City weighs county-backed $30 million senior center and whether to end CARES' lease at Claude Pepper Center

New Port Richey council members spent the work session weighing a plan to host a county-backed senior center and about 80 senior housing units on city-owned land and examining the status of CARES, a long-time nonprofit tenant at the Claude Pepper senior center.

The meeting's presiding official said the project — described as a roughly $30,000,000 initiative championed by Congressman Gus Bilirakis and the area agency on aging — would include a countywide senior center and approximately 80 housing units. The official told councilors the group is interested in a 1.64-acre parcel at 6315 Indiana Avenue and an adjacent 1.0-acre undeveloped parcel that the city also owns.

"It's a $30,000,000 project, and it's being championed and and supported by congressman Gus Bilirakis," the presiding official said, and added county staff appear "very committed to it and willing to participate financially and administratively."

Robert, a city staff member who reviewed site drawings, said the developer's plans would enlarge impervious surface area and likely require expanding or relocating the existing retention pond. "When we started looking at that, we also started thinking, okay, well, they're going to be enlarging an impervious surface area, so they're gonna have to expand the retention pond," Robert said, noting underground detention is possible but costly and that relocating or expanding the pond could be workable in coordination with SWFWMD and county planners.

Council members raised zoning, parking and emergency-service concerns. One council member urged avoiding outright sale of the land and proposed a long-term lease — for example a 100-year lease — so the project could proceed without rezoning delays while protecting city interests. Members also pressed that any development should help pay for necessary road, pond and parking improvements and that the county should participate in addressing additional fire and emergency-service demand tied to new housing.

Councilors discussed using part of the Claude Pepper parcel (a 2.5-acre site, shown in staff drawings) to reduce the need for a large new pond and retain maintenance-yard functions, and floated tying in a downtown Red Cross property as part of a land-swap or financing package; staff estimated the Red Cross parcel's land value at "probably in the $300,000 to $400,000 range."

Separately, the presiding official told the council that Community Aging and Retirement Services (CARES) — which occupies the Claude Pepper senior center under a nominal lease — has reduced its scope of services to Pasco County residents, encountered management and financial difficulties and is "the subject of some bankruptcy proceedings," creating potential liability and contract concerns. The official said CARES does not pay a market lease and may have defaulted on lease terms.

"They are subtenants of at least... they've lost their insurance coverage," the presiding official said, and the loss of insurance raised concerns about liability for the city if CARES remains in the building.

A council member said the council should consider formal action. "I think that we do move to terminate that lease — not functioning," the council member said, proposing termination; there was no formal second or vote recorded in the work session discussion.

Staff said they will continue coordinating with county planners and the area agency on aging, refine site plans and cost estimates for pond relocation and road work, and report back to council. Councilors asked staff to also analyze lease options (including long-term lease alternatives) and the financial and service implications of any displacement or relocation of CARES programs.

The work session paused for a break before the evening meeting; no final decisions or votes were taken on land disposition or the CARES tenancy during the session.