Politifact- St. Petersburg mayoral candidate Kathleen Ford made a bold claim at the Times TV Debate

[SugarShack]

http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/baybuzz/politifact-florida-looks-at-kathleen-fords-claim-about-the-lens/2135468

PolitiFact Florida looks at Kathleen Ford's claim about the Lens
It's actually ALL TRUE, but you know, it's because it's Kathleen.

The Truth-O-Meter Says:

"There is no planned air-conditioned restaurant out on the Lens."
Kathleen Ford on Tuesday, August 6th, 2013 in a mayoral debate

Mostly True -(It's all true! But you know, it's Kathleen over the boys!)

A design of the Columbia restaurant planned at the base of the new Pier.
Opponents of the Lens design for St. Petersburg’s Pier knock it as a "sidewalk to nowhere," a function-less structure lacking important amenities of the retired inverted pyramid.

Take, for instance, the ability to eat food above water in cool air.

"Folks, there is no air-conditioned restaurant at the Lens," mayoral candidate Kathleen Ford declared at the Aug. 6 Tampa Bay Times/Bay News 9 mayoral forum. "Let me just clear that up for you. There’s been a lot of questions about that issue. There is no planned air-conditioned restaurant out on the Lens."

Ford’s claim came in response to a question about whether residents should get to vote on a replacement design for the Pier if they decide to cancel the current project in the Aug. 27 primary election. Stop the Lens has argued against the Lens for a host of reasons, including the lack of a restaurant.

The inverted pyramid Pier, which closed May 31 but has not been demolished, had a few restaurants, including the Columbia Restaurant. The new plan for the Pier, with its looping, futuristic, open-air design, does not allocate nearly the same amount of space for restaurants as before.

Instead of a full-size restaurant topping the water, Lens designers opted for a new restaurant strategy, in part to cut the taxpayer subsidy for the Pier. They planned a small, open-air cafe run by the Columbia restaurant on the Lens structure’s "promontory," which overlooks the water.

Meanwhile, a new Columbia restaurant would anchor a waterfront location at the approach to the Pier known as the Hub, which is currently the Pelican parking lot. Columbia owners say it will have about 8,000 square feet of air-conditioned space as well as outdoor and rooftop seating.

Richard Gonzmart, a member of the family that owns the Columbia Restaurant Group, said the cafe would be different from traditional fare at the Columbia, featuring a fusion of Japanese and Peruvian seafood and an open bar.

Would it have air conditioning? It’s hard to say, because final planning stages have not yet begun.
Enclosing the cafe space would take away from the intended experience, he said, adding he sees himself enjoying a glass of sauvignon blanc at the water’s edge in casual Florida wear with his German shepherd Rusty. Vivid personal preference aside, he acknowledges it may not be ideal for heat-weary visitors. His company is testing out a fan misting system at its cafe location at the Tampa Bay History Center in Tampa, he said.

Still, the looming referendum makes brainstorming ideas for either location with the California-based architects very difficult, he said. Much is left to be determined, and the City Council has not yet approved a lease with his restaurant for either space.

"We’ll have to come up with a way to cool it down," Gonzmart said. "I will investigate what we can do to make it comfortable."
City architect Raul Quintana said the nitty-gritty of the design will only be worked out between Columbia ownership and architects if the project survives the public vote.

"There’s no ‘yes or no’ answer," Quintana said. "Could (the cafe) be air-conditioned? Absolutely, if that’s what Gonzmart wants."

Two more parts of the promontory, a small ice cream parlor and bathroom facilities, will be air-conditioned, said Lisa Wannemacher, the associate local architect for the project.

Lens opponents, including president of Concerned Citizens of St. Petersburg William Ballard, have criticized the design for not including 26,000 square feet for a restaurant, one of the recommendations of the 2010 Pier Advisory Task Force report.

"We feel very comfortable stating that there is no air-conditioned restaurant out on the over water portion of the Lens," Ballard said, "nor is there an air-conditioned space just for people to go out there, even an enclosed space that they could retreat to get away from the weather."
There was not enough money to meet all of the task force’s recommendations, Wannemacher said, and building the restaurant on land helps reduce the project's costs. (city is about to lose an asset if this is not stopped!)
Two leaders of the task force defended the plan for the upland restaurant and promontory cafe, saying while it’s not exactly what the group had in mind, "it does substantially address the task force’s identification of a restaurant-based program as a focus."
Our ruling
Ford said, "There is no planned air-conditioned restaurant out on the Lens."
Ford's specific wording is technically accurate, but it ignores the fact that there are two places to get food that are part of the Lens project. The latest designs from the architect envision an open-air cafe at the endpoint of the Lens. The cafe's final design awaits collaboration between Columbia ownership and architects, and those talks are stalled with the big vote on the Lens on Aug. 27.
Further, the Columbia will open a separate air-conditioned restaurant that's on the approach to the Lens and has a waterfront view.
Her statement is accurate but needs clarification and additional information. We rate this Mostly True.

*************************
and this appeared yesterday!


Wow! Now this from the St. Pete Patch, like I explained below.

http://stpete.patch.com/groups/the-st-petersburg-pier/p/new-pier-stats-released-caissons-ok-demolition-delay

New Pier Stats Released: Caissons OK, Demolition Delay

St. Petersburg voters will decide on the future of the city's contract for the "Lens" on Aug. 27.

Oh my, Mrs. FORD is correct again. Just like there is no air conditioned restaurant on the Lens, the Pier caissons are structurally sound.

[SugarShack]

1. K&R Ford is for the people, the city is about to lose a HUGE asset!

[HooptieWagon]

2. The city subsidizes an air-conditioned resturant now

to the tune of $1 million/year. That is why the current pier is economically obsolete. The Lens design replaces the resturant at the pier's end, with one at the base...which will be paid for by the resturant.
When the current pier opened, there were no resturants and nightlife downtown. Now there is all kinds of activity on Beach Dr and Central Ave. and they're still working on making Bay Walk viable. There is no need for a resturant at the pier, let alone one thats tax-payer subsidized.
While I'm not crazy about the Lens design, I am in agreement that whatever is built needs to be economically viable for the next 40 years or more.

[SugarShack]

3. IT's all closed now. The subsidy for the current Pier was to shore up the bridge approach every year

That will be replaced. What you don't understand is all the studies you already paid for were done in 2005 for a "refurbishment". The subsidy will come down, to approx. what the Lens subsidy will be. Only there is nothing there to generate revenue. The LAND restaurant is part of the 100 million dollar lens...over time. A long time.

[HooptieWagon]

4. No, the subsidy was to maintain the pyramid...

in useable condition, and low rents for the tenants. Even if the pier approach is replaced, the subsidy would still be required for the pyramid.
With the Vinoy open, and resturants and stores booming on Beach Drive (without subsidies), there simply is no longer a need to have subsidized businesses at the pier. To reconfigure the pyramid for other use would just drive up the cost further. Although it hasn't been discussed, it's quite likely the current location isn't even the best for a new pier.
And the proposed landside site for the Colombia resturant is not included in the Lens cost because the Colombia will pay for the construction. The city is not paying for that.

[Coexist]

5. most restaurants in DTSP have about half outdoor seating - even Johnny Reno's

(AT the Pier) was about 70% outside.

not that I hate Ford, but c'mon, build the darn lens and lets talk about the homeless problem and crime.

The Lens is actually beautiful and the inverted pyramid was ugly, smelled and residents did NOT utilize it because it wasn't a great place to be.

[SugarShack]

6. Well Ford started the Homeless Task Force Coalition, so she can talk about that too!

[Coexist]

7. and that is great - but the perception of kathleen ford is that she will

fight to save the existing pier if elected. and enough of my taxpayer dollars have been invested in that eyesore. So I feel like a vote FOR her, is a vote to keep the pyramid.

[SugarShack]

8. That is not the perception she never said that. SHE WANTS CITIZENS TO VOTE ON THEIR PIER

She will not be fighting for anything, other than all options being up to the voters. If people want the Lens...she can actually execute the contracts...so Pinellas county citizens won't get ripped off. contracts are her specialty. Her opinion does not matter.

The perception may be there because that is originally what the study and 50 million were for. To refurbish the Pier, legally.

Baker, no longer in office, or someone, had Foster change the language from "the Pier" to "a structure". That is malfeasance. The judge asked Kathleen if Foster could be impeached for that. She told Judge Day, yes, but there is no time for that. The city wasted a year. She wants the voters to decide. She has said it in ALL DEBATES...on TV....on her website...and on her mail. She only wants to refurbish at this point, if that's what the voters want. She can execute that too. She's smarter than both those boys put together. And, both boys are now "sellouts".