November thru December 2009

The CDD Communicator
The newsletter of the Ballantrae Community Development District
November-December 2009
12 pages
Vol. 2, No. 3
County ‘green lights’ signal at SR54
Construction expected to begin this fall
with signalization complete in spring ’10
of a traffic light
Construction
Ballantrae Blvd. and SR54 is
Our top stories
County definition of “maintenance”
means we pay for street repaving: Page 2.
CDD Board looks to improve quality
of community landscaping: Page 3.
Ballantrae resident leads effort to
help Pasco’s homeless veterans: Page 4.
Sheriff’s Office expands efforts to
combat crime, talk to residents: Page 5.
Congresswoman’s staff holds local
meetings to hear from voters: Page 6.
CDD gets variance to increase
watering of community lawns: Page 8.
SWFWMD extends hours for watering
private lawns, landscaping: Page 8.
at
on
track to be completed next spring.
The Pasco Board of County
Commissioners voted unanimously on
Oct. 6 to approve a $332,297 contract
with Florida Safety Contractors Inc. of
Thonotosassa for construction of the
signalization, realignment of the
intersection
to
accommodate
it,
pavement markings and other work.
Construction is expected to begin in
November. The vendor is expected to
complete the project within six months,
county officials said.
Florida Department of Transportation officials warranted the need for
the traffic light in a 2006 study.
FDOT recommended construction of
the light in a February 2007 letter to
county officials.
FDOT said SR54 traffic east- and
west-bound at Ballantrae Blvd. totaled
1,808 to 3,100 vehicles per hour. FDOT’s
threshold for warranting a light is 630
vehicles per hour.
East out of Ballantrae onto SR54,
the threshold is 53 vehicles per hour.
FDOT counted 66 to 144 vehicles.
There is no standard for vehicles
merging from Ballantrae Blvd. onto
west-bound SR54. “
Pasco redrawing elementary school lines
Ballantrae, Suncoast residents disagree
over whose kids should stay at Oakstead
residents should plan to
Ballantrae
turn out and speak up in November
to ensure their children can stay at
Oakstead elementary school.
This option for the coverage area of the as-yet unnamed “S” elementary school keeps Ballantrae
youngsters at the school in Oakstead. The school district board will hold two November public
hearings on its school boundaries plan and decide the lines for four area schools.
That’s because some residents of
Suncoast Meadows are lobbying school
officials to reassign Ballantrae children
next year to the new elementary school
now being built eight miles to the west
on Community Drive south of SR54.
Some Suncoast parents believe that
would allow their children to stay at
Oakstead.
The school district planning panel
disagrees: it has recommended that
Suncoast Meadows children attending
Oakstead should be reassigned to the
new school, and that Ballantrae’s
youngsters should remain at Oakstead.
The school board is not bound by that
recommendation. It can reject or modify
it during hearings set for November.
The map at left shows the current
recommendation: Ballantrae remains
within Oakstead’s boundaries while
Suncoast becomes part of the new school.
The school board has scheduled two
public hearings before it finalizes the
boundaries for the new “S School,” and
revises those for Oakstead, Long Leaf
and Trinity elementary schools.
The hearings will be at the school
Please turn to page 7
CDD Commentary
Street maintenance means we pay
By Jim Flateau
CDD Chair
Homeowners will ultimately pay the bill
for any repaving of our village streets
good news is that Ballantrae
The
homeowners are not taxed for the
cost of repaving residential streets
from New Port Richey to Zephyrhills.
They are, however, responsible for
the repaving of the residential streets
within their own villages … although
that might be 20 years down the road!
County officials agree the current
process might be far different from
what most Pasco property owners –
residential or business – expected after
local streets were turned over to the
county for maintenance.
The streets in five of our six villages
have been turned over to the county for
maintenance. That means repaving
costs will be assessed against lot
owners who directly benefit from them.
The exception is Straiton, where
streets are owned by its HOA.
Many landowners assume that, if the
county takes over maintenance of
streets, Pasco taxes will be used to
maintain them.
But Pasco officials say when they
accept
residential
streets
for
“maintenance,” that term has a very
specific – and limited – meaning.
Or at least it has had that meaning
since an ordinance was passed years ago
in the face of county budget constraints.
Maintenance means Pasco does the
signage, crosswalk painting and
pothole repair to make residential
streets accessible and safe for the
general public, explained James
Widman, chief county engineer.
Pasco also recognizes a term that it
calls “collector roads.” They collect
traffic from residential streets and
funnel it to main roads. The county
foots the bill to repave “collector roads.”
In Ballantrae, “collector roads” are
limited to Ballantrae and Mentmore
boulevards, both of which funnel
traffic from our villages to SR54.
“We’ll pay for any repaving or
maintenance that they need,” Mr.
Widman said of those two streets.
The county has a pro-rated system
2
for billing that levies 100, 50 and 25
percent of the cost for repaving. In
simplest terms, you pay based upon
your benefit.
Let’s use Braemar as an example.
Everyone who lives in Braemar
must access it via Glenapp Drive.
But it would be unfair, county
officials say, only to assess Glenapp
landowners nearest Ballantrae Blvd.
for the full cost of repaving Glenapp to,
say, the Barnweill Street crossing.
Everyone in Braemar has to use
that section of Glenapp, so everyone
would share a pro-rated paving cost.
Braemar is also an example of
another twist in county law.
Those assessed to pay for the
repaving are owners of building lots, no
matter if they are developed or vacant.
In Ballantrae, building lots and
homeowners are synonymous: there
are no longer any vacant building lots
in the community.
But there are “non-buildable”
conservation areas abutting Glenapp
Drive on both the north and south
sides in Braemar. Such areas can also
be found in all other villages as well.
Since those are not buildable lots,
they are not assessed for repaving.
Repaving costs are shared only by the
owners of the adjoining building lots.
When streets become worn,
landowners can petition the county to
do the repaving and charge them for it.
If landowners oppose the repaving,
the county can still come in and
repave, then charge them for the work.
That occurs if landowners oppose
repaving that the county deems
necessary for public safety.
It is important to remember,
however, that these assessments are
only made when the actual repaving
occurs.
No one in the five villages is being
assessed today for future paving,
which may only be necessary long
after they move out of the community.
And who knows? An optimist could
hope that, by then, the county will agree
to pay repaving costs … “
Ballantrae CDD Communicator | November-December 2009
The Communicator
The CDD Communicator is published
bimonthly by the Ballantrae Community
Development District (CDD).
It is prepared by the CDD Board of
Supervisors. It is printed free of charge by the
St. Petersburg Times.
Residents have their choice of receiving
the Communicator on paper or online. Those
preferring the electronic
version can request it on the
CDD
website
at
www.ballantraecdd.org at the
Communications tab. When
published, we’ll email you a link to the
newsletter on our server. We will not fill your
in-box with the large newsletter file!
The mailing address for both the CDD
Board and the Communicator is 17611
Mentmore Blvd. in Land O’ Lakes, FL 34638.
CDD Board of Supervisors
Jim Flateau
Chair
ballantraecdd@verizon.net
(813) 215-0896
Amanda Battistoni
Vice Chair
amanda@asbmail.com
Kelly Moseley
Assistant Secretary
kmoseley@tampabay.rr.com
Richard Levy
Assistant Secretary
RBL22@msn.com
Steve White
Assistant Secretary
saabman@optonline.net
CDD Management
Scott Brizendine
District Manager
Rizzetta & Co.
sbrizendine@rizzetta.com
(813) 994-1001
Bill Fletcher
Maintenance Supervisor
ballantrae2@tampabay.rr.com
(813) 345-8565 (phone)
(813) 345-8567 (fax)
Newsletter Advertising
Kelly Mariskanish
kmariskanish@sptimes.com
(813) 661-2458
Visit our web site at www.ballantraecdd.org
CDD contracts with experts to write new landscaping bid
OLM authors extensive specs to monitor
performance, expectations of CDD vendor
CDD Board wants our community landscaping and lawns to better
The
showcase our community.
So it has hired Atlanta-based OLM, Inc., a highly-regarded landscape
management firm. OLM has written a set of detailed landscape contract
specifications. They will be used this year when the Board bids a new,
three-year contract that will take effect on Jan. 1.
Board members wanted a more specific contract authored by
horticulture and management experts. Board members believe that will
improve upon the cost-effectiveness and quality of service provided by the
landscape vendor.
OLM is one of the largest landscape contract management firms in
the nation, employing experts in landscaping management and
horticulture.
OLM will also assist the CDD Board in advertising for bidders and
evaluating their submissions.
The CDD Board has budgeted $172,800 for landscaping services for the
current fiscal year. It is the most expensive item in the CDD’s $1,049,116
operating and maintenance budget for the current fiscal year.
OLM and the CDD agreed to use the $172,800 figure for the base as
the CDD works on bid specifications, advertising and bidding for a new,
three-year contract. OLM will be paid 75 percent of any first-year
savings the CDD realizes if it awards a contract for less than $172,800 a
year to the lowest responsible bidder.
If there is no savings, then the CDD owes OLM nothing.
The CDD expects to advertise for bids in November and award a
contract in December.
The Board also intends to sharply increase oversight of the vendor to
ensure constant compliance with all the mandates of the more detailed
contract.
The CDD Board will soon decide among the options for oversight and
management of the eventual landscape vendor.
One option is to hire OLM to provide that service. It uses a
“performance payment” system it created. Under that system, the CDD
Board can withhold 25 percent of the monthly payment due to the
landscape vendor during any month in which the vendor’s performance
falls below agreed upon standards.
OLM says the threat of losing that payment is often enough to ensure
vendors maintain a high level of compliance with the contract. They may
miss the mark and fail once, OLM president Tom Medlock said, but can
rarely afford to miss it more often than that.
He also said the potential for those losses often dissuades borderline
vendors from bidding its “performance payment” contracts in the first place.
The CDD Board would have to negotiate a fee with OLM to hire its staff
to make the monthly inspections using its “performance payment” system.
OLM’s local “performance payment” residential clients include the
CDDs in Oakstead, Westchase, Cheval East, Cheval West, Lexington
Oaks plus Meadow Pointe I and II.
Its corporate clients include Walt Disney World’s Swan and Dolphin
resorts in Orlando, and the Sandestin Hilton and Sandestin Resort in
Destin.
A second option is to have the CDD’s district manager perform the
monthly evaluation along with a member of the CDD Board. There is no
cost associated with this initiative because vendor supervision is
already called for in the existing district management contract.
Under that alternative, the only weight that can be brought to bear
on an under-performing vendor is termination of the contract. “
Visit our web site at www.ballantraecdd.org
Top photo shows erosion on the east side of the
east pond at Ballantrae’s entrance. Photo above
shows repairs the CDD Board had performed by
BioMass Tech under a $10,000 contract that also
includes erosion control work to be performed at
ponds in Castleway and Cunningham.
Ballantrae CDD Communicator | November-December 2009
3
Ayrshire landowner leads volunteers helping homeless vets
“I will never leave a fallen comrade ...”
Odessa, the VFW in New Port Richey and various groups
across the county that provide shelters for the homeless.
– From the U.S. Army Ranger Creed
Other vendors supporting the event included
etired U.S. Army Capt. Morson Livingston may have
had that creed from America’s first soldiers in mind McDonald’s, Coast to Coast, Camp K9, Wal-Mart, Publix
when he approached two homeless veterans earlier this and Pinch a Penny.
The event included reading messages of support from
year. They were begging for donations near the intersection
Pasco County Commissioner Pat
of SR54 and Little Road.
Mulieri, who also attended the event,
“They could have been scamming
and another from U.S. Rep. Gus
me, but I gave them each five dollars,”
Bilirakis.
the retired chaplain said.
Rev. Livingston said that besides
Now, the Ayrshire resident is
feeding
homeless vets, the Fourth of
spearheading a group of volunteers,
July
event
was an opportunity to
many of them veterans themselves,
begin
finding
out where they stay,
who are attempting to address the
what
their
needs are, their
needs of their homeless brothers and
backgrounds
and
histories – and even
sisters in arms now residing in Pasco
their
names.
County.
He added, “We tell them that if
County figures put the homeless in
they
are living outside right now, that
Pasco at about 4,600 in 2008. About 18
is
okay.
But we want to get them into
percent – or more than 800 – are
services,
provide a mailing address
believed to be veterans. Both numbers
and
the
mail
drop necessary for them
are, unfortunately, expected to have County Commissioner Pat Mulieri (left) attended a
to
connect
with
the services available
risen since then.
dinner at the Ballantrae clubhouse organized by
to
them.
Our
ultimate
goal will be to
Rev. Livingston created St. Jude’s Rev. Morson Livingston and his wife, Seema.
establish
a
location
where
we can help
Homeless Veterans Resource Center
about five months ago. It is registered with the state as a them to stabilize, work on getting and keeping jobs, things
that they need to start reconnecting with society.”
501C-3 not-for-profit corporation.
Rev. Livingston said many vets are so mentally disabled
“St. Jude is the patron saint of impossible and desperate
or
frustrated
with bureaucracies that they no longer try to
cases,” he noted, “and the hope of the hopeless. So it is very
obtain
necessary
services on their own.
fitting for us.”
“We
try
to
bridge
the gap,” he explained, “by bringing
The St. Jude’s organization is itself homeless at the
vets together with all the services
moment. A planned office location
that can help them. We’re not a
did not work out, Rev. Livingston
government agency so we hope
said, so the group is actively
they can trust us, and help them
seeking a new site.
get back on their feet.
Until then, it is using different
“This is vets volunteering to
sites for its events and the
The next event for homeless vets will be a
work for vets, because we
non-denominational
worship
flag ceremony, picnic and BBQ on Veterans’
understand their issues and
services that he also conducts.
Day, Nov. 11.
Rev. Livingston said the
needs,” he said.
It will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at
group’s ultimate goal “is to
A “thank you” dinner was held
the Rotary Concourse Pavilion located at
establish a one-stop center where
July
24 at the Ballantrae clubhouse
15323 State Road 52 in Land O Lakes (near
the homeless can have as many of
for the St. Jude’s volunteers who
Safety Town).
their needs met as possible from
“We invite anyone to come who wants to
worked on the Fourth of July event.
one location.
help out with the event, and those who want
Commissioner Mulieri also
“We want to meet basic needs,
to honor the men and women who have
attended. She said, “Government
such as helping to provide or
served in our armed forces,” Rev. Livingston
cannot be everything to everyone.
coordinate shelter, food, clothing,
said.
Faith-based organizations like this
medical care and education. These
Anyone wishing to volunteer to help with
one are, thankfully, picking up part
people are coming from desperate
homeless vets can contact Rev. Livingston
of the slack. I support their efforts.”
situations. They’ve lost their
by phone at (813) 951-2288 or by email at
Said another of the dinner
self-image that must be restored.”
stjudesveteranscenter@gmail.com.
guests,
“There are lots of veterans’
Fifty volunteers held a Fourth
services.
We have to connect our
of July picnic and BBQ in Odessa
that attracted 200 homeless vets. Donations and assistance brothers and sister with them. There should be no homeless
in hosting that event came from the AMVETS Post 9 in vets.” “
R
Assist homeless vets
on Veterans’ Day
4
Ballantrae CDD Communicator | November-December 2009
Visit our web site at www.ballantraecdd.org
Sheriff increasing road patrols, enforcement of curfew
Host of initiatives assist residents
in reporting, accessing crime data
Pasco Sheriff’s Office is
The
implementing new and better ways
to enhance its already substantial
communications with and response to
county residents.
The most visible addition is the
summer opening of the combined
Trinity District Sheriff’s Substation
and Fire Rescue Station 15 on Trinity
Boulevard in Trinity.
The Ballantrae area remains in the
district patrolled out of Dade City.
However, county residents are free to
go to any sheriff’s location to conduct
business.
Ballantrae is closer to Trinity than
to Dade City. Trinity is also closer to
Ballantrae than the sheriff’s office on
Little Road in New Port Richey.
The sheriff’s office is always
reviewing patrol areas. It is possible
that Sheriff Bob White could someday
realign responsibilities and place
Ballantrae within the jurisdiction of
the closer Trinity station.
Sheriff increasing deputy road patrols
In the meantime, the entire county
is expected to benefit from initiatives
tied to the sheriff’s application for and
receipt of $4.4 million in federal law
enforcement stimulus funds.
Initially, the sheriff said he had to
eliminate its helicopter unit in order to
maintain critical road patrols in the
fiscal year that began Oct. 1.
The federal stimulus funds will
instead allow the sheriff to employ 24
new deputies for the next three years,
at which time county taxpayers
become responsible for their funding.
That means county roads plus
communities in unincorporated Pasco
will benefit from an increase in road
patrols and other services, sheriff’s
spokesman Kevin Doll told the
Communicator.
As always, he said, many of the
patrols will be determined by need as
established by crime reports and other
calls to the sheriff’s office.
Federal funding of the deputies
means the sheriff can maintain the
helicopter unit as well, Mr. Doll said.
Visit our web site at www.ballantraecdd.org
This is the new sheriff’s substation and fire rescue station on Trinity Boulevard.
Sheriff, CDD enforcing curfew rules
The additional deputies will also
assist Sheriff White in his plans for
another initiative in response to
resident
concern:
intensifying
enforcement of the county’s curfew for
minors.
“We’re going to get as aggressive as
we can with it,” Sheriff White
promised.
His office reports the initiative is in
response to what it sees as a wave of
crimes committed by those younger
than 18.
The sheriff’s task force made 176
arrests this summer for 206 crimes
generally involving car and home
burglaries in central and eastern
Pasco. Those arrests led to clearing
125 cases and the recovery of $5,000
worth of stolen property.
The county curfew generally
prohibits anyone under 18 from being
out in public between 11 p.m. to 5 a.m.
weekdays and from midnight to 6 a.m.
on weekends and holidays. Exceptions
are granted for those under adult
supervision and those traveling to or
from work, school or other prescribed
venues.
First-time curfew violators receive
a written warning. Each subsequent
violation can draw a $50 fine.
Parents and guardians also face
the same warning and fine for
allowing minors to violate the curfew.
Sheriff White said, “We want to
solicit, and we covet, the help of the
parents to keep an eye on their
children.”
In Ballantrae, the CDD Board has
gone an extra step in conjunction with
the sheriff’s office. The Board passed a
resolution on Dec. 1, 2008, that allows
sheriff’s deputies to enforce CDD rules
that close community property daily
from dusk to dawn. The only
exceptions are people attending
approved events at the clubhouse.
That curfew applies to all CDD
property, including the clubhouse and
pool areas, Ballantrae Park plus the
basketball and tennis courts.
Deputies can cite any violators –
not just minors – for trespass and
remove them from the property.
Violators can be fined, and face arrest
if they reenter CDD property.
The CDD Board has also allocated
$30,000 for this fiscal year to hire
off-duty deputies to patrol and monitor
community property as well as to
enforce the resolution.
Sheriff uses Internet to stay in touch
The sheriff’s office also uses the
Internet to keep residents advised on
crimes and other calls for service.
Its newest edition is called Nixle. It
delivers information instantaneously
via email and also to certain cell
phones via text messages.
In recent months, the sheriff has
used Nixle to alert Land O’ Lakes area
residents to searches in progress for
missing persons, carjackers, suspects
wanted in three bank examiner fraud
cases, wanted persons, road closures
and gas line leaks.
While the sheriff’s office uses
Twitter to disseminate some of the
same information, spokesman Doll
said Nixle allows for longer messages
and the attachment of photos (such as
of wanted or missing persons).
Messages are sent free to
consumers with a computer or cell
phone that accepts such messaging.
Any carrier message costs are the
recipient’s responsibility.
Please turn to page 7
Ballantrae CDD Communicator | November-December 2009
5
Congresswoman’s staff meets constituents in Land O’ Lakes
Brown-Waite staff holds regular monthly sessions
to hear from residents in Pasco, 7 other counties
“All politics is local,” observed Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill
Jr. He served from 1977-87 as Speaker of the House in the
U.S. Congress.
He meant it as a warning to Washington politicians not
to forget the needs of voters back home: Their support is
crucial if elected officials want to remain in office.
Following his own advice, Democrat O’Neill served the
Boston area in Congress for 35 years until he chose to step
down in 1987.
His advice is not lost on U.S. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite.
A Republican, she is serving her fourth, two-year term
representing Florida’s Fifth Congressional District. The
sprawling district extends into eight, west-central Florida
counties. It includes parts of Pasco, Lake, Levy, Marion and
Polk counties plus all of Citrus, Hernando and Sumter
counties. Her district generally includes all of Pasco County
east of Little Road.
Congressional sessions keep all members in
Washington for a good part of the year. That limits the time
they have to spend back home, interacting with
constituents in their districts. During session, Ms.
Brown-Waite ensures her constituents have access to her
via regular face-to-face meetings with her district staff.
They convene constituent service meetings from 10-11
a.m. on the first Tuesday of each month at the Land O’
Lakes library on Collier Parkway. Similar monthly
meetings are held in Dade City as well as in the other
counties served by the Fifth District.
Her staff also co-hosts other events of local concern. For
example, a college planning workshop for parents was held
in tandem with the Sallie Mae Fund in September at the
Center for the Performing Arts in Wesley Chapel.
U.S. Rep. Brown-Waite told the Communicator that “My
district covers a lot of miles; I understand that not everyone
can make it to my Brooksville office. By hosting the
monthly outreach meetings in all eight counties, my staff
and I aim to give Fifth District residents a more accessible
option for addressing their needs and concerns.”
Ms. Brown-Waite describes her constituent services this
way: “Staff members from my office will explain how to get
in touch with me to remedy a problem, offer general
assistance and information, and outline what services are
available through the office.”
She urges constituents to “stop by for help with a federal
agency such as the VA or the Social Security Administration
or assistance applying to a service academy.”
“The Congresswoman wants us to get out and meet
constituents,” says staff member Jeanne McIntosh. Her
title, appropriately enough, is outreach coordinator at the
Brooksville office.
During a recent outreach meeting at the local library, Ms.
McIntosh told about a dozen constituents that “We can’t
always get you the answer you want. But we can cut through
the red tape and bureaucracy and get you an answer.”
The constituents who attended a couple of recent
6
Ballantrae CDD Communicator | November-December 2009
Outreach coordinator Jeanne McIntosh addresses residents attending
a constitiuent meeting sponsored by U.S. Rep. Brown-Waite.
monthly meetings ran the gamut from ardent supporters to
those who bluntly voiced their opposition to Ms.
Brown-Waite’s positions on Congressional and other issues.
Here is a sampling of the concerns and issues raised by
attendees at recent outreach sessions in Land O’ Lakes:
• “I want to open a business but the (federal) Small
Business Administration has been of no help,” said one
speaker. “There are lots of programs supposed to be out
there, but the SBA does not know how to put them in place.”
• One resident called for more federal support of programs
to combat lyme disease, especially in southern states where
winter temperatures don’t drop enough to kill insects. She
also called for more Centers for Disease Control programs to
educate Americans on how to avoid this and other diseases.
• Reflecting nationwide polls as the recession continues, one
speaker offered that “I’m an unsatisfied voter. (Federal)
spending is out of control (and) it is not affecting the economy.”
• A self-described “female biker” said she attends many
such sessions “held by politicians.” She added, “We try to
communicate, but all we get are dances or they just don’t
answer the question.”
• Another attendee responded, “I think she’s doing a
fantastic job and I just wanted to be here.”
• One speaker triggered a mini-debate among attendees
when he opined that “universal health care is bad. Been
there, done that and it doesn’t work.” His comments were
supported by some attendees and challenged by others.
Several gave individual accounts about how they or
acquaintances had positive or negative experiences under
such health care programs.
Ms. McIntosh said, “It is important to the Congresswoman
that the people make their views known to her.” “
Constituents can reach Rep. Brown-Waite by mailing her
district office at 16224 Spring Hill Drive in Brooksville, FL
34604, by calling that office at (352) 799-8354 or her
Washington office at (202) 225-1002, or by emailing her from
her website at http://brown-waite.house.gov/contact.
Visit our web site at www.ballantraecdd.org
Pasco redrawing …
Continued from page 1
board’s offices at Bldg. 3 North at 7205
Land O’ Lakes Blvd. The schedule is:
• Beginning at 9:30 a.m. on Nov. 3.
That’s when the recommendation will
be officially presented to the board.
• Beginning at 6 p.m. on Nov. 17. It is
during that hearing that the school
board intends to make a final decision
on school boundary lines.
About 30-40 people attended an
Oct. 6 parent meeting at Oakstead to
discuss the proposed boundaries.
A dozen or so residents attended
from Suncoast Meadows and Suncoast
Pointe. Some asked that Ballantrae
students be reassigned to the new
school, with or without Suncoast kids.
They reasoned that Ballantrae has
more children at Oakstead than do the
two Suncoast communities. They said
that reassigning Ballantrae residents
would have a greater impact on
reducing crowding at Oakstead.
School officials listed two main
reasons for the committee’s decision to
recommend Suncoast students be
reassigned, rather than Ballantrae’s:
125 Suncoast community
• The
students are part of the mix needed to
reach capacity at the new school.
Ballantrae’s 250 students would
immediately place the new school
beyond its intended enrollment.
Sheriff’s office …
Continued from page 5
Ballantrae residents can sign up
for Nixle or Twitter through links on
the Pasco Sheriff’s Office website at
www.pascosheriff.com.
Residents can also go on line to
New clubhouse phone, email
The phone numbers and email
address for the clubhouse have
been changed to save you money.
The CDD Board’s change in
carriers is expected to save
landowners about $1,200 a year.
The new clubhouse phone
number is (813) 345-8565. The
new fax is (813) 345-8567.
The new clubhouse email is
ballantrae2@tampabay.rr.com. “
Visit our web site at www.ballantraecdd.org
The school board will decide in November which children remain at the Oakstead school.
• To reassign Ballantrae but not
Suncoast youngsters is a form of
“leapfrogging” the district opposes. It
prefers boundaries be contiguous and
that communities be kept whole.
Other reasons why Suncoast
residents want to keep their children
at Oakstead also apply in Ballantrae:
• For example, Suncoast residents say
accessing the Oakstead school via
Mentmore Blvd. means children can
avoid traveling on or crossing SR54.
• Those attending Oakstead will
graduate together to Rushe Middle
School and then to Sunlake High School.
They will remain with their school
friends throughout their education.
• “S” school children residing east of
the Suncoast will transfer to Rushe
upon graduation. They will have to
acquire a new group of school friends
in middle school.
So far, 223 Ballantrae residents
have signed a petition asking the
school board to adopt the current
boundary recommendation and keep
their children at Oakstead.
“It is very important that
Ballantrae residents sign the petition
and attend the public hearings to
make sure the district knows we want
our children to attend Oakstead,” said
Danielle Grimme of Lintower.
Ms. Grimme is the Ballantrae
representative on the school district
committee. She’s working to keep
Ballantrae children at Oakstead.
Anyone wishing to arrange signing
the petition can email her at
dgrimme73@verizon.net. “
view the sheriff’s log of incoming
resident calls. It shows residents the
types of reports being filed by
Ballantrae residents.
Ballantrae data was originally
displayed alphabetically by street,
mixed in with streets from many other
areas of the county.
Working with the CDD Board, the
sheriff’s office now aggregates and
displays all Ballantrae data in one
location. Residents no longer have to
do a search by individual street.
That database is available on the
sheriff’s website. It’s listed under the
“Online Resources” header on the left
side of the main page. Click on the
“Subdivision Activity” tab to bring up
the first data page. From there, users
can scroll down to choose “Ballantrae
Villages” and then click “filter” to
review calls to the sheriff’s office from
Ballantrae.
Another resource is a computerized
“crime tracker” database that lists
criminal investigations by ZIP code.
This weekly listing of crimes under
investigation
compliments
the
“subdivision activity” database of calls
of all type received from residents.
The CDD Board is working with
the sheriff’s office to determine if this
weekly compilation can be made
available on the CDD’s website at
www.ballantraecdd.org.
In the meantime, the crime tracker
database is available online at
www.tbo.com. It can be accessed by
typing “crime tracker” in the site
search box. “
Feedback …
What’s your opinion of this edition
of The Communicator? Let us know
at ballantraecdd@verizon.net.
Ballantrae CDD Communicator | November-December 2009
7