Ch-Ch-Ch- Changes (at the Ch-Ch-Ch Chamber)

Gulfport Merchants Chamber Looks Ahead to Big Year

By Monroe Roark

The Gulfport Merchants Chamber moves its 2023 slate of activities into high gear with increased personnel, both on the board as well as the administrative side of the organization.

Chamber president Melissa Helmbold addressed Gulfport City Council briefly last week. She noted the Pink Flamingo Home Tour set for this Saturday as well as some other initiatives.

The GMC plans a morning meeting series for members only, with the first session open to everyone. It is scheduled for March 16 at 9:30 a.m. in the Village Courtyard. Helmbold said the meetings offer an opportunity to meet new board members and find out more about what the chamber does.

“Right now we are focusing on membership renewals,” said Helmbold at the council meeting. “This year is really exciting because we are offering a lot of new benefits to members. We’ve created a tiered membership program to give new things to support local businesses in our community.”

This year’s Pink Flamingo Home Tour will highlight Gulfport’s “Garden District,” which encompasses Ward IV.

“There are some really fantastic homes,” said Helmbold. “You can get your tickets online or at the Beach Bazaar.”

Helmbold went more in depth about the chamber’s plans during a recent interview with The Gabber. She started with the GMCS in 2020 as volunteer coordinator, then director of operations, and the board recently named her president. As the organization’s first full-time employee, the board hopes she will take the day-to-day operational burdens off of the board members.

“When the merchant chamber decided to hire a director of operations originally, that was kind of to really help take on a lot more of the responsibilities from the board, because we do have a working board,” said vice chair Sarah Laracuente. “They are all business owners.”

The chamber has a full 13-member board now after reports a few months ago of several vacancies. Kelly Wright is the chair, with Barbara Banno serving as treasurer and John Haugen as secretary. Rounding out the group are Jamie Edwards, Laura Holt, Debbie Amis, Mike Fagan, Jennifer Gallo Lee, Heather DeFazio, Stacy Purcell, Erin East, and Nancy Early.

The board members do not serve set terms, and the board reviews leadership structure every year based on what the board sees as needed.

“I know we have a handful of people in the community that want to also join the board,” said Laracuente. “The majority of our board owns their own business - es. So as their business needs change, sometimes their commitment to the board may change as well.”

The board and staff took a oneday retreat in January, as is the annual custom, for strategic planning and to review the accomplishments of the previous year.

“We had a really phenomenal 2022,” said Helmbold. “We had a lot of good changes that happened within the chamber, some amazing new relationships we’ve made. And we were able to create new campaigns that we weren’t able to do in previous years.”

Her personal favorite was last year’s Shop Local campaign, the first of its kind for the organization.

“We had a lot of interest from businesses that hadn’t participated in the chamber before,” she said. “I think there were over 600 entries into the drawing, so that means 600 people saved, shopped locally ... And we had baskets that were donated from eight different local businesses. It really established that we are focusing on our local businesses; you know, our merchants.”

Another source of excitement is the deepening relationships with local tourism organizations and media outlets in Pinellas County, as well as the appointment of Aimee Kosta as events coordinator.

Find more information at visitgulfportflorida.com.

49th Street Safety

Gulfport Gets a Piece of Planning Grant Funding

By Monroe Roark

Gulfport is getting a sizable chunk of money to study its side of 49th Street.

Forward Pinellas announced Feb. 1 that a $559,074 Safe Streets for All grant had been awarded by the U.S. Department of Transportation, with the money to be allocated to the organization’s Safe Streets Pinellas Action Plan within six areas of the county that have known road safety issues.

Gulfport Public Works Director Tom Nicholls said the city asked for $150,000 to study safety issues on 49th Street, after being approached by Forward Pinellas about being part of the overall program, which also includes Dunedin, Largo, and Oldsmar, as well as Pinellas County.

“This is all Forward Pinellas’ doing in requesting [the money], and they’ll be doing all the legwork as well,” said Nicholls.

The section of 49th Street from 7th Avenue to Gulfport Boulevard is the initial target for examination. Forward Pinellas, acting in its role as the metropolitan planning organization, will select a consultant to assist with the study and handle the project management, Nicholls said. The overall project will include a community engagement effort.

“There will be a complete analysis of 49th Street, and a community walking audit where they’ll get members of the community to engage in this and walk the corridor to come up with some ideas for improvement,” said Nicholls. “Recommendations will be developed after that, and then that will be presented to council.”

Whatever is decided as far as potential improvements, Forward Pinellas will work to assist Gulfport with securing grants to pay for them.

Forward Pinellas asked the federal government for $700,000 but got about 85 percent of that total. So it is likely that Gulfport will not receive $150,000, but will still get a large amount.

A 20 percent match is required, and that was approved by council last September. But Nicholls pointed out that the actual match will only be 10 percent because 49th Street is split down the middle, with the west side being in Gulfport and the east side in St. Petersburg.

The Safe Streets Pinellas Action Plan was adopted in 2021 and includes a regional analysis of safety –including policy, trends, and countermeasures – as Forward Pinellas works toward its stated goal of zero deaths and serious injuries in the county by 2045.

The U.S. Department of Transportation announced $800 million in grant funds for 510 projects through the Safe Streets and Roads for All program, which was created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to fund regional, local, and tribal initiatives through grants to prevent roadway deaths and serious injuries. Safe Streets Pinellas was selected as one of the 473 action plan grants awarded, according to Forward Pinellas.