Monday, May 20, 2013
There will be third and final budget summit at 6 p.m., June 12 at the Enoch Davis Center, 1111 18th Ave. S. in St. Petersburg.
Facing a $4.3 million budget shortfall for fiscal year 2014, the city of St. Petersburg asked attendees of the May 15 budget summit what they thought should be cut from the budget and what should be saved. “How can we spend the money that we have and spend it in a way that has the greatest impact?” asked City Council chair Karl Nurse. Residents said it was time to invest. Invest in universal curbside recycling. Invest urban agriculture. Invest in education. Invest in small businesses. And invest in youth employment programs. Olga Bof, with Keep St. Petersburg Local, said as the city talks about its priorities, sustainability and long-term investments, there is one thing that will help all areas of the city: Small businesses. “You have the …
Friday, May 17, 2013
St. Petersburg City Council Chair Karl Nurse announced Friday he is running for re-election of his District 6 seat.
St. Petersburg City Council Chair Karl Nurse announced Friday that he has filed for re-election for his District 6 seat. “I believe that St. Petersburg is in a moment of great opportunity," Nurse said in a statement Friday. "As the economy comes back, it is critical that we aggressively seek to bring more and better jobs to our community. "Many neighborhoods are a point where they can get much better or worse in the next four years," Nurse continued. "I will work every day to make them safer and to seek ways to speed the renewal of our housing stock so it meets the needs of 21st century families.” Nurse's opponent for the District 6 council seat is Sharon Russ. District 6 covers most of downtown St. Petersburg and the southeast portion …
Thursday, May 16, 2013
The $869K in approved funding, however, is only a partial approval of the $1.5 million the proposal was originally seeking.
The St. Petersburg City Council voted 5-3 Thursday to approve the next phase of funding for the "Lens" pier design for $869,000. That funding, however, was only a partial approval of an original funding request of $1.5 million for the proposal. The partial funding approved will cover things such as wind tunnel tests, caisson tests for the existing structure and costs related to permitting for demolition of the St. Petersburg Pier. Council members Steve Kornell, Leslie Curran, Jeff Danner, Bill Dudley and Jim Kennedy voted for the funding. "It's better for our community that we are supportive of the 'Lens', while also attempting to be fiscally responsible and spending the minimum amount of money to get the answers we need to educate our …
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
More than 20,000 petitions were turned into the city clerk's office Wednesday morning at City Hall.
With more than 20,000 petitions in hand, Concerned Citizens of St. Petersburg, also known as Stop the Lens, turned in the petitions to the city clerk's office Wednesday morning. 20,559 petitions to be exact. "The signers of those petitions are asking the city of St. Petersburg to cancel the contract for the design of the 'Lens' or give the citizens the right to vote. The city can do better," said Fred Whaley with Stop the Lens. A day before city council votes on the next phase of funding for the "Lens" pier project, Stop the Lens said the city should adopt its petition and refuse to approve any new funding for the "Lens" project. "The citizens want the city to pause the funding of the “Lens” and not waste their money," Whaley added. "…
City council has asked for few changes to the city's sidewalk cafe ordinance.
Careful not to disrupt a bustling downtown or hurt business owners, city council, sitting as the public services and infrastructure committee, asked city staff for only mild adjustments to sidewalk café regulations in St. Pete. Area of concern include outdoor amplified noise, height and size of out door cafes, number of signs, the use of public right-of-way and the sidewalks being overcrowded. “People figure out how to navigate things,” council member Steve Kornell said. “Friday night and Saturday, I mean we want people on the sidewalks. “I don’t know how a business owner would regulate that,” Kornell said of an overcrowded sidewalk. “They would yell and have to go out there and be nasty to the patrons. I don’t want to restrict success. I …
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
The group said Mayor Bill Foster has assured them the vote on the "Lens" pier design will happen on the Aug. 27 primary ballot.
Less than nine months into its campaign to collect 15,652 signatures needed to halt the construction process of the "Lens" pier design, Stop the Lens will be turning in its petitions Wednesday at St. Petersburg City Hall. The petition, which sought to create an ordinance to cancel the "Lens" contract with Michael Maltzan Architecture, was signed by more than 20,000 people, according to Stop the Lens. That's well more than the 15,625 required to force the city to choose one of options: adopt the petition as written and cancel the contract with Maltzan or hold a public referendum on the issue. The city has chosen the latter, which will take place on the Aug. 27 primary election. According to a report by the Tampa Bay Times, Mayor Bill …
Thursday, May 2, 2013
The St. Petersburg City Council is scheduled to vote on $1.5 million in funding for the next phase of the pier in two weeks.
A decision to approve $1.5 million in funding for the next phase of the "Lens" pier project has been deferred for two weeks after a 5-3 vote by the St. Petersburg City Council. Last Friday, April 26, a 400-plus page schematic report was released from city staff and the Michael Maltzan Architecture team. In it were updates and more specifics to the design not previously released. Council members Jim Kennedy, Bill Dudley, Karl Nurse, Charlie Gerdes and Steven Kornell voted to defer the time. Jeff Danner, Leslie Curran and Wengay Newton voted no. Kennedy, who made the motion to defer, said getting the report a week ago was not enough time to ask staff questions about the financial costs of regular maintenance for the new pier. He said the…
StPetePolls released the results of its latest poll late Wednesday night ahead of Thursday's city council vote on the next phase of funding for the "Lens".
Results from a new survey from StPetePolls show overwhelming opposition to the city moving forward with the "Lens" pier design and to closing the St. Petersburg Pier before a public vote. The release of the poll comes just hours before the St. Petersburg City Council votes on $1.54 million for funding the next phase of the "Lens" project Thursday morning. According to results released Wednesday at 11 p.m., 67.2 percent of respondents said they would vote 'yes' to terminate the "Lens" pier project contract if a public referendum were held today. Only 27.8 percent said they supported the "Lens", with 5 percent undecided. Around 68 percent of respondents said the city should keep the existing inverted pyramid open until a vote on the …
Opened in 1973, the St. Petersburg Pier will close May 31 and be demolished by the end of the year.
Walking up to the St. Petersburg Pier this week and you'll find men and women casting reels off the pier approach and the pelicans staked outside the Pier Bait House waiting for the next person to feed them. Outside of the pier, not much seems out of place ahead of the May 31 closure. Inside, however, signs of the pending closure are very real and are starting to sink for pier tenants. Multiple shops inside the pier now have "closing," "moving", or "going out of business sale," signs in the windows ... along with their Stop the Lens signs. For pier tenants, the end of the fight to save the pier is not a relief; just a sad ending to a process that they say failed them. "At this point, I think I just have to take a break because I’ve …
Monday, April 29, 2013
Last week, county commissioners said their hands were tied at stopping the pier demolition. Thursday, St. Pete City Council will vote on the next phase of funding for the "Lens" pier.
The Pinellas County Commission cannot stop the closure or the demolition of the St. Petersburg Pier, but it could have a say if the "Lens" pier design will be built. Whether or not the county has a say in the construction of the new pier is actually up to the city St. Petersburg. Should the "Lens" design require variances from what county specs allow, the commission would have a vote on the construction plan. County administrator Bob LaSala said the city did submit an initial permit application that would require variance approval from the county. However, he said the city would be submitting another proposal with updated figures that would fit county requirements. "What was brought to our attention last week was not consistent with …
Chuck Terzian
10:41 am on Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Thank you, good sir. more ›