Committee weighs full reconstruction of Boca Ciega and Gulf Winds drives against borrowing and shorter repairs

St. Pete Beach staff and Finance & Budget Committee members debated whether to fund full reconstruction of Boca Ciega Drive and Gulf Winds Drive now or delay major work and perform scaled repairs to avoid borrowing.

Devin Schmidt, the city finance director, presented the capital plan and explained the projects’ high cost is driven in part by extensive underground utility replacement included in the full-scope construction estimates.

Why it matters: Full reconstruction increases the capital deficit and could require debt. Committee members expressed concern about adding significant borrowing to the general fund while others argued failing to repair roads could create safety and visitor-impact problems.

Public services staff explained many of the high costs reflect paired utility work — replaced reclaimed water and sewer laterals, force mains and other utilities — that, if not done with the pavement project, would lead to repeated digs into new pavement. The director said the city could pare back scope (remove wider sidewalks or other enhancements) to reduce cost but cautioned underground utilities would remain a driver of future maintenance costs.

One committee member said, “I’m not sold on those two big line items,” and asked whether the city should accept a smaller surface improvement rather than entering a larger deficit. Staff replied that road repairs could be pushed out while the city waits for FEMA reimbursements and that the city had conservatively placed an $8 million line item in 2031 in the forecast.

Committee members directed staff to prepare comparative options for Boca Ciega and Gulf Winds — including grinding and milling or surface-only repairs versus full reconstruction — and to provide clearer cost breakdowns that separate the enterprise-fund (reclaimed water) portion of work from general fund pavement costs.

Next steps: Staff will return with cost-comparison options, including reduced-scope repairs, estimates for borrowing costs if the commission elects to borrow, and the reclaimed-water connection statistics to support any proposed fee or enterprise-fund allocation.