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| The study for the Perdido Key Roundabout, pictured above, comes with analysis, data, and recommendations. |
I am now in receipt of and am going through, meticulously, the professional traffic study analysis of the Perdido Key Roundabout in District 1.
I requested it in the face of mounting displeasure by the residents in Perdido over this traffic feature that was meant to assist with traffic flow and safety--but that instead has apparently exacerbated the traffic problems out on Perdido Key.
Staff has sent me the full report, which I will be presenting in detail at a town hall meeting in Perdido to be held Monday, Sept. 18th at 6:00 PM.
With the report, staff also provided their initial thoughts and recommendations, which I will consider thoughtfully as we find a way forward on this issue.
From the email:
Commissioner,
I would like a chance to get the camera installed on the condo so we can look on that side of the bridge, similar to what we have done at Pensacola Beach to time the signal (see #4 above) to prevent delays northbound. We are working with County Legal and the Condo Legal to get an agreement worked out for liability and maintenance.
I will inquire with Natural Resources relating to wildlife impacts regarding the addition of the bypass lane (see #5 above) to help with the hesitation associated with the close quarters of the southbound leg and westbound leg being so close together. Right of way and wildlife impacts have long been an issue with the size of this circle.
In summary, I don’t believe we have enough information yet
to justify removal of the circle. I believe that it will function as
intended during the “off season”. I would like an opportunity to observe
further from the circle to the bridge exactly what backups are taking
place. I believe the community is getting more used to the circle in that
I have not heard of any more mishaps of running through the center of it nor
any collisions. If you hear of any of these instances, please forward
them to me.
I received this email late yesterday from Mr. Steve Stroberger, Chief of Staff for D2 Escambia County Commissioner Mike Kohler and a member of the Rotary Club of Perdido Key.
The Perdido Key Rotary Club will be sponsoring the addition of two more emergency rescue tubes this Saturday Morning starting at 8:00AM at Perdido Key in District 1.
I am deeply appreciative and I know the community is as well. I even said to Steve at the last installation last Saturday--facetiously and in jest due to these works by D2 out in D1--"Thanks for the work you all are doing out in District 1--we appreciate it!!"
But in all seriousness--it is awesome to have a D2 Office that is working together with D1 rather than what we have seen from the previous D2 office........
Steve's email, below:
"All,
I'll be hosting a town-hall meeting in Perdido on Monday, September 18th at 6:00 PM.
I have not yet selected and booked a venue, but I will this week and will announce it via a press release from the county's CMR department.
As I typically do, I will request relevant staff be present to discuss the wide ranging issues of concern for the folks that live and work in this area of District 1. And I am open to adding topics as well, so anyone who would like to have focused discussions added to the agenda can offer such ideas by emailing them to District1@myescambia.com or by calling me directly at 850-293-1459.
Some initial topics of consideration/discussion at the town hall:
--Traffic and the Roundabout, including the recent study of it's performance and potential improvements
--Growth Management and better notification of residents prior to large developments being approved
--the timeline for completion of the multi-use path
--Homelessness and the implications on the community and how the county is working to address this issue
--creating more parking at the access points and providing additional access
--beach safety
--litter and roadway refuse collection
--Incorporation questions
I'll also invite my counterpart elected officials from the State, ECUA, and School Board to attend and bring relevant updates.
More information to come shortly.
Even though the PNJ, with another ominous sounding headline on their front page edition this morning, wants my stolen text messages to be the center of their "story" on a former employee's qui-tam, harassment case against the county--the fact of the matter is that my text messages are irrelevant to this case.
The PNJ's article conspicuously neglects to mention the fact that I am not an operational employee of the county, I am a member of the legislative. I have no day to day management oversight of staff that bill for EMS services, nor do I have any power to direct, discipline, or control county employees. Commissioners are legislative employees. We only supervise, as a body, our attorney and administrator and individually our office assistants and interns. The administrator and his staff do the day to day supervision and management of employees. So the idea that my private thoughts and those of other citizens to whom I may have spoken to on a raft of issues, to include this former employee (who was a disaster in the opinion of many), has any bearing on this case is laughable. It's a joke.
Of course, PNJ knows this but doesn't report it. That would make a boring article, that's why.
The other fatal flaw with their front page piece and this directed attack on me purported to be news is that somehow my text messages are a part of the former employee's case of "harassment." This argument, too, fails. It fails because this former employee also made herself a public figure with public appearances, statements, and assertions to the board over and over about her perceived issues in the EMS department. She made herself a public official when she sued a local private citizen for speaking out against her and cost that citizen hundreds of thousands in legal fees. This former employee made herself a public figure with her statements in the press and other places with wild allegations--the vast majority of which were extreme exaggerations or outright lies. When you are a public figure, you are succeptible to unflattering critique--someone should wake her up and tell her this. Comes with the territory and if the kitchen is too hot, one should consider leaving. She didn't. That said-- Being an elected official and member of the commission, I have the right to ask any questions I want and speak my mind on any topic I want related to county business, including disagreening with an employee's mistreatment of other employees and her dangerous, reckless disregard for due-process rights for county employees which cost the county taxpayers more than $300,000.00 thus far, and counting. I can say and do this according to recent rulings that describe such speech by a sitting commissioner as enjoying absolute immunity under state law. Absolute, unqualified immunity. (Just look up Judge Pitre's ruling in the Underhill case which was also per-curium affirmed at the DCA) Someone should show these rulings to Ryan and Steven Andrews, too.....absolute, unqualified immunity is what we have in these sorts of discussions and comments.
PNJ knows this, too, but they don't bother mentioning it. They want to lionize this former employee,
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| Agree is the unanimous answer I have seen in every town hall in which I have asked the audience "Should all elected offices have term limits?" |
At every town hall I do in my district I always take a moment to do an unofficial "poll" of the audience on various topics of interest. It is amazing the visceral reaction when I ask about term limits. It is a sea of "agree" cards appearing in the audience when I ask "should the terms of office for U.S. Congress and Senate have limits?"
I always ask the same question about locally elected positions like the one in which I serve--county commissioner. Same result--a sea of "agree" cards.
So it comes as no surprise to me that Representative Michelle Salzman filed a bill this past week to specifically limit the terms of office for County Commissioners around the state. She and I have actually discussed it a number of times and I was aware she'd be filing the bill. We are friends.
My prediction is it will pass, some form of it (perhaps with 12 years instead of 8 consecutive) will pass the legislature--and then I believe the voters will pass it on the November, 2024 ballot. I believe it will easily exceed the 60% threshold necessary to revise the constitution. And I say "good." Because I support term limits.
But here is where I think a major issue lies: If we are truly going to be dyed-in-the wool, puritan, strident adherents to the absolute and unconditional doctrine of term limits for all elected constitutional officers statewide--why take the easy, lazy road by simply limit them to school board members last session and now, apparently, county commissioners this time? I mean, if we truly want to demonstrate that this is not somehow targeted toward only these two particular offices--why not simply add all elected county constitutional offices to this legislation? And this isn't a shot at any other constitutional office or officeholder beyond the school board and commissioners---It is a fair question and one for which a cogent answer should be given by those bill sponsors who seek to limit terms of some, but not others. And make no mistake, that is what this is, a limit on some and no limits on others, for expediency.
Otherwise, we would see Senator Ignolia (a really smart and effective legislator) and Rep. Salzman and the rest of them proudly and publicly add-in Clerks of the Court, Supervisors of Elections, County Sheriffs, County Tax Collectors, and County Property Appraisers to the term-limit, feel good, red meat legislation. So why are they not doing it--I mean, they themselves are term-limited to 8 years, they want to limit commissioners and have already limited school board members---so why not the rest of the constitutional officers too if this is really, truly, only a puritanical, ideologically-driven piece of legislation and nothing more and not some shot at only one class of elected office, commissioners?
I know the answer, and they do, too. They won't do it, they can't do it-- because if they did, they'd lose
On Saturday morning the Rotary Club of Perdido Key stepped up for swimmer safety at Perdido Key's Beach access #4. This local club funded and installed an emergency flotation device and signage which can help average citizens to help rescue fellow citizens who might find themselves in distress out in the Gulf.
I was invited to participate and was heartened to see so many volunteers show up to not only install this flotation safety device, but to also clean up the beach as well with a blitz of litter collection by about 3-dozen citizens that came to assist.
According to Dan Sulger, from the Navarre Rotary Club, this same sort of safety system has already, successfully been deployed to 16 public beach access points in Navarre.
"Each one costs about $186.00 to install." according to Sulger.
I think that is a great investment and we will soon be adding these to the rest of our Perdido access points as well.
