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Veterans Seek Park Revamp Money

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By ANTHONY McCARTNEY, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 11, 2007

TAMPA - For a few moments this morning, Veterans Memorial Park will be transformed into a battlefield.

A platoon of Vietnam-era vets will perform "The Last Patrol," a dramatization that begins with smoke grenades and ends with the men taking up positions next to a replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

It's the type of remembrance Veterans Memorial Park is made for. Located on U.S. Highway 301 next to the Tampa Bypass Canal, it is the centerpiece of Hillsborough County's Veterans Day tribute at 11 a.m. today.

County officials and veterans groups want the park to take on an even greater prominence. This year, commissioners accepted a $17 million master plan that supporters say will transform the land into the state's premier monument to those who fought, and died, in America's wars.

But first, there's the issue of money.

Veterans lobbied county commissioners last week to consider spending a portion of $40 million that may be used for parks projects throughout the county to renovate Veterans Memorial Park.

Mary Helen Harlan, a war widow and treasurer of the county's Veterans Council, urged commissioners to allocate $4 million from the Community Investment Tax so a new museum can be built. That's about half of what's needed to replace the current museum, which resembles a bunker and houses artifacts from several wars.

County Administrator Pat Bean said the county Parks, Recreation and Conservation Department will likely be able to fund more than $2 million in infrastructure improvements to the park, including a more prominent entrance. The park's current entrance is nondescript and easy to miss.

Once the park's renovations are complete, residents will be able to "drive in and feel a sense of nostalgia, thankfulness - a sense of gratefulness for the folks who gave their lives for freedom," Bean said.

The county expects veterans groups and private donations to help pay for 11 planned displays honoring Hillsborough soldiers who died in wars ranging from the Seminole Indian War to current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The redesigned park would include a walking trail that offers educational and memorial information on each conflict. The master plan also calls for a new museum at the site.

A financial commitment from the county would help jump-start fundraising efforts, said Dave Braun, the Veterans Council's president.

Braun said he's optimistic about efforts to revamp Veterans Memorial Park. "I think we're on a good roll," he said.

The Friends of the Park group also has established a fund for donations, and veterans groups plan a fundraiser in February in Sun City Center.

Tom Fletcher, the county's director of Veterans Affairs, said commissioners have always been sympathetic to veterans' causes and the park.

They set aside the parcel of land for the park after another plot of land was claimed by the Veterans Memorial Expressway.

In 2004, they bought another 4-acre parcel so the park could be redesigned and improved.

Today's tribute at the park also will include an awards presentation to county Commissioner Jim Norman, a longtime supporter of Veterans Memorial Park.

Braun of the Veterans Council will be a member of a committee that will draft recommendations for how to spend some or all of the $40 million commissioners set aside in 2005 for Championship Park. When that plan failed last month, Commissioner Brian Blair proposed spending the money on parks.

Braun said he's excited about the chance to make the case that some of the money should be directed to Veterans Memorial Park. "My intent is to make it stellar," Braun said.

Reporter Anthony McCartney can be reached at (813) 259-7616 or amccartney@tampatrib.com.

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