Page 9 - Florida Sentinel 10-29-19

Local
City Wants Input On Comprehensive Parks, Recreation Master Plan
Historical Response Committee Formed To Discuss Possible Cemetery
The City of Tampa and the Tampa Parks and Recreation Department are soliciting pro- posals from qualified consult- ants to provide planning services in the development of a comprehensive Parks and Recreation Master Plan, pro- viding direction and priorities required to meet the city’s parks and recreation needs of our residents well into the fu- ture.
To begin this process a se- ries of eight public input meet- ings are scheduled throughout the City of Tampa to provide ample opportunities for resi- dents to discuss their vision for the City, as it relates to the fu- ture of parks and recreation fa- cilities and programs. This outreach will provide the op- portunity to engage our com- munities across Tampa.
Comments will be recorded at the meetings and provided to the consulting firm selected to complete the master plan. This community input will be invaluable to the consultant as they move forward with the master plan process in 2020.
All of the public meetings will begin at 6 p.m., on the fol- lowing dates and locations:
Tuesday, November 5,
2019: Port Tampa Commu- nity Center, 4702 W. McCoy St., 33616
Thursday, November 7, 2019: Kid Mason Community Center, 1101 N Jefferson St. 33602
Tuesday, November 12, 2019: David M Barksdale Center, 1801 N. Lincoln Ave., 33607
Thursday, November 14, 2019: Compton Park Community Center, 16101 Compton Dr. 33647
Tuesday, November 19, 2019: Cyrus Greene Commu- nity Center, 2101 E. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, 33610
Thursday, November 21, 2019: Kate Jackson Com- munity Center, 821 S Rome Ave., 33606
Tuesday, December 3, 2019: Lloyd Copeland Park Community Center, 11001 N 15th St., 33612
Thursday, December 5, 2019: Wayne Papy Athletic Complex, 6925 N Florida Ave., 33604
A survey will be added to the Parks and Recreation Website, to provide an oppor- tunity for feedback by those who cannot attend one of the meetings.
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Recently, the School Dis- trict of Hillsborough County learned of a possible African American cemetery on the property of or near King High School. In response to this in- formation, a portion of the school has been roped off.
An unidentified citizen contacted Ms. Tamara Shamburger, Chairperson of the Hillsborough County School District. The citizen be- lieves an unmarked cemetery for indigent African Ameri- cans may have existed in the area near King High School.
Ms. Shamburger and Jeff Eakins, Hillsborough County School Superintend- ent held a press conference to share the information with the public. Additionally, a firm has been hired to scan the grounds for underground anomalies. The report is ex- pected next week.
The School District has formed a Historical Response Committee to discuss the pos- sible cemetery and any pro- posed action that may be needed depending on the scan report.
Those members are:
Senator Darryl Rouson, Senator Janet Cruz, Rep. Fentrice Driskell, Rep. Di- anne Hart, Rep. Wengay Newton, Commissioner Les Miller, City Council- man Orlando Gudes, Sean Shaw, former State Rep. Robin Lockett, Regional Di- rector, Organize Florida, Fred Hearns, Historian, Yvette Lewis, President, Hillsborough County Branch NAACP, and Rev. Bartholomew Banks, St. John Progressive M. B. Church.
Other members are Rev. Greg Gay, Mt. Olive AME Church, Rev. Larry Roundtree, New Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church, Jeff Moates, Regional Direc- tor, Florida Public Archaeol- ogy Network, USF, Bob Morrison, Morrison & Asso- ciates, Dennis Holt, Super- visor, Secondary Social Studies, Hillsborough
Schools, Jeff Eakins, Super- intendent, Tamara Sham- burger, School Board Chair, and Chris Farkas, Deputy Superintendent, Operations.
The area believed to be where the cemetery may be lo- cated is used for agricultural programs at the school. Tem- porary fencing has been placed around this area to pre- vent students and staff from going into the area until more information is gathered.
Ms. Tanya Arja,
spokesperson for the School District, said the Historical Committee held their first meeting Monday morning. During the meeting, the Dis- trict shared information and talked about the next steps to take after receiving the report.
The members of the His- torical Response Committee were chosen from various in- dividuals and organizations within the community.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2019 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 9