Page 11 - Florida Sentinel 12-25-15 Edition

Local
West Tampa Residents Curious About Future Of E. J. Salcines Park
E. J. SALCINES PARK
Efforts are underway to get this mural restored.
BY LEON B. CREWS Sentinel Staff Writer
On a piece of land on the northeast corner of Main Street and Howard Avenue, a store owned by the Salcines family once stood. In honor of Judge E. J. Salcines, a park was erected on the site some years after the store was torn down.
The park has become a popular place for West Tampa residents to gather for games of chess, checkers, or just to catch up on the latest gossip.
On the south side of a building that’s adjacent to the park is a mural that was painted in the 1980s by Chon Mosley and children from Project Link.
With so much interest in West Tampa due to the plans to redevelop the area, resi- dents of West Tampa wanted to know about the future of the park.
A week ago, a group of city officials and a new West Tampa businessman were at the park, and some felt the mural and other aspects of the park were in jeopardy.
City officials have de- nounced that suggestion, and say recent work at the park like the trimming and cutting down of some of the trees was just maintenance.
“We’re concerned about
comments made by a new business owner in the area about West Tampa and the park, and we must defend ourselves and our history,” said Dee Jackson, Vice- President of the West Tampa Alliance.
“We’ve inquired about what’s happening at the park, and were told we have noth- ing to worry about. However, we are worried, because things have turned around in this community from what we’ve been told in meetings to what’s actually going on.”
Jan Washington, a City of Tampa Engineer, said as far as the mural is concerned, residents don’t have to worry about it being used as an ad- vertising board for new busi- nesses in the area.
“That would be against city code, and we’re inter- ested more in restoring the mural and maintaining it as a piece of West Tampa’s his- tory.”
Efforts are underway by some West Tampa groups to see what needs to be done to restore the mural.
Tina Young, Director of Project Link, has been con- tacted and is working with the West Tampa Alliance and other groups to acquire the funds necessary to restore the mural.
“As far as the park is con- cerned, it is not a place for
drug addicts, homeless peo- ple, or illegal activity,” said Jackson.
“It has been used as a staging area to feed the homeless, but other than that,
there’s never been a problem at that park, including litter or illegal graffiti.”
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2015 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 11-A