Davis Islands Today

By Bill Sharpe

Each year, the Tampa Museum of Art holds a social event to raise funds for museum exhibitions and educational programs. “The Pavilion” is the museum’s annual signature gala event that generates wide community support and funding. This year’s theme “Imagine…” will stretch the imagination of patrons from the moment they step out of their cars to enjoy an evening designed to stimulate the senses. The 22nd annual event on November 10 begins with cocktails and a silent auction, followed by an exceptional seated dinner by The Capital Grille with Chef Dan Tederous. A live auction follows dinner, and local band Complete Desire will provide a lively evening of dancing until the clock strikes midnight.

But the formal white-tie occasion is not designed for everyone. At $600 per person, the main celebration will significantly increase the museum’s accounts. But in addition to the public event, a VIP pre-party will be hosted at a private home on Nov. 2, with a price tag of $1,250 per ticket. The VIP Party has a ‘60’s theme.

While these tickets may seem expensive, the goal is to help in the construction of a new museum designed by Stanley Saitowitz of San Francisco. And they are going to need every nickel. Even though the city is expected to donate the land just north of the current location on the shore of the Hillsborough River, the new building will cost another estimated $40 million.

In addition to the land, the city of Tampa is prepared to provide $17.5 million toward that cost, plus $1 million to demolish the current museum. That leaves over $20 million to be provided by Tampa Museum of Art board members. The museum has already raised $8 million, and the high-priced annual Pavilion will certainly help to offset more of the building costs, but will it be enough? It had better be.

If the museum’s fundraisers fail to reach their stated goal, “the size of the building will be determined by the amount of money [they have] in the bank at the time of groundbreaking,” said Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio after a recent Town Hall Meeting. In fact, Iorio indicated that the architect had already received notice that existing plans may be altered, and that we could “take it to the bank” that no additional city funds would be provided, beyond those amounts already promised.

The designs and plans presented by Stanley Saitowitz are exciting and impressive. Views of the Hillsborough River, Curtis Hixon Park, and expected art displays appear to have been carefully considered and the unique architecture will be a significant statement unto itself. But the initial presentation of the single project has been quietly transitioning to a two or more phase construction due to the lack of funds raise by the museum.

The existing art museum building is slated to be razed by the end of 2007 while a temporary location is established at the Tampa Convention Center. If the museum expects to maintain the current schedule and break ground just after the first of the year, this year’s Pavilion party had better be an overwhelming financial success.

Maybe you have seen the 40-foot trailer sitting on an empty lot at 224 Blanca Ave. It has been called an eyesore, but the neighbors don’t seem to mind.

Property owner Brian Marshall plans to build a home on the lot, and the construction trailer is there waiting for work to begin. The original construction plans were rejected by the city in May, and as of early this week, no revised plans have been submitted.

Meanwhile, the ugly trailer takes up residence among million-dollar homes, and no one has been willing to talk directly to Marshall:

Homeowners would not comment on the record, for fear of starting a feud…

But some nearby neighbors whine behind his back:

Neighbors have complained to City Council members and code enforcers about the trailer…

Instead of anonymously complaining to the government and your friends, why don’t you call him directly, introduce yourself, and ask him to move the trailer?

Legally, the trailer can stay there for up to 8 more months. We hope Mr. Marshall would join in the neighborhood community spirit early, and remove the trailer until he’s actually ready to build. But anonymous complaints are not likely to get much accomplished.

Hillsborough County Commissioners have invited all of you to a District 1 Town Hall meeting tomorrow, October 25 beginning at 5:30pm. Davis Islands is in District 1, along with Town ‘N Country, Baycrest, South County, South Tampa and West Tampa, and other neighborhoods (hyperlinks have been added to the county press release below)

Town Hall Meeting Scheduled for Residents in Town ‘N Country, Baycrest, South County, South Tampa and West Tampa

Hillsborough County Commissioners are inviting residents who live in District 1 to a Town Hall meeting later this month. District 1 includes Town ‘N Country, Baycrest, South County, West Tampa and South Tampa areas. They will answer questions, and find out what residents think about the issues in their communities. It’s their chance to speak on the services provided by their County government.

The meeting will be held Thursday, Oct. 25, at the Jefferson High School Auditorium, 4401 W. Cypress St. Exhibits and information provided by many county departments will be available starting at 5:30 p.m., and the question and answer session is scheduled from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Residents who can’t attend the meeting in person can watch it LIVE on HTV22, the county government’s cable channel. During the broadcast, viewers can also call 272-5275 with their questions and comments; or email them to townhallmeeting@hillsboroughcounty.org. The messages will be read throughout the meeting, in between comments and questions from the audience.

In addition to Commissioners, directors of key departments will be at the meeting to answer residents’ questions about specific projects. A newsletter summing up the evening’s discussion will be mailed to everyone who participates in the meeting.

Town Hall meetings are a quarterly tradition for Commissioners. Every few months, they visit various communities throughout the county for a one-on-one, open dialogue with their constituents.

All meeting facilities are accessible in accordance with the Americans With Disabilities Act. Any additional necessary accommodations will be provided with a 48-hour notice by calling 272-5275.

For more information, call Steve Valdez, Communications Department, at 272-5275 (TTY: 301-7173).

Don’t miss this chance to speak with your representatives and other county department directors.

The 2007 Hyperflite Skyhoundz Sport Division World Champion lives on Davis Islands. Brigit competed in the DogDisc (frisbee) tournament for the first time at the championships last month in Atlanta, and scored a big-time trophy. Davis Islands resident Bob Walkley owns the five year old border collie, and you can often see them both practicing at the Davis Islands Dog Park.

Found at TBO.com: Champion Dog Shows Her Disk Drive

We are writing regarding your article entitled “Is Peter O. Knight Airport Keeping You Awake?” published in the October edition of The Davis Islands’ Community News.

We are Davis Islands Homeowners living adjacent to and or near the Peter O. Knight airport. We believe that the airport is a valuable asset to the community. It has been a part of Davis Islands for a long time. We wish the airport a successful and safe future. At the same time, we are concerned about safety, noise and the proposed changes at the airport.

We believe that as residents of the community we have a right to fair, complete and accurate information regarding changes that will affect our community. We believe that we have the right to have a say in those changes. We believe the best results come when all sides work together and everyone’s interests are fairly considered.

We believe and many other neighbors have expressed their feeling that bringing the runway 175 feet closer to their homes makes them less safe. The recent tragedy at the Tate’s home from an accident at Peter O. Knight airport is a very vivid example of how real this concern is.

There has been talk about the need for the airport to do the runway expansion for safety compliance. Here are some relevant facts:

- To date the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) has not given Peter O. Knight Airport a date by which their Safety Compliance Regulation Waiver will expire.

- Full compliance with the FAA’s Runway Safety Compliance Regulations can be accomplished on runway 3/21 (the main runway) by simply painting lines and creating a displaced threshold 175 feet to the South of the North end of the main runway. This alone will rectify the issue of noncompliance with FAA Safety Area Regulations.

- The FAA does not require Peter O. Knight Airport to extend the runway towards the residents to comply with safety.

It has been written that as much as 40% of existing traffic would be unable to use Peter O. Knight Airport if the runway is not extended. This is not accurate.

- There are currently 128 aircraft based at Peter O. Knight Airport. If the runway is not extended, three of the 128 aircraft based at Peter O. Knight Airport (approx. 2 %) may experience an impact on their utility of the airport. Those three aircraft would suffer a weight penalty when taking off towards the North. This may or may not impact a particular flight depending on its weight load for the flight. If the weight load for a particular flight was at its maximum this penalty would require the aircraft to carry less cargo or travel a shorter distance before refueling. When taking off towards the South there would be no weight penalty and no impact on the planes utility of the airport.

The impact to the community has been misstated as well:

- At the May 15th Peter O. Knight Airport Public Meeting, the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority (HCAA) presented the impact of the runway extension to the community to be NONE. Residents expressed their doubts and requested that the HCAA conduct a Single Event Noise Test.

- At the September 18th Peter O. Knight Airport Public Meeting, the HCAA presented the results of their Single Event Noise Test as between 2 – 5 dBa and not considered significant.

- On October 11th at the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority Monthly Board Meeting, the HCAA presented the noise impact to the community to be 17.5 db. This is a significant impact.

- Other noise experts believe the noise impact to the community will be far higher than 17.5 db. There are several reasons for this, the most obvious being that the plane used in the Single Event Noise Test is not the loudest plane utilizing the airport.

The HCAA has now agreed to several noise abatement procedures and is still considering the most important of those procedures; moving the run up area 100 feet back from its current location. (The run up area is the location where a plane conducts its run up procedure prior to take off. This run up procedure consists of revving the engine up for approximately 60 seconds and is a required safety procedure). While we applaud the approval of these procedures and look forward to the approval of the last one, the fact remains that extending the runway 175 feet towards the residents homes will result in a large increase in sound on takeoff. None of the procedures agreed to or contemplated address this.

Unfortunately, the need for this runway extension has been exaggerated while the negative impact to the community grossly understated.

We support the airport and wish it a safe and successful future. At the same time we are disappointed in the manner in which things were presented to the community. We feel that this extension is not in the best interests of the community. We feel it will reduce the safety of those living near the runway extension and greatly increase the sound in the community impacting the ability of those living near the extension to peacefully enjoy their homes in the way they have been accustomed to.

Thank you for your consideration.

Respectfully Yours,

Warren Cohen
The Tate Family
Robert B. Greene Family
The Scioscia Family
The Cheeseman Family
Meg Fernandez

Al Lopez Park will host a Fall Festival next weekend.

From our friends at Kathy’s Place, A Center for Grieving Children:

Fall Festival- Free Admission!

Featuring Games, Refreshments, a Fire truck, and Fun for the Whole Family!
Tampa, FL, October 21st 2007

Kathy’s Place, A Center for Grieving Children hosts annual Fall Festival on Sunday October 21st from 2-7 pm at Al Lopez Park in Tampa. This festival will allow us to increase awareness, as well as, raise funds for the programs and services that we provide Tampa Bay area families. Our festival will provide a day of fun, activities, and good food for the community. The day will include games, prizes, children’s activities, a fire truck, entertainment, refreshments, and a raffle. The Bloodmobile will also be on-site accepting blood donations.

Kathy’s Place, A Center for Grieving Children is a non-profit agency that has been serving grieving children and families in the Tampa Bay area since January 2003. We offer grief support and programs for children and families who have lost a loved one. This is a much needed service in our community because, according to national statistics from the 2000 Census Bureau, over 21,000 children in Hillsborough and Pinellas County alone will experience the death of a parent by the time they are 18 years old.

Because Kathy’s Place offers our services free of charge to grieving children and families, we rely on kind donations of time from our volunteers and generous financial contributions from our community.

If you would like additional information about Kathy’s Place or the Fall Festival including donations or sponsorship opportunities, and benefits that you will receive for your commitment please don’t hesitate to contact us at 813-541-2672 or by email at kathys-place1@hotmail.com.

About Kathy’s Place- Grief Support Program
730 Sterling Ave. Tampa, Florida

Program Night is held every 1st and 3rd Friday of the month from 7pm - 8:30pm

Program night is where a community of trained volunteers provide a safe and compassionate place for children, adolescents, and families to grow through grief and bereavement. This goal is met through usual activities such as play, arts and crafts, and conversations. Some activities are with peer groups and some are designed for families. Caregivers are supported as they build a larger community to meet their needs and the needs of their bereaved child.

by Bill Sharpe

The Peter O. Knight Airport on Davis Islands must make a couple changes, otherwise it will not survive.

The Hillsborough County Aviation Authority is trying to tackle two issues at once. Their main runway is too short, and there is no more storage room for aircraft.

The airport is currently operating under a regulation waiver (basically a temporary permit), until a safety zone of 240 feet can be added to the main runway. Additionally, the demand for space at the airport continues to increase. The waiting list for enclosed hangar space has reached over 130.

To remedy these problems, the Hillsborough Aviation Authority has authorized an expenditure of over $1.8 million to add the required runway extension, and to build additional hangar space on the east side of the runway, adjacent to Seddon Channel. Plans are for 13 new hangar spaces to be completed by the end of 2008, with more to follow over several years. But Davis Islands’ residents have some concerns.

The current plan is to extend the north east end of the runway by 65 feet, and add 175 feet to the south end of the runway. During a meeting on September 18, some residents voiced concerns about larger aircraft using the longer runway, and any related increase in the volume of noise generated there.

While neighborhood opposition has not been significant, the amount of misinformation seems to be. Sound tests conducted by the Aviation Authority showed an increase of 3db or less over current usage at the closest residences, or an average of about 58db during run ups to take off. During the same tests, nearby lawn mowers, motorcycles, and automobiles frequently reached over 75db.

On a recent afternoon, we were at the airport as some military jet aircraft approached MacDill Air Force Base. Those craft were significantly louder than any airplanes taking off or landing at Peter O. Knight.

Engine types, pilot control, and other conditions do affect sound levels near the airport. But these necessary improvements will not change the size or types of aircraft that are allowed to use the airport. And even though the runway will be closer to some homes, the actual touchdown location of arriving aircraft will not be altered from the current location.

If the safety zone extension is not completed, the longest runway at Peter O. Knight Airport would have to be significantly shortened. This would result in as many as 40% of the existing traffic unable to use the airport on Davis Islands. In order to maintain the current operation of the airport, the extension of a runway is not an option, it is mandated by the FAA for safety.

Unfortunately, at the meeting in September, public comment did not seem to address the safety issue specifically, but rather, opposition to the airport altogether.

We would like to hear your opinion. Please leave your thoughts below under comments and vote in our reader’s poll.