The future of St Petersburg's proposed $50 million Pier renovation dubbed "The Lens" depends on a City Council vote set to take place Thursday night according to the Tampa Tribune.
If the Council votes in favor of the proposed measure, the city will spend $1.5 million to commit to the next phase of putting The Lens design in place. If they vote against it, the project will be delayed until a referendum is set for an undetermined date in the future.
This is due, in part, to Concerned Citizens of St. Petersburg collecting 17,000 signatures on a petition urging the city to cancel its contract with Michael Maltzan Architecture, the company that designed the Lens.
Here's the tricky part. The St. Pete city charter states that a special election must be held within 90 days of a petition being verified. Concerned Citizens of St. Petersburg wants to guarantee the referendum is on the primary election ballot scheduled for Aug. 27, so they haven't filed their petition yet.
And, rightfully so. If submitted now, the city would have to hold an additional referendum, or public vote, within weeks of the primary election set for Aug. 27. Not only would this confuse voters, but it'd also cost the city an additional $268,000, the Tribune reports.
The Pier project has already racked up a $5.5 million bill for the city, a "too late" type of point certain council members have raised when it comes to the delayed timing with this petition.
So, on Thursday night, the eight members of the St. Petersburg City Council will have to vote - A.) in favor of spending an additional $1.5 million to go on with the project or B.) not spending the $1.5 million and waiting for Concerned Citizens of St. Petersburg to officially file their petition, which would yield an August 27 vote where the public can decide on The Pier's future.
Which would you pick? Let us know in the comments below.
