Page 4 - Florida Sentinel 11-27-15 Edition

Feature
City Council Says ‘No’ To Drainage Fee Increase
COUNCIL CHAIR CHARLIE MIRANDA FRANK REDDICK ...council member
BY LEON B. CREWS Sentinel Staff Writer
When the Tampa City Council announced they wanted to increase stormwater fees to fix a serious drainage problem, public hearings were held, and some citizens thought it was a good idea, while others felt the blanket increase wasn’t fair to everyone.
Last Thursday, Council members voted 4-3 to not raise stormwater fees, some saying the in- crease would put an enormous strain on citizens living on fixed incomes.
Saying no to the proposal were Council Chair Frank Reddick, and Council members Charlie Miranda, Yolie Capin, and Guido Maniscalco.
The city will move forward with the increase in the stormwater maintenance fees that was ap- proved in September. In that fee increase, resi- dents of an average-sized home will see an increase from $36 to $82 annually.
During a public hearing, citizens against the fee increase also said they didn’t think it was fair that everyone would get an increase to fix prob- lems that don’t exist in their neighborhood.
One argument was that the fee increase was mostly being championed by Palma Ceia resi- dents who travel along Dale Mabry Highway from the intersection of Dale Mabry and Hender- son, going south.
If approved, the fee would have raised $251 million.
Although the city has spent millions of dollars attempting to fix the drainage problem at Hills-
YOLIE CAPIN GUIDO MANISCALCO ...council member ...council member
borough Avenue and 30th Street, the unusual rainstorms in August proved there is more work needed to alleviate that problem.
Councilwoman Yolie Capin said she along with her colleagues who voted no on the in- crease felt it was an unfair distribution of the money.
“The way it was designed based on the foot- print of the structure wasn’t fair. It was skewed in favor of the wealthy.
“For instance, a 1,600 square-foot home in Carver City or Lincoln Gardens would pay the same as a 1,600 square-foot structure in Beach Park.”
Councilwoman Capin said the formula that was used to assess the fee was one that had been used all over Florida.
“We asked our Public Works department in August to come up with a different formula, but they kept presenting us variations of the original formula.
“The Mayor kept quiet on this issue while being very outspoken on others. After we made a decision to not apply the fee, he was critical.”
Councilwoman Capin said it was just not equal and it didn’t put everyone on a level playing field.
“We also felt the money generated from the fee ($251 million) wouldn’t solve the problem.
“I think we should start with the most serious flooding areas, and do them on a one-for-one basis when the funding is in place. Also, I feel if we perform the proper maintenance on our cur- rent drainage system and retention ponds, we will see an improvement.”
Child Doesn’t Want Anyone Punished, He Just Wants Glove Back
FLYERS DISPLAYED IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
From the age of 3, Julius Pfau has played baseball. He loves the game so much that he wants to become a profes- sional player.
Recently, someone broke into Julius’ father’s car and removed a bag from the trunk during the night. The follow- ing morning, the family dis- covered the doors open on the car, the trunk lid raised, and the green bag was gone.
Blake Pfau reported the crime to the Tampa Police Department, but so far, noth- ing has been recovered.
But the person who re- moved the property from the car took more than the $700 in baseball equipment. He took something that Julius held close to his heart.
In addition to the two bats, the backpack, helmet, and other baseball gear, the bag contained a green base- ball glove with the name PACMAN printed on it. The glove also bears the flag of the Philippines.
The glove is dear to Julius because it was a gift from his ailing grandfather.
With the holidays ap- proaching, the little boy hopes the person who took the items will find it in his or her heart to return the glove.
His mother, Mrs. Emily Pfau said, “He doesn’t want anyone to go to jail. He said they just made a mistake and they can just bring it back.”
JULIUS
The young man lives in the area of Sligh Avenue and Nebraska. He recently posted flyers throughout his neigh- borhood.
The flyer simply says,
“My name is Julius and my baseball bag has been stolen straight from my dad’ car. It had all my baseball gear in it, especially my favorite glove that says Pacman Pfau and it has the Philippines flag on it.
“It was given to me by my grandfather who had a stroke. I pray every night for it to be returned to me. Please help me find it!
“From a 9 year old boy. If found please call 813 402-6422.”
Julius is a 4th grade stu- dent at MacFarlane Magnet Elementary School. His mom said he plays baseball every evening.
The family is also offering a $100 reward for the return of the property.
UNIQUE STOLEN GLOVE
PAGE 4-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2015