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Local: 'Don't Go Commercial'

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Published: April 1, 2009

Items of interest from the March 23 Plant City Commission meeting include:

A public hearing on proposed amendments to the city's comprehensive plan attracted several residents concerned about one of the 19 proposed changes.
George Bennett said the change proposed for 9.3 acres near his home will be detrimental to him and other Bennett Road residents.

Alberto Pizarro, owner of the land on Bennett Road, near the northeast corner of Interstate 4 and Thonotosassa Road, requested the change.

Pizarro seeks to have it changed from residential, four units per acre, to commercial and natural preservation, allowing up to 141,787 square feet of commercial development.

Bennett, 78, whose land has been in the family for five generations, said the proposed change would bring additional traffic. "We have problems going out onto Thonotosassa Road" now, he said of himself and his two older brothers living on their namesake road. It's especially a problem during late afternoon, he said.

"Don't go commercial on that property, because it will block us," he said. "Let us live on that property until God takes us home," he urged commissioners.

The public hearing on all 19 amendments was continued until 7:30 p.m. April 13, while planners work to provide the state Department of Community Affairs with additional information on two of the proposed changes.

Planning Rewarded

Commissioner Bill Dodson presented certificates of excellence for two Plant City entries in the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council's annual competition.

The Midtown Redevelopment Vision Plan and the Northeast Plant City Area Master Plan were among five projects receiving certificates of excellence in the development category of the multi-county competition.

The certificates were presented at the 17th annual Future of the Region Awards held March 20 at Tampa's Quorum Hotel. Dodson is chairman of the regional planning council, which represents governments in Pasco, Pinellas, Manatee and Hillsborough counties.

The awards honor "notable achievement in resource planning and management in the Tampa Bay area."

The Northeast master plan is designed to guide growth in a 12,000-acre sector northeast of the city. In 20 years, that acreage may give way to a combination of town homes and open-air shopping centers in the area, mostly north of Interstate 4.

The plan for the 85-acre area south of downtown referred to as midtown is to eventually build a central park and midtown green with trails leading to other areas of the city.

Firefighters Get Grant

Plant City Fire Rescue has been awarded a $40,000 Federal Assistance to Firefighters grant to put laptop computers aboard emergency vehicles.

The mobile data terminals will allow emergency dispatchers to forward vital information in a timely manner to fire rescue personnel responding to 911 calls, said City Manager David Sollenberger.

Such information includes fire pre-plans for the city's larger buildings, street mapping and water systems, including fire hydrants.

The 90-10 matching grant applied for in July means the city is responsible for $4,000 of the cost of the laptops, software and programming.

Signal Plan Nearly Done

Hillsborough County engineering reports for traffic signals along Turkey Creek Road could be complete by the end of April, Sollenberger told commissioners.

Signals are scheduled to be installed where Turkey Creek Road intersects Airport Road and Trapnell Road. A survey last fall indicated the signals are warranted at both intersections.

Once the county completes a cost assessment, a design firm will receive the plans, followed by right of way acquisition.

The city will have a more accurate installation timetable once the project enters the design phase.

Electric To Be Upgraded

Commissioners approved an improved electrical system at Courier Field to prepare the park for the Plant City Armed Forces Memorial to be erected there.

The memorial foundation raising funds for the volunteer effort will manage the electrical system improvements the city had planned for the park, and will be reimbursed by the city for project costs up to a maximum of $67,000, according to the resolution the commission unanimously adopted.

Initial construction will include a gazebo, gardens, walkways, flagpole and lighting. The user-friendly park of more than 2 acres will eventually have a 3,150-square-foot gathering area linked to the monument by the gazebo.

The monument itself, designed by Duane Scott of Sarasota and intended to honor veterans of all branches of the military, will feature a bald eagle lifting the American flag in its talons.

Construction of the monument base is to begin soon, requiring the area immediately north of the basketball courts be fenced for safety.

Budgets Take 10% Hit

City employees responsible for preparing their department's budget have been instructed to trim expenditures for the 2009-10 fiscal year.

"We've told them to cut their budget requests by 10 percent for the coming year," Sollenberger told commissioners.

The budget for the current fiscal year has been hit hard by the economy, with general fund revenue running $800,000 less than anticipated, Sollenberger advised. Additionally, water and sewer revenue is down $1.5 million.

State legislators have introduced bills "further restricting funds to local government," Sollenberger said.

George Wilkens

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