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Biltmore should be cherished, not demolished

We are frequent visitors to the Clearwater area, and we were horrified and dismayed to learn about the impending demolition plans for the Belleview Biltmore. We have wandered those halls countless times, those halls steeped with history and beauty. We have peeked into the numerous ballrooms and reception areas, and we have ambled about the beautiful lawns and around the pool. We were so impressed with this historic hotel that we decided to reserve one of its banquet halls for our upcoming wedding reception.

Florida has a bad reputation for rampant, out-of-control development. The real estate market is such that decisions are made rashly and too often not for the good of the community at large but more for the benefit of a handful of developers and businessmen. The area is becoming as dismally commercial and devoid of charm as any other newly plotted coastline community in the United States. This is sad.

While we take no issue with free enterprise or with providing a needed service or with taking advantage of potentially lucrative property values, we do take tremendous issue with destroying a landmark in order to do so.

How does an area, a city, a town define itself? Is it by the soaring new buildings that crowd its soil year after year? No. It defines itself by the enduring structures that speak of the years before such new buildings existed. Athens has the Acropolis with the Parthenon, Rome has the Colosseum, Paris has the Eiffel Tower, Philadelphia has Independence Hall, and New York, in addition to the Empire State Building, has its cobblestone streets, its gas lamps, Central Park and the Plaza, places and areas that have history and character.

The Belleview Biltmore is a historical treasure. Its preservation is not an irrational, nostalgic attempt to hold on to the past. There are a few people who say that the cost of maintaining it doesn't justify its worth. There are some things that should transcend economics. By destroying the Belleview Biltmore, much more than a few beams of wood and a golf course are lost. The identity and cultural significance of an entire area are gone forever.

Seat belts on school buses?

I just finished reading the May 11 article by Jacob Fries concerning the pupils who were hurt when the school bus had to alter course.

With all the continuing safety issues regarding the "buckle up" law and making it mandatory for everyone to buckle up, it puzzles me why the issue of seat belts for children on school buses has never been addressed.

To me, it would make sense to address the issue of seat belts on unrestrained adolescents on a school bus before regulating the control of mature individuals in a passenger vehicle.

The safety/insurance industry preaches that seat belts save lives. I wonder if they will address the safety when a situation similar to that discussed in this article turns into a tragedy where several young lives are lost.

Despite claims, City Hall is accessible

Re: Access limited in Tarpon Springs, letter, April 22.

I never thought I would have to defend myself for an appointment to the Tarpon Springs Planning and Zoning Board, but after Matt King's letter, I feel compelled to do just that.

It appears that Mr. King's ego is bothering him over not being appointed to the Planning and Zoning Board, and he has decided to inflame the public by claiming inaccessibility to City Hall.

Nothing could be further from the truth. City Hall and the various boards have been totally accessible for anyone to join in on the process, but as records will show, many of the boards have had to beg for applicants.

It is extremely interesting that the Planning and Zoning Board had 15 applicants this time around when it was never that popular in the past. Could this be the result of the Wal-Mart opposition group attempting to implant itself in order to take control of that board should the group's lawsuit against the city force a re-evaluation of the Wal-Mart project?

I believe that every city commissioner has a right to choose board members that are congruent with the ongoing principles of government. I would suggest that Mr. King's opinion on various issues is adverse to that of the majority of this City Commission and therefore hinders his chances to be appointed to this board.

As far as Mr. King's delusion about access to local government, it only seems logical that if the citizens of Tarpon Springs wanted more contributions from him concerning management and guidance, they would have elected him over Commissioner David Archie.

[Last modified May 15, 2005, 01:21:24]