ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. — Under the direction of St. Pete Beach Mayor Adrian Petrila, the city’s vice mayor plans to tap elected officials from Pinellas County’s 11 beachside cities to all come together and write one unified letter to President Donald Trump asking for help with hurricane recovery.

This comes after Petrila, along with Treasure Island Mayor John Doctor, both wrote separate but similar letters to the president after he spoke publicly pledging a quick recovery for North Carolina and California.

What You Need To Know

  • St. Pete Beach Mayor Adrian Petrila wants all cities on Pinellas County's barrier island to write one unified letter to President Donald Trump 

  • Letter would ask for help cutting through red tape that's keeping families from repairing homes

  • Petrila wants to write a second letter asking Trump to step in regarding the Army Corps of Engineers hold up regarding beach renourishment

  • MORE:  Pinellas County mayors send letters to President Trump pleading to 'clear red tape'

The letter from Petrila explained the current status of hurricane recovery in St. Pete Beach and stated that entire neighborhoods sit in limbo as rebuilding is stalled by FEMA regulations and federal bureaucracy.

“Mr. President, your swift action to support North Carolina and California with FEMA waivers and resources was commendable. The people of Florida — your people — are asking for the same. We need federal waivers to cut through the red tape and allow our residents to rebuild without unnecessary delays. We also need financial assistance to ensure that these families have the support they require to return home” the letter said in part.

The letters from both Petrila and Doctor were first made public on Monday. During a city commission meeting in St. Pete Beach on Tuesday night, two city commissioners thanked Petrila for writing the letter. Commissioner Betty Rzewnicki questioned city staff about the process of sending a formal letter on city letterhead without discussing with the commission first.

“If I were to have written a letter like that, imagine the slack I would have received for doing such a thing,” she stated during the city meeting.

Petrila stated he felt this needed to be done quickly and there’s not always time to talk about things first, because of the state’s sunshine laws. He then asked the remaining four city commissioners to join him in signing the letter before they formally mail it on Wednesday.

“Unless you find something particularly objectionable that I did? All I asked for was help,” Petrila said. “President said some words… and I said sounds really great but I would like for you to follow through. If you meant what you said, that’s really good. Help us out now. Show us that you really mean it.”

Shortly after, Petrila asked that vice mayor Joe Moholland attend Wednesday’s BIG-C meeting of Barrier Islands Government Council on the city’s behalf and ask that all cities work together in writing a similar letter to Trump.

The BIG-C cities include: 

  • Belleair Beach
  • Belleair Shore
  • Clearwater
  • Indian Rocks Beach
  • Indian Shores
  • Madeira Beach
  • North Redington Beach
  • Redington Beach
  • Redington Shores
  • St. Pete Beach
  • Treasure Island

He also asked that all cities consider writing an additional, unified letter asking Trump with help regarding the Army Corp of Engineers hold up on beach renourishment projects.

“I would love for all of us to go on this together,” Petrila said.