Center back for more bingo, spaghetti

it has been five years and one month since Frances wreck the party.

This is Tropical Storm Frances, which blew in Pasco County on Labor Day Weekend 2004. Winds of 70 mph stripped the waterproof membrane from a high of clubhouses original west Pasco area - the building of the Civic Association TAT off Darlington Road in Holiday.

Most painfully, the civic group for TAT in fact a trio known as the neighborhoods of houses of Tahiti, Aloha Gardens and Tiki Village, had to retire debt on the building, 13 years after its acquisition. The mortgage burning party never materialized, and three weeks after Frances, heavy rains from Hurricane Jeanne condemned the building.

Now, nearly two years after the insurance settlement-final, the clubhouse was set to reopen Saturday for his first feature in public - a revival of its traditional spaghetti dinners held the first Saturday of each month.

Visitors will not recognize the place. The mustard-colored exterior and Pepto-Bismol doors are replaced by a blue and gray scheme to remind people of water and sand.

"We wanted it to be in Florida, without looking into the peach and turquoise,’ said Ellen Swenson, director of the civic association.

She, her brother, Bruce Zemke, the treasurer of the association, building and now chairman of the committee responsible for the kitchen, and Jim Turtle, the executive vice president, gave me a tour of the new digs a little more than 48 hours before the first dinner.

It has changed significantly since I looked inside 20 months ago. Members restored what they could of the 7,500 square foot building. They recovered the kitchen equipment, washing down the chairs, installed 121 new bulbs in the wall mounted board bingo and paid to restore the pool tables in the playroom. But much of it is new walls, lighting, ceilings, tile counters, dining tables, ceiling fans, and a living room, bigger / library area with furniture from the sale of 'Estate, Hi Army thrift store and a former model home.

They came to do good business, but it has still not cheap. There is a $ 600,000 renovation and the association is once again in debt. Hence the need for spaghetti dinners, rental for weddings and other functions, and numerous fundraisers to keep the place solvent.

The work of the kitchen for dinner on Saturday started Wednesday with the preparation of the meat sauce. In fact, it began eight days ago when they had a dry running just for members. The public dinners attract a wider audience with a pre-hurricane price of $ 5.50 for all you can eat. They provided through 60 pounds of vermicelli. The freezer held 45 liters of Dreamsicle ice cream flavored desert. Turtle expected to wear a tuxedo for handling of chores Master. Ze mke was part of the crew of eight in the kitchen.

There is seating for 240. A Saturday well during the season of snow birds could bring about 400 through the door. There are 2266 houses in three neighborhoods known collectively as the TAT and the clubhouse was the centerpiece. It was built in 1971, with several swimming pools, shuffle board courts and seven days a week, week of activities which have contributed to attract northerners to the two bedrooms, houses with a garage which West Pasco transformed into a haven of retreat. Finally, the components manufacturer in the club and the civic association has bought in 1991.

But participants do not correspond to the potential audience. At one point the membership was down to 120 names. Zemke, 65, came here in 2003 and said when he joined the civic association, at the age of 59 years he was its youngest member.

So it will take more than spaghetti and meat sauce to create a community, especially in the changing demography of the West Pasco. Luring young adults with children will be key. A separate play area is provided for children. Perhaps movie nights and dances too. And there is an area reserved for members to park their recreational vehicles. Who contributes to attract families. There are more members now than at the time of storms.

Turtle is also considering the club regain its stature as a place of political influence. During the campaign season, the owners and hopes always to dinner on Saturday for the pulp and the political and the typical building was the site of candidate forums.

In this spirit, the remodeling included an electrical circuit for a chore not to mention much more important that the bingo and a reminder of civic duty definitive association.

They wired the place to serve as polling district.