Page 2 - Florida Sentinel 4-5-16 Edition

Features
City Council Wants
West Tampa Residents Sue City, St. Joseph’s Hospital Over Parking Lot Plan
To Order Audits Of
A dispute that’s been ongo- ing for years over construction of new parking lots for St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital appears set to continue with residents living close to the fa- cility now suing the city and the hospital.
Seven neighbors recently filed suit in state court after the City Council in February ap- proved the hospital’s request to demolish a parking garage and build new surface parking lots south of the hospital.
According to the lawsuit construction of the lots will caused residents to suffer loss of property value and interfere with their customary and rea- sonable use and enjoyment of their property.
The suit also says the city violated its own land regula- tions and questions why the Council reversed two earlier votes denying the application.
The residents want a judge to rule against the decision and
west and West Isabel Street and West Lake Avenue to the north and south.
City Attorney Julia Mandell said the city cannot comment on pending litiga- tion. Hospital officials had no comment.
One of the residents, Nancy Huerta, filed a com- plaint with the Florida Com- mission on Ethics against Councilman Guido Manis- calco.
That complaint says Coun- cilman Maniscalco was given a joy ride May 12th in a medical emergency helicopter around Tampa. Councilman Maniscalco was at St. Joseph’s Hospital for a tour.
The complaint calls the hel- icopter ride an illegal gift worth more than $100, the limit the state sets for public officials and says Council- man Maniscalco failed to list the ride in quarterly gift disclo- sure forms.
City Departments
BY LEON B. CREWS Sentinel Staff Writer
Once again, the Tampa City Council finds itself at odds with Mayor Bob Buckhorn. This time, it’s over an effort by the Council to have authority to order au- dits of city departments.
The Council, under the charter, has no power to choose which departments are audited. That decision is made by the city’s Internal Audit Department and ap- proved by the Mayor.
Council Chair, Frank Reddick, said what they are trying to do is put a referen- dum on the ballot that would give the Council the power to review the audits.
“The way it’s set up now, Mayor Buckhorn can actu- ally wait an entire year. Right now, we’re not getting the audit until the Mayor has signed off on it and that’s a disservice to the public.
“Right now, we don’t have the opportunity to question anyone about expenditures, because the Mayor has done it already. His position is he’s executive branch, so he has the right to do as he pleases.”
Council Chair Reddick said Mayor Buckhorn feels they are stepping out of their boundaries with this request.
FRANK REDDICK CITY COUNCIL CHAIR
“We have a right to put a referendum on the ballot and let the voters decide. If he ve- toes it, we can override that with 5 votes.
“We will be discussing this within the next couple of weeks to put a referendum on the ballot that will be drafted by the city’s legal department. They will draft the language and it will then go before the Mayor.”
Council Chair Reddick
said they are not happy with the time that elapses before they receive the audits.
“We’re finding out late that money is being spent on machines and materials the city isn’t using.
“When the Mayor gets the news, he comes up with some corrective action after meet- ing with the department heads. We never get the op- portunity to offer any input.”
The area in the fore- ground is where the pro- posed parking lot is to be constructed.
require the city to pay their at- torney fees and court costs.
Frank Miranda, son of Councilman Charlie Mi- randa, is representing the res- idents.
Frank Miranda said the Council’s decision to rezone once residential land will allow the hospital to place up to 700 parking spaces in a block bor- dered by MacDill and North Gomez Avenues to the east and
‘Positive Spin’ Makes A Difference In The Community
HARRIET SCOTT
BY LEON B. CREWS Sentinel Staff Writer
For more than 16 years, Positive Spin has provided pro- gram services designed to im- prove supports and services for families with the long-term goal to build and prepare the next generation by addressing the experiences of children.
Positive Spin, founded by Harriet Scott, has a history preserving families within communities and keeping chil- dren from entering or re-enter- ing the child welfare system.
“Our strategy is to provide the critical support families need to move from barely sur- viving, to thriving,” said Ms. Scott.
“We envision a time when all families can experience eco- nomical, educational, physical, emotional and social success in a safe, nurturing and diverse neighborhood.”
Positive Spin Executive Di- rector, Jada McMillon, said the program started in the Uni- versity area, because a lot of calls were going into the Abuse Hotline from that area.
“What we primarily do is work with at-risk families to prevent their children from en- tering the foster care program.”
From left to right: Wade West, Ronnie Murray, Jada McMillon, Marquita Moreno, and Fred Bowden.
Ronnie Murray, who Chairs the board said, they col- lectively put together a plan to make sure the children are safe.
Marquita Moreno, a Program Manager said the first thing they do is assess the needs of the parents to help stabilize the family.
“We look for risk factors like a man in the home who is not the father of any of the chil- dren, and is not married to the mother.
“We don’t decide if a child is being abused or neglected. That’s the job of Child Protec- tion Investigators (CPI). Our goal is to keep families grounded, and stop so many kids from going into foster care.”
Fred Bowden, who works with the families directly, said they conduct family team con- ferences, and they aren’t bound by any timeline.
“We look at our program as a prevent program. Removing a child from their home is a very traumatic experience.”
Ms. Moreno said they are very hands on, and they’ve en- joyed a lot of success over the years.
“Our services are individu-
alized based on the needs of the family. We help connect some families with employers and we also teach them to be more fi- nancially responsible.”
Wade West, whose family benefitted tremendously from the program said, because of problems that were impacting his children, he was able to get counseling through Positive Spin.
“The alleged abuse caused officials to visit me and make an assessment. They recom- mended Positive Spin to come in and help us out.
“During that time, a lot of adversities were on my table, but we were able to get help. After we were assessed, we were able to get off the Section 8 list, and get better housing.”
In 2015, Positive Spin im- pacted 348 children, 153 adults, and 131 families.
Through funding from the Children’s Board of Hillsbor- ough County, Positive Spin is able to serve families residing in East and West Tampa.
Positive Spin’s “Each One Initiative” offers a neighbor- hood based system of care that strengthens and supports vul- nerable families.
PAGE 2 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, APRIL 5, 2016