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The mayor also holds live Facebook events for citizens. He said, "We meet with the public and try to answer as much as we can."
He has changed how he introduces initiatives to the city council. Under the old system, an item was presented at a meeting and the vote was expected immediately. Robinson explained, "We're taking one meeting before to kind of set the whole parameter, tell the council, tell the public what it is we're doing and then coming back the next week and actually doing it."
Public records have been moved back under the city clerk. The Public Records Center homepage allows citizens to submit requests anonymously, and every department has someone designated to handle requests made of their area.
CHALLENGES
The city's growth has created challenges and shifts in processes. The inspection services department has been swamped. Wilkins said, "(New construction) went up to a record peak, and it stayed at that peak even through COVID."
In addition to hiring more people, Robinson is reviewing the new CRA overlay district that appears to be one reason for the bottleneck. "A lot of people want to come into the CRA," he said. "We knew the overlay would say the big things we wanted to do, but the nitty-gritty, you can't anticipate that sometimes when you're building legislation. So the problem is we've gotten down to the nittygritty, and it's bogging a lot of things down."
His administration is looking at creating an implementation policy "based off the things we've learned, because we've got to come in and amend what we have." Robinson said, "The CRA overlay is problematic right now, and we're trying to work through that."
Wilkins injected, "People also are adjusting some responsibilities around to help try to relieve some of that bottleneck. Because I think part of the builder's complaints was turnaround time, and yeah, things are getting hung up, no denying that. So we're looking at changing the review process a little bit." "I try to remind everybody that part of the problem is just volume," said Robinson. "It's a great problem to have. I love the fact building is happening everywhere in Pensacola. That's great, but it has created problems for us."
In June 2009, Robinson hired Mike Ziarnek to be his transportation planner for Complete Streets, another transition recommendation. However, he and Wilkins realized that placing him in the engineering department wasn't working. Ziarnek now works under David Forte, the capital improvements project manager—a new department created by Robinson. "Part of that thing was to get the (Complete Streets) ordinance passed that we're in the process of doing and then really begin to look at some of these initiatives so we can begin to implement some of these things better," said the mayor.
Wilkins explained, "David is more a project manager, and Mike is more of the concept consultant kind of guy, internally."
Robinson added, "The ideas would originate, and then they'd go to die in engineering. So we told David, 'Your job is not to let these die; it's to actually implement them and get something done.'"
Forte's position is unique for the city. In the past, outside engineers and contractors would be hired to the city's contractor representative on projects. "All our projects were typically over budget and over schedule," said Wilkins. "It'd take too long to get them done. They were just languishing, and there wasn't anybody that would wake up that morning, and their job was to see that these projects progressed."
Robinson added, "It's a little bit different way to do it, but I think we've improved our efficiency in some ways that are helping us get these things done.
THE ELEPHANT
The transition report recommended Robinson create a committee to address panhandling with a solution by June 15, 2019. Panhandling remains the "elephant in the room" for the city and county.
Robinson credits Wilkins and his neighborhood services director, Lawrence Powell, for putting together the team to work on homelessness. He said, "It was their discussions first with those individual providers that led people like John Johnson (Opening Doors NWFL) and Connie Bookman (Pathways for Change) to come together for a homeless reduction task force." "We have to figure out some things to do and help people that are truly homeless," Robinson said. "I think the city is going to have to have the county's assistance, and it's going to have to be a team approach to this process."
He admitted that he has been frustrated with the panhandling in the city, and he understands there are several sides to the homelessness and panhandling issues. "I don't have a silver bullet for panhandling, but I do believe if we're going to get over those issues, we've got to, at least as a community, provide some service to the homeless in what we're going to do, and we got to do a better job at how we're integrating."
Also, he appreciates that people may not get everything they want in the solutions developed.
"I think too often we want things that everybody likes," said Robinson, "Everybody's not going to get what they want. You can't get 100% your way. You've got to compromise somewhere. I tell people all the time, I can get you probably 75% of what you want, but I can't get you 100% percent of what you want."
The 2019 transition report can be found on the City of Pensacola website, cityofpensacola.com. {in}
"I think too often we want things that everybody likes. Everybody's not going to get what they want." Grover Robinson
Doug Underhill / Photo Courtesy of myescambia.com BYE, FELICIA Escambia County's District 2 Commissioner Doug Underhill last week told the daily newspaper that he would not seek a third term next year. There was not a wet eye in the county government when the announcement was made.
NEW TANK IMAGE ECUA conducts
comprehensive evaluations of its ground and elevated water tanks every five years on a rotating basis. The utility has begun the work associated with a full coating replacement of its East Tank, overlooking Interstate 110 near Cervantes Street. The work includes the removal of the existing internal and external coatings and any corrosion through sandblasting, then reapplication of the coatings.
The East Tank was last painted in early 2004. At that time, ECUA painted three logos on it. One was the old ECUA Shield logo. A second logo was for the Blue Angels Classic, a golf tournament that was only held in Pensacola one year and then moved on to other locations. The third is a set of aviator wings with the phrase "Cradle of Naval Aviation" written under them.
The recommended painting scheme for the current contains the new ECUA logo adopted in late 2004 and is consistent with other tanks in the ECUA system. "We've heard the community's desire that we consider other options on the graphics and welcome your input and suggestions," said ECUA officials in a written press release. "It is important to keep in mind that whichever design is adopted be timeless, as it is going to be on the tank for 15-20 years."
The window to act without incurring additional costs is narrow, so please send any comments, suggestions or images by Sunday, March 14, to customer.service@ ecua.fl.gov. This will give ECUA staff time to summarize and prepare the presentation of ideas to the Citizens' Advisory Committee at their meeting at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, March 16, which is open to the public.
CITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
When Inweekly sat down with Mayor Grover Robinson to discuss the 2019 transition report, he talked about how he relies on FloridaWest Economic Development Alliance and the Pensacola-Escambia Economic Development Commission to handle economic development. City Neighborhoods Administrator Lawrence Powell is working on workforce initiatives, and Waterfront Development Coordinator Rebecca Ferguson handles grants and serves on the FloridaWest board. "We should be an extension of what is happening for a team and collaborative approach," said the mayor. "Our goal has been to look at how to better utilize our assets and interconnect with them and not trying to create our own. I mean, I think that's a terrible strategy. I mean, if we all had our own economic development strategy, we'd all be fighting each other every day."
He said COVID has slowed the construction of the second hangar for ST Aerospace Engineering at the airport, but he expects work to start soon. While flights at Pensacola International Airport dropped during the pandemic, the decrease hasn't been as severe as in other cities. "Pensacola airport has still been able to be a leader in airports all around," said Robinson. "We've dropped, but we're operating at 65%, and the national average is more about 35%."
The transition report recommended the city adopt the Covenant for the Community, which mandates construction projects and capital improvements over $100,000 that the vendor must have 70% local participation, and 70% of its workers must be local residents.
Mayor Robinson signed the policy this past November, and it went into effect on Jan. 1. City Administrator Keith Wilkins added, "We've had two or three projects under the covenant."
WEAR LAY-OFFS Sinclair Broadcast Group, the owner of WEAR-TV, laid off about a dozen employees last week from its Pensacola station, including April Baker, Steve Nissim and Kathryn Daniel. All were given two-week notice but are no longer allowed on air effective immediately. Nissim and Daniel have each been with Channel 3 for about two decades. They were not given a chance to say goodbye to viewers.
NINTH AVENUE CLOSURE Beginning
Thursday, March 11, the north and southbound left lanes of Ninth Avenue over Carpenter's Creek will be closed as bridge work begins. The right lanes will remain open. Traffic is expected to continue in this configuration through late April. All construction activities are weather-dependent and may be rescheduled in the event of inclement weather.
North Ninth Avenue is the focus of a $4.3 million construction project that is replacing the existing bridge over Carpenter's Creek. Construction crews will also resurface the roadway between Royce Street and Bayou Boulevard, along with a portion of Carpenters Creek Drive. The project is estimated for completion in mid-2022.
CPAC'S FIREWORKS As the Pensacola Citizen Police Advisory Committee approaches the deadline to submit its report, members pondered the committee's future and reflected on its origins.
Pointing back to the 2019 grand jury report stemming from the fatal police shooting of Tymar Crawford, CPAC Chairman Drew Buchanan went through prescribed recommendations during its meeting Tuesday, March 2, pointing to one outlining a citizen advisory body aimed at improving relations. "In my view, that is why we exist," Buchanan said, contending the CPAC should be an ongoing municipal committee. "According to the grand jury, they have every expectation that this committee exist in perpetuity."
Mayor Grover Robinson, who convened CPAC, has not confirmed the committee's fate beyond a report of recommendations the committee is due this month. Buchanan laid the issue on CPAC's table Tuesday and insisted members weigh in. "Do you think we should be dissolved?" Buchanan asked. "I think we kind of have to clear this up right here and now."
Hale Morrissette, who actively pushed for the formation of CPAC as a Pensacola Dream Defender leader and was later seated on the committee, said she would consider shelving CPAC "completely backward." "This was a huge win for our community," she said.
Kyle Kopytchak didn't think the issue was the concern of members but rather up to the mayor. He said, "I don't think it comes from this board."
For now, the only sure thing in CPAC's future—beyond two more meetings and a community survey—is its final report. Buchanan envisions something similar to the mayoral transition team's 2019 report, which he also sat on. "Stuff that's very trackable," the chairman said, explaining that he wanted to be able to look back in five years and take stock of the progress made toward implementing the recommendations. "Basically, like a report card."
CPAC delayed discussing its slate of recommendations. Instead, it went over the grand jury report and ultimately decided to request the Pensacola Police Department report on how each recommendation contained in the report has been addressed.
This conversation covering details of the event that led to CPAC's formation opened up some divisions within the group. For example, Kopytchak pondered what Crawford could have been thinking when he grabbed a police officer's taser. At the same time, fellow committee member Vin Durant couldn't fathom how anyone could miss the inappropriateness of handcuffing a man who had been shot multiple times at close range.
Clearly upset, Morrissette brought the discussion to a close, letting her fellow members know she was frustrated with some CPAC members' approach thus far. "I am absolutely fed up with implicit bias and micro-aggression because that
