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MEGAN SCOTTThe run-down portion of Highland Avenue renamed after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was an inadequate choice, some say. But it has also given a reason to beautify a neglected area.
DUNEDIN - An empty Michelob beer bottle lies in the grass between the street and the sidewalk. The stench from the wastewater treatment plant wafts through the air.
The homes and businesses on the street appear to be vacant. A cracked outside wall on one reveals asbestos. The paint on another is peeling off.
On this street, dry, spotty grass and sand create a rough blanket in front of dilapidated homes. Paper litter has infested even the playground.
This is the street commissioners have chosen to rename Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue. Formerly known as Highland Avenue, the street runs from San Christopher Drive to Skinner Boulevard.
"It's almost like a mockery, in my opinion," said Samuel Lowe, who has lived on the street for 12 years. "It's like they said, "Let's just appease whatever small segment of the community wants this.' I think they could have done better than what they did."
By choosing to rename a small, run-down street, Dunedin is only contributing to the notion that King streets are typically located in destitute areas, said Pinellas County educator Randy Lightfoot. Some businesses and residents complain about being located on King streets because of the perception that they are in decrepit neighborhoods.
"If they wanted to really embrace what King's principles were all about, then the name should be on a major thoroughfare," Lightfoot said. "That sends a symbol that the majority of people agree with King."
It took more than a year, though, for commissioners to agree to rename a street at all. In a special meeting Tuesday, they approved renaming the new Stirling Recreation Center and a portion of Highland Avenue for King. The changes took effect immediately.
But while the renaming issue has been resolved, some still wonder why the entire street wasn't renamed, since Highland Avenue runs to Main Street.
"I know that it stopping at Skinner is not very conducive to what we would have liked," said Willie Marcor, a member of the Inclusion Committee, who lobbied to rename a street for King. "I understand there are people on the other side of Skinner that would probably have caused a problem. It's a start, though."
Commissioner Dave Eggers, who proposed renaming that section of Highland Avenue, said he chose the portion because it impacts the least number of residents and businesses and is heavily traveled. The street has character, he said.
"I thought this actually was something that could be accomplished and there was real opportunity to make a difference," Eggers said. "It was a street that complemented the building. When put together, they make a statement about our commitment to honor Dr. King."
Gus Cooper, a longtime Dunedin resident who has been active in the community, said he believes renaming the Stirling Recreation Center was the right way to go, but he agreed that it was absurd that the city named such a small portion after the civil rights hero.
Commissioner Bob Hackworth, who first brought up the idea to rename a street after King, admits the commission took the easy way out by choosing to rename that portion of Highland Avenue. He had originally proposed Jackson Street, but many residents complained that Jackson was too small and insignificant to commemorate King's legacy.
But when larger streets, particularly Patricia Avenue and County Road 1, were under consideration for renaming, more than 1,300 residents and business owners signed petitions opposing the change, citing the economic impact and the hassle of changing licenses.
"It wasn't going to go unless there was some cobbled-together, politically acceptable alternative," Hackworth said. "That was clear to me, and it was clear to me a long, long, long time ago. Is it a cop-out? Sure. But what was I supposed to do?"
Mayor John Doglione, who was on the losing end of a 4-1 vote to rename the building and street, put up several roadblocks during the debate, at one point proposing a referendum. He opposed changing the name of the Stirling Recreation Center because of the name's significance to Dunedin's sister city, Stirling, Scotland.
He envisioned a monument on the Pinellas Trail with a granite rock and a plaque outlining King's historical achievements. That says more than a street name, he said.
"We could make it something that fits into the landscape as people walk by, stop and get a drink of water," Doglione said. "You cay say so much more with that than a street or a name on a building."
Commissioners reiterated that the message King street sends - that Dunedin welcomes and embraces diversity - is important. Inclusion, Hackworth said, is about respect for all people.
"You don't avoid a controversy," he said. "You take it on, hope for the best. At the end of the day, we pulled some votes basically from a losing proposition to name a street to a winning proposition to name a street. That is progress."
Samuel Wright, assistant director of admissions at the University of South Florida, said even though the street chosen is not the most attractive, now that it has been renamed, Dunedin residents should make it their mission to clean it up.
That's the challenge city staff are facing in the coming months - bringing the street up to standards so Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue can be a street people will be proud of.
Those beautification plans are already in the works. The Pinellas County Housing Authority has applied for a federal grant to demolish Highlander Village, a nearby public housing complex. And the recreation center should be finished in the fall. City staff members are also discussing clean-up projects.
In the meantime, the city is already working on next year's Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration and Diversity Week. The Dunedin Public Library is organizing Diversity Month for April 2005, and city staff members are working on the Pinellas Trail crossings, which will commemorate Americans who contributed to inclusion.
The city has come a long way since March, when the nine-member Dunedin Inclusion Task Force began meeting to come up with ways to honor King. Chairman Richard Gehring said it's an accomplishment that all of the committee's recommendations were accepted in some form.
"You have to have that as a goal in your community," he said. "Or else the perception that someone can be excluded occurs because the community doesn't have a consciousness. I think Dunedin has raised its consciousness."
- Megan Scott can be reached at 445-4167 or mscott@sptimes.com