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Residents of Cheval West to have more say
By BILL COATS © St. Petersburg Times, published October 29, 2000 LUTZ -- Voters are about to take on a bigger chunk of the community decisionmaking in Cheval West, and four of them are running for three seats on next week's ballot. Resident control of the Board of Supervisors of the Cheval West Community Development District expands next month to four of the five seats. Residents currently have two seats. The other seats have been controlled by landowners, particularly builders and the developer. The 500-home neighborhood, in which another 200 homes are planned, represents the half of Cheval roughly west and south of the Tournament Players Club. Ray Miller, one of the district supervisor candidates, estimated that as many as 90 percent of the homeowners still have children at home. That may explain why two hot neighborhood issues have been basketball goals and who should be served by a new park. The park recently was completed on Chemille Drive as a tot lot. But some residents wanted it to have a basketball area. Others didn't want it built at all. In the meantime, the Cheval West Community Association has been enforcing a ban on permanent basketball goals except for a few that were "grandfathered." Temporary goals must be removed at night. The older Cheval East has given up on a similar policy. It allows permanent goals under strict specifications. "That is the toughest issue that this board has wrestled with since the beginning of this community," said Steve Gardner, attorney for the district CDD and the Community Association, during a recent appeal by a resident. The district is involved because it's responsible for Cheval West's infrastructure, including parks. The Community Association enforces deed restrictions. Earl Burley, a retired Army pilot and the only incumbent running for the district, also is president of the Community Association. Lori Lencioni, a rival for one of the three seats, thinks Burley has been heavy-handed. "People are afraid to stand up to him, and I'm not," said Mrs. Lencioni, who has a 10-year-old daughter. "We need this area to be more kid-friendly." Miller is closer to Burley's side. Miller said he personally has "paid a price" as a member of Cheval West's Architectural Review Committee, which handles deed-restriction complaints. "He's a very reasonable man," Miller said of Burley. "He has hard and fast opinions just like I do and most of us do. But I've found him to be flexible, and I've found him to be a dedicated community servant." But Miller would like to revisit the opportunity for basketball next to the tot lot. David Rankin is running independent of all this, after studying the district's minutes from the last year. Rankin's interest is fiscal conservatism. "I'd like to give the community a sense of confidence in the way the money's being spent," he said. - Bill Coats can be reached at (813) 226-3469 or coats@sptimes.com. The job: Supervisors of the Cheval West Community Development District oversee upkeep of the neighborhood's common areas and control the district's budget. The candidates:Earl Burley, 64, is a retired Army pilot and is part owner of Video Solutions, which produces corporate training and management videos. Burley is chairman of the Cheval West Community Association, which enforces the subdivision's deed restrictions, and is running for re-election to the Community Development District. He has a bachelor's degree from Central Michigan University. In the 1980s, he was president of the Bay Port Colony Homeowners Association. Burley and his wife, Phyllis, moved to Cheval from Pebble Creek in 1995. Lori Lencioni, 41, is a former sales executive and community volunteer. She heads the organizing committee for her community's July Fourth celebration. She has a master's in business administration from State University of New York at Binghamton. She moved to Cheval from Boise, Idaho, in 1997 with her husband, Rick, and daughter, Rikki. Ray Miller, 56, markets clients' equipment and services to the bridge- and dam-building industry. He serves on Cheval West's Architectural Review Committee, which reviews complaints and requests about deed restrictions. He and his wife, Karen, moved to Cheval in 1998 from Short Hills, N.J. David Rankin, 48, practices law in Carrollwood, often representing licensed professionals who are being investigated by the state. He earned a bachelor's degree from Eckerd College and his law degree from the University of Florida. He is a former president of the Tampa-Carrollwood Rotary Club. Rankin and his wife, Janet, moved to Cheval in 1996 from Carrollwood.
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