Commissioner Weightman report

3:00:06Weightman.

3:00:07Thanks, Chair. I have a couple of pictures we have to go up. Uh first I'd like to thank Congressman Bill Rackis and his team. Well they went and had a coffee with the Congressman Town Hall in Lexington Oaks. And uh good conversation. with with him and we're fortunate to have Uh he and Congresswoman Lee. uh in our part of the world so appreciate and she had a uh a meeting uh yesterday evening. Uh in Westley Chapel as well. So

3:00:37good to have them both uh back home for a little while before they go. back up uh to north of Richmond to uh go to workforce up there. Uh we also visited uh the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus for the open house and team did a great job. Keith Wiley, Ronnie Alton, Uh Christina Cardone I think was there. I think she was here earlier today. Uh Matt McDonough, Monica Wall Holly. Will it? Is that how you say your

3:01:07name? And uh Coach Smallwood, Isaiah Smallwood, he has he has good energy. So excited to see the energy and momentum going forward from the team uh who's uh at the sports campus. Uh we also attended uh both Orange Orange Belt Trail meetings, uh the East Pasco and the West Pasco meeting and uh I don't know if any other board members have attended, but there's a there's a clear

3:01:38difference in opinion on the trail. Really once you get east of Bellmy Brothers, folks are uh pretty passionate about the direction of that trail. Uh and uh our office has had several m meetings and um I encourage it. the the folks who could potentially be impacted once they get east of east of Bellmy Brothers, what they have to say and uh you know, encouraging remarks from uh the folks uh on the west side of the county. So two very different opinions

3:02:10on the matter uh but appreciated staff did a good job uh and uh and appreciated uh the opportunity to hear what folks had to say and engaging engaging uh the public so uh good work there um we also went and visited uh Westchapel Rec Center uh Hyatt and Amandela Amanda Amandela Hill and Hyatt Mazilli, they're both planners, I think, with Terry's department. And we

3:02:40had a twenty fifty workshop. And uh it was raining, so I had a couple of handfuls of people there, but it was really My first time participating uh in the twenty fifty workshop comp plan and Um appreciated the level of engagement using the phones and the apps and Yeah, putting it on the big screen and the the the the breakout sessions with the tables so um another another nice Nice public meeting. Uh so Terry, I guess that's your your team. Uh appreciate what they did. And

3:03:11uh again, congratulations to Wiregrass Ranch uh and Wiregrass Ranch Boulevard being open. It's pretty wild to drive through that northern section and just look to your left and you see Saddlebrook uh and other places that we didn't get to see, so congratulations there and I'll close with uh made a comment a couple of board meetings ago about how we Look at uh you know commissioner starker brings it up the the drive through restaurants, the car

3:03:41washes, the self storage, and the design standards. And so uh my team and I had a meeting with Terry very

3:03:51Uh and uh, Matt? Was it m Chris? And Chris. uh very interesting conversation with Terry and his team on the layout of these Of these uh businesses and the the side and back parking And There's plenty of bad examples. uh everywhere but moving forward I I'm excited to see not to put you on a spot now Terry but I hope that other commissioners will will talk

3:04:21to Terry and Terry I'm anxious to for when you bring your presentation forward Uh it's it's refreshing to see how just some simple changes

3:04:33for just a different feeling when you go to these places and shop and get your food or what have you. So uh Terry, thank you. And uh that's all I all I have.

3:04:43Okay. Let me add something since you brought up the orange belt uh orange belt drill. It's a very important trail. There's been a misunderstanding with the people on the east side of the county. They they are thinking that we're cutting their land in half. Right. We're going over their land. So that message got out and people just exploded that. When that's not gonna happen at all. We're not going to condemn any of their property. Right. We're not gonna cut their property in half. And they need to understand that this trail is gonna be for the use coming

3:05:14across our entire county. And coming into the east side of the county is gonna be a very well used Aren't about trail. So and and we'll add to the better things that are coming in in the Pasco and in the east side.

3:05:29I talked to Mr. Starkey. I talked to some business people on the east side, one whose last name is Simpson. And he's very excited about the opportunities that he's gonna have. put retail along the trail. Um and uh and it's it's really you know, used to always tease me about pushing the trail, but He is buying property along the trail for economic opportunity along

3:05:59the proposed trail route. So I think it's very smart and you know w

3:06:06People um get misinformation and um sometimes have um their own Um in my opinion, um uh unrealistic impressions of trails bringing in crime and whatever. But There is no doubt that the the closer you are to a trail like of this type the your property values go up. and you're actually safer 'cause there's more eyes more eyes

3:06:36around to stop crime. So um I look forward, you know, we we have a ways to go on this. Um but I I I look forward to more and more discussions on this, but I think it's gonna be wonderful for the county.

3:06:48Just let me add on the number two. So uh my my impression when I met with the folks from the east side is there was like four or five different routes as I believe, different connections all the way through. And I think they had a strong voice to how it was gonna affect them. So I think as we look at that, we just take that to effect as we go forward. I think we'll be okay. I think there's alternatives there that can make it all work. It's just a matter of make it all work that works for everybody. It'll work out.

3:07:09It'll work out. And I've spoken to people who live on the east side, say they love the trail. They don't want it near near their home, but they will get in the car. And drive to the trailhead next to someone else's home? and drive ride their bikes in front of their home. So it's Any notice? Nimbys. Huh. NIMBES. Okay, I think I'm not sure.

3:07:30No, no Commissioner Weightman.

3:07:32Terry or Terry or somebody forgive me, so I so Sam moved on. Who's the uh The uh The young lady in charge of of it now, what's her name? Remind me of her name.

3:07:45It's in engineering.

3:07:47It might be a good one.

3:07:54Yeah, Erin. You know, her first meeting was at the the the Dade City Orange Belt session. Poor

3:08:00thing.

3:08:02But she hung tough. She hung tough. The crowd didn't allow

3:08:06her to