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Ribbon snipped on new county government center in Dade City
By CHASE SQUIRES © St. Petersburg Times, published October 18, 2000 DADE CITY -- With the last brick in place and the ribbon cut, Pasco County officials are ready to move into the newest multimillion-dollar government office building. Almost. There's one small detail to work out. Just like the last time the county unveiled a major project in Dade City, an eleventh-hour snag arose over the certificate of occupancy the county needs from the city before the building can be opened to the public. A host of county and city leaders were on hand Tuesday afternoon for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new east Pasco government center, a two-story, 75,000-square-foot brick building in downtown Dade City. The sparkling new facility, with its spacious atrium lobby, will house several county departments, including the bustling office of the tax collector, where residents pay auto and boat registrations and other county and state fees. But before the office doors can be opened, City Manager Doug Drymon notified the county that damage done to Fifth Street during construction must be repaired. It was a delay in the occupancy permit that threatened to postpone the opening of the restored historic courthouse in early 1999. The city refused to issue permits after a $2.3-million restoration because the city building official found problems with internal fire walls and an emergency lighting system. Those problems were eventually worked out, and the holdup over the road at the government office building is expected to be ironed out quickly as well, officials on both sides said Tuesday. Drymon said he wants a letter guaranteeing the county will repair the road. Assistant County Manager Dan Johnson said he didn't know the extent of the city's concerns until this month and is working on a solution. Both said they expect everything will be in order by the time government offices are scheduled to open next month. At Tuesday's ribbon-cutting, county commissioners hailed the opening of a new building in the county seat. Early proposals originally suggested building the facility south of city limits. County Commissioner Sylvia Young told the assembly how former Dade City Mayor Charles McIntosh got her involved in the fight to put the building downtown, near the existing government center and courthouse. "He came to me and said, "Sylvia, I know there are people who want you to build this on Morningside Drive,' " she recalled. "He said, "Scrap that.' " McIntosh, who joined in the ribbon-cutting, called the new building a victory for downtown. "It really shows we are indeed the county seat," he said. "We have people here who have deep roots in the community and are willing to fight for the things they believe in." Young said she was pleased at the way architect Jim Kelley used a brick exterior to make the building fit in with the feel of downtown and the look of the historic courthouse a block away. Johnson said the building came in at about $8.9-million, including about $6-million in construction, plus land acquisition and design costs. The next phase of county construction is set to begin in January, when workers tackle the combined courthouse and government center. Plans call for a $6.5-million overhaul of the building, opened in 1980, as crews expand offices for the state attorney and public defender, in addition to adding room for court-related clerk of court offices and another courtroom. Johnson said the work was the third time the county has hired Kelley to design a project and said everyone involved was pleased with the outcome. The new east Pasco government building will house the offices for the property appraiser, tax collector, utilities customer service, and development services, as well as some clerk of court functions. Johnson said staff members won't start moving into the new digs until sometime next month, after a busy period that includes an election and the preparation of tax notices.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
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