ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — The City of St. Petersburg is going to take another swing at the deal for the Science Center. Community members expressed their want for the center to be back up and running for the sake of future generations of scientists and economic development.

“Picture, in the near future, a student riding a bus to Azalea Middle School one day. Will she see a Science Center or wastewater storage tanks?” said one man who spoke during Thursday’s meeting.

The irony was evident and brought up a few times by engineers and city council members.

“We are here to talk about the fact that our love for science runs up against providing resiliency for our community the best way we can,” said Claude Tankersley, the city Public Works Administrator.

It became a conversation of can the city do both, in securing the future for storm water and the future for the Science Center.

The $1.6 million deal to reopen and revamp the center was shut down after contracts were already signed between the city and the St. Petersburg Group, as well as fundraising efforts that went statewide.

“We got close to $7 million of state funds to go to this project, and it would be a shame to revert,” said State Senator Darryl Rouson who attended the meeting.

A feasibility study completed in September showed nine sites to consider putting water tanks. The Science Center was a leading candidate, as well as a nearby brush site. But multiple council members pointed out concerns with the study.

“I see notes when they started this process that said please do not consider the brush site,” said Lisset Hanewicz, a council member.

“My issue is not with the study, it is with what we did with the study,” said council member Mike Harting. “Of the four, five, six, seven sites we looked at for possible expansion, all of them were possible.”

Engineers said the study was not biased or steered toward a specific site. Jenna Byrne’s organization Water Warrior Alliance was named the Environmental Lead of Education for the Science Center. She said they’ve been ready to start construction for a long time.

“With all the steps we’ve taken, it seemed very confusing that this was coming up now after there was already multiple legal documents moving this forward,” Byrne said.

Stormwater resilience is part of the plan for the water tanks. The impact of the storms from 2024 heightened concerns and city leaders said they saw a need for the water tank facilities in the future.

The council unanimously passed a motion to reconsider plans for the site and move forward with the agreement made with the group aiming to get the Science Center back up and running.

“Science is under attack right now,” said council member Gina Driscoll. “It’s up to people like us to make sure children have access to science. Down the road, the children who go to the Science Center will solve these problems for us.”

The council members asked for an update during the October 2 meeting, where hopefully they will learn of new locations for the water tanks.