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Community rolls out the red carpet
By JANE BOKUN NEW TAMPA -- Neighborhoods in New Tampa will be among those on display as the sixth annual Florida Neighborhoods Conference comes to Tampa. The statewide meeting, Sept. 6-7 at the Tampa Convention Center, will give out-of-towners a progress report on improvements in older neighborhoods such as Old Hyde Park, Ybor City and Seminole Heights. But the city's newest neighborhoods also plan to roll out the welcome mat. A bus tour through New Tampa is planned at 8:30 a.m. on Sept. 7. The excursion includes schools and nature viewings in Hunter's Green, Arbor Green and Tampa Palms. Community leaders from each development will address environmental issues, public safety and neighborhood awareness. Carol Poland, a New Hampshire native who has lived for 10 years in the Hunter's Green village of Esprit, will head up the Hunter's Green tour. "I'm really looking forward to it," said Poland, the coordinator of Hunter's Green's Neighborhood Watch. "We've lined up a few Tampa dignitaries such as Police Chief Bennie Holder to come along on the tour." The tour bus, Poland said, will take visitors past nature walks and environmentally protected areas. Guests also will get a view of Hunter's Green's gated communities. "I feel it's a big deterrent to crime that we have gates around us in Hunter's Green," Poland said. The New Tampa bus tour will begin at the convention center and arrive at the Hunter's Green Country Club for breakfast at 9:15 a.m. From there, the bus will go to Cross Creek Boulevard into Arbor Greene, which will show off its clubhouse and amenities. The tour will then take in Benito and Liberty middle schools, and Freedom High School. After another spin through Tampa Palms, guests will return to the convention center. "We need to be back by noon for a luncheon with Mayor Dick Greco," Poland said. The two-day conference will feature workshops and informational neighborhood booths from statewide agencies and officials. As many as 1,200 guests are expected to attend. More than two dozen workshops are planned -- on neighborhood revitalization, public safety, economic development and other issues. One is called "Effective Lobbying (or How to Be a Squeaky Wheel)." Another: "Healthy Alternatives in the 'Hood." "Almost anything you have a problem with ... they've got a seminar to deal with it," said Sue Lyon, president of Tampa Homeowners, An Association of Neighborhoods. For information about the New Tampa tour go to www.tampagov.net. Registration for the bus tour will continue until Sept. 5 at the convention center. The conference costs $45 a day. For information call the Florida Neighborhoods Conference hotline at (813) 274-8340.
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