St. Pete Agile Resiliency initiative lacks budget funding 

St. Petersburg’s leadership has touted a resilient infrastructure initiative created to accelerate projects in the aftermath of Hurricanes Helene and Milton. How to pay for it remains anyone’s guess.

Water resources and stormwater drainage projects encompass $178.6 million of the city’s preliminary $248.3 million capital improvements budget. Previously planned work included in the St. Pete Agile Resilience (SPAR) program accounts for $16.4 million.

City officials spent over three hours discussing the budget at an April 24 Committee of the Whole meeting. Councilmember Brandi Gabbard called documents highlighting SPAR projects an “unfunded list.”

“If I’m a resident, and I’m looking at this, and you’re telling me you’re going to do all of these projects because we’re advancing all of this, but then you put this budget together, and it’s basically an unfunded list – without a conversation around any future funding mechanisms – it’s all for naught,” Gabbard said.

“I don’t like smoke and mirrors in any of this work. Because this work is too important to the residents we serve.”

St. Petersburg’s leadership hoped to complete $960 million in stormwater projects through 2030. Mayor Ken Welch’s quest to address rapidly evolving climate threats added $545 million.

In late February, public works administrator Claude Tankersley said SPAR’s overarching goal is to “get stuff done now.” The initiative’s projects evolve according to need and focus on mitigating neighborhood flooding and protecting critical infrastructure from storm surges.

Currently funded SPAR projects include completing the Northeast Water Reclamation Facility’s electrical improvements a year ahead of schedule, and installing an AquaFence flood prevention wall around a downtown sewage lift station.

In fiscal year 2024, the city decreased its Penny for Pinellas tax funding allocation for underground wastewater infrastructure. Assistant City Administrator Tom Greene said the reduction allowed officials to increase investments in streets and sidewalks.

Councilmember Richie Floyd questioned how the decrease impacted utility rates. Greene said administrators would discuss potential SPAR funding mechanisms, including financing, with the council in the “very near future” or “later this summer.”

“I don’t really know how we can give our blessing to a budget when we haven’t had any conversation about this page – and how this page gets funded,” Gabbard said of listed SPAR projects. “Quite frankly, I can’t go to my residents and say, ‘Oh yeah, we’re going to have $75 million in projects done in the next two years,’ without telling them how.”

City Administrator Rob Gerdes said utility rates would reflect costs associated with SPAR. Officials will then consider bond debt this summer.

“I think we also feel that for rates to handle SPAR alone is not practical,” Gerdes added. “So, we want to continue to have the discussion of how we might do it.”

A list of St. Pete Agile Resilience projects without any allocated funding in 2026 (highlighted column).

Gabbard said a general obligation bond issuance would require a referendum, likely in November 2026. Officials would borrow against the planned issuance, if approved by voters, to avoid waiting until 2028 to fund SPAR projects.

Residents are already struggling to afford utility rates amid rampant cost increases. Councilmember Lisset Hanewicz agreed that securing project funding would require a referendum and reiterated the importance of fostering realistic expectations.

“I think we should all be having those conversations, and not just now,” Hanewicz added. “We should have been having them because the money has to come from somewhere. The federal government, the State of Florida – no one is going to bail us out on this.”

Administrators have included $2 million in the 2026 budget to hire a SPAR program manager. Councilmember Deborah Figgs-Sanders noted that plans to install more accurate digital water meters lack funding.

Tankersley said officials are still unsure of how to pay for the initiative. He expects to present a plan for 2026 at a later date.

Tankersley told the council that administrators are “trying to figure this out as we go.” The nascent SPAR program could look significantly different in two or three years.

Hanewicz, even before SPAR’s launch, has said St. Petersburg must double its annual stormwater infrastructure investment to afford planned projects. She questioned how the city was funding a “huge jump” from $23 million to $52 million in 2026.

“The proposed rates that we bring you – there will be a significant increase for stormwater,” Gerdes said. “We’ll have a conversation about that.”

Council members stressed the need to provide constituents with a less convoluted stormwater project list. Brejesh Prayman, engineering and capital improvements director, said he plans to provide a fact sheet for each initiative.

Welch will present his recommended budget to the city council July 15. The first public hearing is Sept. 11.