St. Pete puts $2M behind a cleaner downtown

The service area includes Williams Park, sections of Central Avenue and the waterfront business district. Photo by Bill DeYoung. St. Petersburg is committing up to $2 million over three years to keep downtown cleaner, even as city officials brace for difficult budget decisions following last week’s election. City Council voted 7-1 Nov. 5 to approve an agreement with Williams Park Partnership Inc. for daily cleaning, maintenance and hospitality services across roughly 226 acres of downtown. Vice Chair Richie Floyd cast the lone dissenting vote. The agreement authorizes up to $1.95 million in services through December 2029, plus $78,000 in startup costs. The program is scheduled to begin Jan. 1, 2027, with nine full-time positions planned for litter collection, sidewalk cleaning, visitor assistance and other maintenance. The service area stretches from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street toward the waterfront, covering parts of downtown between Fifth Avenue N. and Sixth Avenue S. It includes Williams Park, sections of Central Avenue and the waterfront business district. Funding will come from the city’s Parking Revenue Fund, with additional paid parking locations expected to generate enough money to cover the program. The effort has been years in the making. In 2023, the St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership began exploring a downtown improvement district that would use special assessments on property owners to pay for cleaning, safety and beautification. Those plans were paused in early 2024 , but concerns about downtown conditions continued. During council discussions in June 2025 , residents and business owners described problems with trash, graffiti and sanitation, particularly around Williams Park. Under the new agreement, Williams Park Partnership will provide services through the St. Petersburg Downtown Improvement District. Four maintenance ambassadors will collect litter, empty trash cans, pressure wash sidewalks and perform basic upkeep. Four hospitality ambassadors will provide directions, assist visitors, communicate with businesses and report problems requiring city attention. A field supervisor will oversee the work. Crews will operate seven days a week. The agreement also requires monthly reports documenting staffing, hours worked, maintenance activities, business visits and service requests. Although the program received broad council support, Floyd questioned whether the city should commit additional funding while facing uncertainty about future revenues. The discussion came two days after Florida voters approved Amendment 3, which increases homestead property tax exemptions and limits assessment increases on other properties. City officials expect the changes to put pressure on municipal budgets. Floyd argued that parking revenue could support other city services and questioned whether additional downtown maintenance should take precedence over existing obligations. “I don’t think pressure washing downtown is an essential city service,” Floyd said. City administrators acknowledged the concern. Unlike some other enterprise funds, the Parking Revenue Fund can support other municipal expenses. Committing that money to the cleaning program could limit the city’s options during future budget discussions. Supporters argued that the additional parking revenue was being generated specifically to fund the program. Council Member Gina Driscoll, a longtime supporter of the effort, said the new paid parking spaces are expected to generate more than enough revenue to cover its cost. She also argued that downtown’s concentration of businesses, residents and visitors creates maintenance demands unlike those in other neighborhoods. A 2024 citywide Community Survey found that 60% of respondents rated street cleaning as good or excellent, while 49% gave similarly positive ratings to sidewalk maintenance. The findings reflect residents’ perceptions across St. Petersburg, not downtown specifically. The program will supplement work the city already performs. During Thursday’s discussion, officials said employees currently handling downtown maintenance could be reassigned to other parts of St. Petersburg rather than lose their jobs. The city solicited proposals in January and received three responses. One was disqualified as incomplete. Williams Park Partnership was selected following an evaluation of the remaining proposals. The contractor can receive up to $630,000 annually for scheduled services, with another $20,000 available each year for unscheduled work. Shaun Drinkard, who leads Williams Park Partnership and the Downtown Improvement District, told council members Nov. 5 that he considers the first year a pilot. If the program needs more money to expand, he said the nonprofit would pursue private sponsors, grants and other funding opportunities. The agreement allows the city to terminate the contract for convenience with 90 days’ written notice, giving officials an opportunity to reconsider the program if costs or performance fall short of expectations. Driscoll said the condition of downtown’s streets and public spaces affects more than appearances. She argued that a clean downtown encourages visitors to return and businesses to invest. “We have to take care of our investment,” Driscoll said. “Our investment is in downtown where this is going to be, and I think that’s the right thing to do.” Share Tweet Share Related Topics: cleaning downtown maintenance St. Petersburg Williams Park 3 Comments Subscribe to the Daily Spark Get the latest right to your phone Subscription Form Name Email Subscribe Subscribe to the Daily Spark Get the latest right to your phone Subscription Form Name Email Subscribe You may like