Because of funds from impact fees and driven by increasing costs, the area may have pools and a recreational center by summer 2006.
By STEPHEN HEGARTY
Published May 26, 2004
DADE CITY - Pasco County commissioners approved plans for a 143-acre regional park in Wesley Chapel and urged county staff to build the long-awaited park as soon as possible.
Now the construction of the community center and swimming pool could begin as early as July 2005, almost two years earlier than anticipated. The first stages of construction - the ball fields and parking lots - have been scheduled to start in May 2005.
"The residents of Wesley Chapel have been patient," said Commissioner Ted Schrader. "Let's get this done."
Commissioner Pat Mulieri, who attended a meeting this month when residents got their first peek at the designs, said the county should move ahead because the money is in place and because construction will only get more expensive.
The park is estimated to cost about $14-million, with the money coming from impact fees. Because of the frantic pace of construction in the county, the impact fees are flowing at a rapid pace. That enables the county to accelerate the schedule for designing and building the park.
"That's fantastic news," said Peter Hanzel, a member of the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce. "I know the chamber has been working on this for so long."
The conceptual site plan presented to the County Commission on Tuesday got pretty much the same reaction it got from the Wesley Chapel community earlier this month: enthusiasm and a few suggestions.
Architect Lisa Wannemacher said the design is still subject to some tweaking. For instance, at the May 6 community meeting, a few residents said they would like racquetball courts in the park. Wannemacher said those might be added.
At the commission meeting on Tuesday, Commissioners Schrader and Peter Altman expressed interested in competitive swimming pools. The design calls for an "aquatic center," designed more for fun than for competition. That also is subject to change.
But the overall plan drew rave reviews.
The park will be bordered by Overpass Road on the north, Boyette Road on the east, and Interstate 75 on the west. It will include clusters of baseball and softball fields, a cluster of football fields, four soccer game fields and four practice fields, as well as basketball courts, tennis courts, a skateboard park, playgrounds and picnic shelters. The recreation facility near the center will include a gymnasium and community meeting rooms. Bike paths wind through much of the park.
"The people out there are overjoyed with this," Mulieri said.
Wannemacher said the new schedule, which could be subject to change, calls for phase one construction to start next May and to conclude in October 2005. The phase two construction could start in July 2005 and conclude as early as June 2006.
The architects could bring new, more detailed designs before Wesley Chapel residents as early as July.
