 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
Keepers of Northdale piggy bank look around
By LOGAN D. MABE, Times Staff Writer
NORTHDALE -- Every now and then, members of the Northdale Special Tax District find the need to cruise the community to see what's working and what needs attention. So last Saturday they piled into a 15-seat passenger van to take a state-of-the-neighborhood tour. "I think it looks pretty good," said Nancy Stearns, one of the board's new members, who serves on a subcommittee looking at renovations of the front entrance on N Dale Mabry. "But generally speaking, (the entrance) is looking old and tired and it just needs revitalizing. When people drive into Northdale we want them to say, 'Wow, what a nice community.' The trees need to be cut and shaped properly by an arborist, and there are some plantings that need to be replaced." Board member Esther Lutz agreed that the entrance needs an overhaul. "Northdale is getting up in age, and hopefully it's time for the citizens to let us know what they'd like for us to do," she said. The front entrance is just one area where tax district members will look to spend more than $300,000 in surplus funds that have accumulated over the past few years. "We have some money to play with," said board member Gary Moore. The neighborhood "is kind of old and there are some things that are suffering from age and wear. Within six months, I think there will be a dramatic improvement." One very visible measure of improvement will be the entrance signs to Northdale's 13 individual neighborhoods. Board members agreed to purchase new raised-letter signs with an ivory and green motif. Board members also looked at adding posts and landscaping at the entrance to the soccer fields off the north-south section of Northdale Boulevard, and checked out the quality of community ponds, which they deemed to be good. Slowed for several years by board politics, members are eager to pick up the pace in community improvements. "I've been wanting to see this for the past two to three years," said member Dennis Cooper. "I think we have an obligation to spend the money on improvements." The board decided to spend money immediately on a small, grassy area near the Bob Sierra YMCA. At the Tuesday night meeting, members voted to spend $1,500 on an American flag and flagpole surrounded by lights. -- Logan D. Mabe can be reached at 269-5304 or at mabe@sptimes.com.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
From the Times |
