- This is a production of WEDU PBS, Tampa, St.

Petersburg, Sarasota.

[music] - Coming up, Manatee County is becoming a battleground, pitting cruise ships against conservation.

A new cruise port south of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge could reshape Tampa Bay tourism, but opponents claim it would devastate the bay's recreational economy, not to mention wetlands and water quality.

We tackle some of the big questions that still remain, plus a historic week for the University of South Florida.

It welcomed its ninth president in 70 years.

What that means for students, alumni and our local economy.

And news of the race possibly moving to Tampa seems like a home run.

But this isn't the first time we've seen photo renderings and heard plans for a new ballpark.

We look at the history of attempts to move the team and discuss why this time may be different.

And new this year Florida This Week brings you intimate conversations with leaders in the region.

See their vision for the future and unique aspects of their Tampa Bay story.

Up first, the Texan turned Tampena by way of France.

[music] Welcome back everybody.

I'm Lissette Campos joining our panel discussion this week.

We welcome Gayle Andrews, a Democratic political consultant, Aakash Patel, president and founder of Elevate Inc., and a Republican.

Alexis Muellner, the Editor- in-Chief of the Tampa Bay Business Journal, and C.J.

Czaia, an attorney and also a business owner.

We begin in Manatee County, where a proposed cruise port is being pitched as a major economic opportunity.

The private investors behind the project claim it would boost tourism and create jobs.

But with significant environmental implications on the line, critics warn the project could disrupt boating, recreational and the health of the bay.

Here's where the plan stands at this moment.

SSA Marine, based in Seattle, wants to build a privately financed cruise port on the seaward side of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.

It's in partnership with the Tampa based holding company Slip Knot LLC.

Last October, SSA Marine bought the 328 acres in the bay known as the Knott Cowen Tract.

Through a subsidiary, they also acquired Rattlesnake Key.

More than 700 acres of Mangrove Island south of the Skyway Bridge is considered one of the most environmentally sensitive areas in the Tampa Bay estuary.

It sits adjacent to the Terra Ceia Aquatic Preserve and critical seagrass habitat.

Much of what is known about the proposed port comes from the project's new website on it.

SSA Marine promises conservation and says the $18 million they spent on Rattlesnake Key was done to, quote, remove any possibility of private commercialization.

End quote.

It's important to note that since 2022, Manatee leaders at the county and state levels have tried to purchase the privately owned key for conservation purposes.

At one point, Manatee County set aside $3 million to contribute.

And state legislators appropriated $23 million for the purchase.

The deal fell apart when the state's appraisal came in closer to $8 million.

The state and the prior owner, Cayo Cascabel, could not agree on a new price.

Cayo Cascabel purchased the key for $2 million back in 2004.

It drew public ire 20 years later, after its plans were released to build tourist amenities, including a resort, a waterside bar and shopping village.

Fast forward to today's plan.

Supporters say a new port south of the Skyway could handle larger, modern cruise ships that can't pass under the bridge.

Opposition, however, is growing from environmental scientist and charter boat captains to local residents and business owners.

They warned that a large scale port could harm the water quality throughout the bay, disrupt fisheries, impact the recreational economy, and disappear the shellfish industry.

Alexis, I'd like to start with you the economics of this project.

What are the impacts?

- There are two important economic development threads here.

One is really why we're having this discussion.

It's not recent that this has come up because what they're really limited by these, by the bridge and these Panamax size, you know, enormous cruise ships with thousands of people on them can't get under it.

And so port, Port Tampa Bay has been limited in terms of having a class ship that's older.

It's an older inventory.

And there's a lot of discussion.

We've reported a bunch about what's that economic impact in when when folks come off the ship.

And there have been arguments to say, and we've reported about, people go and park and go to the cruise ship, and there's not a lot of support downtown for for economic development.

And so that's why this is happening.

The environmental impacts, though, I think, are enormous because my wife and I, our happy place is Holmes Beach on Anna Maria Island.

It's one of the most beautiful, pristine places on earth.

Right.

And so and just the estuary in general, over the last 20 years of my time in this area has gotten much cleaner.

And so that's just not to be underestimated in terms of the economic impact of just water life and water sports.

- And I'd like to ask C.J.

about that.

C.J.

you are from Manatee County, are very familiar with this area.

- Yes, I live right there and I'm not against going to the next step.

Maybe Rattlesnake Key needs to be given to the state or bought by the state or the county to protect the wetlands, but you have to find a balance.

You like it or not, we're not living in the past.

When I got to Florida, there was no I-75.

There was no road to to, you know, Alligator Alley.

We had to drive down 41.

And guess what?

Now out east, everything east of us is being developed in Manatee and Sarasota County.

So get with it.

We're going to have six lane highways.

You like it or not?

I would like political people that have foresight to plan.

We need the shipping.

We need the economy to move.

We need that kind of thing.

We're not talking anymore.

We have to come back into the era where we are in now.

So I'm not against it if it's done correctly.

Now, bolt, you know, bulldoze everything.

- What is the boating community saying?

- Well, I mean, we how do I say this nicely?

I mean, some people are stuck in the past on boating.

You can balance the two.

We need business.

We need to have protect the environment.

It's not one or the other.

- And, Gayle, this is certainly a conversation that's being had in Tallahassee.

A lot of folks are really watching this story develop in Manatee County.

- Well, I think it's set off a bunch of red flags because we're an environmental state.

We believe in the environment.

We live here because it's beautiful here, and we have done a great job up until recently of protecting our environment.

That's why we're here.

That's what Florida is known for, and its people are very sensitive to that.

But my point is the the problem we have is the Department of Environmental Protection.

Should a red flag this thing because there have none of these checks have been taken into account.

Why hasn't the Department of Environmental Protection done something or stepped in?

Because they've abandoned they've abandoned their, their, their their responsibility in regulation?

Well, it's.

- Important to note that SSA Marine and also the slip knot, which is the other company that they're partnering with, they have not filed any formal plans.

And until they do, it doesn't trigger the automatic reviews and the public discussions.

- Folks know what they're doing.

They operate ports around the world.

They're amazing.

Um, you have to give them a shot.

We can't just close everything down and be closed minded.

We're not.

Again, we're not living in the past.

We're not going back.

- This is not the past.

You're going to dredge.

You're going to fill the wetlands when you put a port in.

Do we want to look like Port Canaveral?

Do we?

You know.

Is that what is that what we want?

- So I live there, I.

- Don't think coming over the bridge and looking at a bunch of gigantic cruise ships.

- Really a great thing.

- And my question is about what is the quality of jobs that comes out of that?

Is it does it really is it worth it?

Right?

- I think you need to let them go to the next step and see what they have.

If it's done poorly, no, if it's done correctly, I have no problem with that.

- Well, we will certainly continue to follow it.

Moving on to our next story.

It's one of the largest economic drivers in the Tampa Bay area.

Annually in the Tampa Bay.

We're talking about a $7 billion economic impact.

The total impact statewide is closer to $10 billion.

We of course are talking about the University of South Florida.

Friday, February 13th a big day officially stepping down after four years as president.

Notably, she goes down in the USF history books as the very first USF graduate to become president.

Announced her retirement last year on February the 17th.

And exactly one year to the day the new president will take over.

He is Moez, Dr.

Moez Limayem.

He's no stranger to the USF community.

He served as USF's Dean of the Business School for ten years, from 2012 to 2022, before relocating to Jacksonville to become president of the University of North Florida.

Aakash, I'd like to start with you, Dr.

Mosley Limayem.

A lot of folks are very excited to have him.

What are you hearing in the community?

- The business community is very excited.

When he came on as a business dean, he went out, forged relationships with employers and major donors, and brought a lot of money and jobs opportunities to students at the campus.

And so when he didn't get the job the first time around, when Judy Guentchev retired, it was sad to see him go to UNF in Jacksonville.

And now to have him come back is like a homecoming.

And he's already reached out.

He told me that the day he got announced the president job, over 1000 people called him.

That's how popular he was here in Tampa Bay.

- He is a Tunisian American.

He has been a US citizen since 2015.

He speaks six different languages.

The research on him is pretty impressive.

- And his daughter is a freshman at the Honors College.

She thought she was going to not see his dad and she followed him here.

So it's a great, great story.

And Doctor Law was, as chairman Weatherford said, was the right president at the right time.

USF was going through some search and she was an alum.

She was a major player in the community, in the business community and a lawyer, and I'm so glad that she was there for this time.

- Gayle, this has been a very different selection process than other selections of presidents for universities.

Talk to us about that.

- We've had some very strange things happening, but I'm just delighted.

And many people are very happy that University of South Florida continues to hold up the flag for academia and university management and so forth.

And these two choices, the outgoing and the incoming.

The outgoing is not being fired or forced out.

The incoming is someone of status and just absolutely will be able to continue to make sure the integrity of that university and its autonomy is in check.

I think the autonomy of the state university system, it has to be preserved, and I think South Florida is giving us hope that we're on the right path.

- Now, whether or not you are a critic or a supporter of the governor's actions.

In terms of university searches, one thing I think that everyone can be happy about is the fact that talent from the Tampa Bay area is being selected for these positions.

You know, here you have Doctor Lima, who is leaving now, the University of North Florida, and they have selected someone from the Tampa Bay to take his place, which is the interim president from Polk State College.

How exciting for them.

And again, it just shows you the gems that we have in Tampa Bay.

Um, the Alexis, I know that you had a very special conversation with Rhea before she left.

- I've had the privilege of meeting with her regularly over the years.

We've known each other for for many, many years now.

And this is an exit interview that appears in the Business Journal today.

Uh, and my takeaways from that, not only was her effectiveness in getting money for USF in Tallahassee, but she is a doer.

And when she came in, people were like, oh, we've been trying to get this dorm and USF Manatee and we can't do it.

She's like, why not?

Let's just get these things done.

She's like, and she impressed people in terms of cutting through the molasses that it takes to get things done.

The other thing she told me was that she sensed that there was a lacking in belief that coming from it's commuter school roots, USF had a pride issue and that she feels like she build that back into the system.

And then lastly, she was somebody who widened her cabinet.

She grew from a traditional cabinet of 8 or 9 people to almost 20.

It included administrative people.

And one of the things I really liked about this piece in our discussion was that that it takes the entire system to really derive input and be able to make stronger decisions, and that, that kind of that inclusion at a time where inclusion is something that that the public university system has had to walk gingerly around.

That was her spirit.

- She has often said that she harnesses the power of diversity of thought and a lot of folks really respect her for that.

Another big story that the entire town is talking about.

You might have seen them.

The Tampa Bay Rays stadium renders may feel new, but the idea certainly is not.

Take a look.

These are the official artistic renderings, envisioning a new ballpark and mixed use district on what is now the Dale Mabry Campus of Hillsborough College.

Back in 2007 and 2008, the waterfront proposals in St.

Pete gained traction before collapsing over funding and political support.

A decade later, in 2018, momentum shifted to Ybor City, a major Tampa proposal that ultimately fell apart over financing.

Fast forward to 2021, the team floated that split season plan with Montreal, generated quite a bit of buzz, but never cleared all the hurdles.

So the question that many are asking is what is different this time?

C.J.

as a season ticket holder.

A fan of baseball?

- Look, we have to drive from Manatee County to St.

Pete for a game, or Tampa.

It's okay.

We are part of Tampa Bay.

I don't care if you're the south side.

The north side.

We will make that drive if you give us a good product.

So I really believe that government has a responsibility to create infrastructure.

And infrastructure for me is also stadiums because it attracts people, I travel.

I mean, we have the World Cup coming.

I'll go anywhere for a game.

It brings people in.

We need world class stadiums like Miami is building for the soccer, for the for the Miami teams.

We need to be that kind of city and area and community if we want to live.

Again, I'm going back.

We can go back to the past.

I don't want to live there.

I look forward, we go forward.

And that's what I'd like them to do.

Get it done in Hillsborough County, get it done wherever they want to.

But we want baseball the right way.

It's got to be covered.

It's got to be air conditioned.

That's the only thing I ask.

- Aakash, you have been on the board of Hillsborough College for several years.

You know, what can you tell us?

- Well, I just finished my term.

I served four years and two months, and I was grateful for the governor for that opportunity.

But I know that for this president, Dr.

Atwater, students matter.

And we have five campuses at Hillsborough College.

And Dale Mabry for years and years has had maintenance issues.

Just the building getting older, hurricane things.

And we've gone to Tallahassee as a trustee when I was on the board and advocated.

But there's five other campuses.

There's also other universities, state colleges and systems that are competing.

What I know about the Rays ownership, I've had a chance to meet them, see them speak.

They're out there.

We've never had ownership.

They're out there building relationships, building partnerships.

The first thing they did is talk to our president, Dr.

Atwater, and said, we want the students first.

So they're going to invest in building a state of the art campus when they when they build a stadium around it.

So that's important because education is important.

I think, you know, we don't use the word community college, but it's Hillsborough College.

We have 42,000 students in that campus.

- Well, students aren't the only ones and politicians that are watching this closely.

The Bucs are watching this closely.

They have to decide whether to renew their lease in less than 11 months.

And so, um, no community investment tax dollars will be used that were set aside for the renovations of Raymond James Stadium.

Uh, Gayle, how do you see this playing out now that the bucks are saying?

Hold on a minute.

We need to watch this proceed.

- You know what?

Um, this is a very important issue, but it brings with it a great deal of controversy because obviously, the impact in the use of public revenue.

Um, and, you know, nothing's going to happen for three years.

I just we just I just look at it as like, take your time, make sure that when you do this, because they're going to pull the trigger, that everybody understands.

- That it's rushed.

- Uh, yeah, I think so.

You've got three years.

- I think it's rushed because of the Tropicana deadline.

I mean, their contract is up, and the St.

Pete wants to move on, so Tampa should move on.

I mean, it's all just worked out very well.

- Yeah, but you know, you know, there's that local politics involved with a mayor that needs to have some kind of legacy.

Right?

And and that's involved.

- Both sides of the.

[laughter] - is chomping at the bit to get it done.

- For crying.

- Out loud.

[laughter] - You know, let's get business together.

Let's make it happen.

Listen, we can make things happen.

Have vision.

You talk about USF and the former.

Make it happen.

Let's go.

I've been tired of waiting.

Saying play ball.

There you go.

- Let's play ball.

The other question.

- That you hear a lot is who's going to pay for this 2.3 billion that there's.

- No there's been for years no public support for financing wealthy billionaires who own sports franchises.

So the question is is there a model.

And they are looking closely at the battery in Atlanta as an example, there's a Miami Freedom Park which has used.

- Amazing.

- Private.

- Loan to fund.

I think you referenced it.

But the fact is that you these things and the rays have long had a major TV audience, one of the biggest in the league.

And so the a lot of what people know about our area comes from our sports teams.

And so you don't want to lose a baseball franchise.

And our newsroom, we have a lot of debate about do we need baseball?

In fact, Emma Behrman and our of our team wrote a fantastic cover story about whether or not St.

Pete needs baseball.

It's tricky for St.

Pete, right?

I live in Pasco County.

I you know, but but I think it does if it's ever going to happen.

This is the moment in time where with the new ownership, who is who is being perceived as very much a change and people are really liking what they're doing.

Yes.

- Community engagement meetings, they have their first one with the Union of the firefighters.

That's right.

Next.

There are some meetings that will be held with the university students as well as the faculty.

Um, how how do you all see that?

- I think that's.

- Great.

They need to do that.

That's that's an obvious thing.

But they need to look at those communities all around there.

So you don't have blowback because they always get nailed.

They always.

- Get hurt.

Impact is huge for the community.

We in Bradenton, we have the Pirates spring training.

We invest in that.

It's worth every penny.

We bring people to our community that never would be there.

Let's get on with it.

I'm sorry to get tourism wise.

- I think the TDC could possibly help because we are going to bring in thousands and thousands of tourists.

We have tourists for Gasparilla and other events and that would be a big the hockey game, the Stadium series this is going to be major for.

- And just lastly, there's a local there's a lot of local ownership.

And I spoke to one of the local owners last week who told me that he really likes that the HC site, because it has land and because it's close to the airport.

It's sort of a boring site when you think of other places.

It could be, but but in synergy with what's happening with, you know, with the Bucs potentially, and the area.

- They have the build out where they're building like a little town basically around it.

And that's.

- That's important.

- That's important.

But I mean, really it.

- Is.

- Just do not hurt people that live in that.

- In that community, a.

- Story that we will be following.

And we really thank you all for weighing in on it.

Thanks to our panelist Gayle Andrews, Akash Patel, Alexis Muellner and C.J.

Czaia.

Before we move on to our next segment, Florida's regular legislative session will end on March the 13th.

We do our best to cover so many of the issues that are important to you, our viewers, so we don't want you to miss the extra content that we produce.

And we post on YouTube on the YouTube channel of Florida This Week.

We recently sat down with Michael Van Sickler, who is the political editor of the Tampa Bay Times, and here's what he said that he's hearing from lawmakers in Tallahassee that are looking to regulate E-bikes.

Legislators are talking about creating a task force to look at it.

It's not a bill or proposal to eliminate E-bikes.

- Not to eliminate.

And they're doing some other like nibbling around the edges.

Like if you're on an E-bike and you see a pedestrian, you're supposed to slow down.

I don't know how they would enforce that.

You're supposed to do other precautions.

Um, but yeah, the task force, I think, would take a harder look to see if what can we do with this with these bikes that are very popular.

- New to the program.

We're hosting one on one interviews with thought leaders in different industries in the Tampa Bay West Central Florida region.

We want you to meet Audrey Chapuis.

She's the president and CEO of the Tampa Bay History Center.

On the job since December, she relocated from France, where she was the executive director of the American Library in Paris, which, we want you to know is the largest English language lending library in Europe.

Audrey, welcome.

We're so excited to have you.

- Thank you so much for having me.

- Well, you have worked and been at museums all over the world, visited different museums.

What are you hoping to bring to the Tampa Bay History Center?

- Well, first of all, the History Center itself is already world class.

The exhibits reach a multi-generational audience.

We do a ton of outreach.

We're in one of the most beautiful locations in the city.

So it's really about connecting our collections and offerings to the community.

Um, in my experience, the best museums are truly embedded into the civic life of their communities.

In France, I remember the first time seeing teenagers hanging out at museums, and I thought, well, growing up in Texas, that's not where I would hang out.

So feeling that museums are inevitable, um, indispensable to their communities.

So my goal is that everyone in Tampa Bay knows the History Center.

They come back again and again.

They feel like the History Center is theirs, and that we have an open invitation to, to return.

Um, and that happens through the warm welcome that we're giving, uh, the storytelling, making sure that our exhibits are very accessible to different styles of learners, um, that we continue to evolve as information appetites evolve and then really making sure that we're highlighting our incredible collections from our Touchton map library collections to artifacts that go back thousands of years.

- And the Tampa Bay History Center has been for years a resource to the community, from research to public speaking.

How do you envision bringing more of that experience out of the gallery and into the community?

- Absolutely.

That's so essential to what we do.

And I think, um, as you're alluding to, there's a little bit of a cognitive barrier.

You know, what does a history center do?

Is it for me?

Um, you know, getting past those those imposing front doors.

So getting into the community is so key to making sure people feel that, um, we're a comfortable space for them.

So that's through walking tours.

We do, um, really fun programs, like history as a joke, um, working with local comics and our curators to have conversations about iconic, um, aspects of Tampa Bay life.

And we're also opening Tampa's Black History Museum and concert with the Tampa Housing Authority.

So you'll be seeing the History Center in new places.

- Lot to look forward to.

So you've been here for your first 60 days?

First impressions?

- Yes.

Um, well, it's been, I would say, the softest landing that I could possibly have imagined.

You know, I've been in Paris for the past 12 years, so it feels like coming home.

So that's the first impression.

And I'm not surprised that Tampa is seeing the growth that it does.

Um, everyone I talk to about half are from Tampa, and they've stayed for a reason and half are just arriving.

And they're so excited to be here.

So I'd say there's a lot of vibrant growth that's palpable.

Um, and then working with other civic and cultural partners, we're all moving in the same direction, which is pretty rare.

And I just feel so lucky to be here.

- Um, it almost seems like everything in your life has led you to this point.

I mean, you were at Harvard, which was built in 1636 at the Business School of Paris, goes back to 1881 at the American National Library that started after World War One.

It seems like you have spent a lot, most of your life surrounded by history and historic places.

- Absolutely.

- How does that experience lead you to the decisions and the vision that you have for the History Center here?

- Thank you.

Yes, I'm definitely an institutionalist in that regard, knowing that we are shaped by those institutions that we're a part of, but we're also shaping them.

So it's about gentle stewardship, um, making sure that we're retaining what makes our institutions special while continuing to evolve them.

Um, but I also see an arc of access.

So, you know, I'm a librarian at heart, and I think that there's been a movement from librarians and museum personnel as gatekeepers.

You know, we're we're holding on to our history and preserving it to we're facilitating access.

And of course, we want people to discover our collections and be a part of shaping the institutions that we're shepherding.

- Audrey, thank you so much for coming in.

And congratulations.

- Thank you so much.

- On behalf of all of us here at WEDU, thank you so much for watching.

We know that you have many options for your news and information, and we thank you for choosing us.

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