A Letter from Chris: Rallying for Our Future

To our Chamber Community,

By now I'm sure you've read the news about the delayed county vote's impact on the proposed Historic Gas Plant district.

In my honest opinion, we find ourselves in this situation simply due to "hurricane brain". I'll speak for myself when I say it's been difficult to do basic work after so many weeks in fight/flight/freeze mode. I'm foggy on days even when the sun is out. And now we're all being asked to make some very big decisions - 50% rule anyone?

The previous County Commission faced the challenges of two major hurricanes, which can understandably influence decision-making. However, the majority may not have fully realized the implications of pausing the October vote on the critical start-up commitments that were initiated following their 5-2 approval in July.

As an example, after the 5-2 yes vote in July by County Commission, our Chamber and EDC began to work with the Rays/Hines development team on creating jobs. Hundreds of jobs. For so many of our Pinellas County residents and small businesses, it was the opportunity of a lifetime. They were going to build their business by building a stadium.

As we know, businesses invest in certainty. So now without the previously agreed upon commitment from the County, we find that our Rays, while still cautiously optimistic, have cause to pause.

While we see a community healing from the storms, we are confident in the bed-tax as a smart investment into the stadium development. The county has a significant reserve in this limited account and cannot utilize it for residential, road or employee assistance. The return to the county funds from this development, however, will payback into general revenue for years and years to come. Money that will be invested back into and operate the community we love.

We too ask our Rays to demonstrate their resolve for our city while they are forced with the day-to-day reality of supporting 300 amazing employees (and their families) by locating places for them to live and work. And yes, finding a place to play. We were informed, understand and support the business decision to play in Tampa and we thank the Yankees for their care for our fans throughout Tampa Bay.

So while the clouds of storms clear from our skies and from our heads, we ask all parties - Rays, County and City to continue to move forward together with their agreements. The economy continues to show more signs of strengthening every day, and the costs for our community will only escalate with every delay.

Now, batter up.

How you can help:

• Hold the County and the Rays accountable for the deal they set in motion.
• Email the County Commissioners and ask for a yes vote to move the bonding forward:
  • clatvala@pinellas.gov
  • cscherer@pinellas.gov
  • brscott@pinellas.gov
  • vnowicki@pinellas.gov
  • deggers@pinellascounty.org
  • kpeters@pinellascounty.org
  • rflowers@pinellascounty.org
  • chris@schererforpinellas.com
  • vince@vincenowicki.com
• Email the Rays too and ask them to work with the County to move the stadium forward.

Sincerely,

Chris Steinocher
President & CEO
St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce