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I am one member of a five person board. The opinions I express on this forum are mine only, and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the Escambia County Staff, Administrators, Employees, or anyone else associated with Escambia County Florida. I am interested in establishing this blog as a means of additional transparency to the public, outreach to the community, and information dissemination to all who choose to look. Feedback is welcome, but because public participation is equally encouraged, appropriate language and decorum is mandatory. Although this is not my campaign site for re-election--sometimes campaign related information will be discussed, therefore in an abundance of caution I add the following : Political Advertisement Paid for and Approved by Jeff Bergosh, Republican, for Escambia County Commissioner District 1








Tuesday, October 5, 2021

1st Joint BCC/School Board Redistricting Meeting Completed

The northern half of the proposed new District 1 Commission/School Board District



The southern half of the proposed new District 1 Commission/School Board District


The Escambia Board of County Commissioners and the Escambia County School District held the first of two joint meetings for redistricting this evening.  The meeting was cordial and productive.

All members of the School Board attended and participated.

All members of the County Commission attended and participated except District 2 Commissioner Doug Underhill.  He did not attend this evening's meeting.

After some initial pleasantries--the business at hand commenced after a slow start.  First up, District 5 and District 4 agreed on a one precinct swap which all but balanced these two districts respectively--with District 4 being slightly oversized and having the capacity after this switch to give some population to District 3.

Next up, Commissioner May's district was discussed and numerous proposals were made to increase the population of his district and the minority-majority makeup of his district as well.  Notably, all of Mayfair was tentatively moved from District 2 to District 3.  This gave District 3 a better overall minority-majority percentage which was further improved with the removal of several blocks of District 3 north of Garden street and East over to Baylen Street--but this give from D2 to D3 left D2 in need of several "pick ups" to make the math work.

The final piece of the pie and the most complex was the re-arrangement of Districts 1 and 2.  In order to balance the districts population wise, keep an elected ECUA board member in her seat, make Myrtle Grove whole again and return a sense of cohesion to multiple neighborhoods in the southwest corner of Escambia County--the D1 plan that was worked this evening, pictured above, makes the following changes between these two districts:

--All of precinct 99 goes from D1 to D2

--the portion of precinct 75 that is east of Patricia Drive and south of Cerny Road goes from D1 to D2

--all of precinct 61 goes from D1 to D2

----all the portions of precinct 105 currently in D2 that lie west of Sorrento south to Perdido Key, then encompassing all of Perdido key, go into the new D1 district  (all the rest of precinct 105 north of Perdido key and east of Sorrento would remain in D2).

What I am proposing:

 

-Balances D1 and D2

-Keeps D1 and D2 Schools balanced (keeps Jim Bailey Middle, Helen Caro elementary, and Blue Angels elementary in D1)

-Keeps D1 ECUA board member Vicki Campbell in her elected district, D1

-Does not knock any incumbent (Commission, School Board, ECUA) in either D1 or D2 that is running in 2022----- out of his/her district

-Brings a portion of precinct 105 back to D1 (Which D1 had before 2001 when W.D. Childers made the politically motivated action of taking Marcus Pointe and giving away Perdido Key to avoid losing votes to environmentalists on Perdido Key with whom he clashed at the time----political gerrymandering)

-Maintains even lines and smoother boundaries

-follows the legislation’s requirements

-connects communities of interest Perdido Key, Perdido Bay, and Innerarity

-makes D1 the Book-end SW Boundary district, complementing D4’s SE Boundary District

-balances the district—leaving D2 with a nominal number of additional citizens due to the falling population in that district over the last three decennial censuses.

Next up--the second joint meeting and hopefully a finalization of boundary maps for advertising so the process can be completed in mid-December.


25 comments:

Anonymous said...

When you said at 1:18 That doesn't affect any SITTING elected Official? What did that mean?

Anonymous said...

Never mind at 1:18 I thought you were inferring Underhill had been removed from the commission.
I listened to the video a little longer and I think what you meant was he wasn't going to run again and it didn't unseat Vickie..

Anonymous said...

I really like this map for D1.

You could then remove the illegal no trespassing signs on Perdido Key Beach and make sure Access #4 is open like it should be. An ECAT route can be reestablished there to cut down on traffic. The illegal jet ski school can be shut down for environmental and noise pollution problems and citizens can dine at the Sunset Grill with out all the hub bub. Bayfront people can enjoy the quiet solitude of their docks and boaters can enjoy the bay again.
The sea grass may grow back in the bay and fishing and duck hunting improved.


Also if D2 does not have to be concerned with Perdido, the new candidate Pino, if elected, can implement improvements to Warrington and Mayfair and work close with Commissioner May and Brownsville to reduce crime and improve the area, reduce homelessness and clean it up and help the community.

I think it's a win/win for all the county.

Anonymous said...

Also it would really benefit the county to have the Poarch Creek Indians invest in the area and other places in the county. They turned Atmore and Fairhope AL around.

Anonymous said...

https://ricksblog.biz/bcc-school-board-reach-tentative-agreement-on-redistricting/

Pod Cast here

Melissa Pino said...

Thank you for those nice words, Anon 1:59. I spoke at the meeting last night, but made it clear--and meant it--that I wasn't there as an advocate or a candidate but as a resident of the real West side.

I was not a happy camper, at all, about this plan when Commissioner Bergosh first made his desire known to correct the gerrymandering and return District 1 to its original parameters. My own plan had been to speak loudly against it, although I recognized that it would probably do as much good as it did with the road swap.

Once I recognized that it really did make sense in terms of making Myrtle Grove whole again, though, I was able to warm up to the idea enough to give it serious thought rather than what I realized was in part a knee-jerk reaction from being uneasy with big changes of this nature.

As I stated last night, the damage Doug has wrought on the West Side during an active campaign of neglect over the last seven years is just mind blowing (I kept saying six--guess there's part of me that can't believe we are finally entering the last year of his disastrous tenure). Whoever gets elected as next commissioner of D2 is going to have a serious challenge in that it will take a couple of years just to stop the downward spiral and stabilize to the point where rebuilding can begin. While it will help with our roads just to have Doug gone, as DOT can't stand him for good reason, these neglected neighborhoods are like starting over from scratch from the things Gene Valentino was able to get accomplished--imagine that, even though he lived in Perdido, he actually got things done for the West Side as well.

It will be telling how the D2 candidates (both those on the ticket already and those making noises about jumping in) respond to this. Any candidate that fights this change might not have the best interest of the entirety of District 2 at heart. Because honestly, if we're going to fix this mess, turning the Key back over to District 1 could be instrumental towards putting focus on all the areas that have suffered for so long while every penny has been sucked down to Perdido for Doug's boutique backyard projects that benefit him and his cronies.

And while I recognize that a couple of the candidate's hearts and lives are very strongly tied to Perdido Key, if anybody can get in there and right Doug's moves to turn it into a private destination for the wealthy, it's Commissioner Bergosh. So if I had to say right now whether I support it, the answer would be yes.

I'd like to hear more from the constituents of the West Side. The pity is, they have been so disenfranchised over Doug's tenures that people have dropped out and become fatalistic, other than his small contingency of cult fan club still hanging on. So I suppose that we might have a strange hodge podge of Downtown special interest and Perdido Tiger Teams for one last belch of the tired Underhill playbook. Hopefully the other D2 candidates won't align with Doug in their desire to keep Perdido Key in their purview. Because the next person who sits that dais for our district needs to be rolling up their sleeves to help the real West Side on day 1.

Mel Pino said...

Thank you for those nice words, Anon 1:59. I spoke at the meeting last night, but made it clear--and meant it--that I wasn't there as an advocate or a candidate but as a resident of the real West side.

I was not a happy camper, at all, about this plan when Commissioner Bergosh first made his desire known to correct the gerrymandering and return District 1 to its original parameters. My own plan had been to speak loudly against it, although I recognized that it would probably do as much good as it did with the road swap.

Once I recognized that it really did make sense in terms of making Myrtle Grove whole again, though, I was able to warm up to the idea enough to give it serious thought rather than what I realized was in part a knee-jerk reaction from being uneasy with big changes of this nature.

As I stated last night, the damage Doug has wrought on the West Side during an active campaign of neglect over the last seven years is just mind blowing (I kept saying six--guess there's part of me that can't believe we are finally entering the last year of his disastrous tenure). Whoever gets elected as next commissioner of D2 is going to have a serious challenge in that it will take a couple of years just to stop the downward spiral and stabilize to the point where rebuilding can begin. While it will help with our roads just to have Doug gone, as DOT can't stand him for good reason, these neglected neighborhoods are like starting over from scratch from the things Gene Valentino was able to get accomplished--imagine that, even though he lived in Perdido, he actually got things done for the West Side as well.

It will be telling how the D2 candidates (both those on the ticket already and those making noises about jumping in) respond to this. Any candidate that fights this change might not have the best interest of the entirety of District 2 at heart. Because honestly, if we're going to fix this mess, turning the Key back over to District 1 could be instrumental towards putting focus on all the areas that have suffered for so long while every penny has been sucked down to Perdido for Doug's boutique backyard projects that benefit him and his cronies.

And while I recognize that a couple of the candidate's hearts and lives are very strongly tied to Perdido Key, if anybody can get in there and right Doug's moves to turn it into a private destination for the wealthy, it's Commissioner Bergosh. So if I had to say right now whether I support it, the answer would be yes.

I'd like to hear more from the constituents of the West Side. The pity is, they have been so disenfranchised over Doug's tenures that people have dropped out and become fatalistic, other than his small contingency of cult fan club still hanging on. So I suppose that we might have a strange hodge podge of Downtown special interest and Perdido Tiger Teams for one last belch of the tired Underhill playbook. Hopefully the other D2 candidates won't align with Doug in their desire to keep Perdido Key in their purview. Because the next person who sits that dais for our district needs to be rolling up their sleeves to help the real West Side on day 1.

Anonymous said...

Hi Melissa

I watched you speak, I'm not really invested and just looking at this with interest and yes it's a bold change, I'm sure there will be pushback.

I like information and I found an old link about Brownsville depicting what is was like before I10 was built. A Pulse article with photos. Nice little business neighborhood, shotgun houses, people moving away from the boarding houses in downtown Pensacola in the 1950s, 60s and 70's. Different times. I know that's D3 now.
https://thepulsepensacola.com/2016/07/historic-photos-pensacolas-brownsville-neighborhood/

I know nothing stays the same.


I just know you have a heart for people, Melissa, and you know the problems with Forest Creek, whatever district that is in with the new draft..

On another side


Underhill's Intern (I think it's his intern) Connor Mann is twisting the word Gerry mander and has you drawn as the salamander, Commissioner Bergosh. I don't see how this map gives one political party an advantage over another. He even has the cartoon drawing from 1812, the new Marlette at work, LOL
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerrymandering

To be expected.

Melissa Pino said...

1.

Anon 8:02, the absolute worst thing that could be shaping up for District 2 is Jonathan Owens coming on the ticket using the redrawn boundaries he has been expecting all along as an excuse.

This is classic Underhillian and EWCesque disinformation: pretending to be outraged that cleaning up the boundaries of the West Side and making some neighborhoods whole again, when they have in fact been counting on it.

From the moment Jonathan entered that D1 race too late to even make a splash, I figured it was a selfish move to crank up his name recognition in D2 so Doug could hand him the baton if things got too hot for him to handle with all the scams he has been running. Because that's just how low Jonathan and Doug and their camp will go--play on Fire's hopes for a raise (when they had neither the concern nor the ability to work that deal out), convince them to plant a bunch of signs for Jonathan, and then blather about nothing but the Perdido Key Master Plan, the street lights on the West Side they didn't even fund or produce (that was Neighborhoods and the CRA),and Corry Bridge during the D1 "debates."

Doug and Jonathan have clearly been orchestrating a good cop/bad cop plan for the last seven years. It has been a ham fisted, concerted program of "at least that devil Doug has archangel Jonathan sitting on his shoulder."

Melissa Pino said...

2.

I am friendly with both Steve Stroberger and Chance Walsh and have no issue with them as people--actually the reverse. But I couldn't support either of them for commissioner because, IMO, neither of them is ready for the task. Selfishly, I'm glad that Steve will be released from the commissioner race if these new boundaries stay set, because he is a person of integrity who really cares about the community, and perhaps there will be another race/office where he is a good fit. Chance and Steve both had my word that I wasn't going to mess in their primaries, and that the only thing I was ever going to say about it is that was the simple truth: if I thought either of them were prepared to be commissioner, I wouldn't be on the ticket to begin with, but would be supporting one of them.

Jonathan Owens is a different story. While there may be a contingency of D2 that he has fooled with his kitten rescuing and running all over Florida for no reason on the taxpayer dime--playing it as if he's so important he needs to be on the move--there are plenty of us aware that he has been right there in the dirt with Doug from day 1. If he even thinks about getting on that ticket, he better be ready for people to start exposing some of his dirtier dealings.

And that will start by providing the documentation for how he bilked me out of 260 bucks for two tickets to the Mall Ball that he got for free, and insisted on coming over a day early to pick up the check so he could get his limousine ordered up. At that time, I wasn't on to Jonathan yet, and Kevin and I had a great time at the charity event (Mike was out of town). And I was happy that I thought my money had gone to help fight pediatric cancer. It wasn't until later that put two and two together that he had probably dropped two other people off his guest list so he could bilk me for some funds.

To the person who mentioned the WEAR piece on the tech park, while the reporter may have been unsuspecting (Sinclair rolls them off to a new location as soon as they get the lay of the land), that was an orchestrated hit on the BOCC coming from Downtown, and further evidence for anybody who doesn't believe it that Doug has been under protection from that corner for a long time. The last thing we need is for their propaganda machine to try to shove another Douggite in as their water carrier on the dais. While he might not have gotten the roundabout crammed in out at the Beach, he did get it accomplished to gift off the planning of OLF8 so some powers that be could shove a bunch of residential in there.

If people think seven years of Doug has been bad, imagine what even four of his Mini Me, with the intern elevated to aide, would be like. No. Fricking. Way.

Anonymous said...

Melissa
You are astute.
https://ricksblog.biz/who-are-the-20-supporters-for-peacocks-proposal/

Anonymous said...

check out Ricks blog, he's on fire.
Makes you wonder why Robert was hesitant about the redistricting.
Oct 14 on the Agenda to form a committee so Downtown can take over the county.

Don't even form the committee. Vote No.
How the other commissioner act will inform us.

I wonder who they want to appoint as King of Pensacola?

Lawd..just when you think it couldn't get more complicated.

No to Owens D2.

What happens if they consolidate, I think is they can by statute increase property tax to 20 mil. Max

The county hold them at 10 mil.






Anonymous said...

They are coming for us...
I haven't even checked PNJ/ Marlette yet today..Nor Tokyo Rose broadcast.

"a plan for the request we plan to make at the 11/9 BOCC COW meeting."

Rick caught them..

Smile ---- Group for better government, you are on candid camera..
https://ricksblog.biz/what-happened-at-group-for-a-better-government-meetings/

Anonymous said...

Did you see this
Also: “The recommendation was made by Jerry Maygarden that the County should hire or appoint an independent body to apportion/redistrict the County to keep politics out of this. I will work with Jerry to determine the best way for us to pursue that recommendation."

To take "politics" out of it they want to appoint their own people to redistrict..

LOL
You can't make this up.

Anonymous said...

All the above totally makes John Peacock’s strong case for an independent redistricting commission. Inweekly could conduct a poll of likely voters in Beulah and ask them if they feel they have more in common with the people living in Cantonment and Molino (District 5) or with Perdido Key (District 1). A saving grace is that in 2023 the new commission which will have at least one, and maybe two new commissioners, and under state law “can” create an independent redistricting commission to hold town hall meetings and find out who feels best connected to whom. The BOCC can redistrict the districts this time using the 2020 census data. It would be funny if the new BOCC redistricted the election boundaries in 2023 and Jeff Bergosh found himself living in a new District 5. There are three very obvious problems with the shameful stuff now being done to undermine our democracy. First, the BOCC does not seem to be using the 2020 census data as required by state law. In the forthcoming PNJ story, Bergosh says that the lines are being redrawn based on anticipated future population numbers. Imaginary numbers?
Is that really legal? Don’t ask David Stafford. He’s not a lawyer. I heard him tell the BOCC that in September. However, if the Attorney General were asked, she is a lawyer, she might slap down the BOCC’s gerrymandering scheme on constitutional grounds. The Florida Constitution requires that county election districts must be contiguous. Right now, they are not. Am I the only one who has noticed? Pensacola Beach is not contiguous to District 4. It is contiguous to the current District 1. A very strong swimmer can swim from Fort Pickens to the nearest point on the Escambia County mainland which is in District 1. Right now, the City of Gulf Breeze and Santa Rosa County divide District 4 in half. That can’t possibly be legal. In 2014, Stafford told Gary Sansing, who told me, that the county election districts were gerrymandered to protect the incumbents. Here we go again. I’m pretty sure that the BOCC didn’t read or pay attention to the Florida Association of Counties presentation on redistricting. It six times mentions the word “contiguous” even quoting directly from the Florida Constitution. Florida Statutes several time define and explain the word contiguous. It’s not rocket science. (I was a geography major in college with an emphasis on cartography.) The FAC presentation also includes this sentence, “Contiguity may be maintained via waterbody.” There you go. Hopefully someone with deep pockets like Peacock & Friends will file a lawsuit just over the contiguous issue. There’s no subjectivity there, it’s the law. The FAC presentation also emphasizes the importance of keeping “communities of interest together.” It specifically mentions “cities.” All of Century is being kept in a single district. Why not the City of Pensacola too? The population of the City of Pensacola is far “less” than the ideal district size. All of the city should be in a single district. Since 2017, Commissioner May has been a city resident. Call the new district that includes all of the City of Pensacola – “District 3.”


Melissa Pino said...

"What happens if they consolidate, I think is they can by statute increase property tax to 20 mil. Max"

Anon 2:55, can you say more about that? Interesting.

Anonymous said...

Hi Melissa
I'm seeing this late so, yes ..need to look up the statute to be clear but what I think is the county can charge up to 10 mil on property tax but an incorporated area can also charge the 10 mil. Maybe Pensacola can charge that now.

Whatever they might be proposing they might be able to do that, I think I saw somewhere, they may have lee way in a charter for "urban services" like if Century was in their plan as "urban" make have more taxes charged to the area. Century right now is the other incorporated area in Escambia. One way or the other they will have to keep water running and the waste treatment going because residents are all on sewer. The big deal there is the state prison is in unincorporated D5 and they HAVE to keep the water running in and out. Town of Century takes care of that right now. Going back to septic tank and individual wells simply will not be feasible. It will not happen. For Century to go to ECUA, one, they said they wouldn't take the wastewater like it is, plus you know about Innerarity and ECUA.

I was glancing over some past articles about in 2010 when they were trying to consolidate, I wasn't here then. I think Greg Evers had something to do with it back then and he is now diseased, but yes, that is something to look at.

Right now Century is held in check by a charter written decades ago and really limits the property tax to a very low number.


This was clearly voted down over a decade ago,

I see the above comment is the same as the one on Ricks Blog by CJ who has been talking about these things for a while in comments.

William Reynolds seemed to not want to post a comment discussing this, I think he is out to dissolve Century but I think it's simply because he is an asshole.




Anonymous said...

Melissa
Perhaps
Just when we thought we know it all, then we find out there is something else to learn.
https://floridarevenue.com/property/Pages/TRIM.aspx
take this link to this link

chapter 200

I'm wondering what I'm gonna do with all this self taught knowledge.


Title XIV
TAXATION AND FINANCE

Chapter 200
DETERMINATION OF MILLAGE

View Entire Chapter
CHAPTER 200
DETERMINATION OF MILLAGE
200.001
Millages; definitions and general provisions.
200.011
Duty of county commissioners and school board in setting rate of taxation.
200.065
Method of fixing millage.
200.066
Newly created tax units.
200.068
Certification of compliance with this chapter.
200.069
Notice of proposed property taxes and non-ad valorem assessments.
200.071
Limitation of millage; counties.
200.081
Millage limitation; municipalities.
200.091
Referendum to increase millage.
200.101
Referendum for millage in excess of limits.
200.141
Millage following consolidation of city and county functions.
200.151
Millage to replace lost revenue.
200.171
Mandamus to levy tax; limitations.
200.181
Bond payments; tax levies; restrictions

to this



Title XIV
TAXATION AND FINANCE

Chapter 200
DETERMINATION OF MILLAGE

"View Entire Chapter
200.141 Millage following consolidation of city and county functions.—Those cities or counties which now or hereafter provide both municipal and county services as authorized under ss. 9-11 and 24 of Art. VIII of the State Constitution of 1885, as preserved by s. (6)(e), Art. VIII of the State Constitution of 1968, shall have the right to levy for county, district and municipal purposes a millage up to 20 mills on the dollar of assessed valuation under this section. For each increase in the county millage above 10 mills which is attributable to an assumption of municipal services by a county having home rule, or for each increase in the municipal millage above 10 mills which is attributable to an assumption of county services by a city having home rule, there shall be a decrease in the millage levied by each and every municipality which has a service or services assumed by the county, or by the county which has a service or services assumed by the city. Such decrease shall be equal to the cost of that service or services assumed, so that an amount equal to that cost shall be eliminated from the budget of the county or city giving up the performance of such service or services."

see it?

20 mil !!!!!!

There it Is!!!!!

200.141
Millage following consolidation of city and county functions. ^^^^^

Arm Yourself with:

FLORIDA STATUTES TWO HUNDRED DOT ONE HUNDRED FORTY ONE

"The Group for Better Government' wants to stick their hands in our wallets.






Melissa Pino said...

Anon 1:57 and 2:38...thank you so much for this information. Had no idea!

Far from suffering under the delusion of knowing it all, though, I pretty much expect that every new day will bring about some astonishing piece of additional information that reveals a previously hidden ulterior motive I didn't know about from some corner.

It's like a never ending jumbo borderless jigsaw puzzle with pieces that have the ability to spontaneously reproduce.

Hopefully I can retain all this newfound knowledge without having to dump a bunch of lyrics to the thousands of eighties songs I have stored in my head. You know, the ones that play on the "oldies" stations now.

Anonymous said...

Joke of the Day.
Now we all know the REAL reason you are proposing these lines/s


"Alex Arduini
Comm. Bergosh just wants Jonathan Owens and Myself out of his district. Laughable."


Another thing that is revealing is Ricks Blog coverage about the Group for Better Government. Peacock's letter to the BCC with the names listed show some of the players behind Escambia Politics.

and I'm sure there are even more behind them.

I still can't get over they wrote BCC in June and wanted to be the committee to redistrict and said it was to "take politics" out of it.

Sure shows that they use PNJ for propaganda.

There is another word being coined called "ampliganda" bottom up misinfo and sources like f/b.

It is very tiring to be beset from all sides continually with so few awake enough to discern it.

Anonymous said...

I think Underhill knows this will pass because he just wrote on facebook that YOU should put him in your district so HE could beat YOU. HAHAHAHAHAHA

I love that Bear is still in ECW and hasn't been kicked off or muted or blocked like the most of us he had his press secretary do for propanganda narrative.

"David M. Bear
Douglas Underhill Your unfettered bullying and defaming of citizens and county staff are coming to an end. People are taking a stand and many complaints have been and more are being filed. Your public censure made no secret of how the rest of the BOCC feels about you and how they intend to discipline you in the future.

The findings of probable cause for your ethics law violations have revealed how you've had your wallet open for quid pro quo gifts that you've refused to disclose. Your intentional lack of transparency, evidenced by refusing to disclose the personal gifts you received from lobbyists and other citizens, is the definition of corruption and a violation of the law. The Florida Commission on Ethics and DOAH will both have the opportunity soon to tell you what they think about this activity.

Anonymous said...

2. Cont


"David Bear
Douglas Underhill
Refusing to fulfill public record requests continues to show the pattern of your corruption and disdain for the rules and laws you swore to uphold. What other military officer do you know who admittedly violates citizen’s 1st Amendment rights? You don’t like when people confront your corruption and lies so you block them and hide their comments so you can try to maintain that appearance of martyrdom you try to portray. You’ve already been told by the court you can’t continue to use your official position as both a sword and a shield. The state and federal courts see right through your disinformation and aren’t going to be happy to see you continuing it.

Would you like to discuss all of the illegal construction you've done at your house without proper permits and other necessary documentation? Didn't you file a claim with NFIP for substantial damage to your home due to the flood on April 29, 2004, which put you in excess of FEMA's 50% rule? You told everybody you received a $72k payment for the roughly $109k assessed value of your home (66% damage to value). Although you fail to agree that payment is fair, you're still obligated to comply with FEMA rules, Escambia County Municipal Codes, and State of Florida Building Codes. Living in a special flood district has many additional requirements for repairing substantial damage caused by floods, more requirements than other areas of the county. As a former licensed contractor, certainly you don't claim ignorant of this.

Here is a list of your obligations to repair the damage in 2014:
1. Complete and sign construction permit applications,
2. Provide an official elevation certificate,
3. Complete a damage repair worksheet,
4. Complete property owner’s damage affidavit,
5. Complete contractor damage affidavit,
6. Provide a pre-flood appraised market value of the structure from a licensed appraiser,
7. Approved permits,
8. Inspection reports for construction (erection, alteration, demolition, and moving of buildings and structures), and
9. All documentation granting exemptions under the county municode Section 14-53 for improvements, if any exemptions were granted and all variance documentation as described in the county municode Section 14-79. If all of those things were completed and provided, the county would have issued inspections and a certificate of occupancy, but none of those things have been done and there is inspection report and no certificate of occupancy for the construction repairs made for the damage caused by the 2004 flooding. The building official filed a notice of determination that work needed to be conducted constituting substantial improvement and/or repair of substantial damage and yet you built the house back out of compliance with the FEMA 50% rule, Escambia County Municipal Codes, and State of Florida Building Codes. In 2020, you received another letter of determination of substantial damage and an SBA loan to make the repairs, but you have yet to apply for permits to make these repairs to bring your house into compliance with the FEMA 50% rule, Escambia County Municipal Codes, and State of Florida Building Codes.

Anonymous said...

3 cont
David Bear
Douglas Underhill

"Why do you think these rules apply to everyone else but not you?
Didn’t you still maintain your contractor’s license in 2014 when you made all of those repairs without permits (is that a felony??)?
I can’t wait to hear what DBPR and FEMA think about all of that.
Certainly, the county building inspector will inspect your work and require compliance.

Want to discuss your misuse of a tax-exempt, not-for-profit organization to inure to your own special private gain? Accepting donations of jet skis, trailers, and parts are reportable assets. Promising to raffle a couple of jet skis is a reportable liability. Holding spring training camps at your house and charging $50/person/day registration fees to participate during the 13-day camp is reportable revenue. Sponsorships are also reportable revenue. Paying trainers to participate is a reportable expense. Purchasing equipment and parts to repair jet skis is a reportable expense. Using revenue for any use is a reportable expense. Shall I go on about the reporting obligations of a tax-exempt organization to the IRS and how the IRS feels about individuals who use a tax-exempt organization to inure to their own special private gain (I could guess it's probably the same thing the Ethics Commission thinks about it, or worse since this is criminal)? I’m looking forward to hearing what the IRS will think about that."

Privilege is "a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group." When you filed for bankruptcy, you received immunity to protect your interests against the interests of your lenders (including your own children’s education funds, as you've mentioned on multiple occasions). You defame people and hide behind the shield of your office to be immune from the consequences of your actions. Your actions are privilege, by definition. I've never tried to command the actions of any politicians, and it's unfortunate for your claim that there is no one else to corroborate it with first-person experience.

For someone who has been proven to be privileged and continually violates the law, I think you’re in no position to point any fingers. Do you?"

Jeff Bergosh said...

Anonymous 4:52: Although I'm currently travelling between Denmark and Sweeden, enjoying a much needed vacation with family--I am keeping one eye on the comments here and elsewhere on social media....even as I know it's not always good to look. Like that motorcycle wreck on the highway as you drive by. But yes, I see what you wrote and others have reported that to me. To this ridiculous assertion I'd simply say this: Doug, if I get the map the way it has been presented at the first meeting then yes, you will live in District 1 as District 1 will have been put back together appropriately-- again. Now, I know you have publicly, in the press and on the dais, stated you are not running again. So is that not true? Also, we know you have sycophants and others doing public countdowns about the dwindling number of days until you leave office--and how they "can't wait" until your days on the board are done. Believe me, we're doing the same countdown too, Doug. In fact, on your last day I'm bringing a bottle of Dom Perignon to the meeting and when you say your goodbye, I'm popping that bottle and I'm going to do to it what Mean Joe Greene of the Pittsburgh Steelers did to the Coke in the Iconic 1970's commercial. Look it up and learn something. (And I suspect many others around the county will be doing some sort of similar celebration(s) upon your exit as well.) But then you will be gone. I'm told you bought the farm. Good, go there, and leave. But if you decide you just can't quit--then yes, by all means you can come and run against me again if you get permission from your family to do so. And that would be apropos--instead of sending proxies to their defeat (Sindel, Owens). But Doug, know this: If you run against me it won't end well for you; you'll get crushed like a roach. You say " I win majorities " however that's laughable. You barely won your last race, a squeaker, by a measley 200 votes and an xtremely narrow percentage margin of win of like 3%. Your home precinct you clung onto by a 12 vote margin. In my race, I won by 1100 votes and an 8% margin. I beat your secretary (that 8 of 10 D1 voters voted against) by an 18 point margin. So, serve your time, and enjoy your retirement. But if you want to come back, remember I'll be ready to go, as I always am, and you'll be way out of your league.......and you'll get beat.

Anonymous said...

Prost!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xffOCZYX6F8

Political Advertisement Paid For and Approved by Jeff Bergosh, Republican for Escambia Commission D1