Category: News

Bartell Honored By WC Rotary

There is no doubting the contributions Paul Bartell has made to the Wesley Chapel community.

His yearly appearances as Santa Claus, where he makes sure there is a small gift for every child who visits his family’s Wesley Chapel home on Christmas Eve, has thrilled thousands of kids; he has been a high-level participant and even the chair of the American Cancer Society (ACS)’s Wesley Chapel/Wiregrass Ranch Relay for Life; and, in the memory of his son Sean, he has helped raise enough money in the past year to award four high school seniors $1,000 scholarships (story on previous page).

The Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel Noon (which meets Wednesdays at noon at Quail Hollow Country Club) decided to honor him on March 8 with a Paul Harris Fellowship, which almost always has been reserved for Rotary Club members who donate $1,000 to The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International, which funds various grants, services and the organization’s “End Polio Now” programs.

“We decided that even though he is not a Rotary member, Paul exemplifies what Rotary is all about, and that’s putting service before self,’’ said Rebecca Smith, the club’s Foundation Chair and district area representative.”

During the club’s first “Foundation Dinner,” which was held at Hunter’s Green Country Club in New Tampa, the club broke tradition by honoring Bartell. Rotary District 6950 governor Will Miller presented the Paul Harris Fellowship to Bartell, and District 6950 Foundation Chair Carl Treleaven was the keynote speaker.

“It’s a great honor,’’ Bartell said. “It feels funny being honored for just doing what I do.”

Bartell, a vacuum sales engineer for Innovative Vacuum Solutions in Tampa, is as well known in Wesley Chapel for his long Kris Kringle white beard as he is for his generosity. When Smith opened up the award to a community member and asked club members to nominate someone, she said, “his name came up a lot. He is an excellent example of giving back to your community.”

The Paul Harris Fellowship was established in 1957, and Bartell said it was nice to be included on a long list of notable honorees.

“I was reading a little about it and saw that Jimmy Carter and a few other people (like U.S. Astronaut James Lovell and Polio cure inventor Jonas Salk) that have gotten it before me, some important people,’’ Bartell said. “It is very nice to be recognized.”

Other community nominees included Jackie Sayles, Yvonne Perkins, Joel Eason, Dr. Micah Richardson, Ronald Parks and Ernesto Fuentes.

Pasco County Trying To Figure Out How To Pay For Parks Upgrades

Pasco County is looking to improve its parks and recreation facilities, but just how far the county can go to pay for sweeping changes and improvements could depend upon whether or not county residents are willing to pay for the upgrades.

A series of town hall meetings will be scheduled to sell and market the county’s Parks & Recreation department’s ideas to Pasco residents, who will likely have the last say in a voter referendum sometime in the not-too-distant future.

Some of the changes and enhancements being proposed include a recreation center and pool or splash pad at Wesley Chapel District Park on Boyette Rd., adding a playground, basketball courts, walking path and picnic shelters to the park in Meadow Pointe (I and II), and new parks at Wesley Chapel Lakes (Meadow Pointe III and IV) and the Wiregrass Ranch area.

County planner Justyna Buszewski presented a draft of the proposed 10-year Park & Recreations system master plan at Board of County Commissioners (BCC) chair (and District 3 commissioner) Kathyrn Starkey’s town hall in Lutz on Feb. 18.

Money is still a big issue, as Pasco’s parks are still recovering from the recession of 2008.

Three community centers, two parks and two pools were closed as a result, and 48 positions were eliminated. Staff reductions led to reduced maintenance, and some projects in the 2001 master plan were never completed.

Buszewski said that the deferred maintenance costs alone are $14 milllion.

The current draft shows that the county is interested in spending more than $200 million to repair and replace existing parks, put new facilities in existing parks, build new parks and perhaps adopt a premier park model, which would include things like splash pad playgrounds, shade structures for playgrounds and access to special-value facilities supported by the parks system, like wakeboard parks, aquatics complexes and even equestrian centers.

Some funding options mentioned by Pasco’s executive planner, Matt Armstrong, include a municipal service taxing unit (MSTU), with a focus on taxing “market areas” where the monies raised in each zone can only be used on parks in that zone. Other potential creative taxes, grants and partnerships with local businesses, schools and neighborhoods also are being considered, Armstrong said.

“The message we got (from county commissioners) was guys, go back out to community and tell them what the plan is,’’ Armstrong said. “Show pictures, show the way it is and show how it could be and tell them how much it will cost and ask them what they want to do about it.”

In a recent survey sent to 3,000 county residents, an impressive 621 respondents (more than 20 percent!) replied.

They were asked if they were given $100 to spend on park improvements, what would they use the money on? On average, the respondents said $20 should go to improved maintenance, $19 for improved maintenance on water-based facilities, $15 on acquiring new park land or open space, $12 on the improvement and maintenance to existing trails, $11 on the development of new trails, $9 on the improvement and maintenance to wildlife areas and campgrounds and $8 to the development of new sports facilities.

Also, when asked about establishing a dedicated funding source that could only be used to pay to operate and maintain parks and recreation facilities and programs, 45 percent of respondents were very supportive, and 25 percent were somewhat supportive.

Only 10 percent said they would not support spending the money.

“The survey says that they want stuff, and hopefully we get the same support when we go out there,’’ Buszewski said.

Shops at Wiregrass Mall Offers Diversity With Latest Offerings

Vom Fass casks. Shops at Wiregrass Mall . — Vom Fass casks, coming soon to the Shops at Wiregrass Mall.

The Shops at Wiregrass mall in Wesley Chapel will welcome a handful of new stores in the coming months, and while Wiregrass officials aren’t looking to compete with bigger malls like Westfield Brandon, the latest batch of new choices for area shoppers gives the local mall a unique mix that general manager Greg Lenners thinks will continue to make it a prime destination.

Currently seeking an alcohol permit for tastings, Vom Fass is slated to open sometime this spring. Construction already has begun on the store, which will be near Macy’s and the mall’s Center Court.

Vom Fass, which takes it’s name from the German phrase “from the cask”, will offer premium culinary oils, traditional balsamic oils and vinegars, vinegar specialties, and exclusive fruit balsamic vinegars, as well as rare spirits and liqueurs and a boutique selection of wines. Many of the store’s products are cask-aged and stored in cask pyramids.

“What’s made us great for the community is the diverse mix of retailers we’ve always carried here,’’ Lenners said. “It’s kind of a unique blend of stores. We thought Vom Fass would be a perfect fit. No one in the area that has that kind of store.”

This will be the seventh Von Fass store in Florida; the closest ones are located in Sarasota and St. Petersburg.

Candy, 3D And More On Tap For Shops at Wiregrass Mall

Rocket Fizz Soda Pop & Candy Shop also is coming this spring, to Suite #115, near JC Penney.

Founded in 2007 in California, Rocket Fizz has become the largest and fastest-growing soda and candy shop brand in the country, according to its website. The 74 stores nationwide all offer a massive selection of candy, soda, retro and gag gifts, concert and movie posters and tin signs.

“A pretty cool concept, in my opinion,’’ Lenners said. “It’s got a 1950s, specialty convenience store feel to it.”

3D Musketeers Printing, offering custon color-printed three-dimensional figurines, is expected to open by the end of the month.

And as we were the first to report back in January, this fall will see the Wesley Chapel debut of Irish 31. The popular restaurant is referred to as “The People’s Pub” by their customers and dubbed “Irish-plus-gourmet” by Neighborhood News publisher and foodie Gary Nager.

Irish31 in Hyde Park. Shops at Wiregrass Mall. — Irish31 in Hyde Park. Construction has begun on a location at the Shops at Wiregrass Mall.

Irish 31 is being built next to Panera Bread. Lenners said he thinks the mall has already hit a home run with its food offerings, and Irish 31 only strengthens that opinion.

Visionworks, which has roughly 700 optical retail stores in 40 states, is expected to open this fall as well. Construction has begun on the building, which will be across from Moe’s Southwest Grill on the S.R. 56 side of the mall.

Another tenant will share that property (though Lenners was unable to announce it at our press time because the lease hasn’t been signed).

A few stores that have recently opened include Lola Perfume, located in Suite #160 (next to Hollister), and Soleciety Sneaker Boutique,which sells collectible athletic shoes from around the globe, in Suite #170 (next to Zales), and has only been open a few weeks.

For more information about the Shops at Wiregrass, visit TheShopsAtWiregrass.com.

Would Incorporating Wesley Chapel As A City Be Of Interest To You?

Russ Miller. Wesley Chapel Incorporation — Russ Miller

When Ernie Monaco, the director of planning for Pasco County, tossed out the idea — during a meeting to discuss borders — to representatives from the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCCC) last month that they might want to revisit the idea of incorporation, he got the attention of Russ Miller.

“I was surprised to hear that from a county employee,’’ said Miller, often credited with creating the WCCC, although he says he was one of six co-founders, “just the loudest.”

The mention of incorporation took Miller, who was at the meeting to discuss Wesley Chapel’s boundaries, on a trip down memory lane.

In 2003, Miller and fellow WCCC member Jim Williams led a charge to incorporate Wesley Chapel, hoping to turn the quickly-growing Census Designated Place (CDP) into a full-fledged city, with its own government and its own rules, particularly in the areas of land use and zoning.

The incorporated municipality (which can be referred to as a city, town or village) of Wesley Chapel would have extended eight miles east and west from Cypress Creek Rd. to Morris Bridge Rd., and eight miles north and south from County Line Rd. to Elam Rd. (which is roughly three miles north of S.R. 54).

The proposed municipality would have included all of the developments in Wesley Chapel at the time — Lexington Oaks, Meadow Pointe, Northwood, Quail Hollow, New River Township, Saddlebrook and Seven Oaks.

Miller, who lived in Wesley Chapel from 1981-2009 before moving to Palatka, hired a firm to help with a feasibility study.

The effort, which at the time would have taken 11 percent of Pasco County’s land area and included 28,000 residents and 10,000 homes, didn’t get very far and ultimately failed.

Miller said the developers and local daily newspapers were against it, and time was short to get a referendum approved ahead of the 2004 elections.

Also, the idea of another layer of property taxes (to fund a potential city government) did not appeal to some residents, especially since Pasco was already requesting a 1-cent increase in the county sales tax to be on the 2004 ballot.

Even the WCCC effectively came out against incorporation.

“We were just a group of lay people who saw a benefit in incorporating Wesley Chapel,’’ Miller said. “But, we didn’t have the money to fight the developers and the people in the community who were against it, and we got negative press. I have people still say to me, ‘Why did you stop?’ Now, they’re sorry.”

Miller says he just recently threw out all of the paperwork from that failed attempt. However, he still thinks incorporation is the way to go, and doing so would surely settle the long-standing border dispute with Lutz-Land O’Lakes.

“It’s never bad to control your own destiny,’’ Miller says. “Residents get a total say on how the community’s future will look. Now, where is the power? The county government. And where are they located? West Pasco controls it.”

Could a Wesley Chapel incorporation effort succeed today?

In Pasco, 450,000 of the county’s 490,000 residents live in unincorporated areas, meaning decisions about their land, police and schools are made by the county government.

Pasco County only has six municipalities: the cities of New Port Richey, Port Richey, San Antonio, Dade City, Zephyrhills and the town of Saint Leo.

In the 2010 census, Wesley Chapel’s population was listed at 44,092, a number that has grown and at the time was already nearly three times greater than the next largest city (New Port Richey, 14,934) and more populous than all of the other cities and towns put together.

“Had we succeeded, Wesley Chapel (today) would be the biggest and most powerful city in the entire county,’’ Miller laments.

While the WCCC came out against the incorporation efforts in 2003, none of those members are among the more than 500 the Chamber claims today.

“We don’t have an official stance,’’ says WCCC CEO Hope Allen, but she said it may be revisited by the Chamber’s current Board of Directors.

Pulling off incorporation won’t necessarily be any easier today. It takes money and lawyers, a feasibility study that can take up to two years to complete and will need the support of the local State legislative delegation, who would then bring it to the full state legislature, which could then approve it through a special act and put it on a referendum on the ballot.

“I saw an awful lot of interest from the chamber leaders two weeks ago,’’ Miller says about the Feb. 19 meeting. “If they were serious, and wanted to spend the money to promote it, I’d give it a 50-50 chance. But, it’s got to be sold to the residents. And, you need a cast iron stomach and the financial wherewithal to fight the battles.

He adds, “I absolutely would like to live long enough to see the day when Wesley Chapel is incorporated!”

cypress creek town center development greater wesley chapel chamber of commerce S.R. 56 Wesley Chapel wesley chapel chamber of commerce

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

In 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 café 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 café 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 café 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.