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Deal allows paving of Wells Road
By SAUNDRA AMHREIN The long, bumpy path to pave Wells Road finally could be reaching an end. For about 10 years, Pasco County and the school district have been at odds over who will pay for the paving of Wells Road in central Pasco. The school district and a developer have paid for portions that run from Curley Road west past Weightman Middle School and beyond Wesley Chapel High School. That's where Wells becomes a dirt road and continues west to Boyette Road. With the construction of Wesley Chapel Elementary School on the dirt road, the district will pay its contractor to pave the rest of Wells and the county will reimburse it $185,563 for 800 feet that sits off school property. The county has also worked out a deal with Lykes Bros. Inc. to swap land so that it can realign the new paved section of Wells to meet Boyette several hundred feet north of the current Wells-Boyette intersection. County planning officials say the work on the road should be done by this fall. "The Wells Road situation has been a thorn in the county's side and a thorn in the district's side. It's finally coming to rest," said Michael Rapp, district director of planning. "I'm sure there's going to be lots of folks in that area greatly relieved." The County Commission will be asked by staff members to sign off on the agreements during its 9:30 a.m. meeting Tuesday at the Historic Pasco County Courthouse in Dade City. The disagreement between the county and the school district arose about placing the schools on Wells Road. Soon after the first portions of the road were paved, neighbors began clamoring to the county to get the rest of the road paved. But it wasn't part of the county's capital improvement plan. Rapp doesn't understand why that was the case when the district bought the land more than 10 years ago and showed the need for the schools in that location to relieve other schools. Bipin Parikh, assistant county administrator for development services, said the heavier use from the schools and plans for commercial and residential development only recently justified the county's payment for the paving work. "We decided it was a useful tool for Wells Road to be a collector road and be part of the (collector road) network," Parikh said. "That qualifies Pasco to pay for the paving." Rapp said he hopes the participation by the county and the district in a pilot program to coordinate future development will help prevent similar disagreements. "The new spirit of cooperative planning is going to eliminate that from happening again," Rapp said. -- Saundra Amrhein covers Pasco County government. She can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6244, or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6244. Her e-mail address is
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