On January 14, 2025, a special woman passed: Kendra Kay Holden (right photo). If you ever went to the New Tampa Panera Bread, you probably saw Kendra there. Kendra worshiped at St. James United Methodist Church, worked as a teaching assistant at Hunters Green Elementary and served as a Best Buddies Ambassador representing people with intellectual disabilities.
Her obituary read in part: “Kendra loved God, Days of Our Lives, General Hospital, Vera Bradley Bags, Sonny’s BBQ, Olive Garden, outlet malls, Christmas movies, Cracker Barrel, unicorns, butterflies, Coke Zero and colorful bands for her Apple Watch.”
Every time I walk into that Panera Bread, I will think of dear Kendra. She was a special child of God.
The Penguin Project
Speaking of those who are differently abled, I recently got to see our friends in The Penguin Project perform their most recent show, “Seussical Jr.”
I can not tell you how proud I am of this group from the New Tampa Players. This effort allows people with intellectual disabilities to take part in a first-rate production play with the help of their artist peers.
I always get emotional seeing the plays – because I think of my brother, Juan, who is intellectually disabled, and how I would see him as a young person at church plays or in the Special Olympics. I am proud of Juan. And I know that the moms and dads in the audience are so proud of their young people participating in the Penguin Project.
I have worked to have Tampa give $150,000 to this special New Tampa project. That is money well spent.
Our Best Values in 33647
Here in New Tampa, we are a diverse community. We are one community of Americans – but with different faiths and cultures. That is New Tampa and that is America.
Go to Arlington National Cemetery and take a look at the graves of our heroes – especially in Section 60. You will find Christian crosses. You will find Stars of David for our Jewish friends. And you will find the crescent moon and star for our Muslim friends.
I will always stand for the idea of the Family of Tampa. That includes the American Jewish family that fled Europe in the 1930s to come to this new country. That includes the refugee Muslim family in New Tampa with anxiety for their loved ones in Afghanistan. That includes members of the Sikh faith, the Hindus, Buddhists, evangelical Protestants and Roman Catholics.
We all do better when we all do better. And we all do better when we all belong. I will stand for that always. I have and will continue to take political “hits” for that ideal gladly — because it is the right thing to do and that is America to me.
My Next Election Plans
I have represented District 7 on the Tampa City Council since 2016, but all good things must come to an end — per the City of Tampa’s Charter. I am term limited out of this office in 2027.
It’s no secret that I love my 33647 constituents. I work hard for you because I see public service as a blessing.
As Neighborhood News editor Gary Nager reported in an online post on Feb. 16, I plan on making a decision soon on what I will do next. That will not, however, include running for Mayor of Tampa. If I choose to try to succeed my dear friend, Florida House District 67 Representative Fentrice Driskell (who has said that her reelection last year will be her final two-year term in office), I will have big shoes to fill.
But, I will do what I have done here locally: work hard, build bridges and fight for what I believe in.
You guys know me well. You know my values. You know my work ethic. And you know not only where I stand, but that I stand.
North Tampa Bay Chamber Breakfast
While introducing District 7 Tampa City Council member Luis Viera, who was the guest speaker at the North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce (NTBC)’s monthly Business Breakfast on Feb. 4, NTBC president & CEO Hope Kennedy mentioned that she had heard Viera might be considering a run for Mayor of Tampa.
But (as it says earlier in his column on the previous page), Viera said he was more interested in a run for the District 67 State House seat currently occupied by House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell, or a possible Hillsborough County Commission run in 2026.
Since that Feb. 4 meeting, Viera says he has been approached by multiple media outlets about his plans going forward. He also says he is mulling over the possibility of running not only for Driskell’s Dist. 67 State House seat, but also for one of the three County Commission seats up for election in 2026.
“I haven’t made a decision yet,” Viera says. “But, once I announce which of those offices I will choose to run for, I will have to give up my City Council seat before my term ends.”
Even though he is a registered Democrat (City of Tampa elections are all nonpartisan), the 47-year-old Viera also discussed (at the Chamber breakfast) his ability to work with other political office holders — including reaching across the political aisle — in Hillsborough and Pasco counties, as well as with Rep. Driskell, Dist. 20 State Senator Danny Burgess and with Dist. 15 U.S. Congresswoman Laurel Lee.
He also talked about New Tampa’s status as the “Alaska” of the City of Tampa, zip code 33647’s cultural diversity, as well as what he has accomplished in the nine years since winning his first election — by 65 votes in the two-candidate Special Election runoff in Nov. 2016 — over fellow New Tampa resident Dr. Jim Davison.
Among the accomplishments he listed at the breakfast were securing funding to expand the New Tampa Rec Center, add Tampa’s first All- Abilities Park, for Tampa Fire Rescue Station No. 23 on Cross Creek Blvd. (and his ongoing efforts to put an additional fire station in K-Bar Ranch), road repaving in Tampa Palms and for the new park (and possible cricket pitch) in K-Bar Ranch. — Chamber breakfast recap by Gary Nager
District 7 Tampa City Council member and New Tampa resident Luis Viera says he hasn’t made a decision yet, but he is looking at either a State House of Representatives or Hillsborough County Commission run in 2026, before his current City Council term expires in March of 2027.
While introducing Viera, who was the guest speaker at North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce’ (NTBC)’s monthly Business Breakfast on Feb. 4, NTBC president & CEO Hope Kennedy mentioned that she had heard Viera might be considering a run for Mayor of Tampa, but Viera said he was more interested in a run for the District 67 State House seat currently occupied by House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell, who will reach her term limit with the Nov. 2026 election.
Since that Feb. 4 meeting, Viera says he has been approached by multiple media outlets about his plans going forward. He says he is mulling over the possibility of running not only for Driskell’s Dist. 67 State House seat, but also for one of the County Commission seats up for election in 2026. “I haven’t made a decision yet,” Viera says. “But, once I announce which of those offices I will choose to run for, I will have to give up my City Council seat before my term ends.”
Even though he is a registered Democrat (City of Tampa elections are all nonpartisan), the 47-year-old Viera also discussed his ability to work with other political office holders — including reaching across the political aisle — in Hillsborough and Pasco counties, as well as with Rep. Driskell, Dist. 20 State Senator Danny Burgess and with Dist. 15 U.S. Congresswoman Laurel Lee. He also talked about New Tampa’s status as the “Alaska” of the City of Tampa, was well as zip code 33647’s cultural diversity, as well as what he has accomplished in the nine years since first winning election — by 65 votes in the two-candidate Special Election runoff in Nov. 2016 — in his first election over fellow New Tampa resident Dr. Jim Davison.
Look for a full recap of Councilman Viera’s Chamber breakfast chat, and more information about his political plans, in the March 4 New Tampa Neighborhood News Issue #5-25.
As a direct-mail newspaper that only hits mailboxes every four weeks, it’s hard for us to publish some stories because they’re already “old” by the time our next issue reaches you.
For example, by the time this issue reaches you, Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa will all be distant memories and the year 2025 will already be in full swing, as even the kids will be back in school the same day this issue is scheduled to reach you.
Even so, photographer Charmaine George and I attended many of the local holiday-themed events last month — some or even all of which you may have missed — including two different local performances of “The Nutcracker,” the annual New Tampa Christmas tree and Hanukkah menorah lighting events and even the unique second-annual Renaissance-era “Madrigal Dinner” hosted by the Freedom High chorus at the New Tampa Performing Arts Center, which isn’t specifically a holiday event, but which was held on December 5 and included an actual delicious dinner for those who attended.
The two photos above are from the New Tampa Dance Theatre’s “preview” performance on Dec. 7 at the Shops at Wiregrass. Charmaine took these pictures since neither she nor I were available to attend NTDT’s full “Nutcracker” ballet performances at the University of South Florida Dec. 20-22. Charmaine said that the huge crowd of people at the mall was definitely captivated by the ballet.
I took the three photos above during one of the Tampa City Ballet (TCB)’s three performances of “The Nutcracker” at the New Tampa Performing Arts Center (NTPAC) Dec. 13-15. Not only were the dancers (adults and children) all amazing, the choreography by TCB’s Paula Nunez, as well as the costumes and sets, were all as impressive as you would see at any big-city ballet company performance of Tchaikovsky’s holiday masterpiece. TCB also performed “The Nutcracker” at USF Dec. 7-10.
I had really hoped to attend Freedom High’s Madrigal Dinner at NTPAC (see the left photo and the photo below) but Charmaine said it was super-fun, with great singing, funny skits and a delicious dinner of chicken parmesan and salad, plus tiramisu for dessert.
On Dec. 2, the City of Tampa’s New Tampa Recreation Center and Parks & Recreation Department hosted the annual Christmas tree lighting event and parade (photos below) and a nice crowd of around 200 people attended to participate and watch the youth dance performances, enjoy the lighting ceremony and spend a little quality time with Santa Claus himself!
And finally, on Dec. 26 (the second night of Hanukkah), the New Tampa Rec Center also hosted the second annual Hanukkah menorah lighting event, which featured prayers, songs and a wonderful message delivered by Rabbi Mendy Yarmush of Chabad of Wiregrass, which is now the only Jewish congregation in New Tampa or Wesley Chapel. Both the Christmas and Hanukkah celebrations at the Rec Center were organized in part by District 7 Tampa City Council member Luis Viera.
Freedom High’s Madrigal DinnerChristmas Tree Lighting Event and ParadeChristmas Tree Lighting Event and ParadeHanukkah Menorah LightingHanukkah Menorah Lighting
As we reported last issue, K-Bar Ranch is getting a 60-acre City of Tampa park and one that District 7 Tampa City Council member (and New Tampa resident) Luis Viera (photo, left) has said he hopes will include a cricket pitch as one of its amenities.
At that meeting with about 50-60 residents (most, but not all of whom live in K-Bar Ranch) on Aug. 7, Viera said that he hoped and expected that the funding for the design of the park to be included in the city’s Fiscal 2025 budget.
Well, on Sept. 5, the City Council did approve the roughly $1 million needed for the park’s design upon first reading of the city’s budget and Viera is thankful not only for the item passing its first muster, but also for the support of District 67 State Representative and State House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell (who also attended the resident meeting on Aug. 7). Leader Driskell wrote a letter (in the far right column) to the City Council members on Sept. 3 to let them know that she is “in strong support of the FY25 budget design money for the K-Bar Ranch Park.”
Viera then went on his Facebook page to thank Driskell “for your advocacy in support” of the park design funding. “Rep. Driskell has been on the front line advocating not only for this park in the budget, but for a cricket component to this park…Thank you, Rep. Driskell for your advocacy for this budget item.”
And of course, Viera also noted in his Facebook message that, “We have about 60 acres available — with a great deal of conservation space and a park, as well as potentially a fire-station long-term,” even though Tampa Fire Rescue Fire Chief Barbara Tripp has yet to express her support for a full fire station in K-Bar, at the park site or otherwise.
At the Aug. 7 resident meeting, Brad Suder, the superintendent of the city’s planning design natural resources division, said that once the design money becomes available — most likely sometime in late November — the city will be able to hire a consultant to work with and the public participating in the design process could begin. The second reading of the budget is scheduled for Thursday, September 19 — or a couple of days (or so) after this issue arrives in your mailbox.
The planned City of Tampa park in the K-Bar Ranch community is adjacent to neighborhoods in the community, so the city will be including two access points (in purple) with a gate at the western entrance for neighborhood access & emergency use only to keep the park traffic coming in & out of the main (east) entrance only. See the map below for more information (Source: City of Tampa)
District 7 Tampa City Council member Luis Viera told a crowd of 50-60 people — most of whom were K-Bar Ranch residents — that he has been working to build a city park in K-Bar Ranch almost since the day he first took office in 2016.
Viera hosted yet another of his ever-present New Tampa Town Hall meetings on Aug. 7 to discuss the park, which is located completely in K-Bar and which the city now has about $1 million in its fiscal 2025 budget for the park’s design.
In addition to Viera, Brad Suder, the superintendent of the city’s planning design natural resources division, and city manager Heather Wolf-Erickson also were on hand, representing Tampa’s Parks & Recreation Department. Co-hosting the meeting with Viera was Dist. 67 State Representative (and Florida House minority leader) Fentrice Driskell, who will try to secure some state funding for when the park is ready to be built.
The meeting was held at the Mahadevia Education Center on Highwoods Preserve Pkwy., in the West Meadows community.
“Now that we have the design in the budget,” Councilman Viera said, “the next step will be to get community’s input, to see what facilities the residents want to see included in the park.”
One of the features Viera said was already being talked about being included in this park is a cricket field, “and now is the time to push for that issue.”
To that end, many of the residents who attended the meeting were there in support of cricket, a sport that originated in England that is hugely popular not only in India, but with New Tampa’s sizable Indian population, which Viera said has been pushing him to include a regulation cricket pitch and facility in the K-Bar park’s design “basically since I was elected.”
Among those in attendance were Nagesh Nayak and Prahlad Madabhushi, the president and managing director, respectively, of the Tampa Premier League (TPL), which currently is based at the Wesley Chapel District Park on Boyette Rd., but which doesn’t have an actual cricket pitch.
To start the discussion, Viera touted the $9- $10 million total he has gotten for recreation facilities in New Tampa since taking office eight years ago, including the expansion of the New Tampa Recreation Center, the expansion of the recreation facilities behind Liberty Middle School (working with the Hillsborough School District) and the City of Tampa All-Abilities Park. Viera said, “I couldn’t have done this without the help of these folks — Brad Suder and Heather Wolf-Erickson.”
Wolf-Erickson said that designing a park is, “a long process that won’t get accomplished tonight, but when it’s built, that’s when it gets handed over to my team and we do the operations, to keep the park beautiful and packed, and handle the waiting lists and all that we do for the (city) parks here in New Tampa.”
She added that, “The design phase is such fun, so I hope you all will sit back, relax and enjoy that design phase, but just realize that whatever you think (the park) is going to be, it’s going to be a hybrid of what everybody wants. That’s the beautiful part about it. It will represent the whole community.”
Wolf-Erickson also said that Suder, who was involved in the design of every city recreation facility in New Tampa, also was responsible for the design of the Tampa Riverwalk downtown and so many other facilities city-wide.
“Luis didn’t mention the New Tampa Nature Park (near I-75), but it is one of my favorite parks that I’ve designed,” Suder said, “but these are all labors of love. And, I’ve been working on the K-Bar park since 2012.”
Suder added that the K-Bar park started out as a county-city cooperative. It was supposed to be in the northern portion of the community, “but we ran into some issues where we couldn’t accept what the developer wanted to give us. The county went to a different site and the [K-Bar] park went silent for a while. I knew K-Bar was building and building, but we were promised park land. We were originally only offered a donation of 15 acres with an option to purchase 15 more at market value. But ultimately, we were offered this 65 acres, which was originally a borrow pit, but because of the lakes that were dug in K-Bar, we ended up with hundreds of thousands of cubic yards of soil — and we tested every truckload of that soil — and we ended up with a suitable park site to start the design process.”
What About Cricket?
“We have heard that cricket is a very popular and desired amenity to have at this park for New Tampa,” Suder said. “The problem is that most of our parks don’t support the square acreage that’s needed for cricket. But, in this case, we believe we have the acreage to make it work in this park, along with the other needs that we hear about tonight.”
He added, “Councilman Viera calls me a friend, but he did fight to get this going and I applaud him for that. And now, we’ve got it going.”
Suder also noted that once the money for the park’s design becomes available and the city can hire a consultant to work with, “We will start the public participation process, so we can hear all of the elements the community wants — the community as a whole. It can’t focus only on K-Bar residents, but that is a part of the discussion.” He did say, however, that the design funds probably won’t be available until late November, or several weeks after the fiscal year begins on Oct. 1. “Then, it will take several more weeks to hire the consultant. And, the actual design phase will likely take a little more than a year to complete.”
Brad Suder (left) & Heather Wolf-Erickson of the City of Tampa attended the meeting to get input from the residents in attendance about the K-Bar Ranch park’s design at a Town Hall meeting on Aug. 7.
Viera noted that there is no money in the current city budget for construction of the park. “We really need that half-cent Community Investment Tax to continue,” Viera said. “That’s where the money to build the park would most likely come from.”
Suder then mentioned that, “We envision asking for about $5 million, maybe a little bit more, in a couple of years, when the design process is done, for what will essentially be Phase 1 of the park.”
And, even though the county had envisioned a sports megaplex, Suder said that with the new site, “We realized that a megaplex for sports probably isn’t the idea here, for many reasons — one is public safety, including concerns about getting fire rescue in there if anything happens and clogging up the roads with, say, 18 teams for a tournament. That just wouldn’t work — we don’t want that much traffic going through there.”
So, Suder and his team came up with what he calls a “hybrid” model, “with one part neighborhood parks with passive uses like picnicking and enjoyment of nature, one part active, essentially sports, and a really nice playground for all of the families that live near here.”
The fourth component of the park Suder said he envisions is conservation.
“A lot of this property is old pasture land for cows, and we hope to add a lot of trees, with walking trails, to make something really nice.”
Viera then asked Prahlad Madabhushi to speak about cricket, “because Tampa is a very pluralistic city and the fact that we have many people asking for cricket speaks to that. And, the fact that the HOAs and CDDs in New Tampa are all supportive of it is another reason why New Tampa is so awesome.”
Madabhushi first gave a brief description of cricket and its origins in England, dating back to the 16th century, that is similar to baseball, “and a lot of people love it. If you ever come to watch a game, you will fall in love with it, too.”
Madabhushi also mentioned that with Florida’s climate, “We can play 11 or 12 months a year, which you can’t do in the northeast and other places.”
He also said that the TPL that he and Nayak run also has hosted tournaments, with players even coming from other countries to play, “Which could really put New Tampa on the map.”
Several of the K-Bar residents in attendance mentioned that they hoped the cricket pitch at the K-Bar park would not be used for tournaments, because of the neighborhood safety and traffic concerns Suder had mentioned.
Wolf-Erickson asked about what the needs would be to have the “proper” cricket pitch Madabhushi talked about during his presentation.
He said that the total size needed for one field would be about five acres. “If you can imagine two full-size football fields next to each other and draw a circle around it, that’s the size of a cricket pitch, Madabhushi said. “Soccer could be played there when it’s not being used for cricket. If you have enough flat ground and possibly lights, that would work.”
Having lights for playing cricket at night was a concern for some of the K-Bar residents.
But, Suder countered that the LED lights being used in new facilities being constructed today would not shine into the nearby houses.
K-Bar Ranch Homeowners Assn (HOA) president Patrick Leduc said that his community does support cricket at the park, “but if you could keep it low-density, without lights and without fencing it in, that would be fine. I think a fitness track around the outside would work. The thing that’s unique about this piece of land is that it’s open. There’s actually an absence of trees, which I call ‘Big Sky Country.’ You could widen the lake out there and use the dirt to make hills for the fitness track for kids to ride bikes and skateboards. I think it could be a unique place in the city’s park system.” He also noted that his ideas came from HOA discussions, “I didn’t come up with them myself.”
State House minority leader Fentrice Driskell (4th from left) and Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera (5th from left) were joined for a picture by local residents interested in adding a cricket field to the city’s planned park in K-Bar Ranch.
Leduc also mentioned that it would be important to control ingress and egress, especially at dusk. “All of the communities near the park are gated except Bassett Creek,” he said. “So, we’d like it if you could gate it and keep the ‘look’ of the park entrance similar to the community’s gated entrances.” He also said that if the lake could be widened and allow fishing, since no fishing is allowed at other lakes and ponds in the community, “I think the kids who live here would love it.”
One K-Bar resident, who said his home backs up to the park, said he appreciates that the park will be low-density because of the nature and animals that are out there now.
“I can look out at that property and see bald eagles and 20 deer at a time,” he said. “That is so special in an area that is growing so quickly. It needs to be preserved.”
Another resident asked about the possibility of tennis or pickleball courts being included at the park, but Leduc said that K-Bar is getting pickleball at its Amenity Center, “and we want there to be a synergy between what we have in K-Bar and this city park.”
Other residents expressed concerns about the traffic, but Viera promised that before the design is improved, Tampa’s Mobility Dept. will be brought in to assess the ways to control the traffic at the park. “That’s all a part of this process.”
Suder added, “The signage will emphasize the main entrance (see map above), so that the other entrance will be for residents and emergencies only.”
And, although she spent most of her time at the meeting just listening, Rep. Driskell aid, “We will get this project over the finish line together.”
