The Buzz 3/4/21
Beulah Interchange The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) will hold a hybrid public hearing concerning the I-10 at Beulah Road Project Development & Environment (PD&E) Study Thursday, March 18. This hybrid hearing is both virtual and in-person to allow interested persons to express their views concerning the proposed improvements.
Citizens are strongly encouraged to attend online using GoToWebinar or through listen-only audio by phone at (562) 247-8422 using access code 765-727-914. Those who cannot participate virtually may attend the hearing in-person at Pine Forest United Methodist Church, 2800 Wilde Lake Blvd. The public hearing will begin with an informal open house from 5:30-6 p.m., followed by a formal presentation and public comment period.
Both virtual and in-person attendees must register either online by at bit.ly/3pRx7pN, email to the FDOT Project Manager, esaggers@hntb.com, or via phone at (850) 415-9001 to participate.
Maps, drawings and other project information are currently available for review online at bit.ly/3pRx7pN and from Thursday, Feb. 18-Thursday, April 1, at the Pensacola Library, 239 N. Spring St.
Trusting the Trust The Escambia Children’s Trust sputtered through its February meeting with chair Patty Hightower pushing for the partial board to move on a timetable recommended by Florida Children’s Council and Commissioner Lumon May and others challenging if the board could make decisions before Gov. Ron DeSantis makes his appointments to the body.
The voters established the trust by referendum in the November election, with 61% of the votes cast. The independent body, known as Children’s Services Council, will be funded by an increase in ad valorem taxes of up to a maximum of 0.5 mils that will support other agencies’ programs that cover early childhood education, safety, developmental, preventative, health and well-being services.
Florida law mandates five positions filled with Escambia County School Board Member Patty Hightower, Department of Children and Families Northwest Region Managing Director Walter Sachs, Circuit Judge Jennifer Frydrychowicz, County Commissioner Lumon May and School Superintendent Dr. Tim Smith.
Gov. DeSantis will appoint the remaining five from a list of 17 names the county sent to his office on Friday, Feb. 26. By law, he has 45 days to make the appointments.
At the Monday. Feb. 22, meeting, Michele Watson, the Florida Children’s Council CEO, presented the five-member panel a list of items that needed to be accomplished to start collecting the tax in November—an estimated $8 million annually.
Watson wanted the board to accomplish several administrative duties in March and April, such as hiring an interim executive director, securing office space and obtaining a line of credit. Sources told Inweekly that Buzz Ritchie, former State Representative and president of Gulf Coast Community Bank, was whom Hightower wanted to recommend for the interim post. In January, the board designated Ritchie its registered agent for its corporate filing with the state.
Judge Frydrychowicz expressed concern whether the 10-member board had a quorum, and thus the authority, to take any action with only five members at the meeting.
Watson said that it took 18 months for the governor to appoint his board members in Alachua County, and the five-member board began the executive search with all of the board member applicants participating in the process while it waited for the governor’s decision.
“I think my big concern is, again—just going back to the law—the ordinance says the board of 10—(the citizens) voted to have 10 members,” said Frydrychowicz. “And if, in fact, we are required to act this year, and we cannot reconcile with this part of the ordinance, this part of the statute, who wins? And what trumps what? And to my layman terms, that’s what I’m really trying to figure out.”
The issue of quorum came up again when the board discussed approving bylaws presented by Hightower. She said she needed the bylaws to give her direction. She asked County Attorney Alison Rogers to comment—because “Alachua operated with their five and they even hired their executive director with their five.”
Before Rogers came to the microphone, Frydrychowicz said, “I kind of feel like we’ve been putting the cart before the horse because we don’t have a budget, so we can’t hire staff. We don’t have a line of credit, so we can’t hire. And yet, we’re already talking about things that we can’t do until we have those things. I think we have them a little confused.”
Commissioner May said, “I do believe that there has been at least three to five attorney general reports as to what constitutes what a quorum is … If you feel comfortable that we can move forward without these things being recalled, and we have a legal opinion, you’ll find my support.”
Rogers said the Alachua County situation was different because the governor had failed to make his appointments within the 45 days prescribed by the law. She also pointed out the statute that sets up the Children’s Services Trust addresses what should happen after the members are appointed but doesn’t talk about letting some or half the members making decisions as a de facto board.
The county attorney said the Board of County Commissioners had authorized her office and county staff to assist the trust. She suggested that the people who supported the referendum vote also might be able to “help launch you as soon as you have your 10 members.” However, Rogers felt the board didn’t have quorum until the governor made his appointments.
Hightower asked, “So you’re saying that we have the assistance of the county without asking?
“Well, at this point, you’ve got a pool of resources to tap into, whether that be to you or whether that be to the support personnel who are trying to move this along,” said Rogers. “The effort is already underway through the administrator to get those names into the governor ASAP, so my advice would be to adjourn.”
“Based on how the trust was set up and organized,” said Superintendent Smith, “and then based upon what you’ve kindly shared with us, your interpretation, we really shouldn’t be meeting until we are all 10. Is that what I’m hearing?”
“That’s my opinion,” said Rogers.
Sachs asked if the board could get an Attorney General’s opinion if the 45 days pass without the appointments being made. Roger said, “Yes, we can find a way to do something like that. I’m not sure what the status is of the opinions department through the pandemic of the Attorney General’s office, but it’s certainly a good idea.”
The board agreed to not meet again until mid-April. Before the board adjourned, Commissioner May said, “If it takes another three or four months to get it right, then we got to get it right … I certainly want to make sure that we get it right for our community.”
Municipal Gospel Florida League of Cities President Antonio “Tony” Ortiz had a mission when he visited Pensacola on Tuesday, Feb. 23.
“Our mission resonates with every resident in the state of Florida and, for that matter, the whole nation because it’s a mission that needs to get anywhere and everywhere, in terms of people getting involved,” the FLC president explained.
Ortiz’s visit aimed to promote the FLC’s “Building Stronger Cities” initiative, which stresses “organizing, empowering and delivering” and, more particularly, emphasizes the merits of allowing local governments to make local decisions without state interference and encourages citizens to contact state representatives on the subject.
“Our message is very simple. It’s about engagement, it’s about acknowledging what we have in our hands, and it’s about engaging the state legislators,” Ortiz told the local press at Pensacola City Hall. “And this is a gospel that needs to be preached to the whole state, to the whole nation for that matter.”
According to Pensacola mayor Grover Robinson, the crux of this issue regarding local vs. state authority resides in Florida’s 1968 state constitution, which provides local governments with home rule authority, allowing them to establish a charter and set ordinances, codes, resolutions and such without state interference. He said, “It really allows each community to be its own community and accentuate the things that it does best.”
“Home rule safeguards your wishes,” Ortiz said, “in respect to the needs of your local community and allows for local government to attend those needs without interference from state government.”
This home rule concept has come into play recently, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis preempting local governments’ COVID safety measures during the pandemic. For example, Pensacola enacted a mask mandate but rapidly lost its ability to enforce it because of the governor’s executive order.
The home rule concept also has come under attack with the location and construction of 5G communication towers and short-term vacation rentals regulation. With the 5G towers, state legislators have blocked local governments from having a seat at the table. As for the short-term rentals, legislation is currently circulating in Tallahassee, which would make their regulation a state function.
Ortiz urged citizens across Florida to contact their state legislators in Tallahassee on behalf of their local municipal governments and lobby for the home rule concept.
“This is not for everybody in Tallahassee,” Ortiz clarified. “This is for those who have gone to Tallahassee and forgotten what they are there for. They are there to represent the people.”
Future of CPAC Since last summer, the city’s Citizen Police Advisory Committee (CPAC) has met to discuss how best to improve the dynamic between the Pensacola Police Department (PPD) and the community it serves. The committee is due to submit a collection of recommendations to the mayor this month, and Mayor Grover Robinson sounds only half enthused by the prospects.
“We’ve tried to allow them to discuss many things and bring forward their ideas,” said the mayor at the Feb. 22 weekly press conference. “Some things they’ve brought forward and presented, we can do and absolutely make changes. Some things have centered on stuff that really is going to be outside of our capacity to do.”
CPAC’s recommendations have thus far ranged from decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana to initiating a partnership between the PPD and a local youth athletic league. At the presser, Robinson said that some of the CPAC discussions were “one-sided to the police.” He encouraged the committee to strive to provide recommendations to the mayor that “build trust.”
“Trust is a two-way street,” Robinson said, referring to the relationship between police officers and citizens. “As we move forward, I want to continue to focus on some things that are important in our country and our state, and in this time in Northwest Florida that we continue to keep a focus on what we can do to build trust within our community.”
He continued, “If we can build trust, we can have a great community. If we build common things that we can all agree on and work toward, those are things that will make our community better.”
Police Chief Searches The national trend for police chief searches is for them to be open, transparent and with plenty of public input.
Jennifer A. Kingson wrote in Axios Cities that the choice of police chief has become like an election, with the need to build consensus around a candidate. Gary Peterson, CEO of Public Sector Search & Consulting, told her, “Communities are demanding—they want to have input in who’s going to be their next police leader.”
Pensacola Mayor Grover Robinson has launched a national search for the city’s next police chief over the local police union’s objection that wants one of its members to be appointed to the spot. Robinson’s predecessor, Ashton Hayward, made his police chief appointments—Chip Simmons, David Alexander and Tommi Lyter—without any national search or public input. All were from inside the Pensacola Police Department.
High-profile searches are underway in San Jose, Calif.; Albuquerque, N.M.; Miami; and Memphis, Tenn. In San Jose, a top-down selection approach was scrapped in favor of community vetting of the candidates.
San Jose City Manager David Sykes told Axios, “We wanted to take some of the mystery” out of it and “do a much more kind of rigorous evaluative process.”
Check out Kingson’s article at bit.ly/3bIbymB.
Universal Park Access Escambia County invites the public to attend a virtual meeting discussing Project Universal Access on March 9 at 5:30 p.m. Natural Resources Management is seeking public input on universal access to the county’s parks and public areas on the barrier islands. Residents can register at bit.ly/3pOv7OZ.
“Escambia County is committed to providing access to our parks and public areas to people with disabilities,” said Pensacola & Perdido Bays Estuary Program Senior Advisor Matt Posner. “Meetings like these are a great opportunity for the public to provide their feedback and input on how to ensure universal access best.”
Presenters will provide information on steps taken to survey existing conditions on the islands, present public input on the topic and discuss potential future improvements. Written questions and comments provided will be responded to during the meeting as well. Questions and comments can be provided before the meeting at pns_gtm@baskervilledonovan.com.
Charter Review
Pensacola’s city charter mandates a Charter Review Commission (CRC) be formed by January 2022. The mayor and city council are to appoint nine members who must be city residents and registered voters. No elected officials can serve on the CRC.
The CRC must complete its review and submit a report to the city council by July 31, 2022. The report will include any proposed amendments to the city charter. The city council decides whether the proposed amendments should be placed on the ballot for the 2022 general election or returned to the CRC for further review and revision.
The city’s last charter review process occurred in 2008 and resulted in a switch from a council-manager to a strong-mayor form of government that city voters approved in 2009, 55%-45%.
Mayor Grover Robinson told reporters at his Feb. 22 presser that his staff would have a better idea of the upcoming review’s particulars over the next couple of months.
“This is really sort of the first time we’ve had an opportunity to do it,” said the mayor. “We sort of have a blank slate in front of us insofar as how to do it.”
First Female Coaches In our Feb. 18 issue, Inweekly mentioned in our “Winners & Losers” column that NFL head coach Bruce Arians had hired the first woman to hold a coaching position in any league, Jen Welter. Barry Shuck, a member of the Professional Football Researchers Association, wrote Welter had already worked as the linebackers and special teams coach of the Texas Revolution in the Champions Indoor Football League.
Shuck pointed out that Welter still wasn’t the first. Ebony Kimbrough and Miriam Parker co-head coached the Carolina Queens in 2005 in the Independent Women’s Football League. The Winners & Losers crew has been properly reprimanded. As their punishment, they will have to watch all the March Escambia County commission meetings.
Nonstop Flights to NYC American Airlines will begin daily nonstop service from Pensacola International Airport to LaGuardia Airport this summer, starting in June and running through September.
American Airlines’ daily flight will depart LaGuardia at noon EST and arrive in Pensacola at 1:45 p.m. CST. Flights departing Pensacola will arrive in New York at 6 p.m. EST.
“I’m always excited to see new nonstop destinations at Pensacola International Airport, but one as prominent as New York City is especially exciting,” Mayor Grover Robinson said. “Expanding our nonstop destinations not only provides additional travel opportunities for residents but also connects new visitors to Pensacola and everything our beautiful city has to offer.”
ECSD NASP Military Council The Escambia County School District and Naval Air Station Pensacola leaders will hold the ECSD NASP Military Council’s next meeting on Thursday, March 4. The public is invited to attend the meeting virtually from 4-6 p.m.
“The agenda for the meeting starts with information sharing and discussion on predetermined topics and will address questions already submitted,” explained Council Co-Chair Steve Marcanio, ECSD’s Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction.
The public can submit questions to pensacolapao@gmail.com or during the meeting by posting a comment to the Facebook LIVE coverage of the meeting on the Escambia Schools Public Relations page. The council may answer questions about general topics. Any questions about specific student situations will be addressed offline.
The ECSD NASP Military Council aims to improve educational services and communication between the district and military families. The meeting can be viewed LIVE on the ECSD’s Board Meeting feed, Swagit, as well as on Facebook LIVE on the Escambia Schools Public Relations page. The recording of the meeting will be available following the meeting on escambiaschools.org/military.
Chain Reaction
Chain Reaction (CR) is returning to Escambia High School for its fourth year to bring its Service Project and Leadership Development program to the students.
There are only two weeks left for Escambia High School students to get a free membership at Chain Reaction, which includes earning service hours for college scholarships, including the Bright Futures Scholarship, and gaining important job and soft skills with CR’s Resume Learning Plan. CR graduates secured over $2 million in scholarships along with completing their resumes and service hours for the academic year 2019-2020.
Service can be joined via Zoom on Mondays from 4-5 p.m. or in person at CR’s Teen Leadership Institute, located on the PSC campus, 1000 College Blvd., Bldg. 98. In-person service at CR is available on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 3:30-5:30 p.m. Teens can pick up their individual service packets at the EHS Counselor’s office. The Zoom link will be provided to everyone interested.
Enrollment is available to teens in grades 9-12. Escambia High School’s membership is free through the Escambia County Smooth Sailing grant, awarded to Chain Reaction by the Department of Defense Education Activity. To register, visit mychainreaction.org and click on “Join Us.”
