City council preps for voting on Rays' stadium
Thursday, June 5, 2008
PINELLAS COUNTY (Bay News 9) -- It is voting day for St. Petersburg city leaders.
Up for debate: the much-hyped downtown waterfront stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays.
Today, the city council will take the first of three votes on the issue.
Specifically, council members will decide if the referendum process will begin to let voters have their say on the issue in November. If they vote no, the whole thing is dead. But if they vote yes, the process of drafting the referendum language will get underway.
Councilman Karl Nurse is against the stadium but wants voters to have their say.
"Give voters the choice to say.. 'okay.' This is the last time we want to deal with this on the waterfront.' said Nurse. "And if they vote in favor..of the other of preserving the Al Lang site, then we won't be talking about plan B.. C.. Or plan D."
The city council will take a second vote in July and a final one in August. During the final vote in August, council members will hold a second reading of the referendum.
Council members would get a chance to kill the referendum altogether at that time.
If the referendum gets through the third vote, it will appear on the November ballot.
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