Delays push opening of park to 2001

Construction woes and weather have bogged down the 182-acre Boca Ciega Millennium Park.

By MONIQUE FIELDS

© St. Petersburg Times, published October 3, 2000

SEMINOLE -- After months of planning and construction, Boca Ciega Millennium Park -- slated to be one of the county's largest parks at 182 acres -- will not open as planned this year.

Construction delays and summer rains are to blame. No one will venture a new date, other than to say it will be "sometime next year," said Judy Jarosz, the park's supervisor.

"There is progress being made on it," Jarosz said. "It's just not as fast as anticipated."

Nothing is complete: shelters, bathrooms, a playground, maintenance building and the park residence for Jarosz are still being worked on.

"Every aspect of the park is under construction," Jarosz said.

The contractor has had trouble hiring subcontractors. The rains have made road paving difficult, which made it hard to bring building materials to the park. Officials say the slowdown is not connected to the recent dismissal of county Parks Director Diana Kyle, who had made the park one of her priorities.

"The contractor is always at the mercy with paving and concrete," Jarosz said.

Park officials are being careful about when they say the park will be ready because residents turned out in droves for a July 4 sneak preview. They had expected between 300 and 500 people, but 1,000 people came.

Unfortunately, people will have to wait at least several more months before they can enjoy the park that abuts Boca Ciega Bay.

"We are unsure, and we hate to set a date and then change it," said Joe Lupardus, interim park director for Pinellas County. "It confuses people."

That's not what some residents want to hear.

"It's a disappointment when something has a preview and then it's not available," said Seminole Mayor Dottie Reeder, who visited the park in July. But she says she understands that it is difficult to time large projects.

"You can only predict and sometimes those predictions don't come true," she said.

What's clear is there is fervent interest in the park. What's driving that interest is the park's natural qualities.

It won't be the average park. It will be a place where there is a balance between nature and man.

Roseate spoonbills, wild turkeys and raccoons will own the land, while people walk on trails, climb an observation tower and set up picnics in shelters nestled in the woods.

Park officials wanted the park to have a natural feeling and didn't want to annihilate the natural habitat and wildlife.

So park officials aren't rushing the project.

"It's really important to have the park ready for any opening and not open it when it's not quite ready," Jarosz said.

At a glance

Within its 182 acres, Boca Ciega Millennium Park will have seven picnic shelters, a playground, four nature trails and four restroom buildings, along with a canoe and kayak launch. The only county parks larger than Boca Ciega, west of 125th Street and south of Old Oakhurst Road, are Fort De Soto, Walsingham and John Chesnut Sr.

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