New cultural center's opening pushed back

The county hiring freeze causes the delay. Volunteers are being lined up.

By AMBER MOBLEY, Times Staff Writer
Published November 7, 2007

CARROLLWOOD - In the midst of cloudy days for the county budget, the Carrollwood Cultural Center is still looking for its own personal silver lining.

The center was scheduled to open this month, but now has pushed that target date back to January as it negotiates with the county to unfreeze jobs needed to staff the operation.

Meanwhile, the center's community board plans to rely more heavily on volunteers to carry out its cultural mission.

Friends of the Carrollwood Cultural Center is working with county government to restore county jobs that have been frozen out of the current austerity budget, blocking the hiring of a staff for the building.

And the Friends board of directors announced Tuesday that ithasappointed a University of South Florida program coordinator as its volunteer committee chairwoman.

Her task will be to recruit volunteers to offer arts and cultural programs.

"I am thrilled about the cultural center," said Martha G. Lakis, program coordinator of professional and workforce development and continuing education at USF. She has degrees in art history and literature.

Lakis said that she is "intellectually and emotionally" connected to the center, because she also is a member of St. Mark's Episcopal Church, and the cultural center building used to be home to that church.

Two former church properties make up the cultural complex, St. Mark's and an annex that previously housed the Church of Christ at 13345 Casey Road.

Calling the Friends group's mailing list of more than 300 people a pot of "potential volunteers," group president Tom Jones said, "the center's going to need us more than ever."

"I know that people like Lakis will step up."

But the Friends group, Jones said, will be asking for the county to fill four or five jobs at the center - people who would handle responsibilities such as scheduling classes and opening and closing the building.

Even with budget difficulties, the county "has sufficient money to move ahead" with the opening of the center," Jones said.

Costing around $5-million, the center is a collaboration between the Friends group and the county's Parks, Recreation and Conservation Department.

No opening date has been set, but the Friends group is aiming at hosting a soft opening sometime around the first week of January 2008.

Located at 13335 Casey Road in North Tampa, the center is planned as a beacon for cultural activity. Think Beethoven instead of basketball.

The group plans to offer a variety of cultural experiences such as lectures, plays and classes. Classes being considered range from jazz and chamber music to photography and tai chi.

For more than a year, the Friends group has been holding concerts at the annex as work finishes at the main center.

Amber Mobley can be reached at amobley@sptimes.com or (813) 269-5311.

[Last modified November 7, 2007, 00:24:36]