The Seminole Heights Advisor The Official Publication of the Old Seminole Heights Neighborhood Association (OSHNA) Published Since 1988 - Our 31st Year “To promote and encourage the preservation and restoration of the area known as Seminole Heights” Annual Circulation 11,000 Spring 2020 www.oldseminoleheights.org From the OSHNA President By Tim Keeports It’s spring in The Heights and that means we were eagerly anticipating our annual Home Tour! With the current COVID-19 situation, we cancelled the 22nd Annual OSHNA Home Tour that was to be held April 5th and are planning for a wonderful home tour on the second Sunday of April 2021 as Easter falls on the first Sunday of April 2021. Occasionally I’m asked why OSHNA exists or why did we take a certain stance on some of the changes happening within our neighborhood – such as a development or road project. Our organization’s bylaws contain a very important section I try to keep in mind when answering: "Section 3 Purpose" states, “to promote and encourage the preservation and restoration of the area known as Seminole Heights while revitalizing a sense of community in a safe and healthy residential neighborhood….” This “Purpose” is important as it sets the tone at our Board meetings and guides our decision making. It also helps frame the issues we focus on and when it’s more appropriate to allow individual neighbors to handle their challenges or occasional differences. Additionally, the OSHNA Board participates in a bimonthly meeting with our neighboring associations to discuss and address our common efforts. Even though March and April 2020 felt like an entire year had gone by, I was reflecting on this past December 2019 when we held our annual holiday party at American Legion Post 111. It was an experiment of sorts as we tried something new and held the event after Christmas and before the New Year. While everyone who attended had a terrific time, our participation did suffer due to the absence of a certain jolly fellow in a red suit! We, therefore, have committed to holding our next holiday party on December 12th, 2020. Our Neighborhood Involvement Committee has been in discussion with our neighboring associations for a combined party. Continued on page 3 THANK YOU TO OUR CONTINUING SPONSORS FOR 2020 81 Leadership Team OFFICERS Tim Keeports (571) 527-6018 President Lynn Hurtak [email protected] Vice President Bill Hunter (813) 238-3036 Secretary Jeffrey Silverstein (917) 838-3647 Treasurer TRUSTEES Michael Guinn (352) 208-1663 Debi Johnson (813) 230-3517 Martha McNamee (813) 300-1997 Alyssa Getzoff (813) 401-7614 Charles Schaub COMMITTEES Code Enforcement Debi Johnson [email protected] Land Use Charles Schaub [email protected] Greenspace Sue Bingham [email protected] Historic Preservation Heather Culligan [email protected] Safety Awareness Michael Guinn [email protected] Yard of the Quarter Cinda Hitchcock [email protected] Membership Rich Yates [email protected] Neighborhood Involvement Martha McNamee [email protected] Home Tour Tim Keeports [email protected] Digital Presence/Webmaster Lynn Hurtak ADVISOR STAFF Alyssa Feliho (404) 849-4480 Editor-In-Chief [email protected] Heath Friar (765) 425- 4278 e-Advisor (765) 425-4278 Tim Keeports (571) 527-6018 Advertising Representative Board of Directors Meetings Held on the third Tuesday of every month at 6:30 PM at Seminole Heights Library, 4711 N. Central Ave. General Membership Meetings Held on the fourth Tuesday of January, April, July, and October at 6:30 PM, at American Legion Hall, 6918 N Florida Ave. Meeting locations are subject to change. Please refer to the OSHNA website for up-to-date information: www.oldseminoleheights.org 28 Continued from page 1 A Note from the SH Boards to While this has happened in years past, it will also be an experiment designed to increase participation. If Introduce the SH Phone Tree you would like to help shape this event or any of our By the Boards of SH Neighborhoods, the Urban Core future activities, please send an email to involved@ Chamber, and Sharlene Hartford oldseminoleheights.org Seminole Heights is well known for its strong After the holidays, OSHNA Board members helped community ties and a place where we work very hard man the All Neighborhood Association welcome tent to connect, "Neighbor to Neighbor." This is evident at the Sunday Morning Market at Hillsborough High. every day throughout our neighborhoods when Once the Market resumes this fall, be sure to stop by we support our local businesses, social events, and to purchase your OSH neighborhood flag and the fundraisers. We came together STRONG in recent new OSHNA Neighborhood Watch signs. years when faced with random, senseless murders, and when hurricanes and strong storms damaged our Also in the works is a potential art installation later homes and trees. this year. Sue Bingham, Chair of the Green Space Committee, is leading this project and we hope to Our country and the world are now faced with place the art in one of our river parks. a pandemic and again it's time to work together, take care of our neighbors, and support our local The Green Space Committee is also focusing on businesses. How about donating a hot meal to a first getting OSHNA involved in the annual Paint Your responder or a healthcare worker? Heart Out – Tampa (PYHOT) event. For those Because we care about the well-being of SH unaware, PYHOT is a one-day volunteer program residents—especially our home-bound, elderly, or designed to identify, prep, and paint, a low-income at-risk individuals who are living alone during the or elderly residents home. Borrowing from the COVID-19 outbreak—we developed a Phone Tree. PYHOT website – “the idea for this program [came We are trying to locate people who don’t have anyone from] Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and brought to to check in on them every day. Tampa in 1988. In September of that year, a fifty member Steering Committee was formed to organize Each of these individuals who meets the the first Paint Day, which was to be held in the qualifications listed below, and who asks to join the spring of 1989.” We have tried for several years to daily neighborhood call tree, will be accepted into the find a home meeting the program guidelines within Phone Tree. Each individual will be asked to make the OSH footprint – and we hope 2021 will be our one phone call per day to let us know they are okay. year. If not within OSH, we may look to supplement The qualifications to join the phone tree are: another group or tackle a painting project in a nearby 1. You must live in Old Seminole Heights, South community. Seminole Heights, Southeast Seminole Heights, or Hampton Terrace to participate. I always want to thank our porch party hosts. In January, we visited with Angi Britton at her EvaClair 2. You must be physically well enough to receive and facility on Nebraska, while the hosts for February make one phone call per day. were Courtney and Jared Holmes. Both were terrific 3. You must email [email protected] evenings with amazing turnout and weather. Check to ask to participate. Include: out the pictures on our Facebook page. We are now • Participant’s Name looking forward to seeing everyone at the porch • Specific Neighborhood parties later this year (always the third Saturday • Age (optional) of the month), and at our quarterly Happy Hours. • Phone Number These events continue to be a great way to make new4 • Home Address friends. The details for all our events will be updated Email [email protected] for more on the OSHNA Facebook page. 4 information on the Phone Tree. 38 A Peek Behind the Curtain at the The River Tower Festival By Caitlin Albritton, Freelance Writer, 83 Degrees Media A few years ago, Keith Malson, owner of the Sulphur Springs Sandwich Shop, and Tampa realtor Debi Johnson were floating down the Hillsborough River, looking up at the Sulphur Springs Tower when they finally jumped on an idea. “We always thought we should have a music festival at the River Tower Park, so we did,” Johnson says. What started as a plot to bring music to the park quickly turned into a proposal to improve and preserve a well-recognized Tampa landmark that many people see every day as they drive along I-275 about six miles north of downtown. Built in 1927 by Grover Poole, the water tower then served the Sulphur Springs Hotel that used to reside there. With the natural Sulphur Spring nearby, the resort wanted to capitalize on this local treasure and create a bus- tling tourist attraction with Florida’s first shopping mall, Mave’s Arcade, located on the first floor of the hotel. This business venture led by Josiah S. Richardson failed six years later due to the collapse of Tampa Electric Company dam, which flooded and destroyed the arcade. Serving a short stint as a drive-in theater among other operations, the land is now a neighborhood park that holds memories of Florida’s past. Spearheaded by Johnson and Malson, Preserve Our Tower is a grassroots campaign run by an eight-member committee to raise funds to preserve and restore the Sulphur Springs Tower and River Tower Park. Their inaugu- ral River Tower Festival, held last November, was the first large fund-raising effort to start shedding some light on this oft-forgotten park. “We had 10 live bands, seven DJs, five food trucks, and 24 additional vendors for various things, mostly art,” Johnson says. “The festival happened to be on the coldest day we had all year last year.