St. Pete debates downtown 'Clean and Safe' program as calls for police, safety services surge
The Brief
St. Pete city leaders are debating a new Clean and Safe Program for downtown.
Residents, business owners, and city council members are weighing in on funding, homelessness, and safety concerns.
The proposal will head to a full council workshop for further debate.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - St. Petersburg city leaders are taking a closer look at a proposal that would bring extra cleaning crews, safety ambassadors, and homeless outreach to the downtown core.
New questions are surfacing, though, about funding, priorities, and how best to serve vulnerable populations living on the streets.
What we know
The Clean and Safe Program would launch as a pilot focused on Beach Drive, Central Avenue, Williams Park, and surrounding areas.
READ: City of St. Petersburg to launch yearlong planning effort for rapidly growing District 2
During the city's Public Services & Infrastructure Committee meeting on Thursday, city staff said the program would supplement existing city services by adding daily sanitation, graffiti removal, power washing, and increased visibility downtown.
"As our downtown continues to grow in popularity," District 6 councilwoman Gina Driscoll told the committee, "it's time for us to make some adjustments in the way that our day-to-day operations happen in the city to meet those needs that come with today's popularity."
The push for additional safety downtown comes less than three weeks after a deadly stabbing outside a popular downtown restaurant. Police say a man behaving erratically was involved in a violent confrontation that ended with him being stabbed and killed. No charges have been filed at this time.
By the numbers
Police calls for service downtown have more than doubled over the past two years. According to city data, the number of calls rose from about 5,600 in 2023 to over 12,000 in 2024. If current trends continue, calls could top 20,000 this year.
What we don't know
While there's broad agreement that downtown St. Pete is seeing more people, more activity, and more strain on services, council members were divided on how to pay for the proposed program and whether homeless outreach should be part of the first phase.
"I want to make sure the center of the conversation is our unhoused population," said Corey Givens Jr., who represents the city's 7th district. "Granted, we want to support businesses and keep downtown clean, but we also want to make sure that we are providing those transitional living services to our unhoused population."
The initial version of the proposal included homeless outreach as a second phase, but multiple council members pushed back, calling for those services to be front and center.
"If we don't have a real conversation about that, we're completely missing the mark," councilwoman Brandi Gabbard told the committee.
READ: USPS warning customers of 'brushing' scams
Dig deeper
The Downtown Partnership outlined several possible funding sources, including:
A special district assessment on downtown property owners.
Expanded parking meter revenue from nearby districts.
Potential renegotiation of CRA funds with the county.
Private donations or sponsorships.
City administrators said their preference would be for downtown property owners to fund the program directly.
"The challenge we have in St. Pete is that the bulk of the property in our downtown area is residential, which is a good thing," explained Jason Mathis, CEO of the Downtown Partnership, "but it also means that you have a very limited amount of commercial property to generate these funds."
Several council members expressed concern about creating inequities by diverting citywide tax dollars into one neighborhood.
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The Source
This article is based on public discussions during the June 12 Public Services and Infrastructure Committee meeting, city council transcripts, city-provided data, police information, and previous FOX 13 reporting. Quotes are taken directly from council members, administrators, and members of the Downtown Partnership who participated in the public meeting.
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St. Pete debates downtown 'Clean and Safe' program as calls for police, safety services surge
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