It's Called a Compromise

With respect to OLF-8 in Beulah:  nobody will get everything they want, most will get much of what they desired, and everyone will have to accept some of what they specifically DID NOT want... It's called a compromise.

 I've had about three or four emails from residents of Beulah that are stridently opposed to the latest "Hybrid-Plan" negotiated by the county, DPZ, NFCU, and PEDC/Florida West.

Hey, here's a newsflash:  none of us are wild about it.  Not me, not the folks that hate me.  Nobody.  It is a plan, however, that has legs.  

It is moving, and most importantly--it is moving us toward concluding this awful, embarrassing process with DPZ and NFCU--- and toward actually getting something done on OLF-8.  That's the good news.  But, along the way, some folks will still be upset because the chips did not fall precisely, exactly, as these particular folks wanted them to fall.  So here is my general email response to the handful of folks who have written to me saying they HATE the hybrid/compromise plan....

"Dear Mr. and Mrs. XXXXXXX,

Thank you for the email expressing your concerns, and also for sending the picture, in the email below.  I also appreciate your willingness to engage in the process of developing a plan for OLF-8.

You all have lived here a lot longer than I have, but as a 17-year resident of Beulah, living right across from OLF-8, I DO tentatively support the latest hybrid plan—as it most closely aligns with the original reason(s) the board of county commissioners pursued this property for two decades, ultimately expending $18 Million to acquire it.

 As a nearby neighbor, living  directly across the field, I could take a selfish, self-centered position and lobby ONLY for parks, recreation areas, open spaces, restaurants, shops, a clock tower, etc. etc.  I could lobby for those amenities exclusively and against any commerce and good jobs on the field.  That would be a very myopic, short-sighted position to take, though.  And it would be incredibly unfair to the other four men on this board with whom I serve—and more importantly it would be unfair to their respective constituents—if I totally abandoned the jobs creation component and potential of this land, succumbing to political expediency.  Remember—all five districts and every taxpayer in the county, 320,000 of them, paid in to the $18 million necessary to acquire this property—originally for the sole purpose of job creation and nothing else.  Because we all paid, we all should and we all WILL have a say.  Remember—in the only two countywide polls taken specifically asking what should be developed on this property—the vast majority of respondents supported more jobs with better pay, while a very small minority supported residential and shops with low-wage retail opportunities for citizens.

 Because we know this development, whatever is eventually constructed there, will undoubtedly impact the nearby residents like you and I---the full board had unanimously agreed, in November of 2018, to modify the initial plan of solely a jobs project and instead move toward more of a mixed use development taking all uses into account.  I am proud that this 2018 agreement, which garnered an increasingly rare 5-0 vote of the board, was used as the guidance document for the creation of a master plan for OLF-8.

 Yes, there have been five potential plans put forth, and I believe the latest rendition, the hybrid plan, is the only one that has the ability to garner another 5-0 vote potentially (probably a 4-1, though)—because it does, in fact, represent a legitimate compromise.  Incidentally—this latest hybrid plan was negotiated with input directly from top leadership of Navy Federal Credit Union (Keith Hoskins), Economic Development professionals(Lewis Bear and Scott Luth), the county(Commission Chairman Robert Bender), and the DPZ Co-Design team---taking all stakeholder views and opinions into account. 

 NFCU and DPZ have pressed HARD for minimal commercial/jobs space on OLF-8 and FOR massive, high-impact residential to be constructed on this field, a position I have steadfastly opposed as I believe

this will dramatically and negatively impact our already overtaxed infrastructure. Nevertheless, despite public opinion against more residential as well as my own significant disagreement with the building of residential on this property--this residential will undoubtedly also be a prominent component of the final compromise plan the board adopts.  I support jobs and amenities for the residents, including restaurants, shops, a trail, parks, open green spaces, strict architectural standards, buffer zones,  a post office and a school.  I support all these things and jobs, not residential. 

 But we are working at striking an equitable compromise here—and I am only one vote of the five that will decide on the future of OLF-8.

 So in the end, as I said above, the direction we are apparently heading represents a compromise. 

 This means nobody will get everything they want, most will get much of what they desired, and everyone will have to accept some of what they specifically DID NOT want. 

 It is called a compromise.

 Sincerely,

 Jeff Bergosh

Vice-Chairman and District 1 Commissioner,

Escambia Board of County Commissioners

221 Palafox Place Suite 400

Pensacola, FL 32502

850-595-4910 office

850-377-2209 Voicemail

District1@myescambia.com

www.jeffbergoshblog.blogspot.com

https://www.facebook.com/CommissionerBergosh/

Twitter-- @jeffbergosh"