Post-meeting county announcements

4:01:59Pasco County waterways and wildlife depend on you to keep them healthy. Excess fertilizer, grass clippings, trash, oils, and pet waste wash into gutters and storm drains when it rains. Stormwater carries these pollutants directly into our lakes and rivers, creating an unhealthy environment for fish, waterfowl, and other aquatic animals. Storm drains are meant for clean rainwater. Most other discharges are illegal. If you suspect an illicit discharge, please contact Pasco County, Department of Public Works, at seven two seven eight three four three six one one.

4:10:22Hi, I'm Bob Harrison with Pasco County Libraries. Today I'm sharing my morning blend book club recommendations. My first book takes us to Scotland for a tense murder mystery. It's A Season to Kill by debut author Nick Winter. When lawyer Darcy Sinclair finds the body of local socialite Ellie Bradshaw, it quickly becomes more than just a gruesome scene. Childhood trauma bubbles to the surface as the body count rises, town secrets are exposed, and grudges are

4:10:52uncovered. The characters are unforgettable, and as the book rushes toward its violent climax, it's clear to Darcy that a malignant killer. resides within her inner circle. If she doesn't uncover the truth in time, Darcy might lose everything. My next book is All the Beautiful Lies by Peter Swanson. This is a clever tale of obsession, revenge, and murder. Harry Ackerson has always considered his stepmother, Alice, to be beautiful, if a little aloof. Days

4:11:22before his college graduation, Alice calls with shocking news. His father is dead, and the police think it's suicide. Devastated, Harry returns to his father's home. In Maine. Shortly after he arrives, Harry meets a mysterious young woman named Grace. She claims to be new to the area, but Harry suspects she may not be a complete stranger to his family. Harry finds himself falling deeper under both their spells. Yet the closer he gets, the more disoriented he becomes, fearing they are hiding dangerous,

4:11:53even deadly, secrets. My last book is perfect for. Middle grade readers. It's Scritch Scratch by Lindsay Curry. Claire has absolutely no interest in the paranormal. She's a scientist, which is why she can't think of anything worse than having to help her dad on one of his ghost-themed Chicago bus tours. She thinks she's made it through when she sees a boy with a sad face and dark eyes at the back of the bus. There's something off about his presence, especially when she checks at the end of the tour

4:12:23he's gone. Now she's being haunted. The boy from the bus wants something, and Claire needs to find out what before it's too late. Thank you and happy reading.

4:12:36You can read a story You can go for a walk. So why not combine both? Welcome to our story walk.

4:12:48Here at J.B. Starkey Wilderness Park, we have installed a new story in our story walk. Check out this new seasonal themed title, The Very Last Leaf, by Steph Wade and illustrated by Jennifer Davison, where you'll learn about Lance, the Cottonwood Leaf, and how he must face his fear of falling with the change of the seasons. The story walk consists of 18 Reading stations positioned along a 0.2 mile loop. Along the way, you'll also learn some fun facts

4:13:18about the changing colors of leave. The outdoor reading experience allows children, families, and people of all ages to read a story while walking along a nature trail. Head to the back left trail of the playground area, follow the purple trailblazes, and you'll be on your way. A special thank you to all who partnered with libraries to make this project possible. Pasco County Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources, the Friends of the Pasco County Library System, and AmeriCorps.

4:14:04The purpose of these gates was to provide residential and roadway flood reduction in the Trinity Oaks and the Thousand Oaks neighborhoods.

4:14:13The whole idea was to automate the process of opening and closing of floodgates and reading the water levels during storm events.

4:14:22So once we push the button, we could actually see the gate opening. We could tell that there's no blockages. We could tell that there's been no debris buildup. So it gives us real perspective from the office. So as before we would have a crew of workers that would have to go out to each site, manually hand crank the actuator wheels. It was very laborious, time consuming task.

4:14:45Three, two, one, five.

4:14:49SCADA is an acronym for supervisory control and data acquisition system.

4:14:55I call this very transformative. In many other municipalities or counties, they have this system.

4:15:02If we know that a major storm is imminent, We can open the gates in advance. What this does is this will allow the water in those watersheds to recede. This gives us information. It's very insightful. It allows us to make decisions here in the office. I think it's a very handy tool to have that capability from the public works office.

4:15:25So now we can elect. Electronically monitor the levels of the water. And so we know way ahead of time now if we have an issue or if we've reached that level where we can go ahead and open that gate. Before we would have had to send someone out, sometimes in really bad weather, to go see what's happening at each gate.

4:15:52So that people will now have something else to do in in our premissions.

4:15:57I can see this kind of technology spreading throughout the county as we tackle each different area. This kind of technology will bring comfort and assurance to our community that we're gonna get those floodwaters out in a timely manner.

4:16:33Welcome to Pasco County, the fastest growing county in the Tampa Bay area. The Pasco Board of County Commissioners is a high-performing organization with 2,700 employees representing 57 lines of business, serving nearly 600,000 people over 740 square miles, and we're always looking for talented people to join our team. This is your opportunity to help make your community a better place to live, work, and play. If you're ready to be part Of a great success story,

4:17:03consider a career with Pasco County government, recently recognized as a top workplace for 2021. Opportunities include careers in utilities, public works, traffic operations, solid waste, animal services, public transportation, information technology, libraries, parks, human services, recreation and natural resources, administration, senior services. Fire rescue. Nine one

4:17:33one. Fleet. Building construction services, code enforcement, planning, environmental science, and so much more. Plus, our benefits package is tough to beat. We offer employee wellness centers. Health, vision, and dental benefits? Paid holidays and tuition reimbursement, just to name a few. We are local government reimagined. We're progressive. Innovative and in many areas

4:18:04Pasco County is leading the way. Want to learn more about what we do and how you can be part of it? Visit mypasco.net and click on Job and Volunteer Opportunities. Our team is more than 2,700 strong. Your neighbors, friends, and even family members.

4:18:29Come join Pasco County and make a difference every day.

4:18:46Creating a diverse, vibrant, and water-efficient landscape improves our homes and businesses while protecting the environment, benefiting our whole community. The Tampa Bay Waterwise Award is designed to recognize residential and commercial businesses for their outstanding Florida-friendly and waterwise landscaping, and their continued efforts to promote Florida-friendly principles within our communities. Today I'm excited for you to meet our Pasco County winners as they receive their well-deserved awards.

4:19:17So again, Mr. Jackson, on behalf of Pasco County, the Board of County Commissioners and the citizens of Pasco County, I want to congratulate you for the 2020 Waterwise Award. So what Mr. Jackson is doing and Mrs. Jackson are doing here when it comes to conserving water, but having just a beautiful landscape with native Florida plants is something that's pretty amazing.

4:19:37Well it means a lot, but not just for us. Because we've been trying for years to encourage others to do the same thing we've done here. Native plants are more in tune with our Florida environment, and there's been a major decline in wildlife here in Florida over the last number of years, and it's frightening. But by planting native plants, they're far more supportive of native wildlife, and that's a very important. Important consideration. It's something that we can do for wildlife.

4:20:07At the same time, we make our yard someplace we can go and enjoy it.

4:20:16Hi, I'm Commissioner Fitzpatrick and we are here live today with Heartwood Preserve Conservation Cemetery. And we are here to say thank you to all of their wonderful volunteers and staff and to Miss Laura Starkey. We would like to present on behalf of Pasco County, we would like to present the Waterwise 2020 Award as the non-residential

4:20:40Award, yeah, thank you. It's very important that we can reuse and conserve our water so we can teach our kids of the future that they can water their gardens, build community gardens, they can grow their own food and we're reusing our natural resources.

4:20:57We're so happy to be part of this award and it's just I think it's a great thing that Pasco County and Tampa Bay Water is doing. It helps provide an a fun incentive for people to do more more native landscaping and more you know if water efficient landscaping but this is about the landscaping around our our building which we took care to make sure that we purchased only and put in only native Florida native plants that are appropriate to this ecosystem. So

4:21:27we're we're excited. The Tampa Bay Water WAS Awards Program is always looking for the best landscapes using Waterwise design and maintenance practices. If you want to showcase your vibrant, attractive, and water-efficient Florida-friendly landscape, visit Tampa Baywaterwise.org to apply today or call the University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Extension, Pasco County Office, for more information. on Florida friendly landscaping.

4:22:04No three and deep on the tree.

4:22:07So you sign up for Pasco County's Special Needs Registry. That means you have a bed at the special needs shelter if you want one, right? Nope. Registration does not guarantee you a bed at a special needs shelter. It's simply registration, not a reservation. You should register with the Pasco County Special Needs Program before hurricane season begins. And you can register right on our website. Just go to Pasco Emergency. And click on the special needs link. Then, if Pasco County calls for evacuations

4:22:37and you live in an evacuation zone, we will call you to find out if you plan to stay in the special needs shelter. And Pasco County Emergency Management will provide transportation to and from the shelter if you need it. So remember, planning ahead is the best way to keep everyone safe. The special needs shelter should really be your last resort. If you think you'll need to stay in a special needs shelter, watch our videos about who qualifies to stay at one and what you should bring. Make your emergency plans before you need to evacuate.

4:23:08Don't wait until a disaster is heading our way to register as a special needs patient.

4:23:15Both three and deep on three.

4:23:18Hi, I'm Angelo Lorenzo, Regional Manager at the New River Library. We're putting on the final touches at your favorite branch. There are lots of changes inside and out, starting with the parking. As you know, we've moved the entrance drive to the east side of the building, and on your way to the parking lot, you pass a book return kiosk under cover from the elements. to keep you nice and dry when you are just dropping off a book. We've added new landscaping to the entrance

4:23:49and a bright new sign to keep you informed of events and happenings at the library at a glance. Inside, the flooring is complete, along with the ceilings and lighting. An expansive new front desk is the hub of the library, with friendly staff ready to assist you quickly and efficiently. The furniture, shelves, and fixtures are in place, and we're preparing to deliver the books to the branch soon. The Discovery Gardens at New River are the gem of the library.

4:24:20We'll have a variety of display gardens, sensory features, and of course, garden beds for your use. We've also installed a covered area for holding seminars and demonstrations. We know you're anxious to enjoy the remodeled New River Library, and we're eager to show it off. Follow our social media pages and PascoLibraries.org for updates and for the opening date. Thank you.

4:24:59Today we're celebrating the transition of Pasco County Public Transportation to a new, more modern name, Go Pasco.

4:25:13It's it's time for a change. It's uh so much brighter, so much better colors. Uh the buses look a lot better. It's

4:25:20goodbye, PCPT. It

4:25:22was

4:25:22always hard time to remember those initials and to have Go Pasco is gonna be amazing for our citizens to remember, even for us to remember.

4:25:30We've been PCPT for 25 years. Go Pasco envisions exactly what we mean. We're here. in Pasco to go where you need us to go. I think we're looking

4:25:41forward to the future. Showing that we have a lot of pride in our community. We get to the yeah people actually liking that a lot. And like I said they just like the modernizations a lot better.

4:25:51It makes us more reliable. Go Pasco Tells you who we serve. We serve Pasco. With PCPT, it was tough to determine that. So that's why we went to this new new name and new brand. Again, vibrant colors help us get that message across.

4:26:07Thank you to the team for putting this all together. This has been a 20-something years we've been PCPT. Goodbye and see ya on Go Pasco.

4:26:32Are you in a relationship with somebody who is controlling you and making you do things that you don't want to do? Are you performing sex acts for things like

4:26:40Good. Drugs or a place to sleep? Are you being forced to do sexual favors instead of paying for drugs?

4:26:47Is someone keeping you from going where you want or not letting you see your friends and family? Are you being forced to travel to other places? Is someone

4:26:54holding your ID, money, or other personal information and keeping it away from

4:27:00you? Do you ever ask yourself Am I doing this because I want to? or because of being forced to.

4:27:06You could be a victim of human trafficking, but we are here to help. Every law enforcement agency in Pasco County, including the Pasco Sheriff's Office. The Port Ritchie Police Department. The

4:27:16Zephyrhills Police Department. The New Port Ritchie Police Department. And the Dade City Police Department. Are working to help people just like you every single day. You may be afraid. And you may not trust law enforcement. But we are here to help you.

4:27:30We care about you. Your community cares about you, and we all want the best for you. You matter to us. If you're being controlled.

4:27:38And forced to commit crimes for your pimp or trafficker, you are not a criminal.

4:27:42Even if you have a

4:27:43criminal record, we will help you. We can connect you to people who will help you find a safe place to live, to get a good job. and to get back on your feet.

4:27:54We will act quickly and discreetly to help get you out of your situation. You are not alone. We want to help.

4:28:00We have dispatchers on standby to take your call and advocates that can give you the help that you need.

4:28:07You have value. And you do not deserve to be forced to do things you don't want to do.

4:28:14We are in this together and you are not alone. Please call one of the numbers listed below if you want

4:28:19help.

4:28:26Here in Florida,

4:28:27we're no stranger to rain, and Pasco County Public Works wants to show you how we're working to improve drainage along your roads. Our crews work hard to keep your roads in great shape, and you'll notice after a heavy rain, we often see ponding or standing water on the road that doesn't easily drain away. Ponding can be a problem for a couple reasons. Most importantly, it can be a safety issue because when you drive through standing water, you can start to hydroplane and lose

4:28:57control.

4:29:00So why does ponding happen? In most cases, it's because the shoulder doesn't slope away from the road, so the water doesn't have anywhere else to go. Pasco crews are always on the lookout for these problem areas and have a relatively easy way to fix them. Most Pasco roads that have water ponding problems have a sod curb where the grass grows right up next to the road. Our crews use this machine, called a grater, to shave off about three feet of sod running along the road. This creates a slope,

4:29:30allowing water to run away from the road. Our crews also use a loader to scoop debris. and a sweeper to clean the work site. Then finishing touches are added, like new sod or stone to prevent the fresh soil from washing away. And just like that. Ponding is gone and your roads are protected. This easy, cost-effective fix doesn't alter the rights of way or affect your property in any way. Thanks for watching and please visit mypasco.net

4:30:02to learn more about how Pasco is working for you.