TAMPA, Florida — Tampa City Council members met to discuss bonding millions of dollars for Tampa Fire Rescue.
One city councilman said bonding essentially is the city taking a loan. The city council is considering bonding $115 million to give to Tampa Fire Rescue.
The money would be used to improve their emergency response. Specifically, millions would go to upgrading four existing Tampa fire stations and building a new one in North Tampa.
None of the money would support downtown’s fire response, where many say it’s needed. There’s only one fire station to support all of downtown. That includes the Channel District and Harbor Island.
Many have expressed concerns with that as downtown Tampa continues to grow with new apartment buildings under construction.
City leaders explained back in the 1950s when downtown Tampa was filled with parking lots, one fire station was sufficient. Now, downtown has become a destination with thousands there every day.
One woman who works in the Channel District said she wants city leaders to do more with her tax dollars. She believes there aren't enough resources to take care of everyone in the area. She worries about what the outcome would be if something catastrophic happened in downtown Tampa with just one fire station there.
"I hope that scares people because you never know when you’re going to be in need of help and assistance," said Alessandra Passarelli, an employee at Victory Coffee in Channelside. "You would want to hope that someone's going to be there fast and be able to respond to that. It’s a very scary situation."
Councilman Luis Viera told 10 Tampa Bay he made a separate motion to revisit downtown's need later this year. He believes there are more resources needed in that area as it continues to grow.
"If I'm reading the administration right, right now they support the fire station at Fowler, but they do not support one in downtown Tampa, which I think is wrong," Viera stated.
Viera said with so many people living and working in downtown Tampa, more resources are needed. He plans to push the council more about getting additional resources to improve response time.
The city council will vote on Dec. 7 about whether to bond the $115 million.
