Our apologies for not communicating by email during December. These have been difficult months for many of us.
We are thankful for new beginnings and the opportunities 2025 will bring for all of us to positively impact our community and neighbors as we rebuild our homes. As you know from the emails the city sends out and watching / attending the December Commission meetings, our community is facing many challenges.
The December 10th City Commission meeting was the most informative, and troubling meeting since we have been engaged in the process. You are likely aware that our former Public Works Director who was terminated late last year was the primary expert witness who testified under oath as to the sufficiency of our city's water and sewer infrastructure during the controversial Sirata and Trade Winds expansion hearings.
Since his dismissal, the City Commission has been getting a much different picture from the city's new leadership. The December 10th Enterprise Programs presentation by our new Public Works Director Camden Mills defies description. There are no words to capture the magnitude of its revelations -- it is essential that concerned citizens watch the presentation for themselves.
YouTube links to key timestamps are below:
(unfortunately, you may encounter YouTube Ads)
- Enterprise Programs: Beginning
- Stormwater
- Wastewater
- We do not currently have capacity to fully build out according to our Comprehensive Plan due to the bottleneck at our Master Pump Station (Pump Station 1)
- What was the condition of Pump Station 1 before the storms?
- We could not build out to the limits of our comprehensive plan until Pump Station 1 is upgraded
Finally, we highly recommend this last segment of Mayor Petrila and Public Works Director Mills summarizing the high cost of bad information.
To summarize the above -- our Department of Public Works has not been maintaining our stormwater and wastewater systems. In some cases, maintenance was inadequate, in other cases, it was simply not done at all. As a result, we have a massive outstanding liability of work that needs to be done, without the funds to do it.
Obviously, we face no shortage of challenges. Many of our us are still living in exile, unable to return and live in our homes. It is still unclear for many when we will be able to rebuild or repair.
The question remains -- do we have a viable community here in St. Pete Beach?
Optimistically, we can see that we have honest leadership on the City Commission who is finally able to get transparent answers from city staff. It is our obligation as residents and taxpayers to continue to insist on honesty and transparency in addressing these matters -- even as we deal with our own issues, and the massive FEMA-imposed headaches that come from living in a Special Flood Hazard Area.
Here is hoping that the coming months allow us to begin seeking solutions, and not just presenting more problems.
Finally, please note that tomorrow, Tuesday, January 14th is our next Commission meeting. Click this link for the full Agenda . Below are the action items being voted on by the commission. We encourage you to email the commission and comment at the meeting.
Three Action Items include:
a. Recovery Task Force Committee
Appoint individuals to create the Recovery Task Force pursuant to the City's Comprehensive Plan Coastal Element.
b. Freebee Presentation followed by Possible Commission Action
Freebee representatives will make a presentation to the City Commission. There may be action taken by the Commission following the presentation.
c. Public Hearing of Resolution 2024-08 (Conditional Use Permit #24038):
Approval to construct a seventy-six foot tall, eight-story hotel tower that will increase site density to 64.2 units per acre and contain an eighth-floor outdoor restaurant at 4200 Gulf Blvd (Miramar Beach Resort)