Tag: k-bar ranch

K-Bar Ranch Residents Get Updates From Viera At Latest Town Hall Meeting

District 7 Tampa City Council member Luis Viera (far right in photo above) says that, as the only still-growing community in New Tampa, he would prefer to hold his Town Hall meetings in K-Bar Ranch at least twice a year. But, even though his last Town Hall in K-Bar was a year and a week before, Viera did return again to the Amenity Center in K-Bar on Mar. 20 to provide updates to the residents of the community.

And, while about 50 K-Bar residents showed up at the meeting to voice their concerns and, in some cases, complaints about speeding, traffic and other issues in their community, Viera not only took the time to address those and other concerns — plus some of his own — he also brought director Marilyn Heldt and manager Miray Holmes from the city’s new Customer Experience Department to show the residents the best (and fastest) way to get their concerns to the right people.

One thing Viera brought up during his opening remarks was about his idea to place a “mobile” emergency vehicle in K-Bar.

“Among the major issues that I see out here are public safety and especially, fire safety,” Viera said. “There’s not a lot of calls in K-Bar — only maybe 100-150 a year, thank God, but when there are calls, we want to make sure that we can get to them on time. The challenge isn’t the number of calls out here, it’s the time it takes for us to get here. So, one of the things I’ve been trying to get out here is some sort of a dedicated ‘modular’ station actually in K-Bar Ranch, but Tampa Fire Rescue (TFR) chief Barbara Tripp is not on board with that right now.”

He added, “But, one thing that is going to happen is that there will be a dedicated rescue vehicle for K-Bar Ranch at Station No. 22 on Cross Creek Blvd. near Morris Bridge Rd., so that’s going to help. The challenge with it is that this dedicated unit will still have to go all the way to Kinnan- Mansfield to get into K-Bar Ranch and that is going to take time. And, one call that takes 12 minutes and someone loses their life or suffers a catastrophic injury is too many.”

He also noted that the other thing he’s working on with not only the city, but also Hillsborough County and TFR, is a possible cut-through on Morris Bridge Rd. that would take that fire truck or EMS vehicle from Station No. 22 up Morris Bridge and into K-Bar on K-Bar Ranch Pkwy.

“That would first have to be approved as a re-zoning by Tampa City Council, which could take anywhere from a year to a year-and-a-half,” he said.”As a long-time private sector guy before being elected to City Council, that’s one of the things that’s hard to deal with — how long things take when the government gets involved. It’s just something you have to deal with, though.”

He also provided an update on the long-planned K-Bar Ranch park. “It’s one of the things we did get into the proposed (fiscal year 2024) budget,” Viera said. “We’ve already gotten the New Tampa Rec Center expanded and added the All-Abilities autism park (both in Tampa Palms), so the third thing I want to get working on is the K-Bar Ranch park. It’s something that’s in the CIT (Community Investment Tax), which means it’s in the plans for the budget, which at least gets the ball rolling.”

Viera also said, “K-Bar Ranch is kind of the center of development in zip code 33647. The good news is that there isn’t much more new development coming to New Tampa. The bad news is…we’re full.”

Improving Customer Experience

Before turning the meeting over to questions from the residents, Viera introduced Holmes (left in photo below) and Heldt (right) to provide the residents with an update on the new Customer Experience department, what it does and how it can help the residents get their concerns in front of the right people in city government, and follow the progress of those concerns as they go through the governmental process.

Heldt, who said she had been working for the city for about seven years in the technology department before being named the director of Customer Experience “about a year ago,” said, “I’m more of the interpreter between the technology team and our other departments. That is my background, but improving customer experience is my passion.”

She also explained that when the city came up with this initiative, one of the big parts was strengthening resident services.

“To improve the customer experience, the first thing we needed to do was to replace the software, which was 20+ years old,” Heldt said. “It didn’t even have a mobile component…it was awful.”

Heldt also said that although her department and the software being used are still new, “We started out trying to think of what the citizens of Tampa wanted and how we can provide that for them. We want to be the city with the best possible customer experience. Some retail companies are good at customer experience, but government…not so much.”

She added that her department is coming out with a “robust training program this fall for all of our employees. Next, we want to figure out where the ‘pain points’ are for citizens — what’s taking too long. So, when you put in a service request to have someone come out to fix a pothole, we’ll offer an initial survey to ask you how your experience was putting in the request. Then, when the request closes out, we’ll survey you again to see how the process was for you getting that issue resolved.”

Heldt also noted that in order for her department to get the data they need to see how the city is responding to its customers, “Citizens have to use the system. Then, when we have enough data, we can start making those improvements.”

Holmes then handed out cards with a QR code so those in attendance at the meeting could access the new system to get registered and see how it works. Holmes said that the new system went live in November, “and since that time, we have had more than 12,000 new ‘Tampa Connect’ system requests, of which almost 1,000 are from 33647, where the number one request for service had to do with water. That makes sense, because when you move into your home, you have to connect to our water.”

Holmes then asked if any of the residents in attendance had used the new Tampa Connect system and one resident named Nick (in yellow in photo below) said he called to complain multiple times about speeding on Bassett Creek Dr. near Pride Elementary, but had not yet received a response. “The principal of Pride also called about it, but it doesn’t seem like anything has been done.”

To that, Holmes responded that her department can talk to the city’s mobility department to ask them why there hadn’t been a response. “But someone should have gotten back to you.”

Holmes also said that, for example, when you have a pothole on your street, “take a picture of it and upload it to the Tampa Connect system. The system will locate it and then ask you a few questions and once you upload your contact information, someone will respond about that pothole. Once you’ve uploaded your information, you’re given a case number and then, you’re able to track that request through until it is resolved.”

Other Issues

Viera then noted that although he’s OK with sending taxpayer dollars to help people in need, he was the only “No” vote when City Council voted to give $25 million in taxpayer funds to the Straz Center for the Performing Arts and $10 million to the Tampa Museum of Art, “not because I don’t value the arts but because our roads are falling apart and that money would be better spent improving our neighborhoods.”

Nick, who said his father was a Tampa Police (TPD) Officer for more than 20 years, also asked about why the 911 call system still doesn’t automatically connect to someone who can dispatch help, apparently because of all the new homes in both New Tampa and Wesley Chapel and the cross-jurisdictions of Tampa, Hillsborough and Pasco. He also noted that although Meadow Pointe residents successfully fought connecting Kinnan St. to Mansfield Blvd., now that Meadow Pointe Blvd. is connecting to K-Bar Ranch Pkwy., “We have a lot of people coming from Pasco and there’s a lot more speeding on our roads.”

Viera said he is trying to arrange a meeting with Dist. 2 Pasco County Commissioner Seth Weightman to discuss those jurisdictional line issues, not only in K-Bar but also along County Line Rd.

One resident who didn’t give their name also complained that although Tampa Police officers are out with their radar guns during the day to give K-Bar residents speeding tickets, “they’re not out here at night when there are people drag racing on our streets.”

Another resident who didn’t give her name asked that when Viera meets with Comm. Weightman if they could again discuss opening Kinnan-Mansfield and the possibility of putting a roundabout at the location. “We also need a roundabout at Bassett Creek Dr. at Kinnan to slow folks down, because stop signs don’t slow folks down.” That resident thanked Viera, “You’re a good listener. Thanks to you, we have gotten stop signs, we’ve gotten lines on our roads and speed limits reduced the last two years.”

Another idea Viera had to help cut down on speeding, thanks to a new law passed in Tallahassee, is to install speed cameras in school zones. He said, “I’m against speed cameras in general, but not in school zones, during school hours. I proposed passing that ordinance to City Council.”

After taking questions for almost an hour, Viera said he was going to try to get set up a call with himself, five of the people at the Town Hall meeting and Vik Bhide from the city’s Mobility Dept., to discuss all of the road issues in K-Bar. He also plans to come back to K-Bar in June to meet with Tampa Palms resident and Hillsborough School Board member Jessica Vaughn to discuss the traffic situation around Pride.

Viera, City Officials Talk K-Bar Ranch At Town Hall Meeting

District 7 Tampa City Council member Luis Viera says that he feels it’s necessary to host Town Hall meetings in K-Bar Ranch — New Tampa’s only major community that is still growing — at least twice each year.

“There’s so much growth happening in K-Bar, and the residents have so many critical needs when it comes to mobility, fire and public safety issues,” Viera told about a dozen K-Bar Ranch residents at his most recent Town Hall on Mar. 13. For that reason, he added that, “It’s important to bring as many city officials as possible — as often as possible — to K-Bar.

To that end, Viera brought with him Tampa Police Department (TPD) Dist. 2 Major Brett Owen, Tampa Fire rescue (TFR) District Chief Bob Brown and traffic safety coordinator William Porth from the city’s Transportation Mobility Dept.

Each of the speakers made a brief presentation and took questions from the residents in attendance at the meeting.

Here are some of the highlights of that Mar. 13 Town Hall event:

• Porth was the first speaker, as Viera said, “There’s always a new stop sign that needs to be added here,” and other transportation issues to deal with as K-Bar continues to grow. Porth mentioned that since the last time he visited New Tampa, “I have been named the construction project coordinator for the city’s ‘Vision Zero’ campaign,” which is working to reduce the number of traffic fatalities in the city to zero. It’s a lofty goal, but we’re going to continue to work on that.”

Porth also said that three new stop signs have been installed along K-Bar Ranch Pkwy., “which pretty soon, will connect through to Morris Bridge Rd.” He noted, however, that as the community gets closer to its build-out, “we may have to remove those stop signs.” Porth also said that the city is looking at increasing the speed limit on K-Bar Ranch Pkwy. from 30 to 35 miles per hour (mph), “because we agree that the speed limit is a little low, although if we raise it to 35, people will go at least 40 mph.” He also said the city is considering reducing the speed limit north of Pride Elementary to 15 mph.

In addition, Viera said he plans to meet soon with new Dist. 2 Pasco County Commissioner Seth Weightman (who replaced Mike Moore) regarding not only the Tampa-Hillsborough-Pasco connection at Kinnan St.-Mansfield Blvd., but also at two other planned road connections.

Also discussed was the possibility of adding a stop sign or, preferably (according to Porth) a traffic signal where Live Oak Preserve residents access Kinnan St.

• Viera also mentioned that of the 24 TFR stations in the city, four of the six stations located in New Tampa’s 33647 zip code, “have the city’s slowest response times.” TFR’s Brown mentioned that $1 million of the city’s public safety funding has been spent in New Tampa, including what is known as a “heavy rescue unit” at Station No. 21 on Cross Creek Blvd., “so we don’t have to wait for the unit downtown to be able to cut people out of their vehicles.” Stations 23 (in the Grand Hampton area) and 21 also have had their Basic Life Support ambulances replaced with upgraded Advanced Life Support units.

• Meanwhile, TPD’s Owen said that although there is “almost no crime out here” in New Tampa, “most of the calls we get are either about people speeding or kids going through people’s yards.” He also noted that there has been “about a minute increase in response times here, which may not seem like a lot, but it is a concern for us that we’re working to correct.”

• Viera also talked about the opening of one of his pet projects — the New Tampa All-Abilities Park in Tampa Palms — as well as the fact that there is land that is owned by the city in K-Bar that could become a new park, but it would be operated by the county. “But, I do believe New Tampa needs more city-run parks out here,” he said.

He also mentioned that the repaving of Tampa Palms Blvd. has begun and that New Tampa Blvd. in West Meadows will be next. And finally, Viera noted how important it is for all New Tampa residents to cast a ballot in the upcoming Municipal Runoff Election on April 25, where three citywide City Council seats will be filled.

k-bar ranch Luis Viera New Tampa politics

School Traffic Remains A Concern In K-Bar Ranch

Like almost every school in Tampa, Pride Elementary has traffic issues during drop-off and pick-up times.

Residents in K-Bar Ranch whose children attend the school may be receiving some relief, as the city and county are conducting a number of projects and studies in the area.

In another of Tampa City Council member Luis Viera’s community meetings on Aug. 22, residents had many of their concerns addressed by a panel of experts that the District 7 representative assembled, including Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan (who represents the New Tampa area for the county in Dist. 2), Dist. 6 Hillsborough School Board member Karen Perez and transportation and mobility experts from the city and county.

The hour-long meeting seemed to provide the answers, or reassurance that answers were being sought, that came from roughly 50 residents in attendance.

• The long-awaited Meadow Pointe Blvd. connector to K-Bar Ranch Pkwy. is now open, officially. It opened Aug. 30, a week after the meeting, but those in attendance were already told it would only be a matter of days.

The new connection now allows area residents a quick 4- or 5-minute drive to S.R. 56, just east of the Shops at Wiregrass. AdventHealth Wesley Chapel Hospital, I-75 and the Winn-Dixie and Super Target on County Line Rd. also are now a much shorter trip.

Other connections which were planned for years are coming, Vik Bhide, the City of Tampa chief traffic management engineer said, but it may take a while for any of them to open. Other topics of discussion included:

• K-Bar residents still pine for a Kinnan St.-Mansfield Blvd. connection, which is now open only to emergency response vehicles and police. Area residents always bring up the topic, and this meeting was no different. They were told by Viera and Hagan to pin their hopes on the recent primary elections. Pasco County commissioner Mike Moore, a strong opponent of the connection, is leaving office, and his anticipated replacement Seth Weightman (the Republican nominee facing only a write-in candidate on Nov. 8) may be more amenable to the idea of opening the connection to all traffic, although that remains an unlikely scenario.

• Street lights may be on the way for Kinnan St., which runs north from Cross Creek Blvd. past Pride and to entrances at both K-Bar Ranch and Live Oak Preserve. At past meetings, residents have complained that the street is dangerous due to speeders, which is heightened by the lack of lighting. According to Josh Bellotti, the Hillsborough County director of engineering and operations, the county is working closely with Tampa Electric (TECO) and coming up with designs. “A rough estimate is that in about six months, I think you’ll see lights,” Bellotti said.

• It was suggested that the school zone be extended around Pride Elementary, and speed limits in the area be made more uniform. That continues to be studied by the City of Tampa.

• A Hillsborough County traffic study is under way in advance of the possibility of a massive upgrade of Cross Creek Park, which would include an indoor recreation center, updated playgrounds and outdoor basketball courts, a new parking lot and other amenities. The rec center and other amenities, which will cost roughly $8-million, would be built next to Pride, an area of high traffic in the morning and afternoons.

“I want to address the community transportation problem on the front end so we don’t exacerbate it,” said Commissioner Hagan. “This is a real opportunity to improve the current situation.”

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Slower Speeds, More Signs On K-Bar Ranch’s Wish List

Residents of K-Bar Ranch, the still-developing community in the northeastern corner of New Tampa, have had their fair share of traffic growing pains — from speed limits they want reduced to traffic logjams and safety issues in front of Pride Elementary to a perceived need for additional stop signs along K-Bar Ranch Pkwy.

After months of studies and back-and-forth emails between the City of Tampa and some residents, it appears that some of their wishes may be granted.

At a community meeting hosted by District 7 Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera and attended by other city officials and about 50 K-Bar residents, a number of future changes were unveiled.

City of Tampa traffic safety coordinator William Porth and chief traffic management engineer Vik Bhide told residents that the city will begin reducing the speeds on parts of Wild Tamarind Dr. and Bassett Creek Dr. from 35 miles per hour to 30, with some reductions within the subdivisions as well.

“Bassett Creek was posted at 35 when nobody was out here,” Porth said. “Things have obviously changed.”

Porth also said the city will be putting in all-way stops at two of the busier intersections on K-Bar Ranch Pkwy., the primary east-west thoroughfare that runs through the community.

As for fixing the issues at Pride, Porth said that would require some studies but that hopefully within the next few months that could be addressed as well. Some of the residents asked that the issue be fixed prior to start of the 2022-23 school year in August.

City of Tampa Fire Chief Barbara Tripp also attended the meeting, and told residents that the City was working on improving response times to the difficult-to-reach, quickly-growing area.

The response-time goal, she said, is 90 percent of the time to be on scene in 8.5 minutes or less and, to achieve that, the City is considering stationing a mobile unit in the area, or providing a new access road off Morris Bridge Rd.

Right now, Kinnan St. is the only way into the western end of K-Bar Ranch via Cross Creek Blvd.

Not surprisingly, that led to residents complaining about the community’s lack of egress, and a few of them suggested that an old controversy be revisited.

Susan Cali, the K-Bar Ranch II clubhouse manager, said with the connection to Meadow Pointe Blvd. getting closer to opening, maybe the long-fought-over Kinnan St. connection to Mansfield Blvd., which is only available to emergency vehicles, could be opened to traffic as well.

“We think timing-wise it might be a good time to revisit,” Cali said. “With Meadow Pointe Blvd. opening, it won’t be like all the pressure is on Kinnan-Mansfield.”

Some in the crowd suggested a boycott of Wesley Chapel businesses if Pasco County wasn’t willing to revisit the issue. Others suggested building a coalition of those in favor of opening the road from both sides of the county line.

Viera told the crowd he didn’t see Pasco County agreeing to reconsider Kinnan-Mansfield. Even though one of the connection’s biggest opponents, District 2 Pasco commissioner Mike Moore, is stepping down in November, Viera said he will likely be replaced with someone holding the same views.

“We’d like to make (Kinnan-Mansfield) happen,” Viera said, “but you can’t dance without a partner.”

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Meadow Pointe Blvd. To K-Bar Ranch Connection Slated For July

K-Bar Ranch is tucked away in the northeasternmost part of Hillsborough County, with pretty much only one way in and one way out. However, another option is finally on the way.

This July, a road connecting K-Bar Ranch Pkwy. to Wesley Chapel’s Meadow Pointe Blvd. is expected to be completed and open to vehicular traffic. K-Bar Ranch Pkwy. is an east-west road that runs just south of the Pasco-Hillsborough county line through New Tampa’s K-Bar Ranch from Kinnan St. to, eventually, Morris Bridge Rd.

City of Tampa chief traffic management engineer and head of the Smart Mobility Division Vik Bhide confirmed during a Tampa City Council workshop that construction on the final stage of the Pasco County side of the planned connector road will begin soon.

“The developer (M/I Homes) has already secured permits from Pasco County for that work and will be moving forward with it,” Bhide said. “We are coordinating with Pasco County (its planning and engineering departments).”

Mike Moore, the Pasco County Commissioner for District 2, which includes all of Meadow Pointe, said he hasn’t received a recent update and was looking into it, but he has received a few emails complaining about the connection being made.

However, there haven’t been nearly as many complaints as those who flooded Moore’s inbox and helped prevent a connection being approved further west at Kinnan St. in New Tampa to Mansfield Blvd. in Meadow Pointe. That debate, which raged for a decade, was settled following a roadways study that ended with the two roads being connected with a first responders-only safety arm, monitored by Pasco County.

The study preferred a New Tampa-Wesley Chapel connection to Meadow Pointe Blvd., claiming it would be the better choice.

K-Bar residents have been clamoring for the connection to Pasco County, which would allow easier travel north to the S.R. 56 corridor, which includes shopping, restaurants and the Shops at Wiregrass. It also will offer another way out of their community.

Currently, residents of the western portion of K-Bar Ranch would have to take Kinnan St. south to Cross Creek Blvd., then west to Bruce B. Downs Blvd., then north towards Wesley Chapel.

When K-Bar Ranch was planned, Bhide says, four northbound access points to Pasco County were envisioned. The connection to Meadow Pointe Blvd. will be only be the second one to actually be completed, along with the first responder connection at Kinnan St. and Mansfield Blvd.

However, that Kinnan connection to Mansfield Blvd. is only available to the public via walking or biking.

A third connection, further east at Wyndfields Blvd. in Pasco, and a fourth connection when K-Bar Ranch Pkwy. is completed all the way to Morris Bridge Rd., won’t be ready for at least two more years, according to Bhide.

“Our recommendation, in light of the access needs in this area, is to open that up for traffic,” Bhide said. “The reason is….we feel the more access, the better. After hearing neighborhood concerns about public access and mobility, this would be the right thing to do.”

There is no question it will mean more vehicles on Meadow Pointe Blvd., which is a concern to some.

“It will increase traffic,” Bhide admitted. “However, we think it will be a two-way benefit.”

k-bar ranch Meadow Points Blvd.