Latest news with #St.PetersburgCityCouncil
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Yahoo
St. Petersburg explores program to make downtown cleaner, safer
The St. Petersburg City Council discussed ways to make downtown cleaner and safer Thursday after residents, business owners and employees pleaded last week for help following the fatal stabbing by a restaurant owner of a man who police said attacked him. City and downtown officials pitched a program to clean sidewalks and remove graffiti, pay safety ambassadors to collaborate with local police and build relationships with people living on the street to better connect them with mental health and housing resources. 'I know there's a speculation that somehow this is an anti-homeless initiative, but it absolutely is not,' said Jason Mathis, CEO of the St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership, a private nonprofit company that supports urban redevelopment projects. 'Your housing status doesn't make it that you want a less clean or more clean downtown.' The so-called Clean & Safe Program is not intended to discourage homeless people from being downtown, but instead help them find resources and housing options, Mathis said. Mathis proposed a pilot project focused on high traffic areas such as downtown, Beach Drive, Central Avenue and Williams Park. It would include creating a commercial improvement district, in which businesses would pay a franchise fee to the city that would be passed along to a nonprofit to run the program. Mathis said the downtown partnership would not compete for the job. If businesses aren't on board with how to pay for the effort, Mathis said the program could also be funded through parking revenue, private donations or using Community Redevelopment Area funds if the county agrees. City Administrator Rob Gerdes said parking meters could be expanded to the Edge District. Multiple residents, business owners and employees described problems with cleanliness and safety in the downtown area at last week's council meeting. Some residents said they were harassed or threatened while working or walking around downtown. 'We see it everyday — individuals living on the streets or in temporary hotel housing exhibiting behaviors that represent deep, unmet needs," Karen Carmichael, the Downtown Neighborhood Association's president, said at the June 5 meeting. 'This is no longer a housing issue, it's a public safety issue.' The address of the man who was stabbed and killed last month is listed as a room in the Williams Park Hotel on First Avenue North, according to a police report from a separate incident on the same day. In March, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law a ban on homeless people sleeping in public spaces. This includes park benches, sidewalks and streets. The law also lets business owners and residents sue counties or municipalities for failing to comply. Residents at the June 5 meeting expressed concern with the city's enforcement the new law, as well as concerns with the city's compliance. Residents also circulated a petition, now with more than 400 signatures, in support of the Clean & Safe proposal. Other residents at Thursday's general City Council meeting at 1 p.m. expressed concerns that the Clean & Safe program would exclude or criminalize people who are homeless from the St. Petersburg community. At a Thursday morning committee meeting, council member Brandi Gabbard said the proposed program should primarily focus on connecting homeless populations with available resources. 'The cry for us to do more is really to help individuals who need help and cannot get those services,' Gabbard said. 'If we're not actually helping individuals and creating this in a way that it has [an] outspread to the entire city and a benefit, then I don't even want to continue this conversion.' Council members also discussed how the program would work with the existing CALL program, where social workers respond to mental health crises or homelessness complaints. The St. Petersburg Police Department also has a unit to assist the homeless in its patrol response division. Council member Richie Floyd said there's still 'a lot to shore up' with the Clean & Safe proposal. 'So many times I see what the issue with homeless people and transient populations are is that they just get shuffled around the city,' he said. 'We can't make this an effort to do that regardless of who's in charge of the outreach and we have to think at a higher level.' The council agreed Thursday to hold another meeting to further discuss the topic.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘Bulldozing and erasing history': More unmarked graves detected at Tropicana Field
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — The uncertainty of Tropicana Field's future is now paired with new developments from the past. Some may not know unmarked burial sites have been discovered under the parking lot over recent years. WATCH: More than a dozen bystanders stop man trying to drive off with children, mother However, new findings are at the forefront of the conversation. The embattled Tropicana Field and its unknown fate in the future is at the forefront of conversation once again. Over the years, radar searches detected unmarked burial sites beneath the parking lot; however, new developments are coming to the surface. 'We know that the city has done further testing,' St. Petersburg Councilman Corey Givens Jr. said. 'We know that there have been some results that have proven that there are at least ten more bodies that have been identified underneath that parking lot at Tropicana Field.' Corey Givens Jr. is shedding light on challenging history under the lot and the survey discoveries of the last five years. 'For me this is personal,' Givens Jr. said. 'I have a great-great-grandfather who may or may not be buried underneath that parking lot. My grandmother passed away not knowing whether her grandfather had been reinterred at Lincoln Cemetery or if his body was buried underneath that parking lot.' Givens Jr. said there were once three cemeteries that existed under the lots. He believed more needs to be done to preserve history. 'Sometimes I wonder if the plans went under because we discovered there were bodies that existed underneath that parking lot,' Givens Jr. said. 'It's just like Indian burial grounds. It's sacred space. You don't want to disturb those bodies.' The St. Petersburg City Council is expected to discuss the recent developments in an upcoming meeting on May 1. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Pinellas to withdraw from Duke clean energy program
As Duke Energy continues to face pushback from local leaders and residents about rising utility costs, Pinellas County made a move this week that would loosen its ties to the energy company. Pinellas County commissioners passed a resolution Tuesday that will end the county's participation in Duke's Clean Energy Connection program, through which subscribers help pay for solar power plants across the state in return for future savings on monthly bills. Commissioner Vince Nowicki added the resolution to the county's agenda and noted during the meeting that Duke's electricity rates continue to climb, but the percent returned for monthly credits doesn't. 'This isn't about putting clean energy to bed,' he said Tuesday. 'This is about removing from a program, looking at other options.' Duke representatives were at the commission meeting and answered a slew of questions from board members regarding the cost of staying in this program. The utility's representatives maintained that the long-term benefits are worthwhile. Starting no later than Oct. 1, Pinellas County will end its participation in the program. The county is spending millions of dollars a year on the program, which requires a monthly fee of $8.35 per kilowatt of energy used. When the county initially voted to participate in the program, Duke Energy estimated the county would save $15.18 million over 33 years and break even on its payments within five to seven years. Now, estimates show it wouldn't break even until its 12th year and wouldn't start seeing a return until the 20th year. Subscribers receive a credit to their bill based on how much energy they generate multiplied by a set rate, which increases annually after the first three years. The county joined the program in 2022. In its second year in the program, it spent $1.3 million in subscription fees and generated $1.0 million in credits. This past year, it paid $3.7 million and generated $3.2 million in credits. Commissioners said the amount of money the county is paying is too high for such little return. 'I just see a cash flow that's going out,' Commissioner Chris Scherer said, citing how much money the county would be paying over the next several years. 'We might want to call it quits, and this is a great opportunity to do so.' Pinellas isn't the first local government to express concern with this program. Last year, St. Petersburg City Council member Richie Floyd said 'it sounded like a corporate black box that we don't really have any control over,' and it has faced legal challenges at the state level. Nowicki's resolution also placed a restriction on the purchase of electric vehicles for the county's fleet unless a financial analysis is presented to the board that demonstrates the purchase's fiscal benefits. Also under the resolution, commissioners will work to realign the county's clean energy goals and redirect funding that previously went toward the program. Although Nowicki said the resolution has been on the county's agenda for two weeks and was discussed in a previous workshop, commissioners said they wanted a more in-depth discussion about clean energy goals and where to redirect the money that was to go toward the Duke program. René Flowers was the sole 'no' vote Tuesday. She shared concerns about changing direction at the federal level on clean and solar energy and said she isn't sure 'that this will stop here.' 'Before I could support anything that would take a step back, I would like for us to have, not just a soft conversation, but a true conversation, about the directions that we're going,' she said. Commissioner Dave Eggers voted to approve the resolution, but said he was also concerned about following the 'pendulum swings' happening at the federal and state levels. He said he did not want to signal that the county is closed off to clean energy or to having conversations about it. Commissioners are planning to meet again in the coming months to continue the discussion about alternative energy sources.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
St. Pete approves Trop repair plan
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — The St. Petersburg City Council voted Thursday to approve a plan to repair the roof of Tropicana Field. The roof was ripped off of the building during Hurricane Milton. Repairs to the roof will cost more than $22 million. Florida charter captain seen arguing with boater in viral video; police investigating Thursday morning, council members were briefed about the repairs before their vote. 'The main issues that we were working through over the last couple of months, really has been an intense collaborative effort with the Tampa Bay Rays and Major League Baseball, to make sure putting back this material was going to be acceptable to the team,' said Raul Quintana, who is the architect for the city of St. Petersburg. Members of the public blasted council members for even considering making repairs to the stadium. 'It's a shameful embarrassment that the mayor and this council have wasted untold amounts of time, money, and attention groveling to a Wall Street billionaire who has never shown anything but contempt for this area,' Jeremy Tolberg said. However, council members said they are bound by the contract with the team to make the repairs. 'This is our contractual obligation that frankly we all inherited,' Council member Brandi Gabbard said. The contract with the team requires the city to maintain the stadium to major league the roof was damaged by Hurricane Milton, many other parts of the facility were also damaged. The executive offices of the team were damaged too. Gabbard said while the contract requires the city to make repairs to the stadium, it does not require the city to make repairs to team offices. 'I want to be very clear on that, I want to see no package come before us that has a complete remodel of those offices,' Gabbard said. Council members approved the plan to rebuild the roof. Preparation for that work is expected to begin in June. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Despite backlash, Florida county term limit bill advances in the House
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WFLA) — Florida voters may have the chance to set term limits, not just for state lawmakers, but also for county commissioners and school board members. The proposed maximum? Eight years in office. But the effort to put this issue on the 2026 ballot comes with a fiery debate. St. Petersburg City Council votes to replace Tropicana Field's roof 'We know that Americans want term limits at all levels of government. We know Floridians want term limits at all levels of government,' said State Representative Michelle Salzman (R-Escambia County). Term limits are a topic wildly debated on the national, state, and even local levels. The debate back and forth on the issue continues at the state capitol this year with updated legislation now moving through both chambers. State Senator Blaise Ingoglia (R-Spring Hill) and Representative Salzman teamed up on term limits. Joint Resolution 679 and its Senate companion seek to set an eight-year term limit for all county commissioners and school board members. Voters would get to decide on the 2026 ballot whether or not they want them. Representative Salzman shared with 8 On Your Side that this is her second attempt at getting the bill across the finish line. 'Last year, the bill was just putting it in statute, saying it's eight-year term limits. But the biggest argument we received, even from the members was, 'Can you just put this on the ballot? Can you make this a constitutional amendment so we can vote on it as Floridians?'' Salzman said. This time around, folks against the move argue that this should be decided on the county level, not in a statewide vote. 'About 80% of the voters want term limits, and they want it set at eight years, and all we're asking is to put it on the ballot, let them answer the question,' said Sen. Ingoglia. However, critics of the move argue that they want the decision to be made county-by-county.'Where do we campaign in our district? Who makes the decision to put us here? The people in our district, not the entire state. The entire state did not vote for me to sit here because they don't know me from an Adam,' said State Rep. Jose Alvarez (D-Kissimmee). But even with those arguments, the bill sponsor says no matter how you dice up the votes, local communities will still get their say on the issue.'The same people that vote for the governor will be voting for this. Are we going to now say that the governor doesn't really represent the rural communities because a majority of the voters came from Miami,' said Rep. Salzman. Salzman added that she is going to make some adjustments to the language, allowing folks to come back after they've taken a break. And says for commissioners who are currently seated, they will get to serve another eight years beyond implementation of the law if it makes it across the finish line and on the governor's desk. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
