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Council Rejects $50,000 For Park

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By JESSICA BAIR, The Suncoast News

Published: December 20, 2007

Updated: 12/19/2007 09:33 pm

PORT RICHEY - Oelsner Park will get an updated look, but don't expect Wilmslow Park to become a well-equipped place to play.

The city council has decided to use a $50,000 state grant to repair the seawall, improve the beach area, install a gazebo, and upgrade the restrooms and playground at Oelsner Park, on the north side of Miller's Bayou.

The council also agreed to give back a second $50,000 grant that would have paid for amenities at Wilmslow Park. Instead, the city will spend up to $20,000 in Community Redevelopment Agency revenue to spruce up the park. The fund, which gets nearly half of the city and county property taxes paid locally, is expected to be more than $2 million this fiscal year.

Why give back state money, only to dip into the agency's account? It has to do with maintaining control of how the dollars are spent.

The grants from the Florida Recreation Development Assistance program have significant strings attached. Each park given funding must install a hike and bike trail, playground equipment, a gazebo, picnic tables, fencing, parking and security lighting.

Residents worry children wouldn't be safe playing on swings and such at Wilmslow because the park is off Bay Boulevard and west of traffic-choked U.S. 19.

They also fretted the park could prove too attractive as a hangout for troublemakers and drug users. They also weren't wild about Wilmslow patrons parking on the grass or along the streets.

Councilman Steve O'Neill said the park is, in effect, an extension of neighboring residents' front yards. "How can we accommodate this?" he asked at a recent meeting.

"You have a choice if you don't want to do these things; it's twofold," said Jim Mathieu, the city attorney and acting city manager.

The city could substitute an element of the park's development plan, with permission from the state, or give the money back, he said.

Former Councilwoman Phyllis Grae spoke in favor of returning the funds.

"At that point, you don't have to do anything with the park except to beautify it, which is what we intended to do in the first place," she said.

A major proponent of applying for the park grants, Grae said she never intended Wilmslow to have a playground.

"The idea was to beautify the park, to put nice sod down, to put a little fountain and change the sign," she said.

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