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Visioning plan must focus on funding© St. Petersburg Times published January 28, 2002 The Land O'Lakes vision just took a poke in the eye. Last week, a County Commission majority rightly wondered how an ad hoc committee of central Pasco residents would pay for a town center, sidewalks and other proposed amenities included in a visioning plan assembled by volunteers last summer. Until they get some answers, commissioners sat on a request to give the group $30,000 toward a $42,000 budget. The money had been earmarked to retain a facilitator for a final study on how Land O'Lakes can better establish a civic identity, manage growth, beautify U.S. 41 and achieve its other goals. The questions needed to be asked. At the planning meetings last year, organizers told participants to presume money would be available. It's a presumption that is more impractical now than it was six months ago. Though the Heart of Land O'Lakes committee is wise to put its initial focus on a defined area, the 1.5-mile radius of U.S. 41 and School Road, it also cannot operate in a vacuum. Since the draft report was completed, the community learned: It will begin paying property taxes for professional fire service in October; the most popular organized youth activity, recreational soccer, faces the loss of its practice fields and is seeking money to acquire or outfit new space; and commissioners decided not to ask for voter approval of a new penny sales tax for capital construction. In other words, taxes are going up for other reasons, needs are increasing and a legitimate way to help pay for quality-of-life improvements is no longer an option. Commissioner Peter Altman brought a needed dose of realism in asking committee representatives to consider a special tax district or community redevelopment agency to finance the improvements. It contrasted with the cheerleading from Commissioner Pat Mulieri who wondered about the skepticism considering a similar push along State Road 54 received government blessing. Along SR 54, a corridor study deals with mostly virgin land between U.S. 41 and Seven Springs. Guiding growth and setting aesthetic standards is easier before development and planned road construction begins. U.S. 41 in Land O'Lakes, meanwhile, is a mix of aging strip centers and other post-World War II commercial sites that coexist with convenience stores, offices and remodeled retail outlets that emerged after the state started widening the highway in 1997. Reshaping the face of that road will not be accomplished as readily. But that doesn't mean it isn't worth trying. To its credit, the citizens group came together as a proactive way to plan improvements in Land O'Lakes. The vision as it exists so far is encouraging. It just needs glasses when it comes to looking at the bottom line.
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