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Sun may set on Morningside Center

By MIKE DONILA
Published June 2, 2007

The Morningside Recreation Center has long been a conversation piece for its neighbors and Clearwater's leaders.

From its days as a family restaurant, to its nights as a ruckus bar, the old Harn Boulevard building has been a part of the quiet neighborhood since its first homes were built in the 1960s.

That, however, may soon come to an end.

Clearwater leaders have targeted the old building for the wrecking ball. And they say they won't rebuild it, because they can't afford to build and operate a new one.

Residents aren't happy and say the city either needs to find the funding or honor a promise it made to replace it.

"Closing this facility at this time would be an egregious disservice to the voters of this community and, we believe, an exhibit of bad faith by the city, " Mary McGarvey, president of the Morningside-Meadows Homeowners' Association, recently wrote to city leaders. "We are adamant that this center remain open."

The debate began a month ago, when city leaders said they need to cut $12-million from their annual budget in anticipation that state lawmakers next month in a special session will limit the amount of taxes local governments can collect. Also slated for closure: the Clearwater Beach recreation center.

Morningside residents bombarded City Hall with e-mails, and a large group attended a City Council meeting earlier this month, pleading to keep it open.

By closing the Morningside center, the city will save about $217, 000 a year.

City officials say the center is dilapidated and if they kept it, they'd also have to keep the beach recreation center open.

"Going through this budget process and reducing services like the recreation centers is about as painful as breaking my ankle, " said Mayor Frank Hibbard, who broke his leg decades ago on the basketball courts near the Morningside center. "If we're going to cut $10-million to $18-million, then there are going to be some things that close in this community."

Citywide that means reductions in libraries and jobs.

In Morningside, that means the recreation center, and its summer camps and programs like line dancing, adult tap, piano lessons and pottery.

The city plans to keep open the swimming pools and basketball courts. And the city offers an alternative for Morningside users: The Long Center, about 2 miles away.

Residents, though, say that won't work. Last year, Morningside had 71, 500 visits and those users would overwhelm the Long Center.

"I don't want to go anyplace else, " said Jeannette Ortiz, a security officer who's lived nearby for about 30 years.

Ortiz, 37, said her 7-year-old daughter took baton and tumbling classes at the center, and would consider heading to Tampa for classes because they don't like the Long Center.

Joe Evich, the homeowners association vice president, suggested using salary savings from unfilled city jobs to keep the center open for another year, though city leaders have already earmarked that cash to stave off other budget cuts.

"People are really disappointed right now, " he said. "That facility serves the entire east quadrant of the city."

Residents also say they want the city to replace the old center. Clearwater allocated $3.1-million in current Penny for Pinellas sales tax revenue to build one, but officials say they'd rather build a larger regional center that would cost $2-million more and require more employees, though its unclear where additional funds would come from.

The center was built by the developers of Morningside more than 40 years ago, originally part of a private recreation complex that operated as the Golden Horn restaurant for much of the 1960s. In the early 1970s, the city bought a large chunk of the property including the tennis, racquetball and basketball courts and the playground and swimming pool.

The restaurant changed hands over the years until 1981 when Edo Ferrol bought it and changed its name to Coconuts. While still a restaurant, upset neighbors said it operated as a nightclub. By the time Ferrol planned to bring in an all-male revue for one night, residents had begged city leaders to do something. In 1985, after a year of legal wrangling, the city bought the building and turned it into a recreation center.

When the new fiscal year starts in October, though, that may all change.

[Last modified June 1, 2007, 23:28:00]