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Searching For A 'Way Out'

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By KEVIN WIATROWSKI

kwiatrowski@tampatrib.com

Published: February 11, 2009

DADE CITY - County commissioners Tuesday allotted $50,000 for studies aimed at helping revitalize two communities in far northeastern Pasco County.

Drawn from unspent federal development funds, the money would be split between Lacoochee and Trilby. Both communities are north of Dade City, separated by U.S. 301. Both are rural and have seen better days.
Commissioner Ted Schrader, who represents eastern Pasco, requested the funds as a way to begin making good on the county's promise five years ago to improve the quality of life in an area known more for its crime. That promise was prompted by the 2003 murder in Lacoochee of Charles "Bo" Harrison, a captain in the Pasco County Sheriff's Office.

"The residents up there see no way out," Schrader said. "They see no job possibilities. Until we can bring some opportunities, they just don't see where there are any opportunities to grow."

The county is now working on an outline for the future of northeast Pasco, a plan that includes Trilby but not Lacoochee.
Schrader wants to use the $50,000 to take stock of where both communities now stand in terms of infrastructure, road rights of way and development-friendly zoning.

The plan for Lacoochee is likely to center on the former Cummer and Sons Cypress Co. mill property at the heart of the community. A half-century since the mill closed, the 150-acre site remains one of the county's biggest and least-used heavy-industry properties. The site includes a railroad spur, a valuable selling point for potential tenants.

At the moment, the site is owned by Lake City-based Columbia Grain, which uses a corner of it to store corn bound for Florida chicken farms. The rest of the site is up for sale.
Schrader walked his fellow commissioners through a series of photos of Lacoochee showing run-down homes and unpaved streets.

"The Pasco Economic Development Council takes prospective purchasers or tenants to the Columbia Grain site and this is what they drive through," Schrader said.

PEDC officials shopped the industrial site to potential users last summer, but had trouble closing a deal because of the poor conditions of Lacoochee's roads and the limited access to utilities, John Walsh, the group's vice president said recently.

Across U.S. 301, the Trilby study will focus on the area immediately surrounding the post office. While it lacks a large industrial property, Trilby has the remnant of a compact downtown and a bike path where a railroad track used to be.

"U.S. 301 separates these communities, and they want to maintain their identities," Schrader said, explaining the need for separate studies.

Reporter Kevin Wiatrowski can be reached at (813) 948-4201.

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