Public comment on flooding, feral cats, sky lanterns, trees
What the county recorded
This item is not from the published agenda
It is a stretch of the recording that this archive identified as a separate matter — a call to order, a recess, or something taken up that the agenda does not list. There is no official title, no staff recommendation and no disposition, because the county never recorded one. Everything below is inferred.
The source document
The county’s agenda for Board of County Commissioners, Feb 17, 2026
The published PDF, as served by the county. This item is one entry in it.
The county’s minutes for Board of County Commissioners, Feb 17, 2026
The published PDF, as served by the county. This item is one entry in it.
What was said
Machine transcription of 24m of recording, with speaker names inferred from voice matching. 86% of 90 lines carry a name. It shows what was said, not what was decided, and both the words and the names can be wrong.
Now this is time now is the time for public comment. Citizens are given an opportunity to comment on any current or future agenda item coming before this board and on other business under this board's purview. Today, public comment will be handled as follows. First, we'll take public comment from those who are here in person. Then we will take public comment from those who have pre-registered for an online link and are currently on queue. We request that you address the board. Um we request that you address the board.
Comments are not directed personally against any commissioner or team member, but rather directed Uh at the issues. This provides mutual respect between board members and the public. After stating your name and address for the clerk, a three-minute timer will be activated and a green light will be shown on the podium. After two minutes, a yellow light will indicate you have one minute left. When your time is up, a red light will be displayed. Three beeps will sound and you should close your comments. Online participants will be disconnected.
Madam Clerk, do we have anyone signed up for this?
Yes, we do. Uh the first one signed up is Alan Rose.
Good morning. Alan Rose, [address removed]. Today I bring before you, as I brought before you before, our water waste management and flooding. My background, just so you know, 32 years U.S. Coast Guard, retired, uh started as a ship's navigator, finished up in Port of Tampa, started uh a new operation there, building the Port of Tampa from a seven billion dollar year operation to a over eighteen billion dollars a year upon retirement. And now what
I'm bringing forward is I've always been able to bring some things forward to you, but not like I can now that I'm retired. 2015, I for it was my first time bringing forward barrier islands. 2016, I renamed the island Starkey Island, just to get a little traction, see if we could get something going there. Didn't work. And then we had 2017, the uh Dewberry Project. They did a lot of surveying and a lot of gathering of information which was very good. Has not really been put to use. 2018 I
brought brought forward Green Key proposals. In 2019, brought forward recharging Cruise Lake. I recharge the aquifer plus improved water quality. 2020, Hudson Beach Project, because I knew things weren't getting done. I can do something on my own here. I went out and I moved some rocks around. Knew what needed to be done and what would make a difference between a the radial current that had been developed out there from the development of the hardening of the shoreline. And we got it back to a directional current. Went
from years of restrictions by the health department. Couldn't swim, you couldn't do anything on the water, to since 2020, it's only been averaging once per year. you've had restrictions by the health department.
Um and tw they took a l little bit of a break there. Uh twenty twenty four. Uh brought into into knowledge the riparian flow uh has been negatively impacted uh by the continued rezoning and this in particular because of where I live, Golden Acres. We saw it person I saw it personally and observed what was happening. And all of this rezoning that's going on, we had I brought forward signatures of many of uh your constituents in the area saying We didn't
want this rezoning. One was downsized and the other one is on a continuous hold. That was one area while we didn't pay attention to the southern area. All this redevelopment on Ridge Road has caused real negative impacts. The uh all three spillways are barely functional at all. So last year we watched Rocky Sink spillway go backwards and it flooded out our neighborhood. And you may not have seen that because the flooding in our neighborhood, everybody's on acreage. You just see all the all the uh
animals wading through water and different things. But I took pictures and I sent you all pictures so you could see. That's the type of flooding. And if we continue on this path without taking care of the waterways, it's gonna get really bad. And it's not it's not difficult. It can they can all be addressed. All these waterways issues can be addressed and we just haven't been maintaining it.
A s there's three three billion dollars in funding available for all these projects Yeah, I never like to know if we can go federal, we can go state. There's right now direct funding of three billion dollars. Take Mr. Rose.
Next up is Bruce Um Bumstead.
Are you
done?
Good morning. My name's Bruce Bumpsett. I got something for all you can follow on. Second motion. Second. All
in favor?
Aye. Aye.
Okay. So my my subject here is selective enforcement. We need your name. Okay, since twenty eighteen I've been complaining about the illegally mined properties.
We need your name and address.
My name is Bruce Bumstead. My address is [address removed]. Thank you. And I'm here about selective enforcement. I've been complaining since 2018 about illegally mined properties. The county has came at me with everything and everything they had, so I've learned all the rules about excavation and mining. And what's going on over there is not permitted. It's not permitted by the D E P. It's not permitted by Swift Mud. Swift Mud's given 'em permits in twenty one to move dirt off the property, but not the yellow illegally mine dirt off the property. Yes.
Yeah yeah they're everything's got addresses, parcel IDs, and everything. Okay. So and these are multiple parcel parcels on the whole property. So one of them the the one subject that I'm talking about is right next to the first item is the Pasco Road property. That property's been mined by this company. Their dirt has been sold. It's been blocked off. And now it's advertised as rental space for storage. Okay? And next to that parcels, you have the 8969 Bolton Avenue who's been in violation since 2013, since mining that property, and nothing
has ever been done. Mining is different than excavation. So now they're at the source of now DEP. is issued them a permit to remove the illegally left material from CLC trucking previous so that they could do a site plan and do a topical survey. They didn't remove all that dirt. They now are now mining the illegal the old landfill from the 80s, which is toxic dirt, which has been sifted and spread out all over this county. With no oversight again, no permits, no nothing. They have no right-of-way use, they have no site plan, they have no nothing. And
they're still operating as usual, all under the coverage of the county knowing about it since 2013, with a no knowledge of over a half a million yards moved off that property of illegal dirt. So that's the extent that we're doing. These X parcels, 8632, that's That's a parcel right down the street that's been in violation for five years for illegally leveling and tick cleaning the whole property, filling it all in. Their water runs right down into a spring-fed lake on there. On um the next item is
the property that's on Bolton Avenue. It's a homeless camp. camp now is because everybody's been displaced from the end of Bolton Avenue and they've just displaced into a new parcel. So if the county has all these ROW splaces all over the county, why don't they let the homeless live on them properties so that all the garbage and everything else ends up on your county property, not on people's properties that have left mountains Mountains of garbage at every homeless camplet that's been at. And the county knows where they're all at. They know they're from 52 to Hudson. All in them areas. All in them woods. The next property is
New York Avenue. Piles of millings on a C two on a C two property. No permits, no nothing. You know, and the that's continues on everything. So the next parcel of um let's see which one here.
19 and New York Avenue used to be a just a vacant lot. It's about been leveled, cleared, millings on it, getting ready to be storage. Um there's everyone has different lists of stuff on here, which Highway 19. Um they've turned around at 7806 Maryland Avenue. They've turned around and made a storage center and turned around and millings and everything on it, no permits. There's all these lists of all these complaints are all valid complaints that need to get handled and they've been overlooked and they've been selectively enforced and
it needs to stop.
Thanks sir.
And I agree with
you.
I am the most selective person floor enforced in Pasco. I know that for reason.
Sir, David Allen and his team will speak with you in the back. Thank you.
Next up, Bonnie Garvey.
I mean,
Hi, I'm Bonnie Garvey, [address removed]. We both have the same agenda here. Stop.
David Cruz, [address removed].
And it's about the feral cats. They are damaging my property now and the problem is I have a guy there rescreening my birdcage as we speak. that this is getting expensive for me. I can't keep doing this. And the neighbors, two doors down and behind me, keep feeding the cats. You know, th I counted nine dishes out in front of her house where and she won't stop. I've tried talking to her They just won't stop feeding them. And it's becoming a real problem and
nobody seems to care. Nob I call animal control, they can't do anything. I don't know what else to do. That's why I'm here. You know, I just uh it's becoming a real problem. They're the damage. You know, and I've spent money on putting up devices in the yard to keep 'em out and it's just they're multiplying. had two litters on my front porch and they just keep multiplying. So
uh Bonnie t sa calls it her bird cage, but it's her pool enclosure. And uh, you know, it's been destroyed by cats sitting on it and laying on it and coming there that aren't her cats and
they're falling through. My dog freaks out. They're using it for hammocks, like, you know, they lay up there and they pull it up away from the frame and I have to this is the third time I've had someone out there to redo Am I? screening and it's I you know, I live alone, I'm a widow lady. I can't afford to keep doing this. And I tried talking to the neighbors and I don't know what else to do.
And and I've had feral cat damage because I have a uh a convertible that sits outside and the cats sit on top of that and they c you know, knead it and play with it and you know, th they're they're not considered basically what I think to be wild animals where they're they were um you know, animals that were nature to to our area, which, you know, you can't really bother those but uh because of all these cats that are just left to be out and uh you know, again people feel sorry for 'em. They
feed 'em in different places and uh all they're doing is multiplying and uh they're not controlled animals which uh are causing a lot of damage to people's homes.
Yeah, th my neighbor across the street, same thing, her Lanai screen, they tore it, scratched it in and tore it up. She couldn't be here 'cause she's worried But you know, it's not just me, it's other neighbors in the neighborhood. They're They couldn't be here 'cause they're working. So I'm speaking for the whole neighborhood.
So whether whether it's uh code enforcement or you know, animal control that needs to address it, uh, you guys I guess are the ones that are gonna have to make a decision about who's going to uh take charge of this and try to put uh a hop uh top on it or try to shut it down. So that uh people aren't having damage to their homes because of the situation.
Yeah. Yeah.
Thank
you both. Ms. Cabal is someone from your team here.
Excuse me, David Cruz, we need your address for the record, please.
[address removed].
Thank you.
Thank you both. Thank you.
Next up is Brandy Witten.
Good morning, ma'am.
Hello, Commissioners. My name is Brandy Witten, [address removed]. Um, I come to you today as a concerned citizen to talk about these sky lanterns. I woke up early, drove an hour, and taking time away from homeschooling my children to be here today to let you guys know about what is going on. Last night around 6 p.m., my children saw a parachute falling from the sky.
Um, I ran over as they are pulling it from the tree and this green sky lantern was in the tree. I called non-emergency to be on the lookout and possibly do a patrol because they are in the area falling. Little Everglades ranch was doing a um lunar um What they called a massive lunar lantern festival this past weekend. It ran on the 14th and it is 5.6 miles from my house. Um this location, um,
depending on on the wind, can carry these lanterns. And on their website, it states that Um, these sky lanterns take place at nightfall, and that they are 100% biodegradable and designed for responsible, controlled festival use. Lanterns are available online and for purchase at the festival, subject to availability. That they are also fire resistant, which obviously you can See
that it is not fire resistant and that they are biodegradable. Then 20 minutes later we look up and there is another one falling into our oak tree. And with this burn band that Pasco County has since January 28th. This one actually had little green or little embers coming off of a disc that was in the center that was falling from. The lantern onto our yard. I am thankful that nothing caught fire, but that concern is such an ember
could cause a massive fire in, you know, the rubble from the hurricanes and people having debris on their yards and even wood frame houses. Um, my house was built in 1930, is a wood frame house, and I know how fast that can go up. Um that is my concern, and also the fact that in their website it states that it is approved by fire fire fire marshals and that safety always comes first, that it is 100% dependent
on weather conditions. I screenshot this and put it directly from their website from their event page. Um they say that Um that it was approved, and that is my concern on how the fire marshal can approve an event that these fire or these lanterns, which are also known as fire balloons, would be approved during this time. Um, so that is my concern, and I come to you guys giving awareness and also just concerned for our area
allowing these kind of events, and if it's just financial and if it's financial that we're allowing these events that we're outweighing the actual cause. So thank you.
Thank you. Thank you for making the trick over. Ms. Jeff Sire, do you have someone from your team to visit with her?
Yes, thank you. Joanna Cheshire, Interim Assistant County Administrator for Public Safety. Um, we are aware of, you know, coming up to this weekend there was a lot of c communication uh with the leadership team and myself um about how to proceed. We are under a burn ban. We take safety very seriously. We've had um uh many brush fires uh since the burn ban um and we're seeing that in Pasco as well as our neighboring counties. Um so leading up to this weekend, uh we decided to have them not light anything
on Sunday um because we saw what happened on on Saturday. Luckily there was no issues to report on Saturday. Um but there are uh team members here, um deputy chiefs, but some of it maybe come up and add some color to the Situation.
Do we want to talk about this now or
we have ten third time certain we'll do it during old business. Thank you.
Okay, the last person on the list is Dan Ken Callahan.
Good morning. Uh Dan Callahan, [address removed]. I want to thank your staff and uh Commissioner Starkey for keeping my friends and I uh informed about the tree ordinance. Uh I just want to make a few comments uh today. I'm happy to see that you've uh put it forward until uh late March. Uh perhaps To give you an opportunity to more carefully examine, you know, what you're proposing. Uh on the way here, I was
at the corner of uh Plaith Road and uh Little Road, uh, as I often have been in the last uh few months. And uh when you look across the the road at that uh development, uh what you see is uh clear-cutting and uh It looks more like uh Texas than uh Florida. Uh I would suggest to you that uh you look more carefully perhaps at the idea that uh clear cutting can be bought off by a developer. Um I'm
reminded of um uh several years ago when Sims Park uh was being renovated, they were taking Down all the trees. I came out of the Historical Society and saw them putting big X's on the hickory trees that had been around that property for a very long time. I asked the man what he was up to and he said, Well, you know, we're gonna cut these down. So we made a fuss about it and got the developer to sit down with us. And he said to me, Mr. Callahan,
when we get through, there's going to be more. trees in Sims Park than there are now. And my response was, not in my lifetime. So please consider uh what you're doing when it comes to removing these trees. When they're gone, they're gone forever and it's gonna take a long time to replace them. Thank you so much.
Thanks sir.
No one else has signed up, no one online.
Does anybody have anybody else in the audience would like to address the board? Yes, ma'am.
Good morning, Pastor Jack.
Morning. Uh Pastor Jen Kerouac, [address removed]. the Pasco part of Spring Hill. I just wanted to come and say thank you to the board and to the county for their support during the very long stretch of cold weather. And I wanted to just let everyone know and and the county administrator and the other staff that are here through
the support of not just the county but other county partners within the county. We ourselves were able to assist over 40 people getting into at a minimum temporary shelter. And more permanent shelter. So essentially I just wanted, you know, We should all experience the fruit of the labor and um and without the county's support we would not necessarily
have been able to do as much as we did. So today I'm here to just say thank you. Thank you, Mandy. Awesome.
Thank you, Pastor Jen, for everything you do.
Absolutely. Great partnership between our local community churches and the county to to help folks. Truly a team effort. So Thanks for your help, Pastor Jim. Anyone else would like to address the board before we close public comment?
Come on up.
Name and address for the record, please. Yes,
my name is Don Hassey and I'm at [address removed]. So um
We live in Bexley and we moved up there about March of last year. and we stood on the property before the house was finished and we looked across the way and Ask the salesman, hey are they gonna build? over there in the wilderness area. He goes, No, it's Dean Wilderness, it's the counties they won't build on. And so about six to twelve months after we moved in We get a notification that they're gonna put a four lane road down Budbexley right at the big roundabout, which we live near. And
um Yeah, it had my wife very upset. Have a beautiful home. And there's many beautiful homes up there. No one told us about a road going in. Which then we find out after we get this notification from meeting. that B Bon Bexley had to agree to a road going through before they even started the neighborhood. Which we weren't aware of. And I don't know how many people were aware of at the time. I mean building a road up
there, if you really have ever driven in Bud Bexley, it it seems a little ridiculous because it goes right in front of a a grade school, right behind it actually. Um It's a beautiful neighborhood. There's people ride bikes, they run, they jog, they rollerblade, um, tons of wildlife. I'm surprised more people haven't been up in arms about the whole wildlife thing. Uh there's deer crossing the roads and they've been hit even now. With the way it is. Uh alligators
crossing the road, sand hill cranes, you can imagine, right? So I took a trip Just driving on a little golf and I was down in Clearwater, had to go to Saint Pete and I drove on that parkway. It was a beautiful ride. Anybody ridden on that road? nineteen and just straight through, all the way. No stops. And then I happened to have to drive from Clearwater to Tarpon. And that was quite the challenge if you've ever been on that road,
because you have to stop every two miles, three miles, and it's terrible. And I think what they're looking for a solution for for fifty four going from Well, probably Newport Ridgeie all the way across to seventy five, but for our our area, from the Suncoast Parkway all the way across, they're looking for a solution to relieve that traffic. So they think, Well, we'll bring 'em through Bexley. We'll bring that traffic through. which, if they could simply figure out a way to fund a A
nice beautiful parkway. From the Sun Coast Parkway on fifty four, Straight through. to where fifty six breaks off at fifty four, right past the outlet malls. That would relieve a ton of tension. It'd be a tough build, but it can be done because it was done in in Clearwater to Saint Pete.
Thanks sir. Thank you very much. Uh Brantford or David, somebody from your shop, give him an update on the potentials there. Thank you. All right, one last call for public comment. Anyone else? Alright, thank you. We will close public comment and we will move forward to our 1030 time certain.