Project Narrative Leads to Resident Concerns.....

A potential development at the NW Corner of Blue Angel Pkwy and Hwy 98 in District 1 is creating a lot of consternation among nearby residents who oppose this....

A recent pre-application narrative describing a proposed shopping center at the NW corner of the Intersection of Hwy 98 and Blue Angel Pkwy in District 1 ( along with supporting documents )has led to some significant concern among many nearby residents.

My office has begun to see a steady influx of phone calls and emails about this potential development.

I've been asked to attend an upcoming Home Owner's Association (HOA) meeting for a nearby neighborhood--which I have agreed to do.

The main issues of concern center around the potential piping of sewage from this proposed development north east to an existing ECUA sewage lift station that sits within the Southbay neighborhood.  The residents I have spoken with are vehemently opposed to having any additional sewage routed to this lift station--which many have complained eminates a foul odor already----and they don't want that increased.  Of course, that decision about where sewage would go rests solely with ECUA, not the county.

The other concerns are the two chief concerns I hear about on every potential development:  Traffic and Stormwater issues.

This narrative, pictured above, has created some significant concern among nearby residents

The narrative presented with the pre-application, above, does nothing to assuage the concerns of nearby residents on either front--as it clearly indicates the intention of cutting and filling the parcel and raising elevations to overcome the topographical issues on the parcel.  This sort of language always sparks concerns among neighbors--as many county stormwater issues have been created when one development is permitted and builds "up" (to a higher elevation than nearby parcels) to mitigate stormwater impacts.  Often, even with the best engineered stormwater mitigation "plans" baked into the developments---the development itself leads to more stormwater dumping onto adjacent properties.  It happens and has happened.  So naturally--this gets neighbors' attention.  And mine.

The other issue is traffic.  This particular area has seen a tremendous impact from the traffic snafu created by a newly permitted "ER" facility that has subsequently utilized a portion of Hwy 98 as their defacto "helipad" for transfer of patients to other facilities.  And when Hwy 98 is shut down for a

Is There a Better Way for Us to Govern?

The Escambia Board of County Commissioners operate and govern via 5 County Commissioners seated in 5 single-member districts.  Only the citizens of each specific district can vote for their commissioner. 

Formerly, like most counties nationwide and throughout Florida, commissioners were all seated in distinct, apportioned geographic districts and voted upon by electors from the entire county--meaning every citizen got to vote for 5 commissioners.

This made sense as decisions county commissioners make affect every citizen in the county--so it only made sense that every voter should be able to vote for every commissioner.

But this, regrettably,  led to a condition locally where minority (black) candidates could not be and were not being elected--even though the minority population of Escambia County was and has been significant at roughly twice the national percentage of the black population overall (24% locally, 12% nationally).

So litigation in the late 1970s that sought to correct this inequity and allow for appropriate minority representation in county government led to the issue going all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1984.  That Supreme Court decision let stand a lower-court ruling mandating single member districts in Escambia County--with one district being a "minority-majority" district by law, in perpetuity.

Fast forward to today, and about 28 counties (Including Escambia County) of 67 in Florida utilize single-member districts for the election of county commissioners, shcool board members, and utility authority board members.  The majority of counties in Florida, and in the rest of the nation, however, utilize the model where individual commissioners are voted upon by ALL constituents and seated (with a concomitant residency requirment) in specific districts.

District wide elections help to prevent the "ward-politics" effect that we witness locally--where obviously clear-cut decisions, rulings, and votes by the board instead get pushed back in a byzantine method of appeasment to small groups of citizens vocally opposed to initiatives or decisions in "their neighborhoods."  Easy decisions get kicked down the road or denied outright. This occurs simply to appease one geographic block of voters--for the benefit

A Wrench in the Works?

Could all five County Commissioners in Escambia County be up for election together in 2022.... or 2024??

Commissioners were notified late yesterday afternoon about a late add-on to a committee bill in Tallahassee that could have big consequences on next year's elections for county commissioners statewide, to include those of us elected to serve in Escambia County.

Senate Bill 90 is related to elections and election administration.

Some folks are opposed to it, many support it, and still others like some provisions contained in the bill and not other components in the proposed legislation.

The related bill, Proposed committee bill 21-05 expands upon SB 90 in a big way.  

And on the very last page of this house committee bill, a major paragraph was added having to do with  the way County Commissioners elected in single-member districts statewide will be elected going forward:  

"Notwithstanding the terms provided elsewhere in

 law, at the election immediately following redistricting

 directed by s. 1(e), Art. VIII of the State Constitution, each

commissioner elected only by electors who reside in the district

 must be elected and terms thereafter shall be staggered as

 provided in s. 100.041.

Section 26. This act shall take effect July 1, 2021."

In a nutshell, this language appears to stipulate that ALL commissioners representing single member districts (28 counties in Florida will be affected) must stand for election in the first election after the constitutionally-mandated redistricting necessitated by the decennial census every ten years--meaning for some commissioners their 4-year terms will be sliced in half.  In Escambia County, this would mean Districts 1,3, and 5 would have to stand for re-election again in 2022 -two years ahead of time- and once more in 2024-in order to achieve the "staggering" of terms indicated in Florida statutes.  If enacted, this would result in three commissioners locally being made to stand for election three times in the span of 4 years.  This would be required if this bill passes with this language in tact and if we complete the redistricting this year.  

Page 6 of the House Committee's analysis of the impacts of this provision of the legislation sums up the issue very succinctly:

"Effect of Proposed Change:  The bill provides that in the next election following each constitutionally required, decennial redistricting, a commissioner for each district must be elected again and terms will be staggered as provided in s. 100.041. This will divide in half the four-year terms of 2 or 3 single-district commissioners in each county, with even or odd numbered districts affected depending on the redistricting year. The change will not affect at-large commissioners or district commissioners elected county-wide."

County Commissioners from 28 Counties in Florida may be tremendously, negatively  impacted by a one-paragraph "add-on" to a House Committee Bill if that language, the final paragraph language in PCB 21-05, stands and becomes law.  Timing of the re-districting plans will become the new thing to watch...

Then it would all come down the the redistricting timeline.  

Under Chapter 124.01 (3) Florida Statutes, redistricting for County Commission districts "shall be made only in an odd-numbered years."  It is supposed to happen this year.  If it could not be completed this year, it appears it would have to move to 2023 to comport with Chapter 124--meaning the onerous provisions of SB 90's House bill 21-05-- would fall on districts 2 and 4 locally in the election the following year, 2024.

But wait just a minute, hold on.......Could redistricting really take that long though?

Uh, yes, it could......  

Because of the COVID-19 Pandemic--the US Census Bureau is way, way behind schedule in delivering us the data we will need locally in order to draw new district boundaries.  It looks as though we may not even get this data until late September or early October!  Taking into account the lost week in November to Thanksgiving, and the two weeks lost in December to Christmas and New Years--that would only give us about 9 weeks to do the research, have hearings, take input, hold joint meetings, meet and workshop with the Supervisor of Elections' staff,  advertise, and vote on the new boundaries.  

That is a really, really aggressive and compact timeframe that may not be achievable.

10 years ago when I was on the school board--the county, school board, and ECUA took about 7 months in total to redraw the commissioner, school board member, and ECUA districts in Escambia County that were ultimately adopted in September of that year.  It was a time-consuming, citizen involved, drawn-out process--but we did it right and it did not get challenged in court.  

If we rush it to meet a deadline--to complete this task in 2021 (the "odd" year stipulated in the state constitution) there is no telling what the ramifications could be if the new districts draw challenges or lawsuits.

So it will be interesting to watch, going forward, whether that language in SB 90 and it's related committe bill in the house 21-05-- survives the session.

If it does, the next thing to watch is this:  

When will counties statewide complete the redistricting process?   A rush-job in COVID-19 wracked 2021, or deliberatively with all data and plenty of time in  2023?

Inside the Planning for Beulah's Brand New, State of the Art Firehouse

 

Exterior Elevations of the soon to be constructed Beulah Fire Station from the latest design drawings 

The work toward constructing a new, modern, state of the art fire house in Beulah is moving ahead.  According to staff, the 95% design drawings will be completed by the early April.

Meanwhile, I have requested and have now received the most recent drawings for this project that illustrate how the facility is being envisioned by the architect who is designing it.

Interestingly--this same design will be utilized at both of the new firehouses that are to be constructed in Escambia County over the next two years (one in Beulah, one in Pleasant Grove).  The rationale for using one common design and then "site-adapting" that same design to the location for construction is that it saves time, effort, and resources.  For the end user, it creates a uniform space with which to work.  Bottom Line:  It saves taxpayer money on design--and is a very smart way to go because we're building two stations and it creates an economy of scale.

Building highlights:

The currently envisioned floorplan of the soon to be constructed Beulah Fire house 

The highlights of the new facility include a size of 14,502 SF, four truck bays, with a high-bay size capable of accommodating the largest apparatus in ECFR.  Additional facility components include office spaces, 8 bunk rooms, four large bathrooms with showers, a day room, a large training room, and two EMS ready rooms.  In addition to this, the facility will have a large modern kitchen as well as large laundry and gear storage rooms.  The design of this new "prototypical" station was made with input from a committee that included planning, facilities and ECFR (paid and volunteer) personnel--with the aim of capturing all the necessary requirements for the crews that will man this station. 

Due to the irregular lot size in Beulah (a "flag-lot"--with a narrow strip on the southern boundary on 9-Mile Road and a wider width further in toward the northern boundary)-the initial plan is to build the facility set-back from the front, utilizing the narrow southern portion along with an ingress/egress easement for accessing 9-Mile Road.

The existing lot size and dimensions for the Beulah station will present a challenge.  But to overcome the conditions planners are designing access that conforms to the lot's dimensions, as illustrated above.  Additionally, I am told that when we get our 95% drawings in early April,  The retention pond may have to be more linear and nearer to the front of the lot-due to the fact that a wet pond may be required instead of the dry pond that had initially been envisioned for the site.  We will see what that looks like after the soils engineers do the calculations.

I'm excited to see the final plans, and I am very happy that the men and women volunteer firefighters in Beulah, along with the potential day-shift paid crew we are working to fund, will finally be getting a modern station with everything they need to continue to provide fire protection for our community!

Much more to come in the next several months!

Released Public Record from Federal Trial is Revealing

This document, above, is one of several that came out of a hearing before a Federal Magistrate Judge a few weeks back in Doug Underhill's public records lawsuit.  Apparently, this is one of the many documents that was/is considered to be a public record by the court but that was not initially turned over to the requestor by Commissioner Underhill.  So the document was released this month.

I hear many, many more-- perhaps hundreds more-- will be coming soon.

The interesting thing to me about this particular document, though,  is that "Jacqueline" in this facebook messenger conversation is apparently filing/or has filed a complaint against my brother, Circuit Court Judge Gary Bergosh.  If it is the "Jacqueline" I believe it to be, this is very interesting, indeed.

If it is "Jacqueline" from the Facebook chat site "Escambia Citizens Watch"---I wonder why it is my brother she is targeting?  I mean, there is no doubt she strongly dislikes me.  She runs me down all the time and lies about me on her site--ho hum no big deal.  I have a thick skin, her opinions mean nothing to me, and I ignore that echo chamber of hate, irrelevant site anyway.  

But why bring in my family?  Why go after my brother -- a Retired Marine LT. COL who went to Iraq and put "boots on the ground there?"  A literal Eagle Scout who has done absolutely nothing wrong, a guy who simply does his job, and does it well.  He's a guy who is regarded by most attorneys I speak with as a "good judge, fair and reasonable."

Obviously----- nothing did come or will come of any such garbage, baseless complaint against my brother to the JQC by "Jacqueline"  anyway--it is utter rubbish.  

But what a sick, degenerate thing to do.  Come after me all you want, but leave my family out of it.

To relish in filing an ethics complaint against my brother--- because someone has a beef with me?  

How totally and completely disgusting is that?  And she says "I hope Judge Bergosh has bad times ahead."  Embarrassing for "Jacqueline."  Who would say that and wish that on someone who did nothing wrong?  Uncharitable, non-Christian, Sick and disgusting.

Wow.  Can't wait for the rest of these records to come out....I wonder what else we will find??

Costs, Next Steps Identified for Completion of Escambia's Newest Public Library in District 1

The construction contract for Escambia's newest public library has been awarded.  The video above presents a virtual rendering of what this library (which will be located on Mobile Hwy directly across the street from Bellview Elementary School) will look like upon completion.  This Bellview library, which will be the first public library constructed and located in Escambia County's District 1, will be completed in one year-----in March of 2022.  This is a little over one year behind our initial projections of completion in 2021---due to the fact that the addition of extra, necessary parking spaces called for the design of an engineered retention pond, which in turn required engineering, plans, and permitting--all of which took an extended period of time to complete due to numerous factors not the least of which was the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic.  

Thankfully--the above work has all been completed now; initial sitework is underway, temporary power has been installed, and groundbreaking is imminent.  This previous post from January of 2020 shows a rendering of how the new library will lay on the property (albeit it will now have more parking and a storm retention pond on the property).

See the lists of the materials costs totaling $3.8 Million, and the latest, revised construction timeline, below:

NFCU's Check Was "In the Mail" After All!

At our last Board of County Commissioners meeting, the Committee of the Whole, I once again asked about the status of our payment(s) to DPZ for their design services for OLF-8.  Specifically, I asked where we were at with obtaining reimbursement from Navy Federal Credit Union for these services.  As of the 11th of March-- the date of this meeting last week--we hadn't received any additional reimbursement (s) from NFCU for the planning efforts at OLF-8 beyond their first payment several months back.  Meanwhile, the county was up to nearly $700K in direct payments to DPZ....despite some significant ethical questions raised about DPZ's conduct. (This relates to DPZ not notifying it's client (Escambia County) of plans DPZ was notified of to "embarrass" commissioners and undermine Escambia County's economic development initiatives at OLF-8)

So at this committee of the whole last week, In jest (because we had yet to receive a second check from NFCU), a brief discussion ensued culminating in the trope "Is NFCU's payment on the way, Is the Check in the Mail?"

Well, lo and behold it was.  Apparently it was cut on March 9, 2021--two days before our meeting on the 11th.  The check WAS in the mail.

In all seriousness though, this is important on a couple of levels.

1.  This latest reimbursement has occurred after/since the "summit" where top leaders from Florida West, PEDC, Escambia County, and Keith Hoskins (representing NFCU) hammered out the current "Hybrid Plan" compromise for OLF-8.  It is my understanding NFCU was asked, in that "summit," meeting if they had any problems/issues with the hybrid plan---and no issues were given/identified by Hoskins on behalf of NFCU.

2.  Because no issues were mentioned/given by NFCU when they weighed-in on the latest compromise, and because they have subsequently now sent another payment of $275K for the planning effort--the logical assumption can be made that if the final plan moves forward based upon this hybrid compromise, NFCU will follow-through with their previous pledge to fund reimbursement of the total costs of the planning effort for OLF-8 per the terms of their MOU with the Escambia Board of County Commissioners.

So this is all good news, so far as I can tell.  I certainly hope NFCU makes the final payment once this plan is approved.  Meanwhile, here is staff's narrative that accompanied the notification about NFCU's payment:

"A check from Navy Federal has been received for $275,714.38 (copy attached). Check will be delivered to the Clerk’s office.  Here are the project funding details to date:

 Contract Amount            $1,263,507.00

Paid to DPZ                       $699,943.77

Balance on contract        $563,863.23

 Paid by Navy Federal      $631,753.50

 As discussed last week, any future invoices will be the responsibility of Escambia County. Phase 3 (Phase 4 on the reimbursement schedule in the MOU) outlines that we can invoice NFCU once final OLF8 Master Plan and Development Report is officially adopted by BOCC up to 100% of the Master Plan Expenses invoiced." 

 

Preliminary Planning for Additional, Paid Fire Service Personnel Coverage for Beulah's Station 2 is Underway

I have asked for a proposal on costs for adding additional personnel to Beulah's Station 2.  The preliminary plan would require $220,000 in new revenue to fund--which I am working a plan to do...

I've lived in Beulah for the last 17 years--and I've watched the residential housing growth out here explode.  It is part of the reason I ran for this job in 2016--to find creative ways to more intelligently plan for and manage the growth.  Meanwhile, lots of folks have made lots of money in real estate out here.  A MASSIVE up-zoning happened in 2015, farm property got turned into more subdivisions, and we've all seen our property values rise.  Creating wealth and value is great--but there are also consequences to explosive growth.

Yes-there are ramifications.  Or, as Newton put it aptly in 1687-- "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction"

We've seen the impacts on our traffic and our schools.  There are impacts to stormwater.  

There are impacts to the call load of Beulah's Volunteer fire station on 9-Mile road, as well.

With the BCC moving toward a compromise plan for our OLF-8 property that will more than likely add a lot more residential dwellings and large retail structures--which in turn will exacerbate our current traffic gridlock--we also have to be cognizant of our fire service coverage out here.

I have strongly supported the volunteers at Station 2 in Beulah since I have lived here--and I still do now, more than ever.  These men and women are excellent and they do a great job.   These volunteers will soon have a new, modern fire facility which is being designed right now, and for which the board has committed a total of $4 Million to build.

But because the growth at OLF-8 will push the capabilities of the stretched-thin Station 2 volunteers--I have had staff produce a plan for adding a three man, paid firefighter crew during the daytime hours at Beulah's station 2 (not dissimilar to what we do for the Century Fire Station in District 5--which also enjoys coverage from paid firefighters during the daytime hours).  IMPORTANTLY:  I am NOT advocating for the replacement of the volunteers at station 2; to the contrary--I am also, simultaneously working a plan to bolster and grow the roster of volunteers at Beulah.  That plan is already underway.  Bottom Line:  Station 2 will remain a volunteer station--albeit with daytime support from a 3-man paid firefighter crew to assist with coverage---if I can get funding and support for this from my counterparts on the board.

Meanwhile, all this growth that will necessitate additional coverage utilizing paid firemen from ECFR begs the question about funding.  According to the study I received back from Fire Admin late last week--it will cost about  $220,000.00 yearly in additional funding to add a paid three man team to Station 2 for the peak 45 hours weekly of call activity.  

I believe we may be able to fund the first two years of this additional, enhanced coverage for Beulah utilizing Federal Rescue Plan funding;  eventually, as OLF-8 gets developed, I support adding impact fees, a TIFF, or an enhanced MSBU (or some combination of these three) --ONLY on the developments permitted there (on OLF-8) in order to offset this additional $220,000 in costs thereby eliminating the need to raise the county-wide MSBU.   I do not and will not support raising the MSBU county-wide.

I intend to bring this topic and this plan to an upcoming meeting of the board.  Stay tuned.  Meanwhile- take a look at the initial, draft, and very preliminary estimate and plan below....

How is this OK? Why Does Andy Marlette Get a Pass?

Andy Marlette used a disgusting racial slur in his cartoon that was posted on the PNJ Facebook page yesterday by a commenter to his editorial who simply asks--"Wait...Is this Okay, Andy??

Look--I don't support "Cancel-Culture."  I think it is a slippery slope.  Folks are imperfect, and times change.  And people change, as well.  Stuff gets taken out of context, lies are manufactured, inarticulate verbal slips end careers.  It is dangerous, it is scary. "Cancel culture"---It is the anathema of the 1st Amendment and Free Speech.  Especially when it only applies to some.  But when a person writes the N-Word in a cartoon and signs his name to it--and the cartoonist is a white man---wow!  How is this OK?  Why does Andy Marlette and the PNJ get a pass on this?

This disgusting, racist cartoon that is purportedly a product of white, elitist, privileged cartoonist Andy Marlette of the PNJ was posted on Facebook yesterday on the PNJ facebook site under the comments section--and it naturally piqued my curiosity.  Here is a picture from the link, below.

Andy Marlette used a disgusting racial slur in his cartoon that was posted on the PNJ Facebook page yesterday by a commenter to his editorial who simply asks--"Wait...Is this Okay, Andy??

Because when we live in a world where cartoons in books from 5 decades ago, penned by staunch liberals like Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel), are now verboten---how does a backwater, hack cartoonist like Andy Marlette get to use the racist N-Word in his cartoon--and NOT face any pushback at all?

I mean, right now many Disney classics from decades ago are being pulled from some screening service platforms because of perceived racist overtones.

Chris Harrison gets booted from the Bachelor after serving as host for 20 seasons with the show-for  not being agreeable enough with a host during an interview.  (Harrison even apologized, profusely, after the fact.  Didn't matter, he's gone, cancelled.)

White spring breakers who get to rap along with big celebrities get chastised by the PNJ and other outlets.

But Arrogant Andy gets a pass--for writing the word??

Look--I don't like and I don't support Cancel Culture.  But a public figure like Andy Marlette, a guy

Marlette Malfunction Junction: How PNJ Hatchet Piece Backfires on PNJ--on their own Facebook Site!!

Yesterday's inept, ham-fisted, and ineffectual attempt at an attack on me on the "PNJ-Facebook Page" backfired on PNJ--resulting in dozens of negative comments directed toward Dandy Marlette and the PNJ...It was GOLDEN

Wow, just when I think the PNJ and their "crack" 2-person editorial board can't get any worse, any more inept, and any more clumsy--- they uncork an out-of-touch, ill-timed, and perplexing attack on me again.  But in it, they take swipes at multiple others in addition to yours truly.  When it went online yesterday, several folks reached out to me--saying "we thought the meeting today was great, you all compromised--so why this, and why now?"

That's what I thought too, but whatever.

So it gets even better... 

Apparently around lunchtime yesterday, PNJ put this Andy Marlette garbage "editorial" slamming me, Florida West, Economic Development, Scott Luth, the City Council, Matt Gaetz, and all citizens that disagree with them---- on their own PNJ facebook page.  With MY picture under a caption slamming our Congressman Matt Gaetz.  They even threw in a hashtag #FreeBrittany.  The final piece in PNJ's self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head was when they locked the article for "Subscribers Only."  So folks couldn't read the article to figure out the context.  It was confusing, it was jumbled, and it was haphazard (not unlike the majority of their editorials).

Naturally, it exploded spectacularly like Elon Musk's recent Starship launch pad mishap.

And then the negative comments against PNJ and Andy from Facebook posters began piling on top of PNJ's Facebook page...here's a sample of comments from the vicious beatdown Dandy and the PNJ are sustaining-----on their own site, LOL!

---Lol, no way I am paying to subscribe for those "opinions!" 

----This dude is just an opinion writer and apparently his opinions aren’t worth much as PNJ bleeds subscribers.--

----Pnj is possibly from a California city.. At least it seems--

"----This opinion column is exclusive for subscribers." — Thank god for that...

-----PNJ wouldn’t even make decent toilet paper

----I wasn't aware that Pensacola was in dire danger. But our Republic *is*, from the Commiecrats that he is opposing and that the PNJ is shilling for

----No thank you. Not interested in Marlett’s opinions.

----Marlette needs to stop doing drugs that aren’t legal in this state. Crack is bad for you and the community.

----Garbage “opinion”

----Why pay to read opinions. That is what that "newspaper"has become. Just opinions. Everyone has them. When you go back to facts maybe we will once again pay for your "newspaper"

----This rage is a POS!

----Start with FACTS you hacks

----Does anyone pay for this paper anymore?

Wow--what a beatdown!

It's Called a Compromise

With respect to OLF-8 in Beulah:  nobody will get everything they want, most will get much of what they desired, and everyone will have to accept some of what they specifically DID NOT want... It's called a compromise.

 I've had about three or four emails from residents of Beulah that are stridently opposed to the latest "Hybrid-Plan" negotiated by the county, DPZ, NFCU, and PEDC/Florida West.

Hey, here's a newsflash:  none of us are wild about it.  Not me, not the folks that hate me.  Nobody.  It is a plan, however, that has legs.  

It is moving, and most importantly--it is moving us toward concluding this awful, embarrassing process with DPZ and NFCU--- and toward actually getting something done on OLF-8.  That's the good news.  But, along the way, some folks will still be upset because the chips did not fall precisely, exactly, as these particular folks wanted them to fall.  So here is my general email response to the handful of folks who have written to me saying they HATE the hybrid/compromise plan....

"Dear Mr. and Mrs. XXXXXXX,

Thank you for the email expressing your concerns, and also for sending the picture, in the email below.  I also appreciate your willingness to engage in the process of developing a plan for OLF-8.

You all have lived here a lot longer than I have, but as a 17-year resident of Beulah, living right across from OLF-8, I DO tentatively support the latest hybrid plan—as it most closely aligns with the original reason(s) the board of county commissioners pursued this property for two decades, ultimately expending $18 Million to acquire it.

 As a nearby neighbor, living  directly across the field, I could take a selfish, self-centered position and lobby ONLY for parks, recreation areas, open spaces, restaurants, shops, a clock tower, etc. etc.  I could lobby for those amenities exclusively and against any commerce and good jobs on the field.  That would be a very myopic, short-sighted position to take, though.  And it would be incredibly unfair to the other four men on this board with whom I serve—and more importantly it would be unfair to their respective constituents—if I totally abandoned the jobs creation component and potential of this land, succumbing to political expediency.  Remember—all five districts and every taxpayer in the county, 320,000 of them, paid in to the $18 million necessary to acquire this property—originally for the sole purpose of job creation and nothing else.  Because we all paid, we all should and we all WILL have a say.  Remember—in the only two countywide polls taken specifically asking what should be developed on this property—the vast majority of respondents supported more jobs with better pay, while a very small minority supported residential and shops with low-wage retail opportunities for citizens.

 Because we know this development, whatever is eventually constructed there, will undoubtedly impact the nearby residents like you and I---the full board had unanimously agreed, in November of 2018, to modify the initial plan of solely a jobs project and instead move toward more of a mixed use development taking all uses into account.  I am proud that this 2018 agreement, which garnered an increasingly rare 5-0 vote of the board, was used as the guidance document for the creation of a master plan for OLF-8.

 Yes, there have been five potential plans put forth, and I believe the latest rendition, the hybrid plan, is the only one that has the ability to garner another 5-0 vote potentially (probably a 4-1, though)—because it does, in fact, represent a legitimate compromise.  Incidentally—this latest hybrid plan was negotiated with input directly from top leadership of Navy Federal Credit Union (Keith Hoskins), Economic Development professionals(Lewis Bear and Scott Luth), the county(Commission Chairman Robert Bender), and the DPZ Co-Design team---taking all stakeholder views and opinions into account. 

 NFCU and DPZ have pressed HARD for minimal commercial/jobs space on OLF-8 and FOR massive, high-impact residential to be constructed on this field, a position I have steadfastly opposed as I believe

Fake News Media Give "N-Word Using Andy Marlette" a "Pass"

White PNJ Cartoonist Andy Marlette used the N-Word in a disgusting, racist cartoon--and signed his name to it. It was posted recently on the official PNJ Facebook page and NOT immediately taken down.  It is still up on their site.  Is this acceptable in 2021?

A cartoon created by Andy Marlette of Gate House Media's (Formerly Gannett) Pensacola News Journal was recently posted on the PNJ's facebook website.  A censored rendition captured from a screenshot is above.

In this era of "cancel-culture"--a dangerous practice that I do not condone-- I find it to be astonishing that Andy Marlette gets away with writing the N-Word on his cartoon, and signing his name to it.

No ramifications, no apology, no explanations, nothing.

One media professional with whom I spoke on this recently about this matter specifically told me, candidy, "we tend not to report on other media figures unless it is something really beyond the pale, or unless citizens come forward and press for it"

So while the rest of us apparently have to watch Classic Disney movies be de-platformed, while decades old pictures in Dr. Seuss books get cancelled, while "The Bachelor's" 20-year host Chris Harrison gets canned----and he didn't use the N-Word like Andy Marlette did--- and while many average, everyday citizens who say and do much less get cancelled- "N-Word using Andy Marlette"---a white, privileged liberal elitist--gets to use the N-word in his cartoon, sign his name to it, and carry on smiling in 2021.  

And the FAKE NEWS MEDIA GIVES N-WORD USING ANDY MARLETTE a PASS!

The PNJ is apparently so unabashed about their support for this conduct, they left the facebook post up where this Marlette cartoon was posted.  Look at it here.  Wow!

Andy Marlette is a public figure, just like I am.  Andy frequently accuses others of being racists.  He is a dishonest, toxic fake in my opinion; he has accused me of being a racist multiple times via his cartoons and insinuations in his articles over the last 15 years. 

When he requested a meeting with me, he was frenzied in his rapid-fire, condescending, and harried questioning and accusations.  I was calm, cool, and collected in my rational, cogent responses to him (which he frankly did not deserve)  But boy oh boy, he sure was angry when I looked him in the face and told him I'd continue to manipulate his cartoons whenever I want to.  He shrieked like a squealing pig to his editor about it.  He was unhinged; totally and completely unhinged.  But he is/was a hypocrite who was projecting, apparently.  Because come to find out--He's the one that is racist, apparently, so far as I can tell from his cartoon above.  He uses the "N-Word" freely and nobody says a thing.  NAACP is silent.  BLM is silent.  Gate House is silent.  PNJ is silent.  FAKE news liberal press doesn't report it.  Rooms to Go continue spending massive sums of money advertising with PNJ.  The silence is deafening.

I guess Andy Marlette  must make too much money for his bosses in the liberal press establishment for them to call him out or at least make him offer an explanation and apology for this disgusting racist cartoon.   

Media is biased, and they most certainly condone,  no,  ENDORSE this; it illustrates the double standard they enjoy--which is disgusting and one more reason why more and more people distrust them!  

Inside the DPZ Text Messages and Emails: Part VI "Navy Fed Got Burnt"

 

Why does DPZ feel "Navy Fed got 'burnt' on this deal?"

As I wake up today coming off of what I felt was a good meeting yesterday (beginning at 20:08 of this video), where the commissioners were working together and arrived at a compromise for the development of OLF-8--I can't help but wonder about the text message, above, from Mike Weich of DPZ Co Design to Marina Khoury, also of DPZ Co Design.  In it, Weich states that  he "Just feel(s) bad for Navy Fed...they were 'burnt' on this deal."

This text message comes as a result of a public records request that DPZ fulfilled late last week.  The context of the above quote is:   this was a commentary between these two on a series of unflattering articles, blog posts, news pieces and television stories that came out last month illustrating the fact that there were several "behind the scenes" meetings between Navy Federal Credit Union, a coalition of NFCU employees and some residents, and the county's consultant, DPZ.  In these meetings, county staffers were specifically excluded and the goal of "embarrassing" and undermining the BCC's goals were discussed and DPZ staff was copied on these plans.

Then it was also revealed in these articles that the chief media spokesman for NFCU, Bill Pearson, was simultaneously working with the "NO Commerce Park on OLF 8" campaign against the BCC.  He (Pearson) even helped edit their talking points.  And Marina Khoury was aware of this, as members of the DPZ team were copied on these conversations.  Sadly, at the time these machinations were occurring, nobody at the BCC (DPZ's Client) was notified in real time.  Many believe this was a breach of DPZ's ethical obligation to the BCC, DPZ's sole client here on this OLF-8 project.  This all was discovered after the fact--- which was embarrassing for both NFCU and DPZ.

So perhaps Weich feels NFCU got "burnt" because of the poor way in which DPZ handled these actions--leading to the conduct at issue being discovered through a local journalist's public records request?  If that's why he feels they got "burnt"- he should look in the mirror for the culprit.

But maybe Weich feels NFCU got "burnt" because they didn't successfully kill all the jobs and commerce to be developed on OLF-8?  (This could be valid--as prior to the embarrassing public records emails detailing the NFCU behind the scenes involvement with DPZ in this---what was

Inside DPZ Co-Design's Emails and Text Messages: Part V--Does DPZ STILL Think "Everyone" is Their Client?!?

DPZ Co Design team members apparently still believe "everyone" is their client, and not the BCC.  Hopefully their lawyer can explain to them that this is a flawed, inaccurate assessment.

How can a firm working for the county to implement county goals and objectives feel that "everyone" is their client?  If everyone is someone's client--why do we have a contract with DPZ?  Why does DPZ send invoices to the county? It's ridiculous, preposterous, and inaccurate for them to say this.

It's because "everyone" is NOT DPZ's Client, the County, the Board of County Commissioners is DPZ's sole client on the OLF-8 Master Planning project.  And one would assume these folks would know this, but apparently DPZ team members Mike Weich and Marina Khoury continue to cling to the flawed notion that everyone is their client--based upon new text messages provided late last week.  It really is astonishing.

Late last month, I asked our attorney for her opinion--- which she quickly provided.  

“Pursuant to your ask, it is my opinion that privity of contract exists solely between the BCC and DPZ.  The BCC is a legal entity and even though the BCC is a board elected by the public, the BCC is the actual client and not the public.  I certainly understand that sounds counterintuitive, but hopefully the board is supporting the wants of its constituency.”

It is odd that this even has to be discussed and defined for Khoury and Weich, but nevertheless it apparently must be reinforced again.  Over and over.

I can only assume this notion of "everyone" is the client is a defense mechanism they are utilizing to rationalize their actions when they were notified of movements to undermine and embarrass their sole client here, the BCC--and DPZ did NOT notify their client in real time as .  I mean, if everyone and every citizen is your "client" yeah, you don't need to notify anyone of anything I guess.

Real life doesn't work this way though, and that argument is feckless and ridiculous....

Inside the DPZ Co-Design Emails and Text Messages: Part IV --What was Inflammatory?

 

DPZ-Co Design "team" members doing damage assessment via text messages following the release of their public record emails which were less than flattering....

As I go through pages and pages of text messages and emails from DPZ Co-Design, the text messages are very interesting and revealing.  This one, above, is from a string between Travis Peterson, Peter Bazeli, and Marina Khoury.  They were talking about the first dump of emails that had been leaked into the press after a records request by a local journalist.  And in this exchange, Travis apparently feels he has "let the team down" by some of what was revealed being less than flattering.  Which it was, by the way.

Interesting that Peter Bazeli comes in to comfort Travis, along with Marina, by saying "the most inflammatory thing in there was when Lissa [sic] told you (a) Quint called her to remind her- which is a non-event but feeds into the notion that Quint is a hub of influence, and (b) when Lissa [sic] said you'd have to bring her reporter up to speed"

And yes, those were inflammatory examples from the first batch of emails-- not the most inflammatory in my opinion, but yes, not flattering.  

But there are some more that are even more inflammatory from this latest batch of text messages and emails I received late last week--which I'm still going through and which I will share here.  More to come, stay tuned....

Inside the DPZ Co-Design Emails and Text Messages, Part III: Secret Weapon?

Yet another recent, disappointing example of the BCC's consultant, DPZ Co-Design, working behind the scenes against their client the County....

Late last year and early this year, my neighborhood HOA president began, through our HOA, emailing residents in my subdivision "information" about OLF-8.  And a lot of it was misinformation/disinformation from some small groups (Not DPZ) that don't want commerce on OLF-8.  I didn't think much of it at the time, but I did respond to it.  I even did a series of posts about it--because I felt it was really outlandish and the information was propaganda! (plus, this was before the embarrassing DPZ email issues were made public by Rick Outzen and the other media outlets, illustrating NFCU's involvement-so I still thought, naively, that DPZ was working with us, not against us.)

Fast forward a few months and now the pieces are coming together.

Now that I am receiving DPZ Co-Design's recent batch of emails-- I realize why me and my neighborhood  were being targeted.  According to the emails in the latest batch, an employee of DPZ's subcontractor Impact Campaigns indicated she had an "uncle" that lives in my neighborhood.  In emails only circulated within the DPZ team (County project managers excluded), this was described as Brooke's "secret weapon."  In August the DPZ team was conducting extensive outreach to many of the neighborhoods.  No harm in that, right?  

But in the winter, some groups with which DPZ had been communicating (NFCU/Beulah Coalition, No Commerce Park on OLF-8) began openly advocating, via email, against any commerce at all on the field--in direct contravention to what their client, the BCC, had identified as one of the client's top goals with this property.  Not only that, these emails were full of inaccuracies and outright lies!

My response to my neighbors, via email, apparently made its way back to DPZ through one of these "other" entities, at which point the DPZ team apparently relished, and shared, the strife they felt they had created between my neighbors and myself, as the sitting county commissioner that represents that neighborhood. (Again, county staffers apparently were left out of this operation and not copied on this string). But boy oh boy--Travis Peterson of Impact Campaigns sure seemed pleased to create and stir up this discontent, stating: 

"From Belle [sic] Ridge Forest neighborhood association.  Brooke's uncle lives there.  Bergosh is feeling the heat, and I think this is exactly how we want to be positioned right now-- as the honest

Devastating Document: It's PAST Time for the County to be Out of This!

Friday's ruling demonstrates that it is past time for the full board to be out of this lawsuit caused solely and completely by one member of the full board and specifically NOT by the other members...

Late Friday afternoon a devastating document was released.  It was forwarded to Board Members subsequently.

The document is not devastating for all the individual members of the Board of County Commissioners, per se--but rather for one member of the Board-commissioner Doug Underhill and his legal team.  

The problem is that currently the full Board is also a party to the suit.  

But upon reading this document, it should be clear that it is past time for the rest of the board to be removed from this lawsuit.  As a board, we have no control over Doug Underhill's social media postings on his individually owned and maintained accounts--so why are we in this still?  We cooperated and spent $10,000 to download all the files from Doug Underhill's facebook accounts so why are we in this still?  Commissioner Underhill did not share those files with the county, and he stated that all the files from that document download the county paid for that were public records were turned over--so why are we in this still?  

So at this point, the county has been proactive in doing everything we can do to compel Commissioner Underhill to comply with the records law--to the extent we can and are able. He acted individually in all of this, as an individually elected constitutional officer, so why are we in this still?? 

Yes, it is time--no PAST TIME--- for  the rest of the Board to be released from the lawsuit caused by one member's conduct.  If it is true that all the bona fide public records Doug Underhill possessed were NOT turned over--that is on him and not on us, period.  Why are we still in this?

Read the document, an order from Magistrate Hope Thai Cannon, here.  Then ask yourself this question, Why is the full board dragged into this---why are we still in this?

The document disputes many assertions made by Commissioner Underhill, most notably that he has already turned over all public records from his facebook account--and that the remaining 24,000 pages from his facebook accounts are, according to him, not public records.  The Judge in this ruling disagrees and so states in this order:  From to the order:

"Based on the Court’s review of each of the over 24,000 pages, the Court finds

they do include public records. Specifically, the Court finds Facebook Messenger

conversations containing the following content constitute a public record:

(1) Requests by constituents for Commissioner Underhill to take action or

requests from Commissioner Underhill for a constituent to act—this includes, for

example, a request from a resident for Commissioner Underhill to look into a matter

affecting the District or for Commissioner Underhill to consider voting a certain way

on a County matter, as well as requests from Commissioner Underhill for residents

to come out in support of a County issue and messages from Commissioner

Underhill identifying ways a Facebook User can communicate with;

(2) General expressions of thanks by residents for Commissioner

Underhill’s service to the County—this includes, for example a constituent’s

appreciation for the manner in which Commissioner Underhill responded to an

issue;

(3) Requests for information about County matters from constituents and

Commissioner Underhill’s response—this includes, for example, a request from a

constituent regarding whether District 2 covers certain areas and a request from a

business owner on his obligations under the COVID restrictions;

(4) Expressions of disagreement or complaints by constituents of

Commissioner Underhill’s position on County matters—this includes, for example,

a constituent’s discontent due to being blocked from Underhill’s Facebook pages

Inside the DPZ Co-Design Emails and Text Messages, Part I: Colorful Text Message Commentary...

Text Messages like this one, above, have been turned over to commissioners late last week from our consultant DPZ CoDesign.  They are not flattering....

Late Friday afternoon DPZ Co-Design Team leader Marina Khoury sent two drop box hyperlinks to the county.  The links contain the emails and text messages I requested pertaining to the OLF-8 master planning project DPZ is working on for the county.  I requested them after a contentious meeting and after learning about some other concerning issues as a result of some blogs and articles in Rick Outzen's InWeekly.

(DPZ is requesting the county, their client, pay them a large sum of money for providing this information requested public record information. from Khoury's email  "The fee for this work is $5433.75 (28.75 hours x $189" . This seems to be very excessive, exorbitant --so this will be discussed Thursday at our Committee of the Whole Workshop.)

Last month the whole process was upended when emails were disclosed that showed our consultant, DPZ, was copied on emails where some vocal minority-opinion groups were setting out to undermine our economic development goals and objectives and publicly embarrass the commissioners.  The county was never notified of this in real time, which to many observers constituted a serious breach of professional ethics on the part of DPZ.  We are DPZ's sole client, and intentions potentially harmful to the client and the client's project related to DPZ via email copy should have been immediately reported back to the county. But they were not.

This was the genesis of some very negative press for DPZ and Navy Federal Credit Union.

So later this morning my aide will begin making copies of these latest emails and text messages so that I can more easily go through every one of them, page by page, centimeter by centimeter.  Which I will do.

Meanwhile, a quick look at some of the text messages over the weekend is enough to get me started.

The recurring theme seems to be simple:  DPZ have their ideas and plans, massive residential, minimal commerce, and anyone who disagrees with them is the enemy.  Rick Outzen is the enemy for his blog posts and stories--simply for covering the machinations discovered in his publicly requested emails--and for telling the truth.  Scott Luth apparently is not respected and not liked---in one text released DPZ team member Mike Weich says of Scott Luth "He really doesn't get it--I'm embarrassed for him."  Why?  Scott is sharp and works hard to bring jobs to our county.  Why disparage him?? And of course--- I am the most hated of all.  Referred to as an "Ass" by team leader Khoury in one text--run down and disparaged in several others.  It's okay--doesn't hurt my feelings.  At least I wasn't called an "ASSHOLE"-like  Rick Outzen was.  Rick is referred to as an "Asshole" twice in just the few texts I've managed to wade through thus far.  (SEE TEXTS MESSAGE SCREEN SHOTS BELOW THIS POST)

The thing that is most disappointing---why the scheming and conniving, the backbiting and the bitterness from our supposed consultant?  We are all supposed to be working collaboratively on this project to do something good for the community-not work against each others' interests.  Disappointed in what I am reading is an understatement.  I'm not here to make best friends with DPZ or anyone else, I'm here to make the best decisions I can for the citizens I serve.  I've been in politics long enough now that none of this surprises me and because I have alligator thick skin--none of it bothers me.  I just wonder why DPZ didn't just pick up the phone and call me if they had something to say?  Why the backbiting and scheming?

DPZ team discussing and quoting from a February 10th blog post by Rick Outzen

DPZ team discussing and quoting from a February 15th blog post by me