Council Hears Resident Concerns About Crime Near Raintree

The City of Temple Terrace will be looking into the possibility of improving the area near a secondary entrance to the Raintree community in the next few weeks.

Kim Leinbach told the Temple Terrace City Council Tuesday that city staff will research possible ways to decrease crime in the unincorporated area near Soaring Avenue between 56th and 59th streets, which belongs to Hillsborough County. They plan to report back to the council on Feb. 7.

The issue was brought to the council’s attention by Raintree resident Walt Williams, who along with Raintree resident Mike Holtcamp, surveyed his neighbors and found that a large portion of them wanted to into the community. Only 10 percent of the 59 residents surveyed said they wanted no change at the entrance.

“I think the numbers are pretty significant,” Willams said. “Ninety percent say ‘Hey, we want something done.’”

One of the problems Williams and other residents at the Tuesday meeting cited was the deterioration of the area between 56th and 59th streets. The real issue, one resident said, is that drug deals take place in this area and the county does not properly police it.

During his presentation, Williams suggested that the city install a gate at the Soaring Avenue entrance that it could open only if there was an accident at the main entrance to Raintree on Fowler Avenue. That way, the secondary entrance would be closed but still accessible if needed.

Council member Alison Fernandez said she understands resident concerns but isn’t necessarily in favor of closing the Soaring Avenue entrance or installing a gate.

“I’m not a fan of closing streets because—just my own experience—in subdivisions where there’s only one entrance, it really is a problem,” Fernandez said. “And the thought of having a gate that the city would have control of to open, to my mind, it’s not very practical because I don’t see that as a responsibility that the city would be willing to undertake.”

Council member Mary Jane Neale, who lives in Raintree, agreed.

“I know that it’s dangerous back there,” she said. “I know that it doesn’t look like the entrance, but just walling it up—to me, if they want a really nice entrance, maybe we can make a nice entrance.”

Leinbach, who lives on Soaring Avenue, said he has talked to the county administrator and the division head of Code Enforcement and coordinated sweeps in that area within the last couple months. He said the has worked with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office to combat the drug problem.

Leinbach said the area is an isolated part of the county that is difficult to police. Temple Terrace has also considered the possibility of annexing the property.

“My recommendation is to proceed,” he said, “because we are affected by an unincorporated area regardless. The types of things that we’re experiencing there don’t know jurisdictional lines, obviously. But it’s going to take increased manpower for police, it’s going to take increased manpower for Code Enforcement, because it needs a lot of help as was stated.”

Leinbach said city staff would talk with county officials about what can be done.

Council member Bob Boss urged citizens to talk to county commissioners and encourage the sheriff's office to spend more time in the area between 56th and 59th streets.

“Sometimes our officers’ pleas to them fall on deaf ears because there’s other priorities,” he said. “But maybe if they know there’s a priority from us being impacted by it too, they’ll be forced to listen to it.”