Tampa Bay Times from St. Petersburg, Florida • H2

2 unda eb ru ar 2, 2 01 4 ampa ay imes HER Yo ur etters Share our opinions go to tampabay ters CHRIS PRICE Special to the Times (2012) Co un ty ho ul help it anim al oa rd in proble Fo over three years some residents of the High Po i nt community near eeki achee av had to endure an infestation of cats and the unrelenting unbearable odor emit ted from a residence that harbors up to 60 or more cats at a time. Over the same three years, more than 20 cats were trapped and many others taken to shelters by the homeowners association and neighbors. wo pe ts are allowed per household in igh Po int and the of fending homeowner was allowed to keep two cats with the understanding that no more cats could be collected. No the number has again grown to 25 to 40 cats in the house and many more living under the house, being lured the property by outside food. The odor is so extreme on warm da ys some neighbors ha ve ev ac uated their homes.

We a ve no legal right to enter the of fender property to remove these cats and the homeowner has refused to cooperate at ve ry evel. Why must our residents be put through this aggr ava tion? omeowner associations ha ve ver lit tle enforcement power and most of that consists of writing let ters noting the infractions and requesting the resolution of the of fence. Another tool i the imposition of daily fines. If i nes are i gnored only liens and egal action remains and as we all now that is a costly and time-consuming process. It is time local government agencies ge involved and bring this situation to a rational and reasonable conclusion because the of fender has promised many times (in writing) to remedy the issue only to continue luring and hoarding more cats.

Our county government needs to step up and take swift ac tion against pet hoarders for the health and safe ty of igh oint and er- nando County residents. im oolcock, Brooksville Ge Blue be rr Fe st iv al of Broo ks vi ll st reet Once again the Florida Blueberr Fe ti- val is coming to the ernando County Commission, hat in hand, asking for assistance in blocking of public treets and taxpaying businesses so that it can charge the taxpaying citizens of ernando County admission to public treets, parks and buildings. According to county taf 1 4,000 of this xpense ill ome from the eneral un rese rv es for contingency and $5,000 from ourist Development. his does not include the additional assistance of the city of Brooksville who also provides of ice and meeting space. Besides the fact that the city and county ha ve been partners in fleecing the taxpayers of their money they ha ve violated the rights to public property freedom of tr av el and ven some businesses from being able to conduct business.

And why? here are per fectly good facilities at om arn ark or the fair ground. The park of fers more shade, easier walking, tc. Let the Florida Blueberry estival use om arn ark and ge of our treets. Or make the downtown venue free and open to all. Dennis urdy Brooksville The Florida Blueberr Fe tiv al is held on cit st reets.

Is To Va ark a bet te loca tion? ta mpab ay om pinion Th at was the alid point from the developer of he Ho l- land Spring I ndustrial Pa rk last eek as he nsuccessfully sought to reverse the ernando County Commissio decision in December to allow a church on land that was originally par of the park. he inaction le stand an earlier decision from a voluntee zoning board permit ting a 1,600 seat church sanctuar wit future plans for a school on 16 acres he pitch from olland Spring is a prec rsor to potential litigation. nfortunately commissioners ga ve li tt le pause to the alid reasoning he at torne for the adjacent landowner said in a an. 6 le tt er that his client 70 acres one of a ve ry few if not rare, sites within ernando County of su ff icient size and of unique location to accommodate a large industrial or manu- facturing project. It now faces a diminished at tractiveness as a premier industrial site that will negatively af fect other industrial land in and around the park.

Such sentiments can be routine in land-use disputes, but the arguments from at torney Bruce Snow irror the public position of the count professional planning planners, airport manager and business development of ice. All opposed the church location at Anderson Snow Road a nd Corporate Boulevard that is within the airport overlay district intended for future industrial development. hit ling the invento ry vacant industrial land by allowing non-business uses is foolish and will put the county at a disadvantage as it at tempts to xpand its tax base and bolster the employment outlook by at trac ting companies seeking to xpand or relocate. Commission- ers also should pay at tention to the imperative point from Snow who noted the incompatible mixture of such dissimilar land uses is not ood for either churches or industr y. In deed.

The county has compromised its own land-use plan. So much so that Commissioner Nick Nicholson, who declined to rehear the zoning case, has advocated for changing county ordinances so churches could not placed on industrial land in the future. It a legitimate, but tardy proposal that simply af firms the contention of county taf and at torney Snow Putting a church and perhaps a future school in an industrial zone is akin to put ting indus tr in a school zone. It is the ver definition of incompatibility and the commission majority of Nicholson, im Adkins and Da vid Russell are wrong to turn a blind ye to it. Church decision puts economic future at risk ut ting a church in an area designated for industr is slipshod planning tha could prove detrimental to economic development opportunities in a count begging for jobs beyond residential construction or low-wage ser vice employ- ent.

It also hurts other arby landowners tr ying to arket their own land as industrial sites. Ti me ed itoria Gues column Rao usun uru PHS name re ects ambition All public institutions work hard to meet the needs of their constituents ile simultaneously truggling with budge increased demands and restricted resources. With a large overla of constituents and their needs, it is easy xpect some conflicts among agencies particularly hen each is serious about its own responsibilities. here ha ve been headlines about conflicts among our local community college, Pa co School District and the asco and er- nando sheriff ff ices. But, citizens can be assured the working relationships among these institutions ha ve been ver cordial, cooperative and comprehensive over the years with many longstanding agreements and contracts.

I personally am hopeful that the cu rent leaders will find healthy solutions to their disagreements. Over 41 years, the college, now named asco-H ernando State College, has learned to successfully compete i th itself. Annual tu- dent enrollment has grown and a fifth full-ser vice campus opened last month in esley hapel to more than 1,500 tudents. The college is local and less xpensive and has xtensive financial aid. It fers an open- door concept, individual at ten- tion, volving digital courses, at tention to diversit subsidies for childcare and ex cellence in arts and sports.

It is recognized as one of the top 100 af fordable colleges nationwide he college is especially proud of its technolog and workforce programs that are responsive to needs of local employers. Th colleg impact on the asco and ernando economies is estimated at 2 40 million annually The more than 35,000 alumni includes state legislators, school superintendents, a ulitzer rize- winning journalist, a judge and a lot of champions and heroes in many other professions. he college has been approved to of fer baccalaureate degrees, providing ontinuity highe education locally reflect this tellar growth, the name changed to asco-H ernando State College and a tree has been chosen a its logo. It represents the vision for the future as the college continues to grow and expand with ver season of the year As Bill Cosby said, order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure. Success in life, however one chooses to define success, is highly unlikely without higher education.

PHSC has much to of fer he name has changed, but the colleg mot to remains the same. I magine, believe, achieve! Dr Rao usunuru, is a 15 -year member of the PHSC board of trustees and the ecipient of the 2013 Southern Regional rustee Leader ship Awar from the ational Association of Community College rustees. Musunuru.