Pasco: Some in New Port Richey mad enough to organize

Some in New Port Richey mad enough to organize

More than 40 residents plan to fight the city's decision to charge hundreds of property owners to pay for street improvements.

By TAMARA LUSH

NEW PORT RICHEY -- One by one, more than 40 angry residents filed into Ed Dondero's oversized garage on Saturday afternoon.

Shaking the rain off their jackets, they walked past Dondero's red '73 Mustang parked inside the room, and took seats on tattered couches and folding chairs.

Although they had more questions than answers, the group decided they would band together and fight City Hall -- New Port Richey City Hall, to be exact.

This was democracy in action.

"We're being fleeced," said Fred Hayes, a retiree who has lived in the Tanglewood Terrace subdivision since 1986.

The city asked Hayes, like others in the room, to pay about $2,000 toward a street improvement project. Like the others, Hayes is on a fixed income.

Initially, city officials estimated that 725 affected property owners in the seven parts of the project would have to pay anywhere from $1,019 to $4,412 for the improvements. But after 200 property owners packed a City Council meeting last Tuesday to object, officials agreed to chip in 38 percent of the cost.

"Don't go to the residents to beautify the city," said Kathleen Callahan, who was escorted out of last Tuesday's meeting by police at the request of council members. "Why do we have to pay for roads?"

Although the city offered to pick up some of the cost of the improvements, the residents still thought the price was too high. Which is why they met for two hours on the rainy Saturday to devise a plan of action.

First, they would need to research the road improvement project and its origins.

Then, the residents would pick a name for the group, said Dondero, who lives next door to the garage on Overlook Drive but owns a home in Tanglewood Terrace. The group would also need bylaws.

After the meeting dissolved into a discussion about reclaimed water and a previous homeowners association, the residents decided to pick street captains within the subdivision.

Those people would go door-to-door and make a list of concerns.

"Here's a perfectly good chance to get to know your neighbors," Dondero said.

They also decided to meet again, next Saturday, in Dondero's garage.

"Bring friends, bring neighbors, and bring chairs," Dondero said.