When Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward had the UWF Haas Center conduct a phone survey of his constituents, he and his administration received a C+ for their communication program.
Last year, several neighborhood issues popped up – Dollar Store in Cordova Park and parole and probation office in North Hill – that showed his need for better communications. The latest neighborhood issue concerns Manna Food Pantries building on the old Pickens school property – Seeking To Be Heard.
In the past, Mayor Hayward would have held a series of town hall meetings in the seven districts to reconnect with the voters. The town hall meetings ended in 2013. Instead, he has chosen to use his digital newsletter, Upwords, to remind each district what he has done for him.
“This week, we’re starting a new UPwords feature that will focus on the progress that’s been made over the past several years in neighborhoods across our city,” wrote the mayor. “In the coming weeks, we’ll take a look at each City Council district and highlight some of the projects that we’ve been able to accomplish.”
District 7 was the first district he chose to highlight. Since 2011, Mayor Hayward said the city had invested or allocated more than $30 million for District 7 projects. Three projects comprise $23.4 million (78 percent) of that total, none of which have started yet:
- Gulf Coast Marine Fisheries Hatchery and Enhancement Center: $18 million
- Government Street Regional Stormwater Pond at Corrine Jones Park: $2.1 million
- Stormwater improvements to Bayou Chico and Bill Gregory Park: $3.3 million
The most significant completed project in District 7 is the Theophalis May Resource Center ($3 million investment), which was approved by the city council in 2011 and completed last year. Other completed projects:
- A Street beautification (2011: $256,000),
- Acquisition and demolition of the Blount School (2011: $532,000),
- Main Street rehabilitation (2012: $1.4 million),
- L & Zarragossa Street Drainage Improvements (2013: $335,000), and
- Armstrong Park tennis courts (2013: $90,000).
He wrote, “Numerous street and sidewalk projects have also been completed in District 7, including the addition of approximately 35 blocks of sidewalks, the reconstruction of approximately 15 streets blocks, and the resurfacing of more than 200 street blocks.”
Aside from these projects, the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhoods has also helped:
- Reset the base year for the Westside CRA TIF,
- Reorganize four neighborhood associations in District 7 (West Moreno/Westpointe Heritage, Tanyard, Bayou Grove, and Westside Garden District),
- Organize the Brownsville Festival, and
- Coordinated two studies – the West Cervantes Street Safety Study (completed this month) and the West Cervantes Street Corridor Management Plan (contract awarded this month).
Let’s hope the residents in District 7 receive the Upwords newsletter.