The word we’re getting off the record from city officials is that the effective fallout of the petition drive is that the City Council must postpone the bond issue for 60 days. The delay is going to put the Florida New Market Tax Credits ($2 million) at risk at the very least. Dick Barker is calculating what this is going to cost the city. Official word should come from City Hall later this afternoon.
Every time we think that we finally can move on the Community Maritime Park, the opposition throws another roadblock and then complains about the costs increases. Future such votes by the council need to have a 60-day period built into them—the part is figuring what votes will upset the naysayers. It’s an awkward way to do business, but since Trillium 1, the petition process has become a part of the political landscape of Pensacola.