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Local
East Tampa Resident Files Complaint Against City Attorney
West Tampa Residents Not Prepared For CRA
BY LEON B. CREWS Sentinel Staff Writer
As the circle tightens on the implementation of the CRA in West Tampa, residents try to prepare themselves. However, a canvass of the community re- vealed residents and business owners in the area know noth- ing about how a CRA works and what it means to their community.
“We canvassed about 100 residents and business owners in the area, and very few of them even knew what CRA means. When we told them, they wanted to know even more information,” said Heem Baisden, President of the West Tampa Alliance (WTA).
Although several meetings were held to announce the West Tampa CRA, and West Tampa Development Manager Jeanette Fenton, explained in detail what the CRA is and what it means to West Tampa, that message wasn’t received by all the residents.
“There are a lot of people living in West Tampa who never attended any of the meetings,” said Baisden.
“They are getting informa- tion from a lot of sources, and they are confused as to what’s factual and what’s specula- tion.”
Baisden said it’s up to all of the community organiza- tions in West Tampa to make sure the residents know every- thing about the CRA. He said it’s also important these organ- izations start communicating with each other.
“In West Tampa, these groups tend to compete against each other, and very little in- formation is shared. That has to stop, especially since every- thing we do is supposed to be in the best interest of the resi- dents.
“Beginning in 2016, we will be proposing a series of meet- ings to make sure the residents understand what’s happening around them, and how impor-
HEEM BAISDEN
West Tampa Alliance President
tant the CRA is.”
Baisden said the West
Tampa community stretches a lot further than the boundaries of North Boulevard going west to Armenia, or Columbus Drive to the north and Kennedy Boulevard to the south.
“Although the CRA has spe- cific boundaries of operation, its impact will be felt all over the area.
“With what’s happening with North Boulevard Homes, Presbyterian Village Apart- ments, Oakhurst Square Apartments, and Julian B. Lane Riverfront Park, it’s hard for residents to keep up with it all. On top of that, city is ram- ming the West Tampa Rede- velopment Plan down their throats.”
Baisden said the WTA
wants to take the lead in mak- ing sure West Tampa gets what it needs the most out of the CRA, but even more impor- tantly, make sure the residents and business owners are treated fairly in the process.
“We’ve all seen what’s hap- pened in East Tampa with their CRA, and we want to learn from the mistakes made.
“We have several proposals we’ve been working on for dif- ferent projects, and all of them are geared toward job creation, business development, and making sure the community isn’t regentrified.”
Baisden said the WTA is trying to work out a scenario that would bring together all of the religious leaders in the area, because they have a stake in the future of West Tampa.
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
For seventeen years, East Tampa resident Dexter Allen served his country. Now,attheageof56,heisin- clined to stay abreast of what takes place in his community.
Recently, Allen filed a complaint against City At- torney Julia Mandell, al- leging that she violated the Code of Ethics. In his com- plaint filed with the State of Florida Bar, he said, “During a televised meeting of the Council on Thursday, Octo- ber 8, 2015, Ms. Mandell acknowledged and admitted she had met with five but not the other two members of the Council regarding a settle- ment offer of the Mayor re- garding a proposed Citizen’s Review Board.”
When contacted by the Sentinel, Allen said Ms. Mandell has until Novem- ber 15th to respond to his complaint and explain her ac- tions.
He stated that he was not in attendance at the City Council meeting. However, he watched it in its entirety at his residence.
Allen further stated that Ms. Mandell violated the
Code of Ethics by meeting in- dividually with some of the seven members of the board.
“It is my belief that Ms. Mandell is a lawyer for and has an equal ethical duty to each member of the Council.
“I didn’t like the way this was done. Councilman (Frank) Reddick made the original recommendation. This board will affect Red- dick’s constituents. His con- stituents will be more impacted and it was his idea,” he said.
Allen further said that the board is now a “done deal” and although he be- lieves the majority of those affected are in Councilman Reddick’s district, City Council can only choose 4 members to serve on the board.
During the meeting, At- torney Mandell stated that she had not met with Coun- cilwoman Yoli Capin or Chairman Frank Red- dick, both of whom voiced concerns about the Mayor’s plan to create the Citizen Re- view Board.
If the Florida Bar legal staff agrees with Allen, the bar will conduct its own in- vestigation into the allega- tion.
FYI
Middleton Class Of 1960
The Middleton High School Class of 1960 will have an emergency class meeting on Saturday, November 14, 2015, 5 p. m. The meeting will be held at Betty’s Corner, 3501 N. 26th St., Tampa.
The purpose of the meeting is to finalize input for the Mid- dleton Class of ’60 Christmas Party.
For more information, please contact the Correspon- ding Secretary at (813) 741- 9294.
PAGE 8-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2015