ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The St. Petersburg City Council on Thursday approved having the Economic and Workforce Development Committee discuss increasing Main Street Program funding at their meeting next month.

What You Need To Know

The St. Pete City Council will discuss raising the annual funding amount for the four Main Street Programs in January  

Each district has been getting $55,000 in annual funding for the past decade 

Edge District President Nicole Waters wants to see the amount raised by $20,000

The four districts include The Edge, Grand Central, Deuces Live and Skyway Marina

“We have four Main Street Districts in St Petersburg,” said Council Member Gina Driscoll. “Each one works day and night to help the business owners in the district to thrive.”

The four Main Street Districts include The Edge, Grand Central, Deuces Live and Skyway Marina. Each district receives an annual fund of $55,000 from the city. Edge District President Nicole Waters said the funding amount from the city has not changed in the past decade and a cost-of-living raise in the amount of $20,000 for each district should be considered.

“As inflation continues and our districts continue to grow and thrive, that funding has stayed stable,” she said. “We’re ready for that to be matched with the type of growth that we’re seeing in our districts.”

Waters said without a funding increase, popular programs like Halloween on Central will not continue to grow.

“For instance, this year we added a whole section for neurodivergent children so that we were able to make sure that it was a very inclusive event,” she said. “Each year, that event has continued to grow. We can’t continue to grow and be more inclusive and create experiences for all of our community members when our resources are limited.”

Council Member Corey Givens requested the funding request to go to the Economic Committee in January. Council members unanimously approved his motion after Givens assured them he would work with the administration to see where they could find extra dollars.

Driscoll said she thought $20,000 per district would be a great starting number.

“We’ll look forward to having a committee discussion in January for this,” she said. “Figure out where we can find the money to make sure that we’re supporting our small businesses here in St. Pete.” 

Waters knows the city is on a tight budget too and hopes something can be worked out.

“They want to make sure that they’re responsible with the budget, and I can appreciate that,” she said. “But it’s time for an increase.”