Garbage Collection Point Of Contention

Hillsborough County will be entertaining waste management options that will possibly reduce garbage pickup in New Tampa’s city and county communities from two days per week to only one.

That stinks, say many.

“I have not talked to one person that likes this idea,” says Mike Jacobson, the president of the Pebble Creek Homeowners Association. “I can’t even believe they’re considering it.”

Hillsborough County solid waste director Kim Byer says the decision isn’t based on how much trash is collected or how many residents actually leave their bins out on both days of pickups, but is purely a financial one that could produce savings for the county of up to 30 percent.

If those savings were significant, they could be passed on to customers, Byer says.

Currently, three companies —Republic Services of Florida, Waste Connections and Waste Management — together handle a $188-million contract to collect garbage, recyclables and yard clippings in Hillsborough County.

The County Commission will review new proposals this fall, and will vote on contractors for a new contract  sometime before the end of November (which would go into effect in September 2020, Byer says).

“We say it’s the same garbage, just being picked up one day versus two,” she says.

Part of the process will include the results of an online poll that ended on August 5, which asked participants what they wanted from their waste management services. 

More than 13,000 people had taken part in the survey at our press time. Byer says the majority were opposed to cutting weekly trash pickups in half.

District 2 County Commissioner Ken Hagan, who represents the New Tampa area, says it is far more than a majority of residents who are opposed, according to the emails his office has received.

“It’s 98 percent, maybe 99 percent, in support of maintaining twice a week pickups,” Hagan says, adding that he is not in favor of any options that include only once-a-week pickups.

“While once a week collection is definitely  cheaper,” Hagan says, “I certainly do not believe it’s in the best interest of our residents and our neighborhoods.”

Because New Tampa is so community-oriented, with Homeowners Associations requiring that trash bins be kept from public view, meaning most likely in your garage.

And, with Florida’s blistering heat, the idea of trash being stored in those conditions for seven days isn’t appealing to most people.

“The concern I have is with no makeup day, and with the disproportionate number of (pickup) days falling on Mondays which are holidays, you could go 2-3 weeks between trash pickups,” says Scott Darby, the Arbor Greene HOA president.

Darby is so concerned that he says he has reached out to all seven commissioners, and only one response — from Hagan — has reflected steadfast opposition. He fears the decision already has been made.

Hagan is more positive, having been through this process three times.

“We’ll look at various proposals,” Hagan says, “and at the end of day, I’m confident we’ll remain with twice-a-week pickup.”

New Tampa School Grades

*Every New Tampa school had the same grade for 2018-19 as it did the previous school year, with the exception of Hunter’s Green Elementary, which improved to a “B” grade after four straight years of “C” grades.

*New Tampa had six schools earn “A” grades, two that earned B grades and three earned C grades.

*Chiles Elementary was the only New Tampa school to score higher than 80 in English Language Arts (ELA), Math and Science Achievement. 

*Pride Elementary earned the best score among our schools for ELA Achievement (86), while Chiles was tops in Math (85) and Science (85).

*Chiles is now 17-for-17 in earning an A grade from the state.

*However, Benito Middle School, Pride and Clark elementaries all have the longest current streak of “A” grades — 18 straight years, dating back to 2002.

* Freedom and Wharton high schools were both “C” schools for the fourth straight year.

* Did you know that from 2008-10, every elementary and middle school in New Tampa earned A grades?

Wesley Chapel School Grades

Once again, every school in Wesley Chapel but one received either an A or B grade from the state, including John Long Middle School (an A school for the 13th consecutive year, and Sand Pine Elementary (an A school for the 19th time in 21 years). Also, Wiregrass Elem. earned its first-ever A & the Union Park Academy charter school has received an A after its first full school year.

Pasco Fire Rescue Station No. 38 Is Now Open In WaterGrass

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For the second time this year, Wesley Chapel will soon be celebrating the Grand Opening of a newly-equipped fire rescue station, bringing the total to three stations that are currently serving one of the county’s fastest-growing areas.

Although Pasco County Fire Rescue (PFR) Station No. 38, located in WaterGrass (west of Curley Rd.), has been staffed and operational since last week, the official ribbon cutting is expected to take place in early August, heralding the arrival of one of the largest and most high-tech Pasco fire stations around.

“We have a group of citizens that live in that area and have followed this project for the last five years,” said Pasco fire chief Scott Cassin. “I’m sure they are very excited to see the station open — as are we.”

Station No. 38 will join No. 26, which is located on Aronwood Dr. in Meadow Pointe, and No. 13, which is located off of Old Pasco Rd. The all-new Station 13 opened after an extensive expansion,  renovation and relocation earlier this year.

Fire Station 38 is a 10,843-sq.-ft. facility, with four drive-through bays, versus the standard two or three bays that most other PFR stations have. 

The size of the station will help it expand to meet the needs of existing communities like WaterGrass and Epperson, as they continue to add thousands of new homes to the area.

On day one, Station 38 opened with a fire engine truck, as well as one of only two air trucks — or light and air units, which provide supplemental lighting and SBCA air bottles at the scene of emergencies — in the county (there is another one that serves the west side of Pasco).

The new station also will house an EMS unit and (by December) an ambulance crew will be stationed there as well, or maybe a ladder truck, special operations team or even a hazmat team.

“We’ve built the building with that expandable capacity in mind,” Chief Cassin says. “(Wesley Chapel) is going to continue to grow, and we’ve built a facility big enough that we can expand in the future and meet those future needs.”

A new PURVIS alert system has been integrated into the new building to help speed up response times. The current analog system, which sends out loud signals from dispatch via bell or alert tones, is being replaced with a digital system that Cassin says will produce better results.

The well-known, loud screeching sounds will be replaced by a series of tones that gradually increase in volume, “Which is really nice at 3 in the morning when you are asleep and you get a call,” Chief Cassin says, chuckling. “Now you have to peel me off the ceiling because it’s so loud it scares you. This is much more gentle on the cardio vascular system.”

Alerts also can be targeted toward only the firefighters needed for a particular call, and not the entire station.

Lights will help alert firefighters about how much time has elapsed. They are expected to be out of the station within 60 seconds, and the lights will change colors as time passes.

There also are display monitors that firefighters can use as a guide, and in the bay is a “rip and run,” which is a back-up printout of the call, in case the computer in the truck goes down.”

Another nice addition to the new system — it can alert all of the necessary fire stations at the same time. Currently, on calls that require more than one apparatus, the dispatch center has to call each individual station, in order of their proximity to the call or they type of equipment they have.

“With the new system, one push of the button will alert all the stations at the same time,” Cassin says. “It will shave off time. Even if it’s only 10 seconds, it’s still 10 seconds. It can make the difference.”

Those working in the station will be beneficiaries of a new Plymovent diesel exhaust capture system. Long yellow tubes will be connected to the exhaust pipes of the fire vehicles, so that when the vehicle is started in the bay, the discharge of diesel exhaust (carbon monoxide and the carcinogen Benzene) is collected into the system and evacuated to outside air. 

When the truck leaves, the tubes, connected by a system of magnets, detach at a certain point.

“We’re going to have very very clean air at that station (and reduce the cancer risk),” Cassin says. “We’re working on a plan to retrofit the rest of our stations with that system.”

The new station at WaterGrass helps fulfill PFR’s goal of having a station within five miles of every structure. Until No. 38 came along, those in WaterGrass and the surrounding area were outside that range — more than 8 miles from No. 13 and 10 miles from No. 26.

Cassin says not only does the station provide safety benefits, but homeowners should receive a premium reduction if they alert their homeowners insurance companies that a new station has opened close to their homes. 

Station No. 38 won’t be the last fire station for Wesley Chapel, which continues to grow unabated. Cassin says a station already is funded for the north end of Meadow Pointe at S.R. 54 — the land still needs to be purchased — with plans to build in 2022. And, Cassin says, the I-75 and S.R. 56 area currently is being studied as a future site as well.

Open For Business

Now that it has opened to traffic, the S.R. 56 Extension is expected to provide a boon to local businesses, as well as create a badly needed 4-lane East-West road crossing Pasco County.

WHEN PLANS were originally made to extend S.R. 56 all the way from Meadow Pointe Blvd in Wiregrass Ranch all the to U.S. 301 in Zephyrhills, they included a lane in each direction.

Wesley Chapel’s growth, however, rendered those original plans moot.

“That wasn’t going to be enough,” said District 2 county commissioner Mike Moore.

So after some creative management and a wealth of cooperation between the Florida Department of Transportation, Pasco County, the City of Zephyrhills and multiple landowners along the proposed extension, the eastward expansion of S.R. 56 officially opened for traffic on July 10 as a freshly-paved, scenic, six-mile, four-lane road winding through pastures, in between trees and alongside ponds, while connecting Wesley Chapel to Zephyrhills.

“It’s a beautiful road,” said FDOT District 7 secretary David Gwynn, against the backdrop of four lanes running into a horizon flanked by nature. “Not just the road, but the surrounding area as well.”

City officials from Zephyrhills, all but one of Pasco’s county commissioners, the media and a number of other local dignitaries were given a sneak preview of the road on July 9, driving it from U.S. 301, through a signalized intersection at Morris Bridge Rd. and past Meadow Pointe Blvd.

Moore said no one was more excited about the extension than he was. The day it opened to everyone (June 10), he says he drove the length of it twice — once for work, and another time to visit his mother, who lives in Zephyrhills. He said the drive cut 15-20 minutes off his typical travel time in that direction, along the two-lane S.R. 54 (which also is in the process of being widened to four lanes).

He also touted the access to Polk County and even Orlando (via I-4) that the extension will provide, allowing residents in the area an alternative route.

“It’s pretty awesome,” Moore said. “I think people are going to love it. I was on Facebook, and I saw a lot of good comments from people who are definitely happy about it.”

In fact, a Neighborhood News Online video about the opening had more than 15,000 views in less than 24 hours, with hundreds of likes and mostly positive comments about the new road on Facebook (search “Neighborhood News”).

Among those who are happy about it is Ann Marie Schumaker, who lives in Zephyrhills but works at Soriano Insurance in Wesley Chapel. “I love the 56 extension,” she says. “Now I don’t have to take the dreaded Meadow Pointe cut-through up to 54 and sit in traffic during rush hour times with all the construction going on to go into Zephyrhills….it saves me 20 minutes every morning and evening on my daily commute to work. Being a single mom and having to make pick-up times is stressful. So, any extra time I can save is great. I’m overly excited. I’ve been waiting so long for this extension to be done.”

The extension is expected to provide an economic benefit to businesses in Wesley Chapel. Residents in Zephyrhills should find visiting the Shops at Wiregrass and Tampa Premium Outlets, as well as the many surrounding businesses in the area, to be a much easier and quicker trek. 

The only option to go from Wesley Chapel to Zephyrhills has been driving on one lane westbound on S.R. 54, which is roughly a 25-30 minute trip in light traffic, and even longer during morning and evening rush hours, especially when the snowbirds are in town in the winter and spring. The new extension will make those jaunts significantly shorter.

Currently, the road remains a nice trip through what District 1 commissioner and lifelong county resident Ron Oakley called “old Pasco.”

It can be enjoyed by bicyclists looking to take advantage of a generous 7-foot-wide bike lane in either direction, as well as pedestrians who can walk along a 10-foot- wide multi-use trail on the south side or a 5-foot wide sidewalk on the north side of the new 56 extension.

The completion of the project gives Pasco County it’s first 4-lane road from U.S. 19 to the west to U.S. 301 to the east, Oakley said. 

“I’ve spent my entire life in Pasco County with only two-lane roads,” he said.

How It Happened

Moore said the county was smart to look ahead and make a deal to extend S.R. 56 with four lanes. He said too many times roads are constructed, only to need widening or other work to accommodate growth 10 years later, when the costs also will be greater.

To get the extension changed from two to four lanes was monumental, Moore said, and no easy feat.  

The BOCC had to approve seven different agreements in 2016 to come up with a plan to repay a $22.7-million loan from the State Infrastructure Bank (SIB), which provides investment funds for surface transportation projects. That loan will be repaid with money from the county, the City of Zephyrhills and via mobility fee surcharges to developers of Wesley Chapel Lakes, Wyndfields, River Landing and Two Rivers Ranch, all of which will eventually have communities along the road.

Most of the $59.7-million total cost (plus another $7-8 million in interest) to build the extension came from FDOT, which contributed $35 million.

Oakley said that the beautiful terrain the extension cuts through previously has only been seen by local ranchers, and that those who are now using the road should enjoy it while they can. In 8-10 years, he said, that definitely could change, as Wesley Chapel Lakes, Wyndfields, River Landing and Two Rivers Ranch are expected to add as many as 10,000 new homes to the corridor. 

Businesses, parks and new schools also are expected as well.

But for now, the extension of S.R. 56 is a scenic convenience.