A Resolution By The Board Of County Commissioners Of Pasco County, Florida, Declaring October 2026 As Florida Greenways And Trails Month In Pasco County

1:10:32I will move to R into R S Two, Florida Greenways and Trails Month. Commissioner Starkey's

1:10:38Okay.

1:10:42Switch out.

1:10:45Very good. I will go ahead and read the resolution by the Board of County Commissioners, resolution number twenty seven dash zero two eight, a resolution by the Board of County Commissioners of Pasco County, Florida, declaring October twenty twenty six as Florida Greenways and Trails Month in Pasco County. Whereas green rays and trails conserve Native landscapes and ecosystems link natural areas with communities and provide Florida residents and visitors of all ages and abilities. With year-round opportunities for free health and fitness activities

1:11:15and a connection with the state's natural, historical, and cultural heritage. ANRAS Pasco County completed its Greenways, Trails, and Blue Way Master Plan in 2023, outlining a long term vision for a connected countywide Greenway network that enhances quality of life, supports economic development, promotes safe non motorized transportation, and fosters eco tourism and outdoor recreation. Anrest Pasco County is home to nearly three hundred miles of paved and unpaved trails

1:11:46and more than eighty miles of designated Blue Way. including regionally significant facilities such as the Sun Coast Trail, Starkey Wilderness Trail, Orange Belt Trail, with Lakeshore State Trail, and Coastal Anclote Trail, many of which form vital links to the statewide Sun Trail system. And whereas the Starkey Wilderness Trail and Sun Coast Trail are part of the Florida Coast to Coast Trail System and will span two hundred and fifty three miles from St. Petersburg to Titusville. and play a vital role in the regional trail network.

1:12:16And Raspasco County continues to prioritize trail development with several capital projects underway, including the Orange Belt Trail and the Withlacoochee State Trail. And whereas the Orange Belt Trail is a proposed multi-use corridor envisioned as a twelve foot paved trail that will provide regional connectivity, enhance the existing and planned regional trail network that includes the Coast to Coast Trail, Starkey Wilderness Trail, Sun Coast Trail and the Withlacoochee State Trail, and will connect the communities of Trinity, Odessa,

1:12:47Lando Lakes, San Antonio, St. Leo and Dade City, and whereas the Withlacoochee Strait State Trail Extension will close the gap between the existing Withlacoochee State Trail and the existing Hardy Trail in Dade City, strengthening and connecting the local and regional trail systems. And whereas Pasco County continues to advance regional trail connectivity through ongoing partnership with the Florida Department of Transportation, including the construction of two new pedestrian and bicycle overpasses that will carry the Suncoast Trail over State Road 52 and State

1:13:17Road 54, further enhancing safety and strengthening the county's active transportation network. And whereas Pasco County remains committed to seeking opportunities, partnerships, and investments that expand and enhance greenways, trails, and blue ways, ensuring access for present and future generations. Now, therefore, be it resolved by the Board of County Commissioners of Pasco County, Florida, that said board hereby declares October twentieth, twenty October twenty twenty six as Florida Greenways and Trail Month in Pasco County and encourages all citizens

1:13:47to enjoy the and value the health benefits and natural resources of Florida's greenways and trails for present as well as future generations. Dun a resolved in regular session with the corn present and voting this twentieth day of October twenty twenty six.

1:14:02Move to approve.

1:14:03Second. All in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Mr. Starkey.

1:14:07Well, you know, this is one of my favorite. Manufacturing Day, Greenways and Trails Day, or month I guess. Um Um and it's so fitting that today we have the Trailblazer Society. Doing A five day ride across um the state on the Coast to Coast Trail and they're in Starkey Wilderness Park right now for lunch. Um so I I and where's Ralph? Because Ralph served on the Greenways and Trails uh Board he's not here today, huh?

1:14:38Yeah,

1:14:38he's here.

1:14:39He's hiding. He he should be in this up there too. But um and you know I I serve three governors on the on this uh Greenways and Trail, so

1:14:49Contrary to what some of my fellow folks think. Most of the people absolutely love these trails and are and move here because of these trails. There he is. Get in there, Ralph. Get up here, Ralph. You put your time in. Um and I'm just so excited that um gosh, I'm so excited to hear about the three hundred miles and then and we're working on more. So um with that, thanks for all your good work. Welcome back, Rebecca. Rebecca. Yeah. So congratulations and

1:15:19thank you for all your work guys. Um I know I call y'all all the time about these, but um it's a great Great program for Pasco and and Florida, so thank you Dope.

1:15:30Uh good morning. David Engel, Planning and Economic Development Director. I want to make an admission today. I did not write that resolution. But if I did, I couldn't have done a better job. It was excellent. Trails do so many things for our county. It connects us. It gives people that don't have uh access to an automobile, uh a way of of of tr transportation, networking, and interconnections. It ties our community together, and it also gets traffic off the road. And most importantly,

1:16:01lifestyle preferences are changing in the United States. Years ago, uh people on to get a bigger, larger, and larger home through the ecosystem of housing. Then we had the McMansion era, but now people are not buying homes or buying communities. And trails have a tremendous economic impact. Our employers want them, our residents want them, and our commercial retail people want them. And I sure want them because I don't like the traffic on our roadways. So uh that's what we do and uh I like

1:16:31to say that the uh the parks, uh recreational natural resource department, public works, facilities, um, planning, development, economic growth, we came together with uh Nick Uren, the county engineer, Rebecca Bog, our transportation planner. We we're working on the plan, we're implementing it, and I'll c tell you after over the last three years. We put in hundreds of miles of trails and we continue to do so today. Thank you for your support.

1:16:58So Keith Wiley, Director of Parks Recreation, National. Trail user. Yeah, Trail User, uh, Trail Advocate. Uh, and I just want to thank David and his team for the cooperation, the ability to work together. This is obviously a lot of a lot of people it takes to kind of make this happen. Pasco is fortunate that they're able to actually use the natural environment and pair it with the transportation environment and make these awesome opportunities. So anyway, thank you for your support. Thank you for all the hard work. that the team does all the time to make this happen. It's not easy to connect all the lines. So thank you.

1:17:27Um can I say also, um Chuck Cardin is here from Tampa Bay Water. And we're working with them on the Orange Belt Trail. As you know, we'll be going into the Cypress Creek Well field and utilizing uh some of their property to get from Aaron cut off into the park, so Chuck, thank you so much. And we're also going up the Rangeland Boulevard former Tower, um which there alongside. So uh we appreciate our partnership with Tampa Bay Water too on the trails.

1:17:56Well let's get Nick Chuck And uh Brown fall in the picture as well.

1:18:00Alright. I'm gonna come down. What do you guys want to do? We're kinda on that borderline of uh

1:18:05we'll see up.

1:18:10There it is.

1:18:22I don't think so.

1:18:27I'd rather be able to

1:18:29come

1:18:30on.

1:18:34I did stuff.