The surrogate
It begins with a woman who yearns for a baby and another who is willing and able to give her one. You can imagine the motives of the prospective parents. But what about the woman willing to carry a baby, give birth and then walk away?
Friday Night Rewind It doesn't matter which team you cheer for. We've got video previews of every high school football program in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando County.
The Wilde Family Trust has signed a contract to sell the 871-acre Eldridge-Wilde well field to Pinellas County for $17.4-million. Neighbors are upset about plans for some of the property to be used as ballfields.
For more than 30 years Pinellas County wanted to buy the 871-acre Eldridge-Wilde well field from the family that owned it, but the family wasn't interested. Now, in a victory for the environment, a deal has been struck. Pinellas County will pay the Wilde Family Trust $17.4-million and the property in the northeast corner of the county will become the public's land.
Earlier this year Hillsborough County bought its 1,000-acre portion of the Eldridge-Wilde well field from the Wilde trust for $17.75-million. The two properties, which are side by side and span the Pinellas-Hillsborough line, create a protected corridor for wildlife moving east-west and save from development close to 2,000 acres.
Putting aside so much land is a significant accomplishment, especially in densely populated Pinellas. Whether future residents of the county will look back on the decision to buy the Wilde property as a great achievement will depend on what the county does with it. The announced plan has drawn some criticism because the county wants to use the land rather than just preserve it.
The county's plan is to expand the 8,300-acre Brooker Creek Preserve by adding 771 of the 871 acres of Wilde land to it. But if proposed land use and zoning changes are approved in coming weeks, the 771 acres could be used for construction and maintenance of water-related infrastructure such as wells and water lines. While most of Pinellas' drinking water now comes from outside the county, there are still a few active wells on the property that county officials say must be maintained. And officials want the opportunity to draw more water there if it is ever needed.
On the remaining 100 acres of Wilde land, Pinellas commissioners want to create a recreation complex that would include ballfields, concession stands, restrooms and parking. Youth sports organizations that have a desperate need for fields are celebrating, but the plan has outraged neighbors who argue that the pastoral setting and abundant wildlife there would be disturbed daily by traffic, lights and noise. They contrast Pinellas' rec complex proposal with Hillsborough County's announced plans for its Wilde land: picnic tables and hiking trails.
Officials of both counties should be congratulated for successfully concluding these important land purchases. As the Tampa Bay area grows and land becomes even more scarce, these hundreds of acres can serve as natural refuges for people and wildlife.
[Last modified: Oct 15, 2008 06:43 PM]
Comments on this article
by Michel
Oct 15, 2008 6:43 PM
We don't need a recreation center. Leave the whole preserve as is.
by Michel
Oct 15, 2008 6:43 PM
1)that the 100 acres should be preserved like the rest of the 771 acres.
2) The tax money should me used to build more schools and move students out of those dangerous temporary portable units. Is somebody getting paid off?
by Joel
Oct 13, 2008 11:44 AM
Shame on the county for even considering using 100 of these acres to expand the Elysa sports fields on the county taxpayers' dime. Use all of the property to continue to expand the Brooker Creek Preserve and save our wildlife!
by Ronnie
Oct 13, 2008 11:44 AM
We residents can?t afford our taxes, but our county government can spend $17 million on land. Then we are going to pay to develop a sports complex and pay to maintain it. More tax dollars we can?t afford. Bankrupty comes to mind.
by jimmy
Oct 13, 2008 11:44 AM
At a time when public budgets are under enormous pressure for dire needs, more "land" being set aside for squirrels and birds is typical of the Bambi crowd putting their "religion" above the needs of the community.
by Chris
Oct 12, 2008 1:14 PM
Residents Opposed To Expansion Of ELYSA ( East Lake Youth Soccer Association ) Sports Fields in North Pinellas County Neighborhood
As a resident of Old Keystone Road, my family vehemently opposes the latest expansion plan by the county to add 100 ACRES to the already existing 27 acres of soccer/ballfields.
The obvious complaints include, an inordinate amount of lighting in a residential neighborhood, added traffic to an already congested road, noise levels above the Pinellas County code, and increased pollution in close proximity to the Brooker Creek Preserve.
Needless to say, an underlying issue is how the tax payer of Pinellas County is misled into providing a sports/recreation center to the entire tri-county area of Pinellas, Pasco and Hillsborough. One of the largest claims made by the ELYSA is that they are an organization that ?has been built and supported through 100% volunteer participation and funding.?
While we completely support our lo
by Robin
Oct 12, 2008 12:31 PM
Don't worry - if Brian Blair or Jim Norman figure out that the Hills. Cty section is undeveloped, they'll try and build something on it. We're just not that lucky and they don't give a crap about the environment.
by Jeanne
Oct 12, 2008 12:27 PM
The ballfields will ruin the peaceful setting for the area. If the county wants ballfields they should force developers to include rec space within the developments where the children live, not in a peaceful wildlife refuge. PLEASE SAVE OUR WILDLIFE
by Marianne
Oct 12, 2008 12:20 PM
It is a little more than some criticism aimed at the Pinellas CC's. This is not the right time to be giving land away to a soccer club that can do with what they have. As a pinellas county taxpayer I do not want to pay for tri-county enrollment.
by Karen
Oct 12, 2008 1:35 AM
This article is great but the title is off. It should read "More land destroyed by our county commmissioners" referring to the 100 acres.
by Nathan
Oct 12, 2008 1:31 AM
How ironic...more land saved from developers but not saved from destruction by our own County Commissioners! Dont' use tax dollars to destroy natural land for a ballfield which is so inaccessible to most because of its northeastern location.
by Mike
Oct 12, 2008 1:31 AM
What a mistake our county commissioners would be making to not preserve the 100 acres and turn it into a ballfield. What a contradiction to a natural setting. Hooray, for Hillsborough County. They have more sense!
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