St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch: State of the city is strong in 2024

ST. PETERSBURG — About 800 people, including City Council members, city staff and students from nearby public schools listened and applauded at the Palladium Theater on Tuesday as Mayor Ken Welch gave a 45-minute State of the City speech that began and ended with optimism.

“As we look to the future, there’s a kind of outlook on the trajectory of St. Petersburg,” said council chairperson Deborah Figgs-Sanders, opening for Welch.

Before going into his recap of the year, Welch welcomed by name descendants of the historically Black Gas Plant neighborhood, where developers hope to re-create a community and deliver on broken promises of housing and opportunity.

“We will not ignore nor re-create our history. But rather we will embrace our true history and learn from it,” he said. The Gas Plant District is to be developed by the Tampa Bay Rays and development firm Hines.

Among the projects and developments the mayor noted:

• A new initiative called the Mayor’s Future Ready Program to address the city’s workforce needs — an 18-week job training program with full-time pay and benefits. A dozen cadets started this month, he said.
• In March, the City Council approved allowing owners of nearly 3,000 properties in the urban core to turn them into up to four residences in order to increase density. Though the zoning change was approved in a 7-1 vote, hundreds of residents showed up to speak in opposition.
• In May, the city launched a $1.35 million microfund program to provide capital and resources to small businesses within the South St. Petersburg Community Redevelopment Area. In 2023, 53 business owners received grants totaling $440,000.
• Welch highlighted the appointment of Carl Lavender, who had retired from the Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg, as the city’s chief equity officer in November. He was appointed after the city’s inaugural chief equity officer, Lenice C. Emanuel, quit 23 days into the job without explanation.
• He announced the hiring of Sheron Brown as the city’s new director of education and youth opportunities. Brown takes the reins 10 months after her predecessor, Leah McRae, was fired.
• Welch said the city experienced $1.37 billion in new construction value last year, the second-highest ever, and issued more than 32,000 permits.

Welch also spoke to the Rays deal. He said he was confident in the agreement taking shape and said the benefits of 30 years of property taxes, sales taxes, wages, tourist dollars and promises of economic opportunities for Black businesses and communities will exceed the costs. Final agreements are expected to be presented to the City Council for a vote and official approval in April.

“I’ve lived this saga, and we’ve literally waited decades to be in this position and we’ve never been this close,” he said. “I believe we have never had nor will we have in the future stronger partners than Hines, Rays and the county. Nor will we have a better opportunity than this to turn the page and move to a new chapter at the Historic Gas Plant. We will keep working to bring this deal home.”

As for other “long-standing projects,” Welch said a development agreement for the municipal marina will come before the council. He said the city will open a new sanitation complex and “press for the resolution” of the science center, Sankofa on the Deuces project, Manhattan Casino and Tangerine Plaza.

He touched on the effects of Hurricane Idalia and the no-name storm in December that wrought historic storm surge and flooded homes. Welch endorsed council member Brandi Gabbard’s request for an action plan for flood mitigation and adaptation.

“You cannot simply raise the road without elevating the nearby properties,” he said. “We are committed to addressing this issue as the critical issue it has evolved to become today.”

Welch winded down his speech by spotlighting five employees with 143 years of experience. They included St. Petersburg Fire Rescue Chief Jim Large, who is retiring in March after 50 years with the department and the last 18 years as chief, though he has faced hostile workplace allegations that Welch deemed unfounded.

Asked after his address if he would seek a second term, Welch said he was focused on doing the job he has now. With an extra year due to voters approving municipal elections on even-numbered years, Welch isn’t yet halfway through his term.

“We’re trying to make sure we get our priorities like the Historic Gas Plant and housing, those other things, substantially complete,” he said.