Thanks to lobbying from Commissioner Lumon May and the neighborhood on the Area Housing Commission the Morris Court playground will reopen next Tuesday. Of course, that’s not what the city’s press release says, but it’s still a victory for the citizens:
Morris Court Park to Reopen May 30th
The City of Pensacola will reopen Morris Court Park to the public on Tuesday, May 30th thanks to a collaborative effort between City Councilwoman Jewel Cannada-Wynn, the Parks and Recreation Department, and the Area Housing Commission. The park which is located at North J and West Lloyd streets offers a basketball court, baseball diamond, picnic shelters, and a playground. Park hours will be sunrise to sunset and the Area Housing Commission will open and close the park daily. Pensacola Parks and Recreation will remain responsible for maintenance and upkeep of the city park.
This debacle would never have occurred with a real leader at the helm of the Parks and Recreation Department like Mr. Red Vickrey or Mr. Jody Skelton. Mayor Ashton Heyward has hired nothing but loosers to run that department, such as the corrupt Dave Fleherty , who left in disgrace, and the know nothing, do nothing Brian Cooper, who occupies that position now. In the meantime, Mayor Heyward put the clueless Coleen Castille in charge and then had to run her off because she didn’t have a clue as to what she was doing. The administration, of the City, should be ashamed of the Parks and Recreation Department.
In future reporting, some aspects of this story could be better explained. For starters, why does the Area Housing Commission now control access to a city park – Morris Court Park? The Area Housing Commission is an “independent special district” of Escambia County. Assuming that Morris Court Park still belongs to the people of the City of Pensacola, did the City Council approve an inter-local agreement giving the Area Housing Commission control over Morris Court Park. The above report says that the Area Housing Commission will open and close the park daily and that the park will be open from sunrise to sunset. Tomorrow is May 30. Sunrise is 5:48 a.m. Sunset is 7:45 p.m. Is the Area Housing Commission paying someone to open up the park at sunrise and close it at sunset? Will they do the same very day to include federal holidays? How many of the city’s parks are locked up?
Canada Wynn didn’t help reopen this SHE is the one who wanted it closed permanently so it could be sold to developers of additional housing on the site. The real question is, who was she trying to sell it to and was it another GOB deal?
Rick Outzen gets the story right: Lumon MAY lobbied the Area Housing Commission to make sure Morris Court Park re-opened. The Pensacola News Journal, on the other hand, were stenographers. The City, through its press release gave all the credit to Jewel Cannada-Wynn. The City and Cannada-Wynn are liars. The mayor and Cannada-Wynn conspired to close the park and return it to the Area Housing Commission. She is a lying piece of feces. My next CJ’s Street Report will cover the apparent corruption dealing with Morris Court Park. This was an apparent dirty deal. But, here’s the straight truth from Rick Outzen: