Pro-Community

As your new District 2 County Commissioner I will handle my responsibilities as a Statesman and not as a politician.  A statesman thinks of and plans for our next generation and is not limited by what will help win the next election.

Your Trust in our Board of County Commissioners must be restored so I will work with the other Commissioners to change the Board’s reputation from “Pro-Developer” to “Pro-Community”.   To me, “Pro-Community” means:

At the personal level: Living a commitment to:

• Our community and its residents before personal benefit and special interests;
   and being honest, open, fair and balanced at all times, 

• Leadership, practicing conservative fiscal responsibility, and being consistent and reliable while planning and deciding issues. 

For our District:

• Being an advocate for real solutions to the immediate issues that affect the
  District, such as:
     Transportation and other congestion where we live, shop, and play,
        Poorly planned developments and villages, 
        Water shortages, and
        Taxes and the other costs of home and business ownership. 

• Reaching out to understand each community’s issues, actively deal with them,
  and being satisfied only when things are going well and our community’s positive
  future can be foreseen. 

• Insisting that the 4 pillars of our quality of life (family, neighborhood, workplace,
  and economy) are considered in all matters that come before the Board of County Commissioners,  

For our County:

• Having long range plans that recognize that our needs change as our Districts,
  County, and Region move through phases of natural (not forced) development.
  But each phase must build on the ones before it. Our future requires leadership
  that can properly complete our current phase and carefully plan before we begin
  the next one. 

• The Board of County Commissioners must reach out to all parties for ideas and
  to stop the feuding that exists between the community and special interests. 

• We must harness our rich mix of social, government, and business elements into a powerful engine for quality of life and economic growth. Yes, the new vision
  for our County will combine them into a solid community fabric. 
   

For our Region:

• We can realize many benefits from actively supporting Hillsborough County’s    positive relationship with our seven county regional neighbors.  Some of those benefits include transportation and transit resources when we align with Florida’s Strategic Inter-modal System and the new Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority.

Tom has been “Pro-Community” for many years.  The following articles touch on some of his projects.  See The Buzz for others.  

A dilemma: Two tower requests
Tom worked with community leaders, the County, and the Cell phone industry to write amendments to the county's land development code that protects neighborhoods and home values.  He recognizes the safety and convenience of cell phones but feels that the towers should not be put where they don't belong. “Other than that, I love them."
St. Petersburg Times,         Published April 29, 2001                   read the article    

Dinosaur developers are gobbling up rural areas
Tom wrote this article as part of the Dinosaur Chronicles.  The citizens of Citrus Park, Lutz, Keystone, Thonotosassa, Town 'N Country, Brandon, Riverview, Gibsonton, Apollo Beach, Sun City Center, Ruskin and Wimauma are fighting to save their communities from senseless growth.  But there are dinosaur-style developers working against them.  “We have been trying for years to evolve into livable communities, but the dinosaurs obstruct our progress rather than evolve with us”.  There are modern developers who embrace our community visions and have projects under way. People will buy well planned home sites.
St. Petersburg Times,         Published Nov 12, 2000                    read the article

Community Deputy Force In Jeopardy
The Sheriff’s Community Resource Deputy program is just one example of how communities and government can partner.  But, this program may be in jeopardy with hefty budget cuts threatening all sectors of government.  It’s essential that our neighborhood associations contact the Board of County Commissioners to voice support for the program.  'The Keystone community enjoys many benefits from our CRDs' presence, involvement, and close proximity to our lives,' said Tom Aderhold, president of the Keystone Civic Association.
The Tampa Tribune            Published: June 23, 2007                  read the article

Fall Festival 'A Big Deal'
Soon after being drafted by the Keystone Civic Association, Tom and the KCA joined with other local groups to plan this community event.  Such as: the Friends of the Austin Davis Library, Keystone Community Church, the Odessa/Citrus Park Historical Society, Keystone Community Church, American Legion Post 147, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, Parks and Recreation, and Firefighters Union.  Keystone residents enjoyed their first annual Keystone Family Fun Day.  The day of live music, food and kid-friendly activities took place at the Keystone Recreation Center. 
The Tampa Tribune,           Published: October 6, 2007               read the article

Protecting the beauty of our lakes and Quality of the Water
Home owners clear shoreline vegetation, though the plants help filter the water, and their yard fertilizers run into our lakes.  Builders haul in dirt to elevate homes, increasing runoff and flooding.  These activities usually result in polluted, muddy lakes, where too many nutrients cause algae blooms and fish kills.  Tom presented the situation to the Hillsborough County City-County Planning Commission and participated in a task force that developed a list of recommendations to better protect Hillsborough's 267 lakes.  A primary focus is education for all parties to properly maintain our lakes for their health, water quality and property values.  To allow the degradation of our lakes is wasteful and foolish.
Tampa Tribune                    Published April 18, 2001                   read the article

Let development depend on the availability of water
Our water shortages are caused by growth and natural conditions so Tom proposed an approach similar to restricting current demand by homeowners and commercial users.  Future demand from new developments can also be reduced without sacrificing our economic well being.  We don't need to stop all development, just approve the usual number of building permits when there is plenty of water, but restrict permits when water supplies fall off.  It spreads both good times and bad times equally among all members of our community and satisfies the concurrency test. Plus, it takes Tampa Bay Water out of its crisis mode by allowing it to catch up and stay even with future demand. It also demonstrates to residents and businesses that we can make hard but reasoned decisions for our continued quality of life.
St. Petersburg Times,         Published Feb 11, 2001                     read the article

Residents urge county to rein in growth and be rural watchdog
When some developers buy land in an area designated for urban development, they will also buy adjacent land designated for rural growth. Then they ask to move the dividing line.  Tom asked the Board not to allow this domino effect that erodes our Community Based Plans and the character of our communities.  "We've got to start saying "No' to some things". Roads can't handle the traffic, the sheriff's office is overburdened and water supplies are dwindling.  "You've got to slow this down," said to rousing applause.
Tampa Tribune                    Published Oct 30, 1999                      read the article