NPR NOTES

Commentary by Mayor Rob Marlowe

  • Home
  • About the Mayor
  • Get NPR Notes By Email

Archives for March 2016

Our Second Hundred Years

Posted on March 28, 2016 Written by Rob Marlowe

Mayor Rob Marlowe

Mayor Rob Marlowe

New Port Richey got its own post office in 1915 and was incorporated in 1924.  A hundred years ago, the founders of New Port Richey were figuring out what they wanted in a place to live.  We have that same opportunity today.

How do we prepare for our city’s second hundred years?  I believe our vision of what New Port Richey can and should be is the single most important element. If we can agree on what we want our city to look like five, ten, or even twenty five years from now, the steps we need to take come into clearer focus.

Where things haven’t been up to our expectations, we need to make changes.  Where things are working, we need to build on our successes.

For years, the city struggled trying to attract new businesses to fill empty storefronts and office space.  The city council stepped out of the “we’ve always done it this way” rut and hired an Economic Development Director.  That was two and a half years ago and you can see the results all over town.

For years the Hacienda and the old post office sat empty.  Bill Phillips and I wrangled a tour of the Hacienda  and asked ourselves why couldn’t the community clean up the old lady and make her presentable.   Community members turned out in the hundreds to clean up both the Hacienda and the old post office and now we have a development agreement for the Hacienda, a grant to fund a million dollars worth of work to get the Hacienda ready for redevelopment, and the old post office is now all but full.

The crowd gathers to watch "Dinosaur" in Sims Park.

The crowd gathers to watch “Dinosaur” in Sims Park.

We looked at the way that Sims Park had aged and grown into a hangout for drug dealers, vagrants, prostitutes, and rodents (in the “super” playground).  We built a modern new playground, added lights and cameras, and made the park so attractive that it is now filled on a daily basis.  We’re now looking at additional changes to make the park even better.

The city is in the process of rebooting its  Main Street Program.  I wrote in detail about the issues facing the program back in September of 2014.  Last fall, the council approved a budget that includes a Main Street Coordinator as a paid member of the city staff.  The Main Street Coordinator reports to the City Manager and works with the Greater New Port Richey Main Street, Inc. non-profit group to implement the Main Street Program in New Port Richey.  We have a new coordinator coming on board in the middle of April.

I’m very pleased with where we’ve come over the last couple of years.

There is still more to do.  Here are some examples:

A band played before Saturday night's movie.

A band played before Saturday night’s movie.

City council will be looking at a proposed “urban agriculture” ordinance on April 5th.  This proposal comes from our Environmental Committee.  The idea is to take empty lots and use them to grow vegetables that could be sold at the Tasty Tuesday events or other farmer’s markets.

Individual homeowners could also create gardens large enough to feed both themselves and others.  There are concerns about how this might work out in practice, but given a choice between a slum with cars parked all over the front yard and an empty lot with a well maintained garden, I know which I would choose to live next to.

Also on the April 5th agenda is a first reading of a proposed “golf cart” ordinance.  The idea is to set minimum standards for carts being used on city streets and designate which streets are safe for carts and which ones are simply too dangerous.  The ordinance is modeled after the one that is already in place in Port Richey.  Ideally, we’ll be able to craft a reciprocal agreement with Port Richey to allow carts from either city to drive in both cities.  Do we need this ordinance?  Yes.  I saw a golf cart running up Bank Street Sunday evening when I drove over to my office to put out the trash.  The carts are on the roads now.  We need to make sure that the carts are safe for our streets and that our streets are safe for the carts.

Streets that are golf cart friendly are also likely bike friendly and, with sidewalks,  pedestrian friendly.

The golf cart discussion is just one point in a much larger discussion that we need to have.  Watch for details next week.

Finally, the April 5th agenda includes some proposed changes to encourage people to add front porches to their homes.  You need look no further than the Longleaf Community in Trinity to see what a neighborhood looks like with front porches.

So what do we want to see our city look like as we move forward.  I would submit that we want a city that includes the following:

  • Attractive parks that are filled daily with families enjoying themselves.
  • Thriving businesses that are benefiting from the foot traffic that Sims Park is now attracting.
  • New and innovative businesses that bring with them good paying jobs.
  • A vibrant cultural scene, including music, live theater and special events.
  • An emphasis on recreation that includes taking advantage of the beautiful river that flows through out city and the miles of streets that are perfect for cycling.
  • An emphasis on protecting our environment, including things like citywide cleanups, river cleanups, and encouraging the creation of more community gardens like the one at the corner of Grand and Louisiana.
  • Neighbors that get together to make their neighborhood extra special.
  • An emphasis on making our city family friendly:  The sort of place you want to raise your kids.
About 150 people took advantage of the new brick area in Sims Park for an Easter Sunrise Service.

A new location for this year’s Easter Sunrise Service.

We have some challenges going forward, but we have a lot of opportunities as well.

I’m looking forward to tackling those challenges and grabbing those opportunities as we prepare New Port Richey for its second hundred years.

Rob Marlowe, Mayor

 

Filed Under: Local Commentary

Next Page »

My Day Job

When I'm not doing mayor stuff, I spend my time at Gulfcoast Networking. I solve Internet issues, clean up infected computers, and build websites. I'm always happy to take a break from computers to talk about New Port Richey's future, so feel free to come by my office at 6335 Grand Blvd to chat.

City of New Port Richey

This website expresses my views and not necessarily those of the city.  If you are looking for the official City of New Port Richey website, you can find it here.

Recent Posts

  • A Matter of Scale March 10, 2023
  • New Year 2023 January 2, 2023
  • Happy Thanksgiving 2022 November 22, 2022
  • Ian Recap October 3, 2022
  • Stroads July 25, 2022
  • Celebrating Our Independence July 3, 2022
  • Road Trip – Durham, NC May 10, 2022
  • Dreams and Opportunities April 26, 2022
  • Chasco Fiesta – 100 Year Anniversary Edition March 23, 2022
  • March Update March 3, 2022

Recent Comments

  • Bonnie Martin on A Matter of Scale
  • Marc Yacht MD on A Matter of Scale
  • Joan Rees on New Year 2023
  • Chris Lineman on New Year 2023
  • Rob Marlowe on New Year 2023
  • Frank Starkey on New Year 2023
  • Rob Marlowe on New Year 2023
  • Ken Houghtaling on New Year 2023
  • Rob Marlowe on Ian Recap
  • Joan Rees on Ian Recap

Archives

  • March 2023
  • January 2023
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • July 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • September 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • March 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • March 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014

Copyright © 2023 · Rob Marlowe · · Log in