Board keeps experienced hand at the helm

Marshall Adams had thought he would be too busy to serve on the West Meadows board, but with a major road project looming, he is persuaded to become its president.

By SUSAN THURSTON

© St. Petersburg Times, published April 6, 2001

WEST MEADOWS -- After initially rejecting the job, a veteran member of the group fighting the proposed east-west road through West Meadows has become its president.

Citizens for West Meadows appointed Marshall Adams to lead the group for the next year. Adams, former vice president of the group, said a few months ago he was too busy, but changed his mind after several neighbors persuaded him to take the job.

"There was a lot of concern that somebody needed to be on from the original board so I relented," he said. "At this point it would be hard to change horses midway through."

Adams joins newcomers Jim Martin, Jennifer Schmidt and Hagar Kopesky on the board. The three volunteered at the group's reorganizational meeting in January, but said they were not ready to assume the top spot. All of the previous board members resigned, saying they couldn't devote enough time to the group and no one else in the community stepped forward.

"We had been keeping our fingers crossed that Marshall would stay on," said Martin, the vice president. "His experience on the road issues and commitment to the residents of West Meadows is exceptional."

The new board members say they are not necessarily opposed to the road, but are concerned about it going through the heart of their community. They want an objective and comprehensive study done of different alignments to find out which route would best serve everyone in New Tampa, Martin said.

The four-lane road would connect Bruce B. Downs and Interstate 275 along an extension of New Tampa Boulevard through West Meadows, the city's preferred route. The road has been on the books since the 1980s, but has not been built largely because of opposition from some neighbors and environmentalists. Last year, the Metropolitan Planning Organization and the city took a significant step by approving a $1.5-million study of the road's impacts and possible alignments.

Many residents of West Meadows have argued that the road would decrease property values, increase crime throughout the area and threaten the safety of children crossing the street. Their stance has clashed with residents of other New Tampa communities, who consider the road a must toward relieving congestion on busy Bruce B. Downs.

Members of Citizens for West Meadows say they will continue to focus on the east-west road, but also will address other issues important to residents, including the bottleneck at New Tampa Boulevard and Bruce B. Downs.

Over the next few weeks, the group is sending a survey to each of the 450 homes in West Meadows asking residents to prioritize issues and list their concerns. Members plan to use the results to guide their efforts over the next year.

"We know there are other issues out there," Adams said. "The survey will give us a barometer of where people are at."

- Susan Thurston can be reached at (813) 226-3463 or thurston@sptimes.com.

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