I live in San Clemente Village, Timber Oaks, Port Richey. Ranch Road and Ponderosa Avenue should be streets. They look more like a lake. It is not near a lake, so the water is coming from somewhere. Across the road is a golf course that is dry.
Ranch Road ends at Ponderosa. Make a right turn, then go into San Bernadino, which is San Clemente Village. The flooding continues around the bend. Some homes are surrounded by water.
Several phone calls have been made to different people, with no response. Oh, yes, we do have a "road closed" sign. Is that the best they can do?
What about the people in these homes and their property?
Please tell me, what is the problem? Sewer drain stopped up? Someone using a pump that is draining his water to here? I can understand if we lived near the lake. All this water can't be from rain.
-- Angela Rolph, Port Richey
Mobile home's impact doesn't equal fee
Editor: I would appreciate you looking into the impact fee my son had to pay to set up his mobile home and see whether there are some adjustments that can be made.
My family has lived in Pasco County for 45 years and lived on our property in San Antonio for the last 37 years. I recently helped my son buy a mobile home to live in and allowed him to put it on our family's property, as my father did when I was younger. My wife and I had a mobile home when we first got married; there is still the original septic and well on this site. It was the most economical way for my son to have a home without going too far into debt.
We knew there would be some other expenses involved with setting up a mobile home, but we were shocked when we found out the most expensive cost of the setup was the impact fee on this home: It was almost 22 percent of the value of the home. According to the people I talked to, we were out of luck to get it reduced. The impact fee is not based on the value of the home, which makes it an unbalanced tax because a more expensive, conventional home of $120,000 would have the same fee, which is about 5 percent of that home's value. At least with a site-built home, the homeowner would be able to recoup his money with the appreciation of the home. The mobile home will never regain the impact fee.
The problem of the county is not the established families who have lived here for years but the enormous influx of new residences building at a break-neck pace. The impact fee is without regard or consideration for those of us who have paid taxes in this county for years.
My son will not live in this home for the rest of his life, and he does not even own the property it sits on. If fact, he moved 200 feet from his original home. What impact has this had on the county?
I think our commissioners should make exceptions to the standard rules and evaluate individual situations or come up with an equal tax (impact fee), like sales tax or property tax, based on value. If the county charged an 8 percent tax based on value, it would be more equitable. This mobile home has no impact on the county.
I would appreciate the commissioners looking into this matter as I think it is unfair for the existing residents of Pasco County to have to pay the bills for the new people moving into our state. We would make more money with a value-based tax than to let the higher-priced new homes get the advantage of a lower impact fee.
I faxed this letter July 27 and finally got a response Monday from one of our commissioners. It was the response I expected, not the one I wanted or needed. It is a shame the people who have lived in this county and want to share their homes with their family can no longer do this without having to pay unfair impact fees.
-- Robert S. Hanley, San Antonio
Abandoned fuel tanker becomes hazard
Editor: I would like to thank the careless person(s) who left the 250- to 400-gallon construction site fuel tanker in the middle of Little Road near the intersection of Mitchell Boulevard.
I hit that fuel tanker at full speed. Not only did it destroy my vehicle, but there also could have been fatalities or serious injuries. This type of reckless disregard for public safety should be punished. If anyone has information as to who is responsible for this fuel tanker, please contact the Florida Highway Patrol's Trooper Anthony Palese. I will pay a reward to those who come forward.
-- Jeff Munger, Trinity
Parents should fix selves, not schools
Re: Parents, not teachers to blame for school issues, Sept. 15 letter Editor: As a parent of a school-age child, I agree wholeheartedly with the gentleman who wrote this letter. I am so tired of people who are always quick to blame the school system, the staff or the teachers for their children's inability to pass to the next grade.
The bottom line is that if parents took the time to get to know their children's teacher and those who work at their children's school, they would realize how hard these people are working to try to secure their children's education.
Stop blaming schools! I guess if you're busy complaining about your children's school, you won't have any time to look at your own inability as a parent.
-- Raquel Vallerand, Port Richey
Councilman's comments show autocracy
Editor: I do not live in a mobile home, nor do I live in the city of New Port Richey. I do, however, know the words of an autocratic egoist when I hear them.
New Port Richey council member Tom Finn has referred to mobile homes in coastal areas as "dinosaurs" and has stated that he will pursue their elimination "in a big way." This is a dangerous man.
The problem with men like Finn is once they get rid of the mobiles, then they may decide they don't want blue houses or red houses. In Marxist countries, men like Finn decide how big your house can be and how much land you are assigned.
I recommend that the people of New Port Richey vote this Caesar wannabe out of office and pursue his defeat in a big way.
-- Andrew Nappi, Hudson
EDITOR'S NOTE: Tom Finn leaves the City Council in April because of term limits.
Turning vehicles make crossing difficult
Editor: I am handicapped, and I use a electric four-wheeled cart to go shopping. My usual route is going west on Massachusetts Avenue to Rowan Road, where I need to cross, therein lying my problem.
The light tells me to go, but there always is someone turning right onto Massachusetts. I need to wait for the vehicle to turn, and then I start to cross the street. When I get half way across, the light turns again, so I am afraid when I continue on across, but I must go on.
Can you make it more safe for me and my neighbors who must use that intersection?
-- Juanita Stafford, New Port Richey
Speeding, carelessness are road hazards
Editor: There is an ongoing problem in the Port Richey area, and I've called the Sheriff's Office for help but did not observe a response. I live in the Green Key Beach area, and the vehicles are speeding up and down the road and also on Oelsner Road. The posted speed limit is 25 to 30 mph.
I am a 100 percent disabled veteran. Also, there are a lot of children in the area. The children also are a problem because they do not move out of the way when cars are coming. Sometimes they purposely walk in front of my car and others' and smile because they find it amusing. Especially during this hurricane season, people need to travel a clear path to get out of harm's way, get supplies, medications, food, etc.
Oelsner Road is a highly traveled route. Trucks, mail carriers, cars, bicyclists, etc. use this route often. I think the police need to look into the situation because nobody wants any of these children getting hit by a vehicle. Also, they need to cut the trees by the stop signs so they are visible. There are at least two that are covered by trees and not visible.
-- Dawn D. Tateosian, Port Richey
Disappearing rain forest our problem, too
Editor: My class at River Ridge Middle School was recently reading about the disappearing rain forest. The article we read discussed why the trees are being cut down. The trees get exported to Asia, Europe and North America. Many people are worried about this. I am, too.
In further research, I discovered that the rain forest supplies one-fifth of our oxygen supply. Every year, 27,000 species of forest plants and animals are destroyed.
I know it might seem weird to be worried about a problem halfway around the world, but this issue should be important to all of us because we need the trees for oxygen. I think we can stop or try to slow down the disappearing of the rain forest. Governments in Latin America have set up land preserves, and farmers who settle on new cleared land are learning soil conservation.
-- Kellie Clark, New Port Richey
Web site serves as source for evacuation
Editor: On Sept. 8, my children and I, from weather data on the computer, decided to evacuate to the Chicago area.
What I have appreciated the most was my ability to constantly visit www.sptimes.com I am returning Thursday, and your Web site is influencing me again. I am 80 years old.
Thank you very much for allowing me to access you.
-- Daniel C. Reese, Hudson
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