ST. PETE BEACH — The city is moving ahead with 47 capital improvement projects totaling more than $17 million, focused heavily on hurricane recovery and aging infrastructure, particularly the wastewater system that recently drew violations warnings from St. Petersburg.
Public Services Director Camden Mills delivered what Mayor Adrian Petrila called “the most detailed presentation we’ve ever received in the history of the city” at the Jan. 27 commission meeting, outlining 10 projects currently under construction and 37 in design or procurement.
Among the most critical: a $6.25 million rehabilitation of Pump Station One and $1.9 million in wastewater system improvements needed after chlorine intrusion from saltwater leaks prompted St. Petersburg to warn the island it was violating its wastewater treatment contract.
The pump station work, scheduled from January through October, will include odor control upgrades, new pumps and a backup generator. A separate $2 million wastewater cleaning and inspection project covering Pass-A-Grille, Vina Del Mar, Don CeSar and Belle Vista is 12% complete, with 65,000 linear feet of pipe already cleaned.
“The bulk of our capital improvement plan is either in recovery, resiliency or sustainability or reliable infrastructure,” Mills said. “We still have a lot of work ahead of us.”
Other major projects include:
Storm recovery: $2.1 million in facility repairs at Don Vista Art Center (33% complete), the Public Services Building (28%), Recreation and Aquatics Center (31%) and Warren Webster Community Center (31%). Most should be finished by summer, though the Public Services Building is lagging due to coordination issues.
Beach access: $709,000 for dune walkover replacements at seven locations along Second through Seventh avenues and 51st and 52nd avenues, with construction starting in two weeks. The city has applied for Federal Emergency Management Agency reimbursement.
Seawalls and drainage: $650,000 for the 36th Avenue seawall replacement with roadway and drainage improvements. Construction awaits Duke Energy’s relocation of power lines, with completion expected in May.
Utility undergrounding: $1.44 million for Phase 2 of Gulf Boulevard utility undergrounding from 35th to 55th avenues. The design is under Florida Department of Transportation review after the state objected to the city’s proposal to place some conduits under the roadway. Phase 1, from 55th to 75th avenues, is complete except for utility company conversions.
Roof replacements: $2.2 million for facility roofs, mostly complete except the Public Services Building, which is 30 % done pending roof truss approvals.
Mills said the city is developing a public online dashboard to track project progress with real-time updates, planned for launch before the next quarterly update.
Commissioner Lisa Robinson praised the dashboard idea for providing transparency.
The projects will be funded through city capital budgets, state grants and FEMA storm reimbursements.