The School Board Is Requesting 25 Acres of OLF-8 for a School

Our offices have received the below request from the School Board.

Current District 1 Projects and Status (Partial List)

There are so many big projects in the works for the benefit of citizens county-wide that sometimes it is easy to lose sight of these.  So in the pictures below-you will see SOME of the many projects we are working for the benefit of D1 citizens and citizens of all of Escambia County.  These projects are fluid but there are a TON of great projects in the hopper and I look forward to getting them done over the next several years!  (Oh, and this is just a partial list!)

A Win-Win On the BCC's OLF-8 Jobs Project is Now Within Our Reach!

We are on the cusp of a great win, an exciting and unprecedented opportunity for all of Escambia County with our OLF-8 jobs incubation project.  I'm excited for the possibilities this project will be bringing!  With this as the backdrop---it is unfortunate that this project ---for which we've worked so long and hard--- is being dismantled and the facts surrounding the reasons for this project are being deliberately obfuscated, minimized, watered-down, marginalized, misstated and misrepresented.

Case in Point:  a recent Sunday PNJ Guest editorial regarding the development of Beulah’s OLF-8 property completely misrepresented my position and misquoted statements I have made on this important county initiative.   This hatchet-job attack also glossed over some very important factual details that need to be re-emphasized. 

Because when we are talking about decades of effort by county employees, the private sector, the Department of Defense, and economic development partners region-wide---not to mention millions of taxpayer dollars expended for this property—we must be honest, tell the story truthfully, and maintain the integrity and fidelity of the purpose behind the acquisition of this OLF 8 property. 

the county commenced this project and expended nearly $18 Million in taxpayer funds to acquire this property from the US Navy starting more than two decades ago to 1.) protect the military flight training mission in NW Florida (which has been largely accomplished with Escambia county’s successful land swap with the Navy) and 2.) to create good jobs for Escambia County residents.  Period.

We DID NOT publicly fund this project to get into the residential land development business, the hotel business, to build a giant park, a mini-city, or a mall.

The recent Sunday PNJ guest editorialist, certain developers, and several other self-interested parties appear to be minimizing and downplaying the essential reason(s) Escambia County started this project in the first place.  Apparently, these folks that have not paid attention to the history of this project (and even some who have paid attention and know better) want to naively and passive-aggressively assert that this property somehow just magically fell out of the sky and into our laps while ignoring the real history of how this land was acquired and for what purpose it was pursued.  Worse yet—many of these same individuals espouse that now, like a “tabula rasa” clean slate, we should do exclusively with this land “that which appeals to and benefits nearby residents and special interests exclusively.” 

These entities and their proxies are even pushing massive residential development on this parcel (1900+ new residential dwellings!) AND a multi-story Hotel to boot! 

As Beulah residents, we’ve all witnessed firsthand the problems that have festered as massive residential growth has been allowed to occur without the necessary infrastructure to support such growth.

I, along with the clear majority of the Beulah constituents I represent, DO NOT favor any residential dwellings being constructed on this field!  This is starkly illustrated with a countywide poll recently taken that shows 57% of county residents surveyed support jobs being created on the field, and only 25% want residential construction on the land. In that same poll, an astonishing 85% of county residents surveyed want the county to do more to support high-wage, high-tech jobs!

And as it pertains to a multi-story hotel on the OLF 8 field--there are several nearby Hotels under construction already--- so why would we ever want to get into the business of competing with hotel developers?  Answer: We shouldn’t.

Although I did not create this OLF-8 Jobs project—I inherited it upon taking office in 2016---I do strongly support it.  And as the recently re-elected D1 commissioner, I will never countenance a “bait and switch” job on the other four districts of the county by conveniently forgetting about and

The Area Behind The New Publix Site Has NOT Been Recently Rezoned to Commercial

There were some unfounded speculations and accusations about the land just south of the location of the new Publix Shopping Center in Beulah at 9-Mile Road and Beulah Road.  On the Beulah Scoop Facebook site some posters stated that the property had recently been "re-zoned" to commercial.  And then several subsequent posters piled on, dragging me as the current commissioner into the conversation and bashing me--blaming me for "this."  

I knew it was all bogus.  

And a quick check with staff verified what I already knew to be true.  

There has been no such rezoning of any of that property since I have been the D1 Commissioner!  

(BTW:  Anyone at anytime that is confused or has questions about zoning--particularly in Beulah where I have lived for going on 2 decades-can call me for the facts.  850-293-1459.  Or email me at District1@myescambia.com.  I'll give you the facts, the truth.  I'm working on a citizen-driven master plan for the entire area to control the out of control growth in Beulah-and we will be awarding that $300,000.00 contract within 30 days.  I ran for this job because I wanted more intelligent management of growth--and we are going to do it!) 

As a matter of fact, before the county did a massive up-zoning of properties all over the county in 2015 (Before I was Commissioner) for the purpose of streamlining zoning designations (which was a MASSIVE up-zoning of many properties) this property was already zoned for commercial uses.

From staff:

"below are the two OLD ZONING AND NEW ZONING for the Properties behind Publix as well the “Rezoning case map” of the area. There has not been a rezoning in the area since 2006. The only change is the NAVY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION 15’ x 605’ Ingress and Egress section was changed from RR to HC/LI in 2015 zoning update because it was less than 10% of the property and was the NFCU connection off of Beulah Road. It did not affect any other properties. The ID-1 or HC/LI is NFCU Property. There has been no new Commercial rezoning behind Publix. All other Properties have not changed nor any rezoning cases have happened without the BCC approval"

OLD ZONING--PRIOR TO 2015

CURRENT ZONING-(SINCE 2015)

See staff's before and after zoning maps of this entire  area (prior to 2015 and current)

 

As the OLF-8 Charette Process Winds Down--Here is What One Nearby Constituent from Nature Trail Wants:

By an overwhelming majority--Escambia County citizens that were recently surveyed said they DON'T want additional residences constructed on the county's OLF-8 property.

By a massive 85% vote in this same survey--Escambians surveyed supported the county's continued push to support high-paying, high wage jobs.  See the entire survey and all cross tabs here.

Interestingly--I've had several Beulah residents reach out to me and let me know what they want to see in the park.  This one, below, comes from a couple that live right across the street from the OLF-8 and NFCU campus in the Nature Trail Subdivision.  From their email:

"Your commuting maps plainly tell the tale – lots of people commute into Beulah to work, but they don’t live here. In fact, I’m told a majority of Navy Federal employees live in Santa Rosa County – their commute may be a bummer but they haven’t been eating dirt for over four years already. We think the wishes of those of us who live in Beulah should carry more weight.

The OLF-8 Property in Beulah was acquired by Escambia County from the Department of Defense for the express purpose of job creation. We taxpayers were sold by the original plan to create high paying jobs; we did not sign up to provide shopping experiences and residences.  The county has submitted a preliminary application with Triumph Gulf Coast, which could lead to a $30 Million Dollar award for the county if we can create a minimum of 1000 good paying jobs on this property.  We don’t want smokestack industries, of course, but the County needs revenue from the land in the form of property and sales taxes. We suggest:

            High-tech Manufacturing such as Aerospace/Medical devices:

            Precision machined parts, electronic assembly, etc.

            Stents, shunts, ventilator filters, scalpels, etc.

Large Asset Management/Financial Services/Mortgage Lender

            JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, etc.

 Tech Companies/Cyber Security

             Salesforce (they have 1900 job openings!)

What is the Hiccup with our Bellview Library Project? A 2+ YEAR delay is UNACCEPTABLE!

After weeks and weeks of no movement whatsoever on the fully-funded, District 1 Bellview Library project--I requested a meeting this week with staff to go through the issue in detail to figure out what the holdup is.

Apparently the parking on the facility as it sits has been deemed insufficient and so additional parking has been contemplated and added to the project.

But the addition of this additional parking apparently triggers the requirement for the addition of stormwater mitigation--due to the creation of an additional, impervious surface.  And this, in turn, is triggering a cascade of delays that could push this project back by more than 2 YEARS!

After the meeting, a new timeline flowchart was provided, (above) illustrating what could be up to a yearlong delay ----if additional parking is tied to the project---before any of the project could even be put out to bid!!

I believe this is unacceptable and I am having staff research two possible work arounds so that we can get this project jumpstarted:

1.  Beginning the work on the facility alone---with the parking/stormwater project continuing on a separate track and as a standalone project.

2.  Making the overflow parking (over and above what is currently on the property) of a type that is porous and therefore not a feature that would trigger the necessary stormwater mitigation that an asphalt parking lot would.

I'll make a follow-on post that details what the new plan going forward will be.

Who is Doing the Recovery Work?

The county has engaged three firms to oversee the debris-removal portions of recovery from Hurricane Sally for which the Federal Government will ultimately reimburse Escambia County:

Roads Inc.

Ashbritt

Panhandle Paving and Grading

This weekend county staff reported on the subcontractors that have been engaged by each of these firms in this cleanup endeavor.  from the email

Zone 1 – Ashbritt

1. Added Roads as a contractor for final disposal
2. Interviewed a WBE for haul-out of mulch that turned down the work
3. Plans on extending rates to Bonner Tree Service once they begin work in Zone 1 parks

Zone 2 – Panhandle

Panhandle is utilizing the following local sub-contractors:

1. Creek Waste & Recycling – C&D Debris Hauling / Loading
2. BKW, Inc. – Vegetation Debris Hauling / Loading / Tree Removal - Cutting
3. Boyett’s Septic Tank and Portable Toilets
4. Nations Rent – Pensacola
5. Sunbelt Rental – Pensacola
6. SGC, Inc. (Carpentry) – FEMA Towers
7. TEC Equipment Rental – Pensacola
8. Thompson Cat Rental – Pensacola
9. Compu Graphics (Site Signage) – Pensacola
10. Outpost Rentals, Inc. (Equipment Rental)
11. Bay Area Blueprints – MAPS / Signage
12. ACME Rentals (MOT) – Pensacola

Notes:  No significant reported changes.  Note from Panhandle – Panhandle has received and corresponded with several other local contractors within multiple districts of the County, however most of these did not come to fruition as certain companies were unable to provide proper insurance, registrations, etc. and were unable to meet contract requirements.  We have kept notes on this information.  Furthermore, we have advised several of our out of town subcontractors to take calls, pursue local contractors as well. 

Zone 3 – Roads

Roads is utilizing the following local sub-contractors:

1. MO Construction
2. The Wallace Company
3. Cantonment Excavating
4. BKW Inc.
5. A & B Hauling
6. J & M Dozer
7. Gulf Atlantic Constructors
8. Floyd Construction
9. Dave Dunsford
10. United Rentals
11. Nova Engineering
12. Boyett’s Portable services
13. Sunbelt Rentals
14. Action Rental
15. Purifoy Construction, LLC
16. Arnett Construction Services, LLC
17. Charlie Heath, LLC

As OLF-8 Charette Process Begins--What Do Voters County-Wide Want from the OLF-8 Property?

According to a recent county-wide poll--citizens prefer job-creation at the County's OLF 8 property over Mixed-Use or residential construction--by a greater than 2 to 1 majority!

DPZ Design, a planning firm from Miami, has been brought in to create a master plan for the county's 536 acre OLF-8 property in Beulah.  This firm will be having public input sessions online beginning this week--and citizens are encouraged to participate in these online sessions.  Citizens can register and participate in this process by visiting www.myolf8.com  

The OLF-8 Property in Beulah was acquired by the county from the Department of Defense for the express purpose of job creation.

The county has submitted a preliminary application with Triumph Gulf Coast (The entity distributing $1.5 Billion in BP Oil Spill Funds for economic and environmental remediation) which may lead to a $30 Million Dollar award for the county if we can create a minimum of 1000 good-wage paying jobs with this property.

Once the county's acquisition of this property--initially considered a "long shot" by many naysayers--appeared inevitable--a segment of individuals began attacking the original plan to create high-tech, high paying jobs with this property.  These individuals actively sought support for scrapping the county's initial jobs plan and instead lobbied heavily that the county create a mixed use development with shops, retail, parks, and residential construction instead--none of which would qualify for Triumph Gulf Coast funding. These individuals sought to create division and linked arms with the local press and some powerful downtown special interests to downplay the importance of maintaining the fidelity of the original purpose of this land acquisition. They attempted to sow discontent among residents, they sought to discredit me and run me down by utilizing the press locally to ridicule the jobs creation project.

I have remained steadfast in my belief in keeping the integrity of the original project intact; I have stated and I strongly believe that we need to create jobs with this property and to go after our Triumph Gulf Coast Grant.  I believe we do not need to build any more residential units on this property----as the private sector is building plenty of houses, apartments, condominiums, and hotel rooms in close proximity already-and we in government don't need to compete with the private residential development community locally. Most residents in Beulah with whom I have spoken agree that we don't need to build residential housing on the OLF-8 field.Like me, many of these local Beulah residents believe we have too much residential construction out here already--outpacing our infrastructure's ability to keep up!

I do believe there is room for compromise, though; I believe we can have some limited retail and quality of life amenities along the frontage of this property on 9-Mile Road, which will generate revenue for the county and provide services for nearby residents like me.  I believe a world-class biking/walking trail could be built circling this property for citizens' use, winding through the unbuildable wetlands on the property.  There is room for some additional amenities for the Beulah community--and I'd like to see this as well.  

But the thrust of the property should be used for job creation in order to stick with the integrity of the project and the expenditure of county funds to acquire this property.

Otherwise--this will go down in history as one giant "bait and switch" job on the citizens county-wide who supported funding this project for jobs creation!  That can't happen....

A survey of nearly 700 registered voters county wide which was recently conducted (after the August 18th Primary Election which I won) clearly illustrates that a majority of these county stakeholders support jobs on this property over mixed-use development.  From the survey's narrative:

 "57% think the land, identified as OLF 8, should be used for manufacturing and industrial.  This is opposed to the 25% thinking the land should be used for mixed used (residential, retail and restaurants). 

Additionally, 62% says Escambia County needs more high wage jobs, identified at $48,000 a year or more.  When it comes to high wage manufacturing or information technology jobs, 85.2% wanted more of those.  And finally, when it came to attracting Space Force, or more military operations type of employment, 80.9% supported that as well. 

When looking at the county districts, the 2 districts most effected [SIC] by OLF 8 were the 2 that were most wanting manufacturing over mixed use.  District 1 had 23.7% for mixed use and 60.9% for industry.  The rest being undecided.  When you look at District 5, we also saw 23.1% for mixed use and 59.4% for industry use; of that property."  

See the complete survey with results here

Read all about the long, drawn-out history of the OLF 8 property acquisition here

On WCOA's Good Morning Pensacola Today talking Debris Removal from Private Subdivisions

I was on WCOA's Good Morning Pensacola today discussing the FDOT bridge debacle and debris pickup from gated, private neighborhoods.

I was asked to speak today on WCOA's Good Morning Pensacola radio program with Don Parker, and so I happily agreed.

We had a good conversation about the thorny issue of picking up Hurricane Sally debris from all around the county AND the difficulty facing our efforts to pick up from some private subdivisions due to Federal red-tape.

I discussed this issue with WEAR ABC Ch. 3 yesterday.

We also talked about the ongoing saga of the FDOT's contractor's  barges trashing our three-mile bridge--creating an absolute nightmare in our two county area.

You can listen to the segment from today's show here

54th Coffee With the Commissioner

We held our 54th Coffee with the Commissioner event today and the video is up on our Facebook site and also here in HD on the county's YouTube page.

We had special guest Mark Faulkner, President of Baptist Healthcare in Pensacola,  as well as County Administrator Janice Gilley and Escambia Emergency Manager Eric Gilmore.

We discussed a variety of topics to include the ongoing recovery from Hurricane Sally, COVID-19, our latest COVID-19 numbers, COVID-19 vaccine timeline, FDOT's Bridge debacle, and multiple other topics of current interest.

54th Coffee With The Commissioner this Wednesday

We will have our 54th Coffee with the Commissioner Event this Wednesday, October 7th 2020 beginning at 6:30 AM. Our guests for this event will be Baptist Hospital in Pensacola President and CEO Mark Faulkner, Escambia County Administrator Janice Gilley, and Escambia County Emergency Manager Eric Gilmore. Our topics this week will include the latest on our local hospitals' response to COVID-19, our storm recovery/debris removal progress in the wake of Hurricane Sally, the Individual Assistance Program from FEMA for which Escambia was just approved, and other current events in the county--to include the potential of another storm in the central Gulf Coast this week.

The 54th 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, October 7th-- simply go to https://www.facebook.com/CommissionerBergosh/

 "See You" online!