It was chilly and windy on Saturday, but the state of the city is “strong and sunny.”
That was the assessment of Mayor Rick Kriseman, who said St. Petersburg is rebounding from longstanding problems in its police department and forthrightly facing issues in its most troubled neighborhoods.
In his annual “state of the city” address, the mayor recalled one of his first key moves – hiring Tony Holloway in June 2014 to lead a police department that was riven by internal problems and often criticized by residents.
“Our police department has come a long way in a short amount of time,” said Kriseman. “There’s no reason to mince words, the department I inherited was appalling.
“For too long, we were failing the men and women who work there, the people who protect us. We were also failing the public, and making the news for all the wrong reasons. Today, we have a professional, compassionate police department, led by a first-rate police chief and command staff.”
The gun violence that claimed seven young men in recent months must be addressed, Kriseman said.
“While the (new) pier and the baseball team are important, they don’t keep me up at night,” he said. “What means the most to me is people’s lives, the quality of life and their safety.
“We are addressing the risk factors that affect our children and young adults. We are determined to do what we can to end gun violence and, most importantly, the underlying choices that lead to violence.”
Kriseman said the approach is multifaceted, from City Hall to city streets.
In city government, he said, “we’ve put policies in place to create opportunity, such as implementing paid parental leave for moms and dads, and raised the minimum wage to $12.50, with a plan to reach $15.00 by 2020.”
In two high schools, Gibbs and Lakewood, he said, there are new programs to help students train to be firefighters and police officers.
In the five struggling elementary schools that the Tampa Bay Times has labeled “failure factories,” he said, the time “has come to stop the finger pointing. It’s time for action and solutions … Everyone, in every corner of this city, needs to be involved.”
In struggling neighborhoods like Midtown and Childs Park, the city’s emphasis on “job recruitment, entrepreneurship and business retention” is “stabilizing and growing our economy” and making the area safer, he said.
“The number of youths served by our community’s workforce readiness program jumped from 277 in 2014 to 478 in 2015 – a more than 70 percent increase,” Kriseman said. “Our monetary investment on youth employments for 2016 is $885,000, a nearly 200 percent increase from a decade ago, and more than double the investment I inherited.”
Although the city’s “urban affairs agenda is working … we must be patient,” he said. “We know that breaking the cycle of poverty” in troubled neighborhoods requires a long-term approach.
That approach must not be window dressing but one that “creates sustainable results,” Kriseman said.
“For too long, City Hall didn’t always do the right thing. Our leaders took shortcuts, they erected pretty street lights and built things without building up the people who live there.
“Important work was done, but it wasn’t enough – we have to do more. We don’t always have the answers – not to gun violence, not to poverty – but we will do everything in our power to find the answers and the resources to implement them.
“If it’s time, we’ll take it. If it’s partnerships, we’ll build them. If it’s money, we’ll invest it.”
At Kriseman’s urging, the St. Petersburg City Council has given the Tampa Bay Rays permission to look elsewhere in Pinellas and Hillsborough County for a site for a new stadium.
But the mayor said he hopes the team decides to stay in St. Petersburg in a new stadium that would be part of a redevelopment of the 85 acres around Tropicana Field.
In the years ahead, he said, “more and more people will be living within walking and biking distance of our team’s current location. In fact, 2,383 residential units are currently under construction or being planned for our downtown.
“The Interstate (275) will continue to offer an easy way, in and out, for fans traveling by car. Our bus system will be modernized and the potential for a high-speed ferry linking our waterfront to Tampa is a real possibility. Pinellas tourism dollars and site development proceeds could supplement the private financing needed to build a new stadium.”
If the team moves elsewhere, he said, the city would receive compensation of up to $24 million dollars, since the team’s contract doesn’t end until 2028, and the 85 acres would still be prime land for development opportunities.
“The bottom line is that this is a win-win, and I can assure you that St. Petersburg will come out on top,” said Kriseman. “That’s what we do.”
In 2015, the mayor said, the city began a curbside recycling program and demolished the old pier to make way for a new one.
“The new St. Pete Pier will truly be the people’s pier,” he said. “There will be something for everyone. It will, once again, be a crown jewel of St. Petersburg.”
