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Wesley Chapel park may come in stages

Early indications are that the county does not have enough money to do everything it had hoped.

By STEPHEN HEGARTY
Published February 18, 2005

The ball fields still are on track, but it looks like the extras will be delayed.

That's the word on plans for the new county park in Wesley Chapel.

Officials still are working on the numbers, but early indications are that the county does not have enough money to do everything it had hoped. At least not enough money to do it all right away, and not if the county is still going to meet other commitments such as the plan to expand the Land O'Lakes park.

"We've always had the money to do phase one," said County Administrator John Gallagher. "That's not a problem. It's just that everybody wants to add something. It looks like we probably have to scale back some."

The re-evaluation of the Wesley Chapel project essentially puts the county back where it was: that is, building the park in two phases.

"I can say with no hesitation, with no qualms, that phase one - the fields, the concession stands, the parking, the bathroom - will go forward as planned," said Dan Johnson, assistant county administrator for public services. "We're just as emphatic about maintaining the schedule for Land O'Lakes as well."

The construction schedule is sensitive for three reasons. For one thing, the booming Wesley Chapel community has been clamoring for a county park for years. Also, the county staff wants to avoid pitting one project against another project in another community in a fight for funding. And the fact is that project costs increase with time.

"We agree they need the fields," said Amye Cox, head of the Central Pasco Sports Coalition, which has worked with the county to get the Land O'Lakes park expanded. "But I just don't feel it would be prudent to build a 50-meter pool at the expense of delaying any project, including ours (in Land O'Lakes)."

The initial Wesley Chapel park construction will start in late spring, probably early June. The job is expected to be finished early in 2006. The second phase would be delayed, starting perhaps in October with a completion date late in 2006.

Given some of the delays, one Wesley Chapel man expressed surprise at the expected October finishing date.

"If they can get this done by October, I will personally go thank every commissioner at their home, and I'll bring doughnuts," said Harry Olsen, vice president of the Wesley Chapel Athletic Association.

The sorts of amenities that will be delayed for a second phase of construction include the gymnasium and a swimming pool, the details of which commissioners will have to decide.

At least one commissioner, Ted Schrader, has expressed interest in a 50-meter pool that could host competitive swim meets, rather than the standard 25-meter pool. If the commission agrees to go with the larger pool, that part of the project might be delayed even further, Johnson said.

The County Commission was set to vote on the Wesley Chapel park last week. But at the last moment, the vote was delayed. The county staff wanted to be certain that it knew exactly how much revenue it could expect to pay for the parks. The payment plans are complicated by the fact that the major source of revenue, impact fees, must be collected and spent in the same general area of the county.

Though Gallagher had hoped to put the issue back before the commissioners for a vote on Tuesday, that vote is being delayed probably for another two weeks to the March 8 meeting.

[Last modified February 18, 2005, 00:14:17]