ST. PETERSBURG, Fla — The city of St. Petersburg is kicking off its “City Hall on Tour,” where Mayor Ken Welch and members of every city department meet in a different location in the city to hear from the people.

​They held the first meeting at the Walter Fuller Recreation Center in west St. Pete. A cup of coffee and a pleasant conversation can go a long way and Mayor Welch said it could help lead to some good ideas for the city.

“It’s kind of a one-stop shop where you can talk to your city government,” he said.

He’s at the “Coffee with Ken” section of the gym that’s been converted into a mobile city hall of sorts.

Each department from the city has a table there in order to hear about any questions, concerns or ideas people might have.

“Our vision is to be in touch with the community,” Welch said. “And that means getting out of the bounds of city hall and bringing government to the people.”

So that’s what he and all these other folks are doing.

This is one of four stops along this tour that’s going to be going on throughout the year.

Rather than having people come to city hall during a council meeting, the city wanted to come after work hours in a location that’s closer to some of the areas around town.

“I find when you go out to where folks are and make it convenient, you do get a good response,” Welch said.

He said the response to the first stop, on March 20, was solid.

For the people there, having all these members of the local government in their neck of the woods has been rewarding.

“I think it’s great,” said St. Pete resident David Anderson. “It’s great that the mayor is coming to different locations in St. Pete and becoming more accessible.”

Anderson lives near the park where this first meeting is being held and said he was able to talk with the mayor face-to-face about conserving a piece of Native American history in west St. Pete.

It’s a conversation he said might have been more difficult to achieve if not for this event.

“It’s very, very nice to be able to come to a place near my home and meet the mayor,” Anderson said. For the people in attendance and city officials, discussing something they care about over things like coffee lay the groundwork for something bigger than just a cup of joe.

The next meeting will be on June 14 at the Willis S. Johns Recreation Center from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., followed by a meeting on Sept. 19 at the Lake Vista Recreation Center from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. and the final meeting will be on Dec. 5 at the Childs Park Recreation & Fitness Center from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.