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Her dream of park as tough as oak

By ANDREW MEACHAM
Published March 17, 2006

BRANDON - Hello, pain management. Goodbye, oak trees.

Lela Lilyquest wants to keep some pricey oak-laden real estate from being developed. She faces long odds.

The health food merchant plans to run this summer for Brandon's honorary mayor. The public exposure would give Lilyquest, 45, a chance to promote her dream of saving 4 shady acres at S Parsons Avenue and W Lumsden Road.

Her reason: more than two dozen oak trees on the property. Lilyquest, who owns a Nature's Health Foods store across the street on Parsons, says Brandon ought to preserve the land forever as a patriotic park.

Lilyquest has been trying to interest local politicians in the cause with little success. She wants to raise enough money to buy the property, valued at more than $2-million. Between majestic trees, she would place a picnic area, a fountain to honor Sept. 11 victims, and an amphitheater.

That dream took a nosedive last Wednesday when the owner erected a sign at 104 W Lumsden Road announcing "the future site of University Pain Management Center."

When Lilyquest learned of the sign from a reporter, her face fell. The talkative activist mustered only three words.

"Oh, my god."

Physician Shaukat Chowdhari, the property owner, and his wife, Antonina, own a pain management clinic on Bruce B. Downs Boulevard in New Tampa. They bought the Lumsden Road property in 2002.

Patrick O'Connor, the attorney representing the owner, said his client has no concrete plans to build on the property.

"The sign is more for advertising purposes," O'Connor said. "They are going to develop the property but they don't know when."

Lilyquest recovered from her shock quickly. The mayor's race, a monthlong charity fundraiser, does not start until June. But she already knows her campaign theme - raising money for Sen. Tom Lee's Liberty Memorial Park of Brandon.

Lilyquest is counting on Lee's influence to help acquire the property. But so far the Senate president has not returned her calls.

Lilyquest, a 10-year Brandon resident, said she is not about to give up. Peers in a civic awareness class last year voted Lilyquest "Most Persistent," an outcome that did not surprise her husband.

"She's got a lot of spunk, a lot of drive," said Floyd Lilyquest, 52, behind the cash register at a second Nature's Health Foods store on Bloomingdale Avenue. "She's a go-getter."

The honorary mayor's race begins June 1 and concludes July 4. The President's Roundtable announces each year's winner at the corner of S Parsons Avenue and W Lumsden Road - the site Lilyquest is trying to protect - before the start of the Fourth of July parade.

Andrew Meacham can be reached at 661-2431 or ameacham@sptimes.com.

[Last modified March 17, 2006, 09:30:49]