The News Journal lets groups post articles to its website. There is one from Friends of the Community Maritime Park entitled “Promise made, promise kept: The Main Street wastewater treatment plant will be gone before the CMP opens!”
While the article is intended to be positive, I find it very, very sad. The relocation of the Main Street plant is a complicated project costing 100s of millions. It wasn’t approved until Spring 2007 – six months after the city voters voted for the Community Maritime Park.
However, the plant will be moved before the park opens!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Why? Because ECUA did a great deal of the engineering and planning prior to the final vote. Their staff was ready to go once all the funding issues were worked out. No complicated design criteria meetings, endless public input sessions.
The Pensacola City Council did nothing after its first plan was defeated in March 2003. They pouted and let others – like Studer, Fetterman and Cavanaugh – do all the work. They didn’t do anything to make sure the Trillium property was ready for construction once the referendum passed.
ECUA has kicked the City Council’s butts on getting things done. I’ve been thinking that we should abolish ECUA in the consolidation efforts. Now I’m thinking we should abolish the city council and let ECUA run things. ECUA is getting things done.