The St. Petersburg City Council on Thursday decided to defer a vote on a new contract with Pier Events LLC, the events promoter of the St. Pete Pier over cost concerns and unhappiness about the company’s response to noise complaints.
The cost of the contract would nearly triple compared to the agreement in place since 2022. Between potential budget cuts and lingering complaints over thumping bass heard miles away from an electronic music festival held on the pier in December, four out of eight council members signaled discontent with the contract in an hourlong debate.
Rather than risk an outright rejection, council member Copley Gerdes, an ally of Mayor Ken Welch, motioned to defer the vote, which was approved unanimously.
That move allows the city to further negotiate the contract rather than starting a bidding process all over. It may mean having less programming at the pier or potentially taking some of that work in-house, which city officials said would cost more than the proposed contract.
“We want to get to where it’s revenue neutral,” Gerdes said. “The only way to do that is to activate it and continue to grab fees and make sure that we’re sharing in some of that revenue.”
The city’s contract with Pier Events would have increased from $90,000 to $250,000 annually. City officials said that price was “significantly lower” than the other two bids that came in. Pier Events is projected to bring in $165,000 in ticket fees this year from bigger events, which help subsidize smaller, free events.
Council chairperson Lisset Hanewicz and the downtown council member Gina Driscoll were sure no votes. They couldn’t square that increase. City departments are cutting budgets and bracing for a $75 million hit should voters approve Gov. Ron DeSantis’ plan to cut property taxes for owner-occupied homes claimed as primary residences.
“You know, young folks say the math isn’t mathing,” Hanewicz said.
Council members Mike Harting and Corey Givens couldn’t get past that math while subsidizing pier operating costs by about $1.5 million annually.
Council member Deborah Figgs-Sanders had an issue with a Facebook post written by Pier Events manager, Ferdian Jap. After the We Belong Here festival racked up 62 noise complaints and a written warning from police, Jap wrote that he hoped the city “doesn’t buckle to the noise complaints” and brings back the festival.
Jap attended Thursday’s meeting but did not speak publicly. He said his two full-time employees and three part-time staff, working as energy drink company Red Bull sets up its cliff diving event, watched council members debate from their phones and were worried about their jobs.
“I’ve had to calm everybody down so they don’t leave, which would effectively shut down the events,” Jap said. “We’re still working even though we don’t have a contract. That’s how dedicated I am to the city.”
Jap said there was room to negotiate and look at raising the fees for tickets so the city can make more money.
“My goal has always been to generate revenue for the pier,” he said. “Hopefully we can figure out a way to get there.”
