Volume 24 Issue 5
Inside: Making A Love Connection At PCGC!
February 26, 2016
See Neighborhood Magazine!
Named The 2014 ‘Small Business Of The Year’ By The Wesley Chapel Chamber Of Commerce! The Direct-Mail News Magazines Serving New Tampa & Wesley Chapel Since 1993! For the complete list of the neighborhoods that receive this publication by direct mail in New Tampa (zip code 33647), see page 58!
New Tampa Recreation Center Expansion Plans Put On Hold...Again By John C. Cotey
Any and all plans to expand the New Tampa Recreation Center (NTRC) — whether by adding more room for a gymnastics program that already has a twoyear waiting list, adding a pool or perhaps building covered areas for parents to watch their kids play youth sports — are on hold. Again. For the second time in five years, the Tampa City Council has voted to provide funds for another project, keeping the NTRC as it is and adding to the ire of many New Tampa residents that the area is not getting a fair return on the large share of city taxes they pay. “We are tired of being treated as a cash cow for the city,’’ said Tampa Palms attorney Warren Dixon. The Tampa City Council voted Feb. 4 to spend the money instead to fix the 79-year-old Cuscaden Park pool, which will receive $3.1-million for its upgrade. In 2005, the city spent $2.5-million on the pool, which was then closed in 2009 because of structural damage that was causing leaks. It hasn’t re-opened since. District 7 Council member Lisa Montelione, who represents New Tampa and the surrounding area, was the lone vote against funding the pool. While she said she respects the historical and cultural importance of the pool, the money used was not only diverted from the NTRC, but also from another project
Also Inside This Issue: News, Business & Sports Updates Kinnan-Mansfield Debate Is Reopening, New Tampa Library Has A ‘Vision’ To Improve, Two More Locals Set To Jump Into District 7 Race, Wharton’s Terrific Track Trio Hoping For A Breakout Season & Lots Of Local Business Features!
Pages 3-44
Neighborhood Magazine Tampa Palms Resident John Barreto Pockets $20K On ‘Millionaire,’ HGCC To Renovate Tennis & Athletic Center, Local Eagle Scouts In The News & More Neighborhood Nibbles & Biz Bytes!
Pages 45-60
The planned expansion of the New Tampa Recreation Center in Tampa Palms has been put on hold for a second time because funds for the improvements were dedicated for another project by the Tampa City Council, over the objections of New Tampa’s City Council rep Lisa Montelione.
at the Greco Sports Complex off Fowler Ave. that also sits in her district. “I wasn’t surprised by the vote, based on the previous support for the repairs at Cuscaden Pool,’’ Montelione says. “What I can tell the people of New Tampa is they need to reach out to my fellow council members and let them know how they feel. I’m on the side of New Tampa, I just need others on the council to see how important this is.” Dixon said he has already written a letter of complaint, and others, like Maggie Wilson, have as well. “The prevailing feeling is that there is a disregard for the needs of the (New Tampa) area,’’ said Wilson, a well-known community consultant
for the Tampa Palms Community Development District. “‘Just send us your tax money.’ I’m not sure that’s my feeling, but when it comes to enhancements (for our community), it certainly is.” Wilson’s feelings are nothing new. Even as folks line up to run for Montelione’s District 7 seat (see page 6), they all seem to mention the need to help make the tax monies work for the area. The New Tampa Rec Center, which was built in 2008, boasts more than 19,000 sq. ft. of indoor space, mostly for bustling gymnastics and tumbling programs, also is home to a skateboarding park and multipurpose fields in the adjacent New Tampa Community Park.
The New Tampa Noon Rotary may not be the largest Rotary Club in our area, but the spirit of Rotary International’s motto of “Service Above Self” is alive and well among the club’s members, despite the small size (fewer than 20 members) of the noon club, which meets Wednesdays at noon at Café Olé on Cross Creek Blvd. Current club president and longtime member Valerie Casey says that over the first two years of the Noon Rotary’s “Cycling for our Vets, Military & First Responders,” nearly $15,000 has been raised to support the club’s selected charities and this year, the 4-, 18- or 39-mile ride will be held on Saturday, March 19, 8 a.m., and will again take off from the Chili’s Grill & Bar located at 17643 Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., just south of the BBD entrance to Flatwoods Park. The suggested donation to ride is just $30 per rider and the event will be limited to the first 100 riders. The deadline to pre-register is Sunday, March 13. Day-of registra-
tion begins at 7 a.m. and the rides will begin at 8 a.m. and will be staggered to allow longer distance riders go first. The event will go on, rain or shine. This year’s fund-raising ride will benefit the Navy Seal Foundation, Hillsborough County Fire Rescue, Support the Troops and the Stay In Step Spinal Cord Injury Recovery Center, which was featured on page 1 of our last issue. For more info about these great organizations, Facebook. com/NewTampaNoonRotary, NavySealFoundation.org, HCFRFoundation.org, OurTroopsOnline.com or StayInStep.org. This year’s sponsors include Little Greek Restaurant; Firehouse Subs-Wesley Chapel; Gentle Care Dentistry, the office of Dr. Tom Frankfurth; Stifel FinancialMike Wallace; USAA Insurance; Children’s Dentistry, the office of Dr. Greg Stepanski; State Farm Insurance-Joyce Coleman; Café Olé and this publication.
In 2012, it was announced that the NTRC would be expanding the following year by adding an additional 14,000 sq. ft. to the facility with more gym space, locker and multi-purpose rooms, a workout center and a rock-climbing wall. But, the $1.5-million addition never came to fruition. “It was actually in the budget draft, and then when the final budget came out it was gone,’’ says Montelione. “I raised numerous questions to staff about where the money went, and no one could ever really answer the question.” Dixon says that the original developer of Tampa Palms had to set aside the land for nearby Freedom High and where the New Tampa Recreation Center is located, and with the CDD bonds all paid off, “we essentially have paid for that land.” “When you realize that we (as Tampa Palms residents) have already made a significant contribution to the rec center, you can understand why we get a little short tempered,’’ he added. So, will the rec center ever get the improvements promised in 2012, and then promised again for 2016? “It’s on the books,” Montelione says. “It does have a line item. It’s just a matter of making it the mayor’s priority to keep it funded and to keep them from reallocating the funds. “This is getting a little repetitive, year after year after year.”
3rd Rotary Bike Ride To Benefit Vets To Be Held Mar. 19!
For more info, visit Active.com (search “cycling for vets”), Facebook. com/Cycling for vets, call Barry Shuman at (516) 523-2678, email Valerie Casey at ValCasey3@aol.com or see pg. 40.