LARGO, Fla. — Despite rising cost for building supplies and shipping issues, Largo teens will still get their own section at the city’s Central Park.
“it’s something that’s a big priority for us,” Mayor Woody Brown said.
Talks for a teen section started last year, after parents complained about teens causing trouble at the playground. There were talks of banning teens from the playground. A lot of people didn’t like that idea, so city came up with the idea of designating a section just for teens. That’s when Tracey Schofield, the executive director of the Police and Kids Foundation stepped up.
“Being a police officer for 29 years that one didn’t sit well with me,” he said.
Schofield’s foundation donated $50,000 to the city. Then, like everything else right now, the price for the project went up. The Police and Kids Foundation’s donation also went up, and they gave the city a check for $67,000 for the whole project.
“We wouldn’t have been able to act so quickly with out them,” Brown said. “Thank them. They’re doing a lot cool things. i’ve looked into them and some of their other projects.”
One of their other projects includes helping Girls Inc. of Pinellas get a new roof. The foundation donated $37,000 for the roof.
“The dollars to replace the roof were critical,” Darla Otey said.
She’s the executive director of Girls Inc. She said they used to have to put buckets on the front desk , and cover the computer, chairs with plastic because of the leaking from the roof.
“Everyday during rainy season,” she said. “We could have really had a downpour on this side of the facility, which is our main area where the girls come in everyday. Thankfully That’s no longer a problem.”
The Police and Kids Foundation formed back in 2011. Most of their work is done in the Bay area, but they do look for people to help across the state. They purchased bike for a police department in the Jacksonville area a few months ago.
“We watch the news, read the paper,” Schofield said. “We are always looking for that next person that we can help.”
