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St. Petersburg mayor proposes park
By LEONORA LaPETER ST. PETERSBURG -- On the west shore of Lake Maggiore, a dirt road meanders between a 30-foot pile of dirt, mounds of mulch, stacks of bleachers, rows of trash bins, mulching machines, drainage pipes, shopping carts, tree limbs, even a hot tub and a white vinyl recliner. It is the city of St. Petersburg's waterfront back yard, a dumping ground for city debris and equipment. It's also where firefighters and SWAT team members train, and police K-9 dogs can run through an obstacle course. But when Mayor Rick Baker sees it, he envisions a 40-acre waterfront park with the city's largest dog park, a skate park, picnic pavilions, boardwalks, a two-story pier and a multistoried adventure playland covering about 19,000 square feet. It would be St. Petersburg's largest playground. "I think this part (of Lake Maggiore) is kind of a jewel in the rough," Baker said. "I see it as becoming a very significant gathering place for our community." For years, Baker passed the city's debris piles on his way to the city nursery to pick up Christmas trees for the YMCA's Neighbor to Neighbor program. He thought the land was underused. So when he became mayor, he had a team of city staff members and consultants develop a plan for converting it to parkland. His staff, led by Deputy Mayor Mike Dove, will be taking that park proposal to neighborhood groups soon. Dove guessed the park might cost about $5-million, though city officials are still compiling those figures. The project should take about three years to complete and would occur simultaneously with a $13-million lake cleanup project. About 4 feet of muck must be removed from the bottom of Lake Maggiore. The muck is robbing the lake of oxygen needed to create a healthy environment for fish. The city has identified all but $5.5-million of the money needed to fund the lake cleanup, which will involve construction of a plant on the lake to separate out the muck, said Michael J. Connors, director of the city's engineering and stormwater department. Recently, Baker received tentative approval from the Pinellas Anclote Basin Board, a regional arm of the Southwest Florida Water Management District, for half the money, or $2.75-million. The city hopes to share the remainder of the cost with the county. City officials didn't know when they planned to break ground on the project.
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From the Times South Pinellas desks |
