Hillsborough kills federal funding for Wimauma’s Enterprising Latinas
Nine months ago, Hillsborough County touted a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark completing the first phase of renovations to the Wimauma Opportunity Center run by the non-profit Enterprising Latinas.
The event drew county and local officials to celebrate the expansion, financed in part with a $386,000 federal grant administered by the county. The renovations to the former restaurant building on State Road 674 included a new roof and air conditioning. It also added modular buildings for counseling, training and offices for the agency that works to increase economic prosperity for women in the largely rural and low-income area.
Snipping the ribbon on the second phase of the Wimauma Opportunity Center’s expansion apparently won’t be happening anytime soon.
On Wednesday, a deadlocked Hillsborough County Commission killed funding to pave the parking lot; connect a water line for restrooms in the modular buildings; add a new sign and construct a pavilion for outdoor cultural activities and community gatherings.
Three recently elected Republican commissioners, Donna Cameron Cepeda, Joshua Wostal and Michael Owen, voted to reject the grant agreement between the county and Enterprising Latinas. They also voted against tabling the measure until next month so the non-profit’s leaders could be on-hand to answer questions.
The 3-3 party-line votes meant both motions died. The debate came near the conclusion of the commission’s meeting Wednesday afternoon after chairperson Ken Hagan had left the dais.
Cameron Cepeda pulled the grant agreement from the commission’s consent agenda — a list of dozens of usually non-controversial items approved in a single vote. She called the $931,388 price “exorbitant” and said the money could be better used on public safety construction projects such as new fire stations.
The money, from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant program, must be spent on projects benefiting low- and moderate-income areas. A previous commission approved the Enterprising Latina proposal in 2022 when it authorized the county’s entire list of projects to be financed by the federal program in 2023.
Liz Gutierrez, CEO and founder of Enterprising Latinas, said she was disappointed by the commission’s action. She called a paved parking lot and running water to restrooms “basic stuff” and said the project would now be shelved.
“It’s very disenchanting when you have folks that have authority, that have the vote, that have the power, but don’t do their homework, don’t seem to understand. It hurts us all,” she said.
Wostal and Owen suggested other projects could be reviewed by commissioners as well.
Gutierrez agreed. In an interview with the Tampa Bay Times, she said the county should pull the funding for all the federal community development block grant projects it administers if the commission is going to use its own criteria on proposals already blessed by the staff and a previous commission.
“Something is very wrong when the only Latino organization is denied. What does that say?”
