Kinnan-Mansfield Outlook Bleak

The long-simmering debate over whether or not Kinnan St. in New Tampa and Mansfield Blvd. in Wesley Chapel should have the 30-foot gap between the two roads paved over and connected may be on life support.

At least thatโ€™s the way it felt on Dec. 13 at the Pasco Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) meeting in Dade City, where there was zero support for connecting the two roads.

It looks like, frankly, it might literally be the end of the road for Kinnan.

Meadow Pointe resident Richard Traugt told Pascoโ€™s MPO that connecting Kinnan St. to Mansfield Blvd. โ€œwould be insane.โ€

With a few dozen Meadow Pointe residents in the audience, the MPO was briefed on the Wesley Chapel Roadways Study โ€” which had been presented to the public in a workshop back in May. The study, while coming to no conclusions, looked at multiple options for connecting Wesley Chapel and New Tampa at the Hillsborough-Pasco county line.

 The briefing, delivered by Meghan McKinney of the consulting firm AECOM, was followed by District 2 Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore delivering what may well be the eulogy for Kinnan-Mansfield.

โ€œConnecting Mansfield and Kinnan makes no sense for Pasco County residents,โ€ Moore said. โ€œIt will only help the people in the developments in Hillsborough County just over the border. There are things (Hillsborough County) could have done in the past, like opening up Live Oak (Blvd.), but they got into a battle between Hillsborough and the City of Tampa. They could have opened that up, (but) didnโ€™t do it. Now they want to put the burden on us? Shame on them.โ€

Mooreโ€™s remarks were greeted with loud applause from the residents in attendance, eight of whom signed up to speak to the MPO, which is comprised of the five Pasco commissioners, city council members from Zephyrhills and New Port Richey, and the mayors of Port Richey and Dade City.

Mike Moore, left, is a vocal critic of connecting Kinnan St. and Mansfield Blvd.

Residents told the MPO that opening up Mansfield Blvd. to traffic from New Tampa, namely from new homes in K-Bar Ranch, would be a disaster. The 450-page report, using traffic projections for the year 2040, suggested the connection would add as many as 4,000 cars to Mansfield, a two-lane road โ€” which many in attendance claimed cannot be widened, even though there has never been any proof of that claim presented by county staffers โ€” running north to S.R. 56.

โ€œIt would destroy the flavor of the community me and my neighbors bought intoโ€ฆand it would lower property values,โ€ said Michael Kaufman, who also was critical of the City of Tampaโ€™s decision this summer to approve 700 more homes in K-Bar Ranch, which backs up against the southern end of Meadow Pointe.

โ€œThey (Tampa) are creating a problem; itโ€™s not up to us to fix it,โ€ he added.

This photo taken by a drone shows the 60-foot gap between Kinnan St. (on the bottom) and Mansfield Blvd. Hillsborough and Pasco counties are stalemated on the issue but continue to discuss connecting the two roads.

Mansfield Blvd. runs past an elementary, middle and high school, Pasco-Hernando State College and entrances to a handful of Meadow Pointe II communities. The safety of students attending those schools was the concern echoed by most.

โ€œIt would be insane,โ€ said Richard Traugt. โ€œIโ€™m against it for safety purposes alone.โ€

โ€œThere is grave concern among Pasco County residents that this would have a severe and negative impact on the quality of life and safety,โ€ said Chris Dillinger. โ€œIt is easy to dismiss our fears as whiny and the over-reactive opinion of a small group of residents, but this notion is especially convenient for those would benefit from accessing the short cut through our neighborhood.โ€

At this point, the debate over Kinnan-Mansfield may no longer raging, but other options to make connections remain viable and even had the lukewarm approval of some of the residents in attendance. Connecting Meadow Pointe Blvd. to K-Bar Ranch Pkwy., as well as Wyndfields Blvd. to K-Bar Ranch Pkwy., or even both, appeared to be palatable choices.

Tampa and Hillsborough County have argued to connect all three.

โ€œIโ€™ve heard nothing positive about Mansfield Blvd. being opened, period,โ€ said Pascoโ€™s Dist. 5 commissioner Jack Mariano. โ€œConnecting to Meadow Pointe Blvd. is the most sensible one. If Hillsborough is blocking that, weโ€™ve got a problem. We need to have a strong discussion with them.โ€

Mariano joined Moore, Dade City mayor Camille Hernandez and Zephyrhills City council member Lance Smith in siding with the residents in attendance. Pasco commissioners Ron Oakley (District 1) and Kathryn Starkey (District 3) left after the presentation and before public comment, without offering their opinions, and three other MPO members did not attend.

McKinney said Pasco will conduct a public opinion poll in February, with basically yes or no votes on the various connections. A standalone option for making the Kinnan-Mansfield connection will not be on the survey, but it will be included as part of the multiple connections options. Those results will be passed on to the MPO, who will then make a recommendation to Pascoโ€™s commissioners.

New Tampa Residents Send Help To Panama City In Michaelโ€™s Wake

Susan Harrison (left) rented a U-Haul and delivered 100 gift bags to families in her hometown of Panama City who are still reeling from Hurricane Michael.

While itโ€™s now been nearly three months since Hurricane Michael ravaged Floridaโ€™s panhandle on October 10, many of its residents are still homeless and very much in need.

New Tampa resident Susan Harrisonโ€™s hometown of Panama City was devastated by the storm and she wanted to do something to help.

Harrison is the wife of former Florida House District 63 Representative Shawn Harrison, who lost his re-election bid in November.

โ€œRight now, 75 percent of the structures in Panama City have been destroyed,โ€ Susan says. โ€œItโ€™s the weirdest thing to have to use my GPS to get around my hometown. I donโ€™t recognize anything.โ€

Right after the storm, Susan collected about 100 blankets and sleeping bags from friends and neighbors and delivered them directly to the schools that were being used as shelters.

At that time, she says she and her sister looked at all the kids who are now homeless โ€” she says 3,800 school kids are still living in tents in the panhandle โ€” and said to each other, โ€œWe need to get these kids some Christmas.โ€

Susan says she believed there were people back in New Tampa who would like to help, so she decided to reach out to them.

When Susan shared her idea with her Bible study and posted it on Facebook, she says the idea took off.

Her friends and fellow New Tampa residents Sharon Kaelin, Tracy Guice and Lori Bleckley all jumped in to help, and their efforts spread exponentially.

โ€œSo many people have come together to donate things to make this happen,โ€ says Susan. โ€œProbably 60-70 people have donated and made it what it is.โ€

โ€œWe had 100 bags filled to the brim,โ€ she added, and delivered them to Panama City just before Christmas.

They packed large shopping bags full of both essentials and things people would want. There are some for women, some for boys and some for girls, including babies, toddlers, kids and teenagers.

โ€œEach one had a blanket, socks, hat, gloves, toothbrush and toothpaste,โ€ she says, โ€œand then the kidsโ€™ have toys such as soccer balls, baby dolls, footballs and cars, while the womenโ€™s bags have makeup, lotion and soap.โ€

Loriโ€™s Bible study, called Community Bible Study, which is held at St. James United Methodist Church, donated a devotion book and wrote Bible verses and tied them to the outside of the bags for encouragement.

Sharon came up with the idea to ask kids from the Young Life club at Wharton High to donate candy bars, so that people of all ages had a hand in contributing gifts to the kids of Panama City. About 100 candy bars were donated by high school students from Wharton for the effort.

Making The Connection

To distribute the bags to those in need, Susan connected with an organization in Panama City that typically helps pets. When the storm hit, the organizationโ€™s founder, Lisa Jackson, quickly found homes for many pets whose families could no longer care for them because they lost their homes.

Once she had the animals settled in temporary homes while their owners tried to re-build their lives, Lisa realized that the only way to get the pets home was to help the people.

โ€œLisa has so many great connections and got people to come from all over to come and take the dogs and cats out,โ€ Susan explains. โ€œShe has a big storage unit she usually uses for dog food, but now sheโ€™s using it to help get people back up and running, so the dogs and cats can go back home.โ€

Susan says the devastation in Panama City is a truly long-term problem that will need attention in the months to come. She explains that even families who have insurance on their homes may be stuck, as their jobs have disappeared and they canโ€™t afford the deductible to rebuild their homes, which can easily cost $10,000 or more.

At least during the holidays, though, many of those families were brought a little Christmas cheer, thanks to the generosity of people who live more than 300 miles away.

โ€œItโ€™s an opportunity for people to realize that Christmas is really about giving, and that people are hurting,โ€ explains Susan. โ€œAs hard as life as can be for us, there are people who are without basic needs, people who did everything right. Mother Nature is Mother Nature. She came through and she doesnโ€™t discriminate.โ€

After receiving bags for her family, a mom in Panama City sent Susan a text message that said: โ€œThank you so much for the gift bags. Thereโ€™s definitely something for everyone in them. I just wanted you to know how much I appreciate what youโ€™ve done for my family, so thank you again from the bottom of my heart.โ€

MP II Purchase May Lead To Additional Amenities

The Meadow Pointe II pool could be expanded as a result of the CDDโ€™s recent acquisition of a parcel of land near the clubhouse.

When developers first looked into buying a parcel of land on the southeast corner of Mansfield Blvd. and County Line Rd. with the thought of getting it rezoned and putting a 7-Eleven gas station and convenience store on the site, they probably didnโ€™t expect the uproar that purchase would create.

An effort to rezone the parcel was scuttled. A year later, the developers have moved on.

And, the Meadow Pointe II Community Development District (CDD) has made sure there will be no repeat โ€” the CDD has purchased that piece of land.

According to treasurer John Picarelli, the CDD closed on a deal on Nov. 15 to purchase the 2.05-acre parcel for $850,000. The asking price was $960,000, and while the CDD was able to negotiate a lower purchase price, the cost was still more than the propertyโ€™s appraised value of $641,806.

But, itโ€™s well worth the price, says Picarelli, because it will allow for additional amenities for Meadow Pointe II residents, which he says are lagging behind some of the other communities known as Meadow Pointe.

โ€œWe were very limited,โ€ Picarelli said. โ€œOf all the Meadow Pointe communities, we have the smallest amount of land for expansion.โ€

The availability of the land coincided with a bond purchase by Meadow Pointe II for some other capital improvements, including $3.5 million for improving some of the roads and replacing the gates leading into many of the communities.

The bond also will allow for the purchase of the land and includes a line item for the development of new amenities on the property.

The CDD approved the purchase after resident Chris Dillinger surveyed other Meadow Pointe II residents and asked if they were willing to buy the land even if it meant paying more in fees. Dillinger says of the 150 or so respondents, โ€œan overwhelming amount of themโ€ were in favor of buying and maintaining the land.โ€

And, more great news โ€” Picarelli says that CDD dues might not even need to be raised, due to the retirement of some of the CDDโ€™s other debt and costs. Meadow Pointe II already has paid off its original CDD bond.

It was Dillinger who initially started the petition โ€” which garnered more than 1,000 signatures from those opposed to the 7-Eleven development โ€” that led to the original project stalling.

โ€œI thought 7-Eleven was a worst-case scenario, building a gas station right next to (Kids R Kids Learning Academy), so it was a huge sense of relief to stop that,โ€ Dillinger says.

Picarelli, who has been on the CDD Board of Supervisors for two years, says the idea of buying the parcel of land catty corner from the Meadow Pointe II clubhouse area โ€” which has a covered playground, swimming pool, three tennis courts, two basketball courts and two shuffleboard courts โ€” has long been bandied about by previous CDD boards.

Now that the land is in the CDDโ€™s hands, the community will have to decide what to do with it. Picarelli says a number of possibilities have been suggested, from creating a community or athletic center to building a dog park.

Most likely, he thinks, something from the clubhouse area will be relocated to the new land, allowing the clubhouse to expand and add something like a lap pool, or even a splash pad, which he says is probably the most popular request so far.

โ€œAs demographics change, the community is becoming younger and younger, and you have to keep property values up by offering things that can compete with the other communities around here,โ€ Picarelli says, pointing out that Meadow Pointe I is currently building a water slide at its pool. โ€œWhatever we do, weโ€™re going to have to be strategic.โ€

S.R. 56 Interchange To Begin Building In January

In what could be considered an early Christmas gift to local holiday shoppers, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) decided to hold off on beginning construction of the diverging diamond interchange (DDI) planned for the intersection of S.R. 56 and I-75.

Construction of the three-year, nearly $40-million project was originally supposed to kick off in November.

โ€œIn my opinion, it was a good idea,โ€ said Ryan Forrestel of American Consulting Engineers (ACE), the design project manager for the project. ACE holds the patent on the diverging diamond design.

Although he adds that he wasnโ€™t involved in the decision to delay the project, โ€œit was a good idea to avoid the holiday.โ€

The delay may have saved shoppers this month, but in January, the project will begin in earnest and drivers can expect to begin experiencing slowdowns, Forrestel said.

The DDIย  was originally slated to begin in 2024 before getting moved up, so the delay is minor by comparison.

With its crossover pattern, switching traffic lanes and timed lights, the DDI is expected to ease congestion at the busy intersection, which is near the Tampa Premium Outlets and a dozen or so restaurants, while also serving as primary gateway for those heading to, or home from, Tampa.

DDIs are growing in popularity nationwide, and last year one opened to great reviews in Sarasota, the first DDI in Florida.

There are also plans to build one at the I-75 and MLK Blvd. interchange in Tampa.

S.R. 54 Commercial Development Is Heating Up, Too!

For the last few years, when people have talked about the growth in Wesley Chapel, they mainly have focused on the S.R. 56 corridor, from west of I-75 all the way east to the Wiregrass Ranch Development of Regional Impact (DRI).

Now, however, it appears that the portion of S.R. 54 from near I-75, east to Morris Bridge Rd./Eiland Blvd., also is heating up, as a flood of new meetings, permits and construction are ready to transform the one-time sleepy road that cuts through the middle of the county from Zephyrhills to New Port Richey.

In Wesley Chapel, the aforementioned segment of the S.R. 54 corridor has been sparsely populated with businesses and restaurants. But, with the widening of the road all the way to Zephyrhills, as well as a house-building boom taking place on the north side of 54 (in addition to the growth of the northern portion of Wiregrass Ranch), Wesley Chapelโ€™s portion of S.R. 54 is taking its turn as a fast-growing area.

โ€œI think it will be the next area where you see some things happening,โ€ said Hope Allen of the North Tampa Chamber of Commerce. โ€œThere are a lot of things coming to that corridor.โ€

And, itโ€™s not just businesses.

On the north side of S.R. 54, Avalon Park West and WaterGrass (on Curley Rd.) are still building hundreds of homes and even smaller communities like Saddleridge Estates are still adding new homes.

In between those soon-to-be larger developments, the massive high-tech Connected City project, which is starting in Epperson, features the first Crystal Lagoonsยฎ amenity in the U.S. (which is finally open), and soon in Mirada, which also will be home to a lagoon.

The nearly 8,000 acres of the Connected City are bordered by S.R. 52 to the north and Overpass Rd. to the south, and from I-75 to the west and Curley Rd. to the east.

Combined, Epperson and Mirada will have nearly 6,000 new homes and 1,500 apartments.

โ€œFirst come the homes, then the ย  ย  commercial,โ€ says Bill Nye, founder of Century 21 Bill Nye Realty, Inc.

Nye has been in real estate in the area since 1974, long before there was anything on S.R. 54 and when Pascoโ€™s C.R. 581 (now called Bruce B. Downs Blvd., or BBD) was nothing but a dirt road. Over the years, Nye has watched the Porter family ease along the development of Wiregrass Ranch, and seen the Sierra familyโ€™s vision for the western portion of S.R. 56 come to fruition.

He says that most of the property on S.R. 54 isnโ€™t owned by a Porter or a Sierra. Instead, a hodgepodge of owners are now cashing in. Nye says the โ€œFor Saleโ€ signs along S.R. 54 are snowflakes โ€” โ€œYou donโ€™t see any two signs that are from the same owner,โ€ he says.

A majority of the traffic emanating from all those new homes is likely to pass right through the intersection of BBD and S.R. 54, and local drivers will soon have new places to stop for gas, coffee, lunch, dinner, groceries and more.

And there is still a wealth of options coming along S.R. 56 from the Lutz area past the Shops at Wiregrass mall.

โ€œI think everyone is growing together,โ€ says District 2 commissioner Mike Moore, who along with District 1 commissioner Ron Oakley, represents the Wesley Chapel area on the Pasco County Board of Commissioners. โ€œOne thing comes, and then more things come.โ€

Hereโ€™s what is under construction, in permitting or proposed for the area along S.R. 54:

1. Nye Commons:

This little strip center recently hosted a ribbon cutting for its six businesses, including the popular O.T.B. (โ€œOnly the Bestโ€) Cafรฉ, which has moved right up the road from its previous location across BBD from Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel.

For more about the tenants at Nye Commons, see โ€œNibbles & Bytesโ€ on pg. 42 our our current issue.

2. Twistee Treat

3.ย This will be Wesley Chapelโ€™s third Wawa, joining two locations on S.R. 56. After a seemingly endless stay in permitting, the new store is going up quickly.

4. Chick-fil-A gained final approval in July. Ground should be breaking soon.

5. Dunkinโ€™ Donuts is still under construction, and Dental Care at Quail Hollow is all but complete, and there may be additional retail coming to what is called the Scherer Center.

6. The Publix at Hollybrook Plaza (on the corner of BBD and S.R. 54) is escaping the traffic and moving closer to the new Wal-Mart. Publix closed on the land for its new location in October.

7.ย  Parks Ford of Wesley Chapel is in the middle of a major expansion that is expected to be completed by early spring 2019.

8. As part of the development of the northernmost portion of Wiregrass Ranch, a new strip center is going up that could be home to two new restaurants. Theyโ€™re not named in the county filings, but the 5,610- and 6,995-sq.-ft. spaces are both labeled for retail/restaurant.

9. Already under construction, the RaceTrac will give local travelers four options for gas and snacks. Also under construction immediately to the west of RaceTrac is Bay Breeze Car Washโ€™s 10th location in Tampa Bay, and first in Wesley Chapel.

10. The Pasco C-Center: According to a conceptual plan filed with the county, this center is proposing a fast food restaurant with a drive-through, a 14,698-sq.-ft. pharmacy with a 4,000-sq-ft. retail building divided for three businesses, and a 5,500-sq.-ft. retail building divided for four occupants.