TEMPLE TERRACE —The city’s holiday spirit became a flashpoint at the Dec. 16 City Council meeting, where frustrated residents, echoing online complaints, wondered where all the Christmas decorations were.
The result was a 3-2 vote directing city staff to develop a plan for better holiday decorations next year.
For weeks, some residents have complained online about sparse holiday decorations around the city, primarily down the busy 56th Street corridor. That frustration spilled over into the meeting, where Lucas Hutchins — known locally for organizing Temple Terrace’s largest holiday display at his River Run neighborhood — told council members a few times that the city looks “depressing” during the season.
“I’m doing all the work in my subdivision,” he said, even referring to himself as the city’s “crazy Christmas guy” because of his over-the-top devotion to the season. “There’s like no decorations. The city looks depressing. We’re supposed to do stuff as a small town, and that’s not here anymore.”
He pointed to Plant City and Lakeland as examples of cities doing it better.
Other residents agree.
Ken Tozier suggested erecting a Christmas tree on a vacant downtown property before the holiday. Tara McDaniel, who recalled the days when the city was filled with decorations around Christmastime, said she had recently attended New Port Richey’s well-attended parade and lamented that Temple Terrace didn’t have the same vibe.
“What happened to that?” she asked.
McDaniel offered to help the city return to those days and suggested that if the city had a committee for such things, she would be willing to join it.
“We have a lot of great things here, and a lot of great things coming in,” she said. “But our city is just not what it used to be, and it doesn’t need to be that way. Utilize your people.”
Council members acknowledged the criticism but pushed back against the idea that the city ignored the season entirely.
City Manager Carlos Baia, who joined Temple Terrace five years ago, said the decorations have remained consistent during his tenure, and may have increased slightly this year.
Council member Gil Schisler pointed to the city’s Winter Wonderland event, which he described as “massive” and which included a golf cart parade, tree lighting, fireworks and an appearance by Santa Claus.
“It’s not like we ignored Christmas,” he said.
Years ago, the city did set up elaborate displays in front of its recreation centers and city hall, and decorated street poles until TECO required their removal.
Budget constraints, storage issues and declining participation from local businesses led to many of those displays being retired.
And while the city is having fingers pointed at it, the lack of Christmas decorations can be observed everywhere — at nearly every business and plaza up and down 56th Street, at the golf club and Florida College and down neighborhood streets.
The Wall Street Journal published a story recently about the lack of available decorations, and there are plenty of online posts about the scarcity, higher prices and rising costs of decorations all over the country.
Still, Mayor Andy Ross agreed the city could improve and promised it would do better. He said city staff would investigate whether old decorations still exist and remain usable, with discussions continuing at spring goal-setting meetings.
“There’s a general consensus that we could do better,” Ross said. “I think we’ve all heard from the public, and I don’t think we’re arguing with the criticism. I think the criticism that we’ve gotten from the public is generally fair criticism.”