City to consider revitalization plan

Stirred by a resident's plea, the City Council talks of reviving one of the city's fading areas.

By ANNE LINDBERG

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 23, 2000

PINELLAS PARK -- A little more than a week ago, Chuck Martin stormed into a City Council meeting to protest the loss of his neighborhood.

Pinellas Park's code officers are failing to enforce the rules, Martin said. And as the appearance of his neighborhood has declined, crime has risen, he said.

"It's gotten so slummy, I'm embarrassed to live there," Martin said. "I want my neighborhood back."

Martin's plea struck a nerve.

Council member Rick Butler, who also fielded phone calls from some of Martin's neighbors, decided to see things for himself. He took City Manager Jerry Mudd with him.

Concerned by what they saw, Mudd and Butler say they hope the entire council will agree Tuesday that something needs to be done.

Mudd will unveil a neighborhood revitalization program, building on plans and ideas that Tonya Clark, the city's neighborhood and business director, already had in the works.

Mudd said the idea is basically this: City officials and residents -- as well as a neighborhood advisory board set up by the council last year -- will meet to determine the areas that need improvement. The city will pour in resources, such as information and some manpower, and the residents also will pitch in.

The city owns land in the neighborhood Butler and Mudd visited, so officials likely would ask neighbors what they want done with the land, perhaps turning it into a small park. The city also might landscape around an underground sewer lift station so it looks better.

The neighborhood, bounded roughly by 49th and 58th streets N and 94th and 102nd avenues, also has experienced some crime problems. Pinellas Park would work with the Neighborhood Watch Association and send in community police officers.

The city also might put out signs to mark neighborhoods, as St. Petersburg has done, giving residents some pride and community identity, Mudd said.

"In my mind, it's a process that will allow the city to focus on serving the residents and making our neighborhoods better," Mudd said. "I think it's something that can have a positive effect on some of our neighborhoods."

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