TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Problem Addressed

ADVERTISEMENT

By LAURA KINSLER, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 10, 2007

NEW TAMPA - More than 1,350 apartment and condominium residents have had their addresses changed this year by the Hillsborough County 911 Administration.

Casey Ebsary and his neighbors don't want their names added to the growing list. Ebsary lives in North Oaks Condominiums. His address is 14550 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., and he'd like to keep it.

North Oaks is one of four complexes in the county in the process of being 'readdressed.' George King, manager of the 911 Administration Ordinance Compliance Unit, said the changes are necessary because first responders were having difficulty finding individual units in the complex, which had no interior streets. Each building and unit was numbered.

'At first, I started thinking it would be a pain to change our checks,' Ebsary said. 'Then I realized that we would have to change all our signage. They should have notified all the owners.' To add insult to injury, the 911 Administration wanted to name Ebsary's street Nuzzlewood Court. It changed the prospective name to Angle Oak Court after residents complained. 'We've had these addresses for 20 years. The pizza guy can find us. The UPS guy can find us,' Ebsary said. 'If 911 can't find us, that's the story.'

King said the department planned to notify residents this month. Although some residents have enlisted the help of county commissioners, King said the decision would be made by the 911 Administration.

'We're not picking on North Oaks,' he said. 'We're simply bringing them up to standard. We've already completed address changes at six other complexes in the county.'
Gwyne Ellis, president of the North Oaks condo board, said she received a letter from the 911 Administration in late April about the pending changes. She assumed all of the residents had received the same letter.

Over the years, the board has numbered all of the buildings and posted a map of the complex at the entrance.

'Personally, I would rather keep my address,' she said. 'Everybody else seems to be able to find us.'

King said residents shouldn't compare emergency personnel with deliverymen. 'If you're having a heart attack, do you want the first responder to have to stop and look at a map to find your building?' he asked. 'In an emergency, every second counts.'

Reporter Laura Kinsler can be reached at (813) 865-4844 or lkinsler@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT