City council backs construction funding for new fire station
June 11, 2021 - In a rebuff of the Kriseman administration, St. Petersburg City Council members voted Thursday to support funding for the vertical construction of Fire Station No. 2 in the city budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The current fire station is located in what used to be a residential home on 66th Street. Replacing it has been a priority for Council member and mayoral candidate Robert Blackmon, who said the current station is unsafe. Deputy Mayor Kanika Tomalin said fiscal year 2022, which starts Oct. 1, already has $1.7 million budgeted for pre-development services for the fire station. Budgeting additional money for vertical construction would mean less funding for other projects, Tomalin told Council members. Despite that, a resolution supporting construction funding passed four-to-three with yes votes from Council members Blackmon, Ed Montanari, Gina Driscoll and Darden Rice, who is also a mayoral candidate. Council members Deborah Figgs-Sanders, Amy Foster and Brandi Gabbard voted no, and Council member Lisa Wheeler-Bowman was not present for the vote.