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Citizen Summit

Next date: Saturday, February 01, 2025 | 09:00 AM to 12:00 PM

Become a co-creator in Port St. Lucie’s future

The best way to experience the Citizen Summit is in person and we encourage you to mark your calendars for February 1, 2025. Watch our recap video for a glimpse into next year's event. Stay tuned for details about the 2025 summit.

The 2024 #IamPSL Citizen Summit was held on Saturday, Feb. 3 from 9 a.m. to noon at the Community Center, located at 2195 SE Airoso Blvd. in Port St. Lucie. Residents helped shape the City’s future by sharing their ideas at the summit.

What is the Citizen Summit?

The Citizen Summit is an annual event that allows residents to receive in-depth information about the City’s Strategic Plan and to provide input on the plan’s seven goals.

In its sixth year, the summit is not your typical government meeting. Fun, free and designed to be engaging, the Citizen Summit gives residents of all ages to provide direct feedback about the City’s future through interactive activities and one-on-one conversations.

How it works

Citizens can drop in any time, walk through interactive booths to find out what is planned for their community and learn how they can get involved. Attendees will be given a roadmap to the seven stations that correspond to the City’s seven strategic goals. Those who provide feedback will receive an exclusive T-shirt and keychain, plus other giveaways while supplies last.

Every participant, including kids, will be given $100 in play money to identify and prioritize where additional taxpayer dollars should be spent. This allows City Council to see residents’ priorities when forming this year’s Strategic Plan update.

Since planning for the future can work up an appetite, refreshments will be available through the St. Lucie County Culinary Arts students from Northport K-8.

Fun activities and event schedule

The City wants to hear from residents of every age group, including kids and teens. There will be educational activities to get their specific feedback.

Enjoy fun activities like:

An arts and crafts table
A Lego build
A build-a-button station
A selfie station
A fishing tournament
Putt-putt golf
Free #IamPort St. Lucie t-shirts, keychains and other giveaways while supplies last
The Boys & Girls Club's Mobile Club will provide STEM activities, such as creating lava lamps, making elephant toothpaste, solving family puzzles, and playing interactive games.

You can also see the talent of Port St. Lucie’s youth on display, with performances by:

The Creative Arts Academy of St. Lucie at 9 a.m.
The Oak Hammock K-8 School band at 10 a.m.
The Treasure Coast High School chorus at 11 a.m.

Citizen Design Studio (new feature!)

A new feature at this year’s Summit is the Citizen Design Studio, which provides residents with an opportunity to provide input on green spaces around Port St. Lucie. That feedback will help in the design and development of spaces across the City that highlight the natural beauty of our community.

The Citizen Design Studio is in partnership with the Bloomberg Harvard Leadership Initiative. Port St. Lucie was selected to participate in the program's innovation track, which provides specialized coaching to find solutions to issues surrounding the expansion of green space in the City, an issue prioritized by residents at the 2022 Citizen Summit.

How we use your feedback

Resident feedback collected at Citizen Summit, along with the annual National Community Survey TM (NCS), will be used to help City Council update the Strategic Plan and identify budget priorities.

The National Research Center mails these important surveys to a statistically valid sample of residents. If you receive one in the mail, City leaders request you take the time to complete and return the survey. For those who do not receive a mail-in survey, the NRC will make an online option available to all residents on the City's Community Survey webpage when it becomes available.

Past Citizen Summit Engagement Reports: 2024 Report(PDF, 7MB), 2023 Report(PDF, 2MB), 2022 Report(PDF, 883KB), 2021 Report(PDF, 15MB), 2020 Report(PDF, 3MB)

“The Citizen Summit is one of the most important tools we have to build a strategic plan that meets the needs of our residents," said Kate Parmelee, Deputy City Manager of Strategic Initiatives and Innovation. "As the City continues to grow and evolve, this is a critical time for residents to share their opinions and feedback. Working together, we can create a vision that reflects what matters most for our community.”