$7.5 Million Revitalization Unveiled For Pasco's Migrants

DADE CITY - Under the blazing sun, with a golden ribbon borrowed from a community church altar, Pasco County officials and residents gathered at the edge of Tommytown today to mark the completion of a $7.5 million revitalization project.

The project in the predominantly migrant community is the most expensive community development project the county has undertaken in a single area and the largest such project in the southern United States, said George Romagnoli, Pasco's community development manager.

Long plagued by drug dealers, prostitutes and violent crime, Tommytown has the dubious distinction of being Pasco's largest and most blighted area.

As part of the project, dirt roads were paved and drainage and septic systems improved between flood-prone Lock Street and Gaskin Avenue and 14th and 21st streets. Community leaders say the changes make Tommytown more healthy and inviting to potential new residents. Utility improvements will ease issues with sewage and flooding.

A bigger project is planned for the north side of the community, said Romagnoli, who was late to today's celebration because of traffic congestion during the hourlong drive from New Port Richey to east Pasco's Tommytown.

"I'm sorry for being late," Romagnoli said. "Dade City is farther and farther away from New Port Richey, but it is not far from our minds."

The delay was somewhat fitting for a project that has been 10 years in the planning stages, said Margarita Romo, a Tommytown resident and the executive director of Farmworkers Self-Help Inc.

Romagnoli was supposed to bring the ribbon for the celebration. When he was delayed, Romo did something she is accustomed to doing. She found another way.

"We went to our little community church and took three ribbons from our altar cloth from Christmas and paper-clipped it together," Romo said, referring to the outdoor Resurrection House Mission along Lock Street. "It's very symbolic. We had to make things work as best we could."

J.J. Gaytan and his wife, Gloria, who live in northern Tommytown, said they are excited about the paved streets and drainage improvements in the southern end of the neighborhood and look forward to the second phase of the project.

"It's going to be a big change," J.J. Gaytan said. "It's going to bring a lot of confidence into the people because the kids will be able to come out and play."

The Gaytans' 14-year-old son, J.J. Jr., doesn't hang around outside in Tommytown because "it's a bit of a dangerous place to be," he said. And when it rains, the Gaytans' driveway floods.

"Now, there's not going to be any more problems with flooding," J.J. Jr. said. "It's really awesome."

Turning It Around

Roughly bounded by Long Avenue to the north, Valera Street to the south, and 14th and 21st streets to the west and east, Tommytown is comprised primarily of Hispanic residents, many of whom are migrant workers. The average yearly income for families is $7,500, according to Farmworkers Self-Help. School drop-out rates are high, and gangs are common.

There are signs of a turnaround in Tommytown, Romagnoli said, noting that 50 new houses have been built during the past five years, but change is coming about slowly.

"Tommytown has a lot of abandoned homes and vacant land," Romagnoli said during an interview last week. "We are hoping after the paving there will be a lot more interest in building homes there because there are a lot of vacant lots. ...The county will subsidize half the cost to build a house out there. You can't get that deal anywhere else in the county."

Officials are paying for the project with a U.S. Housing and Urban Development loan and Community Development Block Grants. CDBG funding is being directed to Tommytown for the next decade or until the loans are paid, Romagnoli said. A portion of the HUD money coming into Pasco also is being used to pay off the loan.

"I can't think of a better project to use these funds," said commission Chairman Ted Schrader, who represents east Pasco. "It's great to see kids on bicycles playing in the streets with their neighbors."

Dade City Mayor Scott Black, quoting his wife, said "the houses are actually standing a little straighter" now that some streets are paved in southern Tommytown. "There is a sense of community pride."

Contractor Luis Aguayo of Suncoast Development of Pinellas County said residents welcomed his company to their community.

"When we got the job, people said, 'That's a tough area. That's a tough area to work.' We did not have one incident," Aguayo said.

A 30-year resident of Tommytown, Romo hopes community development and other efforts will change the mindset of the area around Lock Street, dubbed "Calle de Milagros," or Miracle Street to recognize the good things going there.

Fifth-grader Patricia Bautista of Tommytown said she is pleased with how her neighborhood is taking shape.

"Well, it's very nice because I like the new roads. Yeah, really cool," Patricia said.

Romo said it is up to the community to make the most of the new infrastructure.

She also hopes county leaders will recognize the potential of Tommytown and keep working to improve the community of about 1,200 people. She plans to ask commissioners to consider installing street lights and speed bumps in the neighborhood and to officially rename Lock Street, "the Street of Miracles."

"If we have street lights, it's going to help a lot," Romo said. "Street lights would change things a lot. When it's dark, they can't see you."

Tommytown suffered a setback in May when three people were killed in separate shootings.

According to Pasco County Sheriff's Office investigators, Santos de la Cruz, 33, and Quirino Velasquez, 46, were found shot to death late May 16 near Meredith and Hutchinson streets. Two days later and six blocks away, Miguel Arellano, 22, of Dade City, was shot near Lock and 14th streets after a fight at the nearby La Onda nightclub.

"That kind of put a damper on my spirit, but you get up. We're doing everything we can to help the community," Romo said.

Tommytown's antidrug coalition established a network of residents to call 911 when they hear gunshots, but getting residents in the mindset of reporting crime has been a challenge, Romo said in an interview before the ribbon-cutting.

"I talked to some of the people, and they said, 'We heard shots, but we hear shots a lot,'" Romo said. "We are trying to teach the community that every time they hear shots they should report it and the area they think they heard it from."

Farmworkers Self-Help is hoping to purchase a pool hall and convert it to a teen center called "My Other House." The group has raised $33,000 and recently got a pledge for an additional $37,000 loan.

"We want to make it a place where kids can come. We want to teach our kids there is another way to live and another way to be kids," Romo said. "We really do believe in miracles. There's a good side to Tommytown. You have to look around and see it."