Recently elected District 7 Tampa City Councilman and New Tampa resident Luis Viera, two months into his new job of replacing Lisa Montelione on the council, is continuing to make his rounds in New Tampa.
Last week, Viera spoke before the New Tampa Noon Rotary as well as the Rotary Club of New Tampa, filling in club members about some of his goals in his new position.
The most interesting tidbits Viera shared involved the potential creation of a North Tampa Veterans Association, while also suggesting that plans for the long-delayed Hunter’s Lake project may be close to being filed.
Viera, the attorney with Ogden Sullivan who defeated Jim Davison in a hotly-contested runoff election in December, said he recently met with developers, who told him that plans may be filed by April for the project located directly across from the entrance to Hunter’s Green that will be home to the New Tampa Cultural Center, apartments, a restaurant and a green grocer — which Viera said he has heard would likely be either a Trader Joe’s or a Whole Foods.
Viera added that he is hoping developers choose a non-chain restaurant to fill the space.
“Hunter’s Lake is a project that is necessary and important to the area, and I’m ready to fight for it,’’ Viera said.
Viera also is hoping to put together some area leadership groups, first and foremost a North Tampa Veterans Council. An informational meeting has been scheduled for Sunday, March 19 at 12:45 p.m. at the New Tampa Library.
He says New Tampa has a large contingent of veterans living in the area, and combined with the close proximity to the University of South Florida and the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital off Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., it’s only natural the area should support veterans through a council.
Viera’s hope is that regional connections can be made with other veterans group, and a council would not only help foster patriotism but also help craft an identity for all of North Tampa.
Although Viera said he is still months away from putting together a council, another of his projects is already seeing results, he says.
His recent area tour with code enforcement has already helped reduce the number of tractor trailers that typically park in the Muvico Starlight 20 parking lot in Highwoods Preserve, and he hopes to see the same results at the former Sweetbay Supermarket across BBD from Muvico.
Some other topics Viera touched on:
Tampa Fire Station No. 23, which will be built on County Line Rd. between LA Fitness and BBD, could break ground in April.
Viera also told the Rotarians that the Kinnan St.-Mansfield Blvd. dead-end is still on his list of items to tackle, and (as a member of the MPO Board) that the idea of a East-West road that was nixed in 2008 but still in the Tampa Hillsborough MPO’s 2025 Long Range Transportation Plan could be revived.
Viera said he would like to see a Veterans Park built in New Tampa. He also visited the New Tampa Recreation Center in Tampa Palms, where he was told the waiting list for gymnastics is 2,400 students long.
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