Tampa Mayor Jane Castor announces the One Tampa plan, which will help with rent, mortgage and utilities payments for City of Tampa residents.
Center ice at Amalie Arena is usually the backdrop for thousands of cheering fans and thunderous ovations, but on Tuesday, it was empty.
That didn’t stop Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, however, from standing on the same spot usually reserved for the heroics of the Tampa Bay Lightning and doing something that is likely to earn her cheers from thousands as well.
As hurting Tampa residents await aid from the federal government, Castor unveiled details of the City of Tampa’s new “One Tampa: Relief Now, Rise Together” fund, a partnership with the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay and the Greater Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce that will provide significant relief for many in the community.
The fund will cover up to $1,000 for rent or mortgage paid directly to the landlord or mortgagor, and up to $250 for essential utilities (water, gas and electric).
Small businesses that meet the criteria will have up to $4,000 for rent or mortgage covered, and up to $1,000 for utilities.
“As a lifelong Tampanian, I know one thing to be true: Tampa has grit,” Castor said. “When faced with challenges, our community always comes together to help our neighbors in need. One Tampa will provide critical financial support to those hit hardest by the COVID-19 crisis.”
While the plan will effect the majority of those living in New Tampa, those who reside in the unincorporated sections — Cross Creek, Pebble Creek and Live Oak, primarily — are not eligible fro this funding.
Applicants will be able to apply online at OneTampa.org, by phone, or by mail by filling out an online qualifying questionnaire, which will be available Friday, April 17 at noon for individuals and families, and on Tuesday, April 21 for small businesses.
The Tampa Bay Lightning, Buccaneers, Rays and Rowdies have already donated $100,000 each to the One Tampa fund.
Anyone can be a part of the One Tampa project. If you’d like to make a tax-deductible donation, you can do so at the website.
The Crisis Center of Tampa Bay will be responsible for ensuring the aid is reaching those who need it most, while the Tampa Bay Chamber will assist small businesses that qualify for these grants.
For more information and details about qualifying criteria, visit OneTampa.org. Residents also can call the Crisis Center hotline at 2-1-1 and dial 7 for more information or assistance with the application process.
Owner James Serrano exercises proper social distancing as he “hands” over a painting kit to a Pinot’s Palette customer.
Many local businesses were already way ahead of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis when he declared on April 1 that all nonessential businesses needed to close their doors.
Sensing the bad news was inevitable, some had already begun adapting in order to stay alive.
James Serrano, who owns Pinot’s Palette in the Shoppes at New Tampa, had already temporarily converted his Wesley Chapel studio, which specializes in large group gatherings with wine drinking and painting, into a stay-at-home, do-it-yourself painting “experience” by selling kits that included paint, brushes, a canvas and instructions.
“We basically had to do something,” says Serrano. “We were worried.”
On the first day of selling the take-home kits, he arrived to find a line of cars. Some ended up waiting for more than an hour because Serrano was overwhelmed by the turnout. Most of the cars were occupied by eager parents looking for a way to keep their children occupied.
Serrano also turned to virtual classes and, last week, hosted his first virtual private party for a church group — 13 women painting the same picture who were able to converse with each other online as they did so.
He also has delivered kits to people who request them, and even filled an order to be shipped to Puerto Rico.
Although some adults have asked if he could include Pinot’s usually-present wine with their order (he’s looking into it), he says his No. 1 customers now are kids, as parents have to constantly be entertaining their homebound youngsters.
Because Serrano still has to pay rent on a studio he isn’t using, he isn’t making money right now. However, he is staying afloat and hopeful things can return to normal soon.
“The community support has been so great,” he says. “Thank God people are buying the kits. Thank God.”
While a host of the area’s non-essential businesses will have no choice but to close down for the next month, the ones that can incorporate video conferencing technology like Zoom, or even FaceTime, are finding ways to survive.
Excel; Music in New Tampa Tampa Fine Arts Academy (TFAA) in Wesley Chapel now offering all their lessons online.
John Thrasher, the owner of Excel Music in New Tampa, and Larry Bigel of Tampa Fine Arts Academy (TFAA) in Wesley Chapel, both are able to provide all of their lessons online.
Thrasher said Excel began the transition the first week in March, with some students choosing to go online. Following spring break, everything went online, and students were able to keep their same teachers.
“We did it quickly and on the early side,” Thrasher says. “We beat the governor’s stay-at-home order by a couple of weeks. Anytime you transition, there are going to be some bumps, but for the most part, it’s actually gone pretty smoothly. We’re seeing a lot of smiling faces.”
For Bigel, who says TFAA transitioned 600 students to 100-percent online by March 23, it was all about keeping the students and teachers safe and the business viable.
“Thankfully, you can never catch a disease over the internet,” he says.
At F45 Training at The Grove, the group fitness training facility’s grand opening plans had to be put on hold and the free bootcamps offered to drum up business and market the area’s newest fitness center had to be canceled.
But, F45 at The Grove owners Bob and Kim Balfe are bringing the exercise right to your home instead.
They have posted a video series of home bootcamps on their Facebook page (search: F45 Grove Wesley Chapel), with their trainers doing 45-minute programs in their own driveways that you can follow along to.
All of the workouts are free.
Bob says other F45 studios are now following suit.
“Oh my God, it’s been amazing,” says Bob. “Some of the F45s from all over the world are kind of jealous. When we put these (workouts) out, they are getting hundreds of views in just minutes.”
Bob says his F45 studio just finished receiving its final coat of paint, and will be ready for a soft opening on (or around) Friday, May 8, if Florida’s stay-at-home order is lifted by then.
Teachers and administrators hand out breakfast and lunch for the week at Quail Hollow Elementary. (Photo: Charmaine George)
For years, the Wesley Chapel story has been one of growth and expansion, where new businesses and communities popped up on what seemed like a weekly basis, where roads were crowded, schools were filled to capacity and business was booming.
Appears to be time for a new chapter.
The next one written will be about the recovery from a deadly virus, COVID-19, that has shut almost everything across the country and the world down, stripped people of their jobs and the roads of its automobiles and people of their sense of safety and well-being.
“It came so fast,” says Pasco County commissioner Mike Moore. “These are unprecedented times and I don’t think anybody, no matter your age, unless you lived through the Great Depression, has gone through anything like this.”
On April 2, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, after weeks of harsh criticism for his inaction, shut the state down for 30 days with a stay-at-home order.
While essential businesses were allowed to stay open, everyone else was encouraged to stay home. Healthcare providers, grocery stores, gas stations, laundry service providers, office supply stores, the media and restaurants – take-out and delivery only – are all considered essential services.
DeSantis also included religious services at church.
When we went to press with our New Tampa issue on March 20th, the number of positive cases of coronavirus in Florida had just passed 500, and there had been 10 deaths.
Two weeks later as we wrapped up our current issue on April 3, there were 9,585 cases (including 74 in Pasco County) and 163 deaths (only two here at our press time).
While there have been glimmers of hope as the number of cases slows down and the flattening of the curve begins, local officials are still hard at work prepping for whatever the future holds.
Locally, Moore and other Pasco County officials have been scrambling to prepare the area with countless meetings and teleconferences, as business and schools and families have started full-fledged adjustments to life with coronavirus concerns.
Schools appear unlikely to open again this academic year. There has been no word on whether high school graduation ceremonies in Pasco County, scheduled for June 3-7, will actually take place.
Area schools have transitioned to online teaching/distance learning, and have been praised for the early results of those efforts.
“Saying that the last 2-3 weeks have been anything short of different would be an understatement,” said Pasco School District superintendent Kurt Browning. “It really has turned the school district on its heels…but a tip of the hat to the teachers and administrators for stepping up and digging in to find out how this works.”
Not only did schools hand out roughly 15,000 devices to accommodate students for distance learning, it also already has distributed more than 110,000 meals for students.
Originally a daily distribution, the district is now providing breakfast and lunch meals for the whole week on Tuesdays. The day of the first Tuesday distribution — on March 31— 80,680 meals were provided to families via drive-through lanes of 25 schools, including New River and Quail Hollow elementary schools.
Tuesday food service will continue through April.
The Tampa Premium Outlets have been temporarily closed since mid-March.
Local businesses, however, are finding survival to be much more difficult, especially those who don’t have a business that can transition to offer its services online.
Social distancing is currently the best defense against coronavirus, according to medical experts, but it’s also the antithesis to small business success, especially for those in the service industry like hair and nail salons, small stores or studios and restaurants.
“It’s pretty stressful,” said James Serrano, who owns Pinot’s Palette in Wesley Chapel, a small art-and-wine studio that specializes in group painting events.
Those that can’t remain open can only hope that the stay-at-home order expires in 30 days.
However, no business owners we talked believed that 30 days was a realistic timeline, and most are readying to hunker down for a month or two longer.
“The best-case scenario from what I understand is May 8,” says Brass Tap owner Jeff Martin. “But, I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
Social distancing is the norm in Wawa and pretty much everywhere. (Photo: Charmaine George)
Because Wesley Chapel is an area with a high concentration of small businesses — many of which have been experiencing boom times over the past few years due to the area’s tremendous growth — coronavirus fears are likely to strike a harsher blow.
But, no one really seems to know where this headed, except for uncharted territory.
“There are a lot of unknowns, and that is really the scary part,” says Hope Kennedy, the CEO of the 700-member North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce. “I’m not sure we’ve gotten to the (worst) of this. Once we do, we can get into recovery mode.”
AdventHealth Wesley Chapel (AHWC) celebrated a heart-touching victory on April 9 as COVID-19 patient Tamashri Maharana was released after battling the virus for a week.
Maharana spent seven days at AHWC, the last four of those in the ICU battling the virus.
Team members lined the halls and clapped as she made her way home.
Maharana is now in quarantine at home continuing her recovery.
The latest COVID-19 numbers show 17,531 confirmed cases in Florida, with 390 deaths. In Hillsborough County, there are 671 cases and nine deaths. In Pasco County, there are 141 cases and two deaths.
Here’s the video of Maharana leaving AHWC, courtesy of the hospital.
Tampa City Councilmember Luis Viera, who represents District 7 which includes New Tampa, wrote the following for the Neighborhood News and their New Tampa readers.
The effects of Covid-19 present a catastrophic challenge. In mere days, Americans went from relative affluence to fear and insecurity.
For our families, this crisis is acute and traumatic. The good news is that Tampa residents are not alone.
For small businesses, there exists a growing number of initiatives that can help.
These initiatives include:
1. There is the Tampa Recovery Hotline (1-800-TPA-INFO) for social service and business relief information. Updates on business resources can be received by texting TAMPABIZ to 888-777.
2. Florida has the Florida Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan Program (FloridaDisasterLoan.org). This interest-free loan is intended to “bridge the gap” for a catastrophe for up to $50,000.00 per eligible small business (with applications accepted through May 8, 2020, contingent upon availability).
The loan is short term: 0% interest the first year, 12% after that.
For an updated list of resources, visit Tampagov.net/emergency-management/covid-19. The City of Tampa is establishing a task force for Social Services and an Economic Development Task Force to find other ways to help.
Know that as your Tampa City Councilman, I will continue to work to make resources available for constituents and make calls to local businesses and residents.
And federal, state and local resources will continue to grow.
So many of the stories I have heard are crushing: I spoke to a recent immigrant who came here with nothing, found success, began a restaurant and now has had to close shop; a small business owner digging into his savings to allow his employees to have something to live on; and workers feeling abandoned with no savings or health insurance after their last day on the job.
Houses of worship are doing much more with a lot less. And anxiety, depression and emotional challenges are brutally compounded.
I ask that you do your patriotic duty. Engage in best practices as recommended by medical professionals. Practice acts of compassion for the vulnerable. If you are a member of a religious congregation, support your congregation’s purpose.
People are hurting and suffering But, have no doubt, we will rebound as a people.
Americans are, at heart, fighters. Many of us come from families that, as immigrants and refugees, fought against crushing odds just to get here and be called Americans.
We, as Americans, have, in just the last 100 years, overcome a Great Depression, defeated the Nazis, saw many of our fellow Americans beaten and sometimes murdered in fighting Jim Crow, won the Cold War and sustained the September 11th terror attacks.
We will overcome this crisis and will do so together as Americans. We have different faiths and traditions, but are all Americans who are our brother and sister’s keeper.
And, please know that you can always count on my help and friendship along the way.
