City is Requesting the County Look at Adopting a Graffiti Ordinance Similar to Theirs....

Late this afternoon I received this written correspondence, below,  from City Attorney for the City of Pensacola, Charles Peppler.

I'm willing to take a look at it and I'll certainly consider it.  This coming week I will ask staff to assess the City Ordinance to see how it meshes with County Ordinance(s) already on the books dealing with this topic.  Then I'll ask Alison Rogers to add it for discussion at a subsequent meeting so it can be discussed with my four board counterparts.

So look for the discussions to begin in late April on this.

(On) "Houston, We Have a Problem...."

Some folks have come up with the brilliant idea to move a massive homeless camp out of the city and now into the county, in District 1.  Oh, and they haven't talked with the nearby residents, the planning and zoning department, county administration, or anyone else at the county.  They just went straight to the press with the plan.  😏 

 

As I discussed in part II of Dumb Ideas that will likely be DOA (Dead on Arrival) the issue of establishing a homeless encampment very near existing neighborhoods was the topic.

That post got instantaneously crushed with hits, and the phone calls came subsequently.

I have now heard from and had the opportunity to speak with one individual in particular with intimate knowledge of the topic and the locations the homeless task force had been scouting.

And first off--full disclaimer:  I support the work of the homeless task force, I support doing whatever we can to assist folks who are down on their luck and not homeless by choice.  But it has to be planned, transparent, and most of all----in an appropriate location that will not negatively impact existing neighbors.  (preferrably way out in the woods away from other existing neighbors)

According to this trusted source with whom I spoke Saturday, the announcement came prematurely.  "We all knew they were looking at multiple sites--but they should not have given the specific site locations so prematurely.  Congratulations--now they have doomed this site!" said this individual, who continued "Look, that (Houston Avenue, County District 1) site is a good location;  It is large and has some nearby ammenities that these folks need--but I disagree with them putting this out so early.  It's like, they have asked for my opinions, I give them, and then they do not listen and do the exact opposite!"  this individual stated.

So, in doing additional research on the site that will apparently be the frontrunner for these downtown interests for the homeless camp they want out of the city--it appears there could be some problems. 

 Zoning, while it apparently meets the initial zoning--it may not meet the size requirement nor the locational criteria.  More to come on that.

But the truly insidious action would be if this group---or any group---just simply starts moving folks to this parcel of land without proper permits, licenses, and approvals.  And with the self-imposed, city proclamation of having these individuals cleared out from under the I-110 bridge by 11-24-21-------This appears to leave only 23 days for any group desiring to use this parcel as a homeless camp to get ALL necessary state and local health and operational permits to do a camp at this location.

Staff has not been approached and know NOTHING about this.

The County Administrator has not been approached and tells me he knows NOTHING about this.

Of course--nobody has called the commissioner of that district nor has anyone bothered to talk to the actual constituents who live in that neighborhood.  But those constituents were blindsided with this plan in the press, and have subsequently voiced their collective displeasure with this idea via multiple angry calls to my office.

23 days is simply not doable if these folks intend to ram this through and do it with appropriate

Two Questions about Education, Community, and Vision...

I was asked recently to answer two rather straightforward questions for a college student locally as a part of a homework assignment.  As I gave my answers, I wondered how the average citizen would answer these same questions?  I wondered how my peers on the BCC would answer them?  I'm sure the answers would be all over the map because there really are no "right" or "wrong" answers--alot of this is ideological and subjective.  I do believe education is critical though--and I think most would agree on that point.  And I do believe there is a direct correlation between a community's level of education (on average) and the community's quality of life (e.g. a highly educated, highly skilled community will enjoy a community with better schools, better amenities, and better jobs than a community that has a lower level of educational attainment)

Here are the questions and answers I gave....

1. What is your vision for the future of Escambia County?

My vision for Escambia County is fairly straightforward.  I want to help create and foster the conditions that allow for the private sector to create employment opportunities that are varied and well-paying.  Traditionally our area has been a two-legged stool, with Military Jobs and Tourism-related jobs.  Beyond this, we have had lots of low-wage service sector jobs.  So the big vision is jobs diversification that makes us less dependent upon the DoD and the Beach related tourist seasons (which the 2010 oil spill illustrated was very vulnerable to damage if conditions at the beach ever faced an environmental issue).  We are now seeing some significant jobs growth in the private sector in manufacturing, aircraft service and repair, and back office support (NFCU).  I believe it is essential for the County to take a leadership role in economic development which brings this jobs diversification, which in turn raises the entire regional GDP.  When the entire region improves economically, this provides the revenue the County needs to fund other essential functions like public safety and infrastructure as well as quality of life initiatives.  If the private sector flourishes, this “rising tide raises all boats” and all the functions of government can do well and tax rates on property owners can be held steady and not raised while the functions of government are fully funded and the quality of life for all citizens becomes gradually elevated.

2. How is higher education helping prepare students for this vision?

Higher education is a critical component in a successful community.  In order to fill the essential and high-wage jobs that drive an economy—an educated, highly skilled workforce is required.  As we transition toward a more information-centered and applied-science workforce, advanced degrees and/or advanced technical competency is required.  These skills are largely the product of a student’s diligent efforts at attaining an advanced degree or certification in a college or career center.  The more of these students that are employed, with their concomitant high salaries, the better the quality of life for the community.  With high income areas comes better neighborhoods, less crime, more public services available, and better schools.  With higher income demographics, the private sector sees the need and satisfies the demand for a higher quality of goods and services, and this pushes out lower-end retail (check cashing, pawn shops, payday loans) and brings in a higher caliber of businesses (high-end automotive, fine dining, research and engineering firms) All of this also leads to housing being built by the private sector that is high end, single family and less multi-family and low-income housing.  All of this positive change occurs because of the presence of a highly skilled, educated workforce.

Violence Contributes to Hindered Academic Progress

We are constantly reminded of the correlation between poverty and low academic achievement-but what role does a community's violence play in a student's academic success?

We are constantly reminded, in the news and in what we hear, see, and experience in some areas of Escambia county, that this area has pockets of neighborhoods that are violent.  Murders happen, robberies, home invasions, and violent crime per 100,000 residents in Escambia County is higher than many big cities in our nation.  Last week a convenience store clerk was murdered in cold-blood in the middle of the day.  Another video that was played over and over recently showed a large man reach over a counter and violently sucker-punch a petite, pregnant clerk--so a cell phone and a minimal amount of cash could be stolen.  Crime is bad in some areas in particular.

So what impact is all this violence locally having on our schools?

In a series of scholarly articles found on the National Institutes of Health website, the case is being made that academic and behavioral issues in some students in some schools are a result of the violence in these communities, and the cumulative effect this has on developing children is dramatic.
Several studies, including one in particular that looked at students in Chicago and the proximity of their residences in relation to locations of violent crime, indicate that increased violence can negatively impact test scores.  In the Chicago study, those students who lived closer to where violent crimes had occurred showed diminished performance on English Language Arts assessments. (Interestingly, there was no statistically significant difference in Math scores).

From the article

"Community violence exposure has been associated with attentional impairment, declines in cognitive performance (Saltzman 1996; Singer et al. 1995) and declines in school achievement (Bell and Jenkins1991). These academic difficulties have been suggested to result from lowered concentration levels due to distracting and intrusive thoughts concerning violent events that may accumulate over time and with repeated exposure (Bell 1997; Horn and Trickett 1998; Taylor et al. 1997)"