Very Preliminary Cost Estimate for Beulah Pedestrian Bridge Comes in at $3 Million

A Pedestrian Overpass project has been imagined for the Beulah area---if state funding could be acquired to construct it.  Initial estimate is high at $3 Million

As has been discussed previously on this blog and in the press, there is an effort underway to acquire the funding necessary to construct a pedestrian overpass over 9-Mile Road in Beulah.

State Representative Michelle Salzman has indicated she will seek state funding in the upcoming legislative session for construction of this bridge in District 1.

This effort is supported by Salzman, myself, and District 1 School Board Member Kevin Adams.

If the funding is acquired and this can be built--it will be a tremendous safety enhancement for the students who attend Beulah Middle School (South side of 9-Mile Road) and live north of 9-Mile road.

It will also compliment an aggressive sidewalk construction program I will be initiating over the next 36 months to enhance the walkability and safety of the growing Beulah community.

I requested a "placeholder" estimate from our traffic and engineering departments and have now received a very preliminary estimate of $3 Million Dollars--broken down as follows in the email received:

"Commissioner Bergosh-

Received the attached estimate for the most recent pedestrian bridge completed by FDOT in Panhandle (Panama City).  This bridge was bid last year from my understanding, therefore, we should estimate the following factors:

 

Estimated cost of Bridge:                                                 $3.1 M

Year 2022 Cost Increases (30%):                                    $0.93M

Programmed project in 5^th year inflation (30%):                $0.93M

                                                                                                $5.0M

 

This cost includes the design, construction, and construction inspection services.  This is just an estimated cost not to include any right-of-way acquisition if needed." 

On WCOA's "Real News" Discussing Pedestrian Safety in Beulah

Three locally-elected officials are working on a project to construct a pedestrian overpass over Hwy 90 in Beulah--which could look similar to this one, above, from North Carolina...

I was a guest on WCOA's "Real News" with Rick Outzen yesterday discussing the concept of a pedestrian overpass over Hwy 90/9-Mile Road in Beulah.  The initiative to fund, design and build this overpass will be a collaboration among/between the State, the County Commission, and the School Board.

Because of Hurricane Ida and the closure of the County--we had to cancel our planned press conference that was supposed to take place at 4:30 yesterday.

Meanwhile, we had a good discussion on this topic and I appreciated the opportunity to be on the show.

Check out our discussion here

Inside Beulah's New, Ultra-Modern Middle School

Members of the Escambia County School Board and Superintendent Malcolm Thomas prepare to cut the Ribbon at the Grand Opening of Beulah Middle School, 8-30-2018

I was invited to tour the newly opened Beulah Middle School yesterday afternoon for the grand opening ceremony.  Wow-what an amazing place.  This is what the future of a modern school facility is.....today!

Students that attend this school will be treated to an ultra-modern, fully equipped school with all the trimmings:  two stories, huge gymnasium and indoor rec area, Ag. sciences center, running track, outdoor basketball courts, ultra modern home economics classes, science laboratories ( complete with eight (8) 3D printers), a robotics lab, business/computer classrooms--and the music department--THREE (3) complete band rooms with risers in the music suite, one dedicated each for chorus, orchestra, and band.

The cafeteria will double as an auditorium and the
gymnasium is incredible

During the ceremony before the tour, the assembled audience of school district officials and other invited guests heard from the architect that designed this beautiful facility, and from the builder that built it.




The facility is energy efficient and was designed to maximize natural lighting.  Additionally, the lighting is all LED, which will result in lower electric costs going forward.  Although most specifics on security were not discussed, some of the security attributes were highlighted.  The school has more CCTV cameras than any other school in the district--200 of them.  They are positioned throughout the schools and many of the classrooms have cameras.  (I found this ironic, as during my tenure on the school board I advocated strongly and on multiple occasions for the installation of cameras in the classrooms of our schools to monitor discipline issues---and this idea was flatly poh-poohed every time I brought it.  But now they are doing it!  Better late than never I guess....)  "We were able to already use one of the classroom cameras to determine who it was that defaced a piece of school property" said Assistant Principal Marietta McCaskill when I asked her about who monitors the feed and if there is a recording of the camera footage.

There are bollards around the entrance to protect from a vehicle attack, and there is reinforced security fencing outside of the classrooms that protects students in the outdoor areas adjacent to the classrooms.  The fencing looks to be INCREDIBLY stout.  at the front entrance, visitors are segregated in an enclosed and access controlled vestibule--preventing any unauthorized entry into the main campus.

Mrs. McCaskill led us on a tour of the entire facility--and I must say it was impressive.  Designed for 1200 students, the current enrollment stands at 829 according to Mrs. McCaskill.  "We are staffed for 649 at the moment, but we will soon be getting two more teachers-and that will be good." she stated.

I appreciated the opportunity to tour this facility--I'm proud to have my name on the plaque.  I'm
excited for the students and families that will be served by this school and I wish the district much success with this school---even though I voted against a middle school being constructed out here when I was on the board as I felt Beulah needed a second elementary school or a K-8 facility to alleviate the MASSIVELY overcrowded Beulah Elementary School.

But I lost that vote and the board moved forward with the middle school.

And the middle school they built is nothing short of amazing!

Attendance Boundary for New Beulah Middle School goes East past HWY 29...

Today the Escambia County School Board held a meeting where they discussed the new attendance zone boundaries for Beulah Middle School.  I took a screen shot from the video, that is why this picture is of poor quality.  I was proud of the fact that our newly elected school board member from district 1, Kevin Adams, took issue with the extent of the boundaries and how they extend so far to the East.  I share his concern, and I believe the way this is drawn it will exacerbate existing traffic issues in Beulah.  We will see how this is eventually voted, but this concerns me.

More importantly, it concerns me because I am well aware of the tremendous growth Beulah is experiencing right now, and I knew this several years ago when I voted AGAINST this middle school...I knew then what I know to be true today--our middle school enrollment when compared to our capacity illustrated that we had sufficient capacity at that time to simply re-zone the boundaries and work within our existing facilities.  Our district is experiencing declining enrollment--so why build this brand new giant middle school was my question.  I strongly felt we needed another ELEMENTARY school in Beulah--and I know I was right because even after we finish Kingsfield Elementary and we start taking half of Beulah's students up there---we will still need portables at Beulah elementary and we will be building a stand alone cafeteria there (at the expense of additional PE facilities)

So, in my opinion, we went with the wrong plan, and now the zoning is going to complicate traffic.  This new zoning just makes it much more urgent for us to get our new off-ramp from the I-10 in Beulah ASAP!

Beulah Middle School: Inside Look at Plans, Designs, and Timelines

Artist rendering of what Beulah Middle School front entrance will look like upon completion

Beulah Middle School is in the planning stages right now as we speak, drawings have been completed, the land was purchased, and soon construction will begin..

Many residents of Beulah have asked me about this school.  Many are wondering what the school will look like, when it will open, and how this school will be designed?  At a workshop not long ago, these topics were discussed and drawings and other data was provided to the board.

BACKGROUND

Original Concept plan, aerial overlay 2-15-2015

Beulah middle school will be built to help accommodate the growth the NW section of Escambia County is currently experiencing.  This facility will help Ransom Middle School, in Cantonment, with their over-capacity issues.  Woodham Middle school will be re-purposed to become the new West Florida High School after the 2017-2018 school year, and Brown Barge Middle School will move to the current WFHS campus in 2018-2019 timeframe.  At that point, in the 2018-2019 school year, the attendance boundaries for all the middle schools in Escambia County will be redrawn,  and over-crowded schools will be alleviated.   Beulah Middle School will come online to accept as many as 1,200 students and will be key to managing our county's growth in the NW Corridor.

ABOUT BEULAH MIDDLE SCHOOL

At just over 100,000 square feet, this middle school will be two-story, and will have all of the amenities a new, state-of-the-art facility should have.  Music room, classrooms, gymnasium, Media Center,  running track, outdoor athletic fields, multi-purpose room (cafetorium) and other amenities will be present on the campus.  The site work on the property (the old coastal airport on 9 Mile Road) will begin this October, with full-scale construction commencing in the first quarter of 2017.

Refined site plan rendering,  from 2016, with building shifted east, track shifted west

It is contemplated that the school will be open for the 2018-2019 school year, and once it is online

New School Names Announced: Beulah Middle School and Kingsfield Elementary School

The two new schools  that are currently in the planning stages in Escambia County have gone through the School Board's naming protocols, with the naming committee completing their work last month.  Today, at the School Board workshop, the proposed names were presented to the School Board.  For our brand new Middle School, the proposed name is "Beulah Middle School."  For the Elementary School, the proposed name is  "Kingsfield Elementary School."  In August, the School Board will take action on these names at the regular meeting.   The two photographs below show the various names that were submitted to the committee for their consideration.