Escambia County Commissioner Ashlee Hofberger has pulled her controversial Pensacola Beach Gateway project from the agenda of Friday morning’s special Board of County Commissioners meeting. The agenda had the commissioner offering to use $1.1 million of her discretionary fund to pay for the architectural arch. By 5 p.m., the item disappeared.
Two timelines for the Beach Gateway project
At the Tourist Development Council meeting on June 17, Commissioner Hofberger gave her timeline for the Pensacola Beach Gateway project:
January 2025 – “Back in January of 2025, I met with Debbie Bowers and requested a solicitation to remove the old toll plaza and build a decorative arch to house the tolling equipment.”
- Solicitation: “That solicitation was issued as requested, but when the contract was negotiated, I was surprised to find out the scope had significantly been reduced from what I had originally requested.”
April 1 – “The first time I was made aware of these changes was the kickoff meeting on April 1st. I was then told that we could do a change order and bring the project back in line with both my original request and the solicitation that went out.”
April 25 – “Then on April 25th, just days before the May 1st board meeting, I was told that we could not move forward with a change order due to legal concerns.”
After April 25– “So my office submitted a public records request for internal communications related to the Gateway project. The documents received back were minimal.”
April 30 – “On April 30th, a second solicitation went out. This one specifically for the design of the decorative arch.”
July 13 (I think she meant June 13)- “On July 13th, our county administrator called my aide Melanie Luna, and suggested we move forward with just the gantry and a message board and delay hiring a professional design firm for the decorative arch.”
Date? Meeting agenda review for June 20 BCC meeting– “As I was reviewing the agenda for the June 20th meeting, I saw that the county staff had negotiated a $1.1 million contract just for the pretty part, the design of the decorative arch itself.”
Inweekly Timeline
Oct. 17, 2024: Ashlee Hofberger sworn in to complete Commissioner Robert Bender’s term.
Oct. 18, 2024: The county notified JNB Services to suspend all work on the Changing Room project in Pensacola, which the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) had approved on Dec. 7, 2023— it’s cost: $570K. The contract was to build an 800-square-foot building in front of the Pensacola Beach Public Safety Building that would house six individual and two family-sized public-use dressing rooms.
Nov. 7, 2024: The BCC voted to cancel the project and reallocate the funds to another project on Pensacola Beach, which Hofberger told the media was for a gateway project.
- At the same meeting, the BCC voted to execute the FDOT State-Funded Grant Agreement for $125,000 and allocated $500,000 of LOST funds to remove the existing toll booth facility and build an improved electronic toll-by-plate system. From agenda item: “The design will include a fiber optic network and associated equipment from US Highway 98 southward across the Bob Sikes Bridge to the new toll facility, providing hard-wired connectivity not only for the new tolling equipment, but the traffic signal at Fort Pickens Road and the traffic cameras that are used to monitor the flow of traffic during the summer season.” Total budget $625K.
Nov. 18, 2024: Inweekly made a public record request of Commissioner Hofberger for all emails and communications regarding the cancellation of the contract. Emails were received on Jan. 16, 2025. (See Jan. 16)
–2025–
Jan. 10: The County posted the solicitation (PD 24-25.054): “The Escambia County Engineering Department, in collaboration with the Santa Rosa Island Authority, requests 100% construction plans to be developed for an improved northern gateway to Pensacola Beach.”
- “Gateway Design: The gateway design will start with a concepting phase, which seeks to gain stakeholder feedback and ultimately selection of a preferred design. It called for two (2) engagement meetings with the public and stakeholders.…The County will select a final concept for consultant design based on the results of the stakeholder meetings.” Read more.
Jan. 16: Inweekly receives Hofberger’s public records, which include an email, dated Nov. 5, from PIO Andrea Gibson to Hofberger’s aide, Melunie Luna, asking for approval of this official statement to send to reporter John Singley:
- “The Casino Beach Changing Rooms Project was reevaluated as part of an initiative by the District 4 office to realign our priorities on Pensacola Beach. The funds will go towards a new gateway project on Pensacola Beach, which will replace the existing toll booths at Bob Sikes Toll Plaza, with a more inviting entrance for visitors. The Gateway Project is still in the preliminary stages and will need to be reviewed by the Tourist Development Council at a future meeting before going to the Board of County Commissioners. The amount allocated reallocated was $570,130.”
- Luna replied on Nov. 6: “This looks good!”
Feb. 10: Bids received. The Black Out Period commences on 2/10/2025 and is in effect until after the time the Board of County Commissioners has awarded the agreement, and any resulting bid protest has been resolved, or the solicitation is otherwise cancelled.
Feb. 12: The evaluation committee selected the top three firms to proceed with Phase II of the evaluation process for this RLI, which includes Invitation to Interview (Discussing & Ranking) sessions.
- HDR
- Jacobs Engineering
- Goodwyn Mills Cawood
Feb. 27: Engineering notified Purchasing they intend to move forward with the recommendation to award PD 24-25.054 Design Services for the Pensacola Beach Gateway Improvements Project to Jacobs Engineering Inc., subject to board approval.
March 7: The BCC awards a contract for Design Services for the Pensacola Beach Gateway Improvement Project, PD 24-25.054, to Jacobs Engineering, Inc. Contract amount: $125,000.
April 15: TDC approves Hofberger’s request of $2.5 million for the gateway design. (No audio or minutes available on county website)
April 23: Hofberger posts on her Facebook three options and asks for public comment. Social media blows up, pointing out that one design used the Innisfree logo. Few people are happy with the options.
April 28: PNJ publishes an article on the architectural design for the gateway. The public input sessions for the design had been dropped from the Jacobs Engineering contract. Hofberger told the PNJ that the sessions were eliminated to save time and money. She added that while the bulk of the design is set and there won’t be a public forum for input, people were welcome to email her office.
- She later pulled the item off the BCC agenda.
April 30: County releases solicitation for Pensacola Beach Gateway Improvements – Phase II
- Gateway Design: The project includes, but is not limited to, a gateway/signage structure, site/area lighting, pavement markings, ADA upgrades, etc. The gateway design will start with a concept design rendering by Escambia County. Design should consider maintainability and meet all applicable state and local codes and standards.
- The County will select a final concept for consultant design based on technical requirements once the consultant has reviewed and modified the County provided rendering into a buildable product.
- Rendering will be released to selected vendor at Kick Off Meeting. The architectural design will have to compliment tolling and CCTV equipment while screening the toll by plate equipment as much as possible while still allowing functionality and maintenance of said equipment.
- An architectural pleasing toll equipment building or equipment cabinet and a ITS Dynamic Message Sign (DMS) should be included to blend into the surroundings both logistically and aesthetically while meeting Florida building Code and floodplain elevation requirements.
- Once the design concept is settled upon, the Consultant will provide an online portal to introduce the public to the concept and to receive online comments.
May 21: Submissions received.
June 2: Final Rankings made. Jacobs is the sole bidder. See PD_24-25.090_-_Final_Ranking
June 5: First private negotiation with Jacobs.
June 6: Hofberger presents three more design options, giving the public five days to vote on their choice.
June 10: Second private negotiation with Jacobs.
June 17: TDC meeting
June 18: Contract pulled from the agenda.
Note: Over the project’s eight-month lifespan (from Oct. 17, 2024 to June 17, 2025), Commissioner Hofberger never held a public meeting to ask for input on dropping the changing rooms project, adding an architectural arch on Pensacola Beach or her proposed designs for the arch. She only asked for the public’s opinions twice on her Facebook page. Both times, the public overwhelmingly rejected the arch options that she presented.