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City Awaits Decision On Grant Park Project

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By KATHY STEELE

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 7, 2008

EAST TAMPA - Bollards or a chain-link fence?

The city needs an answer from residents before finishing the excavation and landscaping of an L-shaped drainage area at 52nd Street and 32nd Avenue.

Chuck Walter, director of the city's stormwater department, met Monday with about 20 residents at the Grant Park Community Center. The project, costing the city about $60,000, is in response to years of complaints from residents about flooding, Walter said.

"There are known flooding problems," he said. "Once every couple years it gets bad enough it gets into people's houses."

Some residents want the city to install a 6-foot-tall fence around the drainage site for safety; others say bollards are safe enough and more attractive. The city's first choice is bollards.

Walter describes the drainage site as a "nice, open space" but not a pond. The goal is to have stormwater flow off the roadway and percolate into the ground.

Walter estimates there's standing water "a couple times a year." About 99 percent of the time the drainage area will be dry, he said.

Ralph Johnson, president of the Grant Park Civic Association, still sees a risk for children and wants the fence.

"It only takes a teaspoonful of water to drown," he said. "I don't want the potential of a problem like that."

Resident Marion Griswould at first wanted a fence but changed her mind after hearing the area would be largely dry.

"Since we've got to have it, it might as well be pretty," she said.

Adding a gazebo also might be nice, Griswould said.

The area is not large enough for a park, but Walter said the city could plant trees to make it more attractive.

Residents Matt and Holly Holderman also favor bollards, saying the fence would be a magnet for trash. But they plan to knock on neighbors' doors to get a consensus.

Walter said he would like to have a petition as quickly as possible, and the signatures should include those of residents nearest the drainage area.

Several residents questioned why the community meeting was held after the project began.

The neighborhood was built without a drainage system and has about four areas that flood. The largest area is along 32nd, and the city recently was able to acquire land for the project, Walter said.

Reporter Kathy Steele can be reached at (813) 835-2103 or ksteele@tampatrib.com.

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