Now that the race for mayor of St. Petersburg is over, it’s time for the winner to get to work.
- Kriseman won re-election as St. Petersburg's mayor
- He has several projects underway
- Kriseman also has 30-year vision for the city
Mayor Rick Kriseman won re-election, but it comes with the responsibility of finishing the projects he started in his first term.
“We've got a number of big projects that are underway,” Kriseman said. “We've got a pier we want to finish. A police station we want to complete. We want to see what's going to happen with the Rays. And the Tropicana Field site.”
Whether the Rays stay in St. Pete or move across the Bay is one of the most important item on Kriseman’s list of things to do.
“They’re (the Rays) still waiting for Tampa to make their presentation,” Kriseman said. “That hasn't happened yet. Once that happens, then I fully expect them probably not long after that to somewhat of a decision. So until that happens, what we do on that site is kind of to some degree at a standstill. Unless Amazon calls us up to says we're good to go on that site.”
Tampa and St. Petersburg made a joint pitch to Amazon to move its world headquarters to the Bay area.
The one project that will take the most time to finish is revamping the city’s deteriorating sewer system.
It’s a $304 million project that residents will have to foot the bill for through utility rate hikes. Looking forward, Kriseman has a 30-year vision for St. Pete. He calls it the 2050 Master Plan.
“The last big master plan the city did is the 2020 plan,” Kriseman said. “Well, here we are in 2018. It's time to update that thing. We're in the middle of doing a sewer and a storm water master plan, an integrated sustainability action plan and so we can incorporate all of those things into a 2050 plan and really start getting this city ready for the sea level rises that's happening and the climate change that we're living with.”