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A name may fade from public walls
By DAVID KARP © St. Petersburg Times, published October 18, 2000 TAMPA -- Almost all of Fred Karl's children had come for the ceremony. The Hillsborough County Commission chamber was filled, and one by one people praised Karl, the county attorney and former Florida Supreme Court justice, for his service. With 150 people watching, an assistant read the plaque that dedicated the Frederick B. Karl Legal Center. Karl called 1990's naming of the building the climax of his public life, but even then he knew the honor could not last. Now, it may end sooner than he imagined. The Karl Legal Center, which housed the law library and other offices, will be torn down next June to make way for a parking garage. Karl's name will go down with it. Last year, the County Commission voted to keep Karl's name on a new law library, even though the existing one isn't technically named for him; it merely occupies space in a building named for him. But recently, Commission Chairwoman Pat Frank suggested naming the new law library, which eventually will be in the original courthouse after some renovations, after James Lunsford, who started Hillsborough's law library in 1937. Last week, Karl said in a letter to Commissioner Jan Platt that he will understand if the new library gets named for someone else. "My memories are enough," Karl said. "I don't expect a reward." The commission named the building for Karl in 1990, when he had scaled back his work as county attorney after Parkinson's disease was diagnosed in him. It looked as though his career were ending, but instead, he rebounded. Karl became county administrator in 1991 and later CEO of Tampa General Hospital. He now works as a lawyer and lobbyist with some clients who appear before the commission. The legal center didn't fare as well. The Commission voted to demolish it for a 700-space parking garage. The law library, temporarily in an office building next to County Center, eventually will move into the courthouse after a seven-year renovation project. The library board, appointed by the governor and financed by court filing fees, appears to have the authority to name the library. Lawyers, of course, are still researching the law on that point. The law library board will discuss the issue in November. Lunsford's daughter, Thalia Potter, was an aide to Frank when she was a state senator. Potter said her father devoted to his later years to Hillsborough's law library. "He literally gave his last bit of energy to that library," added Colleen Bevis, 84, another daughter. Frank said she hopes the library can be named for Lunsford and another building -- maybe the parking garage -- named for Karl. She doesn't oppose honoring Karl, but Frank said in general she doesn't like the idea of naming buildings after living people. "I think it's a real mistake," Frank said. "People have clients, and they have business relationships. And things can go sore."
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From the Times |
