The City Council meeting held on July 24 started with councilmen bestowing the position of Mayor Emeritus to John Fogg, who has been part of the City Council since 1989. The motion passed unanimously between council members, and the room gave a standing ovation to Fogg, who gave a small speech.
“Of all the things we’ve accomplished in the last 20 years, the most humbling thing is your support and recognition tonight,†the mayor said.
Tom Bonfield was also commended for his leadership and public service, and brought his wife onstage to thank her with roses for all she has done to help him in his service years. His son was standing next to him as he received his reward; “A lot of kids go without their dads at night with these jobs, but they’re there with you anyway,†Bonfield said to thank his son.
“One of the things I’m most proud of in my 10 years with this city is our staff. It’s not about one individual doing a job, it’s about a team of dedicated employees getting things done,†Bonfield said.
Many city employees and those who have relationships with the council were present at the meeting, and received their own plaques for years of dedicated service. Three policemen were commended, along with an employee from both Parks and Recreation and Management Info Services; the longest acting city employee recognized was Charles Good, Jr. from Energy Services of Pensacola.
Councilman Mike DeSorbo acknowledged the relationship between the Pensacola Sports Association and the Council, and that Pensacola has been known as “one of the best places to find outstanding players for the last 6 years thanks to teamwork between the PSA and Council.â€
A softball tournament took place in May, but the first day brought rain. The teams were worried over whether they would be able to play the next day, but after tireless work the “ball crew†(those who clean up the fields before play) made all four fields perfectly ready to play ball. DeSorbo commended these four gentlemen for their work that night and their commitment to their jobs.
Honor Bell was distinguished with the role of City Employee of the Month for July of 2008. Bell is the Project Coordinator for the Community Redevelopment Agency, and was presented with a plaque that will hang on the Wall of Honor until the end of the year, when Honor will be able to take it home.
After these city employees were thanked for their dedicated service, it was time to get down to business.
The first order of business was brought up by Councilman Sam Hall, who mentioned he had visited a Sanders Beach Community meeting the night before and had some contact with individuals interested in the American Creosote Works clean-up. Supposedly, the Environmental Protection Agency says they can have the clean-up complete by the end of 2010, and Hall wondered what the City would do with that land after it had been cleared for use.
“I know all about the plan, I have it sitting in a book on my shelf at home,†Hall said as he asked the councilmen to review how they would fund construction and deal with other implications of moving ahead with plans for the Superfund site.
Many concerned citizens came to the meeting to discuss the possibility of turning Palafox into a one-way street from Government to Main Street.
“I think it will just create more confusion and more problems,†Wallace Hardy said.
There are many issues that must be dealt with, such as pedestrian safety (who will think to look the other way when crossing the street?), where delivery trucks will go seeing as there is no rear entry to the vendors on Palafox, etc.
The plan’s aim is to make that section of downtown more accessible to tourists and citizens. The motion was to approve the first phase of planning, and passed 9-1 with Councilman P.C. Wu dissenting.
The Council approved the purchase of $35,285,460 in bonds to finance Pensacola Regional Airports’s current construction plan. The price will not exceed the price above, and will include bond resolutions, advertising and public relations services, as well as planning and implementation of the construction.
There was talk of tabling the item until the next Council meeting, due to a change in the funding which included the absence of bond insurance and an extra one percent in interest to be added to the final amount. If the item was tabled until the next meeting, new bids would have to be put out because the final day to go ahead with the current bids is August 15. The council members realized they needed to act then, and that the question was whether they wanted to fund the project or not. The resolution passed 9-1, Donovan dissenting.
The last item of business was whether or not to approve a financing plan for the Community Maritime Park. The plan uses ad valorem taxes to fund the project, a method that may be affected by a current Supreme Court decision that will decide how cities can fund projects with taxes.
Some citizens urged the Council to wait until they could come up with a more secure way to fund the park, but some wanted the Council to go ahead and approve this so they could get the project underway.
The plan to start planning financially was eventually okay-ed, with Councilman Marty Donovan opposing the vote.