ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — By the end of this summer, the county expects to know just how much the Historic Gas Plant District redevelopment project will cost. That project includes a new stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays Major League Baseball team.
With a hefty price tag inevitable, county commissioners have discusses the possibility between needed to pick between the projects they fund.
You might wonder what beach renourishment has to do with a new baseball stadium. It comes down to money. In Pinellas County, both beach renourishment and the Historic Gas Plant District project, are funded by the tourist development tax fund.
On Thursday, county commissioners met in a workshop meeting to get an update on beach renourishment plans. Beach renourishment is when sand is dredged offshore, then pumped onto our beaches to replace the sand that naturally washes away. The renourishment is part of a federally funded storm protection project the Army Corps of Engineers oversees.
Kelli Levy, the public works director, laid out several options.
"The last option was the county funds the whole thing, and without any assistance from the Army Corps," Levy said. "And that's, of course, the, you know, puts us in the red really fast and is not sustainable."
Pinellas County is a local sponsor for the federal project. The three renourishment projects include Sand Key, Long Key and Treasure Island. In all projects, the Army Corps covers the costs of half or more of the project. The county has also applied for grants from the state to help cover its portion.
The Sand Key renourishment project is indefinitely on hold because of a new requirement from the Army Corps: perpetual property easements from private property owners in the areas renourishment would take place. 100 percent compliance is required. And 100 percent of homeowners are not willing to sign over rights to their property.
The Army Corps hasn't budged on the requirement. Now, the county is looking at several options as to how to move forward, including funding the entire project itself. That led to a conversation about other projects it will soon have to fund.
"We're going to have decisions, potentially in the next several weeks, months, that really rely on a portion of the bed tax, that, you know, really can't be made," Commissioner Charlie Justice said. "You can't make any of those in silos and then the next day wake up and go, I wish we had this money to spend on the beach. We don't have it anymore."
He's referring to the Gas Plant District project. Minutes later, the new baseball stadium was mentioned directly.
"We're talking about spending $600 million on a brand new ballpark," Commission Chair Janet Long said. "Or $200 million to keep our beaches sound. What are you laughing for? Am I wrong?"
The cost of the redevelopment project is not yet known. The city of St. Petersburg will release its draft term sheet sometime this summer. What's also not yet known: if the Army Corps of Engineers will work with the county to renourish the beaches.
"The bottom line is we've got one piggy bank, and we're all trying to draw a lot of money out of it," Public Works Director Kelli Levy said. "And when there's nothing left, you know, we're going to be struggling to find ways to pay for all of these things that people want."
The money the county chooses to spend on a new stadium would impact how much money is left for other projects, including beach renourishment.
Pinellas County has a very good reason to work with the Army Corps instead of trying to fund beach renourishment on its own. Because it's a federally authorized project, without property easements, the Army Corps wouldn't help with repairs come after a storm. The county also would not be eligible for reimbursement from FEMA.
In the fall, the city of St. Pete plans to release the development agreement made in partnership with Pinellas County and the developer. That will be presented to city council for approval.
Malique Rankin is a general assignment reporter with 10 Tampa Bay. You can email her story ideas at mrankin@10tampabay.com and follow her Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.