Movement Begins for Revocation of Certification of Operational Unit of Amalgamated Transit Union in Escambia County

I received the below copy of a petition filed with the Florida Public Employees Relations Commission (PERC) over the weekend.  I was somewhat surprised to see it, so I spoke with our attorney about it.  Apparently, there is a movement afoot by a portion of membership of this union to get out from under representation by ATU.  I'm told this does NOT include the ECAT employees -but rather just the other categories of ATU employees as listed on this petition.  It appears, from the petition filed with PERC, as if 90 of the 215 employees currently represented (nearly 42% of the membership) have signed statements of interest signaling that they "no longer desire to be represented for purposes of collective bargaining by the certified bargaining agent."   See the petition pictured, below.

Federal Magistrate to BCC: NO -- You are NOT the Custodian of an Individual Commissioner's Social Media Records

 

The Escambia County Commissioners have been dragged through the mud over the actions of one member.  Monday's Federal court order vindicates the board and provides a path forward, out of the "mud"

The Escambia County Commission has been dragged through the legal "mud" --figuratively speaking-over the actions (or inaction) of one of its members.  It has been prolonged, and it has been costly.

We have spent thousands and thousands of dollars defending a lawsuit that was brought about, again, by the purported, alleged illegal actions (or willful inaction) of one member of our board.

At issue:  Whether or not all applicable and responsive public records requested by a citizen were, in fact, turned over by Commissioner Doug Underhill to this citizen as specified in Florida Law.

About a month ago, Magistrate Judge Hope Cannon issued an order and in it she alluded to the fact that some of the records she reviewed that were NOT turned over to the citizen in question who made requests of Underhill were, in fact, bonafide public records.

Subsequent to this, a motion was entered in court, made by the public records requesting citizen's legal team---to compel the BCC to force Doug Underhill to turn over records over which he, Doug Underhill, has sole possession of and control.

Everyone knows we can't MAKE him do it, we have no ability to do so.  Legally or otherwise.  He is, like each of the five of us is, an independently-elected, constitutional officer.  We have no power over him, he has no power over us.

Which makes that motion to compel request of us somewhat baffling.

Well, Monday the Magistrate issued an order that most of us were expecting to see.  In it, she ruled that  NO-the BCC cannot be compelled to force Doug Underhill to provide information over which only he has control and autonomy (namely Underhill's personally-owned and operated social media accounts).

From the order:

“Given the lack of clear authority on this issue, the Court finds it unnecessary to compel the ECBCC to produce the information when the information is available from Underhill…Finally, to the extent Underhill, in his official capacity, is arguing he does not have “possession, custody, or control” of the Facebook account, that argument is nonsensical.”—Magistrate Judge Hope Cannon

So in the order on the motion to compel-- the motion by the citizen's lawyers was denied in part (The part where the lawyers wanted the BCC to be compelled to "force" Doug Underhill to turn over the previously requested public records)  BUT it was also granted in part-requiring Underhill to turn over all of the requested public records within 14 days.

Read the Magistrate's full 21 page Order Here.

How YOU Can Save a Life

How can you save a life from an overdose in Escambia County?
Find out below....

As I learned last week on my Coffee with the Commissioner livestream with First Judicial Circuit Chief Medical Examiner Deanna Oleske---we are experiencing a lot of preventable opiod deaths in our area.

Distrubingly, for the first time in recent memory, Alcohol has been overtaken by Fentanyl as the drug which takes the most lives via overdose throughout Florida. Statewide, drug overdoses were up 57% in the first 6 months of 2020 when compared to the same time period in 2019. 

In Escambia County-the figure is even more grim.  Our overdoses are up nearly 60% in that same timespan.  And according to the Medical Examiner we are experiencing more deaths than are normal, with 95% of the cases her office sees being deemed "preventable" by the medical examiners office. Another thing that the doctor pointed out to me during our chat is that methamphetamines locally are now being cut (laced) with Fentanyl in many instances--which leads to addiction and a surge in overdoses.  Also on our coffee meeting  was Escambia Public Safety Director Eric Gilmore, who echoed the doctor's concerns as he reported our EMS units had administered more than 300 doses of NARCAN in just the first three months of this year to help prevent overdoses in patients treated in the field.  300 in 3 months!

So what is NARCAN and what can the average citizen do to help this overdose epidemic?    

NARCAN refers to the drug Naloxone.  This drug can quickly and safely revive a patient who is suffering an opiod overdose.  It is a nasal spray that anyone can administer to someone who is overdosing.  It will rapidly bring them out of and reverse their condition, it will save lives.

Get NARCAN and have it with you.  Do it.  Keep it in a desk drawer at work, in your car's glove comparment, at your house.  Get some, learn how to use it, and have it where you can get to it if you need to get to it.

The Health and Hope Clinic of Pensacola, the only area clinic that has NARCAN to distribute to the general public for free,  reported in their April/May 2021 newsletter that they have, over the last year, distributed more than 1000 doses of NARCAN locally.  And they have received reports of at least 45 doses of this NARCAN having been used in Escambia County to prevent opioid overdose deaths!

Their effort to distribute NARCAN was established via a $100,000 grant that Health and Hope Clinic received in late 2019 from the philanthropic organization IMPACT 100 of the Pensacola Bay Area.  This grant from this group paid for training, an awareness campaign, and for associated costs incurred by this clinic with taking on this new role in the community.  Before the Health and Hope Clinic became an authorized distribution point for NARCAN in Pensacola--the nearest location available to the general public to get NARCAN was 100 miles away in Walton County! 

So if you are ready, willing, and able to help save a life---call Pensacola's Health and Hope Clinic at 850-479-4456 and find out how to get your NARCAN kit so you can help save a life!

About IMPACT 100 of the Pensacola Bay Area

About the Health and Hope Clinic of Pensacola.

Bay Center will be Back Open at 100% Starting in June for H.S. Graduations!

The board of county commissioners discussed this last month when the topic of facility utilization came up in the context of the Bay Center's financial woes.  In some large venues in Florida--it was already 75% or 100% capacity being used as early as March of this year.  Meanwhile, the Bay Center in Pensacola was stuck at 50% for reasons that did not seem rational.  When this was discussed in our recent meeting where we extended additional funding to the Bay Center to get them through October--I left that meeting with the feeling that we would go to 75% May 1st and 100% on June 1st.

But then I received a letter of concern from a Santa Rosa County School Parent regarding their graduation ceremonies to be held at the Bay Center on June 5th.  Apparently---these schools' parents were told the Bay Center's capacity was still capped at 75% and that tickets for family members would have to be "rationed."  from the email:

"Good morning, Board of County Commissioners,

 

I am writing to you to request your assistance with the Santa Rosa County Schools Graduation Ceremonies to be held on June 5 at the Pensacola Bay Center.  Currently, the graduates are being restricted to the number of tickets that can obtain for their families that only allows 75% capacity per XXXXXXXXXXXX at the Pensacola Bay Center.  We are respectfully requesting to increase capacity to 100% for this once in a lifetime event in lieu of the Governor’s Executive Order Number 21-102 (see attached) and your recommendations on April 15.  

 

At the April 15, 2021, Committee of the Whole Workshop in Escambia County, the discussion ensued about the capacity limitations of the Pensacola Bay Center and the capacity limitation was increased to 75% on May 1 with recommendation to proceed to 100% on June 1.  However, with the Florida Governor’s Executive Order Number 21-202, dated May 3, 2021, Section 1 iterates “all local COVID-19 restrictions and mandates on individuals and businesses are hereby suspended”.   It also references the Surgeon General Dr. Scott Rivkees Public Health Advisory stating that continuing COVID-19 restrictions on individuals, including long-term use of face coverings and withdrawal from social and recreational gatherings, pose a risk of adverse and unintended consequences and all restrictions are now eliminated per the Governor’s Executive Order 21-102.  This should alleviate any capacity restrictions or the use of face coverings at the Pensacola Bay Center.

 

Per this information, there should be no restrictions on graduation tickets.  I would respectfully request your assistance with informing the Pensacola Bay Center that they no longer have to place any limitations on their capacity for venue attendees.   This would allow the proud families to attend their high school graduate’s once in a lifetime event and not force the graduates to choose between family members that are near and the ones that have traveled much distance to attend! I sincerely appreciate all that you can help with to get this issue resolved. 

Sincerely,

 

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  XXXXXXXXXXX

Proud Parent of a XXXXXXXXXXXXX Senior"

I responded in agreement with the opinion expressed in this email ---with a copy to our Administrator Janice Gilley.  In short order, Janice sent the following back to this parent:

"I have advised XXXXXX to go to 100% as the guidance has significantly changed in the past several.  Congratulations to the graduates. 

Best,

Janice P. Gilley
County Administrator
221 Palafox Place
Pensacola, Florida 32502"

---

USFWS Approves Escambia's Conservation Management Plan for Beach Access #4--Letter Received Today!

Staff provided the two page letter (above) and the complete 40 page approval package from The United States Fish and Wildlife Service for Escambia County's Habitat Conservation plan at Beach Access #4.  The salient two-pages of approval are above, and/or you can read the entire package here for lots of additional historical information on this project.

The important thing to note is that the USFWS concurs with Escambia in that this development of this parcel is consistent with the original grant application as well as the modification from 2013 for the addition of the public access component.  This is vital as it dispells lots of rumors, innuendo, and misinformation from those in opposition to this project for selfish and emotional--not logical or rational--reasons.

Next step is we will fund the cost delta needed to finish the construction and #OpenOurBeach, bring in two contractors, and finish this long-overdue project that will protect habitat for endangered species while simultaneously providing desperately needed free public beach access and parking on Perdido Key.

Development Fees---or Sales Tax Surcharge? Or Both?

 I will be discussing bringing back concurrency to the BCC's Land Development Code at our next committee of the whole meeting.  There have now been several articles in the news about this, including this one from the PNJ today which discusses the new state law limiting impact fee year over year percentage increases, as well as Santa Rosa's challenges to implementing Impact Fees there.  The last couple of paragraphs capture some of my thoughts on these fees and how I envision them working here in Escambia County.

I do not support impact fees--I support concurrency as an alternative to them.  

Concurrency is smarter, more targeted, and I believe an overall better solution.

Now, developers and homebuilders do not like any form of impact fees, nor do they like concurrency.

One of the arguments against ANY additional concurrency or impact fees being levied on Escambia County builders that I have heard a lot is that "Escambia county already has the one-cent sales surtax" that can be used for infrastructure.  So why make the builders pay more?  Is the rhetorical follow-on question.

So, I looked statewide at how other counties handle this---especially the counties that also collect the discretionary sales tax like we do.   And a couple of interesting facts stand out.  

#1---99% of Florida Counties already collect some form of discretionary sales tax like our 1 penny LOST....99%!! or 66 of 67 counties. (Citrus County is the lone county in Florida that does not collect local option sales taxes on purchases----yet ironically they DO collect impact fees on developments...)

#2---of the counties that already collect a local option sales tax----a full 57% ALSO collect Impact fees to help pay for the costs of growth and infrastructure the growth demands.

So the argument that we already have LOST and therefore we don't need any other funds to offset infrastructure challenges of growth simply does not hold water.  That argument is not persuasive.  See the breakdown, below.

Florida Department of Environmental Protection Approves Construction of Perdido Key Beach Access #4!

This is FANTASTIC news for those of us who love spending time at the beach in Perdido Key.

It has been a struggle, a long, drawn-out struggle.  Read about the long fight for this beach access here.

But now we are at a major watershed moment.  The last big document we needed is now here.  Read it for yourself.

This document allows for the construction.  Our environmental staff have worked hand in hand with the department of Fish and Wildlife and other stakeholders to design an access point that both provides access to the beach for citizens and guests, but one that also meticulously follows the Habitat Conservation Plan to protect the endangered species that live on this property.

This is truly a win-win--for humans and animals.

Now--there are still those that are disgruntled, those that wanted to continue the status quo where this parcel remained sequestered behind locked gates and was only to be used by locals, the nearby and across the street condo owners,  as their own, personal private beach.  Yes, yes--although they feigned indignation about the "danger" to the "critical habitat"---this trope of "concern" was always nothing but a ruse.....That's a known fact of reality so far as I am concerned.  It was and still is all about them, their agenda, and their use of this property and a simultaneous disdain for cooler-dragging day visitors like me.  

But their efforts failed.   Again---the true reason these condo owners and other interested persons fought this access development for you and I is/was because they wanted this beach to be their own beach---they did NOT want day visitors like you and I visiting THIS BEACH.

So they filed a lawsuit which went nowhere.  And it is going nowhere. DOA.

We will soon, very soon, complete the work to #OpenOurBeach.

Meanwhile, we have approved $225,000 in TDT funding to construct this access (which may be a bit short due to increased construction costs which may necessitate an infusion of an additional $50-$70K from the TDT--no problem. ), we have 100% plans, we are moving forward.