A third poll has confirmed what two others have already shown – residents overwhelmingly favor the Destination St. Pete Pier design over all others.
In a new survey commissioned by Florida Politics, St. Pete Polls asks residents which of the three remaining pier designs they favored, Pier Park, Destination St. Pete Pier or the Alma. More than 45 percent chose Destination as their preferred design.
What’s more telling in the latest survey though is how few chose Alma. Fewer than 9 percent chose that as their top pick despite the city’s Pier Selection Committee having clearly set it as its number one. Another 23 percent chose Pier Park as their favorite.
The survey, conducted Sunday evening, comes just days after a marathon meeting in which the selection committee nearly ranked Destination St. Pete, the top vote-getter in the city’s public survey and an independent one conducted through St. Pete Polls, at number three. That move would have essentially eliminated the St. Pete Design Group’s vision for a new pier.
Instead they leaned toward the Alma. It was the city’s number 5 vote-getter in the public survey and last on the St. Pete Polls survey. Dozens of supporters of Destination St. Pete and some who were there to support a process heavy with public input, but not necessarily a particular design, blasted the committee for ignoring the will of the public.
However, the survey was nonbinding and, by law, cannot be used as a sole basis for selecting a final team.
The City Council will ultimately have an up or down vote on the number one design. The second-seeded design will only be considered if negotiations between the city and the first design team fail.
That begs the question – if the selection committee continues to ignore the public’s favorite, should the board vote down its selection. According to the latest poll, the answer is yes.
Nearly 55 percent indicated City Council should reject the selection committee’s choice if it is not the most popular among the public. Just 32.5 percent said they should move forward with 12.7 percent being unsure.
This seems to rule out the notion that the public has “pier fatigue” and just wants something built. It will likely weigh on Council members as they decide whether or not to risk another ballot initiative forced by petition as happened in 2013 with the Lens.
The survey was conducted on Sunday among 843 registered St. Pete voters who indicated they are familiar with the Pier design competition process. There’s a 3.4 percent margin of error with a 95 percent confidence level.
