Stop the Lens to Turn in Petitions; Vote to Happen Aug. 27

Less than nine months into its campaign to collect 15,652 signatures needed to halt the construction process of the "Lens" pier design, Stop the Lens will be turning in its petitions Wednesday at St. Petersburg City Hall. 

The petition, which sought to create an ordinance to cancel the "Lens" contract with Michael Maltzan Architecture, was signed by more than 20,000 people, according to Stop the Lens. That's well more than the 15,625 required to force the city to choose one of options: adopt the petition as written and cancel the contract with Maltzan or hold a public referendum on the issue.

The city has chosen the latter, which will take place on the Aug. 27 primary election. 

According to a report by the Tampa Bay Times, Mayor Bill Foster sent a message to Stop the Lens' Bud Riser letting him know that a special election will not happen on the issue until the August primary. 

The City Clerk, Foster said, will not validate the more than 15,000 petitions prior to May 30.

"This will assure sufficient staff time to conduct a thorough verification process, and will assure that the Ordinance proposed for voter approval will appear on the August 27, 2013 city-wide ballot," Foster wrote.

"Concerned Citizens of St. Petersburg has been holding these petitions in order to ensure that the referendum question to Stop the Lens will not require a Special Election unnecessarily costing the City approximately $250,000," the group said in a statement. "Mayor Foster has given Concerned Citizens certain assurances that the petitions will not be certified prior to May 30. That is the opening of the 90 day window that would allow the referendum question to Stop the Lens onto the regularly scheduled August 27 Primary ballot."

"It is hoped that, having turned in the actual petitions on May 15, city council will choose the prudent course, and suspend further funding on the Lens design until the outcome of the referendum is determined. Council Members are expected to make that determination at their Thursday, May 16 meeting," the group added.

Council will vote Thursday on $1.5 million for the next phase of funding for the "Lens."

Two weeks ago, council voted to delay making a decision on the "Lens" funding until more design and information related to costs could be released. 

Council member Jim Kennedy said two weeks ago that council was not given enough time to thoroughly read the schematic design report and ask staff follow up questions relating to costs of the project. 

"I would like to have some understanding of the anticipated expenses of what maintenance would be," Kennedy said May 2.

Kennedy said there were a dozen such instances in the schematic design report, which showed the project in budget, but was not clear on how much maintenance would cost.  

Stop the Lens will hold a press conference on the steps of City Hall, 175 5th St N. at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday. 

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