Temporary Sewer Policy on St. Pete Beach
- October 6, 2016
City leaders took the first step toward alleviating sewer system issues by passing a resolution Sept. 20 that establishes a temporary sewer policy for developers in St. Pete Beach.
Terms of the Temporary Sewer Policy on St. Pete Beach
Under terms of the policy, a project must be approved by the city from a sewer impact status before receiving a building permit. If additional upgrades are required to the sewer system to accommodate it, a certificate of occupancy will not be issued until the necessary sewer work is complete.
“The policy allows us to permit a development as long as it doesn’t increase (sewer) flow into our system,” said City Manager Wayne Saunders. “If there’s no increase or a net decrease, we can move ahead and permit it. If there’s an increase in the flow, then there has to be a project in place approved before they can get a permit to even start their project. Then that improvement has to be completed before they can actually get a (certificate of occupancy) and introduce flow into it.”
The city recently got the results of an inflow and infiltration study of the sewer system by Kimley-Horn and Associates, and the results were not good.
“As you know, the report that you had about a month ago from our consultant was a pretty grim report that said there were a lot of repairs that needed to be done to our existing system and cleaning,” Saunders told city commissioners. “So we need to establish a policy on how we deal with development proposals until we address the situation.”
The policy will remain in place until the city can perform some major surgery on its ailing sewer system.
Public Works Director Mike Clarke outlined the work in three critical stages:
• Replacement of a 24-inch force main from Pump Station 2 to Pump Station 1 at a cost of $4.4 million
• Replacement of a 16-inch force main from Pump Station 3 to Pump Station 2 at a cost of just under $3 million
• Replacement of three crossover lines in the hotel district connected to a force main and replacement of a fourth line that works off gravity, at a cost of $1.6 million.
“Once you throw in design costs and contingency (costs), you’re looking at $11.5 million,” Clarke said.
The good news, he added, is that once the work is complete it will create capacity, allowing for growth in decades to come.
The bad news? “It will be magnificently disruptive when (the work) begins,” Clarke said.
As a precursor to this work, city contractors are currently cleaning debris from the sewer system on Gulf Boulevard. Between just two manholes, Clarke said, workers have cleaned out more than 12 tons of debris.
“We are in the slugfest of our lifetime,” Clarke said. “The only thing we haven’t found in this cleaning process is Jimmy Hoffa.”
Once the cleaning process is complete, the three-fold process Clarke outlined will begin. But paying for it is the city’s biggest challenge.
Saunders said the city has about 10 percent of it covered right now.
“We need an additional $10 million,” he said.
Options include the state of Florida Revolving Loan Fund, bond issues and public-private partnerships with developers like the TradeWinds Island Resorts, which hopes to redevelop the former Coral Reef Hotel into the Sugar Sands Resort, a 217-room, 12-story hotel and parking garage.
The project has been approved by the city’s Planning and Zoning Board. TradeWinds has indicated it would be willing to work with the city on improving the sewer infrastructure. Those discussions are ongoing.
In other action, commissioners:
• Commissioners passed an ordinance setting the final tax rate for 2016-17 at 3.15 mills and approved a $53.2 million budget for fiscal 2017. The budget includes $18.37 million in capital improvements, $9.36 million to the wastewater fund and $5.12 million for the stormwater fund. It also includes an 8.25 percent increase in the city’s wastewater fee, which is now $31.30 per month for the first 3,000 gallons used.
• Approved $20,992 for new playground equipment at Vina del Mar Park.
• Approved $78,510 for deck repairs at Upham Beach.
• Passed a resolution that creates rules and regulations for weddings on public beaches. The city recently increased the fee for a wedding on the beach to $100 for city residents and $250 for nonresidents. Weddings involving 20 people or less are $50 for residents and $75 for nonresidents.
• Commissioner Melinda Pletcher said this year’s Chowder Challenge in Pass-A-Grille has been canceled but the event will return in 2017.
This story was written by Bob McClure, the editor of the Beach Beacon. He can be reached at 727-397-5563, ext. 308 or by email at [email protected].
