Hunter’s Green Country Club’s Tennis & Athletic Center Is Getting A Makeover

niniIn the first six weeks of 2016, none of the 300 or so clubs under the Club Corp. of America (CCA) umbrella has grown as fast or added as many new members as Hunter’s Green Country Club, says general manager Dave Taylor.

That could just be the beginning of a great story. Taylor has revealed that HGCC’s Tennis & Athletic Center (TAC), tucked just inside the main gates of the Hunter’s Green community off Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., and a few hundred yards southwest of the main clubhouse and Tom Fazio-designed golf course, is about to begin a “seven-figure renovation” that is going to do more than just put a fresh coat of paint on a facility that is starting to show its age a little bit.

“Before we’ve even done the renovations and before even any of this got out, we’ve had momentum with the club,’’ Taylor said. “We lead the entire company in member growth for the first six weeks of the year…it’s the first time Hunter’s Green has ever seen anything like that. So, that’s very good for us.”

Taylor says the TAC facelift, which follows the substantial renovations at the main clubhouse’s restaurant and bar area, known as Fazio’s Grille, will add amenities on par with some of the new housing developments (he used Estancia at Wiregrass Ranch as an example) going up in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel that offer lavish clubhouses and pools geared towards the family experience.

In addition to the 17 clay tennis courts, which aren’t included in the renovation plans, the TAC will soon boast things like a re-invented cafĂ© with expanded hours and an emphasis on a quality menu, a new weight room, a new-look pool plus miniature golf and a water slide.

While you don’t have to live in Hunter’s Green to be a member of HGCC, the area within a five-mile radius continues to see growth — in much of Wesley Chapel and K-Bar Ranch in particular — thus making the market on comfort and family-friendly experiences competitive.

Taylor says the TAC’s Center Court Cafe will be completely rebuilt, with a more rustic scheme, bigger TVs, more events and better food. An outside area will be remodeled and will include a new fire pit. The pool will lose the long green awning that covers half of the deck area. They will be replaced by four individual cabanas with electricity, fans and poolside food and beverage service.

With the goal of having plenty to do for new families who can spend their weekends at the club , the kiddie pool is being replaced by a splash pad, all new furniture will line the deck and one of the highlights of the renovations — a 10-foot-high water slide with a 45-foot-long flume — will be added.

Taylor says the pool renovations should be completed by Memorial Day, where it will be unveiled for the TAC’s annual Memorial Day Bash, which he says draws the biggest crowd each year to the pool.

Next to the 25-meter junior Olympic heated pool (which is big enough that it hosts a multitude of junior and even high school swim meets), a small 6-hole miniature golf course will be built, and next to that will be an activity area with field turf for after-school campers and other on-site sports programs.

“Our membership is getting younger, and this is what they want,’’ Taylor says. “They want the splash pads and they want the water slides and they want the miniature golf. They want the ability to be able to have a cafĂ© restaurant that is open with pool service so they can bring the kids and still hang out themselves.”

A former professional golfer on the PGA’s Nationwide Tour, Taylor joined Hunter’s Green in 2014 after stints as director of operations at East Lake Woodlands in Tarpon Springs and general manager at The Club at Hidden Creek in Navarre, FL. At Hidden Creek, he spearheaded the rebuilding and redesign of all 18 greens on the golf course, and at East Lake Woodlands, he helped improve service. At Hunter’s Green, he already has done similar work on the golf course and the club house.

“If you get the right employee partners, and get them happy, that carries over to the members, they start using the club more and the club is better off financially,’’ Taylor said. “If you don’t have the first two legs of the stool, the third won’t happen.”

The third leg, in this case, is the TAC.

The current cafĂ© is expected to draw bigger crowds upon its completion sometime this summer. The exercise room will have all of its current equipment replaced by new more modern machines and weights. The spinning (indoor cycling) room, one of the TAC’s more popular destinations, will be re-done with all new cycles. The men’s and women’s locker rooms will get a fresh look as well, and the all-purpose room where exercise and yoga classes are held daily — the classes are included in the membership cost — also will be refinished.

Aesthetically, Taylor says the TAC will be a more welcoming facility, with a newly designed entrance, a larger pro shop and an open design with plenty to offer the family, inside and out.

“We’re providing a lifestyle,’’ says head tennis pro Allegra Campos. “It’s going to be a family-style, safe environment where everyone can get into the act.”

Taylor says he is currently going through the permitting process for the work to be done, and that he expects it all to be completed by the end of this summer.

“There’s a lot of excitement about it,’’ Taylor says. “(Some) people are still like, ‘Yeah yeah, we’ve heard it all before,’ but I tell them, ‘Look, it’s done, and it’s happening.’ We’re moving pretty quickly.”

The HGCC Tennis & Athletic Center is located at 18050 Hunters Oak Ct. For more information, visit ClubCorp.com/Clubs/Hunter-s-Green-Country-Club/Amenities/Tennis or call 973-4220. For membership information, call Ann Pereira at 973-1000, ext. 237.

Local Eagle Scout Speaks To Congress!

A group of Boy Scouts from across the nation -- including New Tampa's N'Jhari Jackson from Boy Scout Troop 142 in Tampa Palms -- spoke Tuesday to Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Paul Ryan (pictured here) and President Obama, as part of the organization's annual Report to the Nation.
A group of Boy Scouts from across the nation — including New Tampa’s N’Jhari Jackson from Boy Scout Troop 142 in Tampa Palms — spoke Tuesday to Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Paul Ryan (pictured here) and President Obama, as part of the organization’s annual Report to the Nation.

N’Jhari Jackson, an Eagle Scout with Boy Scout Troop 142 in New Tampa, was selected as one of 10 Boy Scouts from across the nation and delivered the “BSA 2015 Report to the Nation” to U.S. Congressional and governmental leaders Tuesday, March 1 in Washington, DC.

“JUST GAVE MY SPEECH TO OBAMAAAAAA,” Jackson texted to friends. “(It went) Great, I didn’t stutter either. OMG. I’m awesome ohhh I feel gosh!”

N’Jhari is still just 13 years old, but has already earned an incredible 121 Merit Badges and has set a personal goal to earn all 136. He has been recognized extensively (including in this publication in March 2015) for his outstanding volunteer service, with projects he has created and implemented, such as collecting 1,200 pair of socks for children’s group homes in the Tampa Bay area, delivering more than 4,000 Pajama Buddies and Pajama Grab Bags to hospitalized children, raising money to donate an AED (automated external defibrillator) to his school, and delivering blankets and other items to the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital.

“I am excited and nervous about my trip to Washington, DC,” N’Jhari told the Neighborhood News prior to his trip. “I know it will be something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”

New Tampa Recreation Center Expansion Plans Put On Hold…Again

RecCenter2Plans to expand the New Tampa Recreation Center (NTRC) — whether by adding more room for a gymnastics program that already has a two-year waiting list, adding a pool or perhaps building covered areas for parents to watch their kids play youth sports — are on hold.

Again.

For the second time in five years, the Tampa City Council has voted to provide funds for another project, keeping the NTRC as it is and adding to the ire of many New Tampa residents that the area is not getting a fair return on the large share of city taxes they pay.

“We are tired of being treated as a cash cow for the city,’’ said Tampa Palms attorney Warren Dixon.

The Tampa City Council voted Feb. 4 to spend the money instead to fix the 79-year-old Cuscaden Park pool, which will receive $3.1-million for its upgrade.

In 2005, the city spent $2.5-million on the pool, which was then closed in 2009 because of structural damage that was causing leaks. It hasn’t re-opened since.

District 7 Council member Lisa Montelione, who represents New Tampa and the surrounding area, was the lone vote against funding the pool.

While she said she respects the historical and cultural importance of the pool, the money used was not only diverted from the NTRC, but also from another project at the Greco Sports Complex off Fowler Ave. that also sits in her district.

“I wasn’t surprised by the vote, based on the previous support for the repairs at Cuscaden Pool,’’ Montelione says. “What I can tell the people of New Tampa is they need to reach out to my fellow council members and let them know how they feel. I’m on the side of New Tampa, I just need others on the council to see how important this is.”

Dixon said he has already written a letter of complaint, and others, like Maggie Wilson, has voiced their displeasure..

“The prevailing feeling is that there is a disregard for the needs of the (New Tampa) area,’’ said Wilson, a well-known community consultant for the Tampa Palms Community Development District. “‘Just send us your tax money.’ I’m not sure that’s my feeling, but when it comes to enhancements (for our community), it certainly is.”

Wilson’s feelings are nothing new. Even as folks line up to run for Montelione’s District 7 seat, they all seem to mention the need to help make the tax monies work for the area.

The New Tampa Rec Center, which was built in 2008, boasts more than 19,000 sq. ft. of indoor space, mostly for bustling gymnastics and tumbling programs, also is home to a skateboarding park and multi-purpose fields in the adjacent New Tampa Community Park.

In 2012, it was announced that the NTRC would be expanding the following year by adding an additional 14,000 sq. ft. to the facility with more gym space, locker and multi-purpose rooms, a workout center and a rock-climbing wall. But, the $1.5-million addition never came to fruition.

“It was actually in the budget draft, and then when the final budget came out it was gone,’’ says Montelione. “I raised numerous questions to staff about where the money went, and no one could ever really answer the question.”

Dixon says that the original developer of Tampa Palms had to set aside the land for nearby Freedom High and where the New Tampa Recreation Center is located, and with the CDD bonds all paid off, “we essentially have paid for that land.”

“When you realize that we (as Tampa Palms residents) have already made a significant contribution to the rec center, you can understand why we get a little short tempered,’’ he added.

So, will the rec center ever get the improvements promised in 2012, and then promised again for 2016?

“It’s on the books,” Montelione says. “It does have a line item. It’s just a matter of making it the mayor’s priority to keep it funded and to keep them from reallocating the funds.

“This is getting a little repetitive, year after year after year.”

How Smart Is This Tampa Palms Kid? ‘Very Smart…Final Answer!’

JohnB2
John Barreto

John Barreto not only made it onto “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” as part of the nationally syndicated game show’s “Whiz Kids Week,” he answered a handful of questions correctly and walked away with $20,000.

His most impressive feat, however, may have been keeping that a secret for more than six months.

“How did he do that?,’’ asks his mom, Jill. “How does a 12-year-old do that?”

John, a Tampa Palms resident and 7th grader at Corpus Christi School in Temple Terrace, was finally able to let the secret out last week, when the two episodes he was on — which were filmed in Stamford, CT, on Aug. 7 — aired locally on WTOG-TV Ch. 4 on Feb. 9-10.

When John walked into school the morning after his first appearance aired, he was greeted with an announcement and an ovation from his fellow students.

“Obviously I wanted (to win) a million dollars, but I didn’t have my mind set on any particular amount,’’ John says. “I just wanted to get on the show and have fun and have a good experience.”

His questions involved geophagy, palindromes and Thorium, yet John managed to make his way through to $20,000 by answering eight questions — with one assist from his lifeline, his dad Ron — and smartly avoided gambling on his last question.

Nattily dressed in red slacks, a blue blazer and a plaid bow tie, Barreto decided not to risk it all on his last, and trickiest, question: “There’s not a single United Nations’ member whose name begins with ‘X’ or which other letter?

His choices were J, Q, V and W.

Baretto1John thought the question might be referring to the names of actual ambassadors representing their countries at the U.N., so he decided to go to his final lifeline, the crowd, and 52 percent chose “Q.” That wasn’t enough to convince John to risk his fortune, so he stopped there.

The audience, by the way, was wrong: it forgot about Qatar.

“I was kind of disappointed I had to stop,’’ John says. “But, when the audience was wrong (the answer was W), I was really excited about that. If it was Q, I would be kicking myself all the way back to Tampa.”

His mother, Jill, had hatched the plan for someone in the family to appear on the show, which once enjoyed massive popularity on the ABC-TV network and was picked by TV Guide as No. 6 on its list of the greatest 60 game shows of all time.

Jill says she was doing dishes and watching “Good Morning America” one morning and the host of “Millionaire,” Chris Harrison, was a guest. He mentioned that the show would be filming in Stamford, CT, in the summer. It just so happened that Jill was from Connecticut, and the family was going to be vacationing there while John was attending camp.

“My mom was like, we’ll be in Connecticut this summer, let’s see if they can get your dad or your sister on because they know a bunch of stupid facts,’’ John says, chuckling.

Since it was Whiz Kids Week, Dad was obviously ineligible, and Julia, a 15-year-old sophomore at the Academy of Holy Names, declined.

That left John, who began an arduous process with a 250-word poem on why he should be picked (“Info and facts seem to stick to my brain, my trivia skills are simply insane”). That led to a 30-second video, a 4-page application that involved taking pictures of all his awards and included his IQ (141 when he was last tested, in the second grade), and then an hour-long Skype interview with 42 more questions.

An aspiring magician with an in-progress jump shot he practices while playing on a basketball team at the New Tampa YMCA, John was picked as a finalist, along with 10 other kids, meaning that even if he didn’t get on the show he’d still get $1,000 a day with a chance to return within two years. And, he got to extend his summer vacation, which was supposed to end in July, for two extra weeks for the show’s August shooting.

“I told him that at the very worst, how many 12 year olds can say they made $1,000 in one day?,’’ Jill says.

While some of the kids didn’t even make it on the show, and others flamed out on one question, John also made a run at some big bucks.

“I think it was more nerve wracking leading up to it, rather than doing it,’’ John says. “I was worried, would I get on the show? Will I have a chance to win some money? Once I knew I was getting on the show, I wasn’t really scared anymore. I knew I couldn’t walk out of there with less money than I walked in with.”

John hasn’t received his check yet, but he plans on pocketing a little of it for fun, maybe indulge himself with some new magic tricks, and the rest he’d like to invest.

Here’s the other questions John faced on Millionaire. See how well you can do:

$500
Your dentist wouldn’t want you to know this, but according to WebMD, what do only about half of Americans do daily?
a. Breathe
b. Floss
c. Blink
d. Use the bathroom

$1000
The Declaration of Independence originally said, “We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable,” before “sacred and undeniable” was changed to what?
a. Self-Evident
b. Probably True
c. Hopefully Accurate
d. Possibly Correct

$2000
Which element contains the name of the Marvel Comics superhero who also happens to be the Norse god of thunder?
a. Spidermanium
b. Thorium
c. Magneton
d. Praseodymihulk

$3,000
Which Beatles song has a value in its title that is equal to four cubed?
a. Eight Days a Week
b. Two of us
c. When I’m Sixty-Four
d. Revolution 9

$5,000
“Go practice geophagy” is a technical way of telling someone to “eat” what?
a. Their words
b. Their hat
c. Your shorts
d. Dirt

$7,000
For the 113,760 individual frames of the Disney Classic “101 Dalmations,” animators had to draw a total of how many Dalmation spots – about 57 per frame?
a. 48155
b. 309,400
c. 6,469,952
d. 978,157,554

$8,000
What British author named a villain in one of his most well-known books after his real-life boyhood friend Bob Fagin?
a. Kipling
b. Dickens
c. Tolstoy
d. Wells

$10,000
What phrase completes a famous palindrome that begins with “A man, a plan” and ends with “Panama”?
a. A canal
b. A harbor
c. A tower
d. A bridge

$20,000
In 2014, Dr. James Watson raised money for scientific research by auctioning off his Nobel Prize, which he won for discovering that DNA had what shape?
a. Double helix
b. Pascal triangle
c. Convex polygon
d. Cubic honeycomb

Answers: b, a, b, c, d, c, b, a, a.

Field To Fill Montelione’s District 7 City Council Seat Expanding

The list of those seeking to replace Lisa Montelione on the Tampa City Council continues to grow as two more potential candidates have declared that they will run for the seat she is vacating to challenge Shawn Harrison for the Florida House District 63 seat, bringing the total to three people who have expressed their interest in running for the seat to Neighborhood News.

As we reported in last issue’s News Briefs, Tampa Palms resident and local attorney Luis Viera had stated that he is exploring a run for the District 7 seat. Joining Viera in expressing their intent to run for Montelione’s seat when it becomes available are Cory Lake Isles Community Development District (CDD) chairman Dr. Cyril Spiro, M.D., M.B.A.; and Tampa Palms resident and La Gaceta (Tampa’s largest Spanish language newspaper) assistant editor Gene Siudut.


Since Montelione has filed to run for the state legislature, state law requires that she resign and vacate her council seat by June 10 of this year, according to Hillsborough Supervisor of Elections office spokesperson Gerri Kramer.

Although all three of the people who have expressed their interest in the seat so far are New Tampa residents, District 7 is actually a large and diverse area which runs north from Waters Ave. to County Line Rd., and includes Forest Hills, Terrace Park, New Tampa and the University of South Florida area.

DrCyrilSpiro
Dr. Cyril Spiro

Dr. Spiro, who has served on the Cory Lakes Isles CDD for nearly five years, is currently the Chief Medical Information Officer at HealthAxis, a Tampa healthcare information technology company that in 2013 bought M.D. Web Solutions — which Spiro founded in 2004.

Dr. Spiro also founded a not-for-profit organization, the Sunshine Board Cooperation, which is designed to make government more effective and transparent and facilitates cooperation between representatives and their constituents through open online workshops, or forums. The Cory Lakes Isles CDD has been an active user of the workshops to facilitate action.

Dr. Spiro also  says that as a city council member, he would emphasize technology, particularly online communications between government officials and their constituents, to fight for what residents in an area really want and need.

“I very much believe in using technology for improving democracy,’’ Dr. Spiro says. “We have used (resident) survey systems in Cory Lakes Isles with great success. That’s very exciting to me. It’s something that I think can be carried across the country at all levels of government. It will make government more effective at doing what the people want.”

Dr. Spiro, who received his M.D. degree from the University of Maryland Medical School in Baltimore, has also developed Lotterease, software that is used in charter schools to manage their lottery systems, like at Terrace Community Middle School (TCMS) and Lutz Preparatory School and others.

He says he has worked with Montelione on previous issues, including helping with resident surveys in District 7.

“We did some surveys in North Park, between Busch Blvd. and Fowler Ave.,’’ he says. “There, the primary concern is crime. When you go north to New Tampa, it’s transportation. For each of those areas, you have to be aware of what those needs are. Oftentimes, the city will address needs of groups that make the most noise. I’d like to help identify with data and more evidence what’s really in need of most repair.”

Dr. Spiro has lived in New Tampa for 13 years, with his wife of 18 years, Laura. The couple has two children, Arden, 12, and Alenna, 14.

GeneSiudut
Gene Siudut

Siudut (pronounced Sue-Dit) grew up in New Jersey before moving to Florida in 1999, where he landed a job at La Gaceta, which is renowned for being the only trilingual (English, Spanish, Italian) publication in the U.S.

As an assistant to the editor and columnist for La Gaceta, Siudut says he has been active on the city’s political scene, as well in the community in and around Ybor City.

“I’m familiar with everyone on the (current) city council,’’ he says. “I feel it’s a job I can do.”

The longtime Ybor City resident, married two years ago to wife Keri and a newly-transplanted Tampa Palms resident, Siudut says the job requires a fighter who is willing to get in the ring for the New Tampa area’s fair share of the city’s budget dollars. He says he would fight for both New Tampa and the USF area.

“New Tampa needs to have a strong voice,’’ he says. “Whatever the issue, you have to keep fighting for those dollars.”

The 42-year-old is president of the Ybor City Lions Club, a Board member of the Ybor City Development Corporation (YCDC) Executive Committee and chair of the Ybor City Retail Arts and Special Events Committee, which operated with a $1.2-million budget.

“The focus of city government is downtown, and everyone has to fight for city dollars to get their fair share, so that’s a good stepping stone,’’ he says.

Siudut has served as vice-chair of the Hillsborough County Human Relations Board (the county’s anti-discrimination board), and has done volunteer work for The Cuban Club Foundation, Cigars For Soldiers and the Ybor Mural Project.

Siudut says he has a strong understanding of  how city government works after watching it closely and interacting with the players for 17 years. He says that has helped sparked his own interest in serving. “I actually got the itch about five years ago,’’ he says, adding that he had initially planned to get into politics in 2019, at the end of Montelione’s current term. Her decision to leave the city council, however, expedited those plans.

“This is a window of opportunity,’’ Siudut says. “After 17 years working in Ybor City, I understand that number 1, the squeaky wheel gets the grease and number 2, you have to keep asking. No one is going to ask, ‘You know, I really wonder if Tampa Palms needs anything.’”