Should Pier Ballot Question Mention the 'Lens'?

It is a near certainty that on the Aug. 27 primary ballot there will be a question regarding Michael Maltzan's contract with the city to build the "Lens" pier design to replace the St. Petersburg Pier. 

However, what is unclear is if the ballot question itself will mention the "Lens" at all. 

City council during Thursday's agenda review session received strong legal advice from city attorneys advising against having the word "Lens" on the question regarding Maltzan's contract because the "Lens" is not mentioned on the ballot question or the ordinance proposed by the group, Stop the Lens.

Stop the Lens' proposed ordinance reads: "an ordinance providing for the termination of the architect/engineering agreement between the city of St. Petersburg and Michael Maltzan Architecture, Inc."

Council member Charlie Gerdes and council chair Karl Nurse asked the city's legal team Thursday if it would be wise to add a reference to the "Lens" or the new St. Petersburg Pier in the ballot question. 

They argued that doing so would add clarity to the contentious issue. 

"We ought to be very clear about what this is," Gerdes said of the pier ballot question. "I think adding a reference to the new St. Petersburg Pier" would clear up confusion. 

Nurse said he is concerend the ballot language does not automatically mention the "Lens". 

City Attorney John Wolfe said the ballot question failing to mention the "Lens" was based on the fact that the Stop the Lens proposed ordinance/question does not mention the Maltzan design by name. 

"Nowhere does their ordinance mention the word 'Lens'," Wolfe said. "We can't reconstruct the question that they have presented ... Read the (Stop the Lens) title, no where does it say the Lens. Whole ordinance, no where does it says the Lens."

The language is verbatim from what was submitted by Stop the Lens, he said. 

Mayor Bill Foster said he has met a number of times with Bud Riser, Gene Smith, Bill Ballard and other heads of the Stop the Lens group. With each step in the petition drive the group referred all information to their legal counsel, Foster said. 

"Every discussion we have ever done has been reviewed and approved by the Stop the Lens legal counsel," Foster said Thursday. "So I wouldn’t add a comma (to the proposed question) without going through their legal counsel."

Joe Patner, the city attorney who represented the city in the Vote on the Pier lawsuit, also advised council against altering any part of the proposed ballot language.

He said he has read every Florida case relating to a citizen initiated petition and there is no precedent to change publicly proposed ballot language. 

In one instance where the proposed question was too long — questions are limited to 75 words — a city was able to delete a few words from a ballot question in order to meet those criteria. 

"I’m aware of no case where the city was allowed to substitute language or change the language itself," Patner said. 

What's Next?

The St. Petersubrg closes at 11 p.m. Friday. No special events are planned and several business owners have already cleared their stores.  

On June 6 city council will vote on Stop the Lens' proposed ordinance, which if adopted could cancel Maltzan's contract with the city to build the "Lens" pier. 

If voted down, which is expected, the future of the "Lens" would then be set for a Aug. 27 vote if council approves the proposed ballot language June 6. 

Foster has also added additional pier straw poll questions for council to vote on Thursday.

1. Is it your opinion that, once the current Municipal Pier is demolished, the City should build a replacement Municipal Pier and honor the 100-year tradition of having a publicly funded Municipal Pier open to the public?
2. Is it your opinion that, once the current pier is demolished, the city should offer a lease of up to 99 years to a private company to build and operate a commercial nonpublic pier in the approximate area of the existing public Municipal Pier and Pier approach?
3. Is it your opinion that, once the current pier is demolished, the City should build a flat wooden fishing pier with only basic amenities? 

Passage of those questions, according to councilor remarks, seems unlikely. 

According to a memo from Wolfe, Foster's proposed straw poll questions are an "attempt to clarify in what direction the city might wish to proceed in the event that (stopping the "Lens") is approved by the electorate." 

What Happens if the "Lens" is Stopped?

Should St. Petersburg residents vote 'yes' Aug. 27 to cancel the city's contract with Maltzan, the fate of a pier in St. Pete is up in the air. 

Foster's proposed straw ballot questions, even if passed, are non-binding and are meant for direction not direct action. 

Nurse said should the "Lens" be voted down that residents could have a say on what happens next in the November general election. 

However because any ballot language for the general election would be to be submitted in early September, work on any proposed November pier ballot questions would have to begin prior to finding the outcome of the Aug. 27 vote. 

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