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Azalea library closing plan provokes some grumbling
By ANDREW MEACHAM ST. PETERSBURG -- Residents on the city's northwest side are weighing in on plans for a three-story public library at St. Petersburg College. While many say they have no quarrel with the new library, they oppose a key part of the plan: returning the Azalea Branch to the sole use of Azalea Middle School. The Azalea library currently operates in a joint agreement between the city and the Pinellas County School Board. Leaders of Jungle Terrace and Jungle Prada neighborhood associations met Thursday to plan a response to news Monday that came to most of them as a surprise. Mayor Rick Baker and Carl Kuttler, president of St. Petersburg College, announced plans to build a 50,000-square-foot library, the city's largest, on the SPC campus. The project still requires approval from the City Council and the college's Board of Trustees. An informal online survey of residents of Jungle Terrace, who live between 22nd and 40th avenues N, from 66th Street to Boca Ciega Bay, netted only a dozen responses. But 11 of those said that the Azalea library should remain open to the public. According to Jungle Terrace president Steve Plice, most of 50 residents who spoke up at the association's regular meeting on Monday also registered their opposition to council member Richard Kriseman. "Getting a newer, bigger library on Fifth Avenue N is not an even trade," Plice said. "We lose a substantial amenity to our neighborhoods." Said Deputy Mayor Mike Dove: "It would be very difficult to operate two facilities (the new library and the Azalea branch) within a mile of each other." Jungle Prada also invited Kriseman to its quarterly meeting Tuesday, where some residents criticized closing the Azalea branch to the public. But Sandy Bozeman, Jungle Prada's president, said assessing the percentage of neighbors opposed to the plan might be harder than it looks. "The vocal people always seem to be the majority, but here they seemed to be the minority," Bozeman said. Most of those opposed, she added, said they liked the convenience and operating hours of the Azalea branch, at 7801 22nd Ave. N. Opening the new library in 2005 would mean returning the Azalea branch to school hours, and limiting its use to students and faculty. A string of halfway houses in Uptown is handling fewer outpatients and has consolidated, after neighbors pressured city officials over fire and other code violations. Both sides are claiming victory. Recovery A Choice is nearly finished moving out of six rental properties and into an apartment building it has purchased, said its director, the Rev. Edward Leftwich. The newly acquired site of eight apartments at 1010 Crescent Lake Drive holds 21 residents who are recovering from drug or alcohol problems. Leftwich said he could not afford to install sprinklers and other safety devices required by fire inspectors. Uptown president Bob Carullo said, "It just goes to show that when a neighborhood sticks together, we do clean up the mess." Leftwich said he is on the verge of acquiring another property in the neighborhood. "We're not moving out, we're moving forward," he said. Neighborhood presidents on the city's northeast side will meet Friday to discuss common issues such as traffic calming, drugs and prostitution, and beautification along Fourth and Dr. M.L. King streets. The meeting runs from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Sunset Grille, 2996 Dr. M.L. King (Ninth) St. N. The invitation goes to association presidents in Crescent Heights, Crescent Lake, Euclid-St. Paul, Five Points, Greater Woodlawn, North Shore, and Uptown, as well as the Fourth Street Business Association and the MLK Business District. MeetingsBAYOU HIGHLANDS: 7 p.m. Thursday (6:30 social). Police resource center, 435 45th Ave. S. Housing and community development manager Thomas deYampert. CROMWELL HEIGHTS: 6 p.m. Wednesday. Enoch Davis Center, 1111 18th Ave. S. Youth development specialist Sandra Parker, Urban League. EUCLID HEIGHTS: 7 p.m. Tuesday. First Alliance Church, 5001 10th St. N. Touch-screen voting demonstration. LAKEWOOD CIVIC: 7 p.m. Tuesday. Lakewood United Church of Christ, 2601 54th Ave. S. Deputy Mayor Mike Dove. UPTOWN: 7 p.m. Wednesday. The Sunshine Center, 330 Fifth St. N. City Council member Virginia Littrell.
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From the Times South Pinellas desks |
