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New bathrooms must wait
TEMPLE TERRACE The City Council rejects two bids for soccer and softball complexes.
By Robbyn Mitchell Times Correspondent
Published October 26, 2007
Public restrooms at the city's soccer and softball complexes were built to last five years. That was 16 years ago. Today the facilities are showing their age, and then some. But relief will not arrive any time soon. The City Council on Oct. 16 rejected two bids to replace the buildings at the Family Recreation complex, 6610 Whiteway Drive, and at the Youth Sports complex at 10369 U.S. 301, because prices were higher than city estimates. Community Investment Tax funds have been earmarked for the new buildings to be built this fiscal year. But the project is stalled until the city chooses a contractor. "We got more than life expectancy out of those buildings," City Manager Kim Leinbach said. "But that's too long, and we need to do better (for our kids)." Leinbach said replacing bathrooms and concession stands at both fields is part of a five-year plan to upgrade city sports facilities. In the Oct. 16 meeting, Parks and Recreation Director James Chambers urged City Council members to reject the two bids that two contractors had put in and shop around some more. Council members agreed, but they said they did not want to wait forever. "When I went out there (to the softball field) last week, there was a hole in the floor that someone could slip and their whole leg could fall into," council member Mark Knapp said. "This can't wait much longer. It has to be high on the city's list of priorities." The hole, Chambers said, has been patched several times in the past few weeks. Leinbach doesn't think the project will be held back too long. "We're already meeting, and we're taking our plan back to council on Nov. 6," he said. An alternative quick fix the Parks Department has been exploring is the possibility of buying premade concrete buildings, which wouldn't exactly fall in with the city's Mediterranean feel. "The prefab buildings would be stronger than anything built on-site, because they would have to be able to be lifted by crane onto a truck," Chambers explained. Leinbach said he is confident the construction will not interrupt the soccer and softball seasons. "Our goal is to time it between seasons and then use portables in the interim," he said. "But that's not our first choice." Robbyn Mitchell can be reached at (813) 269-5312.
[Last modified October 25, 2007, 07:28:30]
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