ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch was finally able to join his staff Thursday at City Hall after being inaugurated one week ago in a virtual ceremony.
This is his first day physically in the office after recovering from COVID-19.
Now that he's in-person, one of the first things he did was present Tom Greene to the city council for confirmation as interim city administrator, a news release from the city explains.
“I am excited to be in City Hall today for the first time as your Mayor. My thanks to all of you who helped make my virtual inauguration such a success,” Mayor Welch said in a statement.
“Now, it’s time to get to work for the city we love. We have already started to undertake important work and initiatives that will affect the lives of our residents on a daily basis.”
In the coming months, Welch's team says he will continue to work on an agenda aiming to guide St. Pete through the current omicron wave, address affordable and workforce housing and rising rents and home prices, respond to climate resiliency and infrastructure needs, and ensure safe neighborhoods along with increasing equity, jobs and community development.
According to a spokesperson, he will reportedly be guided on the six I's to accomplish this agenda:
- Being In-touch: hands-on and active in the community with collaboration with City Council.
- Inclusive: Every constituent will be heard and every employee valued
- Informed decision-making: Guided by best practices, facts, science and our city’s history
- Innovation: Utilizing new technologies, ideas and creative partnerships to improve service delivery and implement more effective solutions to community challenges.
- Intentional Equity: Incorporate equity into all city policies to ensure growth benefits the entire community.
- Community Impact: Measure each decision with one key question: Will it improve the quality of life for the people of St. Petersburg?
