Can the Beulah Town Center Offer's Deficiencies be Overcome?

We did receive a revised offer from Beulah Town Center for the 290 acres of OLF 8 that the county will be selling for development guided by the DPZ Master Plan.  The revised offer included a price jump from $20 Million to $25 Million--which is a great thing.  But staff has now completed an analysis of the offer, and there appears to be a number of issues remaining.  Frustratingly--some of these issues were identified earlier, deleted by the county because they were "non-starters" --but now added back into the latest Beulah Town Center offer.

We have gone back and forth enough, and at this stage of the negotiations---the board should not be having to deal with issues we have already flagged.  If the offeror cannot overcome these--just tell us.  Similarly, if the county's language in some sections is unreasonable--the offeror needs to enunciate this at Monday's meeting.

But for the offeror to put back into this revised offer items which the BCC specifically cannot accept due to statutory reasons---why in the world are they back in this offer?

Folks on BOTH sides of this proposed transaction need to iron every one of these bullet points out prior to Monday so we are not, once again, trying to push a wet noodle up a hill on this.  It is time to fish or cut bait--no more Kabuki Theater.....Produce a contract we (the BCC) can make an up or down vote on!      Here are the county's objections--(from staff):

·       BTC adds back/deletes much of what was deleted/added in the County’s previous draft.

·       BTC increases the purchase price from $20,000,000 to $25,000,000.  (Section 2)

·       BTC increases the deposit from $20,000 to $25,000, with an additional $250,000 deposit upon approval of BTC’s preliminary site plan.  (Section 3)

·       There is really no situation where BTC will be unable to recover the deposit if the transaction does not close. (Sections 3.2, 5.4, 6.4, 8.1)

·       BTC does not commit to build anything or adhere to the master plan prepared by DPZ CoDesign.  Instead, it defers that issue to be resolved by a Master Development Agreement and Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions that will be negotiated after the Purchase and Sale agreement. (Sections 3.2, 7.2, 8.1)

·       BTC requires all development approvals ahead of closing and incorporated in the Master Development Agreement.  (Sections 7.2, 8.1)

·       BTC deletes references to the provisions, covenants, and other duties and obligations in the quit claim deed from the USA to the County; the quit claim deed from the USA requires the County to incorporate those references in subsequent transactions.  (Section 5.2)

·       The Agreement makes several references to warranties of title; the County cannot provide warranties of title by statute. (Sections 7.2, 9.1, 13.1)

·       The Agreement requires the County to pay the documentary stamp tax; the County is precluded from paying these by statute. (Section 10.2)

·       The Agreement contains several provisions that require the County to indemnify and hold BTC harmless and pay its attorney’s fees in the event of default, breach, or other dispute. (Sections 13.1, 19, 30)

·       BTC requires the remedy of specific performance for breach, default, or otherwise refusing to pursue its obligations in the Agreement. (Section 14)

·       The County would be required to pay all BTC’s actual damages (i.e., all out-of-pocket costs) if the County does not close.  (Section 14.3)

·       BTC requires the County to record a restriction on the County’s northern remainder of the property to light-industrial uses; the County would not be able to allow the use of the remainder for residential or retail purposes without the written consent of BTC.  (Sections 7.2 and 13.1)

·       BTC requires a right-of-first refusal for the County’s northern remainder of the property.  (Section 12)

Being Prepared for the Storms that will be Coming: Governor's Hurricane Conference 2024

Dr. Michael Brennan, Director of the National Hurricane Center, speaks to attendees at the 38th Governor's Hurricane Conference in West Palm Beach, 5-15-2024

In my private capacity as a citizen and an employee of ESA South, Inc., I have the opportunity to once again attend the Governor's Hurricane Conference 2024 in West Palm Beach this week.

Lots of networking opportunities are present here with disaster response/recovery companies and other purveyors in the exhibition hall--but there are also informative presentations and other learning opportunities available to inform my other position as County Commissioner.

 At this year's event, 65 of 67 Florida counties are represented, as well as multiple other states and countries.  This event is the premiere tropical storm preparation conference in the world.

 This morning at the opening general assembly of the conference- the attendees heard from the

director of the National Hurricane Center, Dr. Michael Brennan. He went through a slide deck presentation describing the changes and improvements made in forecasting for storms since 2004. He also described the fact that over the last 10 years, 100 Floridians have been killed by Hurricanes as the primary cause. In the same period, 200 were killed after the Hurricanes by secondary causes. His big challenge ahead: How to deal with storms that rapidly intensify like Otis did last year to Acapulco? (that storm went from a tropical depression to a Cat 5 in 72 hours) hashtag

Later in the morning, the attendees heard best practices from the rural, big-bend counties Sewanee, Madison, and Dixie.  These three counties were the hardest hit by last year's Category 3 storm Idalia.  They were joined by Kevin Guthrie, the State of Florida's Director of Emergency Management. Although there were 20 named storms last year, only 7 became major hurricanes and only 1 hit Florida, according to the presenters at this morning's general session.  Nevertheless, Idalia did affect multiple counties and caused an estimated 3.5 Billion in damage in Florida.

As hard as it is to believe--communication with citizens was the biggest issue with Idalia recovery, according to the panel.  Cell service was out and the EOC had to be evacuated and the computer networks at the temporary EOC would not work with the EOC software.  Folks lost power and could not get messages from TV so the communications with the citizens was a real challenge. This and the removal of large oak trees from roadways.  "We had all of these people show up to volunteer to help but none of them had equipment big enough to remove these large trees" said panelist Chris Volz, director of Sewanee County Emergency Management.  The storm surge on the coast ended up being 11 feet tall, and all of the members of the panel celebrated the fact that no citizens were lost in these counties due to the storm surge.

 In some of these rural areas, old fashioned written communication is still a viable alternative to get the storm preparation message out.  "We utilize messages in church bulletins and flyers in stores to get the message out" said panelist Scott Garner, Director of the Dixie County Emergency Management office.

 State Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie described a new initiative coming that will help with messaging around the state.  "We have never once, not ever, lost an FM station Antenna in the state of Florida" so the FM stations are a good place for us to continue to give our messages to citizens"  said Guthrie.  He also let the audience know there is a new state plan to further utilize FM stations for storm warnings.  He also let the audience know about an obscure state law that allows for counties' emergency managment departments to take over digital commercial billboards in times of emergencies for emergency communications.

 Lots of good information on preparation this morning.  I'm sure there will be much more this afternoon, tomorrow, and Friday.

OLF 8 Updates: Beulah Town Center Offer Increases to $25 Million

The Beulah TownCenter LLC group have sent over a revised contract for the board's consideration for the purchase of 290 Acres of OLF 8 in Beulah.

I am told this revised contract will be on Monday's BCC agenda for our consideration.

In addition to a higher offer price, I am also told some language has been revised to meet what the board has requested in several meetings where we have considered previous offers.

Additionally--I was contacted by representatives of a new interested party.  This large development firm based in Alabama will be visiting the Pensacola area next week and I am told they are very interested in the OLF 8 property.

In addition to these two, we still have an offer on the table from two local individuals which the board is considering.

So the OLF 8 sale/development issue is once again heating up.  My hope is that we will soon be able to settle in on one of these offers and move this initiative forward.  If we are able to sell the 290 acres at $25 Million--this will be an immediate $10 Million Dollar windfall for our LOST fund that will provide monies for badly-needed infrastructure projects district wide.  In addition to this, such an agreement still leaves over 200 acres for the county to utilize for job creation on the northern portion of OLF 8--and everything that is developed on the southern portion of the parcel will immediately begin to generate ad valorem tax revenue for the county and the school board.

So good things are coming, stay tuned.

Another Big Endorsement?

I am posting this picture for about 15 or 16 “friends” on one particular Facebook site. I’m sure they will have a field day with it. They will say I should be investigated for damaging a local business with an inferior campaign sign. They will demand an investigation. At least one guy might even send a letter to the Governor. To which I will simply  say, the wind brought me this free advertising and endorsement from a national chain! And in honor of the wind giving me so much free advertising at a super busy McDonald’s I will today enjoy for lunch a delicious chocolate milkshake a double quarter pounder with cheese, French  fries and an apple turnover for the free solid that McDonald’s has given me here.  I know this meal will cost me between $25 and $26 but I’ll bring $30 just in case Biden‘s inflation has made it even more costly.  (I would thank the Hamburgler and Grimmace— however they were canceled in 1995 and 2002 respectively for political correctness’ sake…..and the burger clown supports a different candidate whom he’s desperately and unsuccessfully trying to make smile 😃)

(This post is a parody.)

Political advertisement paid for and approved by Jeff Bergosh, Republican, For Escambia County Commission District 1

Our Campaign was Endorsed by District 1 Florida State Representative Michelle Salzman

Jeff Bergosh and Michelle Salzman, 2023

From Representative Salzman:

"In the August 20, 2024 primary election for District 1 Escambia County Commissioner, I support Jeff Bergosh. Jeff works hard, gets things done, and speaks his mind. He is intelligent, he studies the issues, and he is decisive. He gets involved in our community by mentoring at-risk students and serving 14 years on the Pensacola Chamber's Military Affairs Committee. He has actively served on dozens of boards locally over the last two decades--and his work and leadership on the state's Department of Transportation as the past chairman ot the Transportation Planning Organization is now paying dividends as hundreds of millions of dollars in state funding has come to Escambia County--much of it in District 1--and some more very large appropriations are in the pipeline, headed our way. Jeff actively follows important state issues working through the legislature and we have communicated on several bills during the legislative session in real time. I hope you'll join me in support of Jeff Bergosh for Escambia County Commissioner District 1 on August 20th"

--Michelle Salzman, Republican,

Florida State Representative for District 1

Political advertisement paid for and approved by Jeff Bergosh, Republican, for Escambia County Commissioner Dist. 1

Escambia County Commission Honors Students at the Cox Heroes Awards 2024

Last Thursday, the Escambia Board of County Commissioners approved a proclamation in support of exceptional students in our community that were recognized last night at a ceremony at UWF.

I was honored to be asked to bring greetings on behalf of the board--and humbled to be asked to read the proclamation for those in attendance who are dealing with adversity much more profound than most of us could even imagine.  

These students that were celbrated last night have overcome tremendous adversity in their lives; the types of hardships that could destroy grown adults.  And yet, these students overcame.

Loss of limbs, tremendous physical challenges, the death of parents, and other unimaginable hardships--hearing the stories of these 54 students was moving.

Many of us who feel like we deal with frequent adversity could learn a lot from hearing the stories of these children and their families. 

Thanks go out to Cox Communications and the Escambia County Council of PTA's/PTSA's for recognizing these exceptional students and their families.

Discussion of Concurrency at Agenda Review Yields a Breakthrough

 

Click this video, above, to hear the Board's discussion this morning on Concurrency

At this morning's agenda review of the Board of County Commissioners, I requested a discussion about our land development code.

Specifically--I wanted a discussion of Concurrency, Transportation Mobility Fees, and/or Impact Fees.

We are the only large county in Florida without BOTH a half cent LOST tax AND some form of Impact fee to mitigate the impact of growth on existing infrastructure and public facilities.

Over the last ten years, we have seen growth that has been unbridled and it has created issues with traffic, stormwater, and school capacity at some schools.

Concurrency, had it been in place, could have helped ameliorate some of the issues with this growth.

Concurrency was always a state requirment for countys and school boards until 2011 when it was removed as a state requirement by then Governor Rick Scott to assist the state's recovery from the Great Recession.  When it was removed as a state requirement, the Escambia BCC inserted concurrency into the County Land Development code in 2011.  Two years later, in 2013, the BCC removed it from the LDC, in order to stimulate our area's economy that was still suffering impacts from the recession.

That's how we got where we now are, in 2024.

I brought concurrency to the board and traffic mobility fees three times since my last election, once in 2021 and twice in 2022.  I did not have three votes to support these measures at that time.

I brought it again today and have now gained solid support from my counterparts to have staff do some research on the issue and bring back recommendations for implementation.  

I was heartened to get the support--because we need to bring this back and more importantly--the people want it and the county needs it.  I'm glad we are making some forward progress on this.  More to come in the months ahead.