Author: opinionstogo

Since the 1980s, Tampa has periodically unveiled revitalization plans for downtown only to shelve them all — save one.

That was obviously the one that recommended hodgepodge development and discouraged connectivity and critical mass.

Now all the others have been dusted off and some of the better ones actually incorporated into a 10-year Downtown Vision and Action Plan put together by a team of consultants headed by Hunter Interests Inc. The nonprofit Tampa Downtown Partnership and the city jointly underwrote the $130,000 plan.

The recommendations and suggestions were rolled out recently at a well-attended public forum at Tampa Theatre. The focus was on a major makeover, such that downtown would be more than a skylined Potemkin sans residents, shoppers, diners, imbibers and arts patrons.

A key goal, underscored Hunter, is “to re-establish downtown Tampa as the core area of the Tampa Bay metro area.”

Critical catalysts include the formation of aggressive public-private partnerships; an emphasis on affordable (and workforce) housing; establishment of a downtown development corporation with enough seed ($5 million) money to jumpstart (retail) tenant leases; revitalization of downtown’s “waterfront edge;” and implementation of a marketing strategy to better target – and expand – the meeting and visitor markets. Specific elements include a rejuvenated North Franklin Street (“café district”) corridor and a metamorphosis of iconic eyesores such as the Floridan Hotel and Maas Brothers’ building.

Some Vision Plan observations — and candid asides — from Don Hunter, president of Annapolis, MD-headquartered HII:

*“Let’s ride the residential wave – but provide for different income groups.”

*“(Civitas) was a good plan. The plan, itself, had merit. The problem apparently was the process.”

*“Make the North Franklin Street area the place you go before going to the Performing Arts Center or the (Times) Forum.”

*“The art museum park could be a ‘Central Park on the Water.’ It could be a peaceful, signature destination for downtown.”

*“You need an expanded convention center to remain competitive.”

*“Downtown Tampa needs to grab more of the seasonal visitors to this area.”

*“The Floridan is a great old building, but it’s very hard to make the numbers work. The owner has an unrealistic view of its value. The building is worth $1 million. No more.”

*“The Floridan’s future is in “moderate-rate rental apartments. But it isn’t going to happen without public-private sector participation

The Tampa Tribune’s lead editorial two Sundays ago – the one calling for the head of Tampa Museum of Art Director Emily Kass – had to have raised a lot of community eyebrows as well as some museum-staff hackles.

It criticized Kass for failing to “build a communitywide constituency” for the still unstarted new museum, coming up short on “dynamic shows” and neglecting due diligence regarding critical paperwork.

For a number of insiders, however, it simply gave public voice to what has only been whispered privately. While it’s been abundantly evident that for too long Tampa has been saddled with an undersized, nondescript facility unworthy of a major metropolitan market, what largely went unstated was that the museum leadership wasn’t – and won’t – be ready for prime time.

A new museum with a formidable antiquities collection does not, ipso facto, put Tampa into the cultural big leagues. Bigger isn’t better by enough without first-class leadership and ambitious vision.

The timing of the editorial cattle prod was hardly happenstance. Crunch time is now.

Poor judgments that have had adverse capital-campaign implications don’t reflect well on Kass. And the window for finalizing guarantees from lenders and donors is about to slam shut. City Council, which grows increasingly skeptical, has been scheduled to meet this week (Feb. 10) on the museum financing package. It may not. Three days later the contract guaranteeing the construction price ($52 million) – barring further extensions – is set to expire.

This is all about closing the pragmatically best deal for the community and for the city that is counting on a premier facility – and a world-class museum experience — to help revitalize downtown.

The museum’s next-day response to the editorial was to initiate a last-minute letter-writing and e-mail campaign to the Trib and City Council.

What Kass should now be doing, however, is reading the writing on the wall, even if reversion to “square one” status results – which means a scaled down design and “adios” to Rafael Vinoly’s mother of all carports.

This community – and it’s hardly limited to the “elites” – and this city deserve a first-class art museum. Finally. And the implications are far reaching – from Monet-like renown and more children’s tours to downtown redevelopment scenarios.

Tampa wants to move to the next level. Mayor Pam Iorio wants a “city of the arts.” Nothing can be left to chance. Starting with leadership that never got the art of the deal.

A new museum — whatever the cost and configuration – coupled with the old leadership is a cultural white elephant in the making. That can’t happen.

Kass should take one for the team.

Among the hundreds of thousands of locals who were eyeing the weather forecasts in the Gasparilla countdown was Marsha Carter. Only she wasn’t all that preoccupied about the pre-parade or even the parade, per se. She wanted to know what it would be like later in the day – post-parade.

Carter is one of the city’s parks and recreation superintendents with managerial responsibilities for maintenance, which once a year includes the Bayshore Boulevard clean-up. Weather is a variable that can truly trash her Gasparilla experience.

“It’s OK to rain before – or even during — but not after the parade,” says Carter. “And that happens more times than we care to mention. When it rains, it makes everything stick to the ground, and that slows everything and everybody down. And we can’t exactly wait for it to stop. That’s not an option when we’ve got to get these major arteries open. So we keep on going — no matter how bad it gets.”

Wind is no less critical a factor for the 65 overtime employees – on loan from playground centers and parks’ maintenance staff — when you’re talking upwards of 50 tons of trash.

“We try to get everything that blows,” Carter says. “But if it comes up, we’re dead in the water. Then you have it in the bay and on private property.”

The key non-meteorological variable is bottles.

“That’s the worst for safety,” stresses Carter. “For employees and equipment. It can puncture a tire. If a sweeper hits a bottle the wrong way, the sweeper goes down.”

Carter, a Tampa native, speaks from the perspective of 19 parade clean-ups. Weather permitting – and no doubling up with a local Super Bowl – the drill tends to improve with practice, she says.

“The equipment is certainly a factor,” she explains. “We now use tractor blowers to blow the trash from under the bleachers out into the street. We have learned to rake and pile and bring in loaders and skid steers (bobcats). We put it in garbage trucks and high sides (dump trucks). I think we get a little better at it each year.”

Carter acknowledges that for most folks Gasparilla is remembered for its floats, krewes, beads, flashers, drunks and $20-some million in economic impact – not the well-honed efforts of Team Debris.

“From those we talk to, it seems that people have come to expect it,” says Carter, who does a lot of monitoring as well as her share of trash toting and tossing. “That means we’ve done our job. Our staff is trained and motivated – although that’s not to say they enjoy it. When you look up and see miles and miles of garbage, the fun is gone. But we are a public service department, and we know what to do and how to do it. There’s a lot of responsibility resting on our shoulders.

“When people look at Bayshore on Sunday morning,” underscores Carter, “we want them to wonder if there really was a parade the day before. That’s what we want them to say.”