provides access to public records by remote electronic means, such access should be provided in the most cost-effective and efficient manner available to the agency providing the information. 

“(f) Each agency that maintains a public record in an electronic recordkeeping system shall provide to any person, pursuant to this chapter, a copy of any public record in that system which is not exempted by law from public disclosure.” 

And, after I had given Kelly those mad props for helping us lock onto the updates on her page that affect Wesley Chapel, and the fact that our editorial researcher and correspondent Joel Provenzano admits that the county’s Accela site was where he was getting so much of the background info for his stories, I vowed to help Kelly get to the bottom of this unfortunate situation. 

So, while she talked about possible lawsuits and injunctions to restore the access, I started calling county commissioners to find out if they knew which commissioner initiated the removal of the public’s access to Accela, and why this seemingly drastic step had been taken by the county. More than one of the commissioners I spoke with said that no only did they not know about which of them initiated it, they weren’t happy that they weren’t consulted or asked to vote on such a proposal before the public access was taken away. 

To continue my earlier analogy, before I got very far into my investigation into the “whodunit,” in stepped Dist. 5 Comm. Jack Mariano, who publicly stated that the public’s access to Accela needed to be reinstated “as quickly as possible” and his legislative assistant Sonya Walling put that demand in writing: 

“Comm. Mariano has requested staff to reopen the access to Pre-Application items on the Accela portal as soon as possible. Please reach out again if the PREAPPS are not available by Monday (Sept. 23).” 

Around the same day that email was made available, an unnamed admin on the PCDGU page said, “We sincerely thank everyone who contacted their commissioners about this. Hopefully, we can all move forward. We also learned that the county may repeal or waive the requirement for developers to submit a pre-application proposal altogether at some point in the future in an effort to streamline the application process [since, according to one commissioner, not all Florida counties require it and the process takes up a lot of staff time] and instead only accept site proposals the developers intend on actually moving through the permitting/zoning process. 

“Regardless, this group’s primary purpose will remain the sharing of raw information about proposed development, zoning and growth in Pasco. 

“If this is true and access is restored, we have no animus towards the county and will move on and try to keep the group non-partisan and non-political. Thank you.” 

Fade to black 

“And cut and print it!”