In the four months since Bob Buckhorn was elected Mayor of Tampa, he's avoided controversy of any sort, exemplified by his smooth presentation to the City Council on his new budget earlier Thursday morning.
But the bonhomie between the council and the mayor – or at least his staff – took a break after two staff members attempted to explain why a swimming pool located in East Tampa has been shut down for over two years, with no immediate plans offered on when it will be repaired.
Adding to the controversy is the fact that the city recently re-opened one swimming pool in South Tampa that was shut down at the same time as Williams Park Pool. Yet the facility in a much more economically challenged part of town remains closed.
Several council members lashed out at David Vaughn, the city's Contract Administration Director, after he told the council that a consultant's report on what to do with the pool was not completed. His comments led one member on the board, Frank Reddick, to say if the Buckhorn administration didn't find the $1.5-$2 million estimated to rebuild the pool in the mayor's new budget presented to the council earlier in the day, he wouldn't vote for it when it comes up for approval.
This article appears in Jul 28 – Aug 3, 2011.