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St. Petersburg council weighs dockage options
By BRYAN GILMER, Times Staff Writer
ST. PETERSBURG -- The north side of the Pier approach behind the St. Petersburg Museum of History might be the best docking spot for boaters on a day trip downtown, several City Council members said Thursday. Council member John Bryan had proposed building a boardwalk with docking points in a different spot -- parallel to the seawall along Straub Park between the Pier approach and the Renaissance Vinoy Resort. It would run more than 1,500 feet and cost about $500,000. Bryan wanted to create a "waterfront promenade" and a place for small boats to moor for a few hours. He believes it would attract visitors to downtown St. Petersburg from around Tampa Bay. City staffers who studied Bryan's suggested site found sea grass in some spots along the seawall. That would make it difficult to get environmental permits for a boardwalk that ran along the seawall. However, the walk could be built to meander around the sea grass. "The sea grass is going to be a nightmare," council member Richard Kriseman said after hearing the report by city capital improvements director John Green. The alternate site would accommodate a dock about half the length of the first site, but it would cost just $350,000 or so, Green said. Council members have discussed funding the project with interest from the $14.4-million recreation and conservation endowment they created last year with money from sale of the city's Weekie Wachee land in Hernando County. Choosing the second site would free some cash for other projects. Council member Earnest Williams liked the alternate site better because he worried that a dock in Straub Park would impede waterfront views. Bryan asked his colleagues to keep studying both spots. The council was meeting in an informal "workshop" where votes are not allowed, so it will vote on the issue next week. Also Thursday, the council passed a resolution supporting the creation of single-member districts for the Pinellas County School Board. The issue is on Tuesday's ballot, and council members will hold a news conference today at 11 a.m. to promote their view.
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From the Times South Pinellas desks |
