Conservancy Launches Campaign To Quash SunWest Development

Published: Sep 15, 2007

ARIPEKA - Leaders of the Gulf Coast Conservancy are organizing opposition to the proposed SunWest Harbourtowne Resort development, which they say could threaten black bear habitat in northwest Pasco County.

The group initiated a call to action via e-mail this week, asking concerned parties to send letters to state and local leaders voicing their objections.

"We are trying to galvanize broad-based support to preserve what little of undisturbed Florida exists," said McMillan Davis, a trustee of the conservancy. "We're not against development except where development destroys habitat."

SunWest spokeswoman Becky Bray said Thursday that her clients are sad about the conservancy's call to action.

"We have tried to have open communication with them and have already agreed to things they asked for in the site plan," she said. Specifically, Bray said, the developers are "assessing environmental resources and working around the resources." SunWest developers also have promised to work with the conservancy and government officials to develop a black bear management plan.

Because of its size and scope, SunWest Harbourtowne is considered a Development of Regional Impact and is subject to extensive local and state review.

SunWest's owners - Victor Taglia, Gary Grubbs and Tom Hogan - have hired a team of experts to develop plans for 2,900 residential units, a golf course, hotel, conference center, marina, shopping centers and restaurants on 642 acres, now part of an active lime rock mine west of Old Dixie Highway and U.S. 19. The group for more than a year has been floating plans to local officials and residents to garner support.

The plans include dredging 2.5 miles of a partially excavated canal to provide access to the Gulf of Mexico from the development and a planned county park with boat slips and a manmade beach. The county and SunWest's owners were in a court battle for years over mining rights. The park partnership was part of a settlement.

The conservancy primarily is concerned with how the development will affect habitat, Davis said. The group's objections will depend on what plans ultimately are submitted, but one concern became more pronounced with the recent county acquisition of Aripeka Heights, a 210-acre parcel north of Aripeka Road previously slated for development. County officials plan to open the property, thought to be frequented by at least one Florida black bear, for passive recreation.

Land Swap Is Possible

SunWest's partners and the Southwest Florida Water Management District, which was a partner with the county on the Aripeka Heights deal, are in negotiations for a land swap that would allow for development of a parcel across from the future preserve. If the swap is approved, the district would give SunWest 90 acres south of Aripeka Road in exchange for 1,287 acres west of Old Dixie Highway, about 100 acres of which is developable, Bray said.

The district owns more than 1,400 acres in the area, including a seabird sanctuary. The property SunWest has offered is adjacent to that land and, district officials have said, could make a larger contiguous preserve.

Swiftmud spokeswoman Robyn Hanke said Thursday the deal still is in the "evaluating" stages. The swap "at a minimum" would have to be a dollar-for-dollar trade, she said, meaning that the parcels must be of equal monetary value. In addition, Swiftmud must determine whether the exchange would bring about environmental benefits, protect water resources and meet other district goals.

Tract Called Isolated

Davis noted that part of the reason Swiftmud considered giving up the 90 acres south of Aripeka Road was that it was "isolated" from other protected bear habitat and not connected to any other preserve. The conservancy has consistently argued that setting aside Aripeka Heights and the 90 acres would enhance an existing bear corridor stretching from Citrus County to Pasco.

"Now Aripeka Heights is across from it," Davis said of the 90 acres.

Rene Wiesner Brown, Pasco's environmental lands acquisition program manager, who helped negotiate the Aripeka Heights deal, said her department is not taking a position on the SunWest development or the land swap.

"Because SunWest is such a hot issue with so many pros and cons to it, I have just been focused on Aripeka Heights," she said. "We have no involvement in what Swiftmud does for a land swap."

Having development across from a preserve generally can inhibit management of it, Brown said, but the Aripeka Heights property and the 90-acre parcel are separated by Aripeka Road.

"The road is a pretty good boundary," Brown said, adding that Swiftmud intends to manage the Aripeka Heights property as part of the Weeki Wachee Preserve. Having the 1,287 acres of the SunWest property under protective ownership also would be beneficial.

THE VILLAGE VS. THE RESORT

Aripeka is a fishing village with about 250 families in the northwest corner of Pasco, distinguished by vast coastal marshes and sparse development.

Recent studies by the University of Kentucky showed the presence of at least one female Florida black bear and several other bears traveling through the area. Scrub jays, indigo snakes, gopher tortoises and other wildlife also inhabit the property, according to the Gulf Coast Conservancy. Off-shore seagrass also serves as a breeding ground for game fish, manatees and sea turtles.

The following are among the conservancy's claims and objections to the proposed SunWest Harbourtowne Resort, expressed in the call-to-action e-mail this week:

• "Development, as proposed, will displace core black bear habitat of the smallest known population of black bear in the state, if not the country. Any loss of habitat could jeopardize the continued existence of this already imperiled population.

• "The project would dredge a deep water channel that would displace the protected seagrass beds of the region, imperiling the region's fisheries and degrading water quality, as well as exposing the region to exponential increases in recreational boat traffic.

• "The development would essentially isolate protected lands along the coastline in southern Aripeka from thousands of acres of protected land to the north. This is not only devastating for the black bear, but dramatically impacts other species of wildlife that currently inhabit the region.

• "The majority of the site is within the "high velocity zone" and coastal high hazard zone. This is an area that is under high risk from hurricanes and coastal flooding.

• "The area is dotted with sinkholes - another geological characteristic that is incompatible with heavy development."

Source: Gulf Coast Conservancy

SUNWEST PLANS

For information on the SunWest plans, go to www.sunwestpasco.com.

Reporter Julia Ferrante can be reached at (813) 948-4220 or jferrante@tampatrib.com.

Plan Pours Water On Landfill

Published: Sep 15, 2007

 

DADE CITY - For decades, landfills have operated like this: dig hole, line it, throw in garbage.

The Class I landfill a Largo-based company is asking to build outside of Dade City would add an extra step to the process: pump in water.

The idea is to speed the garbage decomposition and expand the life of a landfill by making the trash take up as little room as possible. As the trash decomposes, it emits gas, which can be harnessed for energy.

Backers of the proposed landfill off Enterprise Road have lauded this new technology, emphasizing that it is "greener" than a traditional landfill, with the added bonus of creating energy. It also would encourage recycling, as the technology works best when the garbage in the landfill is as organic as possible, with metals, glass and plastics processed separately.

That commitment remains, said John Arnold, the engineer for Angelo's Aggregate Materials, the company that wants to build the landfill.

The proposed bioreactor - as the composting technology is called - would not be up and running when the landfill opens, according to documents from the Department of Environmental Protection, which is reviewing the permit application for the landfill.

The permit application is for the operation of a Class I landfill. If that permit is approved, then Angelo's would have to apply for a permit modification or a separate permit to add a bioreactor component, said Pamala Vazquez, DEP spokeswoman.

This timetable is a previously undiscussed twist in the simmering debate about building a landfill here, an issue that has sparked heated discussion in venues ranging from city council chambers to garden club meetings.

On both sides, the arguments have been fierce, particularly from those opposed to it.

To Arnold, the engineer, the timetable should not be used as a reason to dismiss the facility.

"We have a written offer to the county that goes over all those things that we promise to do," he said. "We have committed to operating this as a bioreactor."

Angelo's applied for its permit in October. Since then, the DEP has reviewed it three times, in each case sending back several pages of questions and comments and asking Angelo's engineers to resubmit the application. The latest round of questions, from two DEP departments, were sent July 31 and Sept. 5. Angelo's has 90 days to respond before the application moves forward.

Meanwhile, those on both sides of the issue continue to push to get their cause heard.

Angelo's has printed fliers calling the facility an organic composting and recycling center. The opponents, a group calling itself Protectors of Florida's Legacy, built a Web site with photos of garbage-strewn landfills and a business with a "Sorry, We're Closed" sign in the door as if to signal that local businesses would die if the landfill opened.

The proposed landfill would sit on 900 acres in a relatively rural section of northeast Pasco County off Old Lakeland Highway, where pastures and citrus groves dot the landscape.

Opponents worry about their drinking water, property values and quality of life. They also point to the sensitive location near the Withlacoochee River and the Green Swamp, a protected no-growth area.

"We think they're really only concerned about the bottom line," said Carl Roth, leader of the antilandfill group.

Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio also has raised questions about the landfill.

Although the landfill site does not sit within Dade City limits, the Dade City Commission has been considering the pros and cons of it for months.

On Tuesday, commissioners plan to visit the Polk County Landfill, a facility that is working with the University of Florida to become a bioreactor. The commissioners want to see how the technology works.

At the commission's Sept. 27 meeting, members are expected to vote on sending a formal letter stating their opposition to the landfill. Commissioner Camille Hernandez is drafting it.

Reporter Jo-Ann Johnston contributed to this report. Reporter Nicola M. White can be reached at (813) 779-4613 or nwhite1 @tampatrib.com.

 Urgent! Act now or developers will suffer!

By STEVE BOUSQUET, Tallahassee Bureau Chief
Published September 15, 2007

When an envelope arrives bearing the words "extremely urgent," it probably means one of two things:

a They want your money.

(b) It's urgent to the sender, but not necessarily to you.

A mass mailing to hundreds of thousands of voters this week belongs in the latter category. The recipients have one thing in common. They signed petitions in favor of Florida Hometown Democracy, a ballot initiative that would require voter approval of land use changes.

A new law allows people to revoke signatures within 150 days of signing petitions. Opponents of Hometown Democracy have launched a campaign with mail, a toll-free line and Web site.

They hope to convince enough people to change their minds to kill the antigrowth initiative. The clock is ticking.

Bess DeBeck, 68, a retired teacher and an independent, recently signed a petition outside the Countryside library branch in Clearwater.

She received the "extremely urgent" letter, and was extremely confused.

"Is it true?" DeBeck asked. "I don't know which side to believe."

The letterhead bears the name of "The Honorable John Thrasher," a former House speaker.

Writing on behalf of a group called "Save Our Constitution," his pitch is that Hometown Democracy is the work of "big developers," when they are the actually targets of the initiative.

Thrasher's letter blasts Hometown Democracy as "deceptive," tricking voters into signing something that will cause higher taxes and utility bills while ruining Florida's "scenic beauty."

It's certainly worth debating whether Hometown Democracy will have a devastating effect on Florida's economy. But it's not pushed by "big developers."

Nowhere in his three-page letter did Thrasher find space to list his occupation.

He's a highly paid lobbyist for Southern Strategy Group, which represents progrowth businesses like Disney, Associated Industries of Florida, the firm directing the revocation drive, and St. Joe Co., a "big developer" if ever there was one.

Thrasher argues the amendment would shift control of land use to "electors," which he defines as "special interests and their slick lawyers (who) will rig the system to put our future in the hands of their cronies."

The "electors" Hometown Democracy refers to are voters.

Vikki Rosenbaum of Palm Harbor also signed a petition, and has no intention of revoking it. She was offended by the tone of Thrasher's letter.

"They make it sound like you were an idiot if you signed it, like you made a mistake," she said.

She said she's fed up with developers and their politician friends and that the public deserves a stronger voice in saving what's left of Florida.

'"It seems like we don't have a say in anything any more," Rosenbaum said.

Pinellas County has been a reliable source of signatures for Hometown Democracy. So far this year, 42,533 signatures have been sent to Supervisor of Elections Deborah Clark.

Bess DeBeck's signature is one of those. The Clearwater resident read Thrasher's letter closely, then made up her mind.

"I believe I'll keep my name on the petition," she said.

Steve Bousquet can be reached at bousquet@sptimes.com or (850) 224-7263.

Developing La Niña bodes ill for the region

By ANNA SCOTT

anna.scott@heraldtribune.com
A developing patch of cool water in the Pacific Ocean is expected to fuel tropical storms for the remainder of the season, bringing rain to Florida and the rest of the drought-stricken Southeast.

But when hurricane season is over, this cool water event, known as La Niña, will do just the opposite, creating dry conditions likely to worsen the drought and kindle wildfires.

The La Niña is still forming, but this week a consortium of climatologists from Southeastern states issued a "La Niña" watch to warn of drought.

"This is not good news," said David Zierden, state climatologist and professor at Florida State University. "We're looking at water restrictions, more wildfires and problems for farms without irrigation."

La Niña's last appearance, from 1998 to 2001, was partly responsible for an outbreak of wildfires.

"Everyone in the state needs to be worried about this," said Deborah Hanley, meteorologist for the Florida Division of Forestry. "La Niña basically prevents us from getting rain. When we get back into fire season in the spring, we'll be worse off than last spring. It will really be critical."

The fires this spring were caused by almost a year's worth of low rainfall -- a condition from which the state still has not recovered. Almost every county was ablaze at some point, and the smoke clogged skies for weeks. Highways were shut down and small towns in North Florida were forced to evacuate. State firefighting resources were stretched and other states were called in to assist.

La Niña years on average mean temperatures in the Southeast that are three to six degrees higher than normal between October and March, and rainfall that is 30 percent to 40 percent lower than normal.

In 2001, La Niña reduced average rainfall by more than half -- making that the third driest season on record since 1895.

The weather pattern affects other parts of the country differently. La Niña brings more rain than usual to the Pacific Northwest, for example.

Hanley said state fire officials were already worried that it would be too dry for intentional burns, which the state does every winter to clear a million acres of brush in preparation for fire season.

Water supplies is also likely to be affected, with La Niña reducing the rainfall needed to replenish groundwater, ponds and reservoirs.

Florida is already facing a level of drought typically seen only once every 10 to 20 years, said Zierden, the climatologist. Conditions are even worse in Georgia and Alabama, which are in a period of "exceptional" drought, the kind that happens only once every 50 to 100 years.

Given La Niña, the Southeast Climate Consortium calculated a 72 percent chance of dry conditions by January 2008 for Central Florida, and 80 percent in the Panhandle and southern Georgia and Alabama.

Charles Shinn, assistant director with the Florida Farm Bureau said farmers are attuned to even the slightest hint of La Niña conditions. They are worried this year it could lead to even tighter watering restrictions.

"We've been in a drought for the past year and a half," Shinn said. "It could spell catastrophe for a lot of crops."

La Niñas occur every two to seven years. It is too early to tell whether this La Niña could possibly stay for more than a season.

La Niña happens when intense tradewinds pull warm surface water westward at the equator, allowing cool water to come to the top off the coast of Peru in South America.

During the opposite phenomenon, called El Niño, the winds are weak and allow warm water to stay just off the coast.

Because of its position on the equator, the amount of moisture and heat added by this warm water affects the circulation of wind as far away as the Atlantic basin.

During La Niña, the winds become calm over the Atlantic and the lack of wind "shear" nourishes tropical storms and hurricanes. El Niño does just the opposite and breaks up storms by creating turbulence in the atmosphere, as in the 2006 hurricane season.

But during La Niña, the subtropical jet stream that blows across Mexico and the Gulf weakens; consequently, far less rain falls in the Gulf and southeastern states.

Scientists look at the water temperature to determine whether a La Niña, an El Niño or neutral conditions are present. The water must average about one degree Fahrenheit lower than normal for three to five months to be officially called La Niña.

The water has been that cool for only a month, although most forecasters, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and researchers at Colorado State University, predict a strengthening. Conditions are already creating a favorable climate for hurricanes.

Even with rain, drought deepens

Spotty showers, not downpours, point way to a record dry spell

By KATE SPINNER

kate.spinner@heraldtribune.com
After a rainy season with spotty showers rather than much-needed downpours, Southwest Florida is headed toward a record-breaking drought.

The region needed a summer of above-normal rain to recover from last spring's parched conditions. Instead, four inches less than usual fell.

The continuing drought has driven the region's lakes, rivers and groundwater resources to precarious lows, threatening drinking water supplies and increasing the need for conservation.

Residents, especially in Charlotte County, can expect stinky water from their taps within a couple of months, and tighter lawn-watering restrictions throughout the region are likely to continue well into next year.

The Peace River, a critical water source, is running at about a tenth of its normal flow for mid-September. The Myakka and Manatee rivers are also shockingly shallow for this late in the rainy season.

Drought conditions extend through most of Florida, according to federal measurements, which rate the southwest portion of the state as "severe." Lake Okeechobee hit a record low of 8.82 feet in July and is not much deeper now.

Aquifers that feed wells in Charlotte, DeSoto, Manatee and Sarasota counties are four feet lower than they were at this time last year, a nearly unprecedented level.

"We might be hitting new historic lows," said Steven DeSmith, who keeps water data for the Southwest Florida Water Management District, better known as Swiftmud.

"Maybe we'll get some tropical (storm) systems to get some rain. If that materializes then our predictions wouldn't be as dire."

Rain, however, is not on the horizon. Long-range weather forecasts call for below-average rainfall through spring.

Drought conditions set in almost a year ago.

From the end of September 2006 through August, rainfall was 13 inches below normal for the southern region of the Swiftmud district, including Charlotte, DeSoto, Manatee and Sarasota counties.

For the Peace River basin, rainfall was 19 inches below the historic average for the same period.

Showers in June, July and August dropped a disappointing 15.7 inches of rain -- about 8 inches less than normal.

Water suppliers were counting on extra rainfall to replenish depleted reserves.

"The outlook isn't very good going into the dry season," said Mike Coates, water resources director for the publicly owned Peace River/Manasota Water Supply Authority.

Last May, Coates predicted grimly that by fall, the utility would have just 1.7 billion gallons in storage, a billion gallons less than October 2006.

Now, the authority expects to have only 1.1 billion gallons stored, enough to last 70 days.

The regional water supplier depends on the Peace River to send an average of 16 million gallons of water a day to customers in Charlotte, DeSoto and Sarasota counties and the city of North Port. Most of the water goes to customers in Charlotte.

During the dry season, the river flows too low for the authority to draw water. So it stores extra water in a reservoir and underground in wells during the rainy season to carry the utility through dry spells.

Severely low flows in the Peace this summer prevented the utility from storing water until mid-August, about a month late.

This week, the flow in Arcadia was about 1,200 gallons per second, compared with a normal 12,700 gallons per second.

When the authority runs out of river water stored underground, the wells start to draw water from the surrounding Floridan aquifer, which contains minerals.

The minerals cause taste and odor problems in drinking water, and, for some consumers, diarrhea.

"We don't run out of water, but we experience a deterioration in water quality," Coates said.

The conditions forced the authority to ask Florida regulators for permission to distribute water that does not meet state standards.

Consumers in Charlotte and Sarasota complained about their drinking water quality beginning last December. Similar complaints will likely start earlier this year in Charlotte.

Typically, Sarasota receives 3.5 million gallons of Peace River water daily. But since the drought set in, Sarasota has taken two million gallons a day less from the Peace and relied more on water from Manatee County.

Theresa Connor, Sarasota County's water resources general manager, said she was not worried about diminished water quality.

Manatee County's water utility draws mostly from Lake Manatee, a reservoir behind a dam in the Manatee River. The reservoir is full, though water is not spilling over the dam the way it usually does in September.

"I can't say we've ever seen it like this," said John Zimmerman, Manatee's water division director.

Despite the drought, he said the county's supply is in good shape, even if it must rely more on its wells that pull from the Floridan aquifer.

Nevertheless, he said conservation is critical to help prevent problems in neighboring counties. "We're trying to conserve on our end so we can help relieve Sarasota. And by doing that, we'll take pressure off the Peace River facility," Zimmerman said.

Oviedo takes notice of rural oasis

Sandra Pedicini

Sentinel Staff Writer

For years, the rural oasis called the Black Hammock fought off development advances from neighboring Winter Springs.

Traditionally, Oviedo has been seen as the nice guy in the battle over the fate of the Black Hammock. But activists are watching the city warily after a group of community leaders surprised them with a new suggestion: Annexing part of the area for economic development.

"I must have had a look of total horror on my face," said Deborah Schafer, an environmental activist from Chuluota in the audience when Oviedo's City Council heard the proposal from the city's economic-development task force. It was part of a larger economic development report.

Elected leaders in Oviedo haven't endorsed the idea, but some aren't ready to denounce it either.

Deputy Mayor Dominic Persampiere has received e-mails from concerned residents and has assured them the proposal was simply an idea that the council has not acted on.

Still, "it was just an intriguingly different way to look at what to do in that area," he said last week. "I'm not endorsing anything, but you do have to think outside the box sometimes."

The task force's proposal comes up at the same time Seminole County leaders are embarking on a plan to create their own version of Orange County's Innovation Way high-tech corridor.

Calling its effort SeminoleWAY, Seminole County leaders envision high-wage businesses around State Road 417.

Rick Lee, a banker who heads the economic-development task force, said annexing part of the Black Hammock area would provide some available land for those high-wage businesses.

"We are scrambling for opportunities to develop the technology base that coincides with Seminole County's efforts on the SeminoleWAY," Lee said. "That area is the only area that we could possibly annex in that is convenient to the SeminoleWAY initiative in Seminole County."

Tom Walters, Oviedo's outgoing mayor, said the committee's proposal doesn't conflict with the rural use that the county has designated for the area. "We are maximizing the rural boundary," he said.

The county and Winter Springs went to court over that rural boundary.

Winter Springs challenged a voter-approved measure allowing the county final say over land uses in eastern Seminole.

But last year the city passed an ordinance agreeing not to annex into the area, around the same time an appeals court ruled in favor of Seminole County. In the past, discussion about development in the area has focused on homes.

Black Hammock residents say the latest proposal shows that they cannot become complacent.

"This will certainly galvanize the Black Hammock community again," said Robert King, a longtime resident. "I think that's kind of what they needed. Everybody's been kind of wandering since Jim died."

He's referring to Jim Logue, the man who was arguably Black Hammock's most charismatic defender. Logue, the longtime Black Hammock Association president, died of cancer earlier this year.

"There are a lot of people who think the Black Hammock Association is dead," said Don Peterson, who recently took over as the group's president. "It's not dead. Never was."

Already, Oviedo has allowed housing developments nearby that dismayed some residents of the Hammock. That neighboring development drove away Marsha Pokorny, a former Black Hammock Association president who moved almost two years ago to a pine-tree farm in North Florida.

"I have no idea what's going to happen to the Hammock," she said. "It's that unpredictability that drives people out."

County Allows Cypress Creek Mall's Early Start

By KEVIN WIATROWSKI The Tampa Tribune

Published: Sep 14, 2007

WESLEY CHAPEL - County officials on Thursday granted the developers of Cypress Creek Town Center an exception to county rules that will let them start construction ahead of schedule.

The exception lets the Richard E. Jacobs Group apply for building permits before the company has formally filed the plat for its project. The plat spells out the size and location of buildings on the mall site south of State Road 56.

The plat has been tied up by negotiations with the Department of Transportation over drainage ponds, Jacobs' representative Georgianne Ratliffe told the Development Review Committee.

Talks with DOT could eat into Jacobs' year-long construction timetable, Ratliffe said. The developer wants to open by October 2008.

The proposal drew rebukes from Sierra Club representative Denise Layne of Lutz and Clay Colson of Land O' Lakes, who spoke for Citizens for Sanity.

Layne and Colson have been vocal critics of Jacobs, most recently after muddy water polluted Cypress Creek and bulldozers demolished a wetland outside the permitted construction zone.

"We can't trust them," Layne told the DRC.

The Sierra Club has told the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers the club plans to sue the agency to overturn Jacobs' wetland permit.

The DRC granted Jacobs' request on the condition that the county won't be held liable if Jacobs puts its buildings in places they aren't supposed to go, such as wetlands marked for preservation.

"We don't want to be part of your federal lawsuit - if you get one," Assistant County Attorney David Goldstein told Ratliffe.

Reporter Kevin Wiatrowski can be reached at (813) 948-4201 or kwiatrowski@tampatrib.com.

County Counting On Cash That Might Not Come

By KEVIN WIATROWSKI The Tampa Tribune

Published: Sep 14, 2007

 

DADE CITY - State budget cuts could cost Pasco County millions of dollars in road funding, county officials learned Thursday.

Gov. Charlie Crist has asked the state Department of Transportation to cut $225 million from its budget, the bulk of that from grant programs Pasco officials have come to rely on for road projects, Bob Clifford, head of planning for DOT's Tampa office, told county transportation planners.

The Transportation Regional Incentive Program doles out state money on a competitive basis for regional road networks. Pasco stands to get $54.6 million from the program by 2011.

The county is slated to get an additional $4.7 million from the County Incentive Grant Program.

That's nearly $60 million the county hopes to use for buying right of way on State Road 52 and State Road 54 to widen U.S. 41 north of Connerton and rebuild the bridge carrying Interstate 75 over County Road 54 (Wesley Chapel Boulevard) in Wesley Chapel.

State law says the grant money can't be spent until the Legislature allocates it each year, so cutbacks could bite into Pasco's future road money, said Doug Uden, director of the county's Metropolitan Planning Organization. The MPO plans transportation projects across the county.

Uden said later that, to his knowledge, no Pasco projects were on the chopping block.

County road planners have come to rely on the state grants for projects because the process is simpler than trying to land state or federal earmarks, Uden said.

County officials plan to ask Crist and local legislators to reconsider the grant cuts.

Reporter Kevin Wiatrowski can be reached at kwiatrowski@tampatrib.com or (813) 948-4201.

Planners Urge Approval of Park Complex

The Central Florida Planning Council has recommended approval for a 724-acre industrial-commercial complex off Airport Road in Lakeland.

The project, known as Lakeland Central Park, is proposed to include 5 million square feet of warehouse space, 650,000 square feet of offices, 225,000 square feet of retail, a 125-room hotel and 300 multi-family units.

The recommended approval includes several conditions requiring transportation improvements and environmental studies to better define wetlands and other areas with environmental limitations.

The project will go next to Lakeland's Planning & Zoning Board and to the City Commission. Hearings are tentatively scheduled for November.

Newell's old firm loses water deals

By ROBERT P. KING

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Friday, September 14, 2007

Water managers are trying to put more distance between themselves and the engineering consultant whom federal prosecutors have implicated in the downfall of former Palm Beach County Commissioner Warren Newell.

The South Florida Water Management District announced Thursday that it would not do business with Newell's former partner Dan Shalloway or their former firm, SFRN Inc.

The ban will remain until prosecutors finish their investigations, and until state real-estate and engineering regulators resolve complaints that the district has filed against Shalloway, Chairman Eric Buermann said.

The district's board took no vote on the action.

Separately, the district will investigate whether SFRN falsified the revenue statements it submitted to qualify as a small business for contracting purposes, Assistant Executive Director Tom Olliff said.

Prosecutors have alleged that Shalloway and Newell shared in a secret $2.4 million bonus as a result of a district land deal. If so, "that should have been counted as income to the company," Olliff said.

At the moment, the district has no contracts with Shalloway or SFRN. The prohibition won't affect any existing arrangements in which SFRN is a subcontractor to the district's prime contractors.

Company spokesman Gary Schweikhart said "the new SFRN" deserves to be judged on the quality of its work.

"If the South Florida Water Management District feels strongly that they should choose firms based on unfounded prejudice rather than qualifications, that is their choice to do so," he said.

Shalloway and Newell have left the company. Shalloway's wife, a longtime SFRN employee, remains a vice president of the firm.

Shalloway's attorney, Joseph McSorley of West Palm Beach, declined to comment on the district's actions.

Board member Melissa Meeker said she hopes the district will impose similar penalties against anyone else who received a share of the secret payments.

"If there are others, we will deal with those as we have this," Buermann said.

Corps taking back job, refuses full blame

By ROBERT P. KING

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Friday, September 14, 2007

The Army Corps of Engineers agreed Thursday to take back responsibility for a St. Lucie County reservoir hobbled by leaks and erosion. But the corps argued that South Florida water managers shared in the design decisions that they now say hampered the project.

The corps also isn't committing to pay more than a fraction of the $13 million in repairs that the South Florida Water Management District says the Ten Mile Creek reservoir needs.

"We take very seriously our responsibility to deliver the public a well-constructed project," said Col. Paul Grosskruger, the corps' leader in Jacksonville, in a statement one of his employees read to the district's board Thursday. "There will be no time in the future - no time ever - when the Ten Mile Creek reservoir will pose a threat."

He added: "I agree that you should not accept the project if you have outstanding concerns about its construction."

But Grosskruger maintained that district employees were involved throughout the design and construction of the 550-acre reservoir near Fort Pierce, which the corps finished in February 2006.

District leaders have said they had only limited involvement in the corps' detailed design decisions, including some that left the $34 million reservoir shallower than originally envisioned.

They bristled Thursday at the idea that they should share blame for a corps-built project.

"I hope that I'm not misinterpreting the letter from the colonel, that he would hold our staff responsible for a project that was 100 percent the responsibility of the Army Corps of Engineers," Executive Director Carol Wehle said. "I'm sure that wasn't his intent."

Board member Shannon Estenoz added that she's still puzzled about why it took until this week for the corps to turn over detailed design documents that the district had been seeking since November.

Based on those documents, George Horne, a district deputy executive director, said Thursday that he's satisfied the reservoir will meet the agencies' original standards for withstanding hurricane-driven winds and waves.

But he said his concerns about the leaks and other construction flaws remain. And so do the district's qualms that the reservoir's levees won't meet toughened engineering standards adopted after Hurricane Katrina.

The district's board voted unanimously Thursday morning to turn the reservoir back to the corps for repairs.

The district estimated this week that the reservoir needs $13 million in fixes to plug leaks, prevent erosion, deal with fuel spills and address other shortcomings.

But corps construction and operations chief Alan Bugg said Wednesday that only about $1 million of that cost is to correct flaws. He said the rest is to meet the new engineering standards.

Kim Taplin, the corps' deputy program manager in West Palm Beach, said Thursday that meeting the new standards is the responsibility of both agencies, which agreed to share the reservoir's costs 50-50. She declined to estimate how much it would cost to carry out the repairs that the corps has agreed to shoulder.

Developer withdraws marina from river project

By BOB KOSLOW
Staff Writer

DEBARY -- A controversial marina was pulled from a proposed subdivision development plan along the St. Johns River as part of a settlement offer to the state.

Joe Krzys of Naples-based St. Johns Partners is offering to replace the 50-slip river marina and one or more warehouses for 200 dry-storage slips with a community boat ramp and surface parking for 30 boat trailers. The offer does not change the proposed riverfront community of a maximum 250 upscale homes, called Country Estates at River Bend.

"We are trying to get access to the water for everyone who will live there," Krzys said by telephone Thursday. "Houses on the water could still get their own slips and the homes in the interior could use the ramp. The Department of Environmental Protection offered 100 wet and dry slips, but that is not enough."

The settlement offer was filed earlier this week with the Department of Community Affairs. State planners, who have final approval over local land-use change proposals, oppose the city's April decision to allow the project on about 35 percent of a 330-acre tract between Fort Florida Road and the river.

The original marina proposal violates the Wekiva River Aquatic Preserve regulations, state planners said. The marina site is within the preserve and in an area designated as either Class I or II resource protection areas where marinas are prohibited.

A biological study of plants and shellfish funded by the developer over the summer proves the marina site does not meet Class I or II resource protection area standards, Krzys said.

He contends the site falls under rules for Class III areas, which allow marinas. Yet, he says, "I can be 100 percent right and still not get what I want. This is a good compromise," Krzys said.

Despite the data, state planners rejected a settlement offer in August that would have moved the marina site slightly north of its originally proposed location to an area Krzys said is appropriate for a marina.

The new settlement offer is under review, department spokesman Jon Peck said. There is no timetable for a decision. If necessary, a hearing before an administrative judge to settle the dispute is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. Sept. 25 at Florence K. Little Town Hall, 12 Colomba Road. Three days are reserved for the hearing.

Krzys' latest compromise proposal would also reduce the size and shifts the location of the commercial center, which could include a restaurant, clubhouse, pool and tennis courts.

The boat ramp would include space to temporarily tie up 10 boats while they are being launched or removed from the water.

Marina opponents have read the settlement offer and want details about certain terms, said attorney Michael Woodward, who represents DeBary residents Fred and Linda Hitt and Seminole Audubon Society.

"Pull the marina for what? That's where this gets complicated," he said.

City Councilman Jack Lenzen said he is not upset that the project might go forward without the marina. Settling the dispute "makes life as a councilman much easier," he said.

bob.koslow@news-jrnl.com

Florida and California citrus growers face off

By PHIL LONG

On the eve of citrus season, proposed changes in federal fresh fruit shipping rules have touched off a major battle between Florida growers and their counterparts in California and other citrus-producing states.

Heavy financial implications could await the loser.

At the heart of the fight is citrus canker, the tree disease that led the state and federal government to destroy 865,000 residential citrus trees, most of them in South Florida, in a failed attempt to eradicate the disease. The program also felled 11.3 million commercial and 4.3 million nursery citrus trees.

This time, the battleground is in commercial groves and the issue isn't eradication.

The proposed rule change includes dropping a requirement to conduct pre-harvest grove inspections. Such inspections have previously disqualified fruit from fresh shipment in cases where inspectors found even a small outbreak of canker anywhere in the grove to be picked.

The new rule would instead focus on inspecting and disinfecting fruit at the packinghouse.

The USDA has concluded that fruit that has been inspected at the packinghouse, treated and found free of symptoms of canker, then properly packaged, presents negligible risk of spreading canker.

Still, many California growers want to institute the new rule only on a pilot basis, and restrict sales of Florida fresh fruit to northern states east of the Mississippi River.

Florida growers staunchly oppose any such restriction.

Canker is harmless to humans, but blemishes fresh fruit and causes trees to produce less fruit, citrus officials say.

Earlier this year inspectors found a small outbreak of the dreaded citrus canker disease in one of Dan Richey's groves near Vero Beach.

Under USDA rules designed to prevent the disease's spread to other citrus-producing states or countries, none of Richey's 40 acres of grapefruit could be shipped fresh to supermarkets or other customers in the U.S. or Europe.

The fruit had to go to the cannery, or to Japan. So instead of making $8 or $9 a box for fruit he might have shipped fresh to Boston or Chicago, Richey said he got $1 a box.

Had the proposed policy change been in effect this year, Richey could have harvested fruit from other trees in his affected grove as long as none of the fruit had signs of the disease.

Richey believes the new protocol would provide adequate protection for California and other citrus-producing states like Texas, Louisiana and Arizona.

Richey's dilemma has been repeated in varying degrees many times across the heart of Florida's fresh fruit industry. Statewide, in the 12 months ending June 30, state inspectors turned down nearly 20,000 acres of fruit that growers had prepared for the fresh fruit market, citing the presence of canker in groves.

That doesn't include figures on groves that growers didn't seek an inspection for, knowing they had an infected tree. The state could be losing $80 million because of the current rule, according to an estimate by Richard Kinney, executive director of Florida Citrus Packers, a non-profit cooperative.

''My worst nightmare is that canker would become established here in California,'' said John Grether, 56, who owns or manages 2,000 acres of citrus near Somis, north of Los Angeles.

''It's a devastating disease, a tough thing,'' Grether told The Miami Herald. He sympathizes with Florida growers.

''We understand their pain, but we don't want to share it,'' Grether said.

Several concerned about the rule have urged more scientific study before any change.

Some California growers are also concerned about the potential spread of citrus greening, another tree disease present in Florida. But greening is not part of the USDA's proposed shipping rule change.

Confining Florida sales to northern states east of the Mississippi would be, ''an enormous threat to the economic viability of the industry and us personally,'' said Richey, an industry leader.

People from other citrus producing states ''need to look at the science and evaluate it in a way that is not just parochial,'' he said.

Growers protect their trees against canker with copper-based sprays, among other methods, and inspect them for evidence of the disease before picking.

That's because showing up at a packing house with a truckload containing even a few pieces of diseased fruit would cause the whole truckload to be rejected and be very costly to the grower, Richey said. Should diseased fruit get into the packing house, the production line would have to be shut down, equipment cleaned and people idled, a very expensive event.

Growers who ship fresh fruit to Europe will still have to undergo pre-harvest grove inspections, Richey said, because of European import rules.

Another California concern is that changing the inspection standards could encourage foreign competitors with similar pest disease problems to try to get their fruit approved for U.S. import.

''The objective of a rule addressing Florida's situation should be to prevent disease-free areas from being infected; it should not be designed with the primary objective to allow shipments of fresh fruit from diseased areas,'' wrote the authors of a report by California Citrus Mutual, Sunkist Growers and the U.S. Citrus Science Council.

USDA officials will not respond to comments about the proposed plan. A final decision is due soon.

Lavish life over, pair face prison

Title business misspent millions, authorities say.

By JEFF TESTERMAN, Times Staff Writer
Published September 14, 2007

PALM HARBOR - The whistle-blower's call came from within Gulf Coast Title, where elaborate flower arrangements accented marble-topped tables, and where staffers relaxed in rich leather chairs before heading out for a closing in one of the company Hummers or Escalades.

"The owners are stealing," the tipster said.

Attorneys and forensic accountants dispatched to the Gulf Coast offices on U.S. 19. discovered that a fortune was missing.

The investigators tracked the misappropriated cash to the purchase of a country club home, a condo for the owners' daughter and an expense account used to purchase jewelry, art, designer shoes, California wine and a $2,827.61 soiree at Ruth's Chris Steak House.

Gulf Coast, which handled hundreds of loan closings a month, was shut down. Civil court records pointed the finger of blame at Cheryl L. and John T. Wehlau, who weathered personal bankruptcies before striking it rich at their Palm Harbor title agency.

After the company's demise in January 2006, a questioned lingered: Would the Wehlaus have to account for the missing money?

Thursday, a statewide prosecutor provided the answer: The Wehlaus were arrested at their rented home in New Port Richey, each charged with 25 felonies - grand theft, money laundering and theft of escrowed funds.

The Wehlaus, both 41, were at the Pasco County Detention Center on $5-million bail. Their attorneys declined to comment.

- - -

Investigators say the couple masterminded a kind of Ponzi scheme at Gulf Coast Title Closings and Escrow Services, funneling funds held in escrow for real estate closings into a business operating account, then spent the cash on a lavish lifestyle.

Since current closings could be funded from money coming into escrow from future real estate sales, the Wehlaus apparently figured no one would notice.

"It was a float scheme, where tomorrow's closings fund today's expenses," said Marty J. Solomon, an attorney for Commonwealth Land Title Insurance Co., the underwriter that wrote title policies for Gulf Coast and discovered the misappropriations.

"I guess maybe they thought they'd never get caught," said Solomon, "or that they'd be able to put all the money back."

They couldn't. According to Solomon, $7.99-million was stolen from escrow accounts at Gulf Coast, leaving Commonwealth to pick up the pieces and make good on hundreds of checks that started bouncing all over Florida.

Among the victims: Jordan and Elipidea Pongase, who sold their Hillsborough County home in December 2005, walked out of a Gulf Coast closing and deposited a $138,884.11 proceeds check into their checking account.

A few days later, Mrs. Pongase discovered that the title company's check was no good.

"My husband couldn't sleep, his blood pressure went up," said Mrs. Pongase, a 44-year-old postal worker. "That's big money for us. We needed it to buy our new home."

The Pongases panicked when they tried to reach Gulf Coast and found the title company shuttered. Three weeks after their closing, the couple received full reimbursement from Commonwealth, the underwriter legally required to cover the Gulf Coast losses.

Hundreds of people and companies filed claims on bad checks disbursed at Gulf Coast closings. The Best Tech Pest Service had a bounced check for $100. The Volusia County Tax Collector had one for $222.38. Realtors, surveyors, appraisers, lenders and sellers like the Pongases - all had been issued worthless checks.

In January 2006, after the tipster called, Commonwealth sent investigators to the title agency at 32815 U.S. 19 N, discovered improper disbursements and obtained an injunction to take control of the agency.

A court-appointed receiver changed the locks, posted security guards and began poring over the books. What investigators found, according to a Commonwealth civil suit, was "above-market salaries" that amounted to $482,006 to the Wehlaus in 2005, money illegally channeled into their side businesses and escrow funds spent for their personal benefit.

According to Solomon:

- About $400,000 was misappropriated from escrowed funds for the $1.32-million purchase of the Wehlaus' 6,295-square-foot home at the Wentworth Golf Club in Tarpon Springs.

- A $300,000 check sent from a bank to Gulf Coast for a loan closing was used to buy a Lansbrook Village condominium in Palm Harbor for the couple's daughter, Victoria Lynn Wehlau. The bank asked that the $300,000 check be returned so that a corrected check for a smaller amount could be sent. Instead, records show that Cheryl Wehlau kept both checks and used a dummy ledger entry to convert the $300,000 to her own use.

- The Wehlaus set up a business for the same daughter in Ridgemoor Commons shopping center called Just Originals Flowers and More, then funneled thousands of dollars from Gulf Coast to the shop for flower arrangements at the title agency. The flower bill for a single day: $2,761.71.

- Using improperly transferred funds, Gulf Coast purchased a fleet of luxury vehicles - Hummers, Cadillac Escalades and Ford Expeditions -- used by the title agency and the Wehlaus' side businesses.

- Escrowed funds were transferred into the Gulf Coast operating account and used to pay for an American Express expense account. Business expenses for the title agency included $3,713 for women's designer shoes, $2,308 for Disney World tickets, $5,139 for jewelry and $1,125 for wine from a California vintner.

So long as manyloan closings were scheduled at Gulf Coast, there was money to cover the misappropriations. And because of a close relationship with a real estate marketing service called Buy Owner, cash flowed freely.

But when the Buy Owner franchise changed hands, referrals dropped.

After the tipster alerted Commonwealth, Gulf Coast's business stopped. With no more closings to cover the misappropriations, Gulf Coast checks were no good.

Lloyd's of London paid a claim to cover a portion of Commonwealth's multimillion-dollar loss, Solomon said, and the two companies have shared losses and worked to salvage what they could. But the Wehlaus' real estate belongs to the banks after foreclosures, and a search for other assets hasn't turned up much.

"A staggering amount was spent on lifestyle," said Solomon. "It seems they simply spent the money, just burned it all up."

Times researcher John Martin contributed to this report. Jeff Testerman can be reached at 813 226-3422 or "testerman@sptimes.com

Man frauded IRS out of $1 million

By TROY ROBERTS troberts@lakecityreporter.com
Thursday, September 13, 2007 11:51 PM EDT

LIVE OAK - A Suwannee County man pled guilty to defrauding the Internal Revenue Service out of more than $1 million Thursday, according to officials.

Joseph Barney Wainwright Jr. plead guilty in a Middle District of Florida courtroom to one count of filing a false return to the IRS in 2000. Wainwright is the owner of Wainwright Construction in Live Oak, according to Norm Meadows, public information officer and special agent with the IRS Criminal Investigations unit.

Meadows said Wainwright will likely be sentenced within 90 days. The felony charge could send him to prison for up to three years.

“There was a material item on the report that was misrepresented,” Meadows said regarding the charges against Wainwright.

According to information from the IRS, Wainwright's charges center on tax returns for

his business in 2000. The report stated Wainwright reported $96,377 in gross receipts for the year when, after an investigation was conducted, the business actually had more than $1.2

million in gross receipts in 2000.

The charges were filed on Sept. 4. It was unclear when the investigation began and concluded.

Builder indicted on tax charge

By Robert Bridges, Editor

Local building contractor Joseph Barney Wainwright Jr. has been indicted on charges of filing a false federal tax return, court records show.

Wainwright reported gross receipts of $96,377 in 2000 for his business, Wainwright Construction, according to the Sept. 4 indictment. However, actual gross receipts totaled about $1,259,178.

If convicted, Wainwright faces up to three years in prison, according to IRS Special Agent Norm Meadows.

City did work on private property

By Robert Bridges, Editor

City fire equipment was used on at least a dozen occasions last year to assist a private contractor in completing work on an apartment complex, City Administrator Bob Farley confirmed Wednesday. Farley, who approved the work, said he did so as the result of a misunderstanding.

Live Oak firefighters were sent to flush water lines within the Silas Oaks apartment complex on Silas Drive on numerous occasions, Farley said, even though such work is the responsibility of the builder. The city was not reimbursed for the work.

"What we did was wrong," Farley said. "We don't do work on private property."

Fire Chief Chad Croft said the order to perform the work came from then Public Works Administrator Tommy Cundiff, who in turn said he had been instructed by

Farley. Cundiff has since passed away.

Croft, who said he was "aggravated" by the order, told Farley he would comply, with the understanding that the effort would be abandoned in the event of an emergency.

"I made it clear to Bob, if you want me to do it, fine," Croft said Wednesday. "But if something breaks loose, we're gone."

Farley said there was miscommunication among the three men.

"Tommy Cundiff came to me and said, line flushing needs to be done," he said. "To me, flushing lines means doing a fire flow test and checking the hydrants. I did not know we were going to be flushing mud out of a distribution system." Farley added he "wasn't aware it was happening 10 to 12 times."

City Councilman John Hale, who revealed the misuse of city resources at Tuesday night's city council meeting, was not convinced by Farley's explanation. "I don't believe the fire chief did anything other than the city administrator told him to do," Hale said Wednesday. Hale said Farley's suggestion of a communications breakdown "sounds convenient."

One emergency vehicle, a truck used to fight brush fires, and one firefighter were used to perform the work on each occasion. 

Developer's Choice Is Refreshing Change

Published: September 14, 2007

Residents of Darby, St. Joseph and other areas in rural northeast Pasco County were rightfully alarmed about plans by a developer to build 300 homes on 475 acres just west of Interstate 75. The land is in a rural protection area, where many homes are on tracts of 5 and 10 acres and even larger, and the requested density was highly inappropriate.

Then something unusual happened. After some county staff objected for those same reasons and residents continued to express concerns, the developer of Pine Ridge acquiesced and dramatically reduced t