Sorrento Road Improvements Coming--BIG FDOT Project Commencing this December

 At last week's meeting of the Florida/Alabama Transportation Planning Organization, some fairly significant news was shared with the group assembled in Gulf Breeze.

A long awaited project to resurface the state's Sorrento Road from Bauer Road Eastward to Blue Angel Parkway is fully designed, funded, and will be let to a contract this December.  

Currently--this roadway is littered with potholes and uneven pavement.  It has also been the scene of numerous fatal accidents over the last several years.

This project will resurface the road, add paved shoulders, and other improvements.  The larger project to 4-lane this roadway is moving up the priority list---from #18 (where it lingered under a former commissioner) to now being #6 under new district leadership.

Look for much more on this roadway-but in the meantime--take a look at the project details, below.

On Real News with Rick Outzen at 7:00 AM Tomorrow

I'll be on with Rick at 7:00 AM tomorrow, live in the studio.  LOTS to talk about!  Tune in Live!

Once again I have been invited to appear on the area's best and most trusted, respected, and listened-to morning drive news program--"Real News with Rick Outzen" on the station with the area's best top to bottom news-talk line up---1370 WCOA.

Rick has asked me to come on to promote tomorrow's historic ribbon cutting for what will be the Panhandle's finest boat launch and recreation facility--the Escambia County Perdido Bay Boat Ramp.

 This facility is and will be an amazing asset for all the citizens of the west side of Escambia County.  All citizens are invited and encouraged to attend tomorrow's celebration and ribbon cutting!

I'm certain Rick will have some primary election questions for me as well, so be sure to tune in.  I will be prepared to answer any question put to me, just as I always am.

Learn more about the boat ramp facility here.

Listen live, and if unable to do so--I'll post the podcast here once Rick publishes it.

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.

BCC Receives Fresh Offer for OLF-8: $22.5 Million and 6-Months Due Diligence

Commissioners were notified today that the Chairman of the BCC and the county is in receipt of a new offer for OLF 8.  This will be on the agenda for discussion at Monday morning's BCC meeting.  Check out the letter of intent, below.  This is the eighth group that has expressed interest in the property..........

I've been Invited to be the Leadoff Guest on 1370 WCOA's "Real News with Rick Outzen" Tomorrow at 7:00 AM

I'll be on the area's best morning news talk program, "Real News with Rick Outzen," at 7:00 tomorrow morning.  LOTS of big news to discuss and I will be prepared to discuss it all with Rick.  Tune in live! 

I've been invited to appear tomorrow morning at 0700  on the area's best, highest rated, most-trusted, least biased, least opinionated and most relevant morning-drive news program---"Real News with Rick Outzen" on the area's best news talk station--1370 WCOA.

I am certain we will discuss recent court rulings regarding the theft of county property, the upcoming board meeting next Thursday, recent happenings in the OLF 8 sale negotiations, The HUGE opening of the regional CRF facility in Escambia County, the Children's Trust/CRA issue, the upcoming primary election, and any/all other topics of interest Rick wants to discuss.

Tune in live at 7:00 AM.

It will be a very good discussion with LOTS of information passed.

I'll post the podcast here once Rick publishes it.

Beulah Master Plan Charette is TONIGHT!

The design team from Sigma Consulting that is creating a master plan for the Beulah area will hold their third public meeting tonight at Beulah Middle School at 6:00 PM.

This has been a long time in the making, and this event is open to the public and the public's participation is welcomed.

New Playground and Equipment Installed in D1 at Garcon Bayou Nature Park

 Yesterday morning staff sent pictures of the newly constructed playground at the Garcon Bayou Nature Park.  This park now has brand new equipment and is the latest playground to be installed in the county.  My thanks to staff for their efforts to install this new, safe and FUN equipment in this new park for the citizens' children to enjoy.  See the pictures of this new park and equipment, below:

90th Coffee with the Commissioner Event this Wednesday: All About EMS

 

Join us for our 90th Coffee with the Commissioner event Wednesday, Feb. 14. The Zoom live stream will take place from 6:30-7:30 a.m. To join the meeting, visit our District 1 Facebook site here: www.facebook.com/CommissionerBergosh/. 

Attendees this month will  include County Administrator Wes Moreno, Public Safety Director Eric Gilmore, and EMS Chief David Torsell III. Moreno will provide an update on county business, Gilmore will discuss public safety matters, and Chief Torsell will provide insight into the county's emergency medical services division.  We will discuss issues related to EMS billing, Ambulance service, hold times, and other topics that have been raised recently.  This coffee will allow for other viewpoints and opinions that illustrate both sides of contentious issues within public safety.  We will also discuss the county's ongoing CORE program and our efforts at confronting the ongoing opioid epidemic that results in an average of 6 overdose calls weekly in our area.

If you are interested in this topic--I encourage you to send questions and comments you would like to discussed  during the event through Facebook or they can be emailed to district1@myescambia.com or texted to me 850-293-1459.

For more information, contact our office at 850-595-4910 

Next D1 Neighborhood Cleanup is This Wednesday

 

Join us in keeping our neighborhoods clean and safe! A neighborhood cleanup for residents in Crescent Lake and Carriage Hills will take place Wednesday, Feb. 7. This is a chance for residents to dispose of items such as old furniture, appliances and household waste free of charge. Yard debris is eligible for removal during this cleanup

Only residents in the designated cleanup area can participate in the neighborhood cleanup. Please have all items for pickup at the curb by 7 a.m. on the day of the cleanup. Items left at the curb outside of the cleanup area will not be collected. If you live in the targeted area, pictured above you will have received a postcard in the mail with more information.

Items eligible for removal include:

• Household appliances and electronics
• Household junk and debris
• Bicycles and toys
• Old furniture and mattresses
• Barbecue grills
• Household hazardous waste (old paint, motor oil, chemicals, batteries)
• Tires (limit 10 per household)

Items NOT eligible for removal include:

• Building materials (concrete, bricks, blocks, roofing, drywall or lumber)
• Explosives or ammunition
• Auto parts
• Dirt or sod
• Vehicles or vessels
• 55-gallon drums of fluids

Not sure if your item is eligible? Contact Max Rogers, Development Program Manager, at 850-595-3499 or mprogers@myescambia.com for questions about the cleanup.

Since 2016, more than 6,385 tons (12,770,000 pounds) of waste have been disposed of through the Community Redevelopment Agency's Safe Neighborhood Program. During neighborhood cleanups, crew members and volunteers visit different neighborhoods in the county to remove a variety of debris and waste free of charge.

Learn more about neighborhood cleanups here. Follow Escambia County on Facebook and Twitter for updates about neighborhood cleanups and other community events.

New LOI for County's OLF 8 Property: $20 Million for $375 Acres + Option(s) of $12 Million Additionally for the Balance of Land

This rendering, indicating a proposed rough draft of the site plan envisioned for OLF 8 by the buyer Beulah Town Center, LLC., was included with the buyer's  Letter of Intent

Friday afternoon the BCC received another Letter of Intent (LOI) from a development group for the purchase of the county's OLF 8 property in Beulah.  I am linking the four page LOI (below), as well as the initially proposed rendering of a site plan (above).  

Although this property is in my district--OLF 8 is a county asset acquired to provide a benefit to the entire county.  Additionally, I am only one vote on this board--- and I am certain my counterparts are looking over this offer as I am doing and I'm equally certain they will each have their own thoughts, comments, questions, and concerns. I have looked over the offer and I believe there are some pros and cons to it, in my opinion.  I would assume that the board will take up this offer at our next regularly scheduled meeting on Thursday, December 7th.  Meanwhile, these are my initial thoughts, below:

The pros:  

-follows spirit of Master Plan

-enhanced stormwater mitigation/more stormwater ponds

-NO single-family housing

-Town Center concept embraced

-Allows for the county to pursue a Triumph Gulf Coast Grant for job creation on the norhtern part of the property

-brings a true, mixed use development to the Beulah area complete with restaurants, retail and other amenities for nearby residents

The cons:

-Price per acre for the most valuable, southern portions and the road frontage of the field should be higher

-request to rezone the parcel to agricultural until development cammences may be unfeasible

-earnest deposit amount specified is insufficient, and a portion of it must go hard after an initial inspection period

-12 month due dilligence period is too long.

Here are the LOI documents received by the Board:

Beulah Master Plan Charettes are Coming Up!

 And every resident in the Beulah area is encouraged to participate!

A Great Day and a Great WIN for Beulah Yesterday!

I was honored to be asked to participate in a fantastic ribbon cutting ceremony this morning at Navy Federal Credit Union's Pensacola Campus. The facility opening is a beautiful athletic complex with pickleball courts, beach volleyball courts, basketball courts, a large softball/baseball field, a huge open-air pavillion and miles of walking trails. The assembled gathering of more than 200 citizens heard greetings from NFCU CEO Mary Mcduffie, who traveled down to Pensacola for this event. According to the folks from NFCU, this park will be accessible and usable by the citizens of our community--not just NFCU employees--which is a HUGE win for Beulah, District 1, and Escambia County! Can't wait to walk those trails!  Check out the coverage of this great event from WEAR channel 3, here.  NorthEscambia covered it here. Troy Moon of the PNJ also did a piece and it has a very nice photo gallery of 35 shots from the event, check it out here

87th Coffee with the Commissioner: All About Infrastructure

 This month, the discussion during our coffee was all about infrastructure and the massive number of projects we are working in District 1 currently.   Special guests were the County Engineer, Joy Blackmon, and the County Traffic Engineer, Chris Phillips.  You can watch the video here, below:

86th Coffee with the Commissioner this Wednesday Morning: Talking Master Plans, OLF-8, and Beulah

Please join us for our 86th Coffee with the Commissioner event-This month's Coffee will feature County Administrator Wes Moreno and Public Safety Director Eric Gilmore. Moreno will provide an update on county business and Gilmore will discuss public safety matters. Horace Jones, Development Services Director, and Andrew Holmer, Development Services Deputy Director, will join as this month's special guests along with Marina Khoury from DPZ Co Design -- who has agreed to join the event from Paris, France, for a discussion on the Beulah Master Plan, OLF 8's Master Plan, and challenges with implementing a Master Plan that is both publicly acceptable and financially viable in this market. Residents are encouraged to send virtual questions and comments they would like to discuss during the event through Facebook or in advance of the coffee to District1@myescambia.com.

 

Has the New Auction for OLF 8 Begun?

As I had anticipated would be the case--the BCC has now received a fresh offer for all 540 acres of OLF 8 for the tidy sum of $40 Million Dollars. (and I anticipate several more in the coming weeks)

In this particular, very bare bones, three page offer (see it below)--no mention of the DPZ Master Plan--but multiple requests for full cooperation in rezoning the property, achieving preliminary site plan approvals, and amending the comprehensive plan.  So there is that.

-120 day inspection period requested

-total of $1 Million in earnest money, with an additional $100,000 that goes hard after several steps are taken and after the inspection period.

-Three (3) 30-day extensions requested.

I see some issues with the offer, chief among them is the guidance that the BCC already gave signalling that we will reserve 250 acres for job creation--so I would expect that this offer will have to be re-tooled.

Some of the speakers at recent meeting should be ecstatic.  It is someone other than DR Horton.....

We will see what the full board chooses to do with this offer--as this decision is up to the full 5-member board.

New District 1 Office Staff is Here to Serve!

The District 1 County Commissioner Office staff has changed.

Long time aide Debbie Kenney has retired.

Office Intern Raeleigh Woodfin has gone back to school.

We appreciate all the hard work both of those former staff members put in for our district.  And we wish them both well--Raeleigh in her school work and Debbie in retirement.

So we now have a new D1 team.

I'm your commissioner, here to serve D1 constituents and all county residents. Call me any time on my cell phone at 850-293-1459.

We now have a field representative, Mr. Jesse Casey-- a citizen most in Escambia know, a tireless volunteer who has served this community for decades.  Reach Jesse at 

jecasey@myescambia.com or at 850-595-4910.

And we also have D1 Constituent Services Representative Kevin Harmon--a 2023 graduate of Florida State University and soon to be Law School Student.

Reach Kevin at 850-595-4910 or kmharmon@myescambia.com.

We are here to serve you!

On WCOA's "Real News with Rick Outzen" Tomorrow Morning talking County Budget

I'll be on "Real News with Rick Outzen" tomorrow morning at 7:00 AM talking the 2023-2024 Escambia County Budget. 

I've been invited to appear tomorrow on the area's most reliable, accurate, and in-the-know morning AM drive news radio show--"Real News with Rick Outzen" on 1370 WCOA.

There is a lot to discuss as the BCC is headed into the budget process with a record-setting $700 Million Dollar proposed budget that will be discussed in tomorrow morning's BCC meeting starting at 9:00 downtown.  So we will preview that meeting on Rick's show first at 7:00 and discuss the important aspects of it.

For those that want a deeper dive:  Check out the county's very in-depth and informative 2023-2024 proposed budget document online here.   It is a very detailed and thorough look at our revenue sources and where we are spending your (taxpayer) dollars in the county.  It is worth the time to read.

--Check out page 8 for historical comparison

--Check out page 31 for our funding allocations for the Constitutional offices 

--Check out page 43 for the start of the BCC departmental budgets

--Check out page 228 for the judicial budget

Lots of information, all transparent, and most importantly:  Once again NO TAX RATE INCREASE in this budget to support the operations of the county--we are living within our means.

Catch the podcast here

Changes Coming to the D1 Office: Debbie Kenney Retiring, Jesse Casey Arriving

Over the next several weeks there will be a significant level of turnover in the District 1 Commissioner's Office that constituents need to know about.

First, my long-term assistant who has been a great friend to many and is like family to me, Ms. Debbie King Kenney, is retiring at the end of this month.  She has been a great asset to my office over the last seven years and she will be missed.  But I understand the reasons for her retirement and I wish her and Mike all the best in retirement.

As we staff the office going forward, though, we are restructuring a bit.  

I will be bringing aboard a person who, like Debbie,  is a tremendous "people person."  This individual knows the district's people, knows the county, knows practically every square inch of district 1, and is well-familiar with the issues of greatest importance to our constituents.  This person is Jesse Casey.  He will be my field representative for district 1 and will be working all over district 1 speaking with constituents, responding to constituent issues in the field, and being my eyes and ears out in the district.  He started this week, and will be working over the next week and a half with Debbie as the office transitions.

THE 70% SOLUTION:  Jeff Bergosh and Jesse Casey

So several of my friends in the district have raised their eyebrows at this move.  And according to Jesse, many of his friends in the district have also raised their eyebrows over this move.  The common question is--how the heck did this come about--as Jesse Casey and Jeff Bergosh have been opponents in the last several elections??

It came about after the last election, the night of the primary in August of 2020 when Jesse and I spoke, at length, at the conclusion of that election.  He and I both expressed an intention, if possible, to work together at some point down the line if an opportunity arose, for the betterment of the district as a whole.  As he put it on that call at that time "Jeff, you and I, between us, got 70% of the votes--wouldn't it be good if we could take that 70% and do something great for district 1?"  To which  I agreed and I expressed to him at that time and during that call  that  the concept of working together would be a great idea I would support.   Jesse's thoughts were even captured in the PNJ at that time.   From the article:  "Maybe we can figure out how District 1 can can reap those benefits by taking that 39% and that 31%, pull them together and make things happen," Casey said. "It doesn't matter who does it or who takes credit, as long as the people in the district reap the benefits."

Well, it looks like the day has come, where we can put that idea into action and work together for the citizens of this district--because I'd much rather work with someone collaboratively than work against that person.  Especially if it is a person like Jesse who, like me, shares a passion for serving.  We've spoken about what a collaboration could look like, we've kicked around the idea over lunch, and we have now put the plan in motion.

So look for Jesse out in the field working for the citizens of our district.  And look for the office to bring in some part time interns for administrative tasks and additional support of the work we are doing for our constituents.  

We will be working together, Jesse and I, for you--the citizens of Escambia County.  There may be some minor hiccups as we adjust to the new structure--but I have every confidence this new look D1 office staff arrangement will produce unparalleled service for citizens in the years ahead.

Contact the office:

district1@myescambia.com 

jecasey@myescambia.com

850-595-4910

Public Invited to Perdido Boat Ramp Groundbreaking June 16

Come on out and join us this Friday morning at 11:30 for a groundbreaking of Escambia County's newest public boat launch facility.

The boat ramp will be Escambia County's first large public access to Perdido Bay. The new 40-acre facility is located on Heron Bayou and will include a two-lane boat ramp, 62 parking spaces for vehicles with trailers, 22 parking spaces for vehicles without trailers, and a stormwater treatment facility. In addition, a new channel measuring at 2,260 feet long by 40 feet wide and a depth of 5 feet will be dredged from the launching facility to Perdido Bay. Additional passive recreational opportunities include a landing area along the Perdido paddling trail with two primitive campsites and 11 acres of wetlands placed into conservation.

In 2013, the Escambia County Board of County Commissioners funded the acquisition of the Perdido Boat Ramp property for $1.24 million through Local Option Sales Tax III. Project design was paid through a grant from Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and Vessel Registration Fees. The $4.2 million needed for construction is funded through U.S. Treasury RESTORE Direct Component funds, American Rescue Plan Act funds and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection Natural Resource Damage Assessment Coastal Protection Fund. Hewes and Company, LLC is constructing the new facility.

For more information about the boat ramp, please contact Escambia County Natural Resources Management at 850-595-4988.

Great Turnout for our Beulah Town Hall Meeting Monday Evening

We had a lot of great questions from the audience and staff responses.  I appreciate all the citizens who made time in their schedules to come and participate in the town hall meeting.  I also appreciated all the staff and fellow elected officials that participated.  If you were not able to make the town hall, you can watch the recording of it below.