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Fire crew might join county
By SAUNDRA AMRHEIN, Times Staff Writer Falling in step with other volunteer fire companies, Magnolia Valley Volunteer Fire Department has tentatively agreed to join the county fire-rescue system. Pasco County already has absorbed volunteer fire districts in Land O'Lakes and San Antonio. On Tuesday, commissioners will be asked to approve merger talks with Magnolia Valley. During that same meeting, the county will consider moving forward with new impact fees for another public service -- libraries. The tentative fire agreement calls for the county to take over maintenance of the station and trucks at the volunteer fire department building on Massachusetts Avenue. But the volunteers would continue to use the trucks and station and would be dispatched to fire calls by the county. In return, the county gets permission to offer coverage in the area, with plans to build a county station near Rowan and Plathe Roads, Emergency Services Director Anthony Lopinto said. If the County Commission signs off on the plan, two public hearings will be held before the merger could become final in October. "The whole goal in this thing is to make sure volunteers have a purpose," Lopinto said. "It's not to merge with them and create an atmosphere where they are not needed." A resident living in the Magnolia Valley coverage area, who owns a $75,000 house with a $25,000 Florida homestead exemption, would go from paying $25 a year in voluntary donations to paying $77 and $95 a year in additional taxes. Some of that increase would pay for equipment in the expanded coverage areas of former volunteer districts. Scott Burford, operations chief for Magnolia Valley volunteers, said residents will be getting their money's worth. Instead of two firetrucks responding to a house fire in his district, the new system will have at least three firetrucks and two ambulances automatically responding. There are about 6,000 homes in the volunteer district. "They are truly going to get a higher response," he said. Burford is happy with the agreement. "Our biggest concern in the fall was that we wanted to stay alive and running. At first it didn't look like that was going to be a possibility. Now we've come to an agreement and everything looks really good," Burford said. In other business, county staffers will introduce an ordinance on library impact fees -- about $145 for single-family homes and about $97 per multifamily units. The commission will be asked to send the proposed ordinance to three committees before it holds public hearings. In late February, the commission voted unanimously to accept a master plan for libraries and to direct its staff to prepare the ordinance with the impact fees to help pay for items on its wish list through 2010. Those items include: a new regional library in the Trinity area of 30,000 square feet and a new library in Wesley Chapel of 12,000 square feet; expansions at three of the seven existing county libraries; a bookmobile that would serve rural communities; more computers with Internet access; and expansion of hours. Commissioners will also be asked Tuesday to approve an agreement with the state Department of Transportation for the state to provide additional street lighting on U.S. 19. The state has approved lighting for the 3.5 miles stretching from the Pinellas County line north to Charlene Lane, which is just south of New Port Richey. It also has approved a 3.5-mile stretch from Springer Drive, which is just north of Ridge Road, north to State Road 52. The work would cost the state $3.5-million and would be done in fiscal year 2004-05 -- if the county agrees. The county would be responsible for helping with the maintainance of the lights. That will cost the county about $84,000 a year, but the state would fund a majority of it. Earlier, the state had decided to install street lights on both sides of U.S. 19 for the 4.7 miles from State Road 52 north to Denton Avenue. That will cost the state $2-million and is in its 2003-04 fiscal year work program. Pasco's only lighted stretch of U.S. 19 is in New Port Richey. At least one side of the road is lit from near Marine Parkway north to just past Ridge Road. The high number of accidents and pedestrian deaths along U.S. 19 in Pasco prompted last year's state study that determined lighting would be justified. Tuesday's commission meeting will be at 9:30 a.m. at the West Pasco Government Center in New Port Richey. -- Information from Times' files was used in this report
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