County commissioners say changing Lock Street to "Calle de Milagros" might create some pronunciation issues.
By BRIDGET HALL GRUMET
Published October 27, 2004
DADE CITY - New businesses and churches have opened their doors. An overgrown lot, formerly a haven for drug users and prostitutes, has become a grassy park. And officials are pouring $20-million into paving the roads, repairing homes and making other neighborhood improvements.
Piece by piece, Margarita Romo sees Lock Street becoming "Calle de Milagros," a Street of Miracles in the impoverished community of Tommytown, just north of Dade City. Romo, executive director of Farmworkers Self-Help, is making her second push to rename the street accordingly - but she might end up with a compromise instead of a miracle.
The County Commission on Tuesday praised Romo's intent but questioned the practicality of renaming Lock Street. After Commission Chairman Peter Altman struggled to pronounce "Calle de Milagros," commissioners Ted Schrader and Ann Hildebrand wondered whether people calling 911 might have the same problem, and whether dispatchers would understand the Spanish name.
"I would suggest the proposed name fails that test," Schrader said at the meeting at the historic courthouse in Dade City.
Lock Street was named for one of Dade City's pioneering families. But Romo has argued the name has a negative connotation, particularly since the area has a crime problem. She missed the commission meeting Tuesday because she didn't know her request was on the agenda, but later told the St. Petersburg Times that pronunciation shouldn't be a problem.
"I don't think three words are going to be very difficult for people to say," Romo said. "Florida is full of Spanish names right now."
Romo originally proposed the name change in 2000 but withdrew the request after a neighbor objected. She sent commissioners a letter last month asking them to reconsider in light of the ongoing improvements to Tommytown.
Altman suggested a compromise: Keep the name of Lock Street, but add small signs underneath reading "Calle de Milagros." Commissioner Steve Simon said that would provide a symbolic gesture without confusing 911 dispatchers or postal carriers.
That won't satisfy Romo, however. She said the community wants a fresh start.
"We want to see the Lock Street name gone," she said. "It has been a burden to a lot of people here. It has been a place of pain and suffering for a lot of people here, and we need to get rid of that."
In other news
TRINITY FLOODING: Commissioners hired a consultant to study the drainage problem in the Trinity area, where floodwaters threatened some homes in Nature's Hideaway and caused the two-year-old roads in Thousand Oaks west to crumble.
WCG/Neel-Schaffer Inc. will identify the drainage problems and offer solutions based on computer modeling of Duck Slough, a 5,000-acre area that runs from Gunn Highway and State Road 54 to the Anclote River. The county and the Southwest Florida Water Management District are splitting the cost of the $500,000 study.
WATERGRASS GETS OKAY: Commissioners approved plans to develop 1,036 acres in Wesley Chapel owned by Commissioner Ted Schrader and his family. Schrader abstained from the 4-0 vote.
The plan for the WaterGrass development calls for 1,999 homes, duplexes and townhomes, 140,000 square feet of commercial space and 73,000 square feet of professional offices, along with a new elementary school.
The tract stretches from Curley Road to Handcart Road, about 2 miles north of State Road 54. Comas Trust, which includes Schrader and some of his siblings, has a contract to sell the property to KB Home Tampa LLC.
County Administrator John Gallagher said the project would be the county's first "town center," a development that blends homes and offices so people can work close to home instead of commuting to Tampa or St. Petersburg.
"We'll have more of a community instead of just a regular subdivision," Gallagher said.
Bridget Hall Grumet 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 bhall@sptimes.com
