Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Neri asks about policy for predators

The head of the Lealman Community Association favors a better monitoring system for sexual offenders and predators.

By ANNE LINDBERG
Published April 3, 2005

LEALMAN - Ray Neri was appalled a few weeks ago when a Lealman resident said he planned to sell his property because he did not want to live near a sexual predator.

Selling out is not the way to handle the situation, said Neri, head of the Lealman Community Association. It is not clear if Neri convinced the man not to sell, but the conversation prompted him to consider how many sexual offenders or predators live in the unincorporated Lealman area.

"We have 62 of them in ZIP code 33714," Neri said Thursday. That's the ZIP code that covers the bulk of the Lealman area.

The number shocked Neri, and on Wednesday, he'll ask members of the Lealman Community Association whether they want to try to find ways to better monitor the offenders and let neighbors know where they are.

"If you do it right and you can apply enough control, it may be a place they don't want to live," Neri said. "Maybe they'll move to another county."

Neri said he hopes to have representatives from the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office who can talk about the issue.

The community association meets at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Veterans of Foreign Wars, 4145 34th St. N, next to the Pepsi plant.

Also on the agenda is Pinellas County Commissioner Ken Welch, who will answer community questions and discuss ongoing projects in the Lealman area.

A representative from the Pinellas County community development department will present a slide show giving a retrospective of the Lealman area. The slide show will cover a small part of Lealman's history and recent changes since the area was declared a redevelopment area.

"It's pretty impressive," Neri said. "When you start to see where we were and where we're going, it's pretty impressive."

The middle of the eastern portion of the Lealman area became a revitalization area in late 2000 or early 2001. Lealman stretches from just east of Interstate 275 to Park Street between Pinellas Park and St. Petersburg. Kenneth City divides the eastern portion from the western side.

Long known for being one of the poorest areas of the county, revitalization has been slow at times. But the cumulative effect has been impressive, Neri said.

Among the changes are upgrades at the Lealman Park on 54th Avenue N. The improvements include a tot lot and planned bathrooms and upgrades to the basketball courts.

More recently, the county has begun transforming property along Joe's Creek that will eventually become another park. The improvements include a nature trail and bridge across a pond on the land.

The LCA has already agreed to ask the Pinellas County Commission to name the Joe's Creek park after former Commissioner Barbara Sheen Todd. Todd was the commissioner who urged the county to help the Lealman area. Her urging prompted the revitalization efforts.

For information, call Neri at 527-5352.

[Last modified April 3, 2005, 00:48:13]