Public & Private Summer Camp Programs Start Slowly

The New Tampa Recreation Center began hosting summer camps this week after easing back into things a few weeks earlier with its dance programs. (Photo: Tampa Parks).

Summer camps at the New Tampa Recreation Center (NTRC) have finally begun for eager — and maybe, a little stir crazy — kids and parents, as the city expands some of its preliminary offerings.

Seven different City of Tampa sites with gymnasiums hosted Summer Kickoff Camps through June 19, which took a cautious approach, with limited numbers. On June 22, the Rec Summer Camps kicked off on a first-come, first-serve basis.

The Summer Kickoff Camps had limited groups and served almost as a test run, as the city tries to figure out the best practices for new, more stringent protocols for social distancing and cleanliness.

“We’d like to be going full-bore right now, but that wasn’t feasible,” says Heather Erickson, the City of Tampa’s manager of aquatics, athletics and special facilities. “We have been very conservative.”

The NTRC did not host kickoff camps. It had been closed since March due to the Covid-19 pandemic, although construction on the center’s expansion, which will be completed later this summer, has continued throughout. 

The city also was able to make a number of improvements all of its facilities.

“The silver lining is that we’ve been able to replace all of our lights in our gyms, and the place is cleaner than it’s ever been,” Erikson says.

The NTRC eased back into things by allowing its softball teams to begin practicing and opening the first week in June for some of its competitive and more advanced dance teams. 

The tumbling mats are mopped between each group, coaches are wearing masks and hospital-grade organic anti-bacterial fogger is used every 28 days to keep the air as germ-free as possible.

“We have some pretty crazy safety protocols in place,” Erickson says, “but this is the new normal.”

By starting with the older, more experienced kids, who are all part of the year-round programs offered at the NTRC, the facility was able to get a feel for the new standards.

“The hardest thing is not letting them hug the coaches,” Erickson says. “They all really missed each other.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ended all restrictions on youth activities for the state on May 22, but other than directing people to the CDC guidelines, offered little direction.

Erickson says the NTRC is offering four different summer camps, and typically they host 175 or so kids. She said the summer numbers will be a moving target this year, and could contract or expand depending upon how the camps unfold. 

As anyone who has ever coached a large group of 9-year-olds can attest, enforcing group social distancing is simple only in theory.

 “I sure wish we had a manual for this,” says Erickson. “We’re really writing it as we go.”

All Summer Camps Get The Green Light

On June 1, roughly 20 kids showed up at the first PROtential Sports camp of the summer at Heritage Isles.

Two weeks later, a similarly-sized group began camp at the Seven Oaks Community Club in Wesley Chapel.

For PROtential Sports co-owner Nyree Bland, it meant she could finally breathe again.

“I am grateful to be opened again. It’s good to be back,” says Bland who, along with her husband (and former Minnesota Vikings wide receiver) Tony, has been running PROtential sports camps locally for 17 years. 

Meanwhile, Bland says PROtential’s camps usually have 100-plus participants at each location, but will be limited to 25 percent of their usual capacity in the early going this summer.

She has canceled the field trips that are usually a part of the PROtential Sports summer camp experience. 

Counselors will be taking the temperatures of each camper daily. 

The groups will be kept smaller than usual, since some of the activities are held indoors. 

“The parents we have talked to that are coming are super excited,” Bland says. “Some aren’t ready. I think it is about 50-50. So, we’ll be a lot smaller. But, it’s the new normal, and I’m embracing it.”

Done Deal: Ground Broken On New Tampa Rec Center Expansion

Tampa City Council member Luis Viera (left) and Tampa Palms resident Tracy Falkowitz, who led the effort to get funding for the New Tampa Rec Center expansion approved, are assisted by some of the facility’s preschool kids at the expansion’s Apr. 12 groundbreaking. (Photo: John C. Cotey)

When the official groundbreaking for the expansion of the New Tampa Recreation Center (NTRC) was held on April 12, and a gaggle of local dignitaries and preschoolers dressed as construction workers wearing pink hard hats sent shovelfuls of dirt flying through the air, there was probably no one happier than Heather Erickson.

For the City of Tampa’s manager of aquatics, athletics and special facilities, the 7,285-sq.-ft. expansion of the NTRC is a long-awaited dream come true.

As the gatekeeper of the city’s immensely popular and successful gymnastics and dance programs, which currently includes more than 1,200 students at NTRC, Erickson has had to delay the enrollment of more children than she’d care to remember.

The expansion, however, should allow Erickson to admit roughly 300 additional kids into NTRC programs.

“We’re pretty happy,” Erickson said. “This is going to let us do even more than we already do.”

Those attending the groundbreaking included outgoing Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn (in perhaps his final official act as mayor), City Council members Luis Viera, Mike Suarez, Harry Cohen and Guido Maniscalco and Tampa Palms resident and activist Tracy Falkowitz.

All offered praise for the results the gymnastics and dance programs have produced, and noted the long road to getting the NTRC expanded.

Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn. gets a helping hand at the NTRC groundbreaking. (Photo: John C. Cotey)

Buckhorn, who leaves office in a few weeks, acknowledged the struggle finding the full amount needed — $2.6 million in all — for the project in the years following the 2008 recession.

Viera and Falkowitz, along with others in the New Tampa community, however, worked doggedly together to finally convince the city to put — and keep — the rec center expansion in the fiscal year 2018 budget.

“Thanks, particularly to the advocacy of Luis Viera, who was relentless,” Buckhorn said. “He was like a pitbull on my leg to make sure New Tampa was going to be taken care of. And, Tracy was absolutely right, that this journey had gone on too long, and the demands were too great and the quality of the programming was too superb that (why) shouldn’t and couldn’t we expand this to give more kids the opportunity to enjoy the amazing mentorship of our Parks & Recreation, and give New Tampa the amenity that it so rightly deserved. We got it through.”

The NTRC expansion is expected to be completed by February of 2020,  which is good news for many on the waiting list of 1,400 — 960 waiting to get into gymnastics, the rest waiting to get into the center’s dance programs.

There are three basic components of the expansion, the first of which is adding a room specifically for children ages 5 and under, who currently share space with older kids in the 12,500-sq.-ft. gymnastics area.

By giving them their own 50’ x 40’ room, it allows for more older students to be added to the program, and also provides more of a focus on the younger pre-schoolers.

Another 50’ x 40’ all-purpose room for dance also will be added.

And lastly, the expansion will include a 1,760-sq.-ft. “training box,” which will offer a wealth of possible training exercises for a variety of sports, like retractable batting cages, and offer small group fitness classes. The new addition to the NTRC also will have more windows so parents and family can watch the gymnastics and dance programs, as well as six new bathrooms.

One of the bathrooms will even have an electromagnetic lock, so it can be open on the weekends for those using the outdoor areas when the NTRC is closed.

City Of Tampa Hires Designers For Rec Center Expansion & Sensory Park

FleischmanGarcia Architects & Planners will begin work on designing the long-awaited expansion of the New Tampa Recreation Center, which has a waiting list for its popular gymnastics and dance programs. (Photo: City of Tampa)

After years of being the bridesmaid and never the bride when it came to expanding the New Tampa Recreation Center in Tampa Palms, the Tampa City Council seems to have finally brought the project to the altar.

At its meeting on March 15, the city issued a resolution approving a work order to officially begin designing the NTRC expansion.

According to the resolution, the City of Tampa will pay FleischmanGarcia Architects and Planners, A.I.A., P.A. $99,800 “for professional services in connection with the New Tampa Recreation Center addition.”

It also issued another resolution to pay $49,400 to David Conner & Associates, Inc., to begin similar work on the proposed 5-acre sensory-friendly park in Tampa Palms.

“It was a good day for New Tampa,’’ said District 7 councilman Luis Viera, who rallied community support for both projects, helping get them in the city budget that was passed by Tampa mayor Bob Buckhorn.

Plans to expand the NTRC had been in previous budgets before, but were somehow removed from those budgets before they were passed.

“In years past, we’ve gotten through some of the steps in the process, but this is the furthest we’ve gotten,” Viera said. “I’m happy to see the ball is rolling.”

The $1.7-million expansion project is expected to ease the overburdened and popular gymnastics and dance programs at the NTRC, which have more than 800 students participating and just as many on waiting lists.

The difficulties area parents have faced in getting their children into the program spurred much of the civic involvement this past year in the city’s budget process.

According to the proposal from Kevin Smith, senior vice president at FleischmanGarcia, his firm plans to utilize as much as 90 percent of the construction documents from the original planned addition in 2012, as well as using many of the same engineers from that project.

The project will be a 1-story addition to the existing rec center, of roughly 5,000-8,500-sq.-ft., depending upon budget limitations. That space will include areas for gymnastics, two multi-purpose areas, restrooms, storage, a staff office and an HVAC upgrade to the chiller system.

The NTRC currently has nearly 20,000 sq. ft. of space, with 14,000 of that dedicated to its gymnastics area.

As for the sensory-friendly park —which will be located behind the B.J.’s Wholesale Club on Commerce Palms Dr. in Tampa Palms — $90,000 was allocated in the city budget for Phase 1, which is Design & Development.

More than half of that will go to David Connor & Associates, which is  proposing designing the park to perhaps include an inclusive playground with Autism-focused elements, a dog park, picnic shelter and other site furnishings.

The design firm says it will conduct its due diligence on any environmental issues, and then hold a community design meeting to gain input from residents.

After coming up with some  preliminary designs, another community design meeting will be held before a final design concept is submitted, along with preliminary cost estimates.

New Tampa Recreation Center Gets Roof & Playground Repairs

City officials say the New Tampa Recreation Center should be back to full speed following repairs to a roof leak that caused damage to the pit and TumbleTrak area.

On June 23, a portion of the ceiling fell through, closing a portion of the recreational side of the gym for repairs.

The damage interfered with summer camps and regular City of Tampa classes, forcing parents who have children in the NTRC’s popular gymnastics program to drive their kids to the Wayne C. Papy Center in Seminole Heights for two weeks.

“I apologize for the inconvenience this may cause, but this is the best solution for all of the children in our program. If you need help with transportation, talk with some of the other parents to possibly set up a carpool,” read a text sent to parents following the issues with the roof.

The area of the roof that was leaking was repaired the same day, according to Ocea Lattimore, director of the city’s Logistics & Asset Management Department.

A couple of screws had started to back out of the metal roof at a joint in the metal panel, Lattimore wrote in an email to the Neighborhood News. That repair cost $300, and Lattimore says that the other areas in the roof with the same detail were inspected as well.

The insulation, however, must be repaired. The vendor that was scheduled by the city to do the repairs said the 5’ wide insulation was a special order with a two-and-a-half week wait time. Lattimore’s department was researching other vendors for the insulation in hopes of speeding up the process.

Tampa District 7 City Councilman Luis Viera, who represents much of New Tampa, says he was informed of the leak the day after it was discovered.

“If something happens out here, I want to know about it,’’ says Viera, a Hunter’s Green resident who offered to do what he could to nudge along the process. “I’ve always worked in the private sector. Things run a little bit slower in the public sector.”

This is the second significant repair done at the New Tampa Recreation Center in the last two months. In May, the turf under the outside playground equipment split at the seams, closing that area for a month.

The turf was replaced under warranty at cost of $16,500.

The rec center has been a point of contention for many New Tampa residents. It has been planned for expansion for five years, but twice has had the money earmarked for the project diverted to another project elsewhere in the city.

Last year, the City Council voted to provide funds for the Cuscaden Park pool in Ybor City instead of the $1.5-million, 14,000-sq.ft. NTRC expansion.

At a recent town hall meeting hosted by Viera at the rec center, local attorney Tracy Falkowitz drew loud applause when she complained to Mayor Bob Buckhorn’s chief of staff Dennis Rogero that the NTRC has been getting shortchanged by the city.

The recent inconveniences caused by the playground being closed and local parents having to drive to Seminole Heights for dance lessons is likely to raise more eyebrows.

“I can say that the way I looked at it, it’s symbolic of the rec center and the need for more attention to the New Tampa area,’’ Viera says. “It needs more attention.”

The City Council should receive Buckhorn’s fiscal year 2017-18 budget on Thursday, July 20. Prior to the need for these playground and roof repairs, however, the new budget was not expected to include any additional money for the NTRC expansion.

For more info, visit TampaGov.net and search “parks-and-recreation.”

Budget Proposal Brings New Fire Station & Playground Equipment To New Tampa

FireStationWEBTampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn’s proposed Fiscal Year 2017 city budget includes an emphasis on improving parks and continuing business development, as well as a few nuggets for New Tampa— including a new fire station, updated playground equipment at the New Tampa Recreation Center in Tampa Palms and an intelligent transportation systems program for part of Cross Creek Blvd.

While warning that “we are not out of the woods yet” regarding the recent recession, Buckhorn painted a bright future while proposing his $905.9 million city budget to the Tampa City Council on July 21. The Council will hold public hearings on the proposed budget in September before voting on it.

Buckhorn’s budget proposal includes $175.3 million in capital improvements, including $4.72 million for Fire Station No. 23, which will be located at 20770 Trout Creek Dr., behind the AutoZone and Christian Brothers Automotive off Bruce B. Downs Blvd. in the Trout Creek area.

“Something near and dear to council (member Lisa) Montelione’s heart, and this will be her last budget, so this is our gift to our friends and neighbors in the New Tampa area,’’ Buckhorn said.

Montelione, who has resigned her Council seat effective Nov. 8 to run against Republican incumbent Shawn Harrison for his Florida House District 63 seat, has championed the new fire house in her five years on the Council.

“Fire Station 23 is the one that even my predecessor had been pestering the administration about when Pam Iorio was the mayor, so that one has a long history,’’ Montelione said.

Buckhorn4_030816The fire station is part of the city’s $120.3-million Capital Improvement Program, which is addressing a significant amount of previously deferred infrastructure projects. The land had been acquired previously by the city, and Buckhorn said New Tampa is starting to grow again, so it’s time to finally deliver the fire house.

“Growth in New Tampa is starting to emerge again,’’ he said. “During the recession, it was virtually nothing. We recognize now that, with the anticipated entitlements and the demand for housing up in New Tampa, we needed to fulfill that obligation.”

Another fire station, No. 24, is planned for the K-Bar Ranch area off Morris Bridge Rd. in the future. It won’t be funded and built next year like No. 23, but it is on the city’s budget radar after Montelione brought light to the need for one in the K-Bar area — despite the location of Station No. 22 on Cross Creek Blvd., a mile or so west of Morris Bridge Rd.

“Included for in future years, there are planning dollars and construction dollars for Fire Station No. 24,’’ Buckhorn said. “We’ve got design dollars in there to be done as the growth continues to occur.”

Montelione said she worked with M/I Homes and the city’s Parks & Recreation Department to secure the land. She said there are long-range plans to build a 54-acre park in the K-Bar area, and she called the parks department and asked for two acres for the fire house.

“It’s all very preliminary,’’ Montelione said. “I would think it would be 2019 before it comes out of the ground, but it’s on the radar so that’s good.”

Montelione said she is still combing over the budget, and while pleased to see the fire station finally getting built, “I always want to have more for New Tampa. There are a couple of things I’ve worked on for a long, long, long time and they’re here, and there are things I wish I were in here (that) are not.”

The New Tampa Recreation Center (NTRC) will be getting updated playground equipment in the proposed budget. The Tampa City Council has voted twice in five years to bypass expansion of the NTRC that had previously been budgeted, including a Feb. 4 vote to spend the money budgeted for the Rec Center to fix the Cuscaden Park pool in Ybor City.

“Still no expansion, and I’m still upset about that,’’ Montelione said.

Also in the proposed budget, Cross Creek Blvd. from W. Cory Lake Blvd. to Morris Bridge Rd. will be outfitted with CCTV traffic monitoring cameras as part of Tampa’s intelligent transportation systems program, which monitors traffic patterns and is designed to improve transportation.

Buckhorn sounded an upbeat tone when talking about Tampa’s overall fiscal health. He cited various reports hailing the area as one of the best in the country. Money magazine listed Tampa as the “Best City In The Southeast,” Realtor.com recognized Tampa as a “Top Place To Move”, and Tampa was the only city to make Bloomberg Business Week’s “America’s Best Cities” list, to name just a few.

Buckhorn also says that the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) added 42,800 more jobs in March compared with last year, and has seen its unemployment rate drop from 9.9 percent in 2011 to its current 4.6 percent.

“If you think back to 2011, when a majority of us came to this Council, it was a very different place,’’ Buckhorn said. “It was a different country, a very different state and definitely a very different city.”

Buckhorn came into office facing a shortfall of more than $30 million. Thanks to increased property tax revenues and departmental reductions, the City was able to close its projected $9.2-million operating shortfall.

“We are not out of the woods yet,’’ Buckhorn admitted. “We are still struggling to find our footing. The resources that we have (now) are not even close to what we had in 2007.”

But, things are getting better, he added. And part of the reason for that is a streamlined permitting process that is bringing more development to the area. From Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 to FY2016, the city permitted nearly $10 billion worth of construction. In FY2016 alone, permitted projects were projected at $2.3 billion. And, for FY2017, $7.5 billion is projected.

“We said from day one that we can’t cut our way out of the recession,” Buckhorn said. “We have to grow our way out of the recession and that’s why we streamlined the permitting process. Heretofore, we were not competitive. People did not want to come do business with us because the regulatory process was so burdensome. That doesn’t exist today, and we’ve become a model of how to permit.”

To view Mayor Buckhorn’s entire proposed FY2017 budget, please visit TampaGov.net/Budget.