Simply the best

Port St. Lucie continues to rack up honors and awards

BY SUSAN BURGESS

Port St. Lucie received an armload of awards and honors and some great news in the last six months or so and is up for even more of them between now and fall. It’s one of the best places to live in the country, according to several national surveys. Check these out.

Best Place to Live – The online financial site, Money, called Port St. Lucie “a youthful city with jobs aplenty.” That’s a far cry from the old days when it was called a home for retirees. Money didn’t rank the top 50 cities it chose, but had great things to say about Port St. Lucie. “If you’re looking for a city with plenty of job opportunities, dedication to sustainable development and near-perfect weather year-round, Port St. Lucie ticks all those boxes,” it says. 

Best Place to Live, No. 10 – U.S. News and World Report placed the city 10th on its list of the 14 best places to live in Florida. It jumped 68 places from last year’s survey but there was not an explanation as to why. The magazine did note that a quarter of the population is age 65 or older, which is way down from what it was a few decades ago. For things to do, the survey noted the Savannas Preserve State Park, events at the MidFlorida Event Center, lots of annual festivals, and boating. 

Bonds upgraded by Fitch – The city utility system’s revenue bonds were boosted from -AA to AA by one of the world’s primary credit rating agencies. Fitch says the city has solid revenue streams and the ability to meet its financial obligations, helping to make sure it can sustain vital water resources for residents and businesses. Last year its investment-grade bonds were upgraded by Standard & Poor. Last year, Moody’s Investment Services upgraded the city to a “positive outlook” from a “stable outlook.” 

Budget presentation award – Presenting a clear and understandable city budget to residents is a very difficult task, but Port St. Lucie seems to have mastered it. For the 35th year it received the recognition from the Government Finance Officers Association, this time for the budget presented and explained in 2023. 

Home Rule Hero Award – Three officials were named home rule heroes by the Florida League of Cities for their outstanding work and advocacy efforts during the 2024 legislative session. They did their best to make sure the city can govern itself with minimal interference from the state. The idea that local problems need local solutions guided their efforts. Port St. Lucie Vice Mayor Jolien Caraballo, Councilwoman Stephanie Morgan, and risk management director Ella Gilbert were all selected for the award.

Bloomberg Philanthropies Award – Port St. Lucie is one of just 12 new cities in the United States and Latin America to receive the “What Works” certification for establishing exceptional data capabilities to help make policy decisions, allocate funding, improve its services, evaluate the effectiveness of its programs and engage residents. The city’s rapid growth makes it important to have a way to be sure the right services are being provided. 

Population boom nets award – Finance Buzz, an online financial website, says among the nation’s largest cities, Port St. Lucie is 7th on their list of the fastest-growing in the United States. “No city in our entire analysis has experienced a bigger three-year population boom than Port St. Lucie,” it said. “The city has grown by nearly 15 percent, with its population increase also fueling the nation’s highest rate of new home construction [2,385 new homes per 100,000 people in 2022]. Orlando placed 6th with a nearly 10 percent population rise.

Costco brings hundreds of jobs – The city will not be getting the store, but it is getting the store’s warehouses, and that’s great news for job-hungry residents. The cold and dry storage depot in the jobs corridor of Tradition in western Port St. Lucie will ultimately include two facilities totaling 1.87 million square feet of storage space and employing more than 500, with an average annual salary of $55,350.

Hottest zip code – Port St. Lucie has the 12th-hottest zip code, 34953, out of 20 zip codes nationwide surveyed by Opendoor, a real estate website. The survey looked at neighborhoods where homes sold the fastest. Port St. Lucie’s zip code 34953 is bounded on the north by Crosstown Parkway, on the south by Becker Road, on the east by Florida’s Turnpike and on the west by Interstate 95. Within it are portions of California Boulevard, Del Rio Boulevard, Gatlin Boulevard and Savona Boulevard. The top locations have three things in common: affordability, desirability and availability. The only other Florida zip to make the list is 34787 in Winter Garden.

New video: Help improve water quality – Part of an educational ongoing series, the new video explains what homeowners can do to enhance water quality throughout the region. Due to shared waterways and resources, the quality of water is a regional issue. The series tackles the problems of how to improve water quality and inadequately treated wastewater. Watch on YouTube and on cityofpsl.com/waterquality. The city’s site has the whole series.

Parks and Recreation Awards – Two major awards were given to the Parks and Recreation Department by the Florida Recreation and Park Association for its outstanding programs, including Rock Steady Boxing for Parkinson’s Disease, the Healthy U mental health series of workshops for residents, community input survey, food pop-up events and more. Kelly Boatwright, the department’s projects administrator, received the Golden Shovel Parks Professional Award for her work on a variety of park projects including Wilderness Trails, the Port District, and Tradition Regional Park. 

Communications Department award – For its innovative Citizens’ Summit, where residents can offer their opinions on city projects and the city’s ongoing needs, all wrapped in a festive look that includes local performances, the department was given the Blue Pencil and Gold Screen Award by the National Association of Government Communicators for the popular community engagement forum. 

Award of Distinction for Water Woman – Jenny Tomes, communicator for the city utilities department, was honored with an award from the Florida Public Relations Association for her outreach efforts in local classrooms as “Water Woman.” She explains the value of good water qualityto youngsters and its importance to the place where they live.