St. Pete Pier Workshop Scheduled to Address Concerns

City Council Chairman Karl Nurse proposed holding a public workshop to allow people to get questions answered about technical and functional concerns, not aesthetic concerns, regarding designs for the future of the Pier, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

The newspaper reports that critics of "The Lens" designs say the materials for the canopy are all wrong for the environment and claim they will corrode.

The workshop will be held on Thursday, April 18. According to Nurse's memo to council, Nurse recommends asking the "Stop the Lens" organization to provide a letter outlining their technical concerns, not the visual or programmatic concerns, by April 11. This would allow designers, engineers and staff to be prepared to answer their specific questions.

According to the memo, "the goal is to acknowledge and forge an effort to address and hopefully settle a number of the technical issues."

Council will also address a possible referendum schedule and process if the "Stop the Lens" petition is successful.

Currently, Judge Jack Day has yet to rule on the lawsuit filed by Kathleen Ford and five other residents who want a public vote to save the Pier.

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