Big things are Moving Forward in Escambia County

There are several "big things" moving in the county right now.

Some are discussed openly and frequently--others are being worked by staff and will be presented once finalized.

But make no mistake--big things are moving.

Here are some examples.

OLF-8's RFQ is on the web site.  It is up, and we are getting interest in it from the development community.  Although it seems like it's been an agonizingly, excrutiatingly protracted process--it is coming together.  We had our Master Planning Process, we had COVID-19, and a number of staff changeovers which put this out longer than we had hoped.  But again--it's moving now.

The first 84 1/2 acres will be the start.  Stay tuned.

Jail Medical RFP is in the works.  A draft has been completed by staff after the board signaled it's willingness to look at outsourcing ---IF -AND ONLY IF-- it makes economic sense to do so.  The only way to know for sure is to put it out and see what comes back.  I know our Jail Medical costs have risen geometrically and so we shall soon see if the private sector can handle this vital and expensive function more efficiently and economically than the current system which is expensive and where a sizable portion of the workers are already staffed through outside agencies.  So we will see.

Beulah Master Plan.  I have asked that staff get this process going once again and re-solicit for this work.  We have Restore Act funding for the effort--however the last time we put it out for bid we did not have enough qualified respondents necessary to make the award.  So it will be put out again.

Public Safety Prioritization and Budgeting--We will sort-out ECFR's budget this week, EMS is moving forward with an aggressive growth strategy, and there is an effort underway to streamline the next three years' worth of funding for the sheriff's office--similarly to what we did in 2018 when I was last Chairman of the Board.  This 3-year deal is being worked and will benefit the county if it can be finalized.  I believe we are close, very close to getting an agreement that the full board and the ECSO can consider.

Affordable Housing- the board is working a unique strategy to source the materials and labor and build affordable housing on county owned property.  I think it is a great strategy and look forward to watching it happen.  I think we can do it less-expensively and more rapidly than working with an intermediary to get these houses built.  I look forward to watching this initiative take off.

Intelligent Outsourcing for pond maintenance and grass cutting-Administrator Wes Moreno found a creative solution to a daunting problem--no enough staff to adequately cut the county's growing number of storm ponds.  So he brought forward an initiative to outsource some of the work and to everyone's surprise the bids came back very well priced.  Now we are going to carve out smaller lots of work so that small businesses can also take on some of this work.  From the county staffing side--Wes has recommended strategic pay increases to attract more workers combined with the cutting of funded positions to add higher pay.  This is working, and I believe will be expanded county wide.

Beach Traffic Management/Improvement--My hat is off to staff and commissioner Bender for the work they have done to streamline traffic at the beach, provide more parking, and create a situation where a drive to the beach is no longer a 2-hour affair!  We are doing record numbers of vehicles through the toll booths which are now cashless---and traffic is flowing better than it ever has.  I am out at the beach a lot at all different times, and with the smart light synchronization, the "hot-right" down Fort Pickens Road, additional parking, and new traffic patterns at the Casino Beach lot--I think we have hit the practical, 95% solution for beach traffic.  

Fiscal Austerity--The administrator has a duty to bring us a balanced budget.  To that end and at the board's recent direction--the county will accelerate the task of permanently eliminating positions that have historically been "on the books" but that are never filled.  We have asked for up to 50% of the open positions be eliminated---which once done will free up more than $10 Million for this year's budget.

So, in summary, I simply say there are lots of big things happening.  And way more than what I've listed above--but that is the flavor of where we are headed.  With a re-constituted purchasing/procurment department, a reinvigorated administrative staff on the 4th floor, and with commissioners (the majority of whom) are willing to push through and forward with bold initiatives--keep watching as we continue to put millions of dollars to work in the community on drainage, bridges, roads, and sidewalks.  Watch as we bring creative solutions to some lingering problems.  There is a lot to watch--and I am bullish on the next few years in Escambia County.  Great things are coming--new libraries, fire stations, boat launches, public beach accesses, and new roads and sidewalks.  It's coming.

And Finally: to those, that miniscule minority number of folks, who only attack and spew garbage lies

 and ad-hominems on the hate chat site under the guise of being some sort of watch dogs, yeah, the same 15 or so who are glib, disaffected, scornful, hateful, and often times straight-up dishonest--banging away at keyboards all day in darkened rooms adorned with foil hats---I can only say this:  Enjoy your self-imposed, self-created drama compartment that 99.99999% of citizens do not see and will never read---------those few that still look see you for what you are:  bullies online.  Meanwhile--those of us who lead will continue to get it done for the citizens we serve 😛while you bang away like woodpeckers on your keyboard(s) and accomplish nothing of any consequence ever.