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Commission To Consider Tortoise Relocation
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Published: December 17, 2007
Updated: 12/16/2007 08:23 pm
MOON LAKE - The developers of Hidden Ridge are seeking approval to move about two dozen gopher tortoises from property they plan to develop off Moon Lake Road to a preserve in central Pasco County.
McAlpine Environmental Consulting, on behalf of Lexington Homes, proposes moving the tortoises, a threatened species, to a portion of the 123-acre Upper Pithlachascotee River Preserve, northwest of State Road 52 and the Suncoast Parkway.
Pasco County commissioners are slated to consider the proposal at a meeting starting at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the West Pasco Government Center, 7530 Little Road, New Port Richey.
Pasco officials plan to build a retention pond and access road from the Lexington Homes development in conjunction with their Ridge Road widening project. The pond is to be completed before the developer begins building homes, and the turtles must be moved before the work starts.
The county's environmental lands preservation program recently purchased the 123-acre Upper Pithlachascotee tract for about $1.6 million, with the help of a state grant, and has dedicated the property to conservation.
The tract includes rare sandhill areas, portions of the riverbed and a giant cypress tree. Gopher tortoises, deer, bobcats and scrub jays also have been seen or are thought to inhabit the property.
Also at Tuesday's meeting, commissioners are set to consider:
•Hiring Michael Helfrich as utilities operations and maintenance director for $85,000.
Helfrich works as a defense contractor in environmental engineering, focusing on hurricane damage repair and demolition. He has a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the University of South Florida and is a registered professional engineer in Florida. He lives in Land O' Lakes.
The county is in the midst of trying to comply with a state Department of Environmental Protection consent order. In part, the directive says the utilities department needs to improve operations and maintenance.
•Extending a contract with Jacksonville attorney Timothy Volpe, who was hired last September to advocate for lower sinkhole and wind insurance premiums in Pasco.
•Increasing the fee schedule for zoning and code compliance services to cover growing expenses.
Commissioners also are slated to honor their senior secretary, Freda Abrams, who plans to retire this month after 22 years with the county.
Abrams started as a senior planning clerk in Pasco in 1985. She worked as secretary to the county administrator, administrative secretary in the personnel department and secretary to the commission before being promoted to her current position in 2000.
Lucille Paterno, secretary to retiring County Attorney Robert Sumner and his chief assistant, Barbara Wilhite, has been selected as Abrams' successor.
Reporter Julia Ferrante can be reached at (813) 948-4220 or jferrante@tampatrib.com.
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