Although I have owned and been the editor of the New Tampa & Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News for more than 27 years, about ten years ago, I started noticing that a number of businesses had plaques on their walls that displayed the Business and Dining Feature stories we’ve written about them.
Gary Nager Editorial
Because my staff and freelance writers have always done such a great job writing these Business Feature stories, I certainly could understand why those businesses were proud to have our masthead and the stories we worked hard to create displayed on their walls.
But, yours truly? Not so much.
I just couldn’t understand why those businesses wouldn’t just ask me if I could create plaques for them, since my hyperlocal business was the one that did the interviews, took the pictures, wrote, edited, published and directly mailed those stories to tens of thousands of their neighbors — and virtually all of those stories brought those businesses in new customers and stimulated interest in their businesses that they never had before.
Instead, a big part of the reason they never thought to ask me was because there have been businesses out there — at least two that I know of (more on them below) — who (originally) would purchase a subscription to the Neighborhood News and send those businesses proofs of the stories that we sweat blood to create in order to sell them those plaques.
The more of these plaques I’ve seen in those offices, restaurants and retail establishments — and there have been hundreds of them I’ve seen personally over the years — the more my blood boiled. Plus, we made it even easier on these not-local businesses to use our work to create those plaques by posting electronic versions of every New Tampa and Wesley Chapel edition of our publications on our website.
I was at one of my advertiser’s locations when my blood boiled over. Although that advertiser admitted that she “wasn’t sure” if the person from the company that reprinted our work on the plaque at her office represented their company as being “affiliated” with us, she was under the impression they were and went ahead and spent nearly $200 to have them create the plaque that so ticked me off.
The two companies who seem to be lying in wait for us every time we publish a new issue are “That’s Great News” and “In The News” and I have had words with the local sales reps for both companies, because whether or not it’s illegal for them to use our published content without our permission (it’s not), I am tired of them using our masthead, logo and content we work so hard to publish to make money in a business that we could do ourselves. And, I’ve warned both companies that the time was coming when I would do just that.
Well, that time is now. I want all of our advertisers and readers to know that you no longer have to utilize either of these two companies to preserve our business, dining and news stories — and we will even do it for less!
The plaque (right) preserving the Dining Feature story about Acropolis Greek Taverna that appears on pgs. 38-39 of this issue is the first sample of what we can and hope to do for everyone who wants to display our work.
We offer a variety of plaque and border colors and have the ability to modify the story to fit on any size plaque to fit in any space you have on your wall. And, you don’t have to be a current advertiser to have a plaque created. We guarantee professional work direct from its source and 100% satisfaction.
To order your plaque of any story from any issue of Neighborhood News, email me at ads@NTNeighborhoodNews.com.
Pastor Garrett Hamblen says now that people are working from home, “They’re so isolated, so we do a lot to cultivate developing friendships with other families” at his Spark Church, which meets in a movie theater at the Grove Theater, Bistro & Entertainment.
When most people think of going to church, a movie theater may not be what they have in mind.
But, that’s exactly where Spark Church meets every Sunday at 10 a.m.
Pastor Garrett Hamblen says the Grove Theater, Bistro & Entertainment (located north of S.R. 54, just west of I-75) has been the perfect location for his young church, which launched just six months ago.
“We love the movie theater,” Garrett says. “It’s newly renovated and the facility is amazing. From a tech standpoint, we have a huge screen and a nice sound system. Plus, everybody’s been there at some point, so they know what to expect.”
Garrett says movies start shortly after the service ends, and the other amenities at and coming to The Grove — such as the KRATE container park, a mini-golf course and more — make it a very desirable location for families to gather.
“I think that whole area is going to be like the center of Wesley Chapel,” Garrett says, “and we’re thankful to be in the middle of all that.”
On Sundays, the church takes over one wing of the theater, offering worship in a large theater, kids’ church in a smaller theater, and a nursery in a birthday party room. He describes the kids’ areas as “locked down” for safety, in a corner of the building where no public traffic passes by.
“A typical service is very modern, with worship music and lyrics on the screen – not hymns,” Garrett explains. “It’s a time of exciting worship, with a message that’s relevant to you today. We talk about what is happening in the world today, and what the Bible says about it.”
The recently-concluded summer series included a costume contest with prizes for those who were dressed in their most summer-y outfits, including gear like bathing suit trunks and Hawaiian shirts. He says Spark Church offers a very fun atmosphere and everyone is friendly.
Garrett and his wife, Katterine, were married in March of 2020. He says they went on their honeymoon and when they returned, everything had changed. They were basically “the last wedding” before everything shut down due to Covid.
They now live in Wesley Chapel, just a few minutes from the movie theater where the church meets.
Another perk of meeting at the theater is that it already has procedures in place to ensure good air and surface sanitation, plus temperature checks at the front door. The church follows local and theater requirements to take precautions against the spread of Covid.
Garrett says there’s plenty of room to spread out and masks are not currently required, but many people do wear them. A wristband system allows people to choose a color so others know if they want to be greeted with close contact or keep their distance.
An “Outreach Church”
Garrett describes Spark Church as an “outreach church.”
“The big thing is that we’re here for the community,” he says. “We’re here to see lives changed in Pasco County.”
He explains that means the church is connected to schools, law enforcement, nonprofit organizations and the government and is available to help in all of these areas in the community.
As for the church’s name, he says, the it comes from the church’s mission, which is “to spark life change throughout our communities.”
Garrett says he moved to the area several years ago, when he took a job at Loving Hands Ministries, a drug rehabilitation program in Dade City. He also recently served as young adult pastor, then executive pastor, for Calvary Assembly of God in Dade City.
He is licensed as a minister through the Assemblies of God and also has a Bachelor’s degree in Business and an MBA from Indiana State University in Terre Haute.
“I’ve worked with Restored Hope, and in partnership with Habitat For Humanity and Meals On Wheels and most of the organizations that do good in our county,” he says. “At Spark Church, this is our focus.”
He says that problems facing the community — whether it’s something like homelessness due to a lack of a homeless shelter in Wesley Chapel, or human trafficking — “aren’t going to be fixed by one little church,” but that he hopes that Spark Church will prove to be part of the solution.
“It’s going to take all of us working together,” he says. “I believe we can do much better.”
Garrett is a member of the Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel, which he says is starting a major project to build a home for victims of human trafficking in Wesley Chapel. “Spark Church intends to be a big part of it.”
Created For Everyone
“We have a family atmosphere, and there a lot of people who just moved here,” Garrett says. “We’re all looking for friends. Or, maybe you’re not new to the area but haven’t made friends. Especially now that people are working from home, they’re so isolated, so we do a lot to cultivate developing friendships with other families.”
He says that might be cookouts, or providing popsicles after church on a Sunday, or a fun day like a pool party. He even opens his home once a month for “Pizza with the Pastor,” just to “hang out get to know each other.”
As the church grows, Garrett says it will continue to expand. For example, life groups are launching, which he describes as, “Church in people’s homes,” and while the church focuses on families, it welcomes people in any life stage, and recently started a ministry for single, younger adults.
Garrett also has a vision to start a ministry school in the spring that will help people learn to develop of gifts they may have to use in church — whether it’s at Spark or somewhere else.
“Someone might want to sing, but their church is full of rock stars, so they learn how to develop that skill and then go back and use that gift in their church.”
Asia McGlinchey and her husband Brendan met Garrett at an interest meeting for the church last year. At that time, they were living in Belize and were visiting family in Wesley Chapel who wanted to attend the meeting. They tagged along.
“We heard the vision and felt like the Lord was leading us to join them,” Asia says, “so we moved from Belize last December and have been a big part of the church since then.”
Brendan and Asia bring their three girls, ages eight, six and six months (Asia says her youngest was born just a week after the church launched) and volunteer for the church in various ways. Asia leads the kids’ ministry and the women’s ministry, and Brendan leads music as the worship leader.
“We think that church should be more than Sunday morning,” Asia says, “and that’s their vision, too. Let’s become a family, do outreach, get into the community, become a community, and learn to be a family of believers, not just people who pass by each other on Sunday morning. We love that.”
She says their experience in a tight-knit church in Belize, which served as the center of their small community, gave them a vision of what church can be like. Asia hopes they can bring that sense of connection to Wesley Chapel, too.
“People who come to Spark Church can expect to be welcomed, whatever their background or life,” she says. “We want to get to know everyone, and we want to grow together as a family.”
Spark Church meets at The Grove Theater, Bistro & Entertainment (6333 Wesley Grove Blvd.) every Sunday at 10 a.m. For more info, visit SparkPasco.com.
Construction crews, large machinery and those all-too-familiar bright orange cones have returned to the intersection of S.R. 56 and I-75, as work on the much-anticipated Diverging Diamond Interchange (DDI) has finally and officially resumed.
Superior Construction Company Southeast, LLC, was chosen by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and surety bond companies to replace D.A.B. Constructors, which defaulted on the project on July 1 and went out of business shortly thereafter.
D.A.B. defaulted on six other projects in Pasco, Hernando and Citrus counties, including the S.R. 54 widening project from east of Curley Rd. to east of Morris Bridge Rd.
D.A.B. told FDOT on July 28 it could not afford to complete the S.R. 54 widening, due in part to penalties incurred by missing benchmarks on the DDI project.
Superior began work to complete the $36-million DDI on Sept. 13, which included mobilization of labor, equipment and materials, erosion control, survey, jobsite cleanup of debris and office setup. Full maintenance responsibility was transferred to the new contractor on Sept. 20.
The project, originally scheduled for completion before the end of 2021, is now expected to be finished within 10 months, likely in the summer of 2022, said FDOT spokesperson Kris Carson in an email.
Superior also currently is working on the realignment of S.R. 52 in eastern Pasco County. Pasco Commissioner Mike Moore represents District 2, where the DDI is located, and he said he was happy with the choice.
“I’ve heard great things about them,” Moore said. “And they are actually ahead of pace on the S.R. 52 project, so that’s a good sign.”
Stepping into a new project that already was more than halfway finished is unusual but not unprecedented in the construction business, especially considering the effect that Covid-19 and staffing issues have had on the entire construction industry.
“While this process is not how a typical FDOT project is executed, there are procedures in place for replacing a contractor,” Carson said. “It will take the new contractor some time (a few weeks) to clean up items from the previous contractor in order to complete the new work items. The new contractor evaluates the remaining work items and prices the items that are left to complete. Superior has already mobilized a staff and are in the process of mobilizing crews to complete the work.”
Meanwhile, the surety company put out an advertisement for bids for completion contractors on Sept. 9 for the $42.5 million S.R. 54 widening project, and were expecting to receive bids by the end of the month.
A subcontractor, Southern Precision, has been taking care of the S.R. 54 site in the meantime, with mowing, little control and filling potholes. Last week, work began on milling driveways and side streets, as well as some paving.
County planners say the lone remaining property in the parcel above (outlined in red) should be preserved for retail and office space, not more apartments.
In a sign that developers in Pasco County may be facing a new uphill battle when it comes to rezoning property in order to build apartments, the county’s planning staff and Planning Commission rejected an effort to do just that in the Seven Oaks development, just off S.R. 56 and Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd.
First, the county’s planning staff recommended denying a substantial modification to the Seven Oaks MPUD Master Planned Unit Development (MPUD) Master Plan, and then, by a 3-1 vote on Sept. 8, Pasco’s Planning Commission voted down the plan to rezone 86,000 square feet of retail and office space for a 320-unit apartment complex.
Chris Williams, the director of planning for the Pasco School Board, had to leave before the Planning Commission vote but did voice his support for the developer’s plans.
Roberto Saez, MBA, CGC, AIA, a 14-year Seven Oaks resident, made the motion to deny. Saez formerly served as a senior construction project manager for Pasco County, and while he noted that the project was impressive, and something needed in the county, “this is not the right location.”
The proposed apartments would be located on a 10-acre parcel, currently zoned for commercial and retail development, adjacent to the Sam’s Club on S.R. 56. Ancient Oaks Dr. serves as the western boundary of the parcel, BBD as the eastern boundary and S.R. 56 as the southern boundary.
The proposed apartment complex would include a pool, a dog park and open space for gatherings in the southern portion of the complex.
But, opponents of the project note that there already are two apartment complexes in that area of Seven Oaks — Windsor Club at Seven Oaks to the east and Colonial Grand at Seven Oaks to the west. And, the Enclave at Wesley Chapel and Bonterra Parc apartments are both located right across the street, on the south side of S.R. 56. The residents also raised concerns about traffic issues on Ancient Oaks Blvd.
Joel Tew, the attorney for the developer DD/SR 56 LLC and Walmart, refuted each argument, and claimed the decision to recommend denying the rezoning appeared to be driven by politics, a reference to the county’s current multi-family moratorium.
Politics Or Public Benefit?
Pasco’s Board of County Commissioners, led by District 2 commissioner and Seven Oaks resident Mike Moore, issued a moratorium on accepting any new apartment applications back in May, after debating for months whether the county, and specifically most of the Wesley Chapel area, was facing too much of a glut of multi-family development.
While the Seven Oaks application was submitted prior to the moratorium going into effect, the political headwinds were still felt, Tew says.
“At the pre-app (meeting), staff told us that there was no problem with this application,” Tew said. “Staff said it was a great spot for this. It’s only now, due to a political directive, that staff at the last minute was told to oppose this application. That’s unfortunate.”
The county’s Planning and Development Department wrote that the project, as proposed, “is inconsistent with Comprehensive Plan Policy FLU 1.8.7, Economic Development, and Policy FLU 1.8.10, Preservation of Capacity for Employment-Generating Uses.”
“I “In a normal world, if this project came in, it would be on (the) consent (agenda). You wouldn’t think twice about it. You’d be thanking the developer for building exactly the mixed-use project that this county has begged all developers to build.” — Attorney Joel Tew
Nectorios Pittos, the director of planning and development for Pasco, said an independent third-party analysis that was conducted concluded that the proposed 320-unit rental apartment development would generate $188,375 in annual county revenue over a 10-year average, but the current MPUD entitlements for nearly 90,000 square feet of commercial use would generate $743,375 in annual county revenue.
The county, Pittos said, is placing a high priority on county revenue- and employment-generating land uses, which he says the current project would not do.
However, Tew, who complained he received the third-party analysis days before the hearing, disputed it by showing a chart of other similar multi-family projects and their tax bills. Extrapolating those numbers to the proposed 320 units, Tew said the proposed Seven Oaks project’s tax bill actually would generate $850,000 yearly, which, over 30 years, which would mean a $25-million windfall for the county’s coffers — and more revenue than the $22.3 million that a commercial project would generate over the same time period.
“I don’t know where they came up with those (lower) numbers,” Tew said.
Without the political overtones, Tew said, the proposed multi-family project would be a slam dunk.
“I ask that you look past the politics,” he said. “In a normal world, if this project came in, it would be on (the) consent (agenda). You wouldn’t think twice about it. You’d be thanking the developer for building exactly the mixed-use project that this county has begged all developers to build.”
Three Seven Oaks residents spoke against the project at the meeting, which was held at the Dade City Courthouse, while two others called in, also in opposition. John Thompson, one of those residents in attendance, said the project was like “fitting a square peg in a round hole” and that the area needed more room for small businesses, not more apartments.
County planners did offer another option for committee action — a continuance to the Nov. 4 Planning Commission meeting to allow the Planning & Development Department to “develop and include conditions of approval for vertically integrated mixed use building(s) that have commercial and office entitlements on the ground floor and multi-family entitlements on the upper stories.”
Tew rejected the alternative motion, saying the developer said there was “no viability” or market for such a project.
“Ironically, when I bring new clients in to meet with staff, this is exactly the kind of project they ask my clients to build,” Tew said. “When we find a hole in the donut that has everything around it, all of a sudden it’s not acceptable.”
Moore and the rest of the county commissioners will hear Tew’s apartment proposal in the coming weeks.
The county’s six-month moratorium, which went into effect May 4, has been extended another six months. Part of the plan is to determine exactly how many multi-family projects already exist in the county, and study whether the county, especially in areas like Wesley Chapel, has reached its saturation point.
Moore says he is not opposed to multi-family projects, just the efforts to rezone parcels approved for commercial and retail projects to build apartments. He says that there already is plenty of land with entitlements for multi-family projects, and cited a number of projects currently in progress.
Dr. Jay Nelson has sold his dental practice and now focuses dental sleep medicine and specifically helping those who suffer from sleep apnea at his Nelson Dental Sleep Medicine practice located off S.R. 56 in Wesley Chapel. (Photo: Courtesy of Dr. Nelson)
After decades of practicing dentistry, Dr. Jay Nelson, D.M.D (Doctor of Dental Medicine), has sold his dental practice in Lutz to focus exclusively on dental sleep medicine.
It’s been his passion for more than a decade, since he first took a course that he says sparked his interest.
As his knowledge, expertise and dental sleep medicine practice have grown over more than 10 years, it led Dr. Nelson to sell his dental practice, located off S.R. 54 in Lutz, in January. He had originally opened that practice in 1987, about the same time he moved to New Tampa, where he still lives.
In April of this year, he opened Nelson Dental Sleep Medicine on Foggy Creek Rd., in the Cypress Creek Professional Center off of S.R. 56 (less than a mile east of I-75).
The move to the new office allows him to focus fully on treating those who suffer from sleep apnea “We’re actually saving lives,” Dr. Nelson says.
Building on what he learned while earning his D.M.D. degree at the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine in Philadelphia, Dr. Nelson has since earned advanced certifications from professional organizations such as the Academy of Laser Dentistry (ALD), Academy of Comprehensive Esthetics (ACE) and the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine (AADSM).
Frances Cameli (left) and Betsy Ramos both worked with Dr. Nelson at his dental practice and have now joined him at his Nelson Dental Sleep Medicine office.
Nelson Dental Sleep Medicine is the only facility in Florida and one of the first 20 dental offices in the U.S. to be accredited by the AADSM.
Recently, Dr. Nelson was one of only two dentists asked to speak before the 21st annual Current Concepts in Sleep medical conference, where he taught virtually to a national audience.
His team at his new office includes Frances Cameli, who worked in his previous practice for more than 10 years and serves as the dental sleep manager in the front office, while Betsy Ramos, who also came from Dr. Nelson’s previous practice, serves as the office’s clinical assistant.
Dr. Nelson offers a free consultation to people who wonder if their snoring might be a sign they have a serious underlying condition. And often, it’s not the patient who suggests they visit Dr. Nelson, but those who have to sleep within earshot of them.
“We save marriages, too,” Dr. Nelson says, referring to those couples who sleep separately because of the disturbances from snoring.
To find out if you’re at risk for sleep apnea, Dr. Nelson suggests using Google to search for the “STOP BANG” survey questionnaire. It asks questions about snoring, tiredness and other risk factors. There also is a similar assessment (that requires personal information to be entered) on the Nelson Dental Sleep Medicine website: SleepBetterFlorida.com/take-our-quiz.
Sleep apnea is a condition affecting more than 200,000 people in the U.S. each year. It causes patients to stop breathing for brief periods of time during sleep, which can lead to drowsiness that increases risk for auto and other accidents, as well as an increased risk of overall mortality, strokes and cancer.
“If you have symptoms of sleep apnea,” he says, “get tested or get treated.”
Obstructive sleep apnea is a medical condition, so those who see Dr. Nelson will be referred for evaluation at a sleep testing center, as well as to their primary care physician for diagnosis.
The standard treatment for obstructive sleep apnea has been to pump a continuous stream of air into a patient’s nose or mouth while sleeping. This method — using a Continuous Positive Air Pressure (or CPAP) system — is effective, but many people find the CPAP machine cumbersome and uncomfortable to use, Dr. Nelson says, resulting a high failure rate, usually due to patient non-compliance.
“We know that 50% of people who start on a CPAP give it up within a year,” explains Dr. Nelson, “so we provide an alternative to that.”
Instead of the unwieldy, scary-looking CPAP machine, Dr. Nelson makes an FDA approved oral appliance that is adjusted to position the tongue and jaw to allow greater airflow to the lungs while sleeping.
“Many people find the oral appliances more comfortable than the CPAP,” Dr. Nelson says, explaining that those who have been diagnosed with mild or moderate sleep apnea can begin using an oral appliance, while those who have severe sleep apnea should start with the CPAP. If they are not able to comfortably use the CPAP, they then become a candidate for an oral appliance. Nelson Dental Sleep Medicine does offer both types of appliances.
Ed Sapiega is one of Dr. Nelson’s patients, who first came to him about three years ago. Tired of the hassle of lugging his CPAP machine around while he traveled, Ed was thrilled with the appliance that Dr. Nelson made for him.
“I had lived with a CPAP machine for years,” Ed says, “The noises it made prevented my wife from sleeping almost as much as my snoring did.”
Recently, Ed’s original oral appliance broke, and he went back to Dr. Nelson for a new one. However, he found out that since he first became Dr. Nelson’s patient, an even better device (above) has become available.
“It’s quite fantastic,” he says. “It’s easy to use, and there’s no pain and no strain. I didn’t have to go through a process of learning to sleep with it.”
He says that while he was very happy with his first device, times have changed, and his new one, while from the same company, is much better.
“Compared to the CPAP, it’s very convenient and extremely effective,” Ed says. “Dr. Nelson is very good with these devices and keeps very current. I’m extremely pleased.”
Ed adds that Dr. Nelson was able to accommodate him very quickly, and he has nothing but good things to say about him. “He’s a very pleasant dentist and professional to deal with.”
Because the treatment is for a medical condition, Dr. Nelson and his staff help patients navigate the confusing world of medical insurance and accept Care Credit, which offers payment plans for those who have out-of-pocket expenses.
Nelson Dental Sleep Medicine is located at 26907 Foggy Creek Rd., Suite 101, in Wesley Chapel. To make an appointment or for additional information, visit SleepBetterFlorida.com or call (813) 733-4169.
