I'll be on "Real News with Rick Outzen" Tomorrow Morning at 7:00 AM

 

I'll be on the area's best and most listened-to morning drive news program tomorrow morning at 7:00--"Real News with Rick Outzen" on 1370 WCOA

I've been invited to appear tomorrow morning on the area's best, most trusted source for entertaining and enlightening morning drive news talk programming-"Real News with Rick Outzen."  

The show is live at 7:00 on 1370 WCOA

We will be discussing last week's BCC meeting and other topics of interest which may arise.

Listen live at 7:00 or catch the podcast which I will link here once Rick Publishes it.

Good News Update on the Perdido Key Roundabout Project!

Early last week the latest estimate on the completion of the Perdido Key roundabout project at Perdido Key Drive and Johnson's Beach Road came back as a Spring completion--with final striping and signage completion by May 25th.

Fast forward to this weekend and I am hearing of some remarkable progress by the contractor on this project.  Apparently, it looks as if this project may be completed months ahead of schedule---perhaps even by the end of this year.  From staff:

"Just received some new info on the roundabout.  The contractor is planning to be 100% finished by year end which is quite ambitious but would be fantastic.  Also, there will be one additional permanent "mouse compliant" light installed in the general vicinity of the current Johnson's Beach detour, and an existing light right at the roundabout will be converted to amouse compliant fixture.  There should be plenty of light at the finished roundabout.  Contractor is still working on temporary lighting"

more to come on this.....

Ideas Likely to Be DOA Part II

The idea of downtown "interests" moving thier under the bridge tent city problem out of the city and dumping a homeless encampment in an area of already significant blight within D1, in an area and neighborhood we have actively worked to clean up, with no notice and no communication?  Yeah, this brilliant idea is DOA..... 

Some ideas that get thrown out should die as soon as they escape someone's mouth.

Especially the dumb ones.  

Particularly the really ridiculously dumb ones.

I got blindsided on Tuesday of this past week with a frantic phone call that went a little something like this.  "Jeff, they're going to dump a homeless campground in your district!"

"What?!?  Who is---and where?"  was my response.

On Wednesday, the very next day, I asked administrator Wes Moreno about it.  He told me he hadn't heard anything about this and wasn't keen on the idea.  "I'll look into it to see what I can find out, but I am not aware of this--it's the first I'm hearing of it" he said.

Then between Wednesday and yesterday--my office received multiple angry phone calls from concerned residents on Houston Avenue in District 1.

I can assure you--there has been no coordination with the county on this "plan."  NO coordination/no communication.

We all care about folks that are down on their luck and find themselves in this predicament----but some effort must be given to thinking through the location of where to house potentially hundreds of homeless in tents.  Dumping this sort of an encampment in a neighborhood?

No, that's not going to fly.

An email I received on the topic, below, sums up the residents' fears and concerns.  The email's author also put's his finger on the jugular vein of the issue in short order:

"The proposal to move more homeless into the NEIGHBORHOOD does not seem to be a practical approach to clean up any  already blighted area.My heart goes out to any person or family that finds them self homeless.But by putting Downtown' problem onto other Neighborhoods isn't the way..There has got to be a better solution to this problem. I do not have an answer to Pensacola's homeless problem, but by moving Downtown's  problem to any neighborhood becomes someone else's problem. This can't be Pensacola's long term answer to the homeless problem. Let it remain Downtown's problem until there is a better more permanent solution. As for now bringing an unknown number of people into this area which is already stressed will be the wrong answer."

It is the wrong answer, it will be DOA....

53rd Coffee with the Commissioner Event will Occur in Two Weeks

 

We are going to continue our online, virtual "Coffee with the Commissioner" events until it is safe to once again resume these in person out in locations throughout Escambia County's District 1.  Our next Coffee event, our 53rd edition, will occur two weeks from this Wednesday--on September 2nd.

This week, we will not have our event due to the election (in which I am a participant)  and I will also be out of state visiting my son Nick who will be starting his second year of law school at Marquette on the 24th.

So our coffee on the 2nd will be all about COVID-19 and how we are reporting the statistics to you, the citizens of the county.  I will have Janice Gilley, County Administrator and Eric Gilmore, Escambia County Emergency manager on the webinar with me on the 2nd.  And I invite you to submit any questions you may have on any aspect of the county's response to the COVID-19 Pandemic to me in advance as either a comment to this blog, an email to me ( District1@myescambia.com ) , or on my Commissioner's Facebook page   https://www.facebook.com/CommissionerBergosh/

Importantly--I will and have been pursuing an important new metric for our dashboard:  Recovered Rate.

I believe this is a critically important data point to present along with all of the other information because as we continuously add the new case numbers to the dashboard--folks are seeing this huge number out of context in my opinion-----as many may falsely believe that number represents the current number of citizens stricken by this virus--even though this number includes cases from as far back as March.  And other states and municipalities have begun taking a 6-week heuristic and applying it to new cases.  Although this is not a perfect, foolproof method for illustrating a "recovered rate"--it is better than what we are doing currently in my opinion.

Simply stated, applying a six week standard to all cases (because after 6 weeks post diagnosis--the vast majority of patients recover with a very small percentage remaining hospitalized past 6-weeks and an even smaller number succumbing to the disease and dying.)  So, to illustrate the recovered numbers better--this sort of a protocol should be added to our dashboard so folks see a more realistic number of local citizens who are infected at a moment in time-----not the TOTAL number diagnosed since the beginning of the pandemic.

This will be a big part of the discussion on September 2nd--I look forward to it.  

 The 52nd Coffee event will take place this Wednesday morning from 6:30-7:30 AM.  The replay will air on Myescambia.com.   Join us live, and ask your questions in real-time on facebook!

To join the event live Wednesday morning, September 2nd-- simply go to https://www.facebook.com/CommissionerBergosh/

 "See You" online!

Sidewalk Project Moving Forward on Dog-track Road in District 1

From the county's engineering department:

Construction Notice of Commencement

Dog Track Road Sidewalks Project

Escambia County’s Construction Management Division will soon begin the Dog Track Road Sidewalks Project in District 1. Dog Track Road has sidewalks in various locations along the rights-of-way between Lillian Highway and Blue Angel Highway. The project includes clearing and grubbing, roadside grading, storm water line and structure installation, ditch excavation, and installation of approximately 1,750 linear feet of sidewalk, access ramps, inlet top replacement, striping, and sod. Construction will begin in January/February 2020 and will be completed within 150 days pending weather.

The following is information regarding the project:        

--This project is funded by the Local Option Sales Tax with construction costs estimated at $141,175.

--Chavers Construction, Inc. will install sidewalks within the right-of-way of Dog Track Road at three different locations, connecting the walkways to Blue Angel Elementary School.

--Construction will take place during the hours of 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.  Monday through Friday.

·        --Areas that are impacted during construction will be returned to their previous state.

·         --Access to adjacent properties will be maintained, although there may be short periods when a driveway or entrance is temporarily blocked during construction.  

·         --An Escambia County inspector will monitor the construction areas daily.

·         --Your cooperation and patience are appreciated during this construction process.

For more information contact:

Thomas “TJ” Williams, Project Manager

Escambia County Engineering

(850)554-1967  tjwilliams@myescambia.com

District 1 Bellview Library Update

An initial rendering of what the layout of 
the Bellview Public Library in District 1 
may look like upon construction 
later this year. (Courtesy of Todd Humble)

I have recently had several conversations with Escambia County's Library Services Director Todd Humble on the topic of our soon-to-be built library in District 1.  Specifically, I wanted to know where we are in the planning/design stage, and what the timeline is going forward for construction.

Artist's initial draft rendering of what the
entrance to  District 1's soon to be
constructed Bellview Public Library may look like
(Courtesy of Todd Humble)

Mr. Humble came to our 30th Coffee with the Commissioner event last Wednesday, and gave the citizens in attendance an update in person.

(those who are on Facebook and would like to watch the video and hear Todd Humble's comments  directly can find the video of the coffee here)

Artist's initial draft rendering of what the
entrance to  District 1's soon to be
constructed Bellview Public Library may look like
(Courtesy of Todd Humble)

According to Director Humble, we should complete the design in early March, at which point it will be put out for bid and that process will take approximately one month.  Upon the award of the bid, we will do a groundbreaking event at the site for the public to attend if they wish in the May/June time frame.



Folks have asked about the size of the facility--and according to Director Humble "We believe we will be between the size of our current Southwest Branch (7,500 SF) and our Tryon Branch (12,000 SF) but it is too soon to say for sure which one we will be closer to in size.  Obviously the costs of construction are a concern and we have a finite budget."

The branch will have meeting spaces for adults and children and the branch will have ebooks and magazines available to library card holders--meaning thousands of book titles will be available for download to a user's individual tablet, cellphone, or laptop device.  "There will also be roughly 250 different e-magazines available to download for free as well--many titles with which most will be familiar" said Humble.

Artist's initial draft rendering of what the
main reading room at District 1's soon to be
constructed Bellview Public Library may look like
(Courtesy of Todd Humble)

We all look forward to the opening of this facility with eager anticipation.

Read more about West Florida Public Libraries here.

Instant Feedback From Citizens on a Variety of Topics

Audience members actively participated in our town hall meeting in Beulah last night, July 15, 2019 at Beulah Middle School

At last night's District 1 Town Hall in Beulah, I tried something new.  Instant feedback questions from the audience present.  On a lot of different topics.

I had no idea how it would be received, nor how it would work.

As it turns out, the audience really got into it and I was able to go through 23 questions very quickly and get a good idea of where a cross-section of my constituency stands on a lot of important topics.  My aide, Debbie Kenney, and I tabulated how the audience scored each question, on a percentage basis, below----very non-scientific---well yes, maybe------but very informative nonetheless!

Some of the answers were REALLY surprising.

My particular favorites were the ones about the Pensacola News Journal(#17 and #18---minute 1:36:20 of this video)----WOW!  Here is the complete list:

Video from Last Night's District 1 Town Hall Meeting in Beulah

We had an excellent turnout for last night's District 1 Town Hall in Beulah.

You can watch the video here.

Coffee With The Commissioner This Coming Wednesday

We will be having our monthly "Coffee with the Commissioner" event this Wednesday, November 28th at the Hardee's at Pine Forest and Wilde Lake Blvd in District 1.

Stop by and let's talk about how we at the county can better serve you the constituent!

(And this is a casual, informal event; no agenda, no topics off limits)

Hope to see you this Wednesday!

Come Join us for Our Next Coffee with a Commissioner!

We will be having our next coffee with the commissioner event this coming Wednesday morning at 6:30 AM at the McDonald's Restaurant at Blue Angel Parkway at Hwy 98.

Come by, say hello, and lets talk about what is important to you and your neighbors!

--neighborhoods

--infrastructure

--jobs

--making our community better

All topics are fair game, all are welcome--- and we hope to see YOU!

NW District 1 Advisory Committee will Launch Next Thursday

I am looking forward to the launch of our Northwest District 1 Advisory Committee next Thursday at 6:00 PM.

We were supposed to start up and organize this committee earlier this month, on the 10th, however TS Gordon forced us to reschedule our 1st Budget Hearing for that time so our meeting got postponed.

But we will start it this Thursday.  The public is welcome to attend, and I look forward to going to work on several pressing issues in this area.  See the agenda below

Retention Pond Answers

I recently received a lot of questions on facebook about the local retention ponds in and around the Beulah area of District 1.  So I posted some information about retention ponds and how citizens can check on their nearby ponds, online, to see if such ponds are county-maintained.

The drawing above illustrates several of the ponds about which I have been questioned.

I received information back from staff late this week about these specific ponds, so I am posting it here now:

Pond 833 Bridlewood.  Last cut 6-25-18

Ponds 684, 685, 686 Twin Spires. Last cut 6-26-18

Pond 724 Audrey Plantation. Last cut 6-11-18

Ponds 895, 896 Twenty One Oaks. Last cut 6-11-18

Pond 872 Hawthorne Grove. Last cut 6-28-18

Pond 914 Navy Oaks. Last cut 6-11-18

Pond 917 Covington. Appears to be a new pond recently added to the route and will be cut in the next 2-3 weeks.

Pond 564 is the one in front of the Equestrian Center. We have not cut it in a couple of years as the Equestrian Center has been mowing around it each time they mow their site. I know there are trees around it and lily pads in it but it is a wet pond.

All the ponds above, with the exception of the Equestrian Center, should be cut in the next 2-3 weeks .

NW Florida Modelers Use of Fritz Field: A New Agreement Will Be Considered This Thursday

Some of the RC Planes that are out there are spectacular.  I've never seen one as large as this B-52 replica pictured here, but I have seen some very large and impressive models....

Earlier this month, there was a dust-up of sorts between a few residents in Beulah, and the Northwest Florida Modelers Club, a 14-year user of Fritz Field in Beulah.

The issues centered on noise.  A few residents of a newer subdivision in Beulah wanted the club to operate later in the day and also wanted the club to agree to reduced levels of noise as the new standard.

When the bridge to the field was finally repaired recently-the county made some modifications to the field, and now the RC planes only fly south of the runway-whereas before this change the planes would fly north of the runway.

I've visited the site, and I have met with many of the members of the club.

Some with which I have spoken feel they were being unfairly treated.  "What about the county ordinances, we can use backpack leaf blowers, lawn mowers, and gas powered weed eaters at 7:00 AM---but they want us to start later than that even though we are a lot quieter than these lawn-care tools?  said one member with whom I spoke.

Another observer noted that nearby construction activities on roads and other subdivisions can commence as early as 6:30 or 7:00 AM.

So the agreement that will be considered this Thursday represents a compromise: the modelers, according to their previous agreement, could begin flying as early as 7:30 AM.

An interim, unofficial, "back of the bar napkin" agreement the modelers accepted between themselves and two nearby residents specified the flights would not commence before 9:00AM.  "That agreement was when they were threatening to shut us down.  We were under duress" said one of the NW Florida Modelers representatives with whom I spoke when I made my site visit a few weeks back.

This new, official agreement will split the difference and allow the modelers to fly beginning at 8:15.  Additionally, this agreement has stipulations that will protect the residents by making the airspace above the residences strictly OFF LIMITS.

I hope all parties can recognize that this agreement is generally fair to all and does indeed represent a compromise.  I anticipate this will pass this Thursday with a unanimous, affirmative vote in support.

Dog-Fighting over Decibels

Fritz Flying field in Beulah, home of the NorthWest Florida Modeler's RC flying club since 2004

The term dogfight refers to aerial combat between two aviators.  Full Disclosure: I'm using extreme hyperbole here when I describe the ongoing strife between a handful of neighbors in Nature Trail and the NW Florida Modeler's RC Airplane flying club over noise levels as a "dogfight"--obviously nobody is engaged in combat, nobody is dying.  Not being literal here....

But lately, there has been tension.  And it is reaching a boiling point. Yet to their joint credit--members of the RC club and the  handful of Nature Trail residents that are upset have engaged in dialogue and have tried to reach a compromise.

They even reached a tentative, informal, "back of a bar napkin" written agreement in April of 2016--which until very recently has maintained the peace between the opposing sides.  I believe this is due,

"Written agreement" between two Nature Trail residents
and the president of the NorthWest Florida modelers
RC Flying Club.

in part, to the fact that activities at this field until recently had been halted due to a bridge on the property over 11-Mile creek being washed out and unusable until it was repaired recently by the county.  Now that the bridge has been repaired, activities at the field have resumed full speed and the neighbors are upset.

The NW Florida Modeler's club has utilized a small air strip located in Beulah off of Jamesville lane for various model flying events for the last 14 years (construction of residential housing in Nature Trail began several years after the RC club began flying their aircraft at Fritz Field).  The area is large, open, and conducive to this type of activity.  I went out to the field yesterday, I took pictures of the area and I took readings of the sound levels at the corner of the property adjacent to Nature Trail.

The loudest reading I picked up, at the edge of the property County's property line was 73 decibels.  (I estimate the distance from the edge of the field's property line to the first of the houses in Nature Trail to be 100 150 yards.)  The average reading I picked up, even as the planes were flying, was 60 decibels.


I spoke to a representative of the club yesterday at the property.  "We're good people out here, we are trying to be respectful of the neighbors--but they are trying to shut us down and that's not right."

A resident I spoke with from Nature Trail, one of the residents that has reached out to work with the club in the hopes of working a compromise, contacted me Saturday and Sunday to let me know that the club was not living up to the agreement about starting times for flying.

The average decibel reading from my
visit yesterday to the corner of the
Fritz Field property, was 60 dB

"They are violating the rules.  They began flying before 9:00 AM Saturday and the airplanes are already flying at 8:15 today [Sunday]"...  "Two days in a row they fly before 9:00 AM.  The club just does what they want and nothing happens."


I called the club president this morning to ask him about why they started flying before 9:00 AM today, Sunday.  Initially, I got no answer.  Later in the morning I did get a call back from the President who said that he would talk to the club about why they started earlier than 9:00AM.  "When we made that deal we did it under duress" he stated.  "We had to give in on every demand because we thought the County was going to shut us down if we didn't give in to all of these demands..."

My intention going forward, because I believe a solution can be brokered that allows both parties to amicably coexist, is to have our Administrator and also our Director of Parks and recreation sit down with these two residents and the club members representatives to hammer-out an enforceable agreement that is fair and reasonable.

I think this can be accomplished.

That's what I'm going to do.




.

NW District 1 Master Plan: The 50,000 Foot Level First

The Northwest portion of D1 (above) is growing rapidly.  I will soon recommend and request that a portion of my discretionary D1 LOST funding be utilized to develop a Master Plan for this entire area.  This plan will incorporate citizen-input and it will be designed to mesh with whatever is planned for the yet-to-be developed OLF 8 property.

As we in North West District 1 move closer and closer to establishing a committee to address the rapid growth of our area, one of the first things I will ask this committee to look at (once they are confirmed by the full BCC) is a Master Plan for the entire NW District 1 area (precincts 43, 5, and 68--depicted in the map above).

This entire area is growing rapidly--and as the growth occurs, there will be growing pains.  There will be great things and great businesses opening up that make our lives in this area better and create jobs for our citizens--but there will also be familiar problems (traffic-drainage) that will make this growth more challenging.

This is why I believe a committee is important going forward.

With respect to the master plan-I know there has already been significant work done by a group of individuals in this area, and I appreciate these efforts and I will not let these previous efforts go to waste;  I believe the previous work will be combined with new work to create a plan that meshes with the needs of the entire area while simultaneously addressing the challenges that the growth of the area has presented and may present in the future. 

I have set aside money from my discretionary LOST funding for D1 to pay for this NW District 1 Master Plan--- and as it pertains to OLF 8 and the development that ultimately occurs at that site once we acquire that site-- the ultimate objective for the NW D1 Master Plan will be for it to mesh with whatever is developed at OLF 8.  This will be accomplished by having the planner make multiple assumptions for what the development at OLF 8 may eventually become (Commerce park, Commerce Park with Mixed Use Retail along the frontage,  Mixed-use retail/residential, Open

Here's Why......

People have asked me.."Why do a committee for the Northwest portion of your district---why is this necessary?"

LOOK AT THE MAP BELOW

The map below, showing the explosive growth this area has experienced from 2010 to present is a huge part of the reason.  We are already behind the curve and playing catch up.  I can't wait to work with this new committee, established by a 4-1 vote of the Board of County Commissioners, to find creative ideas to adapt to this growth for the betterment of every citizen that not only lives here --but also the ones that travel in this area on a regular basis.....

District 1 Town Hall Announced---Thursday July 26th, 2018 5:30 PM

We will soon have our next town hall meeting for citizens in District 1.  All are welcome to attend...

.....The topics for the Town Hall will be:

1. The Master Plan for Northwest District 1
2. Northwest District 1 Advisory Committee
3. Restore Act/Triumph
4. Update on OLF8 acquisition and Master Plan
5. Beulah Fire House Renovation and Expansion
6. Library in District 1
7. Update on Transportation Projects of Interest

In addition to these topics, I will also be discussing my soon to be announced "Escambia Youth Commission" Initiative that was discussed at the joint School Board/BCC meeting from earlier in the year.

As is always the case with my monthly coffee events and with my Town Hall meetings--the County will advertise this event such that ALL County Commissioners from all districts may attend if they so choose.

I will take and answer questions from the audience and this event is free and open to all.

It will be held in the cafeteria of Beulah Elementary School 6201 Helms Road, Pensacola, FL 32526, beginning at 5:30 PM.  If you have any questions or comments, please call 850-595-4910 or email them to District1@myescambia.com

Constituent Email on OLF 8--and My Response..

My Response...

Northwest District 1 Advisory Committee

I have added the formation of a 9-member Northwest District 1 advisory committee to the agenda for this Thursday.

See the agenda item linked here, read about the rationale for the need for this committee here.

I'm hoping to receive many applicants for this very important committee; there are lots of issues that deserve to have a committee look into and provide recommendations for. 

There are lots of issues of growth in this portion of  District 1 that must be looked at and for which I value the input and research and deliberation of a committee of concerned folks. 

What I am not looking for:

--Single-issue citizens that are focused on only one issue or one area
--Overly-opinionated citizens that are not willing to be open-minded to multiple ideas or concepts
--Citizens that are rigid and unwilling to compromise

Initial areas of research and input to be sought from this committee:

--Development of a Master Plan for this area (precincts 43,5, and 68) that aligns with and complements the Master Plan for the OLF 8 site development
--Working to bring a library to the area
--Where to put the next park/community center
--Identification of the most pressing infrastructure issues (sidewalks, roads, stormwater drainage areas)
--Addition of mass-transit options to the area
--What does it take to bring a post office to the area?
--other issues of significance that arise going forward
--Fire Service in Beulah

For those willing to serve, I anticipate meetings once monthly or once every two months, in the evenings.  If you are interested, please fill out the application.

I will go through each application personally, and I will reach out to those that have expressed interest and those whom I believe will be a good fit for this committee.

This committee will be open to citizens residing in Escambia County.   To apply to serve, please forward this application and a copy of your resume to

District1@myescambia.com

Three Important Aspects Conveniently, Conspicuously Absent from PNJ Editorial on NFCU's 9-Mile Road Overpass...

One does not need a windsock to see which way the winds are blowing as it relates to the NFCU 9-Mile Road overpass project...

I don’t disagree that a traffic solution for 9-mile road is desperately needed. Everyone knows this. And everyone also knows that NFCU is the greatest thing to happen in DECADES for the Pensacola area and Escambia in terms of economic development and jobs diversification.  And now that the vote has happened at the BCC, the process to construct this solution will invariably move forward through the TPO and into the design and PD&E phase.  However, I do find it interesting that three important issues were left out of this editorial.  

Number 1—the current project to double the capacity of 9-mile road by going from a 2-lane to a 4-lane road (the project that has been under construction out here for the past two years) will be completed next year.  This, in and of itself, will be massively beneficial at easing congestion in the near term in this area.  

Number 2-The Beulah interchange project is moving rapidly and has the potential to be completed before this overpass is completed (the southbound portion of the interchange at a minimum)—and the Beulah interchange, if not “back-burnered” will spread the Beulah-area traffic load between two I-10 freeway exits whereas this NFCU overpass simply funnels all Beulah and NFCU traffic into one exit—which I do not believe is the optimal solution.  

And finally, number 3- I notice the price-tag for this 9- Mile Road, NFCU overpass is also conspicuously left out of the discussion in this editorial—but a $70 Million-dollar project ought to be scrutinized heavily—particularly if it will leap-frog (or has the potential preempt) many other very necessary and worthwhile regional projects on the TPO list.  These were three important data-points conveniently absent from the editorial.  

Now, I can read the tea leaves, I don't need a windsock to tell me which way the hurricane-force winds are blowing, I know there is huge gravity behind this project, and I know it will be funded and will move forward regardless what my constituents or anyone else thinks...

But I want to ---and I will ---set the record straight right here, right now on two things.  

First--the number one project for the region is the Beulah interchange, and whatever happens with this NFCU overpass, it is not more important than the Beulah interchange --which is truly a regional project.  

Secondly-- my no vote on this issue was neither anti-NFCU nor anti-solution.  I agree we need a solution, but I simply wanted time to hear from constituents that live in the area that will be impacted by whatever solution we eventually implement.  I do not think it was unreasonable to request a brief delay of less than 30 days so that more input could be gathered from District 1 constituents—most whom I heard from did not support this overpass.  We all know the way that very reasonable request was handled at the meeting-- and so for principle’s sake I voted NO.  

But now we move forward and I recognize the need to move forward.  My goal from here on out is to be actively engaged with the community during the PD&E phases to ensure this project is the least onerous on residents, most efficient for the commuters, and the most beneficial for the significant taxpayer dollars that will be invested to build this overpass.