Residents, officials discuss Pasco's Tri-Community area

How do you recycle a community?

That was the question posed by Richard Gehring, Pasco County's growth management administrator. He was referring to the Tri-Community area comprised of Lacoochee, Trilacoochee and Trilby in rural, northeast Pasco.

Almost 100 people from the area attended a redevelopment meeting at Lacoochee Elementary School on Monday night to help county leaders answer Gehring's question.

"With Lacoochee, you have a historical area that was an employment center for generations," Gehring said. "After the [Cummer] saw mill closed down [in the 1950s], the area went dormant. With these meetings, we're attempting to get together and define the community's strengths and weaknesses."

Monday night's meeting was the first of three. The others will be held in August and September. A draft outlining goals for the community is scheduled to be completed by Sept. 9, and a final plan is to be presented to the county Board of Commissioners on Oct. 6.

At Monday's meeting, county leaders asked residents to assemble in groups of 10 around large maps of the area. The groups were asked to identify what is good about each area, what could be better and what they would like to see in the future.

County officials and area residents all wanted to see more jobs.

Michael Brittingham, director of the Boys & Girls Club in Lacoochee since October 2007, was among those offering input.

"One of the things I like most about Lacoochee is its potential," he said. "There's so little out here that we can do anything we put our minds to. Some of the things we need most are clinics, doctors, stores. Everything people need is in the city.

"There is mass transit out here, but I hardly ever see the bus. If you don't have that, you're kind of out of luck."

Before the crowd broke into groups, Gerald Bartlett of Bushnell told county leaders that the area is perfect for commercial and industrial zoning, as highways U.S. 301 and 98 essentially bisect the Tri-Community, while Interstate 75 is only a short drive.

The CSX railway also runs through Lacoochee.

Bartlett later said that he owns property on U.S. 301 in Trilacoochee and has been frustrated by zoning issues that have prevented him from opening a business.

"I wanted to put a convenience store with a repair garage in the back on U.S. 301 and Causey Street," just south of Trilby Road, he said. "I have a grandson that needs to be employed. The attorneys want $10,000 to get it rezoned."

Richard Riley, a member of the Greater Trilby Community Association, which sponsors local events and operates a Security Patrol in the area, was ecstatic over the amount of interest in Monday's meeting.

"There's new blood at the [county] planning department. They're really getting forward-thinking," he said. "I'm excited that the Trilby-Lacoochee area is starting to look up again. I can see the sun rising.

"I don't want anything specific for my area, this is just a depressed area [in general]. The county had been ignoring this area economically. They're now coming up with the processes to make projects in this area shovel ready. This is a needs assessment."