Fed Up With Lealman is right.
The most pressing problem here is elderly and child poverty, and the rates for those are despicable.
The main issue for a home owner is the lack of law enforcement, and this is an issue that literally goes back decades.
My friend, aged 78, a lifelong Pinellas resident; tells me that as a boy going camping, parents warned their children to stay out of the Lealman area.
An employee of the County Clerks Office recently told me that individuals actually come to Lealman to commit crimes because it is known as a place with slow response times and uncommitted police.
When decent people move here they are threatened and intimidated by thugs until they retreat. When law enforcement is called, officers do little or nothing.
I once complained to the Sheriffs Office about a lack of law enforcement and was asked why I moved to Lealman.
This community was sold to me as "the new city of Lealman" and there is actually a good deal of investment happening in the community, including infrastructural and recreational improvements; but without law enforcement, this investment is wasted.
Joes Creek Park, for example, is a facility that any community could be proud of; now a target of criminals and vandals. Our family stopped using this facility after two summers because we could not go there and feel safe.
It is my honest opinion that without adequate law enforcement, no amount of investment can make this a family friendly community.
