Mayor Ken Welch’s administration recently nixed a five-year effort to revive and reimagine the St. Petersburg Science Center. All eight city council members disagreed with that decision Thursday.
The council’s unanimous vote followed impassioned comments in support of St. Pete for STEAM’s plans to breathe new life into the once-beloved institution. Some expressed disdain for how the administration quietly reneged on an agreed-upon $1.6 million sale at the eleventh hour, blaming a convoluted feasibility study.
Council members agreed that the city should find additional sites to, perhaps one day, enhance the nearby Northwest Water Reclamation Facility’s capacity. They also believe that those unplanned efforts should not kill long-negotiated plans to transform the Science Center site into an education and innovation hub…