BY LEON B. CREWS
Sentinel Staff Writer
On Tuesday, the East Tampa Community Revitalization Partnership group held their monthly meeting at the Ragan Park Center on Lake Avenue.
Attending the meeting were a group of senior citizens, led by Mrs. Betty Bell, President of the Highland Pines Neighborhood Association and Crime Watch. Representing the seniors, Ms. Queen Miller proposed Ragan Center be used as a senior center, available to East Tampa seniors three days a week for exercise and activities.
“Greg Bayor, the Director of Parks and Recreation, was at the meeting and said the center is underutilized, so Ms. Miller suggested we use it as a senior center, and I agreed,” said Mrs. Bell.
“I had already talked to the seniors about it, and that’s why about 20 of us decided to come to the meeting.”
Mrs. Bell said a representative from the city was at the meeting, and tried to stop any discussion about seniors taking over the park and building.
“We were told it wouldn’t be feasible, but we weren’t told why, or that our suggestion was baseless.
“We’ve either been turned away from other centers, or forced to leave to make way for the children. We want to be able to meet without giving way for the children.”
Mrs. Bell said she thanked the seniors for coming out, and she’s vowing to fight to get this done.
“I don’t understand why we can’t use the park for exercise, and the building to play games and cool down.
“Our exercise group has no place to meet, and we have a little over 30 seniors in our group.”
ETCRP Chair, Essie Sims, said he can’t comment on an issue that will be decided by the city’s parks and recreation department, but he feels the seniors in East Tampa do have places to go.
Sims said when they started the senior centers, they wanted one in every East Tampa park as a matter of convenience, and they exist at Oak Park, Williams Park, Cyrus Greene, and Woodland Terrace.
“We thought by establishing senior centers in all the parks, the seniors wouldn’t be bound by transportation problems when they want to go.”
Bayor said it is feasible, but maybe not practical.
“We have a lot of youth and adults using that facility, and I believe if the center isn’t in an area with senior living facilities, it wouldn’t be fully utilized. I think multi-generational centers work better.
“Once school starts, it would be practical, because the kids won’t be around.”
Bayor said they are working on increasing the number of senior programs available, and they are reorganizing.
“I’m putting all of the centers under one person. I consider that a return to a traditional model, and that will put responsibility on one person for what happens at the centers.”
