Monday’s festivities at City Hall were about more than just Mayor Ken Welch’s decision on the Gas Plant Redevelopment. The State of the City is usually an opportunity for mayors to celebrate their accomplishments and rally support for future projects that don’t always have the profile of the 87 acre elephant in the room.
The marching band from Mayor Welch’s alma mater, Lakewood High, warmed up the already sunbaked crowd. St. Petersburg Poet Laureate Gloria Muños set tone for the day with a poem which declared St. Pete is a city where we “say gay,” “art shines here,” and “Black lives matter.” It wouldn’t be the only poetry in the day’s proceedings. Before he got to the day’s (or perhaps decade’s) major announcement, Mayor Welch highlighted some other key areas of focus in his administration.
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Looking back on the administration’s accomplishments in its first year, the Mayor focused on Five Pillars of critical services to improve the quality of life in St. Petersburg: education and youth opportunities; equitable development, arts and business opportunities; safe and healthy neighborhoods; housing opportunities for all; and environment, infrastructure and resilience.
He recognized city employees in each of these pillars, many of whom have spent decades in public service. This included Theresa Jones, who originally took a job with the city forty-five years ago and has held a variety of critical positions in Community Affairs, and will soon retire from her position as Manager of Veterans, Neighborhood, Homeless and Social Services.
The Mayor highlighted the city’s approval of a record 36,814 construction permits, totalling $1.3 billion in construction work. In the booming real estate economy, affordable housing has been a major point of concern. Mayor Welch recounted efforts to address these issues, including partnering with the county and federal government to dispense $2.6 million in rental assistance. The city also contributed $35 million to leverage $216 million in grant funding for 697 affordable housing units.
For 2023, Mayor Welch announced a partnership with Habitat for Humanity to develop 56 affordable townhomes as well as the Shell Dash Project which will put 10 affordable homes on 16th Street, just south of Tropicana Field. These projects are designed to go beyond offering lower rents, giving families opportunities for home ownership and initiate wealth building.
The mayor reiterated the city’s commitment to equality and opportunity, through creation of a cabinet level Equity Office. He highlighted the important tradition of supporting equal rights for LGBTQ communities and committed to continuing the city’s decade of perfect scores on the Human Rights Campaign Annual Municipal Equality Index. Capping his remarks he announced a feasibility study for a major investment in the Enoch Davis Recreation Center as a hub focused on opportunities in education, nutrition, digital access and innovation.
Equity and opportunity are the lens through which most will process the major story of the day, Welch’s selection of the Hines/Rays group as a partner in the Gas Plant Redevelopment. The Mayor, who grew up in the Gas Plant neighborhood, borrowed a quote from a Langston Hughes poem, A Dream Deferred, in stating that he sees the Gas Plant Redevelopment as a chance to prove that a dream deferred will not be a dream denied.
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