State of The City Address By Mayor & Commissioners Friday, May 1 • 5 PM • City Hall

Inaugural Beach Ball Concert - Horan Park 6 PM • The Sound Wave Band

STATE OF THE CITY

OF ST. PETE BEACH

As of APRIL 1, 2015

Dear St. Pete Beach Residents:

Upon assuming the duties of Mayor of St Pete Beach

a year ago, I promised transparency in our City

Government to earn the trust and confidence of residents.

In keeping with that promise, the City Commission

and I will deliver a State of the City Address in City Hall

on Friday, May 1, 2015 at 5 PM. The inaugural Beach Ball

Concert will follow at Horan Park at 6 PM. We invite you

to celebrate our City’s achievements of the past year

and to explore the vision for our City’s future.

The City Commission is accountable to keep you, the

residents of this community, informed with accurate and

reliable information as we represent your interests and

serve as stewards of the taxes you pay to keep our city

vibrant. Though our city has challenges, you can rest

assured that you elected a capable set of commissioners

to overcome the challenges and keep us focused on

our vision.

Health, safety, and welfare for our residents,

businesses and visitors are the foremost priorities for the

City Commission. With a “back to the basics” philosophy

towards municipal responsibility, the City Commission

strives to make wise decisions about budget and policy.

Mayor Maria Lowe

City of St. Pete Beach

www.StPeteBeach.Org

Beach Goes Pops

April 10-11, 2015

HEALTH

The City of St Pete Beach has an antiquated

wastewater management system that

required a complete overhaul. We are well

on our way to revamping the system but

there is more to be done. The replacements,

updates and repairs for our sewer system

are the greatest costs our city will bear in

coming years. The goal is to implement

an enduring solution funded with a well

studied financial package of bonds,

loans, and ongoing revenue from

utility fees that our City can

easily maintain in coming years.

The Pumps:

Our waste water system, commonly

referred to as the sewer system, is

comprised of 14 lift stations and 3 pump

stations, which transfer waste water from

the island through a subaqueous (underwa-

ter) pipe that connects through Treasure

Island to be treated at a St. Petersburg

treatment plant. Because we experienced

a series of system failures, the Florida

Department of Environmental Protection

and the City of St Pete Beach entered into a

Consent Order in which the city committed

to a full restoration of our sewer system.

Multiple lift stations have been completely

updated with new pumps and cisterns

to protect the emergency valves from

corrosion. The Master Pump Station

at Boca Ciega is fully operational

and Pump Station 2 at 55th Ave is

within a few months of completion.

Pump Station 3 at Lazarillo Park was

shifted forward on the schedule of repairs

to update the pumps, force main, and

electronics at that station as well.

We understand the problems and

we are fixing them!

The Pipes:

The lift and pumps stations use a

combination of gravity and pressure

to move waste water through the pipes.

However, the pipes themselves are in a

state of disrepair. We committed $750,000

for a complete Inflow and Infiltration (I&I)

Study to help inform our priorities.

Included is a cleaning of the pipes, video

recording their integrity from the inside, and

identifying the areas of disrepair so that

we may then create a remediation and

maintenance plan. Again, we know

the problem and we’re taking the

right steps to correct the issues.

Egan Park:

The City of St Pete Beach has an obligation

not only to the health of its people but to

the health of its waterways. A tremendous

step towards protecting our waterways is

the implementation of the rain garden

at Egan Park. Construction will start

late spring to bring to fruition an

environmentally sound solution to clay

and storm water runoff from the baseball

field and the roadways. Concurrently, the

City is reviewing options for the boat ramps

in that park to ensure safety for all.

WELFARE

The top three worst roads in the city are

1) Pass A Grille Way

2) Blind Pass (South of Corey Ave), and

3) Boca Ciega Drive.

The City Commission is not just talking

about the problems. We’re correcting them.

We’re committed to improve the infrastruc-

ture, road surface and pedestrian systems

on our two worst roads by investing in

quality roadways for you to enjoy

whether you are driving, biking

or walking. Action, not words!

Pass-A-Grille Way:

Pass-A-Grille Way is scheduled for

construction to begin in late June.

The construction will be open trench

construction, one lane at a time, to allow

continued flow of traffic, as the City

replaces the sewer lines, water lines,

reclaimed water lines, gas lines, conduit

for fiber optic cables, and underground

electric lines.

Blind Pass:

The primary focus of Blind Pass construc-

tion is to establish a storm water system to

help prevent flooding of our City streets.

A series of baffle boxes will be installed

at the intersection of Blind Pass and 73rd

Ave to prevent debris from flowing into

our waterways. A large capacity pipe will

help direct water off of our city streets.

While creating the storm water system

underneath the streets, great effort and funds

were dedicated by the City Commission

Photos top to bottom: Reclaimed water since 1992; old pipes; New cistern; Coral Reef Resort torn down for futurenew development; A room at Hotel Zamora - newest hotel built in 30 years; and La Casa Del Pane’s new home.

to beautify the street surface by under

grounding utilities, creating a green space

buffer, and installing a new sidewalk system

for pedestrians. Not only will this create a

safer environment for residents walking and

biking, but it will also conform to the stated

objectives of our comprehensive plan.

SAFETY

Fire:

Improvements to our Fire Department to

ensure rapid response for the Emergency

Management System (EMS) calls and to

further professionalize the

department, include the

creation of three District Chief

positions (which are provingto be an incredible asset to the training, credentializationand professionalism of ourfirefighters), and 3 additional

firefighter positions (1 pershift) at the Pass-A-Grille station to main-

tain response capability during construction.

Trash:

St Pete Beach strives to keep our beaches

pristine. However, we have guests that

are not always as conscientious. Over the

summer, we experienced droves of visitors

and their propensity for consumption

as evidenced by their trash. The City

committed funds to increase the number

of trash cans available on the beach and

the frequency at which those trash cans

are emptied. While we have drastically

improved our services, the numbers of

visitors continues to increase. City Staff

is monitoring trash accumulation to be

proactive as we enter the summer holiday

season. Help us by encouraging visitors

to practice personal responsibility for

properly discarding their debris!!

Beaches:

Amidst beach frivolity, our Sheriff

enforces good order and discipline.

The City Commission recognizes that our

beach ordinances can be improved to make

the Sheriff’s job easier so we have taken

proactive steps to enhancing our policies.

Last summer, the Commission took the first

step toward understanding the dilemma

of public/private ownership of our beaches

by completing a beach survey that identified

the mean high water mark, which is often

the deeded property line for private proper-

ties. Second, the Commission approved

funds for the University of Florida to

complete a comparative analysis of how

other beach communities in our state

write ordinances to protect the beaches and

provide for public safety while respecting

private property rights. The process has

been time consuming, but our priority is

to ensure that the beach ordinance is

legal and effective once implemented.

FUTURE OF THE CITY

Comprehensive Plan:

The future of our City is bright. In fact,

it’s blazing bright!! For the first time in

over a decade, our City has an effective

Comprehensive Plan! Our entire City can

be proud of the many participants who have,

over the course of the last decade, worked

diligently to ensure that our primary strate-

gic document takes into account the needs

of the residents and businesses alike.

The City Commission had the pleasure of

approving the settlement with the litigants

who partnered with us, but the greatest gift

to our City was the harmony and accord that

the document represents as past feuds were

set to the side to allow our City to advance!

We can now invite new development and

redevelopment!! With the Comprehensive

Plan in place, the City is prepared to request

that Pinellas County Commission fund our

long planned Community Redevelopment

District. We look forward to the County

Commission supporting our City’s desire to

remove the blighted areas of our downtown

district so that our City can flourish!

Library:

During the budget process last summer,

the City Commission committed to explore

the possibility of modernizing our library

to fully serve the vast, growing needs of

our community. In conjunction with the

City’s Small Area Study for the downtown

district, a study was completed to determine

the feasibility of relocating the library to

the City Hall building. The library in this

location would contribute to pedestrian

accessibility, and would establish the library

as a cornerstone for the East/West, sunrise

to sunset, concept for Corey Avenue.

The study proved positive for a vastly

Mayor Lowe runs with city firemen in the St Pete Beach Classic Race, January 2015; Youth Council; Verducci ItalianMarket readies to open; Heaven on Earth for Veterans; Surfing for Autism; and the new Shells Restaurant.

improved library in the current City Hall.

At the same time, it was anticipated that

City Hall could move to the old Police

Station Building in order to create a

“One Stop Shop” for municipal services.

With the Recreation Department and Public

Services Department already collocated,

City Hall could serve as a welcoming

beacon as commuters crossed into the

City from Corey Causeway. However,

the structural report for the old police

department concluded that the most

economical solution was demolition.

Now, the decision must be made to build a

new library on that site or a new City Hall.

What do you think? Let us know your

thoughts as we continue to explore

best uses for our municipal properties.

Leadership:

You have elected a competent commission

upon whom you can rely to write policy

and set budget priorities to continuously

distinguish our city as the best beach in the

world! Your City staff partners with the City

Commission to implement goals and objec-

tives. New faces with fresh perspectives and

optimistic attitudes now welcome you to our

city departments. City Manager Wayne

Saunders brings a game-changing depth

and breadth of leadership experience to

city administration. City Attorney AndrewDickman sets the tone for reasonable and

fair-minded legal approaches. JenniferBryla now leads the Community Develop-

ment Department; her immediate focus will

be the newly effective Comprehensive Plan.

New to the desk but not new to the City is

Colette Graston who earned the promotion

to Human Resources Director. The Fire

Department welcomed District Chiefs Kilpatrick, Nifong and Gorham.

Our City Government is only as good

as the employees who serve us each day.

We are grateful for their diligent service.

VISION

As your Mayor, I am dedicated to

St Pete Beach being a healthy and safe

environment for its residents while being

the quintessential destination for the guests

we host. The City Commission seeks to

develop quality policy and be fiscally

responsible with budget allocation. Still,

we can’t be good representatives without

your input and support. Please join us at the

State of the City address on May 1st to learn

more about what our future holds!!

“Sunset Fest”

West Corey Avenue

April 18th

Sunset Park, 2 hours. prior

to Sunset

Photos from top L: The Merry Pier’s new look; new beach access signs; Corey Avenue’s Sunday Market; Pool activities at the Aquatic Center; (center) aeriel of SPB Community Center complex; (R) Sunset Bell at Sunset Park