Today Was a Huge Day for Escambia County and the US Navy!

Attending today's deed-swapping ceremony were (l to r, front) Escambia County Commissioner Robert Bender, Escambia County Attorney Alison Rogers, NAVFAC SE Associate Counsel Susan Bird, Escambia Commissioner Jeff Bergosh, (back row, l to r) Escambia County Project Manager Cooper Saunders, Deputy County Administrator Matt Coughlin, Escambia County Administrator (acting) Amy Lovoy, NAVFAC SE Executive Officer CAPT Gil Manalo, and NAVFAC SE Asset Manager Bub Lenoir.

After decades of initiatives, years of planning, multiple strategy sessions, and countless meetings--we finally reached the finish line today.

As I explained yesterday, today was the big day we have all been waiting for. 

We took possession of the OLF 8 field in Beulah today, and we gave the property deed for OLF X in Santa Rosa County to representatives of the Navy. 

Tomorrow at 0900, the Navy will have a ceremonial ribbon cutting at their new field--so tomorrow will be a huge day for Naval Aviation, NAS Whiting Field, and Santa Rosa County.

But today was our big day.

NAVFAC SE XO CAPT Gil Manalo presented
a commemorative plaque to staff today

Today's deed exchange took place at 2:00PM with very little fanfare, in the lobby of our chambers downtown.  Representatives from NAVFAC SE in Jacksonville, County Staff, and County Commissioners took part in this brief but profound ceremony.

15 short minutes after it started, it ended.

And now we own 636 prime acres of real estate in Beulah.  Although we (Escambia County) paid a lot for this property--recent appraisals peg the value of our soon-to-be acquired property in Beulah at between $46K and $51K per acre.  This means this huge field could be worth as much as $32 Million in the current red-hot real estate market in this booming community.  This means Escambia County taxpayers will be taking possession of an asset that is valued as much as $14.5 Million over the cost of acquisition---on day one. 

The signed deed to OLF 8 was presented to Escambia County today

Yes, this is a big deal for Escambia County.  It is also a huge win for the US Navy and Naval Aviation.

This is what you call a  "win-win."

NAVFAC SE Challenge Coins were presented to staff today
by representatives of the US Navy

NAVFAC SE Challenge Coins were presented to staff today
by representatives of the US Navy

Big Day for NAVFAC SE and Escambia County Tomorrow

Today will be a huge day for Escambia County and the US Navy.  Later this morning, the last flight will take off from OLF 8 and shortly thereafter property deeds will be transferred between Escambia County and the US Government--and OLF 8 in Beulah will officially belong to Escambia County.

Tomorrow will be a huge day for Whiting Field and Naval Aviation in the Southeast though---as NAVFAC SE dignitaries and officials from NAS Whiting Field will take possession of OLF X in a ceremony at 0900 tomorrow morning at what will be their newly constructed field in Santa Rosa County.

Escambia County purchased, cleared, and constructed this new Navy facility in Santa Rosa County (Outlying Landing Field X) to the most recent DoD guidelines and specifications at a cost of nearly $17.5 Million Dollars.

In exchange for this, we will be given 636 acre site in Escambia County's Beulah community today.

Deputy County Administrator Matt Coughlin (a retired Navy Captain and former Commanding Officer of NAS Whiting) will represent the county at tomorrow's ceremony where he will present Navy dignitaries with the below "Key to the Field."  It will be a great day for them all!

This plaque will be presented to Navy Officials at tomorrow's ceremony at OLF X in Santa Rosa County

Although we (Escambia County) paid a lot for this property--recent appraisals peg the value of our soon-to-be acquired property in Beulah at between $46K and $51K per acre.  This means this huge field could be worth as much as $32 Million in the current red-hot real estate market in this booming community.  This means Escambia County taxpayers will be taking possession of an asset that is valued as much as $14.5 Million over the cost of acquisition---on day one!

Yes, this is a big deal for Escambia County today too--and tomorrow will be huge for the US Navy!

Win-Win

What is the Value of OLF 8 in Beulah, Part III

Just because the hypnotist gives you bad information does not mean you have to be one of the sheeple that actually believe the fiction

As I have explained in part I and II--just because one person and his entourage want to make you believe a valuable piece of property is not valuable does not make this fiction into reality.

Just because less than one year ago someone told you a 636 acre piece of prime real estate was "only worth $4.75 Million" (when as it sat, at that time, it was worth $20+ Million)--does not mean that person was right.  He was wrong.

The fact of the matter is that the OLF 8 property in Beulah that the BCC is poised to take possession of next week, is likely worth more than $30 Million dollars.

We know this because we have now received back 2 estimates for the value of just 100 acres of this 636 acre parcel.

Our initial appraisal from last week pegged this  portion of the  property at $45K per acre.  Our second estimate just came back Thursday at $51K per acre.

Extending these values out to 636 acres gives a total potential value of between $28.6 Million and $32.4 Million.

And so it begs the question--how could one person be so wrong about something this profoundly important?

Almost as important:  how could so many people have believed this false and incorrect information?

Moral of the story--don't always believe what the hypnotist tells you, trust your own intellect and eyes.  Don't listen to the pom-pom girls and cheer squads that parrot the incorrect data.  And when someone starts to rack up "misses" one by one, one after another, all over the place--perhaps it is time to actually start looking to other sources for the right and factual information instead of being one of the sheeple that blindly trusts the hypnotist over his own instincts.

That's just my two cents worth....

What's the Value of OLF 8 in Beulah, Part II

Above:  a portion of our most recent appraisal on 102 acres of the 636 acre OLF 8 site has been presented to the Escambia BCC

I did part one of this post last March.  I was right then, and the naysayers were dead wrong--and many of us knew it all along.

Today we got the proof.

Last March, as we pushed forward with completing the land transfer deal with the Navy for OLF 8, four of the five commissioners wisely voted to stay the course.  Utilizing only the sales data available at that time, and the most recent appraisals available for the property at that time, even the most casual observer just 10 months ago could clearly see that the value of the 636 acres of OLF 8 would at a minimum exceed the $17.5 Million taxpayers through the BCC expended to acquire this property.

It was really easy to see.  Except for those who would not accept reality.

So these naysayers pushed back.

One famously stated that the property "Was only worth $4.75 Million!" --which was ridiculously stupid and way, way, way off the mark.  Not surprisingly, others naively parroted that badly mistaken talking point.  But they were wrong then, and definitely proven so unequivocally now.

Today we received our first new appraisal on a portion of our soon-to-be acquired OLF 8 property.

As can be seen in the picture above, the appraisal for just this 102 acre part of the 636 acre property is $4.5 Million, or $45,000.00 per acre.  If that value holds true for the entire 636 acre tract, we will be looking at more than $28 Million in value--a value more than $10 Million dollars above our acquisition costs of $17.5 Million.

The moral of the story is this:  Just because somebody says something--even if they say it convincingly and with a straight face--does not make it true.

Luckily, the four of us had it right and pushed forward with the correct action, and now all the taxpayers in Escambia will reap the eventual benefit!

Private Development Group offers Escambia County $18 Million for 530 Acres of OLF 8

We haven't even taken title to this property (OLF 8 in Beulah) yet from the Navy.

And already Navy Federal Credit Union has offered us $4.2 Million for 100 acres.

Today, a private development partnership has sent a written letter of intent to purchase the remaining 530 acres (the portion NFCU is not purchasing) for $18 Million.

This is intriguing, and this would put us firmly in the "black" ($4.7 Million to the good) on this property if we move both of these offers forward and convert these offers into sales.

In order to complete the transactions, our attorney has clearly articulated that we would have an obligation to surplus any property and offer it for purchase to the highest bidder before simply acting on an unsolicited offer from an outside group.  Obviously we will follow the law with respect to whatever we end up doing with this property.

It is intriguing.  I'm certain this issue will be discussed this week when the board meets.  I look forward to these discussions.  See the LOI we received below:

First Official BCC - NFCU Meeting on Future of OLF 8 Held This Week

NFCU has created very preliminary draft renderings of how they conceptualize their development of 100 acres of OLF 8;  the BCC has said we will sell  NFCU 100 acres in exchange for a Market Price and the creation of 300 additional jobs...

The Escambia Board of County Commissioners has given clear direction to staff:

--Begin the process of negotiations with NFCU regarding their written offer to purchase 100 acres of our soon-to-be acquired OLF 8 field in Beulah.

--Begin discussions with NFCU regarding their written and verbal offer to pay for a Master Plan for this property based upon the parameters specified in our unanimously approved RFP for selection of a firm to implement this plan.

(The county unanimously approved a compromise draft document that will guide the development of the plan for the field, a document that maintains the focus on creating jobs, keeping the county in the running for a $30 Million Dollar grant to create a minimum of 1000 good jobs, and adding some amenities while FULLY considering the needs of the Beulah Community in this development)

So Thursday of this week the first kickoff meeting between staff and NFCU was held in Beulah at the NFCU campus.

Now, this was a very preliminary meeting, as we do not yet own the property. 

(The property will transfer to the county in the next several months when some final paperwork is concluded.  In late February or early March of  2019-- there will be two (2) ceremonies memorializing this profound land transfer deal between Escambia County and the US Navy--one will be held at Whiting Field's newly constructed OLF X in Santa Rosa County, and then one will be held at OLF 8 in Beulah on the same day.)

At this Thursday meeting representing NFCU were Kara Cardona, Kimberly Adderholt, and a representative from the NFCU General Counsel's office.  For the county, it was acting administrator Amy Lovoy, Assistant County Attorney Matt Coughlin, and from the county attorney's office, Meredith Crawford.

Topics of discussion, according to folks that were in the meeting with whom I have spoken, included forming a selection committee to rank planning firms for the master plan, and the make-up of this committee.  Additionally, the 100 acre portion of the field that NFCU wants was also discussed, however price, terms, and other issues have yet to be ironed out.  This will require appraisals of the portion of the field that NFCU has expressed a desire to acquire.  (NFCU has created and circulated some initial, preliminary renderings indicating how they envision utilizing the field--as indicated by the draft rendering above).  At this meeting Thursday, county staff asked NFCU if they were prepared to make a formal, written offer via a purchase offer document for the 100 acres--as this has yet to happen.  They did not do so at this meeting.

The other important discussion centered around insuring a planning process where no one party (neither NFCU nor the County nor any particular citizen) exerts undue influence.  As a way to prevent this, an initial concept discussed was for the County and NFCU to jointly fund and hire a

A Burger King and a Bunch of Ugly Buildings!

The Board of County Commissioners will discuss several topics at tomorrow's Committee of the Whole Meeting.  Two that are of particular interest to me are the Beach Access issue and the issue of finalizing the language for master planning OLF 8 in Beulah.

We have talked a lot about OLF 8 on this blog.  It is important-- and however that property is developed-- there will be impacts on nearby residents like me (I live right across the street, where I've owned a home for nearly 15 years).

It has been astonishing to watch how--as we have come closer and closer to acquiring this property--opinion about using this property to generate jobs has been pushed further and further from the forefront.  It's almost as if, in some strange way, these these items are inversely proportional.

I recently had the opportunity to speak with a well-known community leader that lives in Beulah.  This individual has had a stellar career, and he is actively involved in business development.  So I asked him his opinion about why, suddenly, everyone is running away from the original plan of building good jobs with this property.

"Where are the renderings, where are the drawings" he said.  "I support whatever happens out there, but I want to see what we're talking about---right now all I have heard is it will be a Burger King and a bunch of Ugly Buildings."

"You know I'd never support that, right, because I live right across the street like you do?" I told him

He went on to discuss the fact that he wears multiple hats and his opinion on the project hasn't really changed but he has to be careful about what he says publicly about the project.  I get that, to a point.

But I also think there comes a point when something that was proposed and submitted as one thing is being pulled in opposite directions due to some strong special interests that want something different--something has to give.  At some point, if we whittle that RFP down to the point where the planner is told "Do whatever you want--do not focus on creating jobs at all" --then we will get a plan that resembles nothing close to what was initially proposed.  And at that point, our $30 Million Dollar Triumph grant will evanesce and that money will go to some other community in the panhandle.

Maybe that's what the special interests wanted all along......

For my part and my vote, and I have not wavered, I want to recoup as much of the county's LOST funds as possible by re-zoning (HCLI) the frontage acreage on 9-Mile Road--as suggested in our Brantley Appraisal. I do not support any more residential construction in the area or on this property (there are 1,200 condos, apartments, and homes currently under construction within walking distance from NFCU already--and our infrastructure can't take much more!)--however I will look at what our planner comes up with if this is what he/she honestly, independently believes is needed.   I do want to see some restaurants developed there for the community, an urgent care facility, and perhaps a postal annex store. I'd like to set aside space for future use for a second elementary school that Beulah desperately needs.  I want a world-class biking, hiking, walking trail all around this property for use by citizens, and a regional park with amenities for residents. We could use some of the triumph money to make a regional stormwater basin and we could enhance Frank Reeder Road to Beulah Road on the North side of this OLF 8 property if we can secure our Triumph grant money.   Also, set back from the road, in the interior of the parcel, I want to see us set aside space for us to create a minimum of 700 more good jobs so that we can stay in the running for as much as $30 Million from Triumph Gulf Coast--this is a fair compromise that gives everyone something from this property, and this is what I support.  This is what I will say at tomorrow's meeting, because it will not be, and never was going to be, just a "Burger King and a bunch of Ugly Buildings"

Shouldn't We Try to Recoup As Much of our Investment as We Can?

People have opinions, I have my opinion.  Opinions are like...well, you know.

Everyone's got one.

But when we look at the intelligent, long view strategy employed via our Triumph Gulf Coast application for the OLF 8/OLF X Land Swap--It is hard to argue with the logic displayed within that document.

If we put together the OLF 8 project and proceed as we have described in our application, we stand to receive $29 Million for this transformational, job-creating project. And a large part of our $17.3 Million Dollar expenditure (to purchase and build OLF X in Santa Rosa County) will come back to the county as a part of this grant--$10.1 Million to be precise initially from the grant.  (And if we sell off the 9-Mile Road frontage lots for restaurant, retail, and other needed private sector service providers to develop--we could very well recoup an additional $7.3 Million so that our entire acquisition cost could come back to Escambia County!)

In addition to that, we stand to receive an additional $19 Million to add infrastructure and build out the property--if we are creating jobs and being transformational.  That's what the triumph board is looking to fund, transformational, job creating projects like the one they just conditionally approved for ST Aerospace to build three more hangars at the Pensacola International Airport.

Imagine it--going through with the plan, recouping the money, building an attractive park with tons of amenities for area residents, and creating jobs that will benefit the entire county!

OR....we could just take the property and build a giant park and clock tower, fill it up with high-density residential, and low-paying, low-wage retail.  And leave the $29 Million Triumph money on the table...

I think the best strategy is to stick with the plan, diversify the jobs base, create good jobs and opportunities, and provide residents retail and recreational amenities all at the same time!

If we do what we said we were going to do in our triumph application, I think there could be something in this project for everyone--a true win-win.  Read our triumph application, below.

On WCOA this Morning Discussing OLF 8

OLF 8 Was the singular topic discussed between Jeff Bergosh and Don Parker on this morning's "Good Morning Pensacola" Radio show on 1370 WCOA

The singular topic of discussion:  OLF 8 and the past, present, and future potential uses for this property for the benefit of all citizens.

Listen to the podcast here

OLF 8 Commerce Park and Restore Act Committee

Some folks are upset that the BCC is poised to move forward with the OLF 8 project--the project to create high-paying jobs, the project that was ranked #1 for Economic Development by the Restore Act Committee.

Some folks have selective amnesia or they simply refuse to recognize the history of the decision making process regarding the plan for a commerce park at OLF 8.

Some folks are just against it no matter what the experts say and no matter what the BCC voted for.

Some folks are partisans and closed minded, so they just don't care about the decisions and actions that led to the direction the Board, Restore Act Committee, and Economic Development experts have taken on what should be done with OLF 8.

But these same folks, by and large, are also the ones that hate the fact that Escambia County brought Navy Federal Credit Union out to Beulah.  They hate this and wish they had an "Easy Button" to press to make that whole area the cow pastures again and to send NFCU back to Virginia.  So that is them.

For everyone else, though, here is a brief, consolidated History of how the OLF 8 commerce park project evolved.

2010--Oil spill decimates the economy and environment of the Gulf Coast--exposing a glaring need for jobs diversification (away from simply tourist/retail/support jobs)

2012--Restore Act Committee formed by BCC to take projects in, rank them, provide recommendations to the BCC for funding such projects with proceeds from fines levied against BP by the Federal Restore Act.

March, 2016--Restore Act Committee Racks and Stacks all projects.  Projects are subsequently ranked in silos based upon categories (environment, economic, and infrastructure)

April, 2016-Restore Act Committee Sunsets after making recommendations.  OLF 8 Commerce Park project selected, by this committee (Not Jeff Bergosh, Not Jim Cronley, Not the Tooth Fairy,Not Santa Claus, Not anyone else but by the professionals and experts on the BCC's very own Restore Act Committee) As the NUMBER 1 Economic Development Restore Act Project.

November, 2016--Jeff Bergosh elected to and joins BCC as District 1 member

September, 2017-- BCC votes to move 10 Restore Act Projects forward--to include the OLF 8 Commerce Park concept.

June, 2018--Realizing that the OLF 8 property will be coming to the county, certain developers and individuals (same ones that Hate NFCU and jobs growth)  demand that the BCC not take the Restore Act Grant, ignore the Restore Act Committee, Ignore the experts in business development--and instead use this property, once acquired by the county, for a recreational facility, a town center, a nature park, more condos, townhomes, and apartments, and an ampitheater--with NO AREAS SET ASIDE FOR HIGH-TECH, HIGH WAGE JOBS AND CORPORATE OFFICES--NO MATTER WHAT!!!

It is astonishing to watch these folks in action, as they blatantly ignore the history of how the commerce park project came to be, how it was vetted, and how the project has progressed.  Now, they just want us to leave all the restore act funds on the table, and build more low wage retail jobs and apartments on the site--in direct contravention to what the restore act committee recommended.

For my part, as a resident that lives right across the street and is the elected representative of this district, I'm not ignorring the experts and changing course to mollify a few loud opponents.

I'm voting to move forward.