Today, the area is home to about 4 million residents, making Tampa Bay a heavily used commercial and recreational waterway and subjecting it to increasing amounts of pollutants from industry, agriculture, sewage, and surface runoff. The communities surrounding Tampa Bay grew tremendously during the 20th century. The United States took possession of Florida in 1821 and established Fort Brooke at the mouth of the Hillsborough River in 1824. The indigenous population had been decimated by disease and warfare by the late 1600s, and there were no permanent human settlements in the area for over a century.
The Tocobaga was likely the dominant chiefdom in the area when Spanish explorers arrived in the early 1500s, but there were likely smaller chiefdoms on the eastern side of the bay which were not well documented. These cultures relied heavily on Tampa Bay for food, and the waters were rich enough that they were one of the few Native American cultures that did not have to farm. The shores of Tampa Bay were home to the Weedon Island Culture and then the Safety Harbor culture for thousands of years. Many other smaller rivers and streams also flow into Tampa Bay, resulting in a large watershed area. The largest freshwater inflow into the bay is the Hillsborough River, which flows into Hillsborough Bay in downtown Tampa. Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP).Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD).This community input will be invaluable to the consultant as they move forward with the master plan process in 2020. The city will record comments made at the meetings and provide that input to whichever consulting firm they ultimately select to complete the master plan. The city’s goal is to engage communities with open dialogue.
#PARK AND REC TAMPA FLORIDA SERIES#
The city will host a series of eight public meetings throughout the city so residents can share with city leaders their vision for parks and recreation facilities and programs. Their first step though, is to reach out to residents for input. The city is soliciting proposals from qualified consultants to provide planning services in the development of a comprehensive Parks and Recreation Master Plan that will provide direction and priorities necessary to meet residents’ needs longterm. They also facilitate youth programs and community events and serve as a public tool to promote health and well-being. The parks and recreation department oversees all of the city’s community centers and public parks, tennis courts, pickleball courts and basketball courts, among others. The City of Tampa and the Tampa Parks and Recreation Department want the public’s input on how the city’s parks and recreation services should best serve residents into the future.
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