Commissioners Hagan & Crist Favored To Swap Seats In November

Hillsborough County commisioner candidates Ken Hagan, Victor Crist and Ray Chiaramonte are among those hoping to advance beyond Tuesday’s primaries to the Nov. 6 election.

Two county commissioners with long-time ties to New Tampa — former resident Ken Hagan and current Tampa Palms resident Victor Crist — will be hoping to win their Primary Elections on Tuesday, August 28, in their efforts to effectively swap seats in the general election on Nov. 6.

Both have been term-limited out of their current positions.

Comm. Hagan, who is currently the District 5 commissioner, a countywide seat, is running in District 2, which represents all of New Tampa, as well as Lutz, Temple Terrace and Thonotosassa. Hagan held the Dist. 2 seat from 2002-10.

Comm. Crist, currently the Dist. 2 commissioner, is running for Hagan’s Dist. 5 seat.

Hagan, 50, has been one of the highest-profile commissioners in recent months, due to his role as the county’s lead negotiator in luring the Rays to Tampa to play in a proposed $892-million stadium in Ybor City.

For his primary race against first-time office seeker Chris Paradies, Hagan had raised a staggering $484,374 at our press time. Paradies, a Keystone resident who has been critical of Hagan’s position as a political lifer who attempts to avoid term limits by jumping seats in order to stay in office, had raised $27,523.

Ken Hagan

Hagan, who has often been viewed as a pro-development commissioner, has been active in seeking New Tampa’s support in his current campaign. He has co-hosted two local town hall meetings with Dist. 7 Tampa City Council member Luis Viera and has been active in trying to get new parks built or expanded in K-Bar Ranch and Branchton Park off Morris Bridge Rd.

Hagan also proposed adding $250,000 to the county budget last year to speed up a potential connection of Kinnan St. to Mansfield Blvd. in Meadow Pointe.

In June, FloridaPolitics.com named Hagan the ninth most powerful politician in Tampa Bay.

Democrat Angela Birdsong, like Hagan, a Carrollwood resident, has raised $21,674, and she awaits the winner of Hagan vs. Paradies. Birdsong has recently picked up her efforts in New Tampa, as she seeks to expand her profile.

Crist, 61, is running against Angel S. Urbina Capo in countywide Dist. 5.

A longtime local fixture, Crist has been a strong proponent of a New Tampa Cultural Center, which is expected to finally come to fruition — by 2020. He championed, as did Hagan when he served in Dist. 2, the idea of a New Tampa “town center,” which is now under development at the Hunter’s Lake project across from Hunter’s Green.

Comm. Crist had raised $121,300 at our press time, while Capo, a 47-year-old cybersecurity consultant, was at $6,768.

Crist talks to a group at Hunter’s Green Country Club last year about plans for a New Tampa Cultural Center.

Crist’s profile, connections and list of accomplishments in government dwarf Capo’s, and he is favored to win the primary. In Nov. 6, the winner will face Joe Kotvas, who is not affiliated with any party, and whoever emerges from the Democratic primary between Mariella Smith and Elvis Piggott.

Smith, a fourth-generation Tampa native currently living in Ruskin, is a 64-year-old small business owner and has been a longtime citizen advocate and community leader who could present a formidable challenge to Crist should she defeat Piggott, a 30-year-old church pastor who had been out-raised $73,978 to $20,315.

A crowded field is seeking the District 7 seat, which also is countywide.

Four Democrats – Ray Chiaramonte, Mark Nash, Kimberly Overman and Sky White — are running. All have either governmental or activist experience.

Nash has held the edge in fund-raising, pulling in $82,768, but Chiaramonte wasn’t far behind at $74,876, followed by Overman ($54,410) and White ($9,718.22).

Chiaramonte, who stopped in at the Neighborhood News office to talk county politics with editor Gary Nager, has been the executive director of the county’s Planning Commission, Metropolitan Planning Organization and most recently, the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority (TBARTA, from which he elected not to renew his contract last year).

He says that as a lifelong Hillsborough resident and regional transportation specialist, he is the candidate in the best position to help focus on the transportation issues throughout our area. Look for more of Gary’s interview with Chiaramonte in these pages if he wins the primary.

Republican Aakash Patel, however, has raised more than all of them combined. With a $381,594 war chest (that tops half a million dollars when you include money raised by his political committee, Elevate Tampa), Patel also has some big-time endorsements from Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, State House Speaker Richard Corcoran, former Speaker Will Weatherford and Congressman Gus Bilirakis.

His opponent on August 28, attorney Todd Marks, had raised $138,866.

School Board primary elections also will be held, though not for New Tampa’s District 3 seat, currently held by Cindy Stuart. However, a countywide seat in District 6 (to replace April Griffin) is up for grabs, and a field of six candidates will contend for the spot on Primary Day.

 

Barbara Bush Library? Not On Our Watch, Say New Tampa Library ‘Friends’

The Friends of the New Tampa Regional Library, including (l.-r.) Sujatha Palanivel, Said Iravani, Joan Zacharias and Lisa Coyle, want to keep the library named for our area, rather than rename it for former U.S. First Lady Barbara Bush.

Despite preliminary efforts by Hillsborough County commissioners to rename a county library after former U.S. First Lady Barbara Bush — including a recommendation by Victor Crist that the New Tampa Regional Library be the one renamed — a study suggests there is no overwhelming appetite to do so.

At the request by the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC), the Hillsborough County Library Board gathered public feedback from area residents who live near three county libraries — Bloomingdale, Mango/Seffner and New Tampa Regional — and discovered that a majority of respondents in all three areas preferred that their local libraries should continue to reflect their own communities.As a result, the Library Board, “based on the feedback collected so far and lack of community support for the proposal,” unanimously voted on July 26 to defer a decision indefinitely, pending more community input, or additional direction from the BOCC.

“We were all smiles, and very relieved,” said Joan Zacharias, the current president of the New Tampa Regional Library chapter of the Friends of the Library, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation that supports public libraries in Hillsborough County. “The Library Board listened to the community; now we hope the county commissioners do the same and it goes away quietly and maybe we can revisit this when a literacy hero emerges from (our area).”

The BOCC is expected to revisit the issue at their meeting on Wednesday, August 15.

District 5 commissioner Ken Hagan, a former New Tampa resident currently running for New Tampa’s District 2 seat (see story on pg. 10), made the recommendation to find a library to rename after Barbara Bush at the May 2 BOCC meeting.

Said Iravani, an 18-year New Tampa resident and past president of the New Tampa chapter of the Friends of the Library, said Hagan’s recommendation came out of nowhere, and questioned the choice.

“He might as well have picked Moe, Larry or Curly,” Iravani said. “The library is one of the signatures of our community. What does Barbara Bush have to do with that?”

Ten of the county’s 28 libraries are named after people, but all had strong ties to the local library that bears their name and the community, or made an impact locally.

Hagan cited the former First Lady’s crusade to end illiteracy, her 1984 children’s book C. Fred’s Story that raised money for literacy and her creation of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy, which Hagan said, “has supported and underwritten programs across America, in all 50 states.”

Hagan also said that over 29 years, the foundation has provided more than $110 million to family literacy programs.
District 7 county commissioner Sandy Murman suggested a statue in front of a library, and Crist, who currently represents New Tampa as the District 2 commissioner, volunteered the New Tampa Regional Library as the one to be renamed.

Comm. Crist noted that he, Murman and Hagan — all Republicans — served during the time when Republican Jeb Bush was Florida’s governor.

“There is a library that was built during that period of time that I feel would be a good candidate for consideration and that is the New Tampa Library,” Crist said.

The motion carried by a 7-0 vote.

The current board, as well as the past presidents, of the Friends of the New Tampa Regional Library expressed their unanimous opposition in a letter to the BOCC.

“For those of us trying to make this community of chain stores and cul-de-sacs our home, the New Tampa library anchors us,” the letter said. “Our children play and learn there, associations and community groups meet there, and learners of all ages come to connect with new people, ideas and resources. The New Tampa Regional Library uniquely brings us together from up, down and across the ever-expanding boulevard…we ask that you consider the “New” in New Tampa as cause to let the community settle in a bit before recasting one of the few places that grounds us, our library.”

In New Tampa, 34 of 65 respondents, or 52 percent — mostly from local homeowner associations, community meetings and an online survey — said they were opposed to renaming their library.

While a few of the responses were partisan, most of those against it praised Bush and her work with literacy but questioned her connection to New Tampa.

“I would much prefer seeing the honor go to someone who ensures literacy support in our community,” one respondent replied. “Let us recognize our local advocates that work tirelessly instead of jumping on the bandwagon of the nation. I guarantee her (Mrs. Bush’s) hometown, as well as major cities where she lived and directly impacted the community, will address her contributions.”

“I voted for Bush but think this is stupid,” another wrote. “If you rename the library, at least do it for a local New Tampa community leader.”

“I admired Barbara Bush, but I think that the New Tampa Regional Library should remain just that. Replacing geographical names with names of persons, especially those with no relationship to the area, makes little sense.”
While only a slim majority voiced opposition to renaming the New Tampa Library, those in the Bloomingdale and Mango/Seffner areas were much more vociferous in opposition to having their libraries renamed.

In Seffner/Mango, 75 percent of respondents (39 of 52) were opposed to renaming their library after Barbara Bush, while in Bloomingdale, 73.5 percent (50 of 68) were opposed to the idea.

Despite the opposition, the BOCC could still decide to rename the New Tampa Regional Library. But, Zacharias hopes they don’t, although she says she is open to naming a meeting room or even the new children’s reading space after the former First Lady.

“This is not really about her,” Zacharias said. “It’s about New Tampa. People like having their library named after their community and their neighborhood.”

Rec Center & Sensory Park Both Taking Shape As Plans Are Revealed

The fruits of this year’s New Tampa-friendly budget are beginning to ripen, as meetings in June and July presented visions of the expansion of the New Tampa Recreation Center (NTRC), as well a sensory-friendly park, which will be the first of its kind in the Tampa Bay area.

Kevin Smith, senior vice president of FleischmanGarcia, addresses those gathered to hear about the expansion progress.

On July 11, the City of Tampa’s Parks & Recreation Department hosted a community meeting at the NTRC to present its plans for a 7,825-sq.-ft. expansion of the overcrowded Tampa Palms home of one of the Tampa Bay area’s most sought-after gymnastics and dance programs.

The popularity of the programs has resulted in thousands of Tampa and Pasco County residents being placed on waiting lists for years.

However, those waiting lists should dwindle a lot, thanks to $1.95 million allocated in this year’s budget to creating more room for more programs at NTRC — which could double — says Brad Suder, the superintendent of planning and design for Tampa Parks & Rec.

The expansion will add another multi-purpose room similar to the room currently used and there will be a new preschool gymnasium. Currently, the preschool program uses the main multi-purpose room.

Suder said the NTRC also will have a new training box, a 1,760-sq.-ft. rectangular room that can be used for a variety of training regimens. In addition, Suder said, there will be more windows so parents and family can watch the gymnastics and dance programs, as well as six new bathrooms.

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

The expansion currently is in the design stage, and bids are expected to go out in October. Suder said he expects construction to begin in January, and for the expansion to be completed for the summer of 2019, or a year from now.

Public Shown Sensory Park Plans

At another public meeting held in June, more than two dozen residents and City of Tampa officials gathered with design architects at the NTRC to share ideas and their vision for a 5-acre sensory-friendly park that will be located behind the B.J.’s Wholesale Club on Commerce Palms Dr. in Tampa Palms.

David Conner, president of David Conner & Associates, showed some preliminary plans to area residents. Conner heads up the planning, landscape architecture and urban design firm that is being paid $49,400 (of the $90,000 budgeted by the City of Tampa) to begin designing the sensory-friendly park.

Attendees looked over a series of display boards (left) showing examples of other sensory parks in the U.S. — which are created for children and adults identified as having Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and are focused more on soothing and serene activities — with some additional ideas for the New Tampa park.

Those who are on the autism spectrum can take in information from their five senses just like everyone else, but cannot process it the same way and can become overwhelmed, which makes them unable to communicate and interact because they are overcome with anxiety.

Sensory-friendly parks focus on incorporating easier-to-process activities and sights. They are, however, still accessible to everyone.
Proponents of the park say as many as 40,000 children in and around the New Tampa area are likely to use the park each year.

The displays showed photographs of potential amenities that could be part of the park, like slides, swings and jungle gyms. Residents were asked to place “Like” and “Love” stickers (above) on the amenities they liked the most.

District 7 Tampa City Council member Luis Viera, whose older brother Juan has autism, spearheaded the effort to get the study and design of the sensory park funded in this year’s city budget.

Several residents voiced their excitement and approval during a short presentation by Conner and Brad Suder of Tampa’s Parks & Recreation Department.

“We live in Stafford Place (in Tampa Palms), like one block away from the park,” said Jeff Chacon, who said that he is eager to take his two-year old grandson, Finn, to the park. “I want to be able to walk down there with my grandson. We’re excited. It’s good for the neighborhood and good for the City of Tampa.”

Freelance writer Andy Warrener contributed to this report.

Six New Tampa Public Schools Earns ‘A’ Grades For The Second Straight Year

School grades for the 2017-18 school year were released by the Florida Department of Education on June 27, and New Tampa’s schools continue to perform well.
Considering just the letter grades, all of the schools in New Tampa received the exact same grade as the previous year.

“The grades remained as they were,” says Anna Brown, Ph.D., the area superintendent for Hillsborough County Public Schools. Dr. Brown, who oversees all of New Tampa’s public schools, says, “We had no declines, but, within those grades, many schools actually increased their grade point, turning out an even stronger A.”
One such school was Chiles Elementary in Tampa Palms, which has had an A rating every year since opening in 2001. Principal Terri Evans says this year’s scores may be the highest ever achieved at the school.

“We have 32 points more than we had last year,” says Evans. “We had a big jump in learning gains and in the bottom quartile, and we’re especially excited about that.”

School letter grades are based on the compilation of individual scores on statewide tests, called Florida Standards Assessments (FSAs), at each grade level.
Learning gains describe how much each individual student gained from one year’s test to the next, and the bottom quartile describes the students who scored the lowest on their FSAs at the school.

“I think a letter grade is a bit of an overgeneralization,” Evans continues, “but I also think that to maintain that A every year, we have to be a really great school in a lot of ways. I’m hopeful that it reflects all that we do — that we have that kind of a school where kids want to go to school and learn and families want to be involved.”

The area’s other A schools are Clark, Pride and Tampa Palms elementary schools, and Benito and Liberty middle schools.
Turner/Bartels K-8 School earned a B, while four schools earned a C: Heritage and Hunter’s Green (HGE) elementary schools, as well as both of our area’s high schools, Freedom and Wharton.

While the consistency in grades is encouraging for the schools that continue to earn As, those that earned Cs are once again disappointed.

“For as hard as we work and what a wonderful school we have,” says HGE principal Gaye Holt proudly, “the letter grade doesn’t show what everyone expects of us.”
Dr. Brown agrees. “School grades are created by the state, with their definition of one way to categorize schools,” she says. “When you walk on the campuses, the grade of C is not reflective of the quality of teaching in each classroom or the quality of the relationships we have with our students and families.”

Despite some high-profile challenges at Wharton High, Dr. Brown says she is encouraged that its letter grade did remain the same, and didn’t drop.
She says that all of the schools in New Tampa have many very high-achieving students and excellent teaching and that all of our area schools are positioned well to provide excellent service to the students of New Tampa.

“The bottom line is, this is how we’re measured,” says Dr. Brown, “so we need to dig in and make sure we’re meeting every student’s needs at their individual level.”

Parents of Hillsborough County public school students who want to view their child’s FSA scores, including FSA End of Course exams, can view them at https://testscores.sdhc.k12.fl.us.

The complete DOE report is online at FLDOE.org/accountability/accountability-reporting/school-grades/.

New Tampa’s Traffic Issues Getting A Closer Look From City, Local Residents

Hunter’s Green resident Peter Mirones (left) listens as residents voice their concerns about bike and pedestrian safety in New Tampa, as well as about the reckless driving that Mirones and others say has contributed to some of our area’s traffic problems. (Photo: John C. Cotey)

After sitting in on a quickly organized town hall meeting called by a local resident, District 7 City of Tampa councilman Luis Viera says the next New Tampa Council (NTC) meeting could be one of its most informative, as well as most important.

On Wednesday, July 25, 7 p.m.-8:30 p.m. at Compton Park in Tampa Palms, the NTC will host a town hall with the City of Tampa’s Transportation Department, as well as with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT).

Viera says that the city will discuss the new timing for the traffic signals on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., including the troublesome intersection at Cross Creek Blvd., as well as upcoming transportation projects that will affect our area.

“It’s very important for New Tampa residents to come to this meeting,” Viera says. “There are a lot of exciting and pivotal things happening in our city with regards to mass transit and transportation and we need to be updated on all these developments. And, most importantly, New Tampa residents have to be engaged, because without engagement, we will not see the results we need for our area…and our area needs results now.”

April Ingram would agree.

The K-Bar Ranch (see separate story on pg. 6) resident isn’t exactly sure when her outrage over local traffic in New Tampa boiled over.
Was it during the 30 minutes or so she says it has sometimes taken her to turn right onto Cross Creek Blvd. from BBD on her way home from the University of South Florida?

Was it the first time a car did not yield to her as she tried to walk across Kinnan St. at a designated crosswalk, or was it the second?

Was it one of the many times she’s seen cars speeding by? Or the times she has been awakened at night by the sound of car tires squealing and screeching, the result of racing down Kinnan St.? Or, just how unsafe she feels in general when she’s biking with her son or walking her dog?

Whenever it was, Ingram hosted a meeting at the New Tampa Regional Library on July 2 to find out if she was alone…and she wasn’t.

Roughly a dozen local residents from Meadow Pointe, Cory Lake Isles and Hunter’s Green showed up — including Viera and Eric Denney, an aide to District 5 Hillsborough County commissioner Ken Hagan, as well as two Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) corporals — to sound off on traffic issues they encounter on a daily basis.

“I am pleased and happy that anyone showed up,” said Ingram. “I think this was a good start.”

Those in attendance focused primarily on many of the same issues Ingram has, as well as bicycle and pedestrian safety.

A lot of the frustration was aimed at what they feel was a lack of response to their complaints from the Tampa Police Department (TPD). Most in attendance also argued that more of a police presence in New Tampa would help deter reckless drivers.

Peter Mirones, who lives in Hunter’s Green, said he has seen a parked TPD car dramatically alter the way people drive. But, when that police car leaves, “it’s Hell’s Bells.”

Mirones, an avid bicyclist, says New Tampa is not friendly to bikers, and others agreed. The bike trail on New Tampa Blvd. is in such disrepair it is practically unusable, he said.

Mirones organized a biking event over the weekend to memorialize West Meadows resident Pedro Aguerreberry, who was killed by a driver on June 24. The ride began at the entrance to Flatwoods Park and eventually made its way down New Tampa Blvd. near where Aguerreberry was struck. Mirones said some of the police officers even suggested that the bicyclists should ride in the road because the bike path was so bad.

Others at the July 2 meeting who enjoy but also fear biking in New Tampa suggested some kind of pedestrian bridge that crosses over BBD at Richmond Place Dr. would allow safer access into Flatwoods Park for those who live on the west side of BBD. While there is a light at Richmond Place Dr., the general consensus was that it is not safe for anyone crossing BBD.

Another suggestion: New Tampa should consider installing rectangular rapid flashing beacons, or RRFBs, similar to the ones at crosswalks on E. Fletcher Ave., at some of the New Tampa area’s trouble spots.

Viera encouraged everyone to attend next week’s NTC meeting to present some of the concerns and suggestions that were raised at the meeting.

“There were some good ideas presented tonight,” Viera said. “I think the momentum has really been growing in the City of Tampa the last 6-9 months toward pedestrian safety. Meetings like this can help.”