Category: New Tampa

Pride Elementary Hosts Parent Meeting With Viera, Vaughn & County

District 7 Tampa City Council member Luis Viera takes pride in his ability to organize public town hall-style meetings and bring folks together, apparently even when the city isn’t the primary focus of the meeting.

Case in point: Viera contacted District 3 Hillsborough School Board member Jessica Vaughn because a number of residents of K-Bar Ranch had contacted him about transportation issues at Pride Elementary and he felt a public meeting would help at least shed light on some of the concerns of these local residents (including some who live in the Hillsborough County-based developments of Cross Creek and Live Oak Preserve) to work on issues like buses, long pick-up and drop-off queues at Pride and the safety of the students, parents and staff at the school.

Vaughn agreed, and on June 7, about 30 Pride parents and local residents attended a meeting at the school hosted by Viera, Vaughn, Pride principal Paulette English and the director of operations for the Hillsborough School District Chris Farkas. Also on hand were Rich Reedy, the legislative aide to Hillsborough County District 2 commissioner (and Board chair) Ken Hagan, as well as the School District’s general manager for transportation Laura Hill.

The residents in attendance were mainly from a group of at least 45 Pride parents who live in the Andover Place apartments, which are located just under two miles from Pride and who had emailed Farkas because they all have to drive their children who attend Pride to school. The reason? As Vaughn explained during her opening comments, a new law passed by the state legislature dictates that students who live closer than two miles to their school are not eligible to be bused.

Vaughn also explained that the issue these parents have been experiencing is common throughout the District at many other schools. Meanwhile, Farkas said that although it is possible for the District to “charter” a bus for a specific group, “there is a huge shortage of bus drivers throughout the District. We’re about 275 drivers short right now, and we only receive about $30 million of the $64 million the District spends on transportation from the state, or about 41 cents of every dollar. The rest has to come from the District’s general fund, which is the same pot of money used to pay teachers, aides and staff.”

Farkas also noted that hiring additional drivers has been a priority for the District, but “when Pinellas County Schools pays their drivers about $4 more per hour than we do, it’s hard to attract more.”

He added, “If enough parents are willing to share the cost of that additional bus, it is possible we could at least look into it.”

Farkas also noted that Hill is responsible for the plan of how to get all bused students to and from school on time, “and we already have to drop kids off at Pride and then the driver has to go right back out and pick up the second group of kids and drop off again.” The buses also have to drop off the first set of kids at home and return to school to then drop off the second group in the afternoon, too.

“That creates another problem,” Farkas said. “If we have to have a third set of kids picked up and dropped off by that same bus, how early in the morning would the first set of kids have to be dropped off at Pride in order for all three busloads get to school on time each day?”

Parents who are driving their kids to school are not allowed to leave them there until 7 a.m., English said. And, Farkas added, “if a bus had to drop off the first ‘load’ of kids at 6:30, we would have to make sure that there was proper supervision for those kids to keep them safe. So, as you can see, it’s a logistical problem for us. It’s not an impossible one to work out, but it is an issue.”

Rec Center To Help?

*County Commissioner Ken Hagan’s legislative aide Rich Reedy (far left) discusses transportation issues at Pride Elementary with members of the community at the June 7 meeting.*

Reedy mentioned that he believes the new indoor county recreation center now in the planning stages adjacent to Pride would actually help with the number of parents currently queuing in line at the end of each school day once it opens — in 2024 — “because we will have additional parking over what currently is available (on a gravel parking area at Kinnan Park) at that site.” English said that the parking lot for that new rec center also would need to be available for Pride parents in the morning, or the parent queue would be even worse before school starts.

Reedy said he didn’t see why that would be a problem for the county.

“We already do a lot of co-locating with the School District at other locations,” he said. “Plus, the rec center would not be in use during school hours, so I can’t imagine that would be an issue.”

Others in attendance also wanted the panel to find ways for the county, city and school district to address speeding on KInnan St., including adding more street lights, cameras and even, possibly, a roundabout where Kinnan meets Bassett Creek Dr.

The panel also said that local residents should write to their elected state legislators — State Senator Danny Burgess and State Rep. Fentrice Driskell — to help address the two-mile-radius law and the lack of proper state funding for public schools. Viera said he feels that because of Florida’s private school voucher system, “public education has been abandoned by our state legislature.”

Story Update: Should Pebble Creek Be Redeveloped? Here Are Both Sides!

There was an unintended mistake in the introduction I wrote in the previous version of this story that appeared in the June 27 edition (Vol. 31, Issue #13) of New Tampa Neighborhood News. I apologize for any confusion or inconvenience the error may have caused. Below is the corrected copy. Please also note that I have added below the date and time of the Hillsborough County Commission meeting where the commissioners are scheduled to vote on the proposed zoning change:

Some Pebble Creek residents have fought hard against the closing of the community’s open-to-the-public golf club and the potential redevelopment of the golf course property that would replace the currently vacant golf course land with additional homes. The judge in the tortious interference lawsuit between golf course owner Bill Place and his Ace Golf vs. Leslie Green of the Save Pebble Creek Group had not yet rendered a decision in that case. However, the redevelopment plan presented by GL Homes — which is planning to purchase the vacated golf course property from Ace Golf — has been approved by a Hillsborough County zoning hearing master and is expected to be put to a vote before the County Commission on Tuesday, July 18, at 9 a.m. Until then, below are the arguments for and against GL Homes’ redevelopment plans, presented by the two sides of the ongoing redevelopment dispute. — GN

Why GL Homes’ Redevelopment Plan Is Good For Us

Re: An Open Letter to All of Our Fellow Residents of Pebble Creek

My wife, Lynn, our two sons, and I are proud residents of Pebble Creek. We serve the community in various ways, such as participating on the HOA Board and multiple committees and working on our Neighborhood Watch program.

For over a year, many of us in the neighborhood have been collaborating with GL Homes on its plans to transform the Pebble Creek Golf Course into an upscale single-family home community. Our goal is to protect our community’s property values by replacing the eyesore in our backyard with an aesthetically pleasing, low-density residential development. Throughout the process, GL Homes listened to our numerous requests and constantly revised their plans.

Like many of my neighbors, I believe we now have a plan that will positively impact the quality of life for everyone in Pebble Creek for years to come. I was pleased — and not surprised — that the plan received recent approval from P&Z (Planning & Zoning) and the County Staff.

On Tuesday, July 18, at 9 a.m., GL Homes will go before the County Commission and ask for final approval of its plans. We invite you to join us in protecting Pebble Creek and sharing your voice that day.

Why should you support this plan? Here are some facts:

• Pebble Creek Golf Course will not reopen. It was a neighborhood golf course that was not supported by the neighborhood. An expert shared with us a 2023 study that indicates a golf course like Pebble Creek needs a minimum of 150 neighborhood members to survive. At the time of its closing, there were only 13 members from the Pebble Creek community! I think it’s time to acknowledge that golf is no longer as popular here — and throughout the country — as it once was, and we should focus on other ways to improve our neighborhood.

• Our property values will be positively impacted by being adjacent to a community with a beautiful entry, landscaping, and all detached single-family homes with sales expected to average in the mid $600,000s. It’s certainly better than a closed, dilapidated golf course that creates safety issues and fosters uncertainty in potential buyers’ minds.

• All new development creates traffic. However, I appreciate GL Homes’ efforts to mitigate this impact by negotiating with the County to have one community entrance instead of two. That will significantly reduce congestion and mitigate traffic flow on our roads.

• The golf course is an excellent site to redevelop, and the GL Homes plan will create a healthier neighborhood environment, ecological system, and wildlife habitat. Of course, GL will have to work hand in hand with the FDEP (Florida Department of Environmental Protection) to ensure that redevelopment is done properly and in compliance with all regulations.

I truly believe that years from now we will look back on July 18th as a landmark day for Pebble Creek. Stand up and protect your property values. Visit http://pebblecreekfacts.com for more information on the hearing and ways to send your support directly to the Commission. — Lance Ignatowicz

Why GL Homes’ Redevelopment Plan Is Wrong For Us

Pebble Creek as we know it is in danger of drastic changes. Save Pebble Creek is not just me, but many residents and volunteers who believe that adding more houses to Pebble Creek will adversely affect our quality of life.

We are far from the minority, as evidenced by the letter writing and petition turned in to the county. By our analysis of the letters of concern we found just hours before the zoning board hearing, a whopping 74% of the people that wrote are opposed.

Pebble Creek is an older, well-established neighborhood. Many of us fear the remediation of the soil, the construction period, the increased density and the impact all this will have.

Pebble Creek is already the most densely populated neighborhood in New Tampa. A simple view of maps on your phone reveals this obvious fact. The proposed community may be less dense than the surrounding area but placed in the middle of it increases the density of the entire area. The traffic congestion at our exits can only increase. We fear that this will overburden our existing fire and emergency medical services and our schools.

To pave over the golf course and place homes on it will destroy the community’s main green space.

Why, if we cannot use the green space currently would we still want to keep it? We have an abundance of wildlife here on the course and it would greatly be impacted by the disruption from construction vehicles and noise, the loss of their land to homes with fences and or enclosures, and adding of paved roads. We have blue herons, egrets, spoonbills, sandhill cranes and turtles, to name a few of the creatures that may choose to leave. See pictures by Larry Feldman at SavePebbleCreek.com.

Replacing “old growth trees” that have canopied limbs and leaves with palm trees will eliminate nesting habitats for birds, squirrels, raccoons, etc.

Years of construction noise and dust will affect the surrounding communities as well. The soil samples are not adequate and a soil remediation plan has not been approved. Soil blending, where contaminated soil is mixed with clean soil, was not recommend. See Emma Symborski’s impassioned and informative speech at the zoning meeting on SavePebbleCreek.com or on YouTube.

It is important that this land is not rezoned to allow for further building. Then, hopefully, a more favorable use of the land could be agreed-upon and pursued. The golf course can be brought back. In fact, a golf course close by was reopened after years of being closed. Golf is far from a dying sport.

NGF (the National Golf Foundation) states that 25.6 million Americans over 6 years old played on a golf course and another 15.5 million participated in off-course activities like driving ranges and golf entertainment venues like Topgolf in 2022. The NGF also says that there has been a 40% increase in potential golfers over the past 5 years.

So, I call on all the surrounding communities Hunters Green, Heritage Isles, Cross Creek, Live Oak, Grand Hampton, Arbor Green, West Meadows, Richmond Place and Cory Lake Isles to help Pebble Creek. You will be affected, too. ABC Action News said that slow EMS response times may have to do with our congested roads. You can help by calling the commissioners and telling them that you oppose Agenda Item #23-013.2

Our band of community volunteers is up against a big corporate builder with lots of funds, a law firm to represent them at the hearings and a PR firm for their marketing. We welcome the community to join us and help. Together we can Save Pebble Creek!

If you’d like to volunteer, contact: savepebblecreek@yahoo.com. To contribute to our GoFundMe campaign, visit https://GoFundme/626e151. Need a ride or can provide one to the hearing on July 18? Please contact Mike at: pcchamp15@outlook.com — Leslie Green

GL Homes Golf Course New Tampa pebble creek pebble creek golf club Pebble Creek Redevelopment

New Tampa’s ‘No-Name’ Storm Opens Hurricane Season With A Bang!

When the 2023 hurricane season officially kicked off in Florida on June 1, the residents of New Tampa and Wesley Chapel had no idea how long it would be before — or even if — a major named storm would roll through our area.

But, on June 4, although the storm had no name and was essentially localized in our area and just to the east of our communities, residents in Hunter’s Green, Cross Creek and Heritage Isles all reported major damage from 60+ mph winds, heavy rain and even hail that blew through our area.

After Tampa City Councilman and Hunter’s Green resident Luis Viera (Photo, left) posted a video of the damage the storm caused in his community, a number of New Tampa residents responded to our request on our Facebook page for photos of the storm damage.

So, if you think just because we’ve gotten lucky in years past that our area will never be evacuated and will always escape major damage this hurricane season check out the incredible reader-provided pictures.

Uprooted trees, 60 mph winds, accumulations of hail, relatively brief, but heavy rains, named storms and possible tornadic activity isn’t unusual anywhere in Florida once hurricane season begins on June 1 each year, but on June 4 of this year, the New Tampa area got pounded by such a storm that was too brief and didn’t originate over water to be given an A-Z moniker.

Even so, the no-name storm that was pretty much localized to New Tampa, Wesley Chapel, Lutz, Land O’Lakes, San Antonio and Zephyrhills that day did lots of damage and definitely made folks in our area recognize that hurricane season had indeed begun.

*Photo above provided by Luis Viera on Facebook*

During the storm, which took place as District 7 Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera was returning to his home in Hunter’s Green, dozens of tree limbs were knocked down in not only Viera’s home community, but also in Cross Creek, Heritage Isles and Cory Lake Isles. Viera, seeing just a small portion of the devastation, took to his Facebook page to tell people to keep an eye out for downed power lines, trees that had actually hit homes and any other major damage that would result in the need for fire rescue officials to visit and lend their usual helping hand.

“I’ve never seen anything like that here,” Viera said afterward. “It was just so quick and powerful and I feel very fortunate that, as far as I know, no one was hurt or killed.”

Viera also said that he did see some people working together to try to lift a downed tree and firefighters from Tampa Fire Rescue Station Nos. 21, 23 and 24 were definitely called out or at least on alert throughout the storm.

Once I saw Viera’s plea online, I made one of my own, asking our Facebook followers to share photos of the damage they saw and several of them responded with the impressive photos on these pages.

Some asked that we not use their names in the story that I said I would write for this issue. Others didn’t mind either way, so only those photographers will be identified. I do, however, want to thank everyone who contributed.

Hopefully, more of us will take this year’s hurricane season a little more seriously. Get your preparedness kit together now and please evacuate in the unlikely event you are told to do so.

cross creek heritage isles Hunters Green Hurricane Season New Tampa Property Damage Storm Storm Damage

Putting My Ad Space Where My Mouth Is For The Community Café!

I have a cousin I love dearly who was diagnosed with cerebral anoxia, which means her brain didn’t receive enough oxygen when she was born.

My cousin is now in her late 20s or maybe early 30s and has been able to work and live a reasonably normal life, even though she is definitely developmentally disabled.

But, if she and her family ever decide to make the pilgrimage from Long Island to this area, I know where I want my sweet cousin to work — at the Community Café that is being opened by former Saddlebrook Resort general manager Pat Ciaccio and a small group of dedicated folks who are creating a safe, welcoming place where adults who are developmentally and emotionally disabled can not only work, but also have the opportunity for advancement.

In a recent issue, we gave you the first-ever look inside the construction site that will soon be transformed into the Community Café, which will have its “Shining Stars” serving coffee, ice cream and smoothies and selling retail items inside a 3,200-sq.-ft. former carpeting store on S.R. 54. The Café also will feature a private event space that will feature art created by disabled artists through Arts4All Florida when it opens on or around June 15.

*Darlene E. Hill of The Leyda Group is a member of the team working to make the Community Café a reality.*

When I attended the community meeting and media preview event for the Café at the Hilton Garden Inn Tampa-Wesley Chapel on Apr. 18, I was so moved by what I heard that day that I told Pat I wanted to do more to help than just get the word out.

“You have no idea how much this is needed,” said one mom who was hugging her 20-something son, who was too old to participate in some other programs. “We’ve been turned down everywhere else we’ve turned.”

Another mom asked, “What are the requirements to work at the Café?,” to which Pat responded, “There are no requirements, other than filling out an application. We know we won’t be able to hire everyone who wants to work with us, but we will have at least 30-35 jobs available and all but our upper management will be developmentally disabled adults.”

You could feel not only the gratitude of the families who attended — most of whom said they first read about the Café and the news conference in the Neighborhood News — but also the dedication of those who have joined forces with Pat to make this 501(c)(3) nonprofit a reality.

I called Pat later that day and told him that I usually just charge nonprofit organizations a lower rate than other businesses to advertise in these pages. Instead, I offered to provide him with full-page ads at no charge in every issue for at least the rest of 2023 as my way of offsetting some of the costs he has been footing all by himself until the nonprofit is able to raise money of its own, whether through private donations or by applying for grants.

“We’ve never really been able to raise a lot of money for other worthy organizations in the past,” I told Pat on the phone. “But, I hope things will work out different this time. I just want to help.”

For more info about all the ways you can help, visit CommunityCafeFL.com

Community Cafe Developmental Disability Mental Disability Program New Tampa Wesley Chapel

New Tampa Players Announce ‘Grease’ Cast & Crew And Auditions For ‘Shrek’

Congratulations to everyone who earned a role in “Grease,” the next show to be produced by the New Tampa Players (NTP) theatre troupe at the New Tampa Performing Arts Center (NTPAC).

Tickets are available for the performances of “Grease” the weekends of July 21-23 and 28-30 and NTP also offers Season Tickets to “Grease,” “Shrek The Musical,” “Dreamgirls” and a fourth show to be announced. “Season ticket holders are proud supporters of community performing arts in New Tampa,” says NTP producing artistic director Nora Paine. “You help make the entire season a success! You also get to pick your seats before general ticket sales open, and you will receive a free soft drink or bottled water at every show.”

After 320 people attended NTP’s “Prelude & Recognition Performance” on Mar. 25 and 1,050 were on hand at three sold-out performances of the Penguin Project production of “Beauty & The Beast” in April, NTP is getting used to packing the house at the NTPAC, so get your tickets now! You might even see a certain newspaper editor performing in the cast of “Grease” (see list below & right).

Also, auditions for “Shrek The Musical” at the Uptown Stage at University Mall will be held July 24-25. For more info, see the ad (right) or visit NewTampaPlayers.org.

“Grease” Cast & Crew List

Direction/Musical Direction:

G. Frank Meekins

Choreography: Sarah Walston

Danny: Dylan Fidler

Sandy: Olivia Carr

Kenicke: Kyle Fisher

Rizzo: Alyson Gannon

Sonny: Michael Figueroa

Marty: Heather Rich

Doody: Jake Veit

Frenchy: Ariyonna

Thomas

Roger: Tripp Peavyhouse

Jan: Anna Jeffries

Eugene: Zachary Smith

Patty: Catherine Kelly

Vince Fontaine: Gary Nager

Miss Lynch: Suzanne

Bainbridge

Cha-Cha/Ensemble:

Makayla Raines

Johnny Casino/Ensemble: Tristan Horta

Teen Angel: Trevor Lloyd

Ensemble:

Mia De Choudens

Cassidy Haberland

Dakota Henry

Michael Neary

Chelsea Orvis

Julian Rebelo

Wesley Santana

Amanda Schapiro

Zane Sarsour

New Tampa new tampa players