Public Hearing For Expansion of Valrico Rec Center
HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY NEWS
FOR IMMEDIATE USE
March 5, 2009
Public Meeting Scheduled to Discuss the Proposed
Phase II of the Development of the Valrico Recreation Center
Hillsborough County will hold a public meeting to discuss Phase II of the Development of the Valrico Recreation Center. Read more
Brandon ‘86 Rotary Club Celebrates
By De’ger Saner
Brandon ‘86 Rotary Club held its annual charity check presentations and gave over $25,000 to eight charities in December, which included $10,000 for Brandon Outreach Clinic, a matching grant partnering with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida.
“This gift was made at the request of the Brandon ‘86 Rotary Club,” wrote Susan B. Towler, Blue Cross and Blue Shield vice president of Community Affairs in her letter to the Brandon Outreach Clinic. “When we were informed of the grant from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida for the Outreach Clinic, the board voted to match the grant request up to the maximum award,” said Brandon ’86 Rotary President-elect Becky Jordan. “We are proud to support all of our charities.”
Representing Brandon Outreach Clinic, Director Debbie Meegan and Dr. Stephen Parks received the $10,000 check and thanked Brandon ‘86 Rotary Club for its support. Parks went on to address all the charities present at the meeting and said, “I feel as if Brandon ‘86 and all the charities here today are partners working to better this community. I am honored to be here with all the other charities.”
“We saw about 1,800 patients and provided over 4,200 prescriptions in 2007,” Parks said. “Debbie Meegan deserves much credit here because she runs the clinic with the passion to help people desperate for medical care, and groups like Brandon ‘86 help us keep it going.”
Other charity organizations that received checks included the I Am Hope Café, which fed over 11,000 people this year, Carefly, a group of pilots who fly patients to destinations where they can get medical help for free, Young Life, an organization which reaches out to hundreds of middle and high school students in need or in trouble, Campo Family YMCA of Brandon, which continuously runs charitable programs for the needy, ECHO, an organization which feeds the hungry in overwhelming numbers, Every Day Blessings, an adoption agency which helps less fortunate families and kids, and the New Horizons non-profit group, which continues to build or repair homes for families in need.
“Last month we got 60 percent [increase in] new people who came to ask for help,” said Stacy Efaw of ECHO. “With all the food donations, we did not turn one person away because of people like the ones in this room.”
Chartered in 1987 Brandon ’86 Rotary Club meets every Friday at 7 a.m. at Buckhorn Springs Golf & Country Club located at 2721 S. Miller Rd. in Valrico.
Rotary International is an organization of business and professional leaders united worldwide who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations and help build goodwill and peace in the world. Call 664-6881 for more info.
Newland Communities Renames Lake Hutto To Circa FishHawk
By Michelle Caceres
It’s not a part of FishHawk Ranch, but the 700-acre site formerly known as Lake Hutto has been renamed Circa FishHawk to reflect its close proximity to the master-planned behemoth.
FishHawk and Circa developer Newland Communities and its advertising agency worked closely to settle on the new name. Read more
TB Water Suing For Cracked Walls
As if the ongoing water shortage was not enough to deal with, members of the Tampa Bay Water Board have another issue on their hands.
During a recent meeting, the board unanimously voted to sue the three companies: HDR Engineering, Barnard Construction and Construction Dynamics Group, which have been involved with the design and construction of the recently built 930-acre C.W. Bill Young Regional Reservoir, located in southeast Hillsborough County.
According to Tampa Bay Water, HDR designed the reservoir, Barnard was the lead construction contractor and Construction Dynamics oversaw building it. But investigations of the now crack-ridden walls of the multimillion-dollar reservoir have determined that the cracks were caused either during the design, construction or oversight of the project.
While Tampa Bay Water officials have not said how much money they will try to recover in the lawsuits, board member and Tampa City Councilman Charlie Miranda reportedly said that he wants to make sure taxpayers don’t get stuck with the repair bill.
“For me, it is paramount that the public interest be protected,” Miranda said.
Moving forward with litigation as well as filing the lawsuit by December 20, —before the statute of limitations runs out— also means that Tampa Bay Water will cancel contracts with HDR and the other firms.
When full, the reservoir can provide enough water to operate the Tampa Bay Regional Surface Water Treatment Plant at full capacity for more than six months.
The reservoir’s banks are coated with 16 inches of soil cement to prevent erosion from waves. It took 183 days to initially fill the reservoir. During construction, more than 150 pieces of heavy equipment were used and more than 150 people employed.
Thirteen million cubic yards of earth were moved in total for this project. That is equivalent to one dump truck every minute for two years straight.
While the first cracks were visible in the soil-cement covering of the 15-billion gallon capacity reservoir’s inner walls as of late 2006, they’ve become more widespread, causing officials to drain the water levels so cracks below the waterline could be investigated.
According to Tampa Bay Water, safety is paramount in the reservoir design, construction and operations. The facility is an earthen structure, with an embankment as wide as a football field at its base and that averages 50 feet in height. Armored with 16 inches of soil cement, including a stair-step design that rings the top, the reservoir is built to withstand hurricane force wind and rain.
Instrumentation built into the reservoir and various measurements taken provide feedback on soil moisture, stability and other safety factors.
For more information about the reservoir, please visit www.Tampabaywater.org.
Council Meeting Focuses On Gang Awareness
“There are more than 30,000 documented gangs in the U.S., with more than a million certified gang members,” said detective Mark Wilder, of the Hillsborough County Sherriff’s Office (HSCO) Gang Unit, during the recently held Bloomingdale area community council meeting. What do these numbers mean for Hillsborough County? Wilder explained that as of the second week of November 2008, the county has 156 documented gangs on record with 3,200 certified members, an almost 50 percent increase in recent years. Gangs and gang awareness are not new to most communities, but with numbers like this, the topic merits attention, hence the reason for the great turnout at the HCSO Bloomingdale substation’s November meeting which is normally held on the third Thursday of each month. Residents, along with local deputies as well as local county officials, discuss important issues pertaining to the community including crime trend, traffic problems or, in this case, gang awareness. According to Wilder, gangs are not illegal in the state of Florida, but gang activity is. Wilder explained that while the state ranked second in the nation only to California, beating out cities like Chicago, New York and New Jersey just to name a few, Hillsborough County is leading the state in taking action to control the problem. “As of October 1 in Hillsborough County, all certified gang members who have been convicted of a crime will be registered and handled similar to the way sex offenders are,” Wilder said. This means that parents and community members will have the opportunity to know about convicted gang members within their neighborhoods. “While registration has already begun, the process of posting the information for the public is currently being worked on,” Wilder said. For now, bedsides the efforts of local law enforcement, members of each community are being encouraged to take the necessary steps in controlling or, hopefully, eradicating gangs or gang-related activity. “But, by all means, do not take matters into your own hands,” HCSO Deputy Pete Maurer said. “That’s when we come in,” he commented. For more information about gangs or to report gang activity, residents are encouraged to call the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office Tampa Bay Area Gang Hotline at 877-Gang-Out (426-4688).
Public Meeting To Discuss Lithia Pinecrest Road Project Development & Environmental (PD&E) Study
Public Meeting To Discuss Lithia Pinecrest Road Project Development & Environmental (PD&E) Study
Hillsborough County, in cooperation with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), will hold a public meeting to discuss the Project Development and Environmental Study for Lithia Pinecrest Road in the Brandon area.
The Study evaluates the proposed widening of Lithia Pinecrest Road from SR 60 (Brandon Boulevard) to CR 39. The study length is approximately 10.95 miles.
The meeting is being held to obtain your input regarding the location, conceptual design and environmental effects of the alternatives for the proposed project’s needed improvements.
County Staff and representatives from FDOT will be at the meeting to discuss the details of the project and answer any questions residents may have. Please attend, we welcome your input.
Date: Tuesday, Nov. 18
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Place: Palmetto Club, 17004 Dorman Road
All meeting facilities are ADA compliant. For additional assistance, please call us.
For more information, please call Steve Valdez, Public Works Department, at 272-5275 (TTY: 301-7172).
Visit us on the Web at – www.hillsboroughcounty.org.
Zach Treks To Atlanta To Raise Funds
To commemorate November being National Homeless Youth Awareness Month, Valrico resident Zach Bonner is hitting the pavement and walking 280 miles from Tallahassee to Atlanta Georgia. Last year, the 10-year-old took a 250 mile jaunt from Tampa to Tallahassee to raise awareness of the estimated 1.6 million kids that are homeless in our Country and he collected about $25,000 in supplies and money for the organization he founded “The Little Red Wagon Foundation Inc.” Bonner says he has the hike down to a routine of walking about 5 or 6 miles each day, stopping to eat and rest, then walking another 5 or so miles until he and his mother collapse in their Recreational Vehicle each evening.
“The money I raise on the Florida section will stay in the state for the projects my foundation funds for the homeless and street kids” according to Bonner, who adds, “While on the Macon trek that money will go toward building a house with Habitat for Humanity”, and in Atlanta those funds will go into a new project to help underprivileged kids explore their artistic side.
Bonner will be on the road 30 days with the conclusion of the walk on his birthday November 17 and you can follow the progress of the soon to be 11-year-old by going to his Website and clicking on “Zach Tracker.” If you want to contribute any money you can do that too, says Bonner, adding “And you can decide where it goes.” Some of Bonners honors include meeting President George W. Bush, receiving numerous awards for his dedication and hard work through his foundation, and so what could this little man have planned next? Bonner says he is already thinking ahead and “Next year I might do another walk from Tampa to Tallahassee, depending on how this one goes,” and he says he is also trying to figure out how he can walk from Tampa to Key West. For more information about Bonner’s charity you can go to his Website at www.littleredwagonfoundation.com where you can also click on” Zach Tracker” to pinpoint his exact location.
New Library On Schedule For 2008
“I think the new library will prove to be a wonderful edition in the community,” said chief librarian Marilyn Shynett, as she talked about the soon to be completed new Seffner-Mango Branch Public Library located at 410 N. Kingsway Road, in the heart of Seffner.
Local residents are currently visiting the twice-moved existing and much smaller facility now located inside the Seffner Walmart shopping plaza. At a glance,the library has pretty much everything any library should.
But as most Hillsborough County residents are able to discern the recent population growth which has also added to the local student population has increased the need for a larger place to be able to accommodate the need of all visitors.
“That is a big part of what the new library will help with,” said Shynett adding, “I believe that it is a good move not only because it will be a much bigger building but it will be in the vicinity of local schools and new developments being built in this community.”
Shynett, who has been a librarian since 1979, has seen a lot of changes in the last three decades and favors all the changes especially the new technology, such as self checkout, online cataloging and computer access for both young and old to enjoy, that have become a must have in recent years.
“Customers are now so much more empowered to use the facility,” she said.
As far as the layout of the new building is concerned, Hillsborough County Public Library manager Suzy George said that while each library is unique in itself, the county has used some of the most recent designs.
“We build on what works,” George said but added, “It is always based on population growth and community need.”
The new 15,000 sq. ft. library will almost triple the size of the existing library space and will increase the in-house materials from 45,000 to close to 100,000 books, magazines and other reading materials.
The project’s estimated total building cost is $6.5 million which includes the land, building, furniture as well as $1 million dollars worth of new books, movies and other library materials.
The library will also feature a new computer lab with 12 personal computers, along with 25 additional PCs for all to use, science room, a children’s department and a number of meeting rooms to complete the project.
The Friends of the Library organization will also have a separate space for book sales as it will continue to support the local library.
All monies for the project come from the Hillsborough County’s general revenue and it is scheduled to be completed later this year.
For more information please visit www.hcplc.org or call 273-3652.
