Flood relief for Tampa's SoHo neighborhoods still stirring rancor

Yahoo

28-02-2025

A South Tampa business alliance is accusing the city of ignoring other, less disruptive options to provide eagerly sought flood relief for neighborhoods along the South Howard Avenue corridor.
Its members are pleading with the city to slow down plans for the $64.5 million project, given initial approval in November, which calls for tearing up parts of South Howard to install new drain pipes. They want other options to get an airing.
But some residents along the corridor, one of whom said his family had drained its life savings to repair its flooded home, urged the city to plow ahead Thursday.
The tension spilled into the open after the City Council heard an update on the project, which the board approved in a contentious 5-2 vote in November.
Council member Bill Carlson, whose district includes the area where the work would take place, called on the project to be canceled. He said it was approved under 'false pretenses,' and said other routes and solutions need to be considered.
'The other engineers and experts who have looked at this … they not only laugh at the process because it's so incomplete and not scientific,' he said, 'but they also laugh because putting culverts down the street is like 50 year old technology."
Business owners are objecting to the project because it would close busy, two-lane South Howard to traffic for a couple of blocks at a time. It is intended to reduce flooding in South Tampa neighborhoods including Parkland Estates and Palma Ceia Pines that have seen devastating flood levels even prior to recent hurricanes,
On Wednesday, a lawyer representing the SoHo Business Alliance, LLC, which includes establishments like Bern's Steak House, Epicurean Hotel, Fresh Kitchen and MacDinton's, wrote to the city and council members with dire concerns over the 'incredible and potentially devastating disruptions and consequences for South Howard businesses, the citizens who frequent those businesses, and those who live in the surrounding neighborhoods.'
The letter alleged that the City Council was misled and that city staff claimed that the contract approved with Kimmins Contracting Corp. in November precludes board members from considering alternative routes. It claims that city Mobility Department Director Vik Bhide previously stated that would not be the case.
'It is apparent that the City Council was either misled into believing, or mistakenly understood, that approving the Kimmins Contract would allow the City to consider, rather than preclude it from considering, routes for the Project that do not include South Howard,' the letter said.
Joe Collier, president of Mainsail Lodging and Development and former chairperson of visit Tampa Bay, said the business alliance met with the mayor and chief of staff and hired a separate engineering firm on its own and that it came up with five alternative routes. Collier said they met with Parkland Board and the city's mobility team to present them.
'We have some really good alternate routes that we put forward, I think that are pretty sharp, if you guys would just take the time to look at them,' he said.
Collier said he asked Bhide if the mayor and the City Council tasked his team with a project that didn't close South Howard, would they be able to do it? Collier said Bhide said it would be possible but that it would be a political decision, and they were tasked with finding the fastest and cheapest route.
But some residents of the neighborhood pleaded with the council not to reverse course and to take action quickly.
'It's been said that engineers from all over the world laugh at this project and that they have a better plan,' said resident Steve Gerrish. 'Where are those plans? Is it ready to start right now? Show us these engineers are laughing at the project. Because I can assure you that after spending a life's worth of savings on restoring my house, I am certainly not laughing.'
Elizabeth Dinwiddie, another resident, said she believed the engineers had done their homework in selecting the best option and that years of research had gone into it. She expressed urgency in taking action.
Council member Luis Viera reiterated his support for the project.
'For me on this issue, I'm going with city professionals on that,' he said. 'We've got to make sure that we do this in the most collaborative and decent way with all of the stakeholders there. But I just don't want anything that serves as real big delay.'
Council member Alan Clendenin, who voted in favor of the project but asked other alternatives to be considered at the time, said the city may spend more money but gain public trust in presenting other options.
'Maybe this is the absolute perfect plan, but why not fully flesh out one or two other options?' he said. 'So that we can actually look at everything on the table at the same time? Say, OK, this is how much this costs, this is how much this costs.'
The city's mobility administrator Jean Duncan said the city planned to present the alternative routes considered in May.