Temple Terrace Bat Tower: What People Are Saying

Since the story “Bat Tower to Rise in Riverhills Park” was posted on Temple Terrace Patch April 19, many readers have voiced their opinions on the structure.

And comments haven’t just been allocated to that particular story. Conversation on the article “Home Across From Riverhills Park is Most Expensive for Sale in Temple Terrace” also turned to the bat tower.

The Temple Terrace City Council gave its approval April 2 for the tower to be built at Riverhills Park in the grassy area on the bank of the Hillsborough River, just west of the boat ramp.

Some commenters, such as Jennifer Moriarty, are in favor of the tower, which is scheduled to be built by October 2014.

“Temple Terrace needs pesticide free mosquito control and the bat tower will serve well,” Moriarty wrote. “As for the bat guano, it will be a great source of free fertilizer for the community garden.”

Others, such as Scott Hines, who owns the most expensive house for sale in Temple Terrace, are opposed to the structure’s location.

“Not natural to put this many bats in a 10' x 10' area in the middle of the neighborhood...,” he wrote. “Where is your home so we can put it across from your house?”

Hines has also created a Facebook page against the location. Read this TBO.com story to learn more.

According to Tim Lancaster, president of the Temple Terrace Preservation Society, which has been working toward building the tower, those who oppose the structure are basing their objections on misinformation. Proponents are not interested in building a bat tower that would create problems for residents or the city.

“The Bat Tower will provide a ‘green’ sustainable habitat for bats (who are already all over TT, reduce the harmful insect population, offer the potential for reduced pesticide use to combat mosquitos, and reconstruct a much admired TT historic icon,” Lancaster commented. “Not to mention serve as a unique attractor for the City of Temple Terrace, and provide many opportunities for educational programming for our kids (and adults) in the community. It seems there is already plenty of opportunity to educate the community about the benefits bats provide for the global ecosystem and our own local ecosystem. The The Bat Tower will be a valuable asset for the entire community.”

What do you think? Tell us in the comments.

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