Hillsborough County Library System Endangers Children

Updated:12/2906 (see below)
The Seminole Heights Branch Library was recently advised


by the Fire Marshall that the maximum occupancy is 49.


The problem has been is that the kids from the middle school across the street and to a lesser extent Hillsborough High school come over and flood the library, as a place to hang out until their parents pick them up or until it is time for them to walk home. At times there have been up to 90 people in the library. (Twice the allowed limit) Fights have erupted outside. The library has HCSO Deputy on duty at certain times. If the schools had some place for the kids to hang out it would help. Perhaps a computer lab open late. They don't.

What we have is a problem created by the school system, that was being handled by the library system inadequately. The staff at Seminole Heights branch library have long time tried to deal with the issue. They try to control the kids who sometimes get unruly and hog up the computers. One of the prior librarians had to be the person to contact the fire marshall to find out what the occupancy limit is. Why did it take a branch librarian to find the occupancy limit? The management of the library system should have long time ago determined that. (This makes me wonder if other libraries don't have occupancy limits and so are there other ones also overcrowded placing children at risk?)

The solution is to build a bigger library and add programs.

Below is a satellite view of area.

The yellow building is the library. To the south is their parking. Below that and stretching out in a T is the middle school parking. Below that is the City pool. To the right is the school system school bus transfer center.


Move the transfer center somewhere else. Expand the library building (yellow) expand the library parking (green grey), expand the middle school parking (grey), add more park are north of the library and next to the pool. Make the remaining transfer center area into a road/entrance/exit for the complex.

Perhaps the City Parks and Recreation can include a rec center component in the library building.

Seminole Heights has three (and if we are lucky 4) people who could swing this. School Board member April Griffin, County Commissioners Rose Ferlita and Kevin White, and if things go well, future City Council member Randy Baron.

12/29/06 Update:

Where should the transfer center go? The NW corner (highlighted in blue) of the large parking lot off Bird Street, next to the Sulphur Springs pool.


This moves a high traffic/polluting operation out of the middle of a residential neighborhood into an unused area.

Here is a different idea for the library complex. Build a new library/rec center complex next to the City pool so you have a combined pool rec center area with a park in-between. Move the parking in the area outlined in black. This means increased parking for the middle school and the library rec/pool complex. Make the NE corner more of a park area so the ugly asphalt obscured by the park and library complex.