St. Pete Chamber Reverses Position, Will Support 'Lens' ... Again

A day after lobbying city council to cancel the city's contract with Michael Maltzan Architecture to build the "Lens" immediately, the St. Petersburg Chamber has changed its position. 

Chamber chair David Punzak sent a letter to council Thursday asking the city to cancel the contract to help unite the city. 

"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 in his letter to council. "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. 

However, late Thursday night, following a failed motion by council member Charlie Gerdes to accept the Chamber's proposal, city council voted unanimously to approve the "Lens" ballot language for the August vote. 

Friday chamber president/CEO Chris Steinocher sent a letter to Chamber members expressing the business association's intentions to support the "Lens" design now that it is guaranteed to be on the ballot.  

Steinocher's email: 

As I'm sure you've already heard or read, last night city council moved forward on the referendum for an "all or nothing” vote on the Lens.
While our recommendation was considered, it was very evident from the discussion that the "nothing” movement is no longer just about building a pier. It's about how we move forward as a community.
I do believe our message resonated with a wide range of our members – we received a tremendous amount of positive feedback - in favor of moving forward with choices, moving forward with building a pier…all tempered with a tremendous concern for the future direction our entire city.
It's clear our members demand good economic development that continues to honor the renaissance of our community. Voting for nothing is not a good economic development strategy. 
We will be working with our leadership team, our Pier Task Force members and chair Ed Montanari, and many others to identify our next steps on best practices in ensuring our members and our community understands the impact of their vote.
I ask for your input, ideas and to get involved.