Residents of Bloomingdale and surrounding areas were welcome to stop by the Bloomingdale Library on June 14 for a one-on-one meeting with County Commissioner, Stacy White. Visitors were able to sign up and wait to meet with the commissioner to discuss their concerns about local and community issues as well as propose solutions.
Representing District Four of Hillsborough County, White is responsible for the development of everything “from Plant City to Sun City”.
In the past, popular topics for citizen’s concerns have included mainly traffic, storm water issues, sidewalk projects, and growth management for the Hillsborough County area. These topics were frequently brought up by citizens during the community office hours, according to White.
Residents can look forward to exciting developments for the near future, including a much-waited for widening of Bell Shoals Road from Boyette Road to just North of Lithia Pinecrest, added White.
White also made note of a second big project due to be finished in this calendar year. “Valrico road is falling apart. We’re going to resurface Valrico Road from Lithia Pinecrest Road to Highway 60. It was just resurfaced on the other side of Highway 60 so that will complete that entire corridor. We’ll have a nice, new smooth road all the way from Lithia Pinecrest all the way to MLK,” he said.
White mentioned other issues office hours strive to bring attention to. “Storm water issues always pop up during these kinds of office hours. We work with the storm water engineers, and oftentimes they can make improvements to the storm water and correct problems like that,” he added.
White believes that his office hours allow him to be open to the ideas of his constituency. “I always say that the best ideas come from out in the field and meeting with the people. I walk away with so many good ideas when I’m out here spending time with the people like this,” he said. One idea that was mentioned was the installation of a new traffic light on Bell Shoals Road to redirect traffic, he added.
White also prefers one-on-one meetings. “I can sit here in a quiet office one on one with the constituents, give them my undivided attention and focus on just their particular issue that they’re bringing to me. I find that to be very effective,” he said.
Community office hours are held quarterly in different areas of District Four. For information, visit www.hillsboroughcounty.org or Commissioner White’s Facebook page at Stacy White.
