HOPE Services Hosts Another Successful ‘Dance Your Dream’ Event 

“This is a dream come true,” says Cindy Bray, executive director and founder of Hope Services, Life Skills & Vocational Training Center, reflecting on the success of this year’s annual “Dance Your Dream” event. 

Dance Your Dream was designed to offer a free prom-type experience for individuals ages 14 and older who live with disabilities, starting four years ago with just 80 attendees, Dance Your Dream has become an annual tradition that now brings together the community in celebration of hope and support. This year, the event saw 300 attendees at Wesley Chapel District Park on Apr. 26, where the gym was filled with music, laughter, and dreams coming to life. 

Chick-fil-A provided delicious meals (and the Chick-fil-A cows) that added warmth to the night, and the event featured music, games and a 360-photo booth. 

A highlight of the evening was the surprise guest, Raiqwon O’Neal, the offensive tackle for the Tampa Bay Buccaneer (#75), whose presence brought joy and excitement, lifting the spirits of everyone in attendance. “His message and meet-and-greet were the perfect way to start the night,” Bray said. 

“The smiles and laughter in the room were priceless,” says Cindy Bray. “My heart is full of all the joy we shared that night.” 

With 22 years of experience, Cindy founded Hope Services, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization contracted with the Department of Education/ Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. Serving 10 counties within a 50-mile radius from their location at 5426 Land O’ Lakes Blvd., Hope Services offers life skills and vocational training to individuals living with disabilities. To support Hope Services, visit HopeGetsJobs.com.

Congratulations To The Top Seniors At Every Wesley Chapel High School! 


Congratulations to the graduating classes of 2025! For those in our community graduating from college, high school, or even kindergarten or preschool, it’s an exciting time to look forward and chase your dreams. At Wesley Chapel’s four public high schools, hundreds of students are anticipating tossing their caps and moving on to the next phase of life, whether it’s further education or starting their careers. This includes the first-ever graduating class at the Kirkland Ranch Academy of Innovation, which opened for the 2022-23 school year with just freshman and sophomores. We salute these top students at each of our Wesley Chapel public high schools and say congratulations to you and all of the graduates! 


Cypress Creek High 

1. Anastasia Herzek 

GPA: 4.7143 

Clubs/Activities: National Honor Society (NHS), American Sign Language Honor Society, National Science Honor Society, Clemson Summer Scholars, Game Master at Arcanum Escape Room 

College planning to attend: University of Florida 

Planned major or future career: Chemistry 

Best thing about high school: Making connections with friends and staff at Cypress Creek. 

2. Daniel Garcia 

GPA: 4.7000 

Clubs/Activities: Science National Honor Society, NHS, Custodial Service with Robotics team, Volunteer at pharmacy, Work at Kohls & Publix 

College planning to attend: University of Central Florida 

Planned major or future career: Mechanical Engineering 

Best thing about high school: Being able to see my friends! 

3. Nico Gust 

GPA: 4.6780 

Clubs/Activities: NHS, McDonald’s, Raising Cane’s, Martial Arts (black belt), Model UN, Crochet Club, National Merit Scholarship Finalist 

College planning to attend: University of North Florida 

Planned major or future career: Marine Biology 

Best thing about high school: Being done! 

4. Keira Lefebvre 

GPA: 4.6885 

Clubs/Activities: Track, Cross Country, NHS, Science National Honor Society, Volunteer at AdventHealth, Insurance Marketing Associate, Crochet Club, Chick-Fil-A Leadership Academy 

College planning to attend: University of Florida 

Planned major or future career: Chemistry 

Best thing about high school: Hanging out with my friends. 

5. Marisa Morales 

GPA: 4.6275 

Clubs/Activities: Volunteered at Pasco County Animal shelter, Volunteer at Pasco Schools, Clemson summer scholar, NHS, NSHS, HOSA 

College planning to attend: University of Florida 

Planned major or future career: Biochemistry 

Best thing about high school: My friends 

6. Cristina Dima 

GPA: 4.6146 

Clubs/Activities: Author & illustrator of a children’s book, Elem. school volunteer at library, Bioengineering research program (Clemson Summer Scholars), NHS, HOSA, Hillsborough State Park Halloween Event Volunteer 

College planning to Attend: Univ. of Florida 

Planned major or future career: Biological Sci. 

Best thing about high school: My friends 

7. Hannah Hershey 

GPA: 4.6019 

Clubs/Activities: Student Government, Treasurer of Spirit Club, Chick-Fil-A Leadership Academy, National Honor Society, Volleyball, Job at Chicken Salad Chick & Pack Leader 

College planning to attend: Univ. of Central Florida 

Planned major or future career: Accounting 

Best thing about high school: Meeting new people and making connections. 

8. Diana Le 

GPA: 4.5673 

Clubs/Activities: Lady Coyote Engineering, Vietnamese language tutor, part-time retail job 

College planning to attend: University of Florida 

Planned major or future career: Accounting 

Best thing about high school: The community. 

9. Camryn Paradise 

GPA: 4.5600 

Clubs/Activities: NHS, National English Honor Society, spirit club, Science NHS, Spanish NHS, Club volleyball, Volleyball 

College planning to attend: Clemson University 

Planned major or future career: Business; minor in Biology 

Best thing about high school: Being involved with clubs and organizations and putting events together especially (my favorite) pep rallies! 

10. Jacob Sheldon 

GPA: 4.5510 

Clubs/Activities: National English Honor Society, Book Club, Art Club, Reading/Writing, Poetry, Volleyball, Soccer, Basketball, Weightlifting 

College planning to attend: University of Central Florida 

Planned major or future career: Neuroscience 

Best thing about high school: The unique personalities and people that I got to know over the years. My friends mean so much to me. 

Kirkland Ranch Academy of Innovation

1. Diana Bisekeeva 

GPA: 4.59 

Clubs/Activities: GPS Robotics (VEX & FIRST Team), Founder & Pres. of ResuPrep, Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer, GPS Connect Outreach Founder & Pres., R:ED Robotics Education Software Engineer Intern, Mediacube UI/UX Designer Intern, The TCK Times Founder & Editor-in-Chief, NHS President, Science NHS, Women of Tomorrow, Math Peer Tutor, Varsity Tennis 

College planning to attend: Univ. of Florida 

Planned major or future career: Industrial & Systems Engineering 

Best thing about high school: The connections you build with your peers. 

2. Sarah Streeter 

GPA: 4.34 

Clubs/Activities: Editor-in-Chief of yearbook, Officer of FFA, SGA representative, Dual Enrollment Student 

College planning to attend: Georgia State University 

Planned major or future career: Neurology (pre-med) 

Best thing about high school: The opportunity to connect with your peers and enjoy your youth together in one place. 

3. Nolan Correa 

GPA: 4.46 

Clubs/Activities: Volunteer at Star Academy 

College planning to attend: Pasco Hernando State College 

Planned major or future career: Radiology 

Best thing about high school: The overall freedom that you have. 

4. Rudra Patel 

GPA: 4.40 

Clubs/Activities: Chess Club, math tutor, Kirkland Ranch Academy of Innovation News 

College planning to attend: Florida Polytechnic University 

Planned major or future career: Computer or Cybersecurity Engineering 

Best thing about high school: The people you meet. 

5. Giovanni Ventilato

GPA: 4.40 

Clubs/Activities: Health & Fitness Club, Church activities 

College planning to attend: University of South Florida 

Planned major or future career: Aerospace engineering 

Best thing about high school: Having a good amount of freedom. 

6. Donovan Arteaga 

GPA: 4.55 

Clubs/Activities: National Honor Society member, Flower power club member 

College planning to attend: University of South Florida 

Planned major or future career: Chemical engineering 

Best thing about high school: The friends you make and the people you meet. 

7. Alexi Sanchez 

GPA: 4.49 

Clubs/Activities: NHS, Volunteer at Marine Corps League & Special Olympics, initiated a program to promote oral health to underprivileged children, participated in World Stride Educational Travel-STEM & Cultural Immersion program, dual enrollment student at Pasco Hernando State College, Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society 

College planning to attend: Univ. of Florida 

Planned major or future career: Biology (pre-med) 

Best thing about high school: Hanging out with friends. 

8. Jansen Warren 

GPA: 4.34 

Clubs/Activities: Volunteering at Kirkland Ranch K-8 

College planning to attend: Pasco Hernando State College 

Planned major or future career: Computer Science 

Best thing about high school: Spending time with friends. 

9. Camden Chase 

GPA: 4.42 

Clubs/Activities: Soccer, Student Government Vice President, NHS Officer, Health and Fitness Club Member, Dual Enrollment Student 

College planning to attend: University of Florida 

Planned major or future career: Finance 

Best thing about high school: Figuring out what you want to do in the future. 

10. Emersyn Mullis 

GPA: 4.46 

Clubs/Activities: Dual Enrollment student, Employed student 

College planning to attend: Pasco Hernando State College 

Planned major or future career: Business 

Best thing about high school: The ability to branch off and learn more about yourself. 

11. Dalyn Brown 

GPA: 4.54 

Clubs/Activities: Dual Enrollment Student at Pasco Hernando State College, earned Associate of Arts, Track & Field Athlete, Volunteer: AdventHealth, Employed Student, National Future Medical Leaders Conference, National Society of High Scholars 

College planning to attend: Univ. of Florida 

Planned major or future career: Pre-Med/ Biomedical Sciences 

Best thing about high school: The friendships and company you keep, along with the memories you make, define your journey through these four years. 

12. Alessa Gonzalez 

GPA: 4.42 

Clubs/Activities: Dual Enrollment Student, Tennis, Soccer, Johns Hopkins Summer Program Participant, Pepin Family USF Summer Nursing Pathway Program, HERricane Summer Camp Participant, NHS Member, Navigating Our Community, Employed Student 

College planning to attend: University of South Florida 

Planned major or future career: Biomedical science/neuroscience Pre-Health USF 

Best thing about high school: All the friends I made and the labs I participated in at KRAI’s Biomedical Science program.

13. Tessa Mast 

GPA: 3.92 (unweighted) 

Clubs/Activities: Bowling 

College planning to attend: University of Central Florida 

Planned major or future career: Business (pre-accounting) 

Best thing about high school: Getting real-world experiences and skills through the programs at Kirkland Ranch Academy of Innovation.  


Wesley Chapel High School 
Wesley Chapel High’s Top-10 Graduating Seniors are (l.-r.) Caique Santos-Silva, Sean Donahue, Luiza Guryeva, Maya Almodovar, Pierre-Etienne Boisvert, Erin McDermott, Filipp Ramsey, Nikki Watson and Ming Yang. Not pictured here: Luanna Mineiro De Souza. (Group photo provided by Wesley Chapel High) 

1. Sean Donahue, Valedictorian 

GPA: 4.7213 

Clubs/Activities: Eagle Scout, Debate Club Co-founder, IPPF Policy Debate, Lacrosse, SAT & Elementary Tutor, NHS Vice President, AP Capstone Diploma 

College planning to attend: Yale University 

Planned major or future career: Computer Sci. 

Best thing about high school: Away games with the lacrosse team 

2. Pierre-Etienne Boisvert, Salutatorian 

GPA: 4.71 

Clubs/Activities: Taught myself how to program and make video games, AP Capstone Diploma 

College planning to attend: Univ. of Florida 

Planned major or future career: Physics 

Best thing about high school: How much I was able to test my own skills and limits, pushing myself further and further every day to accomplish goals. 

3. Luanna Mineiro De Souza 

GPA: 4.68 

Clubs/Activities: Associate of Arts degree at PHSC through Dual Enrollment 

College planning to attend: Pasco Hernando State College’s Nursing Program 

Planned major/future career: Nurse Anesthetist 

Best thing about high school: Going to volleyball and football games with my friends and enjoying the school spirit! 

4. Filipp Ramsey 

GPA: 4.67 

Clubs/Activities: Programming/Game development, AP Capstone Diploma 

College planning to attend: USF 

Planned major or future career: Computer sci. 

Best thing about high school: Opportunity to learn alongside some of the smartest and hardest-working students I have met. 

5. Caique Santos-Silva 

GPA: 4.65 

Clubs/Activities: VP of WCHS Business & Finance Club, Secretary of NHS, Secretary of Science NHS, FCA Member, Varsity Lacrosse, AP Capstone Diploma, Associate of Arts degree at PHSC through Dual Enrollment 

College planning to attend: University of Florida Honors 

Planned major or future career: Business Administration or Accounting 

Best thing about high school: Meeting all my friends and the staff. I continuously grew as a person, and so did those around me. I found people who pushed me to improve and held me accountable in all the things I do. I doubt that I would be who I am now without all those who kept me laughing, smiling and working hard. 

6. Maya Almodovar 

GPA: 4.63 

Clubs/Activities: Dance teacher, tutor, receptionist, barista, Rho Kappa (president), NEHS (vice president) & NEHS (member), Earned my Associate of Arts degree at PHSC through Dual Enrollment 

College planning to attend: University of Florida 

Planned major or future career: Civil Rights Lawyer 

Best thing about high school: Having the opportunity to attend USF my senior year. 

7. Nikki Watson 

GPA: 4.62 

Clubs/Activities: Golf (First Tee team and players club), Band, including marching band as drum major and playing flute, wind ensemble playing flute and piccolo, and concert band playing trumpet, NHS, Associate of Arts degree at PHSC through Dual Enrollment 

College planning to attend: Univ. of Florida 

Planned major or future career: Biology with a specialization in Biotechnology 

Best thing about high school: Finding a ‘family’ in the band and also finding who I really am through all of my experiences. Making it as drum major in my senior year, and making friends with everyone. Everyone is growing in life just like you, so you can always find people that you connect with. 

8. Ming Yang 

GPA: 4.62 

Clubs/Activities: Clean Earth Club, National Honors Society, Tennis AP Capstone Diploma 

College planning to attend: University of Pennsylvania or Brown University 

Planned major or future career: Physics 

Best Thing About High School: The amazing people I met, both peers and teachers, that made school enjoyable. 

9. Erin McDermott 

GPA: 4.608 

Clubs/Activities: Club Gymnastics, NHS, Wesley Chapel Dance Program, AP Capstone Diploma, Anne Frank Humanitarian Award 

College planning to attend: United States Air Force Academy 

Planned major or future career: Biology/Pre- Health Professions. I plan to become a Flight Surgeon. 

Best thing about high school: Meeting all of my best friends. 

10. Luiza Guryeva 

GPA: UW: 3.98/ W: 4.56 

Clubs/Activities: ResuPrep Startup Founder & CEO, Florida Founder & Executive of Active Hearts Association, GPS Robotics Business Lead for FIRST Competition, author of Comparative Case Study on Immigrant Entrepreneurship, Market Research Website & Analysis Report Creator, Founder and President of Business & Finance Club, Team Leader & Strategy Coordinator for Wharton Global Investment Competition, Calaton Systems Business Development Manager Trainee, Varsity Tennis, AP Capstone Diploma 

College planning to attend: Georgetown University 

Planned major or future career: Finance 

Best thing about high school: Hospital visits with the Active Hearts Association club. 


Wiregrass Ranch High School 
Wiregrass Ranch High’s High’s Top-16 Graduating Seniors are (l.-r.) L to R: Vedanti Patel, Sydney Ficks, Nicholas Kovacs, Vishnu Araveeti, Daniel Cheng, Rohit Naras, Tristan Pasquale, Ian Kim, Austin McCallister, Jack Flanary, Aubrey McKeon, Nicollette Watson, Brenden Brewer, Vera Zheng, Darren Lin & Hunter Paladio. (Group photo provided by Wiregrass Ranch 

1. Austin McCallister, Valedictorian 

GPA: 4.75 

Clubs/Activities: Science Olympiad 

College planning to attend: Georgia Institute of Technology 

Planned major or future career: Computer Engineering 

Best thing about high school: Mr. Cuviello’s and Mr. Cordero’s science labs. 

2. Nicholas Kovacs, Salutatorian 

GPA: 4.7302 

Clubs/Activities: Studying, focusing on academics 

College planning to attend: USF 

Planned major or future career: Mechanical Engineering 

Best thing about high school: Meeting people. If I hadn’t attended high school, I wouldn’t have met all these other bright students. I am hoping we can all stay in contact. 

3. Ian Kim 

GPA: 4.69 

Clubs/Activities: Science Fair, Science Olympiad, Orchestra, Mu Alpha Theta, FBLA, Tri-M, Science National Honor Society 

College planning to attend: California Institute of Technology (Caltech) 

Planned major or future career: Electrical Engineering 

Best thing about high school: Hanging out with friends and Mr. Cordero in AP Physics every day. 

4. Daniel Cheng 

GPA: 4.6897 

Clubs/Activities: Future Business Leaders of America, Cybersecurity Club, Mu Alpha Theta, National Honor Society, Students Against Destructive Decisions, Piano, Volunteer at MD Oriental Market 

College Planning to Attend: Univ. of Florida 

Planned major or future career: Computer Science or Computer Engineering 

Best Thing about High School: Collecting memories, not just homework. 

5. Vishnu Araveeti 

GPA: 4.6639 

Clubs/Activities: FBLA, Science Olympiad; I also ran a commerce business. 

College planning to attend: Univ. of Florida 

Planned major or future career: Data science/ Computer Science 

Best thing about high school: Having great teachers to learn from and creating many friends. 

6. Aubrey McKeon 

GPA: 4.6591 

Clubs/Activities: Tutored for math & science honors societies, leadership in music honors society, 9 years of choir, FMEA’s All-State Chorus, member of the Science Olympiad team 

College planning to attend: University of Central Florida 

Planned major or future career: Aerospace Engineering 

Best thing about high school: Friends and relationships you create along the way. 

7. Rohit Naras 

GPA: 4.6604 

Clubs/Activities: FBLA, Science Olympiad, Varsity Tennis, Research 

College planning to attend: Georgia Institute of Technology 

Planned major or future career: Computer engineering, hopes to start my own tech company 

Best thing about high school: Having genuine fun with my friends inside & outside of the classroom. 

8. Darren Lin 

GPA: 4.6346 

Clubs/Activities: Mu Alpha Theta, Key Club, FBLA, Asian Association &Allies, Amnesty Int’l. 

College planning to attend: Univ. of Florida 

Planned major or future career: Mechanical Engineering 

Best thing about high school: It’s a great place to meet good people who share your values 

9. Vera Zheng 

GPA: 4.6296 

Clubs/Activities: Mu Alpha Theta, Key Club, FBLA, Asian Association & Allies, Amnesty Int’l. 

College planning to attend: Univ. of Florida 

Planned major or future career: Computer Science 

Best thing about high school: Getting to find new friends and hanging out with them. 

10. Krish Patel 

GPA: 4.6207 

Clubs/Activities: SHNS tutoring, FBLA, HOSA & Key Club, Passion project to showcase the benefits of vegetarianism for the body & the environment, helped coordinate the first-ever fire ritual for youths to honor the largest Hindu temple outside of India. 

College planning to attend: University of Florida 

Planned major or future career: Microbiology and Cell Science (Medical Career) 

Best thing about high school: All the friends and memories that you can make before heading to college. 


Editor’s Note – We appreciate that all four local high schools provided us with the photos and information you see on these pages. We have no idea why some schools provided more than their top-10 graduating seniors, why some of the students’ photos were not provided nor why the students’ GPAs at Kirkland Ranch appear to be out of order. All we’ve done is provide an outlet for each school to provide their photos & information. 

CafĂ© Zorba’s New Management Celebrates Its Grand Reopening With A Lamb Roast! 

Frank Geivelis (far left), Sabani Ferhatovic & Sabani’s wife Ferzeta Omerovic & Sabani and Ferzeta’s grandsons Beno & Anthony Ferhatovic of CafĂ© Zorba. 

The day I drove up to and found out that the Tutti Frutti Café in the KRATE at The Grove container park had closed, a gentleman sitting in front of the nearby Café Zorba (5804 Grand Oro Ln. #102) told me that he and his friend sitting with him were now the new management team at Café Zorba, which previously was only a Greek/Mediterranean restaurant but now also is serving traditional Bosnian/Balkan food, in addition to the usual gyros, Greek salads, stuffed grape leaves (dolmades) and souvlakis (below left). 

The two men — Fotios (he goes by Frank) Geivelis and Sabani Ferhatovic — invited me to attend the Grand Reopening of CafĂ© Zorba, which was held on May 3 and was going to feature an almost-40-lb. lamb roasted outside on a rotating spit grill. 

Well, as a true lamb lover who had never sampled Bosnian food before, I brought along photographer Charmaine George to sample and take pictures of some of CafĂ© Zorba’s new traditional Bosnian/Balkan cuisine. 

We started with an order of cevapi — small sausages made of lamb and beef served with ajvar (red pepper sauce) inside a tasty flatbread. Cevapi is a popular Balkan street food that tasted a little like lamb-infused, well-grilled breakfast sausages. 

We also saw Sabani’s wife Ferzeta Omerovic take the foil wrap off a pot of the most beautiful-looking stuffed peppers (called punjene paprike; far right photo), so we asked her for a sample. Now, I honestly have never even liked stuffed peppers, but the mild red bell peppers were cooked to soft perfection and stuffed with ground beef, rice, tomato sauce and a variety of spices so tasty that Charmaine and I were both hooked. 

We also got a sample of Ferzeta’s Bosnian stuffed “sour” cabbage rolls known as sarma, which are fermented (pickled in some kind of vinegar base) cabbage leaves stuffed with ground meat (I forgot to ask if it was veal, lamb or beef), minced onion, beef stock and paprika. Sour is correct. Charmaine actually preferred the sarma to the punjene paprike. 

I then returned alone four hours later to check out the roast lamb, which Sabani was busy getting properly spiced when Charmaine and I first arrived. He definitely loved cooking the lamb, as he was handing out freshly carved samples of the most tender, garlicky delicious sliced lamb I had ever tasted — better than the lamb chops at most high-level restaurants! And, Ferzeta’s creamy tomato and cucumber salad served with it also was outstanding! 

But, if you missed out on the Grand Reopening lamb, don’t be sad — Frank promise me that they will be roasting a whole lamb “at least once or maybe twice a month. Follow us on Instagram to find out when we’ll have it next!” For more info, call (813) 388-5987 or order online from DoorDash or Uber Eats.— GN

Tallo’s Grand Opening Is Today At 6!

Whether or not you think you’re craving Caribbean-American cuisine, you should definitely visit the new Tallo (pronounced “Tie-yo”) Restaurant, located in Downtown Avalon Park at 4424 Friendly Way, Ste 105 (next to the also-new Rudraksh Indian Cuisine). Owners Ramon and Kelvin and Chef Juan Soto invite you to enjoy a unique (especially for Wesley Chapel!) dining experience that blends the rich, flavorful traditions of Caribbean cooking and American cuisine, plus great craft cocktails, all in a beautiful, elegant setting.

Tallo’s public Grand Opening is this afternoon at 6 p.m., but the Neighborhood News team already has sampled quite a few delicious items from the restaurant’s “soft opening” menu, including the Asian “pig wings” (bone-in, glazed pork riblets), short rib dumplings, chicken skewers, the “Cuatro Carnes” (four meats) flatbread, the pistachio pesto bucatini pasta, pan-seared salmon and perhaps the best lemon “airline” chicken (a boneless breast with the wing bone attached), with garlic broccolini, I’ve ever tasted.

The public ribbon-cutting and Grand Opening are at 6 p.m. today. But, whether you make it to that event or not, you owe it to yourself to give the delicious new Tallo a try! 

For reservations (which are definitely suggested) and more info, call (813) 355-3603, visit TalloRestaurant.com or “@Tallo_Resturant” on Instagram. Also, look for a more complete update about Tallo in the May 27 New Tampa and June 10 Wesley Chapel editions of Neighborhood News!

New Townhome Community In Epperson May Get An Elam Rd. Entrance After All

Residents of Abby Brooks Circle (ABC) in the Epperson II CDD met with Pasco Planning Dept. director David Engel (blue suit) and Development Services director David Allen (gray suit) during the May 6 Board of County Commissioners meeting to discuss alternatives to using ABC as the only access point to a new townhome community in the Epperson North CDD.  

Even though the county attorney’s office told Pasco County’s Board of County Commissioners (BCC) on May 6 that there was nothing they could do about Metro Development Group’s plan to put the only entrance to a new townhome community —  located in the Epperson North Community Development District (CDD), through a quiet Epperson II CDD community along Abby Brooks Cir. (ABC) — the residents who live on ABC have been encouraged by the possibility that a possible solution appears to be on the horizon.

As of today, the efforts of ABC residents Candice and Mark Alfieri, Danielle Polovich, Alexandra Lewis, Erin Totaro, the Epperson II CDD Board and many of the 120 total affected families on ABC and Lily Arbor Way — who met twice the week before the May 6 BCC meeting to put together a strategy to protect their quiet neighborhood full of children — seem to have been fruitful, as a Metro spokesperson told the Neighborhood News that the details of an agreement for a possible second entrance to the JK2 townhome community off Elam Rd. is in the works, but is not yet finalized, and released only the following statement:

“Metro has heard the concerns raised by residents regarding access for the Epperson North townhome community, and we want to assure you we are working with local officials to devise the best possible plan for everyone involved. We ask for your patience as we navigate a solution. Metro prioritizes resident safety and neighborhood connectivity. We’re committed to thoughtful planning and collaboration to ensure the long-term success of the Epperson community.”

Abby Brooks Circle (ABC) resident Alexandra Lewis was one of nearly two dozen residents living on ABC in the Epperson II CDD who asked the Pasco Board of County Commissioners for help regarding an approved entrance through their quiet street for a new townhome community in the Epperson North CDD.  

The current plan — which was approved administratively by the county staff using the State of Florida’s new Land Use Equivalency Matrix, without a BCC vote — has Elam Rd. as an emergency-only entrance to the townhome development. 

In other words, the townhome site, which was originally donated to the Pasco County School District for an elementary school, did not need a BCC vote to be rezoned for JK2’s 186 planned townhomes after the School District gave the site back to Metro and said it didn’t plan to build a school on it.

County attorney Jeffrey Steinsnyder told the commissioners on May 6 that there was nothing they could do to change the development plan, but commissioners Jack Mariano, Kathryn Starkey and Lisa Yeager all said that they supported the efforts of the two dozen ABC residents who spoke or planned to speak at that meeting. 

Representatives of the ABC group then met with Pasco Planning Dept. director David Engel and Development Services Dept. director David Allen while the May 6 BCC meeting was still taking place to see if, in reality, anything could be done to keep ABC from being the townhome community’s only (or main) entrance.

A week or so later, even though the future townhome residents currently are still planned to also have access through ABC, the main entrance to the JK2 community could now be shifted to Elam Rd., which is much more capable than ABC of handling the additional (estimated) 1,000 or more trips per day the 186 townhomes are expected to generate. 

Look for another online update as soon as any agreement is finalized, as well as a fully updated story in the June 10 edition of Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News.


Pasco Seeking Park Site In Connected City; Plus, Epperson II Townhome Concerns 

Although the meeting happened a little more than a month ago as you’re receiving this issue, there were two important new pieces of information that came out of the presentations about the 7,800-acre “Connected City” (CC) development made to the Pasco Board of County Commissioners (BCC) by Metro Development Group principal Kartik Goyani and the county staff on Apr. 9. 

The first had to do with the number of single-family entitlements still available in CC. William Vermillion of Pasco’s Planning & Economic Growth department, who oversees MPUDs in Pasco, said that a recent study by the county found that there are still 44% of the single-family detached home entitlements left in CC. 

“Even though you were told a couple of years ago that there were no more single-family (SF) entitlements left,” Vermillion said, “there actually are still about 4,400 remaining [of the 10,583 SF homes originally approved for CC]. We also have about 50% of the multi-family, which includes townhomes and garden-style homes for the higher density areas. We also still have roughly 37% of our commercial left and 75% of the office. And, we have roughly 26% of the land remaining.” 

Dist. 2 Comm. Seth Weightman told me after that meeting that although he was shocked the staff had been giving the commissioners the wrong figure for so long, he didn’t believe the “mistake was intentional on anyone’s part. We’ve had a lot of turnover in our staff.” 

But, had Comm. Weightman known there were still SF entitlements available, would he still have voted to allow other developers within CC to convert their plans from SF to multi-family (MF)? 

“No, I would not have voted to convert them [to MF] had I known the correct figures,” he said, adding that he remembered that one of the conversions he reluctantly voted for, “felt like chewing on a mouthful of sandspurs.” 

The Bigger Issue: Parks 

As for CC’s current Park Service Areas, Vermillion said on Apr. 9 that if you combine “all of the parks in [CC], there are 115 acres of neighborhood parks already built, not inclusive of the planned VOPH (the adjacent Villages of Pasadena Hills development) Superpark or the Wesley Chapel District Park” (neither of which are in CC). 

But, Weightman noted that the 240-acre (previously reported as 300-acre) VOPH Superpark, “isn’t going to be as ‘super’ as we anticipated. We’re going to fall short on a few areas of uses, and, with the age of the people moving to the area growing younger, I really feel we need to revisit the diverting of [CC] funds to the VOPH Superpark.” 

He added, “With the [WC] District Park already at capacity, we need to find a way to have a similar style park within [CC] and whether we reallocate funds from the shortfall that the Superpark is going to have, or we restructure the way that funding mechanism works, I think it needs to be done because [CC] is here today. The youth and their parents are demanding that we have field space now for a variety of sports. The people are here now, so the 40 acres we have in the site we [Pasco] already owns [in CC]
that footprint needs to be doubled and we need to figure out the funding between VOPH and [CC] because something needs to happen sooner than later in the [CC} corridor.” 

Pasco Parks Dept. director Keith Wiley then responded that Comm. Weightman was correct. 

“And, the question is,” Wiley said, “Where should we locate the other park facilities in [CC]? We’d have to ‘swap’ projects in order to have a district park, since a community park doesn’t really get it done. We’d have to decide which of the 21 capital projects identified need to be removed.” 

Board chair & Dist. 3 Comm. Kathryn Starkey said she would like Wiley to look into using the site Pasco owns near the future CC Town Center Hub, either for a land swap or to build a District Park on property that had originally been slated for a utilities maintenance area. 

Wiley added, however, that the county’s Master Parks Plan was done more than a decade ago and could be updated, “rather quickly” to see if there are locations within CC that could accommodate a District Park. At our press time, we had not heard if that update had been completed. 

Dist. 1 Comm. Ron Oakley, whose district includes CC, cautioned, however, that the entire county needs more ball fields, not just the [CC], “and we can’t build more parks without having the money to maintain them.” 

Epperson Ranch II CDD Issues 

On May 1, I attended a meeting of the Epperson Ranch II Community Development District (CDD) Board of Supervisors, which is, “the only CDD in Epperson that has no parks and no amenities whatsoever,” said CDD Board chairman Joseph Murphy (as well as several of the 50 or so Epperson II residents in attendance during the three-hour meeting). 

“And the site in Epperson II that previously was designated as a school site has been rezoned for 186 townhomes and the one entrance and exit for that townhome community is now Abby Brooks Circle (see map), which is a quiet, residential neighborhood that can’t handle the 400 additional vehicles per day from those townhomes. The entrance to that townhome community should be off Elam Rd., which is already a main road through Epperson, and which was designated as the entrance to the school site. But, when the property was converted to townhomes, the Board of County Commissioners agreed to change that to only allow emergency vehicles to access the townhome community using Elam Rd.” 

The Epperson II residents who spoke at that CDD meeting all voiced their displeasure, concern and fear for the safety of their children if the townhome community was able to proceed with the plan to use Abby Brooks Cir. as its only ingress and egress point. Although the next BCC meeting was on May 6, two days after we went to press with this issue, the residents shared with me a resolution drafted by the CDD’s new lawyer, Jere Earlywine of Kutak Rock, which was sent to every commissioner on May 2, asking that the BCC reconsider its decision to not allow regular vehicular access to Elam Rd. and to commission a new traffic study — since the previous study was conducted in 2015, when the townhome site was still a school site. 

The CDD resolution says, “…In order to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the [Epperson II] District and its residents, guests, and constituents, the Board hereby declares its objection to the proposed change of roadway configuration for the Former School Parcel, specifically as it relates to authorizing a single point of ingress and egress to and from the Former School Parcel, and without a primary access from the Former School Parcel to and from Elam Road. The Board hereby directs District Staff to transmit this Resolution to Pasco County, Florida, and respectfully requests that Pasco County take all appropriate action to rectify the improper change of roadway configuration for the Former School Parcel, to conduct and/ or re-conduct a traffic study in order to determine the impact of the anticipated traffic on the existing roadways and residents of Epperson Ranch II CDD, and to modify and/or revoke any development approvals related thereto.” 

The only Epperson II CDD supervisor to vote against drafting and sending the resolution to the BCC was Mike Lawson, who also is the only CDD supervisor who works for Metro. Lawson is the director of operations for the CC developer. 

The BCC didn’t have anything about Epperson II on its May 6 agenda, so no action could be taken, but the residents of Epperson II, particularly those who live on Abby Brook Cir., were planning to show up at that meeting in force to again express their concern, this time to the county commissioners. 

We’ll keep you posted.