Preservation Society Withdraws Request to Build Bat Tower in Riverhills Park

Citing misinformation about the Temple Terrace Bat Tower Reconstruction project and the animosity and anger the project is generating among residents, the Temple Terrace Preservation Society has withdrawn its request to build a bat tower in Riverhills Park.

Society member and City Councilman Grant Rimbey emailed City Manager Jerry Seeber Thursday morning, June 6, to inform the city of the withdrawal.

“While we feel the Riverhills Park site is a good one and we have more than satisfied the multiple concerns of the neighbors and the city with expert insight and letters of support, there’s increasing misinformation about the project and the animosity and anger the project is generating is the very antithesis of what we intended to do, and which is the mission of our group,” Rimbey wrote in the email.

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At a City Council meeting Tuesday, June 4, council members voted unanimously to explore additional site locations after residents near Riverhills Park voiced concerns about the bat tower being built in the area.

The council directed city staff to take the next few weeks to work with Tim Lancaster, president of the Temple Terrace Preservation Society, and the group’s members to explore other sites. It also encouraged residents to suggest locations they think would work.

Council members planned to discuss the city’s findings at their July 16 meeting.

The Preservation Society has been working toward building the tower in Temple Terrace for the last decade. The city’s original bat tower was built in 1924 along the banks of the Hillsborough River behind what is now 933 Riverhills Drive. Arsonists burned it down in 1979.

“While we value the city as a partner in this project, we feel that what we have been asked to do by the city and council thus far has been excessive for any city civic group,” Rimbey wrote in the Thursday email. “As you know Tim Lancaster has been fielding the majority of this work. In addition, the latest City Council directive is also open ended and has inadvertently committed the Preservation Society to even more volunteer research and effort (and this regards exploring potential sites that we have already explored!). Sadly, most of this effort has occurred after the April 2nd City Council Meeting where the Temple Terrace Preservation Society was officially approved to place the tower at Riverhills Park!”

During the Tuesday meeting, Rimbey stressed that Hillsborough County Commissioners and the county’s Tourist Development Council awarded funding totaling $22,500 through the Preservation Challenge Grant program to the Preservation Society for the project at Riverhills Park.

He said Thursday in an email to Temple Terrace Patch that the grant would only be affected if another suitable site within city limits can’t be found. The Preservation Society has two other sites in mind, which are both city-owned and located on the Hillsborough River away from homes. It plans to work with the city to examine these potential sites.

“If these locations do not work we will consider terminating the project,” Rimbey wrote in the email to the city.

See also:

• City to Explore Additional Bat Tower Locations
• Bat Tower Still Being Discussed
• Bat Tower Talk Dominates Neighborhood Meeting
• City Answers Important Bat Tower Questions
• Temple Terrace Bat Tower: What People Are Saying
• Bat Tower to Rise in Riverhills Park
• Home Across From Riverhills Park is Most Expensive for Sale in Temple Terrace