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Joshua Gillin
By Joshua Gillin May 15, 2014

Recommendations not due for another three months

Rick Kriseman's timeline to replace St. Petersburg's dormant pier has hit a few snags.

His campaign website stated last year he would appoint a group of community leaders to compile a list of desired features for a new or renovated pier.

He optimistically promised to do it before Jan. 2, 2014, when he was inaugurated. But the group wasn't formally announced until May 1. He eventually put 21 people on this "working group."

Seeing as how May 1 is after April 2, it's obvious this promise wasn't kept. The mayor's office told us they will be holding public meetings for three months to listen to people's ideas.

Kriseman does still have until September to choose a final plan, although that isn't the plan under the new timeline. He has proposed using the group's findings to request proposals from architectural and engineering firms. Then the ideas will be shortlisted and the public will be able to choose their top three in a nonbinding vote. How that will be done hasn't been decided yet.

The mayor will then choose a single design, and the city council will vote on a contract, taking us into 2015.

We'll note that while the plan to gather recommendations is still in place, it's behind Kriseman's original schedule. Because the timetable he promised has changed, we rate this a Promise Broken.

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