Council takes a final vote on higher parking fines
Also: two St. Pete elementaries will close, and a Beatles museum moves downtown.
A forgotten parking meter in St. Pete costs $17.50 per ticket right now. City Council meets at 1:30 p.m. today, and if members approve the plan in front of them, that same lapse would cost $32.50 per ticket.
The fine for an expired meter would jump from $17.50 to $32.50 per ticket under a plan before City Council today. Most other parking violations would climb from $30 to $45 per ticket. Permits would cost more, too. A monthly downtown permit would go to $25 a month, and an annual residential permit would cost $30 a year, double the current price. None of this is approved yet. The meeting starts at 1:30 p.m., and public comment comes before the final vote. That gives residents a chance to speak before council decides. For anyone who parks at meters, one missed refill would cost nearly twice what it costs now.
A new manhole gives crews a way into a storm pipe under Central Avenue
Dips in the pavement on Central Avenue near Beach Drive led St. Petersburg Public Works to start a $610,000 project last month to open an access point into the stormwater pipe below. The new manhole sits behind construction fencing. Engineering director Brejesh Prayman expects crews to reline the pipe and possibly replace some sections. After that, the city plans to repave three roads that form the Grand Prix's upper racetrack with special asphalt. Prayman expects the work to finish in November, which would allow 120 days for the asphalt to cure ahead of the next race. Anyone driving or walking that block will pass that fencing until then.
School Board votes to close Blanton and Bear Creek elementaries
Falling enrollment led the Pinellas County School Board to approve another round of school closures on Oct. 13. Blanton Elementary and Bear Creek Elementary in St. Petersburg are on the list, and both will close when the 2026-27 school year ends. Kings Highway Elementary Magnet School in Clearwater and Lealman Innovation Academy will also close. Azalea families face a different change. Azalea Elementary will become a K-8 school on the Azalea Middle School campus, and Azalea Middle will relocate to Boca Ciega High's campus and get a new name. Roughly 60 parents, teachers and students weighed in over three hours before the vote, with most of the attention on a proposed Tarpon Springs merger.
Welch and Crist spar over tax cuts and housing costs
Charlie Crist wants a 0.4-mill cut to the city's property tax rate, which Crist estimates would return $15 million a year to property owners. Crist made the pitch in a Spectrum Bay News 9 debate with Mayor Ken Welch, with the Nov. 3 general election three weeks away. Crist also criticized city-backed housing that costs nearly $800,000 per unit, pointing to the Deuces Rising project. Welch countered with roughly 3,500 affordable units finished, under construction or planned during the Welch administration. Both candidates oppose Amendment 3, the ballot measure to widen Florida's homestead exemption. The city estimates it would lose about $33 million in property tax revenue in fiscal 2028 and $54 million the year after. Welch asked how Crist could object to those losses while proposing a $15 million-a-year tax cut.
A small SNAP bump has not eased demand at Tangerine Plaza
Maximum SNAP benefits went up this month by $8 a month for a single person and $29 a month for a family of four. At Tangerine Plaza in south St. Petersburg, demand for free food remains high. Positive Impact ST. PETE serves hundreds of people there every Saturday. Executive Director Karen Rae Selm said changes to eligibility rules mean fewer families qualify. A higher maximum does little for a household that no longer qualifies. The group needs about 100 volunteers every week.
Penny Lane Beatles Museum opens on 2nd Street North
More than 1,600 Beatles artifacts now fill a downtown space roughly four times the size of the museum's old home in Dunedin. The Penny Lane Beatles Museum opened Oct. 14 at 146 2nd St. N. Hours run Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays are the days it stays closed. Admission is $15 per adult, and kids 8 and younger get in free.