Author: John Cotey

Wesley Chapel & Central Pasco Chambers Dueling Over WC Blvd.

It’s just a 3.5-mile planned stretch of road running from S.R. 56 south to County Line Rd. through the Cypress Creek Center Development of Regional Impact (DRI), which has lots of progress on one side and undeveloped land on the other, but for the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCCC) CEO and the Central Pasco Chamber of Commerce, (CPCC) the road — an only partially built extension of what is now called (on public street signs) Wesley Chapel (WC) Blvd. — stands for a lot more than just some new pavement.

The WCCC and CEO Hope Allen believe the road — like the entire Wesley Chapel area — is a big part of central and eastern Pasco’s future. But, to CPCC Board member Sandy Graves, the road — which she feels should be called something other than WC Blvd. — should serve as a tribute to the area’s past.

The two sides are now awaiting a Pasco Board of County Commissioners (BCC) decision that ultimately will decide if the road’s name should be changed or not.

Graves, a longtime Land O’Lakes resident, is on the side arguing to have the still-under-construction southern extension (southbound from S.R. 56) of what is already called Wesley Chapel Blvd. (Note-it also is the only roadway we’ve seen labeled “C.R. {or County Road} 54 South”), renamed “Circle O Ranch Parkway” to more accurately reflect the area through which the remaining three miles of the WC Blvd. extension will run. There already is a portion of that extension that is open to traffic, but it is only a half-mile long and currently mainly provides an alternative entrance to the existing Tampa Premium Outlets (TPO).

To that end, Graves and other Land O’Lakes and Lutz residents asked the county to change the name of Wesley Chapel Blvd. and, on Jan. 19, the BCC voted to continue the item to a future date (that had not yet been set at our press time), to allow for consideration of alternative names to Circle O Ranch Pkwy.

Allen says she didn’t know anything about the BCC meeting until she got a Google alert two days after the story was posted on the Tampa Tribune website TBO.com. She says she was surprised that she hadn’t heard about the meeting before it happened and that the name change could have been voted on that day.

Even developer Bob Sierra said he also was surprised, although he told the Tampa Tribune he did find the time to rush to the meeting.

Graves said there was nothing sneaky about the meeting – a public notice was posted in the printed editions of the Tribune and she claims the Land O’Lakes-Lutz plans had been in the news, although she did not elaborate as to what news media may have aired or written a story about the meeting.

Besides, she claimed, it was more notice than her community got in 2004 when Wesley Chapel Blvd. sprouted along S.R. 54 “in the middle of the night,” according to Graves.

Back then, Graves and people in the Land O’Lakes-Lutz community thought the road was going to be named Worthington Gardens Blvd., but it ended up as Wesley Chapel Blvd.

“I don’t know how that happened,’’ Graves says. “We were all very shocked. The county needs to do the right thing this time.”

This isn’t the first time Graves has tangled with a Wesley Chapel sign. In 2013, the Florida Department of Transportation put up a green “Wesley Chapel” placemaker (photo on this page) sign a few hundred feet west of where Wesley Chapel Blvd. begins that was clearly on land in Lutz’s 33559 U.S. Postal Service zip code. Graves fought for eight months until the sign was eventually removed.

Both sides will get their chance to make their arguments for and against the WC Blvd. name. At our press time, Pasco BCC chair/Dist. 3 Comm. Kathryn Starkey was to have met with both sides.

Meanwhile, Allen says that the dispute over the roadway, from her perspective, should be less about geographic borders and more about the thriving and ever-expanding number of businesses that are located on and near it.

“Our Board of Directors believes that we are entitled to just as much conversation with the county as the other people who have petitioned this,” Allen says. “We have businesses that have a strong interest in (all of) Wesley Chapel Blvd. remaining as it is.”

Allen says changing the name of the road could impact the businesses along that corridor by creating an intersection which would then need to include signs for S.R. 56, C.R. 54, S.R. 54, Wesley Chapel Blvd. and whatever new name is chosen for the southern extension.

“It is our (the WCCC’s) position that there not be an unnecessary change,” Allen says. “If it is a wanted change that has gone through a process, we will support that. But, we want to make sure the businesses in this area have the chance to voice their opinions, too.”

While TPO and businesses now under construction like Costco and Culver’s today have Lutz zip codes, Allen says those businesses were sold as “being in Wesley Chapel” and being on or near Wesley Chapel Blvd. helps them market themselves as such. In fact, she says, most of the marketing and advertising materials of nearby businesses use the name Wesley Chapel Blvd.

“Wesley Chapel has a brand, and a name that is appealing to business,’’ Allen says.

Graves says Land O’Lakes and Lutz have a brand as well. “It’s about identity, it’s about branding for us, too,’’ Graves says. “It’s about our history and our reality. This is about the county that did something for one area at the expense of another.”

The disagreement over Wesley Chapel Blvd. may have re-sparked an even bigger debate over community boundaries.

Graves also claims that Wesley Chapel’s boundaries appear to be malleable and based on incorrect census maps, and as a result continue to encroach on Land O’Lakes and Lutz.

“It’s a bigger issue,’’ Graves says. “We have a right to have a brand, too. You can’t create a map for your own agenda and expect people to say, ‘Okay, I’ll give all that up’”

As an example, much of the burgeoning development in the S.R. 56 corridor is credited as being located in Wesley Chapel even though all of the property located west of I-75 on both sides of S.R. 56 have Lutz addresses, meaning they have Lutz’s 33559 zip code.

Pasco officials have said the BCC will address the boundaries prior to considering a name change for Wesley Chapel Blvd. Meetings will be scheduled with the Land O’Lakes and Wesley Chapel communities and coordinated with the county’s Planning & Development Department in the hopes of bringing forward a boundary recommendation to the Board in March or April. Allen says the WCCC also would like to see the boundaries of Wesley Chapel more clearly defined.

Comm. Starkey is hosting a Town Hall meeting on Thur, Feb. 18, 6:30 p.m., at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church (20735 Leonard Rd., Lutz). It would be great to have some Wesley Chapel folks in attendance for that open-to-the-public event.

Soccer Players Score On National Signing Day

soccersigning — *Wiregrass Ranch High soccer players (l.-r.) Vanessa Jordan, Chloe Lipovetsky, Camille King and Hanna Erdman, with their high school coach, Edwin Costa, on National Signing Day.*

National Signing Day (NSD) is known for the fervor it creates and the hullabaloo surrounding the top gridiron players who sign their national Letters of Intent (LOIs), but all was quiet in Wesley Chapel on Feb. 3 when it came to football.

“Futbol,” however, was another story.

At Wiregrass Ranch High (WRH), four players from the Bulls’ successful girls soccer team — Striker Vanessa Jordan, midfielder Chloe Lipovetsky, defender Camille King and sweeper Hanna Erdman — signed college LOIs.

The four have been teammates all four seasons at WRH, and helped lead the Bulls to a 16-6-1 record this past season. WRH advanced to the Class 5A, District semifinals, where it was eliminated 2-0 by Wharton.

The quartet of soccer stars helped WRH compile a 68-18-4 record in four seasons, with two playoff appearances, including a District title in 2013.

Jordan signed with Division II Flagler College in St. Augustine, FL. The Panthers compete in the Sunshine State Conference, along with nearby Saint Leo University in San Antonio.

She scored nine goals this past season for the Bulls, after leading the team with 26 the previous season.

In four seasons at WRH, Jordan scored 58 goals and added 20 assists.

Lipovetsky will play her college soccer at Division II Lander University in Greenwood, SC. She was the Bulls’ team MVP this season, scoring 18 goals and assisting on 12 others, both team highs.

Lipovetsky scored 12 goals as a junior, but did not play her sophomore year. For her career, she scored 32 times, and added 23 assists.

King signed with the University of West Florida in Pensacola. She will join a team that went 15-5-1 last season and qualified for the NCAA Division II Regionals.

King was an offensive-minded defender for the Bulls last season, picking up 33 steals in the back but also scoring seven goals and picking up 11 assists. She scored 22 times in her WRH career.

Erdman is headed to Division III Westminster College in New Wilmington, PA. Erdman was the Bulls top defensive player all four seasons at WRH, and was credited with 36 steals this past season, after notching 71 in 2014-15. In her four seasons, Erdman was credited with 168 steals.

WRH football coach Mark Kantor said he still expects to have some of his football players sign in the coming months. Wesley Chapel High did not hold a NSD ceremony this year.

Interstate 75 at Overpass Road has reopened

All lanes at Overpass Road and southbound Interstate 75 (south of S.R. 5.2. at the 282 milepost) have been reopened this morning after a truck clipped the overpass Monday night and caused it and all northbound lanes to be closed last night.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Aubrey Reed, 60, of Brownwood, Texas, was towing a crane in his 2014 Peterbilt truck when he struck Overpass Road in Pasco County Monday evening, shortly after 5 p.m.

The damage was described as “severe” as inspectors were called out to assess. Around 9 p.m., Overpass Road was reopened as well as the inside northbound lane of I-75. The outside lane remained closed overnight.

Reed, who was not injured, was ticketed for an over-height load in his 2014 Peterbilt Truck, according to FHP.

Sophia Presents Pasco Sheriff Nocco With $3.2K For K-9s!

Wesley Chapel resident Sophia Contino (who was featured in our last issue) presented Pasco Sheriff Chris Nocco with a check for $3,200 to help fund Kevlar vests for Nocco’s K-9 deputies.

Sophia who lives in Meadow Pointe and attends Sand Pine Elementary, is an 8-year-old who wants to save canine lives by providing the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO)’s K-9 officers with bulletproof vests.

Sofia came up with the idea of having a lemonade stand to raise the money.

“The reason I am raising money is, I love dogs and I love people,” Sophia said in our previous story.

Sophia, whose father Jason works for Wesley Chapel Nissan, where Nocco held a fund raiser for his re-election campaign, has now raised nearly $6,000 in just a few months by selling lemonade at the dealership and other locations.

‘Sophia’s money will only be used for the K-9 unit, not my campaign,’ Nocco said. ‘I want to make that very clear.’— GN

Sting Operation In Wesley Chapel Proves Successful

Speaking of Nocco, his department continues to work hard towards stopping human trafficking.

January was National Human Trafficking Awareness Month, and the PCSO ended the month by staging a two-day sting operation in Wesley Chapel that resulted in 20 arrests for prostitution and drug possession.

PCSO used the Econo Lodge on S.R. 54 just west of I-75 as a staging ground for its sting operation, operating out of a handful of rooms to make a series of arrests. The Econo Lodge gave permission for PCSO to use its location.

“The big issue for us was human trafficking, that’s what they were looking for,’’ said PCSO spokesman Eddie Daniels. “It’s an important, serious issue.”

While the sting operation did not find any evidence of human or sex trafficking, it has been a point of emphasis for Nocco’s department.

Florida is third in the nation annually in cases of human trafficking (behind California and Texas), and nearby Hillsborough County is second to Orange County (Orlando area) in the state.

According to a recent Neighborhood News story about trafficking as well as the PCSO website, there are roughly 300,000 cases of child sex trafficking reported every year, and it is estimated between 500,000 and 2 million people are trafficked annually worldwide, with an estimated 15-18,000 being trafficked into the U.S. each year.

The proliferation of social media and websites have helped lead to more trafficking, so the Sheriff’s Office used ads on a website to lure many of those arrested Jan. 29-31 to the Wesley Chapel motel.

Among the 20 people arrested, two had Wesley Chapel addresses. The others were from as far away as Nova Scotia, Canada, and Ocala and Spring Hill, FL.—JCC

Andrew Krance, Master Of Fine Arts, Can Create A Masterpiece For You

By Gary Nager

I’ll freely admit that I don’t know nearly as much about art as I do about food, wine or single-malt Scotch (go figure!). But, as someone who was born and raised in and near New York City, I was definitely exposed to a lot of art and I have found that whether it’s surrealist, impressionist or cubist, I just know what I like when I see it.

“And that is the thing about art,” says Wesley Chapel resident and Master of Fine Arts (MFA) Andrew Krance. “It’s such a personal thing. You don’t always know why you like or don’t like a piece of art, you just know if you do or not.”

But, if you’re moving into a new home or redecorating an older one and you want something really cool to tie together that huge new living room or you just like the idea of purchasing original art directly from the artist rather than buying a signed and numbered print, lithograph or giclet, I believe that if you visit Andrew’s home studio in the Villages of Wesley Chapel and see just how much original art he has displayed in a wide variety of genres and styles, you might end up becoming a customer of his.

A Little Background…

Andrew’s father, Casimir Krance, who also was a renowned concert pianist, had inherited a munitions factory in France before World War II. When the Germans invaded France, the native of Poland moved his family to New York City but they eventually ended up in Wisconsin, where Andrew earned his MFA degree from the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

An accomplished musician himself, Andrew’s artistic bent helped him find his way back to the Big Apple, where he lived with an aunt on Manhattan’s posh Upper East Side, near Gracie Mansion, the residence that is home to New York City’s mayor.

It was while working for Dorothy Maynor, the opera star who founded the Harlem School for the Arts (which provides college curricula in performing and visual arts in Upper Manhattan), that Andrew met Barbara Johnson of the Johnson & Johnson family, one of the world’s foremost collectors of fine art, and where he began dabbling in a wide variety of artistic genres.

“She had Van Goghs, Rembrandts and a 40-foot Monet in her home,” Andrew recalls. “Her collection today is worth in the billions of dollars.” Johnson took the young artist under her wing, as she had many others, and introduced him to everyone from the governors (at the time) of Texas and Arizona to Leo Castelli, whom the actor Dennis Hopper called “the godfather of the contemporary art world.”

The Castelli Gallery was one of the most famous in the world and helped launch or further the careers of everyone from Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns to Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol.

And, for a while, a young Andrew Krance. Andrew says the artists under Castelli’s “wing” would have drinks together at a place called Magoo’s off Canal St.

But, “Andrieu,” as his late, Israeli wife Eti (Esther) used to call him, ultimately went into the pet food and pet products business and later moved to Key Largo, FL, where he and his wife opened a lingerie store. They spent 20 years together on the east coast of Florida before moving to Wesley Chapel together a few years ago. She passed away three months after learning she had cancer.

“I did throw myself more into my art after Eti passed,” he admits.

Today, Andrew continues to go through different “periods” with his art, although he mainly uses acrylic paints and a more “pop art” style these days. “The paint just dries so much faster (than oil) and the colors and textures are amazing,” he says.

So, his work ranges from emulating everyone from Picasso to Warhol to Jackson Pollack and some of his favorite pieces are his own “takes” on famous people, like the late music stars Stevie Ray Vaughn and Bob Marley and even Warhol himself.

Corporate Work & More

Today, Andrew says that he can create virtually anything in acrylics and he really enjoys being commissioned to create something unique.

“I can fill those huge walls in a large corporate office or an upscale home,” he says. “Give me an idea and a style and I’ll come up with something great, in less time than you might think.”

But, even if you’re not sure you want to buy anything, one thing I certainly would suggest is to make an appointment with Andrew to check out the art that’s already in his home. There’s more paintings on Andrew’s walls than at some art galleries I’ve been to and I have included some of my favorites (and his) on these page. So, sit down, enjoy a cup of coffee or a good Scotch with him and talk about art.

The artist has become friends with one of his neighbors, Joe Lawler, and Andrew says, “Joe has bought five pieces from me, but not because we’re friends, but because he likes what I do.”

Joe says, “You can just see the talent Andrew has. I love his art that looks like Picasso so much, I bought my favorite.”

You also can check out most of Andrew’s art at KranceContemporaryPaintings.com (which he says is being revamped a bit as we’re going to press) or call 994-0008 for more info.