At his weekly presser, Mayor D.C. Reeves reported that Pensacola International Airport had a record day on Sunday, July 7, with 7,255 enplanements. He also reported that TSA security operated smoothly, except between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. Sunday afternoon, when a machine went down, causing a 48-minute wait time.
“The average wait time for the entire day was 13.3 minutes for people waiting in line,” he said, “So even our worst hour was not, if you were there even an hour and a half before your flight, you would’ve had no problem making it. And just another data point for your perspective, between 3-4 p.m. on that busiest day, we screened 793 people through security and each lane fully-manned is rated for 150 people an hour or 600 max. We exceeded our maximum capacity by 200 people.”
The mayor continued, “So when we say bursting at the seams, we are doing it and outgrowing even our overall security capacity at this point.”
Mayor Reeves also discussed the staff recommendation regarding the Jackson Street site that once was home to the Malcolm Yonge Gym.
Here is the press release that was issued after the presser:
Following a month-long Notice of Intent to Dispose (NID) period, the City of Pensacola received two responses in its efforts to redevelop the property at 925 E. Jackson Street with a Community Land Trust (CLT). One eligible submission was received from the Northwest Florida Community Land Trust. The second submission was from James B. Washington Education & Sports, Inc. However, because it is not a CLT, the response was declared ineligible.
Therefore, city staff recommends negotiations go forward with the Northwest Florida Community Land Trust (NFCLT).
The City is seeking a for-sale housing development on the site that adheres to a long-term equity-sharing model, offering a 99-year lease with a 99-year renewal option to income-qualifying homebuyers. At least 51% of the units should be affordable to individuals with a median household income of 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI) or less. The remaining 49% of the units are for those in the 80-120% AMI range Income (AMI) or less.
The City of Pensacola envisions this development serving workforce and/or attainable housing needs. Once negotiations are completed with NFCLT, a detailed timeline and project cost outline will be available.
The mayor also announced that the city will add 300 more parking spaces to its paid inventory in downtown Pensacola, most notably along Palafox Street from Gregory Street to Zaragoza Street.
The city is seeking more input for its strategic plan. Mayor Reeves said, “There are areas where we need more feedback so our sample size fits and matches the demographics of our community—young people under 25, African-American residents, and residents with the median household income for Pensacola, which is $67,722.”
Surveys need to be completed by July 31 and can be found at Pensacola2035.com.
The city has received the FDOT analysis to create a four-way stop at Tarragona and Romana Streets. “We will convert into a four-way stop on July 29.”
The mayor said that the stop light cameras have yet to be activated. I checked with city staff, who shared that the city is waiting for the permit from the state. The camera should be activated before the end of summer, but the mayor assured the media that there would be a grace period to allow the public to become accustomed to the technology.