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Both sides of dredging issue meet under one roof

The city and a pro-dredging group present a plan that gets a mixed reception.

By ALEXANDRA ZAYAS Times Staff Writer
Published October 5, 2007

About 50 people turned out for a "Pluck the Muck" rally in February. They were drawing attention to their petitions to the city to dredge congested canals. Early estimates to dredge would be $8,000 per waterfront home or more.
	[James Branaman | Special to the Times]

They live on the water in some of Tampa's priciest neighborhoods: Sunset Park, Beach Park, Davis Islands. But there's trouble in paradise.

Mucky, smelly trouble.

Silt from stormwater and erosion has built up in the canals so that a boat can't get through. Decades and administrations have passed, and the city still hasn't dredged.

One group of neighbors, led by Michael Weigner and Christine Acosta, figured if they paid, it'd get done a lot faster. They've spent the past two years meeting with the city to come up with a special taxing district in which everyone on blocked canals would pitch in about $8,000 to clean them up.

Only one problem: Their plan encompasses about 600 properties, and not everyone thinks it's necessary.

Another group of neighbors, including Sam Mirabella, doesn't think the canals they live on are bad, and doesn't want to pay a tax that would subsidize cleanup for other clogged canals.

* * *

For the past two years, Mirabella's group has tried to weigh in with the city and give the staff an alternate opinion on the contentious issue. But the neighbors say they've been ignored.

They have collected e-mails, including one in which city stormwater director Chuck Walter denied their neighborhood association's request for a presentation. Two days later, Walter requested a meeting with the other group about the same topic. They feel the city has shut them out in favor of the neighbors who want to fund the dredging.

The first group, called Tampa Canal Preservation and Restoration, or CPR, says it had "canal captains" who kept neighbors informed in meetings.

Both sides met for the first time under one roof at the Plant High School auditorium Monday night, when the city and Tampa CPR presented their plan to everyone:

In 13 Westshore area canals and two Davis Islands canals, the plan calls for dredging 3 feet down the middle of the canals to remove silt. Officials said to think of it in terms of snow: The city would plow down the middle of the street, and residents would shovel their own driveways.

Neighbors could elect to privately dredge their own docks.

The CPR group has targeted homes with less than 3 feet of navigable water. Eventually, the plan is for homeowners to vote by canal, but no date has been set. If more than 50 percent opt in, everyone on that particular canal will have to pay. If more than 50 percent opt out, the canal won't be included in the taxing district. The City Council would have a final say on whether the project becomes reality, with a projected vote in December.

Early estimates would be $8,000 per waterfront home, but that price would go up if a majority of homeowners opt out.

Residents could pay all at once or yearly for 20 years with interest. Or, they could defer payment until the property changes hands; the city would put a lien on the property until it was paid.

"Folks," Weigner said, "the time is now. We have a willing administration, a willing staff, funds available. Treat this with an open mind."

Then the residents spoke up. Sides became clear with eruptions of applause.

"The Sunset Park Homeowners Association was not contacted," said Alice Lee Schmoll. "We as the neighbors would have loved to have been involved in the past two or three years. And I certainly don't want to discuss a lien on my property."

"I love watching people go by on the boats with their family, and I do think it will increase our property value," said Lucia Keenan.

"The city should be paying," said Harry Costello. "We as home-owners shouldn't have to."

Andrew May told Weigner, "Eight thousand? To not invest that money in that canal is total and complete insanity. I'll give you $24,000, Mike."

Mirabella walked around with a petition he says more than 95 percent of his canal neighbors signed to opt out of the process.

He criticized the city and CPR members, who put on a professional presentation.

"It's great to have a great PowerPoint presentation when you've been meeting in secret for a year and a half," Mirabella said.

* * *

City public works administrator Steve Daignault said this week that the city has spent a lot of time with the group members who wanted their canals dredged "for the purpose of answering their questions." The people on the other side "don't want to have that conversation, because they haven't gotten past 'We don't want to do this,' " he said.

Still, Daignault said, no one had been left out.

Council member John Dingfelder says he's glad the discussion finally took place in a larger context, especially because some neighbors feel the city left them out of the process.

"I never could understand why they were taking that approach," Dingfelder said of city staffers.

He just wants to make sure that when there is a vote, the city controls the process.

The City Council will meet with neighbors - on both sides - for a workshop about the dredging this month.

Alexandra Zayas can be reached at azayas@sptimes.com or 226-3354.

if you go

More talk

The City Council will discuss the canal dredging plan at a workshop at 11 a.m. Oct. 25 at City Hall, 315 E Kennedy Blvd.

[Last modified October 4, 2007, 08:07:52]