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Tampa mayor trying to salvage Avenue of Arts

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By CHRISTIAN M. WADE | The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 22, 2009

TAMPA - The Iorio administration is making a last-minute push to restore some funding for the Avenue of Arts project, which fell to the budget ax three weeks ago.

On Sept. 9, the city council voted unanimously to cut $2 million in proposed funding for the long-awaited downtown redevelopment project, which would have turned Zack Street into an artsy, two-way, pedestrian-friendly thoroughfare leading to the waterfront.

Council members diverted the money to parks and recreation, saying they felt it would be better spent on improvements for neglected city parks, pools and neighborhoods.

The decision was a blow to Mayor Pam Iorio, who had been counting on the project to create a pedestrian corridor linking Franklin Street to the waterfront and the soon-to-be completed Glazer Children's Museum, Tampa Museum of Art and Curtis Hixon Park.

Since then, Iorio has been lobbying council members asking them to support a proposal to split the money evenly between the parks department and Avenue of Arts project.

The issue is expected to be revisited Wednesday night, when the council meets for a final public hearing and vote on Iorio's proposed $754 million fiscal 2010 budget.

But in a tight budget year, convincing skeptical council members could be difficult.

"I haven't heard anything yet to make me change my mind," Councilman John Dingfelder said Tuesday. "But I'll listen to what they have to say about it and keep an open mind."

Councilwoman Linda Saul-Sena, who proposed cutting the funding for the project at the Sept. 9 meeting, said she is "open to a compromise" with the Iorio administration.

"I think it's a reasonable proposal," she said. "One million is better than nothing at all."

Christine Burdick, president of the Tampa Downtown Partnership, wrote to Iorio and council members last week, urging them to consider restoring some of the funding.

Parks and recreation spokeswoman Linda Carlo said the department is waiting to find out how much it will get for funding next year before it decides where to spend it.

She said there are some city-owned pools that need $2 million in upgrades alone.

"When you look at everything we have to do, it's not a lot of money," Carlo said.

The Avenue of Arts project was put on hold about two years ago when a Florida Supreme Court ruling halted the use of redevelopment money without prior voter approval. The city resurrected the plans earlier this year and earmarked funding.

Steve Daignualt, the city's public works and utilities administrator, said $1 million would be enough for a conceptual plan for the project and to convert it into a two way street.

He said the project could be added onto as additional funding becomes available, but said the city hasn't been able to replace what the council cut from the 2010 budget.

"We've stretched every dollar so thin this year," he said. "There's not much left over."

Reporter Christian M. Wade can be reached at (813) 259-7679.

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