Tradition Regional Park Groundbreaking

On July 17, we broke ground on Tradition Regional Park, a collaborative project between the City of Port St. Lucie and Mattamy Homes. Located at 13120 SW Tradition Parkway, this 124-acre park will offer residents a wide range of recreational opportunities and enhance our community’s quality of life.

Tradition Regional Park features a first-of-its-kind USA BMX Adaptive All-Wheel Park, which will accommodate BMX riders, skateboarders, and inline skaters and provide a safe zone for toddlers to learn to ride bikes. The park will also include lighted multipurpose fields for soccer and football, and four lighted baseball and softball fields.

Tradition Regional Park exemplifies how our City can partner with stakeholders to create public spaces that meet the evolving needs of our residents. This park, located near Tradition Preparatory High School and Renaissance Charter School, will be maintained by the City’s Parks and Recreation Department and is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2025.

We are grateful to Mattamy Homes, St. Lucie County, and USA BMX for their collaboration on this exciting project. Together, we are building a vibrant community where everyone can enjoy an active and healthy lifestyle.

PSL Police Department Training Facility Ground Breaking

As you can see by now, Port St. Lucie is moving forward and reaching new milestones; on July 31, we broke ground on a state-of-the-art training facility, a vital resource that will support the ongoing safety and well-being of our community. This new facility reflects our dedication to equipping our officers with the best tools and training available.

If you have heard Chief Del Toro speak, you may already know that Florida state statute mandates that all certified officers complete 40 hours of training every four years. However, our Police Department has set a higher standard, requiring officers to undergo 40 hours of specialized training annually. This commitment ensures our officers are exceptionally well-prepared to face the challenges of modern policing, helping to maintain Port St. Lucie's status as the safest large city in Florida.

The new police training facility, the first in our department’s 44-year history, will provide intensive and specialized training for our officers. The three-story, 54,000 square-foot facility will include a 25-yard, 20-lane indoor firearms range, supporting training areas, a virtual simulation room, a defensive tactics area, a multi-purpose training classroom, a tactical building training area, and much-needed office space for our growing department.

This facility underscores the City's commitment to enhancing public safety and upholding the high standards of the Port St. Lucie Police Department. Located at 121 SW Port St. Lucie Boulevard in the current City Hall municipal complex, the facility is anticipated to be completed by Fall 2025. We are excited about the positive impact this will have on our community, ensuring our officers remain at the forefront of public safety.

Important

Public Works Projects

Important ongoing and future infrastructure projects, including repaving, sidewalks & traffic calming.

PSL on the Pulse

Read the latest edition of PSL on the Pulse.

Emergency

Management

Learn about this month's preparedness topic.



This time of year, the City Council meets with the City Manager and his staff to hold the 2-3 day Summer Workshop. I’m excited to share the highlights from our Workshop held on July 24 and 25. This event is always an essential step in planning our city’s future and discussing key community initiatives.

We began by hearing and adopting the updated 2024-2025 Strategic Plan. This plan is crucial for improving city operations and community services. One of the major discussions was the approval of our updated Sidewalk Master Plan, which ensures safer and more connected pedestrian pathways throughout Port St. Lucie. We also moved forward with the Citywide Roadway Preservation and Resurfacing Plan for 2024, underlining our commitment to road safety.

Our updated Traffic Calming Plan was unanimously adopted, and we made necessary adjustments to the rates and fees within our Utility Systems Department to sustain our critical infrastructure. We also reviewed and updated the Swale Liner and Swale Rework Master Plan to enhance our stormwater management systems.

On the second day, we focused on increasing resident access to nature and high-performance public spaces. We shared updates on our work with the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative Innovation Track, highlighting our efforts to improve public spaces. Additionally, updates on the PSLPD’s training facility and recruitment and retention efforts were presented. The Council unanimously approved the preliminary millage rate and additional staffing levels, reflecting our dedication to maintaining high-quality services.

Most importantly, for the 9th year in a row, we unanimously voted to reduce the city millage (tax) rate from 5.20 to 5.055 mills. We continue to lower the rate as much as possible while still providing a high level of service in our growing community.

We then rounded out the Workshop by reviewing the city’s debt and investment portfolios, ensuring financial stability and strategic growth.

The Little Gym

10198 SW Village Pkwy., Port St. Lucie, FL

August 3rd, 2:00-5:00 PM

Blue Skies Health & Wellness Center

10198 SW Village Pkwy., Port St. Lucie, FL

August 9th, 9:00 AM

Port St. Lucie Boulevard South

In June and July 2024, after shifting to MOT Phase IV the contractor finished almost all drainage, except for four systems that remain unfinished due to the conflicts with other utilities. The contractor is focusing on completing the necessary drainage work. The contractor’s activities included drainage crossings, line stops, reconstruction of the new northbound lanes, pouring concrete curb and gutter, and installing sidewalk.  The lighting sub-contractor is currently installing pre-cast bases and lighting systems throughout the corridor. The contractor anticipates finishing all drainage conflicts and pipe runs in the next couple of weeks, allowing them to resume the roadway work reconstruction between Aurelia and Darwin. The contractor anticipates shifting traffic before the end of September to the center of PSL Blvd between Darwin and Gatlin for the construction of the median separator, per plans.

Simultaneously, the contractor for the SW Port St. Lucie Boulevard Widening Project from south of Darwin Boulevard to south of SW Alcantarra Boulevard is focused on completing drainage work throughout the project limits. At Pond N, the contractor continues to turn embankment material to help dry it out, and crews continue to excavate the pond. On SW Port St. Lucie Boulevard, the contractor is continuing to prepare for widening the northbound side of the road for the upcoming traffic shift, which is anticipated to occur the week of August 12, 2024. The full closures of SW Tunis Avenue, SW Alcantarra Boulevard, and SW Alexandria Avenue will continue through August 2024. The contractor recently completed the sidewalk installation on SW Tunis Avenue and the sod installation along SW Alcantarra Boulevard.

Both projects are anticipated to be completed in late fall 2024, pending weather, holidays, and unforeseen circumstances. 

Torino Parkway

Construction activities started in May 2024 for the East Torino Parkway Improvements. The contractor, Timothy Rose Contracting, completed all of the underground drainage activities during the month of July, installing structures and pipes as well as underground drainage and utility deflections in the area of East Torino Parkway and Midway Road as part of the turn lane improvements. The improvements include the construction of an additional lane and six-foot shoulder, resulting in a dedicated left-turn lane, a shared left / through lane, a dedicated right-turn lane, and a shoulder for the northbound approach.

The contractor has also completed the drainage and utility deflection activities across the East Torino, North Torino and Turtle Dove roadways. The contractor is currently working during the daytime in this area. The new modern roundabout at the intersection of North Torino Parkway and Turtle Dove Lane will support improving safety, reducing congestion, reducing pollution, and are considered functional and aesthetically pleasing. Artwork will be featured in the roundabout.

Is there a topic you would like to read about in a future issue?

Please email me at mayor@cityofpsl.com or call, 772-871-5159,

with your comments or questions.

Shannon M. Martin

Mayor

The City of Port St. Lucie is sharing this information on behalf of Mayor Shannon M. Martin.

This is from the mayor's monthly newsletter, which residents can sign up for at: www.cityofpsl.com/newsletter