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Dade City ponders growth challenges
By CHASE SQUIRES, Times Staff Writer
DADE CITY -- At the busy fork in the road approaching town from the south, a local charity wants to erect a giant playground, maybe shaded by a huge, mesh net. That's one proposal Dade City's leaders have to consider as they ponder the city's direction after a 12-month span that has presented them with many forks in many roads. With the city manager poised to leave town, Dade City is faced with decisions that might tell if the city's future lies as a rural community, a retirement haven, a business hub or a Tampa suburb. "People in the city act like they want to expand sometimes; and then half the people want to keep it little old Dade City, like it used to be," said Dade City businessman and classic car cruise-in organizer Bob Case. "We've got all these antique stores downtown, but it worries me; we've kind of got all our eggs in one basket. If times get hard, those are not essentials." Add to the question a tight city budget, a teetering state economy, friction with Pasco County officials and the new potential for a run-in with the Pasco school district, and commissioners are left with an armload of choices ahead. "I do feel growth is targeting our fair city, but I've been hearing that Dade City is at a 'crossroads' since I came home from college," Commissioner Hutch Brock said this week. "With all the great characteristics that are here, the quality of life that you have here, I'm very excited. But I am wary of uncontrolled growth." The challenges to Dade City's leadership came in a swelling wave during the past year. First there was a disagreement with Pasco officials about sewer and water service and districts. Then the county sued to block city annexations. The city prevailed; but it cost $35,000 in legal fees. Next came demands for hefty pay increases for fire and police employees -- and then the realization that the city budget was so lean, there wasn't even room to pay for Christmas lights. As for the giant tent, Rotarians have offered to build a $250,000 playground for local children. A possible location could be the park at the split of U.S. 301 and the U.S. 98 bypass, which is a considered a gateway to the city. A Rotary spokesman said the club might shield the brightly colored, plastic playground from the sun with a big mesh tent. With each passing month, the concerns of the previous month have been replaced by newer, more demanding choices. The latest -- and perhaps largest -- two so far involve an overhaul of the city's tax structure and the sudden need for a city manager who will guide the city into the future. City Manager Doug Drymon announced in January he is leaving by July, sparking a nationwide search for a manager that has divided the City Commission between those in a hurry to replace Drymon with a local candidate and those who want to give the search time to work. This as commissioners are deciding whether to impose a series of fees that might charge everyone -- including traditionally tax-exempt entities such as the county and Pasco schools -- for street lights, fire protection and stormwater runoff. Schools Superintendent John Long said Friday he had no idea the city was considering charging his schools. He wasn't sure whether such charges are even allowed. He said even if they are allowed by law, Dade City should understand that the school district has financial demands every bit as challenging as those facing Dade City. Long said he was interested in hearing one possibility Drymon has discussed: allowing the use of school facilities for YMCA or city recreational programs in lieu of fees. Whether Drymon's musings would carry over to the new administration is unclear. Commissioner Eunice Penix publicly flashed a rare hint of frustration at a City Commission meeting last week when Commissioner Bill Dennis made his fourth bid to oust Drymon immediately. Dennis then offered, for the second time, to quickly install city manager candidate Harold Sample, the former second-in-command at the Pasco County Sheriff's Office. "We shouldn't leave out people who are applying," Penix said in an interview after the commission meeting. "There are some citizens who think we should hire whoever, right now. But that's not fair to the other candidates. . . . We're supposed to do things the right way. I believe in giving everybody who wants to apply a chance." Phyllis Smith, executive director of the Greater Dade City Chamber of Commerce, sided with Penix's desire to see a wide net cast for the next city manager. She also agreed that good communication skills are key but not just with other governments. "They're going to have to have good working relationships with everyone, whether it's a business coming into town or Pasco County," Smith said. Looking ahead, Smith said she recognizes Dade City has some challenges. She's pleased the city landed a spot in national magazine Where to Retire's list of top retirement destinations, but she worries about crime and the need to improve depressed areas. She also said there's an ever-present need to lure new jobs and convince national chains that Dade City is a place to do business. Instead, the Dade City region has lost out to growing Zephyrhills. Case, too, said there's a need for economic diversity downtown, something the City Commission and city manager should understand. Case said he relishes the success the city has had in bringing in festivals and drawing tourists, but living in a resort is a dangerous course should the economy sour even more. "I go downtown on a Saturday afternoon with my wife, and I don't know a soul. They're all coming in from somewhere else," he said. "We don't even have a clothing store downtown. There are no essentials downtown." Commissioners might disagree on the process of hiring a new manager and charting a future, but all have expressed a desire to have whoever succeeds Drymon be an expert at the arts of negotiation, cooperation and communication -- three things they say will be important in the months ahead. "We need to have better relationships with the county," Dennis said. "We used to have that years ago. For some reason or other, ever since Doug came -- and I'm not sure it's his fault -- the relationships disintegrated between the city and the county."
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