Union Park ‘Resident’ Is A Security Robot

Patrolling the streets of Union Park (located just south of 56, off of Meadow Pointe Blvd. in Wesley Chapel) is the first “security robot” to be on duty in a residential neighborhood in the United States.

“Right now, we’re beta testing for six months at Union Park to see how a security robot would help us in a large community,” says Kartik Goyani, vice president of operations for Metro Development Group, developers of both Union Park and Epperson (see page 1), the latter of which is part of the “connected city” and which will be home to the first of two Crystal Lagoons coming soon to Wesley Chapel.

The robot has been named “Deputy Metro” and is a five-foot tall, 400-pound robot that drives itself throughout the community. It records data and provides 360-degree video.

“What we do at Metro in our heart and in our DNA is innovation,” Goyani says, so experimenting with brand new technology makes a lot of sense.

While Union Park is the first residential community to get a security robot, Goyani says it’s actually the 39th of more than 50 such robots throughout the country, created by a company called Knightscope. These robots patrol malls, hospitals, office parking lots, even the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta.

Goyani explains that it’s too early to tell exactly how Deputy Metro will be used in the long term, but it’s planned to be used at the soon-to-be-renamed connected city and at Metro’s developments with Crystal Lagoons. Goyani explains the current beta testing will help determine how it will be used in those larger communities. “The main goal is as a deterrent and seeing how this technology can fit into our lives,” Goyani says.

“For example, Union Park is not gated,” he says, so Metro tried stationing the robot at the entrance to the community to see how that worked. “We essentially made Deputy Metro like a virtual gate, monitoring the traffic going in and out.”

Meanwhile, he says video from the security robot has already been requested by the Pasco Sheriff’s Office (PSO).

In the future, Goyani hopes the PSO won’t have to request the footage. As part of its partnership, Metro Development expects to make streaming video available to the Sheriff, “so they don’t have to call us at all.”

Goyani says the reactions to Deputy Metro have been overwhelmingly positive, and many negative responses are due to concerns they have been able to alleviate, such as a concern that the robot could cause a resident to get a speeding ticket.

He says some of the positive response has been even more than what they expected.

“Deputy Metro is part of the community,” says Goyani. “One time when I was at Union Park, a couple of engineers from Knightscope were there, and a young girl who lives in the community came with her dad and brought her notebook and followed them around. She said (Deputy Metro) inspires her to learn more about STEM and robotics.”

For more information about Deputy Metro, visit DeputyMetro.com.

Plans To Widen & Improve Curley Rd. Getting Fresh Look

The connected city projected is not only bringing fast internet and Crystal Lagoons (see pgs. 1 & 4) to Wesley Chapel, it will also result in some local road improvements, as the county preps for additional traffic in the future.

A 2005 route study that recommended widening Curley Rd. (C.R. 577) is getting a re-evaluation, due to development in the area that is expected to increase traffic. Curley Rd. makes up the connected city’s western border.

Also, Clinton Ave. is being extended to the west and will become the new re-aligned S.R. 52, which runs along the connected city’s northern border in San Antonio.

A steady crowd (photo) showed up to participate in the route study re-evaluation Open House held Dec. 6 at Saint Anthony of Padua Catholic Church Parish Center in San Antonio.

Local residents were allowed to view the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) plans for east-west re-aligning of S.R. 52, which is expected to begin in June of 2019.

The county hopes to complete its right-of-way acquisitions by the spring of 2019.

The Curley Rd. project itself is even further off. While minor improvements will be made where Curley connects with the realigned S.R. 52, right now, it is unlikely anything will be done with widening it or re-routing where it connects with Prospect Rd. (579A) before 2030.

“Because of connected city (east of Curley)and the Villages of Pasadena (a development on the west side of Curley Rd.), things have changed,’’ said Panos Kontses, project manager for the Pasco County Engineering Services Department. “What we analyzed then has changed, so we are doing a refreshing of the study.”

The study is looking at widening Curley Rd. from two to four lanes (from one lane in each direction to two lanes in each direction) from north of the Wesley Chapel schools on Wells Rd. to north of the S.R. 52 re-alignment.

The road would have one sidewalk, and a 46-foot grass median that could allow for the expansion of the road to six total lanes.

Also presented at the open house were three alternatives for a Curley Rd.-Prospect Rd. intersection, north of Tyndall Rd.

Prospect Rd. is an east-west road that curves north before ending at Curley (after Curley curves west).

New plans call for extending Prospect west to Curley, where the two roads will intersect. But, Prospect will become Mirada Blvd. and run northwest through another connected city/Crystal Lagoon development called Mirada.

Residents were asked to weigh in on three options: a single signalized intersection, a roundabout with right turn bypass lanes or two signalized offset “T” intersections for the Curley Rd./Mirada Blvd./Prospect Rd. intersection.

According to traffic studies, Curley Rd. currently handles roughly 7,200 vehicles a day, but by 2041 is projected to have 21,000 vehicles traveling on it each day.

Likewise, Prospect Rd. is expected to increase from 6,200 to 15,100, and once the intersection is complete, Mirada Blvd. will be handling 11,900 vehicles daily.

“It is a ways off,” Kontses said. “All we’re doing right now are the planning studies. We don’t (currently) have the funding for design or construction of this project.”

New Enclosed Children’s Area & More Coming To New Tampa Regional Library

The New Tampa Regional Library, which opened in 1997, is getting some major renovations, including this glass-enclosed upgrade to the library’s children’s room.

The New Tampa Regional Library (NTRL) on Cross Creek Blvd. opened a little more than 20 years ago, in May 1997. The building has started to show its age, so it’s getting a few updates.

Nearing completion shortly is one big change immediately noticeable to anyone who brings kids to the library. The formerly wide-open building now has an enclosed children’s area. With a mostly glass wall, the space still feels open, but 3,382 square feet of the library is now behind a door and designated specifically for use by children and their families.

“Everyone assumes that the wall was built for noise, and that’s part of it,” says NTRL principal librarian Wendy Prasad, “but it’s also for a safe learning environment, and gives a space for kids to be kids a little more.”

Prasad emphasizes that the library still isn’t a playground for running and horseplay, but, she says, “Modern public libraries are community buildings, and there’s more of a feeling of a shared community space, so we encourage different uses of the library.”

Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library’s manager of library development Chely Cantrell says the newly partitioned space for the library’s youngest patrons makes sense.

“New Tampa has such an amazing community that really supports the library and attends its programs,” Cantrell says. “There’s a large crowd that comes in and attends children’s programming, so now we will have more of a dynamic, interactive area inside of the children’s room.”

The wall is already built, but Cantrell says the finishing touches — including family-friendly furniture and educational materials that enhance early learning — are still on their way.

“We will be bringing in Grandma Claire’s Early Learning Hive,” says Prasad, who explains the library’s system-wide Makerspace is called The Hive. For adults and teens, the focus is on technology.

“For early literacy, we’ll have a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) concept and early learning concepts, but it won’t be technology-based,” says Prasad. “We’ll have early learning blocks and LEGOs, word matching, letters, sensory toys and manipulatives.”

The room is being named “Grandma Claire’s” after a donation from Claire Unnasch, a New Tampa resident who passed away in 2016 and provided a gift of $25,000 towards enhancing the children’s area.

The total budget for the project, including the construction of the wall and also replacing the partition in the community room, is $205,368. The actual final cost will be determined at the project’s completion.

“It’s part of the cultural community shift and where libraries fit into that,” Prasad says.

Modern libraries — including the NTRL — are often adapting to the needs and desires of the people who use them, adding programs, inviting in groups and enhancing the “Maker” options available to the community.

For example, the New Tampa library has added a daily “Teen Zone” for students leaving Benito Middle School, which is located right next door to the library. As many students arrive at NTRL at the same time after school, Prasad and her staff have found ways to make them feel welcome and help them take advantage of the library’s many offerings.

“We open our community room for about an hour and a half every day with video games and other activities,” says Prasad. “We’re here for our community, and that includes everybody.”

Additional construction is planned for 2018. The building is scheduled to have a new roof put on starting in January, during which time it’s expected that the library will remain open during regular business hours, but it may be noisier than usual.

NTRL’s bathrooms also will be upgraded, although the schedule is still being worked out to determine the least possible impact on library patrons.

Hillsborough County To Vote On Fire Deal With Pasco This Week

Hillsborough County Fire Chief Dennis Jones (left) explains to local residents (including Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera) at a recent town hall that Pasco County is likely to provide emergency services to unincorporated New Tampa in the future. (Photo: John C. Cotey)

Hillsborough County has elected to secure the services of nearby Pasco County to provide fire service to the New Tampa communities not located within the city limits of the City of Tampa, pending a vote this week.

“It was the mayor (Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn) who said if we didn’t like it, then go to Pasco,’’ says County Fire Chief Dennis Jones. “So, we went to Pasco.”

The Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) will vote Wednesday whether or not to approve a $275,000 annual contract between Hillsborough and Pasco counties for fire services for residents in Pebble Creek, Live Oak, Cross Creek and other communities located in unincorporated Hillsborough County, such as the Branchton Park area.

The county and the City of Tampa, which has provided fire service  to the unincorporated portion of New Tampa with some combination of Fire Stations Nos. 20, 21 and 22 the past 20 years, are ending a long agreement, after the city said it was raising the cost of its service to unincorporated New Tampa from $218,000 to $1.4 million per year.

Pasco’s Board of County Commissioners (BCC) voted to approve the deal on Nov. 28.

“I’m 100 percent for it,’’ said Pasco BCC chair Mike Moore, who represents most of Wesley Chapel in District 2, prior to the vote. “It’s a wash for us. We’re not making a ton of money off it, but we’re being good neighbors.”

Under the new agreement, unincorporated areas of New Tampa will primarily be serviced by Pasco County Fire Rescue Station No. 26, located in the nearby Meadow Pointe I community of Wesley Chapel.

The station is roughly 1.6 miles from the entrance to Live Oak Preserve, 1.9 miles to the entrance to the Pebble Creek Golf Club, 2.5 miles to the intersection of Cross Creek Blvd. and Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., and about 5 miles from the Kinnan St. area.

“Most communities in the unincorporated area are closer to the Pasco county fire station,’’ Chief Jones explained to a crowd at a recent New Tampa town hall (see page 6). “(Station 26) has a fire engine, rescue car and paramedic service.”

The contract is with the county, Jones said, not with just the one fire station, so other stations would also be available if needed. For example, Pasco County has Fire Rescue Station 13 in Quail Hollow, which is 7.9 miles from Live Oak Preserve, Fire Rescue Station No. 16 in Zephyrhills, which is located roughly 10.7 miles from the easternmost part of the unincorporated area, and No. 23 in Lutz, which is about the same distance from the westernmost areas.

Also, Jones added, Pasco and the City of Tampa have a mutual aid agreement. If Pasco is not available for a call, it would call Tampa for mutual aid, meaning Tampa Fire Rescue No. 21 or No. 22 (both on Cross Creek Blvd.) would provide the service.

Chief Jones also promised residents at that town hall meeting that their service would not stop, nor would they be responsible for any additional assessments.

The prospect of being serviced by a fire rescue station further away than TFR Station Nos. 21 and 22 didn’t sit well with some unincorporated New Tampa residents.

“We’re going to wait for Pasco to respond from County Line Road?,’’ asked Pebble Creek resident Craig Lewis at the town hall. “For Pasco to come down Bruce B. Downs Blvd. in that traffic? You expect us to get fire service that far away when we have two engines within a mile of my house? That is absolutely ludicrous, and is not acceptable.”

Jones said other options for a local Hillsborough County unit staged from a modular building were explored, but all of them cost more than Pasco County’s services.

“We don’t have an option, so our option is the next closest and make a deal with (Pasco),’’ Jones said.

Lewis suggested that the baseball fields on Kinnan St. be moved to Branchton Park (on Morris Bridge Rd), and replaced with a fire station to service the unincorporated communities of New Tampa.

The nearest Hillsborough County Fire Rescue Station is the University Area Station No. 5 on E. 139th Ave.

Hillsborough County District 5 commissioner Ken Hagan said at the town hall that he was hopeful residents wouldn’t notice any changes in their emergency services.

“We’re doing everything to ensure seamless service,” Hagan said. “We won’t let anything happen that will reduce the level of service you get out here, you have my word on that.”

WCCC Again Fetes Excellence In Business!

Kent and Cindy Ross of RP&G Printing, winners of the top Small Business.

Oh, what a night! Congratulations go out to the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCCC), which held its annual “Celebrating Excellence in Business” awards gala on Nov. 9 at the Hilton Garden Inn off S.R. 54 near the Suncoast Pkwy.

The event had an even bigger buzz than usual and the well-dressed crowd of 180 people certainly enjoyed the food, beverages and festivities for the evening.

Bob Thompson of Thompson Brand Images was again the emcee for the evening, which again included awards for Small & Large Business of the Year, Business Leader of the Year and Volunteer of the Year.

New awards this year included the New Business of the Year, the Dorothy Mitchell Lifetime Achievement award and a Community Hero award.

The Volunteer of the Year was Chamber Ambassador Cindy Ross of RP&G Printing and Cindy and her husband, Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel Noon president Kent Ross, also won the Small Business honors.

The New Business winner was James Serrano of Pinot’s Palette.

Denyse Bales-Chubb, left

This year’s Business Leader award winner was Denyse Bales-Chubb, the CEO of FHWC. (Note: We incorrectly reported this in the most recent issues of the Neighborhood News. Our apologies.).

The Large Business of the Year was Morton Plant North Bay Hospital in New Port Richey.

Long-time West Pasco volunteer Bob Memoli won the award named for the late former 20-year Pasco County School Board member Dorothy Mitchell, whose family’s ranch land would become the Trinity area of New Port Richey.

Both the Large Business and Mitchell award winners were nods to the WCCC’s 2017 merger with/asset acquisition of the Greater Pasco Chamber of Commerce, which has been serving West Pasco.

The community hero award went to Pasco County District 2 Commissioner and Wesley Chapel resident Mike Moore for his herculean efforts to help local residents following Hurricane Irma. 

Again, it was a truly amazing night. Can’t wait until next year! — GN; photos by Stephen John Photography (see ad on pg. 46)