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Letter to the editor

Condo owners balk at 911 leaders' plan

Naming streets and changing the numbering system proves unpopular.

By ROBBYN MITCHELL, Times Staff Writer
Published November 30, 2007

NORTH OAKS 

As Julio Guzman clicked the remote to change the slides on his presentation, audience members churned in the chairs waiting for the questions portion.

North Oaks Condominiums, 14550 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., is the 22nd complex where Guzman has had to change addresses since Hillsborough County began requiring its 911 Administration to standardize addresses in unincorporated areas.

And this group is not the first to be upset.

Officials of the 911 Administration say addresses in North Oaks have made responding to emergency calls difficult. They're trying to remedy the problem before it becomes deadly.

But it was a hard sell at Tuesday night's homeowners association meeting. Every seat was filled in the small recreation center, and the crowd included at least one angry lawyer.

Said George King of the 911 Administration: "That's why we go to these meetings: to dispel the rumors and to answer any questions people may have."

The problem, they say, is that the complex of 38 buildings and 296 units all have a Bruce B. Downs address with building and unit numbers.

"There are three address schemes here," said Guzman, who discovered the problem during a standard check in April. "Even the county appraiser doesn't have the correct address for all these units."

The administration wants to name the internal streets and change the numbering system to fit into the county grid and national 911 standards.

While the administration can pay some of the cost of street signs, the homeowners association will be on the hook for unit numbers and other sign changes. This expense comes on the heels of a recent hike in property insurance, said association vice president Tom Macri. Plans to put curbs on some of the sidewalks will have to be put on hold.

Ultimately, homeowners will cough up the money, said 20-year resident Jackie Walker, but "for us that's a big cough."

County officials say you can't put a price on safety.

Capt. Jeff Martin of the Hillsborough County Fire Department said he circled the buildings for 10 minutes and had dispatch return the call of an emergency caller four times before he located a transformer fire in the complex.

"And that wasn't a case where somebody had stopped breathing or something," he said. "We're trying to make this better so that we can respond when people are most distressed."

Sheriff's Deputy Barbara Reichard said she had been policing North Oaks for 10 years and still has trouble finding things on occasion.

"In an emergency, I don't want to be sitting at the front looking at a sign," she said.

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[Last modified November 29, 2007, 08:02:31]