3238In reviewing the council meetings and workshops regarding the budget for the proposed Bayview Community Resource Center, I found where Councilman Larry Johnson had a premonition the $8.25 million budget would not be adequate. He made his prediction at the last public hearing on the FY 2018 budget on Sept. 20.
“I truly believe this from the bottom of my heart that what we’ve budgeted for Bayview Resource Center is not adequate,” said Councilman Johnson, who represents City District 4 where the Bayview Park is located. “Bayview serves the entire city in that resource center. Maybe down the road we can revisit that when we realize that we have not allocated enough money for that project.”
The construction bids came back earlier this month. Only two proposals were received. The actual cost jumped to $10.145 million. City Administrator Eric Olson reduced that figure to less than $9.6 million by cutting the contingency to 3 percent.
If Mayor Ashton Hayward puts the center on the council’s next agenda, the second part of Councilman Johnson’s prediction will also come true–the council will revisit the budget of the project on June 14.
As a reminder, the 2011 Bayview Park Master Plan called for the Senior Center to be renovated and expanded to include community center functions in addition to the community center role already served by the Senior Center. The 2011 plan also called for a part of the new center to provide for canoe and kayak rental. We have no idea how much that project would have cost. The Hayward/Johnson Community Center project is the result of a scheme to prevent the City Council from tying it to a rebuild of Fire Station #3. The cost of the Hayward/Johnson project has grown from $6 million to $8.25 million to $10.145 million down to $9.6 million and now nearly $12 million to who knows what the cost will be next week. Hayward says the project is being built for the enjoyment of “non-city residents.” Johnson says that the project is being built because the city’s African-American community wants it done. Now adding insult to injury, the city has put out a Request for Proposal to renovate the Senior Center too.
https://www.cityofpensacola.com/bids.aspx?bidID=201
I mentioned this to a City Council member who told me that they were not aware of the RFP. I know about it because I saw it in the PNJ’s legal notices.