Page 14 - 6-3-16 Friday's Edition

Feature
Community Leaders Give Their Opinions On BP Funds Being Used For Riverfront Park Project
BY LEON B. CREWS Sentinel Staff Writer
When the City Council voted 6-1 to approve the use of $35 million the city gained from the BP settlement for the redevelopment of the Ju- lian B. Lane Riverfront Park, community leaders were left with a lot of unanswered questions.
These are their opinions.
West Tampa Council founder and president, Wal- ter Smith, Jr., said there is a lot of concern in the com- munity about where the money is coming from for the park.
“We have chosen not to address it totally at this time, but everyone wants to know why those funds are being di- rected for this project when it could be better utilized for other projects more vital to West Tampa?
“We need an explanation as to why these funds are being used for this project. We can all speculate about the funding, but there should
have been more outreach about the funds. We need to know what else those funds could have been used for.”
Smith said there are in- frastructure and environ- mental needs that should be addressed, and those funds would serve the people bet- ter in that capacity.
“I thought the BP funds were supposed to be used for environmental projects. This is another example of how the people of West Tampa are informed, or not in- formed, about these issues.
“There was never a public hearing to get input from residents on the use of the BP funds.”
Yvonne Glasgow, Pres- ident of the Upward Mobility Association (UMA), said the problem her group has is will the Mayor do what he says.
“There are a lot of unan- swered questions, like the care of our senior citizens. We want to see the money used for the benefit of the people who helped build West Tampa, instead of
WALTER SMITH, JR.
YVONNE GLASGOW
pleasing all these new faces who have no history with Tampa or West Tampa.
“All of the West Tampa organizations are going to have to maintain vigilance on the actions of the Mayor and City Council must hold him accountable. We have to
COUNCILMAN FRANK REDDICK
DELPHINE JONES
make sure our children and seniors are safeguarded.”
North Hyde Park Civic Association President, Brenda Lindsay, said she’s not clear on where the funds were going to come from be- fore the BP funds became available.
“We want to know why does the Mayor need to use $700,000 that had been des- ignated for North Hyde Park on the Riverfront Park? We haven’t gotten an explana- tion nor did we know the Mayor was diverting those funds for the park.
“I’m fine with the funds being used for the park. It’s mind boggling to me where funds are coming from for other projects.”
West Tampa Alliance President, Heem Baisden said, it’s a shame that resi- dents and business owners in West Tampa are being treated this way.
“I attended all of the meetings at Blake, and at the end I knew there was a prob- lem. At the meetings, all I heard was opinions of people who just arrived in West Tampa to have dragon boat racing and other such activi- ties dominate the park.
“As it turned out, the en- tire design of the park fits the plans of everyone except the residents of West Tampa, es- pecially those who live within walking distance of the park.”
Baisden said it’s nice to see something is being done
HEEM BAISDEN
BRENDA LINDSAY
to improve the park, but this is not the way it should be handled.
“I definitely believe $35 million could go a long way to improving a lot of prob- lems brought on by neglect in West Tampa. I wish we could have come up with a plan on the allocation of the BP funds, but the Mayor took that away from the people.”
“I understand why the Council voted in favor of the project, but I just feel this is going to come back and haunt us later.”
Delphine Jones, Vice President of the West River- front Crime Watch and Neighborhood Association said, she’s concerned as to whether or not the historical artifacts and other historical landmarks will be sustained for future generations.
“I think the young people need to know the history of this area, and that means it needs to be recorded and protected. There is also a need for seniors to have a place of their own so they won’t have to travel so far for recreation and other activi- ties.
“The park needs a makeover anyway, but I just want to make sure the people in the neighborhood aren’t excluded, and promises made are kept. I will con- tinue to always fight for the underdog, and I will main- tain my deep faith and belief in God that we will be guided in the right direction.”
PAGE 2-B FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, JUNE 3, 2016