Mayor to Council: Vote yes on June 5

The city just released a recommendation to council members ahead of next week's June 5 vote. Read it here.

If you don't feel like clicking, here's the main points:

* Initiate the referendum process on June 5;

* Select a Tropicana developer on June 19;

* Set a Aug. 1 deadline to reach a number of milestones, including agreements related to financing and a lease as well as questions related to the Tropicana Field redevelopment.

Comments

[get-smart]

Well! What do you expect. The city staff doesn't work for us. You would think they would at least say, "We really need to get a handle on the cost of the Trop clean-up. Instead they are going to talk about it! These people need to be protecting the City Of St. Petersburg!

There is nothing to talk about. It would take at least six months to do a proper soil analysis and map the contamination levels across the whole field and only then, can you go out for clean-up bids. That would take another sixty days.

The staff and mayor are working for these treasonous greedy NY Goldman Sachs investment bankers who became wealthy by aiding and abetting the outsourcing of our American jobs to China and $200/bbl oil.

And now with their overwhelming greed, they want to destroy our city. The whole lot of them need to be fired! The Rays and the city staff MUST GO!

-- BOYCOTT THE GAMES --

-- NO NEW WATERFRONT STADIUM! PERIOD! --

Let them go to San Antonio/Charlotte. Lets see if those cities will cough up $500 million to these greed New York Goldman Sachs criminals.

Yeah, They will pay for the stadium themselves. The stadium will be next to the airport by the interstate!

Long Live the Internet!
-

[Santa Claus]

wow, Get-Smart,

Maybe you need to push yourself back from your desk and take a nitro-pill. I think the BP is gettin a little high.

[Chris Jenkins]

An Open Round Table Discussion on the Proposed Waterfront Stadium
Hosted by Chris Jenkins and Gary Grooms

Where: The Globe Coffee Lounge
501 1st Ave N
St. Pete, Fl. 33701

When: Saturday, 05/31/08
7:00PM

What: It's time for the residents of St. Pete to get out from behind their computers and get together in person to talk about the future of our city. We've decided there's too much animosity in the conversations online, and it's time to act like civilized human beings, and have a real conversation about the issue, over snacks and drinks. Munchies will be provided, and there will be no formal structure. This isn't a televised debate; it's a casual evening of conversation and exploration among fellow citizens. The evening will begin at the Globe Coffee Lounge in St. Petersburg, and will include a walking tour similar to what might be expected on actual game days if the proposed stadium is built. This will allow us to meet the people behind the ideas, see the areas we are talking about in person, and get a feel for the businesses and spaces that would be affected by the proposal. Appetizers will be provided at The Globe, and beer, wine, sangria, and various non-alcoholic coffee type drinks will be available at the bar. Please come out and join your fellow city residents in a real conversation about this very important matter.

[PS]

Seems the city has some things backwards in their recommendation to proceed with the referendum.

According to their statement the referendum must be approved BEFORE the county's financial commitment is required?

Also, the operational cost obligations for the new stadium will not be discussed until AFTER the referendum is approved?

These are but a few details that need to be set in writing BEFORE voters are asked to judge whether this deal is worthy of our support!

[Ray F]

Chris, Gary:

Why shedule for that time? That'll be an hour after the game starts. Are you guys gonna be there till after the game?

I would love to come out.

[Chris Jenkins]

Sorry, Ray, not trying to conflict with the game, but Gary's got a tight schedule, and we won't another chance for a discussion for several weeks.

We will, however, be taking a good portion of the evening to explore the topic. Email me at cjenkins@flmediasolutions.com for my cell, or call Gary if you have his, and I'm sure you can meet up with us.

[gary grooms]

Thanks to Chris for putting this round table discussion together. I hope to see some of you there.

An Open Round Table Discussion on the Proposed Waterfront Stadium
Hosted by Chris Jenkins and Gary Grooms

Where: The Globe Coffee Lounge
501 1st Ave N
St. Pete, Fl. 33701

When: Saturday, 05/31/08
7:00PM

[Robert]

Well I guess Newt andBill Dudley are not fiscal responsiblity?

[Dave in St Pete]

Chris, Gary,

Would love to be there but with the rotten cold / flu I have you do not want to be any where near me.

[rick]

Vote no on going forward and Vote yes on recalling the mayor ,someone must be paying him off cause hes not working for the taxpayer here.The stadium is way to expensive and the parking is a mirage at best.

[Rays Beat the Sox]

This just in, Floyd hits a homerun to beat the soxs in the bottom of the 9th and remain in first place.

I'd like to thank this whole discussion for getting me into baseball. Winning doesn't hurt too much either. I would go to games before but now I want to see as much as I can before this is voted down by people like Get Smart who actually hope they leave town.

Admit it POWW you hate to see them winning. It's too bad because your missing some good St. Pete baseball. It won't be around much longer if it's up to you.

[conspiracy joke]

Rick, the mayor hasn't got on board with any side and you accuse him of taking payoffs...nice, where do you think we live St. Petersburg Russia.

Get smart calling everyone who doesn't agree with him criminal. All CEO's, owners, and politicians must be criminals right.

[Sabine]

Without GUARANTEES that the development will not be delayed or abandoned (see: Bay Plaza), this memo is financial suicide for St. Petersburg. The City could actually go bankrupt.

[Raymond The Rays Mascot]

@sabine, only way city could go BR, is if we done move forward w/lasting economic impact progress & team leaves, this proposal will guarantees Rays & St. Pete are 2gether for many generations to come. If deveopers build half of what is proposed, it still would be a win-win situation & in that it adds civic pride, physically constrution that would not have been built otherwise, & most important add to city tax revenues which could be spent on other needed area, which helps everyone.

Go Rays!

[Jay]

Raymond, what is the current going rate for civic pride? $4 a gallon?

Let's be realistic - the Devil Rays (and yes, they're still Devil Rays to me) aren't going anywhere soon. They have a functional, albeit not gorgeous domed stadium and a pretty solid lease contract that extends into the next decade. They're in no position to start dictating terms for new development simply because new ownership wants to re-invent / re-brand the franchise.

Do you think you could still have civic pride and new construction if you renovate the existing Tropicana site to incorporate some of the design elements of the proposed development? Please explain how relocating a few blocks east is going to suddenly re-energize the economic wasteland that surrounds the dome now.

[The Mayor is a FRAUD]

OUR MAYOR IS AN ASSCLOWN!!! A majority don't want it BUT the Mayor says "approve it"? Its takes a majority,like in an election, to get things approved! Our Mayor is NOT doing what the people want...NO NEW WATERFRONT STADIUM.
Did you see Rick Bakers t-shirt? He was wearing a Rays T-Shirt under his clothes. The Mayor is a turncoat and ASSCLOWN!

[Steve Lange]

Rays beat the Red Sox:

I am part of POWW.

I am going to a game tonight with nine other friends.

I like baseball.

I like the Trop, it is air conditioned and almost paid for. Great seats and great sight lines.

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to prove you wrong, whoever you are and for giving me yet another opportunity to say.

No NEW Waterfront Stadium.

[Taylor]

"Let's be realistic - the Devil Rays (and yes, they're still Devil Rays to me) aren't going anywhere soon."

Well clearly you have no sense of reality then. How can they still be the Devil Rays to you when clearly they are just the Rays?

And if you don't think a city like Portland et al would openly welcome the Rays... pay for their exit... pay for an amazing stadium... etc... you're naive.

[NO NEW STADIUM]

Taylor, I asked you before, and I'll ask you again: "Do you need any Uhaul boxes for when you move to follow the Rays". Help loading the POD, maybe? Whatever we can do to help, man.

[Native]

any word on how the round table went?

[Ray F]

I couldn't make it (too busy celebrating ), I was hoping Gary or Chris Jenkins would've updated today.

Fellas???

[Kyle]

The Rays aren't going anywhere.

[The Unsilent Majority]

sorry POWW's ... Rick Baker is doing his job and he is leading the city FORWARD

if you don't like it, there are plenty of other cities you can move to ... we won't miss the whining

[Steve Lange]

The Unsilent Majority:

We are winning the hearts and minds of the community with facts and logic.

We are winning and are in the majority of public opinion. You are not.

And we are the ones whining?

And we are the ones that have to move out of St. Pete?

[gary grooms]

For those of you asking about how the round table went:

We had a very nice time. Only a few people showed up. The group really was only me, Chris, and 3 or 4 others. Everybody was very polite and professional as Chris figured everyone would be. We hope to do this again later in the month and give everyone more notice. I believe that Aaron has offered to help promote it and be kind of a moderator.

I think Chris would agree with me that face to face discussions are more likely to accomplish something than all the blogging in the world.

Last week I ran into Hal Freidman (who I have known for about 3 years now) and talked for an hour about the stadium. As expected, he was polite and well informed. He did not have any horns growing out of his head and I did not see a 666 tattoo either. Hal's lovely and pleasant "significant other" Willi came to the round table on Saturday. When I get back in town I'm looking forward to having lunch with Steve Lange. Lee Nolan is another speaker for POWW that I have known for at least a couple of years and have played golf with a few times. My point being that no one with POWW has ever been anything but polite and professional to me in person and I think I have treated them equally well.

There is a ways to go with this deal and questions that still need to be answered. If we can all just pretend we are talking face to face when we are behind our keyboards the tone of this debate would be a lot more pleasant. When this issue is settled I still want to be friends with Chris, Hal, Willi, Lee, Steve et al. regardless of the outcome, and I intend on treating them in a fashion that will make that possible.

However, I do have to say that I'm still mad at Chris. He made me go over to the Independent after leaving the Globe and then he made me drink beer and then he made me stay up till 2 am. So, I was miserable on Sunday morning and it is all his fault.

[Doctor Bones]

I agree with whoever characterized this business about being civil to the other side as a "mess of kum-by-yah nonsense."

If my neighbors are idiots, I don't have very much interest in hanging out with them. Sure I will look out for them and help them in need, but I am not going to invite idiots into my home for dinner, nor would I want to hang out at an idiots house.

Most of us have unbearable relatives or inlaws somewhere. Why on earth would we CHOOSE to spend time with disagreeable people who aren't even family?