Category: News

The Best Of The Latest New Tampa Town Hall

*Tampa Mayor Jane Castor takes additional questions from New Tampa residents following the April 21 Town Hall held at Freedom High in Tampa Palms.* ***(Photo: Charmaine George)***

If you’re into local government, then you have to be impressed with the roster of dignitaries that District 7 Tampa City Council member Luis Viera lined up for his latest New Tampa town hall, held last month at the Freedom High auditorium.

Those sharing the stage included the guest of honor, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, longtime District 2 Tampa Police Dept. (TPD) Major Mike Stout, interim Tampa Fire Rescue Chief Barbara Tripp, City of Tampa director of mobility Vik Bhide and Parks & Recreation director Sherisha Hills. “The Monsters of Rock tour,” Viera joked.

Here are four takeaways from that event:

&%$#@% Roads!

News Flash! — Traffic in New Tampa stinks! That was the message from those who got a chance to speak at the town hall. Whether it was congestion, unpaved roads (e.g., New Tampa and Tampa Palms Blvds.), people speeding or a lack of transportation options — even light rail was brought up! — local residents had a lot to say.

Unfortunately, there really aren’t a lot of answers that don’t revolve around the city crying poor. The Supreme Court striking down the All For Transportation referendum money (a one-cent sales tax) continues to leave a mark. That money would have fixed a good portion of New Tampa’s problems..

“Hopefully there’s another transportation referendum in the future,” Mayor Castor said.

No Excuses

Not everyone was buying the referendum excuse. Local transportation activist Dr. Jim Davison was his usual feisty self, basically accusing the city of not using the gas and other taxes New Tampa residents pay to fix their transportation woes while blaming the Supreme Court decision instead.

“There’s millions of dollars there,” Dr. Davison said, to applause.

Davison also criticized the city for taking the East-West Expressway (aka the E-W Rd.) off the Hillsborough Metropolitan Planning Organization long-range plan. The debate over an E-W Rd. — which would have connected the New Tampa Gateway Bridge (that connects West Meadows to Tampa Palms) to I-275 — goes back more than 20 years. It was killed in 2008 by the Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway Authority but had remained in the MPO’s plans until 2017.

Davison also said he has been asked to reorganize the old New Tampa Transportation Task Force, of which he was a co-founder more than 20 years ago. He think it’s time for a “heart-to-heart” talk about what is happening in New Tampa and basically what the city is and isn’t doing about it.

“Because what is happening now, this ‘If you vote for the one-cent sales tax we’ll build all this stuff,’ that’s extortion,” Davison said, to more applause.

Kick Off?

Did Davison kick off his 2022 campaign for Tampa City Council or the Hillsborough County Commission at the town hall? It kind of sounded like it.

Davison has run twice for the County Commission and lost, and ran for City Council in a 2016 special election to replace Lisa Montelione that launched Viera’s political career. Davison won 30 percent of the votes (compared to 20 percent for Viera) in a crowded primary field, but Viera won the run-off by 65 total votes.

So, is Davison ready for another run? Hmmmm.

Some Good News

Mayor Castor told the audience that she has signed off on the planning and development contract for the All Abilities Park, which also has been called the Sensory Park and will be built at the New Tampa Recreation Center.

“That should be started very very soon, so we’ll see another outstanding park out here in the New Tampa area,” Castor said.

Peter Gamborta of the Rotary Club of New Tampa said the club is ready and eager to begin fund raising for the park, as well as improvements for the New Tampa Rotary Dog Park, for which they raised $27,000 to build in 2015.

Castor also said the planning department threw dynamite on its permitting process, blowing it up and starting anew with the focus on new technology and more efficiency and effectiveness. That improvement yielded $4.5 billion in development in 2020, up from $3.4 billion in 2019, despite Covid.

And, despite all the complaints, the mayor insisted that her administration is working on transportation and public safety issues. “One of the reasons I ran for this position…is that this city is going to change more in the next 10 years than it has in my lifetime,” Castor said. “We really have one opportunity to create the city we want Tampa to be, and to hand that off to the next generation. We’re very excited to be a part of that.”

Commissioners Vote To Build The PAC

The New Tampa Players (NTP), a local acting troupe looking for a permanent home, recently finished a run of shows with a cast of just a handful of performers in a 2,000-sq.-ft. black box theater at the old University Mall.

It’s not exactly what the group may have envisioned when it started nearly 20 years ago with the hope of a cultural center they could call home in the heart of New Tampa, but now, they can see a spotlight at the end of the tunnel.

Thanks in part to a public outpouring of support from many NTP and New Tampa community members, the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners voted 5-2 to approve a $7.3-million construction contract to build the long-awaited New Tampa Performing Arts Center (NTPAC).

“We weren’t 100 percent it would go through, but we are super happy it did,” said Nora Paine, a long-time member and current president of the NTP.

The vote is the biggest step yet for the project, which dates back to 2001, and was initially approved in 2014. Commissioner Ken Hagan, whose District 2 includes New Tampa, says a groundbreaking for the state-of-the-art, 20,000-sq.-ft. (expandable to 30,000 square feet) NTPAC should be scheduled in the next month or two.

Hagan would like to see the project, which is located in the Village at Hunter’s Lake development across Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. from the entrance to the Hunter’s Green community, completed by September of 2022.

“I’m ecstatic over the results,” Hagan says. “Good things come to those who wait. It only took 17 years, but we finally got over the finish line. The end result is that next year, New Tampa is going to have a first-class facility that’s going to be a wonderful centerpiece for the entire community to enjoy.”

Hagan told the Neighborhood News that the construction contract has been awarded to Dunedin-based Bandes Construction, but that the Request for Proposals to operate the PAC hasn’t yet happened.

Hagan told the Board he had received more than 140 emails in support of the NTPAC project. The handful of emails Hagan said he received in opposition to building it primarily dealt with traffic concerns.

Prior to the vote, more than a dozen speakers, including many NTP members, asked the commissioners to keep the PAC dream alive.

“A lot of us had concerns of (the project just being) small stores and another apartment complex,” said Hunter’s Green resident Rob Larsen. “Well, to our surprise, the Performing Arts Center was going to be the heart of this new center. And without it, it basically dies.”

District 63 State Rep. Fentrice Driskell sent an email of support, and Tampa City Council member Luis Viera, who represents New (and North) Tampa in District 7, weighed in as well, promising a commitment from the city to help pay some of the PAC’s operating costs.

Joining Hagan in voting to award the construction contract were commissioners Harry Cohen, Stacy White, Kimberly Overman and Gwen Myers.

They all cited the promises made to New Tampa residents over the years and, as Hagan pointed out, the money to build the PAC was approved back in 2019 and has been waiting to be spent.

“Promises made, promises kept,” said Comm. Myers. “I hope no other community would go through 17 years waiting on a decision from our county.”

The New Tampa Players, performing “Little Mermaid”, may soon have a permanent home to put on its productions. (Photo: James Cass of Picture This of Palma Ceia)

Commissioners Mariella Smith and BCC chair Pat Kemp voted against awarding the construction contract.

Smith said she didn’t believe the rights to operate the PAC once it was built should be awarded to the Manatee County-based Florida Cultural Group (FCG).

Kemp was critical of the PAC’s location. She said it was a “little teeny place carved out of a massive parking lot” and jammed between a strip mall and an apartment complex, both which financially benefited the developers and left the PAC’s actual location as an afterthought.

“It would just be a boondoggle for me to put an iconic building that you put up a lot of money for behind a strip mall and in front of a four-story apartment building,” Kemp said.

Following the construction vote, the commissioners addressed the concerns about FCG by voting unanimously for a Request for Proposals (RFP) to reopen the bidding process in order to find a group to handle the PAC operations.

Hagan says the county staff felt that FCG was the best organization to run the facility to get it to a net-zero operation, and that its extensive experience at fund raising and luring national acts would be an ideal fit.

“Unless there’s another organization that we’re unaware of, our staff feels that at the end, after going through the RFP, it will likely be FCG again,” Hagan says. “Whoever it is, I just want them to be able to be effective and able to fund raise and bring in national acts.”

Hagan said he also will champion the creation of an additional local board, comprised of New Tampa residents, to support the facility and help with any other issues.

For more information about the New Tampa Players, visit NewTampaPlayers.org. The troupe’s latest project, “Motherhood Out Loud.” runs June 11-12 at 7:30 p.m., June 13 at 3 p.m., June 18-19 at 7:30 p.m. and June 20 at 3 p.m. at the Uptown Stage at the University Mall (2200 E. Fowler Ave.).

Ken Hagan New Tampa Performing Arts Center new tampa players

Local Thrill Seeker’s Passion Is Volunteering

For more than 30 years, Edwin Rodriguez has made the long commute to work in Clearwater every day from his home in Wesley Chapel.

But, for the past six years, he has been breaking up his Tuesday drive home with a stop at the Florida Aquarium in downtown Tampa.

There, he dons scuba gear and spends several hours cleaning the tanks. Rodriguez has racked up more than 640 hours of volunteering in that role, and others, at the aquarium.

For example, he says it makes him jump out of bed with a smile when there’s a special occasion.

“My favorite is Halloween,” he says. “Every year, I dress up like Spider-Man underwater, and the kids go nuts. Just imagine me crawling on the glass like a spider. The looks on the kids’ faces are just priceless.”

Edwin also volunteers to help clean Tampa Bay, especially after large events like the Gasparilla parade.

“We dive to clean the beads that end up in the water,” he says. “And not only beads. Last time we went, we got a couple of those scooters that people ride around town — all kinds of garbage that you wouldn’t even believe.”

Edwin started scuba diving in 1986 in his native Puerto Rico. He moved to Florida in 1988, and then discovered skydiving.

“At that point, I put my scuba gear away,” he says. When he suffered an injury not related to skydiving, Ruth, his wife of 21 years, told him it was time to find something different.

He agreed, on one condition. He needed to keep the adrenaline pumping, so they tried new adventures together. They started riding ATVs, and then jet skis.

“My wife said she’d like to try scuba diving,” explains Edwin, “and immediately, my passion for it came back.”

Wanting to spend more time underwater, he found out he could dive as a volunteer at the Florida Aquarium.

“Once I started, I began to understand the mission and vision of the aquarium,” he says. “When I started, my reason for volunteering was selfishly wanting to dive more, but now, I see the big picture. The aquarium’s work to restore the planet has deeply impacted me.”

“Every time I brush a coral (which you have to be properly trained to do), I realize I’m making an impact,” he says. “I’m making it more clean and safe for the animals, and helping the aquarium to be able to bring more people in, plus everything they do to help the planet that people don’t see.”

The process to become an aquarium volunteer is rigorous, and not everyone who wants to help is chosen to do so. Edwin explains that he first filled out an application, then attended a seminar to understand expectations, and completed a required medical test.

He then had to pass a swim test. He says that treading water for 10 minutes and demonstrating his scuba skills was no problem, but even after training, the now-55-year-old says it was difficult for him to swim the required number of meters in the time allotted. After that, he studied for and passed an online test, then started training, including learning how to properly dive in an aquarium.

He says it was all worth it, as he enjoys helping the aquarium, its animals and many visitors, including his six-year-old grandson. “He’s everything to me,” Edwin says. “He loves to go to the aquarium and would go every day if we would let him.”

Edwin was recently recognized at the Florida Aquarium’s annual appreciation event with its annual Outstanding Service Award.

“I don’t see me stopping anytime soon,” he says. “I want to retire from work when I turn 60 and I will have time available, so I want to use more of that time at the aquarium. If I get to the point where I can’t scuba dive, there are plenty of other things to do at the aquarium.”

Florida Aquarium

New River Library On 54 Is Open For The Curious

The New River Library isn’t officially open yet, thanks to a number of Covid-related delays, but Wesley Chapel residents are encouraged to swing on by and check out the new digs.

The library was closed for renovations in October 2019, and until an actual Grand Opening is scheduled, the library is hosting an ongoing soft opening for those who want to see the progress.

On the day we visited, the books hadn’t arrived yet but the renovated library was mostly complete, its makeover adding a fresh new vibe to Wesley Chapel’s only full-size library.

The lobby is larger and more inviting. There is a meeting room, and the old men’s and women’s restrooms with stalls have been replaced by four new family bathrooms.

The inside of the library also is more spacious. The children’s area has been relocated to the front of the building, where it is double its former size, with three touchscreen computers. There are two soundproof study rooms, which can accommodate up to four people, and one larger study room for up to eight. A large mounted television is ideal for presentations.

The teen room is stocked with a console gaming area on one side, and Alienware computers on the other.

The scanning and printing area, as well as the book self-checkout area, also have been upgraded.

A new outdoor study area leads to a new community garden that may attract those with a green thumb. While other libraries in Pasco County offer woodworking, theater or art besides in addition to traditional books and studying, the new community garden at New River has 28 planting beds, four water barrels and will eventually have a butterfly garden and sensory items for children who have autism.

Patrons can check out a planting bed just like they would a book, to grow and maintain whatever they like, from wildflowers to fruits and vegetables. You can bring your own seeds, or take advantage of New River’s “seed library.”

“We’re hoping the garden and outdoor study area gets people active,” says branch manager Danielle Lee. “After Covid, people need something like that.”

You’re welcome to stop by the New River Library at 34043 S.R. 54, or call 813-788-6375 for more information.ialists.

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Library new river

Northbound I-275 / I-75 exit to SR 56 to be closed at night

Wesley Chapel, FL — The northbound I-275 (Exit 59) and northbound I-75 (Exit 275) exit ramps to State Road 56 may be closed from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Sunday through Friday (May 16 – 21) nights as work on the diverging diamond interchange (DDI) continues. Traffic will be detoured to I-75 Exit 279 as described below.

Detour to SR 56, east of I-75: Continue north past SR 56 and use I-75 Exit 279 to SR 54/CR 54. At the bottom of the ramp, turn right and go east on SR 54. Turn right onto SR 581 (Bruce B. Downs Boulevard) and go south to SR 56.

Detour to SR 54/SR 56, west of I-75: Continue north past SR 56 and use I-75 Exit 279 to SR 54/CR 54. At the bottom of the ramp, turn left and go southwest on Wesley Chapel Boulevard/CR 54 to SR 56 and SR 54. — FDOT

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