February 18, 2004
"Uncle" Tom Scott seeks input from residents
Now that Civitas has been put off for a few months (the article below calls it “dead,” but expect another greedy cynical secretive grab for public funding and assets from Tampa’s Welfare Daddies soon!) County Commission Chair and Civitas booster Tom Scott has finally found the time to actually speak with the residents who will be displaced and scattered to the winds when redevelopment comes.
Jennie McNair stepped hesitantly to the microphone at a town meeting Tuesday night.She was there in response to an invitation from County Commission Chairman Tom Scott, who came to hear what residents of the Central Park housing project want for their community, now that Civitas, a major redevelopment proposal for the neighborhood, has died.
Like many of those who attended, she said she supports some form of redevelopment of the aged and crime-ridden housing complex between Channelside and Ybor City. But she worries about who will be let back in when new houses are built.
A single mother, she has struggled with credit problems, and worries that her financial history could be used to deny her re-entry.
"Some of us are dealing with things that hinder us in life," she said. "What about the people trying to care for themselves?"
Scott didn't have a lot of answers for the 40 or so people who attended the meeting at Nick Capitano Boys & Girls Club, next to Central Park. He called the meeting to ask residents what they want, while committing himself to work on the issue.
"You deserve to live in a community where crime is not at 200 percent," Scott said. "This area can be changed. It can be redeveloped for the best."
Uh, I think Tom Scott needs to take a little remedial mathematics. Perhaps he can register for a class and try real hard, maybe even give 110 percent...
......Posted by Norwood at February 18, 2004 08:30 AM"You talk to people like they're dumb," said Sateesh Rogers, a member of the Uhuru movement in St. Petersburg. "There are people in this community willing to sell people out. We have a situation . . . where your nieces and nephews aren't the only ones calling you Uncle Tom."
......Pat Frank, the only other commissioner who attended, said she had toured Central Park and heard the concerns voiced by McNair from many residents. She expressed support for redevelopment, but said the community needs to look at all the choices, not just the one submitted by Civitas.
"This is valuable land you're sitting on right now," Frank said. "That's the reason for the Civitas plan."
After the meeting, Shaka Zulu Mustapha, who said he grew up in the College Hill public housing complex, pounced on one of the supporters of redevelopment plans for Central Park proposed by Tampa Housing Authority.
"Watch where you're at when it's all over with," he said, referring to the concern of many residents that they will be displaced. "I'll look for you."
