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Money For Street Lighting A Mistake

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By KATHY STEELE

The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 1, 2008

SEMINOLE HEIGHTS - The city is sorting out who should get reimbursed about $48,000 for powering more than 40 streetlights at The Oaks at Riverview.

Tampa Electric Co. apparently was paid from July 2005 through July 2008, but not by the right party. The bill should have gone to the city.

City officials said there appears to have been a mix-up in notifying TECO to shift the billing once The Oaks development was completed and maintenance of streetlights in the right of way reverted to the city. The developer generally is responsible for notification.

Riverview-Dyer Redevelopment Co. is the primary developer; Maryland-based Edgewood Management Corp. manages The Oaks.

Last week, TECO provided payment data to "the owner of record," which is confidential, spokesman Rick Morera said. With the owner's permission, copies went to the city.

But the city still is reviewing who is eligible for reimbursement.

George Caruso, executive vice president of Edgewood, said his company made the payments and is compiling canceled checks to submit to city officials. But Edgewood probably won't see any of the returned money.

"It is highly likely that the money, which is coming back, is going to" the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Caruso said. "This is a complex issue."

The Oaks replaced the nearly 60-year-old Riverview Terrace public housing project, which was torn down in 2003. The enclave, located on Broad Street off Florida Avenue, is the new face of public housing, blending incomes and housing styles.

A nearly $20 million federal grant helped fund the $100 million-plus project, with money also coming from county bonds, state tax credits, private sources and the city.

The Tampa Housing Authority subsidizes 250 rentals at The Oaks for families and seniors and leases the land to Riverview-Dyer.

Lennar Homes is nearing completion of 96 town homes and single-family bungalows.

Homeowners say the lines of authority among the array of companies are so muddled that they often don't know where to turn for help or, worse, get ignored. They pay monthly fees to a Lennar-created homeowners association, and to a second association operated by the housing authority, which oversees the rentals and the clubhouse.

The billing problem surfaced recently during a lighting survey requested by homeowners concerned that some streets needed more lights. They are working with TECO and the city on where to put new poles, which could take a year and needs approval from a majority of residents and the city council.

Homeowners want a portion of the reimbursement to pay for an electronic access system at the clubhouse's fitness center, but Caruso said that's unlikely.

The company planned to install the system but doesn't have "a lot of extra money," he said. In the next couple of weeks, Edgewood hopes to find funding for the work.

"We'd love to let them use this facility," Caruso said. "This issue has everybody's attention, and nobody likes where we are."

Reporter Kathy Steele can be reached at (813) 259-7652 or ksteele@tampatrib.com.

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