Traffic, traffic traffic at townhall

About 100 local residents attended the Nov. 16 town hall meeting at St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church to voice their concerns to local governmental officials. (Photo: John C. Cotey)


If you put 100 residents of New Tampa in a room and ask them what they would like to see fixed most in this community, there’s a pretty good chance the majority will have a simple response:

Traffic.

It was no surprise, then, that when District 7 Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera held his second New Tampa Town Hall Nov. 16, with Hillsborough County District 5 (countywide) commissioner Ken Hagan, discussions about traffic dominated the conversation.

Whether it was the right-hand turn off Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. onto Cross Creek Blvd., the connection of Kinnan St. in Cross Creek to Mansfield Blvd. in Meadow Pointe, the construction on BBD or even residents speeding along Kinnan St., local residents gathered at The Venetian Events Center at St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church on Cross Creek Blvd. wanted to know what solutions they could expect.

Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera (left) and Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan hosted the November 16 town hall meeting at St. Mark’s. (Photo: John C. Cotey)

Even New Tampa’s East-West connector roadway (E-W Rd.) project that was effectively killed in 2008 by the Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway Authority, got some run, thanks to the first speaker of the night, William Martello. A 15-year New Tampa resident, Martello lamented the failed E-W Rd. project.

That project, which evolved into basically a public-private partnership (P3) venture, was a 3-mile toll road that would have connected New Tampa Blvd. in West Meadows through Tampa Palms Areas 3 and 5 to a new interchange on Interstate 275.

The project was nixed due to the objections of residents in both West Meadows and Tampa Palms, and fear of high tolls. Though dormant for years, the E-W Rd.  remains in the Tampa-Hillsborough Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO)’s long-range plan.

Ken Hagan

Long-time local resident Jim Davison — who has run unsuccessfully for City Council against Viera and for the County Commission against Hagan, said the city or one of its affiliates is taking another look at the feasibility and affordability of the project. Davison hinted that he had a plan, which he will reveal after the holidays, that would show the city how it could pay for both the E-W Rd. and light rail for a mere tax increase of half a cent.

Hagan has been a proponent of the E-W Rd., and said he would like to see the proposal rise from the ashes and get another look.

Other options to relieve congestion on Cross Creek Blvd., Martello suggested, would be widening Morris Bridge Rd. northbound starting at Cross Creek, although widening it southbound is a near impossibility.

Martello also suggested extending Cross Creek through Morris Bridge to US 301 in Thonotosassa.

Hagan confessed to never hearing anyone ever suggest that idea before, but said he would look into it.

Naturally, the connection of Kinnan St. to Mansfield Blvd. in Meadow Pointe came up, although it did not dominate the discussion, due to complaints about several other roads in the area.

One female speaker, who did not give her name, asked Viera and Hagan what was being done behind the scenes to get Kinnan connected to Mansfield, which many say will ease traffic on BBD and help local businesses.

Viera and Hagan had little new to offer. Truth is, at the moment, the connection lies in the hands of Pasco County, which has commissioned a study to determine if melding Mansfield and Kinnan is worthwhile. According to Pasco County commissioner Mike Moore, most of the Pasco residents he has heard from are opposed to the connection because of the potential of increased traffic.

The Pasco study also is looking at two other connections between Wesley Chapel and New Tampa through K-Bar Ranch, but none can be done as quickly, nor would provide the relief for BBD, or the convenience, that a Kinnan-Mansfield connection would offer. That study is supposed to be completed by the end of this year.

“Kinnan has always been planned to open up,’’ Hagan said. “Pasco said that as soon as (Mansfield) was completed to Wiregrass, it would be connected. They reneged on that.”

Hagan, who spearheaded a $250,000 commitment by Hillsborough’s BOCC to build the connection, even suggested looking into using eminent domain to get the roads connected.

“We are doing whatever we can,’’ Hagan said. 

Speaking on Kinnan, K-Bar Ranch resident April Ingram may be one of those in New Tampa opposed to the connection unless safeguards are put in place.

She gave an impassioned plea for drivers along Kinnan St. to watch their speeds, and for the enforcement of traffic laws. Ingram said she and her 9-year-old son fear walking or biking around that area of New Tampa.

“We have almost been mowed down several times on Kinnan,” she said. “I’ve seen cars driving 50 mph through here. I live here so I can go outside, with my son, to ride bikes, to walk. And every day, I am scared to death we are going to be hit by a car.”

Although no one else spoke on this topic, a few people in the room nodded their heads.

Afterwards, another woman came up to Ingram to tell her she totally agreed. She said sometimes, she too wonders, “Is somebody going to die today?”

Ingram also criticized the drivers trying to make a  right turn onto Cross Creek from BBD for cutting off other drivers and essentially creating a second turn lane that backs up traffic all the way past the Hunter’s Green entrance.

A USF employee, Ingram said she now takes Morris Bridge Rd. home (instead of the BBD exit off I-75) because, “it can take 40 minutes trying to take a right onto Cross Creek.”

Ingram thinks a few tickets might end the problem, but has been disappointed to see a lack of enforcement by the Tampa Police Department. Hagan noted that he was stuck in that same traffic on his way to the town hall.

Viera said the city is currently studying the lights at the busy intersection in hopes of resolving the traffic build-up.

New Tampa resident Jeffrey Blank was on Ingram’s side as well.

“I’m from New York and New Jersey, so I’m used to traffic in Manhattan,’’ Blank said. “That  intersection? It makes Manhattan look good.”

Blank’s solution? Think ahead.

“Why don’t the county and city account for the traffic new developments are going to bring (before approving them), instead of waiting until it’s too late?,” he asked.

It might have been the best question of the night.

School’s In: Things To Know

After a somewhat tumultuous spring, with several changes being implemented or announced — including new attendance boundaries for many New Tampa schools, busing and bell schedules — things are seeming to calm down as students and parents adjust to new routines.

Here’s what’s new for the 2017-18 school year in New Tampa, with more changes on the horizon for the following school year, including the rezoning of Clark, Heritage, Hunter’s Green and Pride elementary schools.

New Principals At Two Schools

While their official start dates were late last spring, two principals are looking forward to starting off the school year with new schools in our area.

Cindy Land is the new principal at Turner/Bartels K-8 School.

At Turner/Bartels K-8 School, principal Cindy Land replaced Jonathan Grantham, who left to become a deputy superintendent of schools in Marion County. Land had been principal at Pride Elementary since 2009 and prior to that, worked at Chiles.

“It’s definitely a blessing to be promoted to this position,” says Land, who lives in Live Oak Preserve and whose three sons will all attend Turner/Bartels this school year. “This is the neighborhood school for my children.”

She says that while her new school includes middle school grades six through eight, she sees a lot of similarities between  Turner/Bartels and Pride.

“We have a diverse population,” she says. “Parents are very interested in their children’s education, they participate and volunteer and are supportive. I also see that the community seems to really embrace the school. I’m excited to be here and to bring the school and community together,” she says.

Land’s departure from Pride left a vacancy there that has been filled by Amy Zilbar.

For the last four years, Zilbar was a principal coach for the school district, working with new principals and supporting them and others in leadership development. She says her position at Pride is a homecoming, of sorts.

Amy Zilbar replaces Cindy Land as principal at Pride Elementary.

“Early in my career, I worked at Hunter’s Green teaching first grade and as an administrative resource teacher,” she says. “Back then, the only schools in the area were Hunter’s Green, Clark and Tampa Palms.”

While Zilbar says she loved working as a principal coach, she’s happy to be back at a school site, “to put into practice all the things we have been working on,” she says.

“This school has been absolutely wonderful,” Zilbar adds. “Everyone has been so welcoming, from the teachers, to the PTA, to the community, and especially the students have been amazing.”

She says she looks forward to continuing the level of academic excellence already in place at Pride — a consistently A-rated school by the State Department of Education — and to building even more partnerships and traditions there.

Courtesy Busing Ends For Some

As school is getting under way, more New Tampa students will be walking and biking to area middle and high schools.

Many middle and high school students who have received courtesy busing (a bus to a school that is less than two miles from a student’s home) in the past will no longer have bus transportation provided by the Hillsborough County School District.

The responsibility of transportation is now on the parents, so expect further crowding of the roads, as parents who don’t want their children walking or biking will be driving to and from school, too.

However, for Wharton High students who live across Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. from the school, bus transportation will still be available for this school year.

Jamie Warrington, transportation and safety manager for Hillsborough County Public Schools, says that now that BBD is under construction to go to eight lanes in front of the school, it is considered a hazard for students to cross. Once that construction has been completed, BBD’s eight lanes will still be considered a hazard, so the bus transportation for those students will continue.

At our press time, the affected students had not yet been notified of the change, and the school district’s website has not been updated to reflect it, but Warrington says parents will be notified by email before school starts.

To find out if your child will be provided bus transportation to their school for this school year, visit http://www.sdhc.k12.fl.us/doc/445/transportation/resources/busroutes/.

It also is expected that the School Board will end courtesy busing for elementary school students for the 2018-19 school year.

New Bell Schedule For Turner/Bartels K-8 School

All of the schools in our area will have the same school hours as last year, except for Turner/Bartels K-8, where the school day will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. this school year.

Back in the spring, school officials proposed changing the bell schedules countywide to allow more time for buses to get students to school on time, but were met with such backlash that they put off the change for all schools countywide until next school year, 2018-19.

Through Friday, August 25, the school district is again accepting feedback on adjusting the school schedule ahead of the School Board’s final vote on the matter, which is expected to be held on Tuesday, October 17.

The District is asking parents, students, employees and members of the community to download and use an Excel spreadsheet “simulator” to “try out” different school start and dismissal times (using formulas in the spreadsheet that ensure each scenario meets appropriate number of minutes in the school day, along with not starting too early or late).

Then, people can submit their suggestions for start and end times by emailing their completed spreadsheet back to district staff.

To check out the start time simulator, click the link on the school district’s home page at SDHC.k12.fl.us or go directly to SDHC.k12.fl.us/doc/1985/administration/resources/bellsimulator/.

New Tampa DoE School Grades Are Still Among The County’s Best

School grades have been announced for the 2016-17 school year. Of the 12 public schools located in New Tampa, most maintained their grades from the 2015-16 school year. However, two schools — Liberty Middle School and Tampa Palms Elementary — improved by a letter grade, while just one school, Heritage Elementary, dropped a letter grade.

Letter grades are assigned by the State of Florida Department of Education, based on statewide standardized assessments. High schools also have a graduation component, based on how many students graduate in four years. The letter grades then reflect the percentage of points received, of the total number of available points.

Both New Tampa middle schools are now rated A, with Benito maintaining its A rating and Liberty improving from a B.

Turner/Bartels K-8 School maintained its B rating.

Congrats to Chiles Elementary in Tampa Palms, which earned an “A” grade from the State of Florida Department of Education for the 15th straight year, and scored the highest among New Tampa schools in English Language Arts Achievement, Mathematics Achievement and Science Achievement.

Of the elementary schools in the area, Chiles, Clark and Pride all maintained their A ratings, with Tampa Palms jumping up from last year’s B. Hunter’s Green maintained its C rating, and now Heritage is the second elementary school in our area to also be rated C.

Both high schools in our area, Freedom and Wharton, maintained the C grades they received last year.

While the school grading system has many critics, they are widely used by parents as a measure of how well their child’s school is performing.

“The school grades are a snapshot based on school grade calculations and assessments which are subject to change by the state,” says Tanya Arja, a spokesperson for Hillsborough County Public Schools.

“While we celebrate the successes and look for ways to improve,” she continues, “a parent really needs to look at how well their child is doing and if they are making gains. Parents can get a much clearer picture of the education their child is receiving at a school by touring a school, getting involved and talking with the teachers and administrators to see the hard work they put in every day to ensure student success.”

School Board Approves Rezoning Plan: New Tampa Families Brace For Changes

Note: This story has been updated since it was written for the May 19 printed issue of Neighborhood News.

The Hillsborough County School Board met on May 16 and approved a rezoning plan that has had many parents up in arms and many others pleased since it was announced in March.

The plan will shift hundreds of students currently attending Pride, Heritage, Hunter’s Green and Clark elementaries for the school year that begins in August, 2018.

After nearly 20 speakers addressed the Board (14 speakers in favor of rezoning and 4 speakers opposed), the Board discussed the proposal at length before voting 6-1 in favor of the rezoning plan. While acknowledging the inconvenience to some parents and the discomfort of change, the Board ultimately chose to move forward with the plan.

Prior to the vote, school district representatives discussed implementation plans that were released online May 4, allowing many families who don’t want to leave Pride Elementary an option to stay there.

• Students who want to move to their new school early, for the upcoming 2017-18 school year (instead of 2018-19, when the changes are proposed to take effect) will have a special choice application to do so between July 11-20, if capacity is available.

• Students currently in 3rd grade (who will be in 5th grade when the plan is implemented) will be allowed to remain at their current school by completing a special choice application.

• Because capacity is expected to be available at Pride, students currently in grades 1-3 at Pride will be eligible to enter a special lottery to remain at Pride for the 2018-19 school year. The lottery will be conducted based on available capacity (estimated 150 seats) and will likely be held next spring or summer.

• No preference will be available for younger siblings of students who fit the above categories.

• School choice will be closed for all schools involved in this proposal for the first year of implementation, with the exception of the special choice applications listed above and hardship applications, which will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

• Transportation is generally not provided to students who are “grandfathered” into their current school or those who choose to opt in to their new school early.

“At Pride, we know we’ll have some space available for some period of time while K-Bar Ranch is being built out,” says Lorraine Duffy Suarez, Hillsborough County Public Schools general manager for growth management. “As long as we have space to accommodate people, we try to, if it doesn’t have a negative effect somewhere else down the line.”

The update provided on May 4 also outlined a slight revision to the original proposal. Students who live in the Addison Park apartments at the corner of Cross Creek Blvd. and Kinnan St. will be moved from Heritage to Pride, to better balance the enrollments at those two schools.

This is in addition to the previously released changes, which make room for expected growth in K-Bar Ranch over the coming years by shifting students in the following ways:

• More than 550 students who are currently bused to Clark and Hunter’s Green from the area surrounding the University of South Florida move to schools in their neighborhood.

• More than 550 students move from Pride to Hunter’s Green (Arbor Greene and Cory Lake Isles residents)

• Nearly 200 students move from Hunter’s Green to Clark (residents of the Morgan Creek apartments)

• About 200 move from Heritage to Pride (K-Bar Ranch and Addison Park residents; Easton Park residents will stay at Heritage)

More information about the proposal and implementation strategies are on the school district’s website at sdhc.k12.fl.us/doc/251/growth-management/resources/boundary/.

Bell Schedule Changes

At its meeting on April 25, the Hillsborough School Board voted to approve changes to the bell schedule for the 2018-19 school year, giving parents time to adjust to new start and end times for most schools.

School superintendent Jeff Eakins says the changes are necessary to allow time for buses to get kids to school on time. The new schedule will add 15 minutes to the school day at the elementary level, which is expected to be filled with additional time for art, music, and physical education. Middle school students lose 15 minutes and high school students lose 32 minutes. Both middle and high schools will keep their seven-period schedules, but may see the elimination of homeroom, a shorter time for lunch, and class periods may be reduced by a minute or two.

For New Tampa elementary schools — including Chiles, Clark, Heritage, Hunter’s Green, Pride and Tampa Palms — the school day will start at 8:35 a.m. and end at 3:05 p.m. beginning in the fall of 2018. At Benito and Liberty middle schools, the school day will start at 9:15 a.m. and end at 4:15 p.m. At Freedom and Wharton high schools, the day will start at 7:15 a.m. and end at 2:10 p.m. Monday will continue to be an early release day, with students being dismissed one hour early.

For students at Turner/Bartels K-8 school, bell times for the 2018-19 school year are still “to be determined.” The District will survey parents this fall and release information about new bell times during the next school year.

Feel At Home At Kiran Indian Grocery Store On Cross Creek Blvd.

With more than 8,000 items in a store of only 1,200 sq. ft., you might be surprised at the variety of products available at Kiran Indian Grocery. You’ll find everything from beauty products to Masala spice mixes and delicious chocolate, juices and cookies.

EVEN IF you’re not originally from the sub-continent of India, even if you’ve never really loved Indian food, I know you’ll find something you like or want or need if you visit the Kiran Indian Grocery, located on Cross Creek Blvd. in the Cross Creek Center plaza, next to Saffron Indian Cuisine.

The one thing I know for sure is that you won’t find better people than the owners, Kiran and Sudeer (photo on this page; I won’t even try to spell their last name correctly).

Although Kiran is the one who is almost always at the store, she gives credit to Sudeer, a software engineer who handles the books for the popular, albeit tiny (1,200-sq.-ft.) grocery for being “my support system, my partner.”

Theirs is a story of true love so unique that Sudeer wrote a novel (his first) about their life together called No Big Deal. If you think the Indian people are boring because they’re usually so polite and proper, read this book. Sudeer approaches their often difficult life together with the same genuine sweetness and sense of humor he and his wife always show in person. 

What About The Store?

Kiran opened her first store in the Pebble Creek Collection in 2003. She moved it to E. Fowler Ave. in 2010, but found a new location where more of her original New Tampa customers could more easily visit on Cross Creek Blvd. in 2014.

“Really, all of my customers who still live here have followed me wherever I have opened,” says Kiran. “I love my customers and always remember the products they purchase, even if it’s been years since I’ve seen them.”

In other words, if you previously were a customer at either of Kiran’s previous two locations, don’t be surprised if she remembers you by what you bought at her store. She is an absolute expert at knowing what products to stock for her customers, which is no small feat, as the people in every state in India don’t just have different cuisines, they actually speak entirely different languages from each other. That means that Kiran has to learn enough of these other languages to stock as many of the products as possible that people from every part of the world’s second most populous country (as well as from Pakistan and Middle eastern countries, too; she even has an assortment of Halal meats) will purchase.

“I feel a little like a doctor,” Kiran says. “I have had to learn enough of these other languages to know how to stock many of the same items made by different companies because my customers won’t buy the same products from different parts of India than the ones they grew up with.”

In other words, if you’re looking for Masala spice mixes, teas and even rice, Kiran crams about 8,000 items into her little store, including multiple brand names and options from virtually every part of India to satisfy her customers.

I’m not knowledgeable enough about India or the different cuisines favored by each area to know anything about what to buy at Kiran Indian Grocery. The good news is that Kiran does. Every time I visited the store to research this story, she gave me different items to sample, from fresh cilantro, Indian radishes and cucumbers to some of the most delicious chocolate and cookies you’ll find anywhere (more on all of that sweet stuff below).

I consider myself to be relatively adventurous when it comes to trying different foods, but I’ve never been partial to any kind of curry or chutney, which of course, are among the staples of many Indian cuisines. To date, I have enjoyed the frozen veggie and chicken-and-veggie samosas Kiran has given me to sample, and her fresh fruits and vegetables (some of which are organic) are always outstanding.

I have brought back coconut milk, mango juices and items like the peanut chikki bars (sort of like peanut brittle), spicy cashews, pickles and surprisingly salty dried banana chips for everyone in the office to sample and I have enjoyed the unique lower-glycemic-index basmati rice Kiran suggested for those who have or are trying to avoid getting diabetes.

But, there’s no doubt that my favorite items at Kiran Indian Grocery are the Indian and British versions of such standards as Kit-Kat and Cadbury bars, which definitely taste better than their American counterparts, as well as chocolate wafer cookies and sandwich cookies known as “bourbon cremes,” which look like rectangular Oreos but taste a hundred times better. Yes, if you have a sophisticated sweet tooth, Kiran Indian Grocery is the place for you.

Kiran also stocks a variety of beauty products that Indian people use at the front of the store.

Speaking Of Sweet Things…

Before I ever stepped into her current store, I already had started getting to know Kiran because she is a member of the same Rotary Club of New Tampa Noon that I belong to as well.

But, while I try to help our Rotary Club by promoting its events, Kiran actually lives the Rotary International motto of “Service Above Self” every day.

Kiran’s high school teacher is a member of a Rotary Club in India that has been trying to help children from her area of India who have a particular skin condition they get from often unsanitary conditions at their school. Kiran has gotten our Rotary Club to buy plates, tablecloths, napkins and glasses for the school as an international service project and is using her own money build benches for the children, so they don’t have to sit on the floor at school.

“I tell my customers that they helped pay for those benches,” Kiran says with her always-sweet-smile. “I couldn’t do it without them spending money here.”

She also provides ongoing financial support for the Humane Society of Tampa, to make sure the animals kept at the shelter are properly bathed and have their shots. “I tell them to just charge my credit card when they need something,” she says. “I just love animals.”

Kiran Indian Grocery (10042 Cross Creek Blvd.) is open 10 a.m.-8 p.m. every day (until 9 p.m. on Fri.-Sat.). For info, call (813) 994-6202 or see the ad on pg. 42.