|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Residents speak up on Indian Shores park
By TOM GERMOND
Article published on Tuesday, July 22, 2008 |
INDIAN SHORES – Town councilors heard arguments July 15 for and against plans for a 1.94-acre park that would front both the Intracoastal Waterway and the Gulf of Mexico.
At this point, the Town Council has made no decision on whether a park will be built just south of the now abandoned Fathoms restaurant, and Mayor Jim Lawrence said “let’s let this play out publicly” before the council takes actions on the park proposal.
“If I really believed that more than half the people of Indian Shores didn’t want this park, I never would have condoned starting it,” Lawrence said at a meeting to get town residents’ reaction to the proposal.
The residents who spoke in opposition to the park questioned how it would benefit town residents. They also were concerned about removing property from the tax roll and spending city tax dollars maintaining it and cleaning up after tourists who use it. The park would be located in the 19900 block of Gulf Boulevard.
“The last thing we need is another park that is not utilized,” said David Brake, who lives just south of the park site.
“Indian Shores is a quiet little town and that’s the way we want to keep it,” he said. “We are not here to supply parking for Pinellas County.”
Other residents were concerned about the town spending $300,000 to build the infrastructure. However, Lawrence and other town officials said that they are seeking grants to develop the park. If grants are obtained, the $300,000 would be used for other capital improvements; the money wouldn’t come from the town’s operating budget or any new taxes.
Mary Lois Harrison, a resident since 1974, said she sensed a lot of selfishness among park opponents and false alarm about hundreds of people storming the park. With only 40 parking spaces that won’t happen, she said.
“I think we ought to be concerned with everybody,” she said. “We’re not the only ones who like to go to the beach.”
Pressed about his position on the park, Lawrence said that if the majority of the residents of the town were against establishing a park, “it would make me look closer at our motivation for doing it.”
But he pointed out there has been a lot of support for the park, through signatures on a banner in the Town Hall council chambers and the conversation he has heard at a Memorial Day picnic.
“I think it’s a noble type of thing to preserve land for Indian Shores people, Pinellas County people and Floridians,” Lawrence said.
The town is working with the Florida Division of the Trust for Public Land, and Pinellas County to obtain the property, at a cost of about $6.3 million.
The trust helps city and county governments complete the purchase of park land using Florida Communities Trust funds. In this case the county isn’t sharing in the purchase cost, but the county is expected to pick up 20 percent of it, town officials said.
The town expects to learn in early September whether the grant application has been approved for the purchase of the property. Through the process, the land would be turned over to the town.
A total of $63 million in Florida Communities Trust funds is available this year to public agencies and nonprofit organizations. Ninety-one grant applications have been submitted statewide.
Alex Size, a project associate for the Trust for Public Land, has said the town’s application is competitive.
“I feel the town has expressed their wants and needs for this type of park,” said Size. “The county certainly has expressed a need for this type of park. The Trust for Public Land as a national conversation organization has felt there is a need for additional park space.”
Amenities would include mangrove and sea oats restoration, a walking trail through the park, a meditation labyrinth, picnic facilities, observation tower, canoe/kayak launch, educational kiosks, benches, restrooms, showers and free parking.
The next public meeting on the park is Aug. 5 at 7 p.m. at Town Hall.
|
Article published on Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Copyright © Tampa Bay Newspapers: All rights reserved. |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tampa Bay Newspapers
9911 Seminole Blvd.
Seminole, FL 33772
(727) 397-5563
Open Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
|
|
