The daily newspaper is reporting today that former CMPA Executive Director Ed Spears has been replaced with two persons - Mandy Bills and Erick Wortendyke. Bills will handle administrative duties, Wortendyke maintenance.
It’s unclear whether the mayor’s office will take bigger role in supervising the Maritime Park and the Community Maritime Park Associates. The city’s Parks & Recreation Department is already in charge of the day-to-day operations.
The catalyst for the shake-up was last week’s revelation that CBRE, the city’s listing agent, had changed its fee structure in its RFP for a master developer. The change changed the potential commission to be paid to CBRE for the project proposed by Miami-based MCM-BAP, LLC. from about $448,000 to more than $2.5 million.
It’s unclear why Spears was dismissed, especially in light of Chief Operations Officer Tamara Fountain saying that Mayor Ashton Hayward was aware of the fee change in the RFP, but the mayor had no authority to approve it. The wording of the final agreement with CBRE is in the hands of the Pensacola City Council, according to Fountain.
Spears worked for the mayor and was assigned to the CMPA through an interlocal agreement. If mayor knew about fee change, then Spears kept him informed, which is what he supposed to do.
So what did he do wrong to justify him being “separated” from the city?