Residents Rally For Canal Dredging

By MARK HOLAN The Tampa Tribune

Published: Feb 17, 2007

BEACH PARK - Christine Acosta and other residents of the canal-lined neighborhoods along Old Tampa Bay are planning a little muckraking.

With about three weeks until Tampa elections, the neighbors are holding a Pluck the Muck rally Sunday to call attention to the city's failure to dredge about a dozen nearby canals.

Acosta said mayoral and city council candidates have been invited to the outdoor meeting at South Bayside Drive and Idle Wood.

"Right now is an especially good time to make sure they are listening," she said.

Signs reading "Mayor: Don't Duck the Muck" and "Don't Hedge the Dredge City Council" dot the neighborhood.

Canal dredging isn't a new issue for the areas west of West Shore Boulevard; it has been talked about for years. Acosta said the city seems stuck in muck about finding a solution. "It's just exasperating," she said. "There's some degree of people losing confidence in the city being able to move forward."

The city has two main proposals.

One calls for dredging about a dozen canals in the West Shore area and two on Davis Islands for about $6 million. About 500 canal-front property owners would pay for the work through an annual assessment of about $600 for 20 years.

The other plan calls for tapping a $1.3 million federal grant, matched with $1 million in city funds, to dredge fewer canals.

Acosta said the rally isn't in support of either option, though she helped circulate a petition calling for a special taxing district to collect money for dredging.

"At the end of the day, who is going to stand behind a tax increase?" said Jim Tagg, president of the Sunset Park Area Homeowners Association. "We are taking a neutral position on this because I don't want to pit member against member."

In March, a Hillsborough County citizen committee is due to release its recommendations on how to pay for dredging nearly 20 miles of canals in unincorporated neighborhoods.

As with the city canals, the county's waterways have had little or no maintenance since being cut into the coastline decades ago.

Along Old Tampa Bay, the dredging problem will be exposed by a low tide about 30 minutes after Sunday's rally begins.

"It's pure muck," Acosta said. "It's gross. It stinks."