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Brandon notebook

County to consider dredging ordinance

By LETITIA STEIN, MEAGHAN FORBES and EDDY RAMIREZ
Published February 25, 2005

APOLLO BEACH - Hillsborough commissioners are considering allocating money and resources to administer a county canal maintenance program. Commissioners could discuss the proposed ordinance during a March 2 meeting with county public works officials in downtown Tampa. A vote is not expected until mid March.

The proposed ordinance, which residents can comment on during a public hearing on March 17, would allow waterfront residents who want to dredge a neighborhood canal or any other waterway to petition the county to hire a consultant to determine the cost and the time the project would take to complete.

Then, if a majority of residents agrees to the price tag, the county would levy a special tax on canal property owners to pay for the work. County staff would use the money to pay for permits and dredging work. The tax would exist for as long as the service is needed or until the debt is paid.

Apollo Beach residents have been asking the county to dredge the main boating channels that provide access to the Tampa Bay from their residential canals. They say the channels are so clogged with silt and sand that some boaters have been stranded or run aground at low tide.

Many, however, cringe at any suggestion that they should be the ones to pay, even partly, to dredge waterways that they say are used by boaters and fishing enthusiasts from the inland areas.

VALRICO - An upcoming debate over whether to place a big-box retail center on Bloomingdale Avenue, near the intersection with Lithia Pinecrest Road, has been postponed.

The developer, CDA of Florida, has asked the county to postpone a zoning hearing scheduled for Monday. The request for a megastore store with 175,000 square-feet of floor area now will be considered at an April 12 zoning master hearing.

The site is zoned for a strip mall with the same total square footage.

Valrico neighbors have formed a group called Valrico Organization Interested in Controlled Expansion to fight the proposal. VOICE members have canvassed subdivisions around the proposed big box site urging residents to contact the county with their concerns.

The rescheduled zoning hearing also pushes back the timeline for the proposal to reach the County Commission. Commissioners now are scheduled to vote May 24.

STATE FAIRGROUNDS - No records were set, but people flocked to the Florida State Fair in strong numbers this year.

About 520,000 people attended the 12-day fair that closed Monday, beating last year's turnout by almost 10 percent. About 475,000 people came to the fair in 2004.

Officials attributed the strong showing to good weather throughout the two-week run.

On the final Sunday, about 85,000 people visited the fair. Turnout wasn't enough to beat the record 88,955 daily fairgoers, set on the second Saturday of the 2003 Florida State Fair. But it trounced the same day last year, when 77,199 people attended.

VALRICO - A child's efforts can make a world of difference.

Jacob Trask of Valrico saw others putting together fundraisers to help tsunami victims and he wanted to help. The 8-year-old persuaded his mother, Karin, to bake treats and distribute them in their neighborhood for donations. The pair set out on a two-day drive with brownies, cookies, banana bread and muffins.

Initially, the mother and son team set a goal of raising $50. But after two days of door-to-door service on his scooter, Jacob had raised more than $250.

Jacob and his mother wanted to make sure 100 percent of the money went to help victims. So they entrusted the funds to AmeriCares, a nonprofit organization based in Connecticut.

"I feel really proud that I did that," Jacob said. "I'm excited that they're going to get the money."

BRANDON - East Hillsborough County's new state representatives have opened local offices.

Rep. Trey Traviesa has opened his House District 56 office at 902 W Lumsden Road, Suite 109, in Brandon. District 56 runs from Brandon, Valrico and Lithia to neighborhoods in South Tampa. Reach him at 651-2144 or trey.traviesa@myfloridahouse.gov

Rep. Rich Glorioso has set up his office at 110 W Reynolds St., Suite 204, in Plant City. His seat in state House District 62 cuts from Plant City to neighborhoods in Brandon and Valrico. Contact him at 757-9110 or rich.glorioso@myfloridahouse.gov

BRANDON - A 53-year-old Brandon accountant who bragged that he had molested children throughout the country is being extradited to Indiana to face charges of soliciting sex from a child using the Internet.

Roy Mason of 2009 Highview Fall Place was arrested Feb. 17 and held without bail on four counts of child solicitation. He will be extradited to Indiana, but police would not say when.

The investigation began in June, after an Indiana woman contacted police after Mason told her through an online chat room that he wanted to have sex with her 13-year-old daughter, said Mike Duffey, a Florida Department of Law Enforcement computer crimes investigator. Mason said he planned to visit the girl but never did.

In four separate online exchanges with an Indiana police investigator pretending to be the child, Mason talked about being a pedophile and fondled himself in front of a Web camera, Duffey said.

Mason, who works for Graybar Electric Co. in Tampa, is single with no children, Duffey said.

Florida authorities are analyzing a computer confiscated from Mason's home.

[Last modified February 24, 2005, 09:35:09]