Seffner Residents Question Plan For Playground At Passive Park

SEFFNER, FL — Hillsborough County’s plan to bring a regional-sized playground to the Seffner-Mango area took Seffner residents by surprise.

Hillsborough County Parks & Recreation has scheduled an open house Tuesday from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Seffner-Mango Branch Library, 410 Kingsway Road, to discuss whether to build a new playground at either the Seffner Community Park and Gardens next to the Seffner-Mango Branch Library or at the Mango Recreation Center off Clay Pit Road.

Seffner resident Terry Flott of the Seffner Community Alliance, who was instrumental in the creation of the Seffner Community Park and Gardens as a passive park and community garden, said she wasn't aware of the proposal to build a playground at the park on Kingsway Road until she saw a story about the public meeting on Brandon Patch.

"The sign notice the county put up is on the other side of the library, not even at the park, and it's difficult to see," said Flott. "We drive by there regularly, and we never saw it."

In December 2017, Seffner residents celebrated the creation of the 24-acre passive park after lobbying for its creation for 17 years.

See related story: County Dedicates Seffner Community-Driven Park

"We were trying to get away from a park with a traditional playground," said Flott. "We wanted a nature-inspired park where residents could walk, play, learn and grow together."

The park includes a gazebo, a winding 1.5-mile pathway, shelters, benches and community gardens where residents can grow their own vegetables.

The county also allocated $100,000 for public art, shade trees, fencing and simple activities like hopscotch.

Two years later, a sculpture was installed at the park although residents weren't notified and there was no official dedication. But the trees, fencing and basic children's games never materialized.

"A modern playground with a lot of expensive equipment was never part of the plan," said Flott. "We wanted to bring people together with simple activities."

Flott said she'd prefer to see a playground built at the Mango Recreation Center, which already serves area children through its after-school and summer camp programs.

Currently, the Mango Recreation Center at 11717 Clay Pit Road, Mango, has two basketball courts, two softball fields with lights, some playground equipment and a 5-acre dog park in addition to the recreation building.

Flott said the recreation center would be an ideal location for an inclusive playground where children with disabilities could play. The nearest inclusive playground is All Persons Rotary Park at 800 S. Parsons Ave., Brandon, five miles away.

County staff plans to get more feedback from the community at Tuesday's public meeting.

The site chosen would get a playground much larger than those usually found in neighborhood parks and would include an area for kids between 2 and 5 years old and another area for children 5 to 12 years old. Amenities could include adaptive equipment for disabled children, slides, swings, mazes, shade structures, climbing equipment and monkey bars.

For more information, call 813-612-7934.