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Complex name will honor ex-mayor

The City Council votes unanimously to name its recreation complex for Holland Mangum, called a "patriarch" of the city.

By ANNE LINDBERG
Published January 30, 2005

SEMINOLE - Council members unanimously agreed to name the recreation complex after former Mayor Holland Mangum.

Mangum, 83, retired in 1995 after 11 years as Seminole's mayor.

Last Tuesday's decision came at the urging of several residents who sought to honor Mangum's years of service.

"Had it not been for Holland, there never would have been a recreation center. He basically risked his political future in acquiring the property for the recreation center," wrote Seminole resident Bob Castles in a Jan. 20 e-mail to council members.

"Therefor, I thought it very appropriate that the recreation center be named for Holland," Castles wrote. "Hindsight is easy. Vision is a rare commodity."

Seminole Mayor Dottie Reeder was skeptical at first, saying in a Jan. 21 e-mail to Castles and other council members that she felt a suggestion that the recreation center auditorium be named for Mangum as more appropriate. The auditorium is part of the original building.

"I think the community has and continues to show Holland how much we appreciate him," Reeder wrote. "When he retired, he and Kat were given a cruise to the Bahamas along with a cell phone to use in their motor home and many plaques and gifts all presented at a lovely banquet."

Reeder pointed out in her e-mail that she thought Mangum would be more comfortable with having the auditorium named after him because he had created a policy "not to name anything in the city after a person."

"When the old library was built," Reeder wrote, "there was a lady who gave a substantial amount of money and there were suggestions that the library or a room in the library be named after her.

"Holland encouraged us not to start that type of honoree system as he thought it was not a good thing to do."

But by Tuesday's council meeting, Reeder had changed her mind. Before a motion could be made, she suggested naming the entire complex after Mangum.

"I met with the former mayor and asked what he would really like," Reeder said. She said Mangum told her he would be pleased to have the center, 9100 113th Ave., named after him.

The motion included a free lifetime recreation card. If the council had not included that, Reeder said, Mangum would have to pay the $110 annual nonresident fee for using a complex that was named after him. Mangum no longer lives in Seminole.

Reeder said Seminole has an unwritten policy, instituted by Mangum, to never name buildings after individuals. She said Mangum felt the buildings belonged to the public and should not have people's names on them.

That's why she suggested naming the entire complex after Mangum rather than a building. That way, the council kept to the letter of the policy.

It is also appropriate to name the complex after Mangum because he was the mayor when the land for the complex was purchased in the late 1980s.

"It was considered a high risk back then. It was considered a lot of money for a city our size," Reeder said. "It was very controversial back then. . . . Three councilors lost their seats over this. He took a risk."

Council member Pat Hartstein also praised Mangum, saying, "He is the patriarch of Seminole. . . . I think it is fitting that we honor him."

Seminole resident Charles Block thanked the council.

Mangum was here when cityhood became an issue. He was the only one who would take on the leadership because Mangum worked for the federal government and could not lose his job because of the political battles, Block said.

"I thank you for voting in favor of this," Block said. "This will be the center of our city of Seminole."

Mangum's civic involvement began long before the city's 1970 incorporation.

He helped found the Seminole Volunteer Fire Department and was a Seminole city judge. He also served two terms on the council before he became mayor in 1984.

In the late 1980s, he suggested the city buy a 20-acre parcel to use for a recreation center that would include a pool and playgrounds. Voters approved the purchase and the center's development.

Today, the center is generally busy and has the pool and other activities Mangum envisioned. It will soon add a handicapped playground.

The center is also at one corner of what will be the Seminole city center. At the other corners are the post office; the library, which the city shares with St. Petersburg College; and the new City Hall, which will officially open Feb. 7.

[Last modified January 30, 2005, 00:10:19]