Mayor DC Reeves Delivers a State of the City Address to Citizens

We work closely with the city on several issues, and three of my counterparts have large swaths of their districts that are also within the city limits.  So, there will always be some synergies and some crossover that requires city/county cooperation.  The homelessness issue and the related problems are a big topic that will require us working together. In addition to this, my employer ESA South is very interested in the happenings in the city so they asked if I would attend this event. So, I made it a point to attend last evening's "State of the City" Civicon event at the Sanders Beach Community Center.

Here are some highlights of his hour and ten-minute presentation.

First, the mayor focused on describing his progress in addressing his initial promised improvements in safety, housing, and jobs.  To illustrate his progress, he utilized data from a UWF Haas study the city commissioned of only city residents, and he also utilized data from the recently completed PYP Quality of Life Survey of area residents (including Escambia County Residents).

Highlights:

--94% of residents rated Pensacola Fire Department Excellent or Very Good

--87% of residents rated Pensacola Police Department Excellent or Very Good

--89% believe the city is heading in the “right direction.”

--new North City Police Substation will be opened at the PSC campus within the next 60 days

--City Fire Service enjoys the Highest ISO Rating, a 1

--$840,000 grant received for the installation of high tech “Shot Spotter” technology that will enable law enforcement to react to gunfire in real time and at the precise location where the gunfire occurred

--He discussed the ongoing efforts and legislative requests this upcoming session for $18 Million for demolition and re-purposing of the 50-acre legacy campus of Baptist Hospital for housing and other city needs.

--He discussed the current effort and #1 legislative ask from the state legislative delegation for a 5-gate expansion at the Pensacola International Airport-from 12 to 17 gates and additional concession options.  The funding necessary for completing this project will be split between the city, the state, and the federal government, according to Reeves.  Initial design is underway.

--Pensacola’s Airport throughput is at a record high already this year, and the projection is that by year’s end we will have had more than 2.65 million enplanements, which represents an 89% increase over enplanements in 2013

He next described what the survey data revealed to be the most desirable features of the city.  Access to

the waterfront was the number 1 response, and walkablility was also a highly rated attribute.  He described the city’s work on the soon to be completed Sander’s Beach Park and the Sun Trail along Scenic Highway.  He also explained his rationale for closing the Bluffs Park due to safety issues and his plan to work with a statewide nonprofit to repair and reopen that facility and to ensure it is kept in a conservation state going forward so that it will never be commercially developed. He also described the city’s pursuit of a $2 Million dollar grant to create a walkable path from the foot of the Three Mile Bridge over to the Bayou Texar Bridge—and he feels confident in his ability to win this statewide, competitive grant, to build this trail.

He dedicated the last part of his talk to his upcoming goals for the next year and the ways he is addressing the most vexing challenges in the city (Parking downtown, Crime, Recycling, and homelessness reduction.)

He went into detail in describing all the troubles with the downtown area’s hodgepodge of paid parking.  He differentiated between the City’s “Green” parking spaces and the private “red” vendor operated parking spaces.  He indicated most of the issues and complaints he fields must deal with the “red” premium parking areas and the various fees, fines and costs that those private companies charge—not from the city’s $.50 per half hour spaces.  “If someone gets home from Texas and had a bad parking experience in Pensacola—it will be a reflection on Pensacola and the story will be told to others---so we have to fix it” Reeves stated.  The city has spent $300,000 in upgrades to their downtown parking structure and the city will be phasing out the “kiosks” in favor of an industry-leading parking app which is currently in use throughout the country and the state of Florida.  This will begin next year.

On recycling, he surveyed residents and asked their opinion on paying an extra $10 monthly to support “Opt-In” recycling and the response indicated 50% of the residents would support this.  He acknowledged that recycling is challenging and that it might be something that winds up requiring subsidies to maintain.  In the meantime, he described the facility the City runs on North Palafox that currently accepts recycling from city residents Monday through Friday as an alternative until curbside, opt-in service can be established in the city limits.

Going forward, his next priorities include completing the renovations of Roger Scott tennis center, demolition of the Malcolm Younge Gymnasium, and “taking care of what we have already [facilities and infrastructure] being prioritized above opening new facilities.” In addition, he is excited to be completing a job and salary study for all the city’s 800 employees which will be costly but necessary, an effort he will begin in early 2024.  “We are talking about using taxpayer dollars for this, and I treat these funds with the utmost respect, but if we are treating our employees respectfully, we have to pay them fairly” he quipped.

He gave updates on the economic development projects with the American Magic sailing facility and said the funding is in place and the design is underway, indicating the American Magic team will be back from Barcelona in late fall of 2024 in Pensacola.

He also discussed work with ST Engineering at the Pensacola Airport and the work in conjunction with PSC to ensure a pipeline of qualified citizens to fill the jobs ST needs to fill.

As he wrapped up his comments, Reeves recognized all his department heads, to include his newly created position of grant writer.  This newly created grant writer position, according to the mayor, was responsible for finding, writing, winning, and being funded more than $72 Million, start to finish, in the last 8 months since the position was established!

 

 The evening ended with a brief question and answer session with the editor of the PNJ asking a series of questions of the mayor.