Six days after Bob Buckhorn responded aggressively when challenged to find money in his proposed budget to repair a closed down swimming pool in east Tampa, the Mayor now says there are funds available from community tax revenue to repair the structure.
In exclusive comments given to the St. Pete Times Elisabeth Parker, the mayor says that it was only a question of knowing how much money was needed to repair Williams Pool, "But the money had always been there."
Buckhorn says that it was all about waiting to get the exact amount needed to repair the pool from a consultant's study, which apparently was finished within the past few days. Last week, city staffers indicated to City Council members that the study would not be finished for a number of weeks, if not later.
(The study apparently says the cost to repair the pool will be $1.2 million).
The decision is a win for the residents of east Tampa who have gone without the use of the WIlliams Park Pool for over three years now, and also a win for their elected representative on the City Council, Frank Reddick, who threatened last week to vote against Buckhorn's proposed fiscal year 2012 budget unless he found the funds to repair the pool.
