What happened to Gulf Blvd. project funds? St. Pete Beach investment under scrutiny

ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. - A multi-million dollar investment along Gulf Boulevard in St. Pete Beach is under scrutiny after it ran out of funding. Residents have begun asking the important question - where did it go? 

FOX 13 first reported issues with the project last month and has been reviewing documents showing how some of it was spent.

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In June, residents learned the project moving utility lines on Gulf Boulevard underground is $6 million short to finish the project. The project was once fully paid for by the county.

FOX 13 has been reviewing hundreds of pages on billing for the project, including a 200-page report that alleges contractors were paid for work that wasn't done.

"As residents and taxpayers, we don’t know what happened, but we need to know what happened. We are entitled to answers," said resident BJ Lawson.

Residents in St. Pete Beach want to know why they might have to pay to finish a multi-million dollar project with allegations swirling that the initial funding was misspent.

Some city leaders blame former city manager, Alex Rey, for the handling of the project.

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Rey resigned last September amid an HR investigation.

One report FOX 13 obtained documents that a contractor hired by Rey for the Gulf Boulevard project received over $100,000 in taxpayer funds, but the report said city staff cannot find any evidence the company did any of the deliverables listed.

That contractor is from Miami, where Alex Rey previously worked and returned after leaving St. Pete Beach.

The contract was also solely entered into by the city manager and did not go to county commissioners for approval.

City staff and documents contained in the 200-page investigation reveal questionable payments to other vendors and contractors.

In June, Rey, who denied he mishandled the project, said the city ran out of money because the project took so long.

He also said he would welcome an investigation into the Gulf Boulevard project because it would prove the money was spent properly. 

Since a majority of the funding for this project came from Pennies for Pinellas, we reached out to the county.

"At this time, the county has not received any formal notification from the city regarding the stated concerns and does not have records that would indicate issues with the use of the funds reimbursed to date," a county spokesperson told FOX 13.

The St. Pete Beach Mayor and residents have called for a thorough review of the project's funding.

"We need to have a full accounting of the facts," said Lawson.

The report revealed city staff raised concerns about other questionable spending that did not get approval from county commissioners.

Other questionable spending included an intern who was paid $5,000 a month, more than some of the city’s own employees.