Local resident responds to lawsuit filed by Pebble Creek Golf Club owner. See

By JOHN C. COTEY

john@NTNeighborhoodNews.com

Saying she will not be silenced by a lawsuit filed against her by Pebble Creek Golf Club (PCGC) owner Bill Place, Pebble Creek resident and activist Leslie Green is firing back with a counterclaim lawsuit of her own.

Denying all of Place’s allegations in his lawsuit, Green filed her countersuit on May 11, suing Place for defamation.

In his lawsuit, Place alleged that Green had personal and selfish motivations when it came to fighting against development of the golf course, and conducted a smear campaign by reaching out to developers, city, county and state officials and others in order to stop him from securing a so-called brownfield designation and selling to a developer who would build homes on the land.

She “made things personal and pervasive,” according to Place.

“I never felt it was personal,” Green told the Neighborhood News. “I was merely trying to save our greenspace and keep our zoning what it is. That’s all it was to me.”

Green, who has lived along the 10th hole at PCGC for nearly 30 years, has been a vocal critic of Place’s efforts to sell the 54-year-old golf course and clubhouse, which he shut down on July 31, 2021.

She originally started the “Save Pebble Creek” Facebook page in March 2019 to rally residents when Place sought the brownfield designation to offset the costs of removing pesticides and other chemicals from the property, a requirement before he could sell the 150-acre property for development.

The application was denied, but Green continued her efforts as Place attempted to woo developers. She denies, however, that she ever used “blatant falsehoods” to sway KB Homes and Pulte Homes to back out of deals to buy the property to develop homes on it.

There are roughly 1,400 homes in Pebble Creek, and 130 of them bor-

With lawsuits being brought by Pebble Creek Golf Club owner Bill Place and Pebble Creek resident Leslie Green, some homewoners in the community are definitely letting their feelings be known. der on the golf course. But, far more residents than just those living on the golf course are opposed to development, claims Green. Green’s countersuit claims that Place’s lawsuit “can only be construed as revenge for expressing and encouraging others to express their constitutionally protected right to freedom of expression.” The counterclaim suit accuses Place of disparaging Green by asserting she was “immoral, selfish, dishonest, and acted with animosity” resulting in damage to Green’s “integrity, character and professional competence amongst the general public.” Her suit also alleges that “Mr. Place published false statements about Ms. Green...intentionally and with malice, having knowledge of the falsity of the statements and/or with reckless disregard for the truth or falsity of the statements...and was intentional, knowing, malicious, and with callous disregard of Ms. Green’s rights.”

As a result, Green “has suffered, is suffering, and will continue to suffer severe and irreparable harm and substantial damages in an amount to be proven at trial.”

Green is seeking damages for “lost income and business opportunities, litigation costs and expenses including attorney fees, and other actual damages, including irreparable and quantifiable harm to Ms. Green’s personal and professional reputation amongst her residential community and the public at large.”

Place has 20 days to respond, but has already received a requested extension.

A virtual court date has been scheduled for Nov. 7.

Place is currently negotiating with GL Homes, which has already presented a preliminary development plan to some residents. A recent meeting with GL Homes on May 18 drew a small protest by those opposed to building more homes in Pebble Creek, which Green attended.

By JOHN C. COTEY

john@NTNeighborhoodNews.com

The Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) committed a large chunk of money to repaving many of its roads last year. This year, the BOCC is tackling sidewalks.

The commissioners voted 6-1 on May 4 to spend $20 million from the county’s remaining pool of America Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to address dangerous sidewalks damaged over the years by tree roots, vehicles and age. District 7 Commissioner Kimberly Overman was the lone dissenter, stating a preference that the $20 million be spent on addressing the affordable housing crisis instead.

The county received $285.9 million from the federal Covid-19 relief package in 2021 and, after the sidewalk appropriations, will have about $44 million remaining.

Which sidewalks will be fixed, and whether any of those are in New Tampa, won’t be known for another month or so (90 days from the meeting), and commissioners will meet with county planners to determine the areas of need.

District 2 commissioner Ken Hagan, who represents the New Tampa area, told commissioners at the meeting that, “sidewalk repairs and road resurfacing are by far the top requests to my office.”

Damaged and uneven sidewalks are a major concern, commissioners said. Hagan shared the story of one constituent who says their children wait in the street for the school bus in the morning because the sidewalks are so bad. In other cases, With $20 million earmarked for sidewalk repairs, but $15 million of that designated for underserved neighborhoods, will the county’s recent vote impact New Tampa? (Photo: John C. Cotey) children and adults items we have as far as claims to come biking, the elderly out for a walk and to the county go,” Fesler said. those in wheelchairs are unable to use The Neighborhood News reported a the sidewalk for basic things like getting story in July 2019 about the dangerous to school, a store or a bus stop. sidewalks in many of the seven neigh-

Tom Fesler, the county’s chief finan- borhoods that comprise Cross Creek. cial administrator, told commissioners Jo-Ann Pilawski, the community asthat the county has paid out $2.5 million sociation manager, said she had reported in claims over the last 10 years related to the sidewalks for years, but repairs were sidewalk trip-and-falls. just added to a massive backlog. In-

“It is one of the most significant stead, swatches of bright orange paint and dozens of orange safety cones were placed throughout the neighborhoods as warnings to pedestrians.

Three years later, the paint has faded, the cones are gone, and the uneven sidewalks remain.

Pilawski hopes the BOCC’s vote moves some of the repairs further up on the county’s to-do list.

“I keep calling,” she says.

Hagan said he has compiled a list from constituent phone calls to compare with what the county staff has come up with as to which sidewalks to address.

However, Hagan stressed that there is an 8-10 year backlog on sidewalk repairs and, at the BOCC meeting, commissioners agreed that $15 million of the $20 million voted for would be used to repair sidewalks in underserved areas.

Hillsborough County Public Works maintains more than 3,200 miles of sidewalks, with a budget of only about $550,000 a year to perform repairs. Last year, the county said it had nearly 2,500 open requests for sidewalk repairs, but the budget would only allow it to get to less than a third of those requests.

“The need is enormous,” Hagan said. “Hopefully, we are able to spread it around as much as possible and do as many sidewalks as possible.”

“ More than 17,000 people use the New Tampa Regional Library (NTRL) each year, and here are some of the really cool reasons why. You might be surprised.

1

Books!

Well, duh! Yes, people still read them (and magazines and newspapers, too!), but let’s face it, the Kindle (and other ebook devices) are tough to beat. The library knows that, and through various apps (try OverDrive) you can not only check out ebooks, magazines and audiobooks, you also can stream music as well. And it’s available 24/7!

5

Free WiFi & Computers!

Sometimes its easy to forget that not everyone has an adequate computer, or can afford their own WiFi. For the elderly and the unemployed, the library is their connection to the rest of the world. It’s a place to check their email and stay in touch, look for jobs and read the newspaper. Thanks, library!

2 3 4

A Go Pro Camera!

This one kind of blew us away. If you don’t want to drop $400 to wear a camera on your head, check one out from the library! Don’t have a memory card for all the HD video you’re about to record of you riding your bike down a mountain? NTRL provides those, too! A Ukulele!

Yeah, you heard me. If you check out a ukulele at the library, you’ll get a tuner, instructional book and DVD as well. Play a song for the love of your life, and win their heart forever! You have no one to blame but yourself if you can’t play “How Far I’ll Go” from “Moana” by the end of next week. Get to it!

6

A Passport!

Did you know that the NTRL has a passport acceptance facility? Well, now you do. Make an appointment, head on in — new applications only, however — for your paperwork and the library will process the information for you. The later hours at the library make it the ideal choice.

7

Free Tutoring!

By accessing the library’s website and entering your library card number, you can get free access to Tutor.com, where certified, licensed tutors offer 30-minute sessions on a variety of school subjects. There’s also help for making a resumé, studying for your SATs and even filling out a college entrance application. A Hot Spot!

Remember these? Well, if you’re taking a trip or just need one around town, you can check out some portable WiFi from the library. Sure, most of our cell phones can double as a hot spot these days, but for those who don’t have it (or can’t afford it), the library can be a lifesaver.

8

LinkedIn Learning!

LinkedIn Learning (and Lynda.com) offers more than 16,000 online courses taught by real-world professionals. You can earn a ton of new skills in things like video editing, data analysis and digital marketing, and even get certificates in some to beef up your resumé. It costs $30 a month...OR FREE WITH YOUR LIBRARY CARD!

9

More Stuff!

You can check out meeting rooms, learn how to use a 3-D printer, search your genealogy online, learn another language, the list goes on and on. Every library has different things, so make sure that after you master that ukulele and check out the GoPro that you head over to the John F. Germany Library in downtown Tampa to use their recording studio to make a video!