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Lake Lisa Money Vote Nears

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By Carl  Orth | The Suncoast News

Published: November 3, 2007

PORT RICHEY, Fla. - PORT RICHEY, Fla. - After about four years on the drawing board, a Lake Lisa Park project might start construction soon along Regency Park Boulevard.

County commissioners will be asked to approve a bid of about $434,000 at their Nov. 6 meeting next week, according to county parks and facilities management staff. A state grant will pay about half of the cost of developing Lake Lisa Park.

The county first talked about buying the property for a community park in October 2003.

That suited residents in the Embassy Hills area much better than low-income housing that had been proposed for the site in 2001.

Developers had sought to build 160 apartments on 15 acres, using low-interest financing through the state. An overflow crowd of about 300 people appeared at a February 2001 public hearing to protest the apartment complex plan.

When financing fell through for apartments, the county said a small, community park would represent a much better use of the parcel along Regency Park Boulevard, at San Miguel Drive.

There are no recreational facilities in the Embassy Hills area, Rick Buckman, director of the Pasco County Parks and Recreation Department, said. The area was developed long before the county required builders to set aside land for parks.

A $200,000 grant through Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program, via the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, helped seal the deal a couple of years ago.

"We want to get started as quickly as possible, immediately if we can do so," after the bid is awarded, Buckman said this week.

The project should be completed within about four months after start of construction, according to Chris Hessler, construction manager for the county's Facilities Management Department.

Southwest Contracting, based in Odessa, is recommended as the builder.

Lake Lisa Park will be a passive park, Buckman explained. As a result, "The operating expenses should be minimal," he said in August.

Part of the appeal of passive recreational facilities is they demand little staff time, Buckman said, noting the county has a hiring freeze in place.

The preliminary plans for Lake Lisa Park show a handball court, a basketball court, about 2,800 feet of walkways, landscaping and other site work.

"The Regency Park community really needs something like this," Buckman has said.

Buckman holds out hope of later adding a nine-hole disc golf course to the Lake Lisa site. "It's a good exercise and a good use of the property."

Local groups have staged a few disc golf tournaments on the Lake Lisa site in the past.

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