Results are in from Mayor Ken Welch’s community conversations

ST. PETERSBURG — The results from Mayor Ken Welch’s December “community conversations” are in.

Before he took office, the mayor held three public forums — two in person and one virtual — to solicit feedback for his incoming administration. The city released the findings on Friday in a 132-page online report.

Now the administration is asking residents to further narrow down their areas of concern in an online survey. Residents can rank issues under five focal points highlighted by the Welch administration. Housing opportunities for all received the most mentions, followed by education and youth opportunities; equitable development and business opportunities; neighborhood health and safety; and environment, infrastructure and resilience.

Welch said in a statement that the community conversations’ series is one way his administration will stay in touch with residents.

“I was inspired by the feedback we received from participants,” he said. “My administration will consider all of the issues raised and suggestions offered as we move forward with policymaking that emphasizes informed decision-making, intentional equity and innovation to identify solutions that benefit all.”

There were 2,707 responses from the December forums, which identified 1,122 “barriers to progress” in the five areas of concern, 1,045 suggested solutions and 540 responses that highlighted current solutions.

In the housing category, residents identified problems such as poverty, accessibility, financial literacy, mental health, homelessness, public safety, systemic racism, lack of education and wages.

According to a summary, residents also expressed strong concern about the impact of out-of-state investors and developers building high-end housing. They also worry that the City Council is approving too many luxury developments.

Residents suggested that they want to see zoning and permitting issues addressed, property tax caps established for residents in low-income areas, and a reparations land trust for Black communities. They took issue with the cumbersome bidding process for city contracts.

“Many residents expressed concern that not enough banks in South St. Pete would lend to residents,” city officials said in an email. Residents also favor banning plastic straws and increasing the use of solar energy, citing concerns over rising sea levels and climate change.

Welch’s New Orleans-based transition consultant, Michelle Thomas, emailed the finished report to Deputy Mayor Stephanie Owens on Feb. 2. Thomas was paid $15,000 in December for her services through Welch’s political action committee, Pelican PAC.

The Welch administration also worked with students from the Harvard Kennedy School to study affordable housing for the mayor’s transition team