The Pasco Board of County Commissioners approved millions in additional spending for biosolids management and confirmed a new assistant county administrator during their May 5 meeting. Commissioners hired Joanna Cheshire as Assistant County Administrator for the Public Safety Branch at an annual salary of $200,000 and approved a $41.4 million increase to the county’s biosolids contract over five years.
Cheshire, who previously served as interim assistant administrator and Pasco County chief of staff beginning in 2021, brings extensive experience from her six-year tenure as external and legislative affairs manager for the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. She holds a Political Science degree from the University of South Florida and earned her Certified Public Manager designation from Florida State University in 2024. Before entering county government, Cheshire worked as a legislative aide to Democratic State Representative Bill Heller.
The board approved significant funding increases for Merrell Bros. to maintain the county’s biosolids, which are nutrient-rich, treated organic materials from sewage sludge at wastewater treatment plants. The funding will increase by $3.04 million in 2027 and climb to $4.7 million in 2031, totaling $41.4 million over five years. Commissioner Seth Weightman praised the company, saying “Merrell Brothers does a fantastic job, really setting the benchmark for how biosolids should be handled throughout the state of Florida.”
County staff said the adjustments are necessary to keep pace with higher processing and maintenance costs. The original contract with Merrell was adopted in 2016 and expires in 2031. Commissioners also approved using $3.5 million in federal highway grant funding for construction and new traffic signals for the Wilton Way Connector Road, which will service Moffitt Cancer Center’s recently-opened second Pasco County location.
Originally reported by Hernando Sun
Sources: Hernando Sun
