In the Tribune:
City Preparing To Polish Robles Park's Rough Spots
"TAMPA HEIGHTS - Robles Park could get an interactive play fountain, wider sidewalks, a community garden, entry plazas and a bridge across its retention pond.
The city and the nonprofit Mayor's Beautification Program have raised $375,000 for improvements at the 17-acre park just west of Interstate 275. The money came from the city and the F.E. Lykes Foundation.
The city will seek bids before setting project dates, city landscape architect Karen Cashon said. More money is needed to complete all of the goals, and the city is seeking grants."
I wonder how much was spent on unfinished Giddens Park?
The park is fine. It has a nice view of the skyline and a beaituful pond, but it is not safe to go there. It is pointless to spend the money there. It will be vandalized and detroyed within a couple of months once improved. Too much shady activity goes on there. They should spend the money improving the neighborhood instead. Some of the people there could sure use some new programs to help them. And maybe a less scuzzy place to live.
ReplyDeleteOk, go ahead and blow my doors in everybody. The old "their lazy" arguements would work nicely here, as well as "they need to get off their asses and get jobs". I'd like to hear some new ones though, so be creative. ;)
It's a chicken and egg dilemma. If you never revitalize the park, people will never go there, but if people don't go there, why put money into the park. The key to eliminating shady activity is to make it inconvenient. Criminal activity relies on the absence of concerned people and activity to thrive. If people visit the park and the City is committed to patrolling it, the whole area will benefit and the shady characters will skulk off to some other place of squalor. If all the City does is slap some lipstick on a pig, it won't be long before the hog is muddy again.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like this park could use improvements that also improve security.
ReplyDeleteCrime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED)provides a method of enhancing security while you make physical changes and changes in activities.
Bringing law abiding people to use and enjoy the park will displace crime. Well supervised youth sports will bring many of the current users into more constructive activities and take them away from the recruiters for drug gangs. Fences and security cameras can make dramatic gains in safety.
The neighborhood deserves something better.
Having watched the Mayor's Beautification in team in action, I think the real issue here is do the neighboring houses, communities, passerby’s want to stare at an unfinished park for 3+ years!? Unsure, well then I invite you to drive by Gidden's Park. This park truly envelops what the Mayor's Beautification vision is all about. Now before anyone gets uppity, I'm not throwing stones at the SESH community who has worked hard to get what's rightfully coming to them for their park's renovation rather I am spotlighting the reason why they have had to work so hard practically against an agency responsible for the brick walls that have left their park unfinished.
ReplyDeleteThe Mayor's Beautification Team is all too happy to tout their monies raised/donated for this work as well as their grand plan to "spruce" up your park but they forget to tell you that they will abandon you upon groundbreaking. They will show you eye catching pictures of Kate Jackson Park and all that was done there to transform a relatively bland park into a community staple. However, they will leave out that Kate Jackson was a sort of premier to the Mayor's Beautification park plan and that there were more monies available at the time of the groundbreaking of that park that was able to see the vision thru. They will also not mention that the once productive, hands on team of Mayor's Beautification that truly held the vision and mission statement of their purpose was completely replaced by nothing more than lazy *ss wannabees that require an act of Congress for simple communication.
Gosh there is so much more to type on this subject but I think the most important thing that I would love to see be taken from this blog entry would be that when the Mayor's Beautification Team is shootin' their wad on the ins/outs of the renovation process, pay attention (for the Robles park people I direct this). You will hear over and over about the generous Lykes contribution and the services that Mayor's Beautification will provide. You will also hear a quick and I do mean quick mention of the community's fundraising responsibility that will end with, "but we will help you". What this means is that the community will be expected to assist with raising whatever funds exceed the donated funds...and believe me when I say that the heavily touted $375K will come off quicker than a prom dress. By assistance with fundraising, the Mayor's Beautification team means that community will be on their own. Oh well except for a few pieces of feel good advice on how to fundraise from the Mayor's Beautification team. They also MIGHT participate in one of your fundraisers so they can satisfy an end of the year report on what they accomplished for that year. Overall though don’t expect jack!
My last piece of advice for Robles, would be to ask the following questions: 1)WHAT WILL YOU DO TO HELP US (make sure to get this one in writing and I'm not kidding)?, 2) HOW MUCH DO WE NEED FROM COMMUNITY FUNDRAISING ANNUALLY TO MEET THE RENOVATION GOALS?, 3)WHAT AMOUNT WILL YOU SHARE WITH OUR PARK'S RENOVATION FROM YOU OWN FUNDRAISING EFFORTS? and 4)WHO IS THE REPRESENTATIVE THAT WE COMMUNICATE WITH REGULARLY ON THIS PROCESS?
Good luck Robles, as I expect that though you have a few more pearls of wisdom on this project, the answers you will get will be vague yet grand.