Update: St. Pete Chamber, Mayor Foster: Cancel 'Lens' Contract

Update, 3:30 p.m.: During a brief press conference prior to Thursday's council meeting, Mayor Bill Foster said he supports the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce's proposal to stop the "Lens" before the Aug. 27 primary. 

Foster said he would ask council Thursday night before it votes on pier ballot language to kill the contract with Michael Maltzan so the city can unite toward the process of selecting a new pier. 

The "Lens was "the most divisive issue since the building of Tropicana Field," Foster said. "(And) people still have a bad taste in their mouths from that. "Start the process over."   

Foster said the pier selection process should start from the previous recommendations of the pier visioning task force.

"Start from the pier vision tasks force's recommendations to devise something that meets the budget and meets the timeline," Foster said Thursday. "Having no pier is not an option."

Support for the "Lens" pier never took off and recent polls showed around two-thirds of the public was against the design. 

The chamber and Wow Our Waterfront St. Pete represented the two biggest advocates for the "Lens", which is the pier design selected to replace the now closed pier. 

Today's letter from the chamber asked the city to kill the contract. WoWStPete's website was down today and its Facebook page has been deleted. 

Earlier: The St. Petersburg Chamber has been a supporter of the "Lens" pier design since the design's selection to replace the inverted pyramid more than a year ago. 

But now, that support is fading. 

In a June 19 letter to Mayor Bill Foster and city council, chamber chair David Punzak said the city should not wait until the Aug. 27 primary vote on the "Lens" but cancel the contract with Michael Maltzan Architecture Immediately.

"We have honored the process that selected the current design and we have urged you at every meeting to stay in budget and keep moving to maintain the timeline," Punzak wrote. "Additionally, it's our belief that the St. Petersburg Pier has been and always should be a symbol of our city's aspiration as well as a reflection of our heritage and values

" ... Today, however, was find a city divided and a future uncertain," he added. 

The chamber said the city should begin the process to select a new pier quickly and keep the "Lens" pier as an option going forward because of how much has already been invested into that design.

In short, the chamber is asking the city to:

1. Cancel the "Lens" contract before the Aug. 27 vote. 
2. Start a new pier selection process immediately 
3. Allow the "Lens" to be a finalist in the new pier competition 
4. Allow the public to vote on the future pier design finalists. 

"We believe this proposal allows for a shared victory for all. It's been said by many that this city 'can do better' ... this proposal accepts that challenge, " Punzak wrote. "It does so in an expedited manner, which should be important to everyone."