Keystone Civic Association
2023 Hillsborough County's Most Engaged Neighborhood
Wishing all our Keystone Odessa neighbors a safe and HAPPY 4TH OF JULY.
Only the brave are free.
On this day, the Declaration of Independence was adopted by our founding fathers who bravely risked challenging the monarch's authority. Two months after, the United Colonies were renamed
United States of America.
Keystone Civic Association has discontinued its phone number. Please reach out to us at info@keystonecivic.org and we will be happy to give you a call.
Calendar of Events:
July 12, 2024
Join us at the American Legion
17383 Gunn Hwy. Odessa
5:30 You may purchase Bingo Cards
6:00 Games Start
July 25, 2024
Join us at the American Legion
6:30PM Meet and Greet
7:00PM Introductions followed by Question and Answer opportunity
Meet Local Candidates that represent Keystone Odessa.
All candidates were invited.
County Commissioner District 2
County Commissioner District 6
School Board District 1
and More
July 31, 2024
7:00 PM, Keystone Park
Join KCA in this annual event to commemorate the end of summer and celebrate our backpack drive.
July 8- July 31
KCA will be collecting new backpacks and school supplies for area students with a need
Collection box at Keystone Park.
August 22, 2024
General Membership Meeting
6:30 Social, 7:00 Start
KCA will be presenting a map for approval of
membership boundaries at our general meeting.
August 31, 2024
7:00 AM, Meet at Keystone Park
Keep Keystone Beautiful Roadside Clean Up. JOIN.
November 2, 2024
Fall Festival Planning-
Join our committee to support our efforts to bring this beloved annual family friendly festival to the Keystone Community. Email Heather at kcaevents@keystonecivic.org
Modified watering days and times for unincorporated Hillsborough County
Know your new watering day:
Days
Addresses ending in 0 or 1 can only water on Monday
Addresses ending with a 2 or 3 on Tuesday
Addresses ending with a 4 or 5 on Wednesday
Addresses ending with a 6 or 7 on Thursday
Addresses ending with an 8 or 9 and common areas with or without street addresses, locations with no addresses, and locations with mixed addresses (such as office complexes and shopping centers on Friday
Prevent run-off from over watering and broken or misdirected sprinkler heads.
Nature's Mosquito Control- Dragonflies and Damselflies
By Director Jane Whitehurst
Both the dragonfly and damselfly are in the insect order Ordonata. According to fossils they have been around up to 100 million years before the dinosaur. In these prehistoric times, they were much larger with a wingspan of 2 feet. Although the two are similar when observed from a far, up close there are many differences.
The dragonflies have eyes close together, almost touching, and they have a shorter, sturdier body. The dragonfly also has dissimilar wing pairs with the back wings being broader. In contrast, the damselfly has a longer body with eyes on the side of its head and similar wing pairs. Maybe the most interesting fact is where their gills are found. For the damselfly, the gills are in the head region. The dragonfly bears the great distinction of having their gills in their anus.
The two different ‘flies” have much in common. They both have incomplete metamorphosis meaning they go from the egg to the larva to an adult and bypass the inactive pupa stage. They are both found near water since the female lays their eggs in the water. When the eggs hatch the larvae will remain in the water and can molt up to 15 times. The larva is carnivorous eating many aquatic insects and even tad poles if they grow large enough.
Seeing the “flies” around bodies of water is a good indicator of healthy water. The absence of these insects would indicate that there may be pesticides or an abundance of nutrients from fertilizer run off.
Once the “flies” enter the adult stage their appetite becomes more voracious. The adults can eat 15% of their body weight every day. Their favorite food is mosquitoes, midges, flies, but they are also known to eat butterflies, moths, and other dragonflies. The ecological importance of the “flies “continues into their adult form. Purple martins are just one species of birds who enjoy the dragon and damsel fly. During the mating ritual the male dragonfly or damselfly holds the female over the water to release her eggs. In nature you are the predator or the prey, and in this moment, a fish or amphibian might enjoy a tasty snack of a dragonfly.
There are many myths associated with these strange insects. In older times, children might be told that the dragon or damsel fly would sew their mouth, ear, or eye shut if they misbehaved People also wrongly accused them of having stingers to hurt horses. They are around horses because different varieties of flies and mosquitoes are around horses, but they do not hurt the horses.
We see now how valuable these flies are to our environment. What can we do to help increase the numbers of dragon and damsel flies? Keeping clean lakes and ponds is paramount. To attract these flies, plant or allow native aquatic plants to grow such as Sweet Joe-Pye-Weed, Black-eyed Susan, Coneflowers, Water Lily, Meadow Sage, Borage, Milkweed, Pickerelweed, Dwarf Sagittaria and Water Horsetail. This will allow a nursery of carpet for the mother “flies” to lay their eggs as well as provide perches and feeding opportunities..
We must do our best to increase their numbers since they are so beneficial to the environment. Next time you see one flying you might even be able to distinguish between the two and you won’t have to worry about you or your horse getting stung. Marvel at their aerodynamics as they can go to speeds of 35 mph, hover like a helicopter and even fly sideways and backwards. Remember, always work with nature not against her.
KOCP Update. Our director/land use committee chairperson, Regina Hernandez has assembled a group of volunteers who reached out after the last newsletter was posted. The group will begin working on the revision for the Keystone Odessa Community Plan. It has not been updated in a couple decades. Once these volunteers have crafted edits, the information will be presented to membership for membership approval.
Live Local Act - Take Action
We present this information as a courtesy so that you may choose to take action, if desired. Keystone Odessa currently has one application (24-0602) presented to Hillsborough County to take advantage of new legislation regarding affordable housing passed by Governor Ron DeSantis. The application is for 336 apartments and can be up to 4 stories high. The parcel is located at the corner of Van Dyke and Tobacco Rd. Many residents in Van Dyke Farms and the surrounding area are concerned as they just battled redistricting that would have moved their children to new schools. Furthermore, this would have an adverse impact on traffic including the ability to access Van Dyke Rd from the community entrance/exit. The tax incentives would require taxpayers to fund the gaps due to the lack of infrastructure currently in place.
The main points are that
projects zoned PD (Planned Development District) will not qualify under this process and must comply with the applicable planned development approval processes.
with the exception of allowable densities, height, and land use, the project must comply with all other applicable Comprehensive Plan provisions.
the opt out language listed within Orange County Resolution No. 2023-M-32 should apply to the current LLA applications that are zoned PD which would include thie parcel in Keystone Odessa.
If you would like to participate in or view the July 9, 2024, Land Use Meeting, whether virtually or in person, please follow this link
COMMISSIONER WOSTAL has directed staff and the County Attorney’s Office to work with Planning Commission staff review the County’s Comprehensive Plan and identify Goals, Objectives or Policies that may need to be considered in the review of Live Local Projects.
If you would like to participate in or view the July 17, 2024 BOCC Regularly Scheduled Meeting, whether virtually or in person, please follow this link
Water Presentation
Copy of presentation at KCA June general membership meeting. The informaton is accurate as of May 31, 2024
Low level guideline for this marker is 45.6. Every inch is a loss of 3 million gallons of water. According to SWFWMD, the measurement was 45.6 on May 20. Image taken June 11. This indicates in three weeks, a loss of almost 18 million gallons of water from a 114 acre lake.
Sinkohles don't discriminate. Public or private well, overpumping has consequences.
Sources: Tampa Bay Water,
Galloway, D.L., Jones, D. R., and Ingebritsen, S. E., eds., 1999, Land subsidence in the United States; U.S. Geology Survey Circular 1182, 177p. https://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/circ1182/ and
We appreciate our
KCA Business Sponsors.
Please Visit Our Business Sponsors by clicking on the logo.
If you're interested in becoming a business sponsor, please email info@keystonecivic.org
We look forward to seeing you at one of our fun social events this summer.
For current events and up to date information, check out our Facebook page here.
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