Mayor Rob Marlowe
We had a work session last Thursday night to get a presentation from the Sports Facilities Advisory folks who have been looking over our Rec. Center and trying to come up with recommendations for us. Several things were identified as needing attention:
- Our membership is skewed toward retirees.
- Young families are under-represented in the membership. This may be because of our fee structure.
- We need more space for certain activities, eg. use of exercise equipment.
This stands in sharp contrast with what we’ve been seeing at Sims Park since the park reopened the end of January. The park is invariably overflowing with young families and kids running through the splash pad and playing on the new playground. I walked over Saturday afternoon and there were eight different birthday parties in progress. All four of the shelters near the playground were full, as was the large shelter down by the river. Additionally, three of the picnic tables under the trees were party sites.
Greater New Port Richey Main Street had their Seafest last weekend at Sims Park. This was the first weekend event to really take full advantage of the new park layout. The place was packed. Sunday afternoon, my wife and I took our oldest granddaughter to the park. We walked around a bit, let Jordyn play on the playground for a while, and then went over to Ottaway’s for ice cream. While there, I noted that there were cars parked IN FRONT of the old Altman Law building. That is the first time I can recall that happening.
I took a picture of what I saw, but didn’t notice the most significant part of what I was seeing until I blew up the picture later at home. 
What is amazing is that there are FOUR strollers in the picture! Hmmm.
New Port Richey is getting younger.
I believe that one of the keys to revitalizing our city is to make it attractive for young families to live and work here. There are a number of things we can do to make that happen.
We’ve gotten off to a good start with the new Sims Park. The splash pad and the playground are kid magnets. There are some other things in the works, such as the new video display, that will further enhance the park for things like movie nights.
We are taking a hard look at the Rec. Center. We need to look at the Rec. Center not in terms of who is using it now, but rather in terms of broadening its appeal.
Revised pricing for families is definitely something we need to talk about. SFA also suggested increasing the size of the exercise area and having some supervised space for kids to play in while parents come to use the exercise equipment. Will anyone move to New Port Richey simply because we have the best and most affordable Rec. Center in the area? Probably not, but it certainly won’t hurt us either.
Jobs are an obvious issue. New businesses in the historic district have brought jobs downtown, but that is only a start. We need more quality jobs to attract more young families to call New Port Richey home.
Morton Plant North Bay is doing its part. They have poured over $100 million dollars into their campus and they have another $25 million or so in projects in the pipeline. Imagine having a good paying job at a hospital that you can walk to each morning while living within easy walking distance of a premier park and a thriving downtown. I’m going to predict that fixing up homes between the river and North Bay is going to be a trend within the next couple of years. Many of these older homes are affordable and the perfect size for young families just starting out.
We have a number of Google developers who already live in New Port Richey and drive to Tampa to work. We need to cultivate that group and get them to call New Port Richey “home” for both living and working. Given the nature of the Internet, that isn’t all that complicated. Space to meet and collaborate and fast Internet is all that is needed.
What happens if we are successful? You need look no further than Sims Park for the answer. Families are now taking ownership of the park and the change has been quite dramatic, with the picnic tables filled to capacity on a regular basis, kids all over the playground, and people walking all around.
Imagine the older neighborhoods in the city with kids everywhere. The recent move to make it easier to build front porches on older homes fits right in with this concept. Sitting outside on the porch lets you enjoy watching the kids play outside. As a bonus, you can get to know your neighbors.
Imagine the parents with the four strollers shown above walking from the park back to their homes instead of their cars. It isn’t that hard to imagine.
I think we may be onto something.
Rob Marlowe, Mayor
I just hope that the parking remedy is ALREADY in the works. As you pointed out, the overflow parking is already out of hand. It will only get worse even if it’s addressed immediately. I don’t mean just plan on it but get it started. Just using the park as an example. What about the downtown businesses, what will they do? Move due to no place to park? Start the parking deck, use the penny for Pasco funds.
Will golf carts take up parking spaces also.. This can present another city problem. Will Golf carts be allowed to park on the sidewalk’s also. This has not been addressed.. If they park in street parking spot this will decrease parking for cars. I think this is a big issue right at this moment to be discussed and a solution is really needed.
Howard,
The golf cart ordinance actually addresses parking. I’d be in favor of golf cart specific spaces and I can think of one space in particular that could easily be divided into three golf cart spaces and probably win me a trip around town with Bob Langford in his cart. Stay tuned.
Rob
Bob,
I was scoping out an interim solution as recently as this morning, following up on a discussion I had with our city manager and others the end of last week. Stay tuned for my next NPR Note.
Rob
I think Bob brings up a great point. This month marks 5 months our tea room has been open and we are getting so busy. Not a day goes by that at least 1 of our guests complain that they couldn’t find parking. I just hope it doesn’t deter other customers.
I wondered about doing pull in angled parking on grand between Missouri and Nebraska. It would definitely give us some more parking spots. And maybe extend it down to Montana. Just a thought, and something that definitely has to be addressed if we want to continue attracting good businesses.
Thanks for all of your hard work! – kelly
Add diagonal parking on Central Avenue, parallel parking on both sides of Circle Blvd (slows cars too), add more parallel spaces down Grand Boulevard where it’s two lane (talk with Frank Starkey about “road diets).
Fix up the parking lot north of Central on Circle (old church parking lot), and start painting stripes on roads coming in to downtown where parking works.
There’s plenty of parking space, we don’t need to let people park on the vacant Altman lot (why is that vacant again?).
In light of this discussion, let’s be sure to celebrate the urban agriculture ordinances awaiting action by City Council — probably later in May.
The urban agriculture ordinances will make a huge contribution to the ideals and visions outlined by the mayor. The opportunities created by the ordinances will definitely be appealing to residents and persons thinking of moving here. Urban agriculture is a trending amenity, and forward-looking cities around the nation are creating opportunities for residents to use their properties for food-production, exercise, health, and socialization. Front yard gardens work even better than front porches for promoting neighborliness and social interaction. City planners in Portland, Seattle, Austin and other cities know this, and many of us have seen it first hand right here in some of the agriculture districts of New Port Richey.
Wherever we have urban agriculture in the city we have increased strollers, socialization, community spirit, and neighborliness. The ordinances before Council will expand and enrich these vital features of a healthy social ecology. What a great city!
In light of this discussion, let’s be sure to celebrate the urban agriculture ordinances awaiting action by City Council — probably later in May.
The urban agriculture ordinances will make a huge contribution to the ideals and visions outlined by the mayor. The opportunities created by the ordinances will definitely be appealing to residents and persons thinking of moving here. Urban agriculture is a trending amenity, and forward-looking cities around the nation are creating opportunities for residents to use their properties for food-production, exercise, health, and socialization. Front yard gardens work even better than front porches for promoting neighborliness and social interaction. City planners in Portland, Seattle, Austin and other cities know this, and many of us have seen it first hand right here in of the agriculture districts of New Port Richey.
Wherever we have urban agriculture in the city we have increased strollers, socialization, community spirit, and neighborliness. The ordinances before Council will expand and enrich these vital features of a healthy social ecology. What a great city!