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County Parks and Rec holds 'master plan' town hall meetings

 
Jack Thomas, 12, of Boyette, from left; Zach Clay, 13, of FishHawk Ranch; and Wyatt Fulton, 12, of FishHawk Ranch, place stickers next to the parks amenities they’d like the county to build as FishHawk Ranch resident Kristen Weber looks on.
Jack Thomas, 12, of Boyette, from left; Zach Clay, 13, of FishHawk Ranch; and Wyatt Fulton, 12, of FishHawk Ranch, place stickers next to the parks amenities they’d like the county to build as FishHawk Ranch resident Kristen Weber looks on.
Published June 18, 2016

LITHIA — With a climate that lends itself to year-round outdoor activities, Hillsborough County's Parks and Recreation director Dale Dougherty wants to ensure the county's park system meets the needs of residents every day.

To that end, Dougherty is hosting a series of community meetings throughout June to give residents a chance to weigh in on what activities and amenities they'd like to see at the parks.

"We're producing a wish book containing the ideas we receive for creating an outstanding parks system," Dougherty told 26 residents attending a community meeting Thursday at Randall Middle School in Lithia.

The parks master plan, to be completed this fall, will include an inventory of existing park services, proposed park renovations and new facilities needed to serve the county's 1.3 million residents.

Appointed county parks director in July 2015, Dougherty oversees a $27.3 million budget to operate and maintain more than 176 neighborhood parks and playgrounds, 265 athletic fields, 13 recreation centers, 10 regional parks, more than 727 miles of trails and 61,000 acres of conservation lands.

"Many of our parks were opened in the 1970s when the concept was every park should have every amenity," he said.

The current trend, he said, is to design specialty parks that reflect the preferred recreational activities of the people that frequent them.

In addition, Dougherty said the county is looking into updates such as charging stations for laptops and cellphones, solar panels, security cameras and registration kiosks.

Dan Berkowitz, vice president of the Bloomingdale Homeowners Association, believes his community of 5,000 single-family homes and three condominium complexes would benefit from the addition of a dog park.

"There is plenty of room to add one at the Bloomingdale West park," he said. "Dogs need to socialize just like people. And we have a lot of dog owners in Bloomingdale."

Kerri McDougald, chairwoman of the FishHawk Ranch Community Development District 1, said the FishHawk Skate Park on Osprey Ridge Drive is in dire need of a renovation.

Constructed in the late 1990s, the skate park, built on county land leased by the CDD, features wooden ramps that have deteriorated over the last 20 years and now pose a danger, McDougald said.

She said the CDD wants to replace the wooden ramps with a concrete skate bowl, similar to the one at the Brandon Skate Park on Providence Road, at a cost of $170,000.

"The CDD would put up the money and the county would pay us back over 10 years," McDougald said.

At Thursday's meeting, Wyatt Fulton, 12, of FishHawk Ranch and Jack Thomas, 12, of Boyette agreed that a cement skate bowl would be great addition.

But 13-year-old FishHawk Ranch resident Garrett Bass noted that not all teens are interested in skateboarding.

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"I think they should look into adding a park for BMX bike riders," he said.

Contact D'Ann Lawrence White at hillsnews@tampabay.com.