Tourism events census response and pedestrian bridge

2:07:06Um I know Commissioner Starkey you had something you you missed, but let me just go through my items real quick. Um Upcoming tourism events. I just want to update everybody with when it comes to the tourism council. I think it's very good news. Um, our last TDC meeting, we approved room night reimbursement incentives for events that will lead to an estimated 2,400 room nights in Pasco County. So people are starting to come here again and bring their events to Pasco County. And those are performance-based incentives that are paid out after the room nights happen. So I I think think that's a

2:07:36great way to go about these things. It's a great diversity when it comes to these events. Um there's beach volleyball over at Sun West that's gonna be coming. Um a golf tournament, a fishing tournament, Commissioner Weightman. um bath multiple basketball tournaments. Um one of them was r which was r really cool is um this is a Girls NCAA sponsored tournament that's coming to Pasco County. It was supposed to be done in the final four, which was in New Orleans that got canceled because of COVID. So they're going to move

2:08:06that event here to Pasco County, which is pretty, really, really, really neat stuff. A lot of exposure for um for the county. Um some of the other events that we were able to bring to Pasco County. were actually previously held in St. Petersburg in Tampa. um as well as the one in New Orleans and another one that was previously held in Tallahassee. So people are starting to move their events from other areas, not only in our region but for other in the state and country to Pasco County. As we know the Wire Grass Sports Camp campus of Pasco

2:08:36County is now open and had had some soft opening events um recently. Um and then I well won't get into much details but obviously all of you are aware of the current the media event that's coming up. Can't do a big large extravaganza like we wanted to do, but we still want to get the word out of the of the complex. So that'll be coming up soon. Census. Uh I mentioned the census a few times. We're still pushing hard. Uh their self-response date deadline. It's now September thirtieth. It's been moved to September thirtieth.

2:09:06We all know how important it is when it comes to federal funding and the possibility of other pluses for our area and our county if we do well on the census. So we're at sixty-four point two percent currently response rate. Sixty-four point two percent. It's a little better than the statewide response rate, which is sixty point six percent. But we need to keep pushing that. Um the final month, obviously during the final month. over the next decade and from there on out. And another item I w I wanted to bring up, I won't get into

2:09:36the weeds too much. Just something to think about if you would. I need to obviously get with staff about it, but I feel this is the time to um bring it up to everybody and try to move it forward. Um I think you can all appreciate this and a lot of discussion I think Commissioner Starkey can really appreciate this. But if you know the intersection of fift uh five eighty one i.e. Bruce B. Downs in fifty six, that's one of the largest intersections in the nation. It's huge, right?

2:10:02Ridiculous.

2:10:02Yeah, it's a huge huge intersection. Um for bikers and walkers, that is impossible to cross.

2:10:09Mm-hmm.

2:10:09That is very, very again, one I think it's the widest one of the widest it sits just behind uh Flamingo and Las Vegas Boulevard, if I'm not correct, in Las Vegas. I think those those are the stats I heard in the past. I'll come back to you with that. Does that sound familiar, Mike? Uh it does, but it's it's quite large. It's quite large, it is. Um I see it frequently. Um But you have a number of paths. Um you have a very wide trail that is uh that goes along Bruce Bowns. Um you also

2:10:39have, you know, some sidewalks and um other parts portions of Bruceby Downs which lead into Hillsborough County and then you have uh a a I guess you call it a sidewalk along fifty six, which I would love to see widened in the future. Um but it especially with fifty six being extended now along that trail Again, be great for our citizens to have access, especially bike access, all across there so they can come from whether it be the Bruce B. Downs um towards the Wesley Chapel area or from

2:11:10the uh western part of the county, as well as we talk about in pushing and staff and our planners to push to have walkable communities. We have a number of neighborhoods right close, very close to that intersection. Now whether it be you know Seven Oaks, you got a stancha that's close, you have Northwood right over there. You have a number of like townhouse and apartment communities, Meadow Points

2:11:32It's just hard for 'em to get over. So my thought is, you know, to we want to make this, you know, bikeable, walkable, you need to have access. Again, number of stores, number of nice little restaurants, um, bakeries and things along Bruce B Downs, the mall across the street. We have the new brewery coming, which is gonna be one of the largest in the you know, West Florida. Um And uh all four corners have multiple things um to um to benefit the citizen. So I would love to see if we can look at possibly getting a I I want

2:12:02to call it like a flyover um for for bikes and walkers. I mean golf carts would be cool too, but if that can't happen, at least for bikes and walkers, to go from Bruce B Downs over to fifty six to give access. So I know this is uh F dot property and they have they own the the right-of-way there. But just maybe Mike we can get together, start thinking about this, uh have conversations with F dot, andy'll work on some things. But if we can just maybe get this in our minds a little bit of what we might be able to do to make that happen.

2:12:32I would suggest you um get with Tina Russo.

2:12:34Okay.

2:12:35That and she's the head of our B Pack and it's that's that advisory group that works on things like that. So make a presentation to B Pack. I I attend a lot of their meetings. Um because 'cause there's a process for that. Um but I think it w I think that's a good thing. Um that'd be great to have something like that over there. It's just a process that and it then it has to get on our M P O and and all that. But and that'll be a big one. But they'll decide Where the best places. I mean they'll

2:13:03Yeah, right at that intersection may not be the best place because of the traffic signals, but there's plenty Somewhere along there. There's plenty of s plenty of lane along there. So if you guys think it's a good idea, I'd love to move forward with just having further discussions on that. Okay, great. And I had one more thing that Left my mind. So it must not have been that important. I'll come back at the end of the day. I'm just kidding. I'm not. Commissioner Commissioner Starkey, you said you forgot one thing.