ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. — There will be one vacant seat on the St. Pete Beach city commission to start 2024.

During a special meeting Thursday morning, District 3 commissioner Ward Friszlowski did not resign as expected, so the newly appointed city commission members could not continue with candidate interviews.

Friszlowski said he intends to resign on December 30, the last possible day under state guidelines.

Friszlowski and three additional commissioners stated they would be resigning by the December 30 deadline due to the new state law that requires elected officials to disclose detailed financial information.

During the special meeting Thursday, Friszlowski stated he did not file for re-election and felt it was fair that the only District 3 candidate, Betty Rzewnicki, take his spot in March. Rzewnicki joined the meeting virtually and stated she was waiting on approval from her employer before she could accept the city commission seat, which could potentially happen before March.

Friszlowski told the newly appointed commissioners he made this decision in order to create more stability within the commission, instead of having an appointee only take the seat for a couple of months at most. 

Should Rzewnicki not receive approval from her employer, the search for a District 3 commissioner would restart.

As 2024 begins, three newly appointed commissioners and Mayor Adrian Petrila will be at the helm and tasked with making big decisions regarding the proposed expansion of the Sirata Beach resort.

During a planning board meeting in November, Columbia Sussex outlined their plans to update the existing Sirata hotel and pool, and construct a 290-room J.W. Marriott Hotel on the north side of the property and a 130-room Hampton Inn on the south side of the 13-acre property.

Columbia Sussex serves as the hotel management company for the Sirata Beach Resort. They also plan to demolish an existing 156 unit hotel building that already sits on the site.

Following the planning board meeting, members voted to recommend the approval of the expansion plans.

St. Pete Beach City Commissioners were originally slated to vote on the plans and make a final decision on the Sirata Beach Report expansion plans during a December 5 meeting.

Due to a high number of questions from commissioners and multiple residents wishing to speak, the meeting went late into the night and was ultimately continued to January 10.

Claudette Reece, who has been a resident for the past 25 years, says two of her biggest concerns with the proposal are with traffic and congestion on Gulf Boulevard.

“Development needs to happen,” she said. “It’s important to the health of a community, but we definitely want to make sure that it’s done in a way that’s compatible with the character of our small town.”

Reece is a member of ‘Protect St. Pete Beach’, a group of residents who are concerned about the upcoming proposals for hotel expansion.

Those plans also include a separate proposal from Tradewinds Resort that commissioners will be considering in the upcoming months. Together, Reece says, the expansions would add roughly 1,000 new hotel rooms to an already congested area.

“That is way too much density for the road,” Reece said while standing on Gulf Blvd. “The proposed plan for these two properties is something that’s going to affect generations in this town and it’s not something to be taken lightly.”

Commissioners are set to discuss the Sirata proposal on January 10.