This Wednesday morning, the long-awaited second meeting occurred at the Fricker Center. Mayor D.C. Reeves and City Councilman Delarian Wiggin were noticeable no-shows at the first town hall on July 23, and a contentious crowd voiced frustrations over the City turning its back on the Black community.
This time, Reeves and Wiggins were in attendance. Once again, the meeting attracted a crowd of over 100 who trudged through the rainy conditions to hear about the upgrades to the Fricker Center and to let their voices be heard.
Upgrades & Doubts
The City is determining how to spend state grants that total $9.5 million to renovate the center. A $5.5 million grant is earmarked for covering stormwater improvements, improving visibility throughout the building and renovations of the bathrooms, hallways and classrooms. The $4 million grant is for multi-purpose programs.
Reeves explained that the grants are very specific in how the money is to be spent on renovations. The City unveiled a rendering of a renovated Fricker Center that included a senior center on the second floor, a weight room, covered entry drop-off, social hall and exterior sign.
- “One of the things that we’re most excited about is the fact these grant funds will ensure this will be the first senior center built in decades in the city of Pensacola,” Reeves said. “That’s a guarantee.”
Dr. Tyler Hardeman, a senior pastor at Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, listened intently during the meeting and left with questions unanswered.
- “Who is this grant for?” Hardeman said. “Who is going to reap the benefits from this grant? And how is this grant going to be beneficial to the minority community here in Pensacola, Florida, especially if you’re charging the kids to come in for the summer?”
Regina Warren, a 64-year-old who grew up in nearby Attucks Court and considered the Fricker Center a second home, voiced similar frustrations with charging children to participate in summer programs and for use of the basketball courts.
- “They’re charging these children in a low-income housing area to come into the Fricker Center,” she said. “I was raised up in the Fricker Center and I never paid a dime.”
Warren met with Reeves on Monday to discuss her concerns. Reeves arranged what Warren described as an unproductive meeting.
“I talked to the mayor in regards to the children having to pay to come into the center. He don’t know nothing about it,” she said. “He don’t have the answers right now that I’m looking for. I see a lot of people who can’t afford to come into this center. When I was young, we designed this center. As children, we had input.”
Warren was one of the most outspoken at the July 23 meeting. At that meeting, organizers let the crowd ask questions early on and lost control as the microphone passed from one disgruntled person to the next. The absent Reeves received the brunt of the criticism.
- “It’s very important he attended,” Wiggins said of Wednesday’s meeting. “It shows the community he’s concerned, of course, and he can actually address any concerns or questions they have.”
No Fireworks
The second meeting went off without any fireworks as the City followed an agenda and held questions until the end. Concerns raised by the crowd included charging children for certain programs and the future of residents at Attucks Court, a public housing project. Some attendees said they fear upgrades to the Fricker Center will lead to the demolition of Attucks Court and building homes that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Reeves reminded the crowd that Attucks Court is not a City property and that the focus is on the center.
The majority of those in attendance on Wednesday were senior citizens. Dee Lashay was one of the younger people in attendance. She said the mayor scheduling the meeting at 8 a.m. instead of in the evening prevented younger generations from letting their voices be heard. Lashay left the meeting still questioning how upgrades to the Fricker Center will impact the Black community.
- “I’m reserved on how this is really going to affect us,” she said. “There’s a lot of talk, but I’m not seeing it in black and white.”
Building Trust
At his press conference, I asked Mayor Reeves if he walked away from the Fricker meeting with a better relationship with the Black community.
Mayor Reeves acknowledged that building trust with the Black community requires a long-term commitment beyond any single meeting. He explained that he’s learned through the Fricker Center process that distrust isn’t necessarily personal to his administration but stems from generational issues and broken promises from previous city leadership.
- “I don’t think lack of trust necessarily is built in two years. I think it’s built generationally,” Reeves said, noting that community members referenced past meetings about community centers that never materialized.
He stressed the importance of ensuring all parties are “speaking in fact” rather than operating on assumptions, and said his approach involves continuous engagement rather than expecting immediate resolution of decades-old concerns.
- Reeves expressed cautious optimism while maintaining realistic expectations. “The most irresponsible thing I could do is expect that that trust is built in one meeting.”
The mayor also acknowledged the complexity of community concerns about gentrification and investment, noting that some distrust actually stems from the very investments the city is making in historically underserved neighborhoods. He emphasized that his administration tries not to take concerns personally and focuses on listening, communicating effectively, and delivering on commitments like the Fricker Center renovation to demonstrate good faith over time.