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St. Petersburg named a top kid-friendly city

Of more than 700 communities, an organization names St. Petersburg one of the country's 100 best for children.

By JON WILSON
Published September 28, 2005

ST. PETERSBURG - Though one in five of its children lives in poverty, according to federal census estimates, St. Petersburg has been named one of the nation's 100 best communities for youngsters.

America's Promise - The Alliance for Youth, a national organization Colin Powell helped launch in 1997, bestowed the honor on five other Florida communities: Bradenton, Coral Springs, Jacksonville, Pembroke Pines and Volusia County.

The 100 communities were not ranked. They included metropolises like Denver and small communities like Buffalo County, Neb.

Five standards America's Promise deems critical to young people's well-being were used in making the selections: involved, caring adults; safe places in which to learn and grow; the provision of a healthy start toward adulthood; effective education; and opportunities to help others.

The percentage of children living below the poverty line was not a consideration in making selections.

An article in the Oct. 3 edition of Newsweek notes that the communities recognized "aren't just affluent enclaves." Among the honorees are several that have a relatively high percentage of poor children: Jacksonville, Denver, Houston, Nashville, Baltimore and Columbus, Ohio, for example.

In St. Petersburg, 19.4 percent of residents 18 or younger have lived below the federal poverty level during the past 12 months, according to census estimates from 2004. Nationwide, 50 other cities have higher percentages.

On Monday, Mayor Rick Baker and several City Council members gathered at Rio Vista Elementary School to celebrate the award for being a child-friendly city. More than 700 communities had applied for it.

More than once, those in attendance drew comparisons to the city once known for green benches and retirees.

"This is a new St. Petersburg. Things have changed. Times have changed," Baker said.

In 2004, Partners for Livable Communities, another national nonprofit organization, named St. Petersburg one of the 26 most livable communities in America.

As elements that helped St. Petersburg win the most recent recognition, Baker cited community initiatives, mentoring programs and city-built playgrounds either existing or soon to be installed at eight elementary schools in St. Petersburg, including Rio Vista.

The school playgrounds, which the city puts in for about $80,000 each, are open after school for community use. Baker said the city's goal is to have a playground within a half-mile walk of every child.

Meanwhile, the city's Leisure Services Department in the past few years has built, renovated or is planning to improve several recreation centers, swimming pools, parks and athletic fields. The baseball fields at Lakewood High School were a cooperative venture with the school district.

Chrisshun Cox, president of the Melrose-Mercy/Pine Acres neighborhood, lives near the new Wildwood recreation center, the city's largest.

"Deep down inside of my heart, I know St. Petersburg is a very good place to raise a family, especially when the children are small. So the award is well deserved," Cox wrote in an e-mail.

She also said that more could be done for older children.

The city, she wrote, "now needs to focus on the teenagers, who have been the lost entities of St. Petersburg for a long time."

Cox acknowledged that there are efforts to help youngsters in that age group, but said they deal "with the best of our children."

"There is not one group out there who works with our worst (and I hate to use that word) teenagers," she wrote.

The Newsweek article credits Marguerite Sallee with reviving America's Promise after the organization had lost momentum. The article described Sallee as a businesswoman and longtime aide to U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.

[Last modified September 28, 2005, 04:31:10]