Putting Parking in Hands of Park Rangers and Other Commission Topics

Not every decision county commissioners make holds the fate of Pasco County in its balance.

Every meeting topics less weighty than headline makers come up.

From ticket-writing park rangers, taking a dip in the pool and keeping streets and beaches clean, here are a few of the less weighty votes that await commission blessing at Tuesday’s meeting in New Port Richey.

Taking a dip

A swimming club wants to use the pool at the Land O’ Lakes Recreation Complex during times that don’t conflict with the public’s dips in the water.

In return, the Land O’ Lakes Lightning Swim Team, Inc. would pay the county $280 a month to cover additional chemicals, electricity and heating fuel costs.

The county’s park workers will decide on the schedule.

The team is a nonprofit club that offers training and competition for people ages 5 to young adult and is sanctioned by the U.S. Swimming, Inc.

Parking rangers

Sheriff’s deputies usually have more pressing duties than making sure people pony up parking fees in county parks, so commissioners want to tap Parks and Recreation Department supervisors to issue citations for scofflaws who ignore the “Iron Ranger’s” steely presence.

The park employees will become “parking enforcement specialists” and be trained in what makes a person a specialist in parking enforcement.

Part of the job will be writing tickets or official warnings in the county’s 11 parks. That will be the limit of their enforcement authority.

The county set up passive fee collection stations at parks called Iron Rangers.

No tipping

Commissioners are being asked again to let the people dump the tons of trash they’ll gather from county shorelines in September for free.

The annual Coastal Cleanup effort is set for Sept. 17 and is again expected to haul in tons of debris volunteers collect. Last year, 1,478 people in Pasco collected 16.4 tons of trash.

If commissioners hadn’t waived the fee, getting rid of that much trash would have cost $996.

In landfill talk, the charge to dump trash is a tipping fee.

A new broom

Who would think it will cost $54,000 a year to sweep streets in Pasco County through 2013?

Not many people, possibly. Only one bidder, USA Services of Florida, Inc., was interested in the contract to keep county streets swept and clean.

The county sent bid email notices to 82 companies but got only one bite.

Among other thoroughfares, the deal calls for sweeping and intersection brushing along Little and Ridge roads, Collier Parkway and Seven Springs Boulevard.

The July 26 meeting starts at 10 a.m. at the West Pasco Government Center, 8731 Citizens Dr. in New Port Richey.