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

NFCU's Check Was "In the Mail" After All!

At our last Board of County Commissioners meeting, the Committee of the Whole, I once again asked about the status of our payment(s) to DPZ for their design services for OLF-8.  Specifically, I asked where we were at with obtaining reimbursement from Navy Federal Credit Union for these services.  As of the 11th of March-- the date of this meeting last week--we hadn't received any additional reimbursement (s) from NFCU for the planning efforts at OLF-8 beyond their first payment several months back.  Meanwhile, the county was up to nearly $700K in direct payments to DPZ....despite some significant ethical questions raised about DPZ's conduct. (This relates to DPZ not notifying it's client (Escambia County) of plans DPZ was notified of to "embarrass" commissioners and undermine Escambia County's economic development initiatives at OLF-8)

So at this committee of the whole last week, In jest (because we had yet to receive a second check from NFCU), a brief discussion ensued culminating in the trope "Is NFCU's payment on the way, Is the Check in the Mail?"

Well, lo and behold it was.  Apparently it was cut on March 9, 2021--two days before our meeting on the 11th.  The check WAS in the mail.

In all seriousness though, this is important on a couple of levels.

1.  This latest reimbursement has occurred after/since the "summit" where top leaders from Florida West, PEDC, Escambia County, and Keith Hoskins (representing NFCU) hammered out the current "Hybrid Plan" compromise for OLF-8.  It is my understanding NFCU was asked, in that "summit," meeting if they had any problems/issues with the hybrid plan---and no issues were given/identified by Hoskins on behalf of NFCU.

2.  Because no issues were mentioned/given by NFCU when they weighed-in on the latest compromise, and because they have subsequently now sent another payment of $275K for the planning effort--the logical assumption can be made that if the final plan moves forward based upon this hybrid compromise, NFCU will follow-through with their previous pledge to fund reimbursement of the total costs of the planning effort for OLF-8 per the terms of their MOU with the Escambia Board of County Commissioners.

So this is all good news, so far as I can tell.  I certainly hope NFCU makes the final payment once this plan is approved.  Meanwhile, here is staff's narrative that accompanied the notification about NFCU's payment:

"A check from Navy Federal has been received for $275,714.38 (copy attached). Check will be delivered to the Clerk’s office.  Here are the project funding details to date:

 Contract Amount            $1,263,507.00

Paid to DPZ                       $699,943.77

Balance on contract        $563,863.23

 Paid by Navy Federal      $631,753.50

 As discussed last week, any future invoices will be the responsibility of Escambia County. Phase 3 (Phase 4 on the reimbursement schedule in the MOU) outlines that we can invoice NFCU once final OLF8 Master Plan and Development Report is officially adopted by BOCC up to 100% of the Master Plan Expenses invoiced." 

 

It's Called a Compromise

With respect to OLF-8 in Beulah:  nobody will get everything they want, most will get much of what they desired, and everyone will have to accept some of what they specifically DID NOT want... It's called a compromise.

 I've had about three or four emails from residents of Beulah that are stridently opposed to the latest "Hybrid-Plan" negotiated by the county, DPZ, NFCU, and PEDC/Florida West.

Hey, here's a newsflash:  none of us are wild about it.  Not me, not the folks that hate me.  Nobody.  It is a plan, however, that has legs.  

It is moving, and most importantly--it is moving us toward concluding this awful, embarrassing process with DPZ and NFCU--- and toward actually getting something done on OLF-8.  That's the good news.  But, along the way, some folks will still be upset because the chips did not fall precisely, exactly, as these particular folks wanted them to fall.  So here is my general email response to the handful of folks who have written to me saying they HATE the hybrid/compromise plan....

"Dear Mr. and Mrs. XXXXXXX,

Thank you for the email expressing your concerns, and also for sending the picture, in the email below.  I also appreciate your willingness to engage in the process of developing a plan for OLF-8.

You all have lived here a lot longer than I have, but as a 17-year resident of Beulah, living right across from OLF-8, I DO tentatively support the latest hybrid plan—as it most closely aligns with the original reason(s) the board of county commissioners pursued this property for two decades, ultimately expending $18 Million to acquire it.

 As a nearby neighbor, living  directly across the field, I could take a selfish, self-centered position and lobby ONLY for parks, recreation areas, open spaces, restaurants, shops, a clock tower, etc. etc.  I could lobby for those amenities exclusively and against any commerce and good jobs on the field.  That would be a very myopic, short-sighted position to take, though.  And it would be incredibly unfair to the other four men on this board with whom I serve—and more importantly it would be unfair to their respective constituents—if I totally abandoned the jobs creation component and potential of this land, succumbing to political expediency.  Remember—all five districts and every taxpayer in the county, 320,000 of them, paid in to the $18 million necessary to acquire this property—originally for the sole purpose of job creation and nothing else.  Because we all paid, we all should and we all WILL have a say.  Remember—in the only two countywide polls taken specifically asking what should be developed on this property—the vast majority of respondents supported more jobs with better pay, while a very small minority supported residential and shops with low-wage retail opportunities for citizens.

 Because we know this development, whatever is eventually constructed there, will undoubtedly impact the nearby residents like you and I---the full board had unanimously agreed, in November of 2018, to modify the initial plan of solely a jobs project and instead move toward more of a mixed use development taking all uses into account.  I am proud that this 2018 agreement, which garnered an increasingly rare 5-0 vote of the board, was used as the guidance document for the creation of a master plan for OLF-8.

 Yes, there have been five potential plans put forth, and I believe the latest rendition, the hybrid plan, is the only one that has the ability to garner another 5-0 vote potentially (probably a 4-1, though)—because it does, in fact, represent a legitimate compromise.  Incidentally—this latest hybrid plan was negotiated with input directly from top leadership of Navy Federal Credit Union (Keith Hoskins), Economic Development professionals(Lewis Bear and Scott Luth), the county(Commission Chairman Robert Bender), and the DPZ Co-Design team---taking all stakeholder views and opinions into account. 

 NFCU and DPZ have pressed HARD for minimal commercial/jobs space on OLF-8 and FOR massive, high-impact residential to be constructed on this field, a position I have steadfastly opposed as I believe

Inside the DPZ Text Messages and Emails: Part VI "Navy Fed Got Burnt"

 

Why does DPZ feel "Navy Fed got 'burnt' on this deal?"

As I wake up today coming off of what I felt was a good meeting yesterday (beginning at 20:08 of this video), where the commissioners were working together and arrived at a compromise for the development of OLF-8--I can't help but wonder about the text message, above, from Mike Weich of DPZ Co Design to Marina Khoury, also of DPZ Co Design.  In it, Weich states that  he "Just feel(s) bad for Navy Fed...they were 'burnt' on this deal."

This text message comes as a result of a public records request that DPZ fulfilled late last week.  The context of the above quote is:   this was a commentary between these two on a series of unflattering articles, blog posts, news pieces and television stories that came out last month illustrating the fact that there were several "behind the scenes" meetings between Navy Federal Credit Union, a coalition of NFCU employees and some residents, and the county's consultant, DPZ.  In these meetings, county staffers were specifically excluded and the goal of "embarrassing" and undermining the BCC's goals were discussed and DPZ staff was copied on these plans.

Then it was also revealed in these articles that the chief media spokesman for NFCU, Bill Pearson, was simultaneously working with the "NO Commerce Park on OLF 8" campaign against the BCC.  He (Pearson) even helped edit their talking points.  And Marina Khoury was aware of this, as members of the DPZ team were copied on these conversations.  Sadly, at the time these machinations were occurring, nobody at the BCC (DPZ's Client) was notified in real time.  Many believe this was a breach of DPZ's ethical obligation to the BCC, DPZ's sole client here on this OLF-8 project.  This all was discovered after the fact--- which was embarrassing for both NFCU and DPZ.

So perhaps Weich feels NFCU got "burnt" because of the poor way in which DPZ handled these actions--leading to the conduct at issue being discovered through a local journalist's public records request?  If that's why he feels they got "burnt"- he should look in the mirror for the culprit.

But maybe Weich feels NFCU got "burnt" because they didn't successfully kill all the jobs and commerce to be developed on OLF-8?  (This could be valid--as prior to the embarrassing public records emails detailing the NFCU behind the scenes involvement with DPZ in this---what was

DPZ is Dragging Navy Federal Credit Union's Reputation Through the Mud

NFCU is given the dubious distinction this week of "Loser" in INWEEKLY's wildly popular "Winners and Losers" feature.  A shame this had to happen.  It could have been EASILY avoided.....

One week ago today, late in the afternoon after work, I sent NFCU CEO and President Mary McDuffie a personalized email.  As a 40-year member of NFCU, as a strong supporter of NFCU's expansion in Pensacola, as a "right across the street" neighbor of their massively expanding GPO campus---I had concerns about issues here.

Four days later I received a response to my initial email to Ms. McDuffie.  The response was apparently assigned, written and sent back to me by a subordinate; it glossed over all of my concerns.  It was full of platitudes, short on substance.

One of the concerns I expressed was how NFCU was taking a reputation hit via some machinations by county consultant DPZ.  I offered suggestions to put things back on track--as after the email dump I received and lots of unflattering press that put NFCU in a poor light--I was hopeful that could be addressed.

I asked what it was/is that NFCU wanted to see us accomplish with the OLF-8 property?  Didn't get an answer.

Now, sadly, I see in the Pensacola area's largest circulation weekly print newspaper, the iNWEEKLY, NFCU has been given the dubious distinction this week of "Loser" in that publications popular "Winners and Losers" section yesterday. (p.4-5)

I hate to see this and the other unflattering news that is damaging to NFCU come out in the press--all due to these unflattering DPZ team emails and some other more significant issues with DPZ.

I'm a 40 year NFCU member.  I bank with them to this day.  I root for their success.

But the apparent tone-deaf response to these issues in general and to me particularly is surprisingly disappointing.

Maybe I'll send Mary a follow-up email late this afternoon....I wonder if it would simply, once again, just be delegated to a subordinate?

Is the Push for Housing on OLF-8 Actually About "Affordable"---------- or is it Really All About "Upscale" Rental Housing?

If the push is for "affordable" rental units to be constructed on OLF-8--I don't see how rents of between $1,000 and 2,000 Monthly on a proposed 900 such units on the OLF-8 property fits that bill....$1,000 monthly for a studio sounds like a Luxury rental in Pensacola.....

The surreal revelations of last week surrounding our supposed BCC consultant's recommendations for OLF-8 have taken a dramatic series of sideways turns as I have now read through all the emails previously provided via a public records request.

As I have now pointed out in a series of blog posts--It appears that our consultant was working against some of our priorities as it relates to OLF-8.

But why the unwavering, uncompromising lobbying by DPZ for rental housing on OLF-8?----why the dogged, unflinching push by them to build more residential housing on this field that was acquired by the county to create jobs?

The first red flag was their outright refusal to consider the value of jobs and payrolls from companies that might become employers on that field--when attempting to rate/rank the "value" of plans they would bring before us.  This resulted in apples to pineapple comparisons of plans that were faulty.  We finally got them to bring an analysis from the Haas Center of the power of payrolls on our area---- if the right jobs are targeted and placed on OLF-8.  Now we are getting a better analysis of the economic value and power of jobs.

But initially--the vision from DPZ focused solely on the ad-valorem revenue the structures built on OLF-8 would generate for the county.  (Which are significant--yet paltry when compared to the impact of payroll dollars from a large employer rippling through an economy yearly--generating home purchases, retail purchases, gas tax and sales tax for the county.)  As an example of this at Thursday's meeting I pointed out something important that I learned earlier in the week after speaking with Escambia County Property Appraiser Chris Jones.  Navy Federal Credit Union has built about a Billion Dollars worth of facilities adjacent to OLF-8.  And if you peel off the incentives applied via eDATES provided to NFCU---the ad valorem value of the facilities constructed comes to about $4 Million yearly.  (The county only collects about half of that, though.  The balance goes goes to the School Board, the Sheriff's MSTU, and the Library MSBU).  The payroll that the 8400 Employees of NFCU generate, by contrast, is estimated to be in excess of $350 Million per year.

What's better:

$350 Million per year for jobs     or    $2 Million per year in the county's coffers as ad valorem revenue.

But wait!  It's not an either or.  We get both--as long as we put good companies on the field!

What we don't get, if we build a bunch of residential and low-wage retail on the field, is BIG PAYROLL dollars rippling through the economy.  We only get the facilities' ad valorem tax revenue. Which as I illustrated in the example above is paltry in comparison...

So I went back to the complete draft Weitzman study from last August and looked at the pages our DPZ Communications Subcontractor was highlighting in emails I have seen.  Pages 248-251 were what he

Why is the BCC's Consulting Team Working against the BCC: Part III--A Tremendous Push for Housing on OLF 8

The apparently relentless push for housing on OLF-8 by DPZ, given what the public is saying, seems akin to the trope about a square peg and a round hole...

Housing on the OLF-8 property was always a NO for me and my vote.  I knew the majority of my constituents agreed with that one point---by an overwhelming majority.  They know what I know already as a 17-year resident of Beulah right on 9-Mile Road.  We have too much residential already and our infrastructure has not kept up---and so NO, these citizens DON'T want any more housing on the OLF-8 field, period, thank you very much!

Two automated, large-pool statistically-significant polls that have been run county-wide among registered voters confirmed this.  The first one was run in August of last year.  The last one was run less than one month ago.  What do they both have in common?  Two important things: First off-folks don't want housing on OLF-8 and secondly--folks want us to pursue high-paying, high tech jobs on OLF-8.  A huge majority of the respondents county-wide want this.

Now, there are some who do not understand statistics and polling and believe these surveys should not "be trusted" because these persons critical of the surveys, themselves individually,  were not called to give input.  Others attack the credibility of the firm that conducted the poll.  But to do so really, really spotlight's someone's ignorance.  These polls were automated, run by an auto-dialer with touchtone voting.  So-regardless of who runs the auto dialed telephone poll---it has no bearing on the outcome or the results.  The results are the results are the results--whether your best friend or worst enemy asks the questions via this sort of a computerized system. So to attack the results is simply a ridiculous, feeble, and disingenuous tactic that has no basis in logic.  The final feckless argument I hear is "The questions were leading!!"

Again--this is outrageous.  Look at a couple of examples of the questions:

"Should the majority of the OLF 8 land, by Navy Federal, be used for more housing and retail shops; or

Why is the BCC's Consulting Team Working against the BCC: Part II--Why Was the Client Kept in the Dark?

Public Record emails seem to indicate that many meetings were set between the county's consultant DPZ CoDesign and groups of citizens that were working against the county's interests as it pertains to the OLF-8 project in District 1's Beulah Community.  Why was the county (the client) kept in the dark about the substance of these meetings?

 After a document dump of emails from late last week it became painfully obvious, to even the most casual observer, that the consulting firm we hired to implement the board's unanimously approved guidance document in conjunction with citizen input county-wide was being tainted.  And I don't say this lightly or without evidence.

As I discussed here and here--it appears to me that our consultants were giving an inordinately magnified voice to one large employer and their interests, NFCU, and a small group of nearby residents who were/are vocally opposed to any commerce being developed on the OLF-8 property.

I believe this was being done to magnify this opposition in an attempt to present this as a "mandate" or "ground-swelling" of grass-roots approval supporting residential construction on the field and in strong opposition to any commerce on the field.

As I've now carefully gone through the emails that were presented last week, I see DPZ's Communications Contractor Travis Peterson of Impact Campaigns working directly with both of these groups on what appears to be a second track---not in alignment with the county's (aka the client's) interests.  For instance, whenever a meeting is discussed where the "Beulah Coalition" ( a small group of  Navy Federal Credit Union employees and several nearby residents, primarily of the "Nature Trail" subdivision) is to be appraised of an update or given a briefing--County project managers are not on the distribution lists--not invited.  But DPZ staffers are copied on these invites.  Why not the county's project managers?  Why no invite for the client?"

Terri Berry, the County's Project Manager for the OLF-8 initiative said at Thursday's meeting she was told, specifically, that she was "not invited" to these meetings.  This is a red flag--no matter how many ways folks from DPZ want to rationalize that.  It was inappropriate.  Another county staff member with whom I spoken and with knowledge of this topic confirmed that the county's staff "did not" participate in meetings with this Navy Federal Credit Union/DPZ citizens group.

But looking past that part---why was the client, the county, not appraised of the content/outcome of

Why is Navy Federal Credit Union--Through Spokesman Bill Pearson--Working with our DPZ Communications Consultant AGAINST the County's Economic Development Strategy?

As I continue to go through dozens and dozens of emails that were dumped last night--I keep finding indications that the Escambia Board of County Commissioners has been purposely undermined.

A few weeks back--a flyer with misinformation/disinformation began making the rounds in "chain-style" emails.  I figured it was a disgruntled resident perhaps.  Maybe it was one of the folks that want us to build thousands of residential housing units on OLF-8 (A concept I have opposed from day 1).

NFCU Public Affairs Manager Bill Pearson
sent this unflattering email --above--to our alleged 
consultant team's communications
director--who then spread it to those in the
community who are most vitriolically opposed
to any commerce on OLF 8

Now-it appears as if the mystery has been solved.  The individual who wrote the talking points, according to this email trail, is a gentleman named George Stephenson.  I don't know him, wouldn't be able to recognize him if he walked by me in a room.

As a citizen he is entitled to his opinion and to say whatever he wants about the project.  He has the freedom of speech.  This is America--not Myanmar or China.

But here is where the story goes sideways....

It looks as though Travis Peterson (one of our supposed team members at DPZ that is making $200 per hour working "for" the county)  has fed his distilled talking points  on our economic development strategies--commerce parks in particular--to NFCU executives and these "No Commerce Park on OLF-8" individuals--including George Stephenson.

And the spin on what was sent was unmistakably negative.  For instance, a recent unsuccessful bid to offer 10 acres of our Technology park was spotlighted by Peterson.  But wait--- Travis Peterson was alerted to the Tech Park issue via an apparently unsolicited email from NFCU Communications Director Bill Pearson! (above, right screen capture)

And as if all of this isn't bad enough---then I find this email document where Navy Federal Credit Union spokesman Bill Pearson is editing the bullet points of the "No Commerce Park on OLF-8" groups position paper.

And I am seeing various other emails where NFCU brass like Bill Dagnal are brought into the loop.

I am also seeing LOTS of emails where a loose Navy Federal Credit Union led "confederation" is

This Should Be a Concern to Us Locally......

According to a survey compiled by Navy Federal Credit Union--The Pensacola community ranks far down the list-#45 actually-of places where retiring military members want to go upon completion of their military service.  

As I read this morning's paper, a very non-descript blurb in the Business section caught my attention.  It was about transitioning military members, and where they choose to retire after they complete their military service--- according to statistics compiled and surveys conducted by Navy Federal Credit Union.  According to the article, nearly 250,000 military members and their families transition out of active service each year.  The article mentioned that Pensacola did not rank in the top 10 for such retirement/transition locations.  Pensacola ranked #45--according to the PNJ article.  #45....

So I followed the link provided because I was naturally curious, and wanted to see the full list.

The link only gives the top ten, there is no "full-list" at this landing page or anywhere else.

So that's frustrating.

Nevertheless--there must be a list somewhere, and PNJ reports Fort Walton Beach ranks #18 and Pensacola ranks #45.  Forty-Five?!?

This, to me, is an astonishing stat.  How in the world could Pensacola--the location where NFCU has invested more than a Billion dollars in standing up a massive headquarters for 10,000 employees-- be ranked so low down on this list?

With our Naval facilities, hospitals, temperate climate, excellent beaches, LOW cost of housing and LOW cost of living---how in the world could Pensacola be ranked lower by retiring service members than a place like Duluth, Minnesota?  I mean--nothing against Minnesota---but is Duluth really a better location for retirement after service than is the Pensacola area?

I've been to every city on NFCU's "Top 10 List" --except for Duluth, MN and Norwich, CT--and lived in four of them.  Charleston SC, ranked #1 was a place I spent two years when my dad was stationed there from 1982-1984.  I was born in San Diego and have lived there for a total of 23 years of my 52 on this planet.  Let's face facts: each city on the NFCU top ten list has positive attributes, no doubt.  Take places like Fort Myers Florida and San Diego California.  Both beautiful places with excellent weather year-round and beautiful beaches.  But the cost of living!!  Try to survive in San Diego on an E-6 or E-7 pension.  Try to find "affordable" housing--forget about a house--- in San Diego.  Good luck--I know from experience having owned property there.  It takes a significant income, significant, to own a home in a desirable community in San Diego County.  It's a beautiful place---that's why it's so expensive to live there. And again---so are the others on the list.  (I'm sure even Duluth and Norwich are....)

But Pensacola has some of the most affordable housing (even though the costs have risen) and hands down some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. We've got military bases and facilities all around and a thriving, large community of military retirees here.  We've got the Blue Angels!

So how did Pensacola rank 45th?   What the Heck??

Attention Chamber of Commerce, attention City Council, attention Mayor--and yes--attention County Commissioners----

This preference survey of former military--if it is truly accurate-- should be a BIG concern to all of us in leadership locally. 

Thursday's Vote on NFCU's Land Purchase From Escambia County: Step One in Getting the People's Money Back!

Upon approval of the MOA with NFCU on Thursday and the subsequent sale of 98 acres of OLF 8 to NFCU, County taxpayers will recoup $4.19 Million of the nearly $18 Million spent acquiring OLF 8 from the Navy.

Although I had hoped to get the MOU approved last Thursday night and that did not happen--It appears as if we will get the deal approved tomorrow morning that will allow for the sale of 98 acres of our 636 acre OLF 8 field to NFCU.

And with this deal getting approved we will begin the process of recouping nearly $18 Million Dollars that the county expended in acquiring OLF 8 from the Navy earlier this year.

The process was long, and once this field is master-planned and developed--I believe the taxpayers of Escambia County that financed this purchase will more than be made whole.  In fact--I do not believe it to be outside of the realm of reality that we double the money we spent to get this field once we develop it.  We have actually had one offer to purchase the entire field for more than what we have invested thus far!  (we did not act on that offer)

Additionally, if we are intelligent with the way we develop this field, we will be able to receive a Triumph Gulf Coast grant for as much as $30 Million Dollars in additional funding so long as we create at least 1,000 good jobs with this property--which I have every confidence we can and will do. 

So the future is bright and getting brighter all the time as it pertains to Escambia County's ownership and control of this property.  It will create jobs, it will provide amenities for the Beulah Community and for the employees of NFCU as well as the county as a whole.

This process, the process of getting all the peoples' money back, begins with tomorrow's vote to approve this MOA with NFCU.

Upon approval of the MOA Thursday, the property sales transaction will close and Escambia County will be paid $4,192,000.00.  These proceeds will be credited back to the LOST fund (s) from where they came originally---and these funds can be utilized by the BCC to fund much needed infrastructure projects throughout the county.

Tomorrow is step one, and tomorrow is a big day.

Two Huge Decisions Today at BCC Special Meeting and Transportation Workshop

At this morning's special meeting of the Escambia BCC we selected the firm that will complete the Master Planning of our OLF 8 Property in Beulah.

The Escambia Board of County Commissioners held two very important and profound meetings this morning at which 2 key decisions were made that will set the tone for some very important progress going forward.

1.  We voted to select a firm to do the Master Planning for OLF 8 in Beulah, the 636 acre land that the board acquired from the Navy last January.  DPZ CoDesign LLC was selected by the board.  This was a huge decision with major implications for this county land in the months and years to come.  I look forward to watching this process move forward.  In addition to choosing this firm and voting them officially as the finalist- staff has already advertised the associated project manager position for this project and that the effort to bring this person aboard should be completed within the next 3-4 weeks.  

2.  We took a straw vote and unanimously supported the State/County "Road Swap" of Beulah Road for Perdido Key Drive.  The purpose for this swap was for the county to maintain forward progress on the Beulah Interchange project--a project that is moving forward with lots of momentum and that is understood by all the commissioners to be one of the most important, large scale transportation projects in our area for the foreseeable future.  By a memorandum of understanding that will be ratified on September 5th, responsibility for maintenance and ownership of these two roads will be swapped and I predict the vote will be unanimous for this.

Update on the Beulah Traffic Light from Today-6-18-2019....

I received the above email today about the issues with the lights at NFCU on 9-Mile Road in Beulah.

As I discussed yesterday--the timing went haywire on Friday of last week causing all kinds of consternation among residents out here over the weekend.

With cautious optimism that we got the issue resolved, I post the email (above) I received today on this subject.....

Latest Offer from NFCU: $4.192 Million for 96 Acres of OLF 8

The Board of County Commissioners has received the below offer for 96 acres, as illustrated above, of OLF 8.

How it Happened, Part III: How Beulah Exploded

Several factors led to the exponential growth of the northwest portion of District 1 over the last decade.....

The exponential growth out in the Northwest portion of District 1 and Beulah has had several causes.

I discussed them in parts one and two of this series.

This area is the home for a growing contingent of employees at what has become one of our county's largest employers, Navy Federal Credit Union.

Navy Federal Credit Union has been an absolute grand-slam home run victory in our community from just about every metric from which one utilizes to measure the success of an economic development project.  Once completely built-out over the next three years--this company will support $500 Million yearly in annual payroll, and will have made an economic impact in our area of $5 Billion dollars.

This has been a huge success story for Escambia County, Pensacola, and our region.

But it has put a lot of stress on the community of Beulah.

With Beulah's relatively close proximity to the interstate, and with an abundant supply of land that sellers were willing to part with-this area became a magnet for the home builders.

In 2011, coming out of one of our nation's worst recessions, the legislators in Tallahassee passed the Growth Management Act of 2011 which essentially ended the state requirement for local government concurrency;  at that time, as a member of the Board of Education in Escambia County--we had negotiated Interlocal Agreements with Escambia County, Pensacola, and the city of Century. I voted against the Interlocal in 2008 because I felt it was too lenient on the builders 

But Tallahassee legislators wanted to take down some of the regulatory hurdles of government in order to stimulate growth in the then-sluggish housing sector to help Florida's economy.

Concurrency was a method for orderly growth that mandated that builders and developers plans had to be reviewed by the county, city, and school district to insure the contemplated developments were in areas that had the infrastructure necessary to accommodate such development.  Not exactly like an impact fee--this method induced building where infrastructure was already sufficient and mandated certain requirements be met before building could be completed in areas where the infrastructure was not sufficient.

Like impact fees--builders did not like the burdensome and often costly concurrency requirements.  It served to limit growth where builders wanted to build to maximize profit.

After the state did away with the requirement for concurrency in 2011, the Escambia county commissioners at that time moved concurrency over to the county's Land Development Code (LDC) and kept it in force locally--albeit for only a short period of time.  A few years later, in 2013, after several new commissioners joined the board, and after the county and the nation moved out of the recession and as our economy improved rapidly locally--a new comprehensive plan was adopted by the commission. The direction was given to "do away with concurrency in the land development code, so as not to have any local standards to be applied to builders more burdensome than what was required by the state" according to a staff member with whom I spoke that was at the county at the time.

So now, with no impact fees locally and with no concurrency requirements to meet--the pendulum had swung strongly in the favor of the home builders and the developers starting in 2014---subdivisions were planned and platted, and we have what we have seen now out in the Northwest portion of District 1.

By the time I took my seat on the Escambia BCC at the end of 2016, the Beulah area was inundated with planned subdivisions, condominiums and townhomes in the planning pipeline--because there were minimal requirements to meet in order to get these sorts of developments approved.  No impact fees, no traffic or school concurrency requirements, and a land development code that savy builders knew very well how to navigate successfully.

And this is where we are in 2019.  This, combined with what I discussed in part I and II, is how it happened.

In my next entry on this subject, I will discuss ideas for fixing this issue going forward--now that we know what the problems are....

Who will Serve on the BCC/NFCU Selection Committee for the Master Planning of OLF 8?

A recent rendering of the actual wetlands boundary on OLF 8 (above) indicates that a significantly smaller portion of this 636 acre parcel is wetlands.  This increases the acreage that can be developed, which increases the value of this land.  Soon, the county will begin the process of master-planning this parcel working in conjunction with Navy Federal Credit Union

The Board of County Commissioners will select three members of the seven-member committee that will be tasked with narrowing down the firms that compete for the contract to master-plan OLF 8.

The solicitation will have been on the street for 30 days and will close in the second week of April--and shortly thereafter this committee will start to meet and will begin the selection process of a master planner for OLF 8--for which NFCU has agreed (under certain reasonable terms) to pay up to $2 Million for AND for which the BCC will have the final say and decision.

Navy Federal Credit Union has identified their 4 members:

1. Kim Aderholdt
Supervisor, Facility Planning & Project Management
Navy Federal Greater Pensacola Operations

2. John Porter
Vice President
Corporate Facilities and Support Services
Baptist Health Care


3. Virna L Reynoso
President/CEO
REYCO Contracting Solutions LLC

4. Brian Wyer
President/CEO
Gulf Coast Minority Chamber of Commerce

The full BCC will discuss and select the county's three members for this committee at our upcoming meeting on April 4th.  While the full board will have final say on these three members, the initial slate of three candidates from the BCC, a slate for which I will advocate and support and which staff has been considering, will be:

1. Scott Luth
Executive Director 
Florida West Economic Development Alliance

2.  Andrew Holmer or Horace Jones
Development Services
Escambia BCC

3.  David Forte
Division Manager, Transportation and Traffic Operations Division
Escambia BCC

April is Going to Be a Huge Month for the BCC, NFCU, and OLF 8!

April will be a big month for the efforts in the Beulah community of District 1--- centered around OLF 8. 

On April 1st, a ribbon cutting ceremony with state, local, and national dignitaries will take place at the field.

Then, at the first BCC meeting on April 4th,  several OLF 8 related items will garner some serious attention.

It is my prediction that at this meeting, the BCC and NFCU will come to terms on a purchase contract outlining the terms for 84 acres of OLF 8 to be sold to the credit union, with the county keeping the wetlands directly adjacent on the west of the NFCU campus in conservation.

I believe at the same meeting, a document very close to this working draft LOI will be approved by the board and we will start the ball rolling toward master planning the remaining 540 acres on the site according to the board's previous direction on this.  (The board voted 5-0 on a compromise document to guide the master-planning of the OLF 8 field. This language, in it's entirety, is contained within this draft LOI that I predict will be approved in April by the board.)

Another very important document that I predict will be approved in April will be the agreement memorializing NFCU's commitment to pay for the master plan, subject to reasonable stipulations and conditions that must be mutually agreeable to both NFCU and the BCC.  Staff has been working and meeting with NFCU on this-and I'm told this effort is very near completion...

This is HUGE ----because having NFCU pay for the master plan allows the BCC to shift the $1.3 Million in Restore Act funds (that had been earmarked for master planning OLF 8) over to the ST Engineering project at Pensacola's Airport.

So yes, April will be a big, big month for the BCC and for NFCU.

And we will finally get the ball rolling on a master plan for that property that takes ALL stakeholders' interests into account.

Navy Federal Credit Union Revises Offer for Land Purchase at OLF 8

Escambia County has received a revised letter of intent from Navy Federal Credit Union for the purchase of a portion of the OLF 8 property in Beulah. This letter of intent to purchase 84 acres from Escambia County includes less frontage on 9-Mile road and less acreage overall (see illustration above).  Additionally, the new LOI's offer to purchase is priced at the average of our two recently received appraisals on a per-acre basis.  See the complete LOI below.  The creation of a minimum of at least 300 additional jobs by NFCU at their Beulah campus will be an additional consideration required by the BCC for this sale to occur.  I am hopeful we can get this transaction done in very short order. 

Navy Federal Credit Union Makes a Formal Offer of $4.2 Million for 100 Acres of OLF 8

NFCU has offered the Escambia BCC $4.2 Million for 100 acres of OLF 8.  Not mentioned are the 300 jobs and the offer to Master Plan the site....

UPDATE--12:00-  I just received a call from NFCU leadership;  although the 300 additional jobs issue does not appear in the written offer to purchase the land from the BCC--that pledge of an additional 300 jobs as additional consideration for the 100 acres still stands, and language to this effect will be worked into any finalized deal made with the county to purchase this land, according to NFCU's interim President of Greater Pensacola Operations Kara Cardona.

ORIGINAL POST below:

Navy Credit Union has made a formal, written offer to purchase 100 acres of the County's soon-to-be acquired 636 acre site in Beulah known as OLF 8.  The offer was made on December 19th, just as everyone (myself included) was focusing on holiday plans, travel, and family.

This offer was not entirely surprising, though.

Two months back-- NFCU sent a letter expressing interest in 100 acres for the purpose of providing additional parking for their employees, a recreation field, and other amenities which would allow them to also add an additional 300 jobs (over and above the 10,000 they are already slated to add under previous agreements).

I responded directly to NFCU when that offer was made.  I reiterated the importance of the jobs creation aspect of this land and our Triumph Gulf Coast application.

As I read through the newest offer, I see the 300 jobs created language is not present in the terms.

This is problematic.

The 300 jobs are of CRITICAL importance.

In order to receive as much as $30 Million dollars from Triumph Gulf Coast (which will help fund regional stormwater infrastructure and offset the county's $17.5 Million dollar acquisition costs associated with OLF 8)--a minimum of at least 1,000 good wage-paying jobs must be created with

On WCOA's Good Morning Pensacola Today

I'll be the guest later-on this morning on WCOA's top-rated Good Morning Pensacola radio show.

The singular topic of discussion will be OLF 8, jobs, and the County's $30 Million Dollar Triumph Gulf Coast Grant Application--and how all of this ties in with the HUGE victory we had in our recent special meeting by approving a compromise RFP document for this property that:

1.  Still focuses on using this field to create good jobs for the county.

2.  Still focuses on the Triumph Grant.

3.  Allows for the planner to incorporate aspects of Regional Significance into the plan (in order to help us win the Triumph Grant)

4.  Allows for the incorporation of some amenities that have been requested by local Beulah Residents and Navy Federal Credit Union.

This compromise document represents a win-win for Beulah Residents, NFCU, and the citizens county-wide!


Listen to the Podcast Here