Credit: Leo Gomez Studios

Hello there.

We're back with Edition 5 of the Lealman Voice.

Thank you to everyone who has shared information, updates, and events; keep them coming! 

This week we have added a new "Career Corner" and an update from the Lealman CRA. Be sure to check them out.

Our mission is simple: To help connect the people of Lealman.

You have the ideas, the projects, the events, and the energy - everything needed to keep Lealman thriving. The biggest challenge is often simply getting the word out. The Lealman Voice will help us meet that challenge. 

Opportunity is blooming in Lealman, and people are noticing. By staying connected, we can stay aligned and make sure that the rich history of Lealman is preserved and that the people of Lealman drive the future of Lealman.

-The Lealman Voice

Welcome to Lealman!

You’ve surely seen the new street signs or the wayfinding signs directing you to one of Lealman’s beautiful parks, and starting the last week of April Welcome to Lealman signs will begin being installed at all the gateway entry points into the community.  The locations include the north/south entry points on 34^th St. N. and the east/west entry on 54^th Ave N, among others.  

You can keep up with all the activity in your CRA by going to https://pinellas.gov/lealman-community-redevelopment-area.  You can go there to find meeting times for the Lealman CRA Advisory Committee so you can be aware of important projects impacting your community, and to find information on a variety of residential and commercial grant programs you may be eligible for.  

-Lealman CRA

New Garbage Pick-Up: Coastal Waste & Recycling

Lealman has been very lucky over the past 20 years to have had a long-term relationship with County Sanitation as the garbage and debris pick-up service. Like all things, change is inevitable. As we will miss those that served the community through County Sanitation, Lealman is ready to move forward with a new service provider, Coastal Waste and Recycling.

As Coastal works through its growing pains and the learning of a new community, it’s essential that we have patience and understanding as they learn and get their Lealman Team up and running.

The Lealman route that Coastal is now serving contains 7,860 residential and/or businesses that are picked up 2x per week. That’s 62,880 pickups per month.

In the meantime, here are some things community members can do to assist in the process:

• Have all pickup items to the curb no later than 7:00 a.m. on your scheduled pick-up day.

• Follow the instructions in the mailer for General Waste, Bulk Waste, and Yard Waste. This information is essential because it explains how and when items get picked up. (Flyer attached to this post)

• If you have followed all of the items listed above and still have issues, please get in touch with Coastal directly at 727-561-0360.

• If you continue to have issues after discussions with Coastal and need to contact the county, you can do so by calling Anna Jeffers at 727-464-7524.

-Lealman Community Association

No-Cost Small Business Consulting and Workshops 

-Karen Chassin

Debra Schweikowsky is passionate about helping small businesses in Pinellas County thrive. She currently maintains a part-time presence in the Lealman Exchange as a Business Development Manager at the Florida SBDC at Pinellas County Department of Economic Development. 

A small business owner herself for many years, Debra went back to school and obtained two business degrees. She sold her business and moved from Buffalo, New York, to Pinellas County and now works full-time with small businesses of all sizes and industries.

The one-on-one business consulting that Debra and her colleagues provide is at no cost. Debra meets with clients in person or via Zoom or Microsoft Teams. 

"When a small business owner reaches out to us, we can help them identify the support they need based on their particular strengths and challenges." 

The consultants with Florida SBDC at Pinellas are equipped to work with businesses at every stage, from pre-venture and startup to growing businesses looking for assistance with capital access, business plans, marketing, or exit strategy. SBDC also offers workshops on topics ranging from Starting a Business, Business Plans, Marketing, Setup Accounting and Taxes, QuickBooks, and Government Contracting. The workshops are at no cost and available to review at PCED.ORG/workshops.

On May 2, the Pinellas County Office of Small Business & Supplier Diversity and the Florida SBDC at Pinellas County Economic Development is hosting a workshop from the Florida Department of Revenue on Sales and Use Tax. It's designed to help guide small businesses on the business activities and products subject to sales and use taxes, offering facts about general state sales tax and exemptions, the rules governing tax and discretionary sales surtax, and the registration process, filing frequency, and deadlines. Registration is required. Visit PCED.ORG/Workshops to sign up for the Zoom workshop from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on May 2. 

Business owners in Lealman can reach out to Debra Schweikowsy via email at dschweikowsky@pinellascounty.org with a quick question, but all requests for no-cost business consulting are made at www.pced.org/consulting. 

If you have further questions, email businesshelp@Pinellas.org. 

Lealman Tesla center sells in $26M deal

The newly-opened 102,410-square-foot Tesla Motors center in Lealman has a new owner. 

Developer Rob Truett, a principal at the Delray Beach-based Truett Realty Group, was behind the project to transform the former Kane’s Furniture liquidation building in Lealman into a state-of-the-art delivery and repair center for Tesla. Truett sold the property that houses the center in a $26.25 million deal to Maryland-based Priority 1 Automotive Group.

Full Story

Women’s Summit an Inspiration to Students

There was energy in the air at Pinellas County Job Corps recently as female students on campus got to participate in a unique Women’s Summit, intending to help these youth to understand and embrace their worth. This all-day event featured break-out sessions on topics ranging from skills to prepare them for the workforce to essentials for a work-life balance and the basics of adulthood. During a working lunch, the students learned about proper etiquette for dining in a work environment or formal occasion.
Two keynote speakers gave inspirational speeches. The first, Sgt. First Class Eliana Tate shared her journey, starting as a nurse in her native country of Peru and Italy before joining the U.S. Army in 2011. Sgt. Tate has won numerous awards and told the students that a big reason for her success had been hard work and a determination never to give up.
While in the Army, she switched to the I.T. field with more advanced training as her next goal. Sgt. Tate shared a mantra she learned from one of her mentors. The mantra begins with the word ONE. She told
the students, “Every time like it’s the last time. You can always do ONE more of something. One more push-up, one more foot in front of the other, one more pound in your rucksack, one more leadership position…give your very best effort to everyone thing because it might be the last chance you ever get to do it.”

Learn More

St. Pete Social, a permanent food truck gathering spot, debuts tasty eats

A first-of-its-kind culinary gathering spot in St. Pete is one of the tastiest new concepts to hit the city. St. Pete Social is a food truck lot located at 4580 49^th Street North(Inside the Lealman CRA), a new hotspot for great eats and good times.

The idea behind St. Pete Social is to create a permanent gathering place to try some of the area’s best food trucks, with plenty of room to sit and eat, play some games, and enjoy the Sunshine City’s beautiful weather. The concept debuted earlier this year, and currently has four permanent food trucks on site with Taco Junkie, Smokin Me Crazy BBQ, Jojo’s Tastes of Chicago, and Toast Gourmet Sandwiches all dishing up the good stuff.

Alongside the food trucks, the breezy lot has shaded picnic tables, games, and a soon-to-come ‘St. Pete Social Tiki Bar.’ The repurposed shipping container will house a bar on the bottom level to take care of all beverage needs, along with rooftop seating on the second level. And if all that wasn’t enough: St. Pete Social will soon be home to a tattoo parlor, with High Art Tattoo opening in April.

Learn More

Career Corner

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