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Tampa Raps School District Over Gary Collapse

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By KATHY STEELE

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 1, 2008

TAMPA - The city council vented its frustrations Thursday at the partial collapse of the landmark former Gary Adult High School building, laying at least some blame on the Hillsborough County School District, which sold the vacant property to a developer.

"You have a school system with billions of dollars and it couldn't board up windows?" council Chairman Tom Scott said. "We've got to hold somebody accountable."

But city officials say figuring out how to do that is a knotty problem involving the city and county, their code enforcement divisions, state law and property owners.

The council asked the city administration to report within 60 days on steps it can take to protect at-risk historical structures and whether an emergency fund can be established to pay for shoring up crumbling buildings. That could include discussions with school and county officials.

"We would be happy to sit down and talk with them about it," school district spokeswoman Linda Cobbe said.

Last week's cave-in is regrettable, she said, but the district could not put money into a school it was going to close. School officials say they spent about $20,000 in 2006 for tarps to stop leaks.

The brick building, 3610 E. 10th Ave., was built in 1913 to serve the once-rural community of Gary, near Ybor City. It was an elementary school until 1979, reopening as an adult high school.

John Simon paid about $331,000 for the property in 2007, about two years after the school district put it on the market. Simon wants to develop it as a sports center; the council is scheduled to consider rezoning the property Oct. 23.

City Attorney Chip Fletcher said meetings between city code enforcement and preservationists had been ongoing before the collapse to find a solution to the Gary building's problems and craft an ordinance dealing with "demolition by neglect."

He cautioned the council about prejudging the situation.

Much of the structure's western wall crumbled when the roof caved in, leaving bricks, glass and beams scattered in the yard. A special hearing master ordered Simon to submit an engineering report on whether the building can be saved and at what cost. The city also is completing its report.

Simon was cited in May for code infractions related to building repairs. He pleaded not guilty and will appear before the code enforcement board Aug. 27.

Councilwoman Linda Saul-Sena said she tried repeatedly in the past five years to get school officials to make repairs and bolster the building.

"It just hurts your heart," Saul-Sena said. "Tampa doesn't have that many historical buildings left."

In 2006, the council approved a law to stop exempting county and school board properties from city code enforcement, specifically responding to the Gary building's rundown condition. It is not clear whether the law was written into city code, but it is at odds with state law.

"We cannot directly enforce our code on them," Fletcher said.

Scott said something has to be done. "I have a problem with government when they hammer private citizens yet government is allowed to get away with murder," he said. "It's a double standard. We shouldn't allow that."

Reporter Kathy Steele can be reached at (813) 259-7652.

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